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This has been on my mind for some time. The traitor legions and the loyalists seem like mirror images to each other, and I've done my best to line them up as such. To avoid confusion I am using the term mirror not to indicate opposites, but as identical (or similar) groups on opposite sides of the Long War. I've rated them based on how 'solid' the comparison seems, but I'm posting here to get your feedback. Without further ado, the Mirror:

Black Legion = Ultramarines
The Black Legion and the Ultramarines are both the "bread and butter" armies of their respective faction. While each has some favored tactics (the Ultramarines have a whole book full of them in fact!), they are flexible enough to encompass many sorts of fighting forces. Led by very charismatic individuals (Abaddon and Calgar respectively), I think these two are mirror images of each other. (5/5)

World Eaters = Space Wolves
The melee focused armies. While other armies can fit this label, none do it with as much gusto as the Space Wolves and the World Eaters. Add in a distrust and even outright loathing for psykers, a focus on slaying the biggest and toughest things they can lay their weapons into, and I'd call these two perfect mirror images. (5/5)

Death Guard = Iron Hands
The resemblance seems fleeting. Death Guard are horrid mockeries of life, bloated mounds of decaying flesh and Ick. The Iron Hands on the other hand (heh) seek to remove their weakness by removing their flesh. But the core of each army is the same; they are tougher then the adamantine armour they wear, and fight with grinding attrition knowing that their bodies can absorb more damage than the opposition can dish out. (4/5)

Iron Warriors = Imperial Fists
Both are siege masters, and though the Imperial Fists are seen on the defensive end more often, part of what drove the Iron Warriors to turn traitor was being endlessly assigned garrison duty during the Great Crusade. The fact that they are mortal enemies lends credit to the idea that they are perfect mirror images. (5/5)

Emperor's Children = White Scars
Here's where it gets a bit shaky. My main rational is that the Emperor's Children crave sensation in all its forms. The White Scars mostly seem to crave the hunt and the speed of their bikes. The inclination to go fast and dish out as much damage as they can is a shared trait, but by in large the resemblance is passing. (3/5)

Thousand Sons = Blood Angels
Another iffy match. But, for geneseed deficiencies, the Thousand Sons and the Blood Angels are top tier. Mephiston being a supremely powerful psyker in a chapter with a good number of such helps, but really it's the mutations and flaws that sell this (admittedly weak) comparison .(2/5)

Word Bearers = Salamanders
The Word Bearers want to unite humanity under Chaos Undivided, while the Salamanders want to protect and shelter humanity as best they can from the horrors that lurk between the stars. While this seems odd, I do rate this match higher then others because though their methods are different, each wants the same goal. For mankind to reclaim all they have lost (but under wildly different rulers). (3/5)

Night Lords = Raven Guard
That Corax saw and attested to Cruz being himself but for the machinations of fate more or less seals this deal. The similarities are marked and manifold, not least of which being the absolute love of jetpacks they share. Man, can you imagine the bickering over who got first dibs from the armoury? Ahem, anyway perfect mirrors. (5/5)

Alpha Legion = Dark Angels
This is the shakiest yet. The only similarity is how secretive the respective army is when confronted with an outside source. As far as Horus (or Abaddon)(or anyone really) knew, he was talking to the real Alpharius each time, when in all likelihood he was talking to a sergeant or line trooper more often then his brother Primarch. The Dark Angels have managed to keep it a secret that a significant number of their battle brothers became renegades or fell to Chaos for 10,000 years. 10,000 YEARS and I can't keep a secret for a week before telling someone. I could also make the point that the Alpha Legion may or may not be semi-loyal or have loyalist splinters, but that's all head canon and has no place in this comparison. Barely mirrors (1/5)

Questions, concerns, cries of heresy and demands for a purging? The floor is open, and I'll be back on the morrow.

Seems pretty good to me. I like that you rated your match ups. You made some interesting connections I had never considered, as between the WB and Sallies.

Yeah, those are legitimate thoughts, Raven Guard/Night Lords are things people remark with some frequency. Raven Guard/Night Lords are definitely the most parsimonious example.

Uh, unfortunately the other option when calling something parsimonious is calling it linear and naive. Would it be weird to think you might be a little bit naive on the topic, not entirely jaded yet by decades of thinking about space marines?

Like, it is also very common to compare Death Guard and Salamanders, because they both rely on infantry and grit, wear green, and like the number seven.

This is the big one, but "linear" is definitely where Black Legion - Ultramarines comparisons come from. The comparison is barely even superficial, and they do not have that much in common. Even if you accept that they are both sort of generic for their factions, which I do not think about Black Legion or even Ultramarines, there is also the problem that thinking there is a middle-ground or generic type of legion and the other eight parts of each faction are divergent is reductive and irrelevant.

At that point, you have to consider the strength of alternate possibilities. Pointedly, there are many commonly remarked and substantive similarities between Ultramarines and Word Bearers. They were enormous legions, they are very hierarchic, they have supremely prominent beliefs that were intensively codified by their primarchs, and they spend a great deal of time indoctrinating and developing the worlds they conquer.


Then there is the problem of having to go back to that first, highly parsimonious comparison, NL/RG. The Night Lords are, much, much more meaningfully, the chaos counterpart of the Blood Angels. The Blood Angels' primarch had psychic ability, sure. He had prognostic psychic ability, foresight. Night Haunter, way more than some stealth field from the HH novels, had prognostic powers. They were Night Haunter's primary characteristic.

The Blood Angels are beacons of salvation and champions all of humanity's best qualities, who descend with the full force and light of righteous wrath. The Night Lords are icons of terror and watchers for all of humanity's worst qualities, who inflict fear with blah blah

well you can have the space wolves and world eaters, but should not even be too comfortable with that, since the world eaters' schtick is to keep the fighting going as long as possible, and basically can act as though they have won if the enemy is drawn into a meat grinder instead of winning its objectives, while the wolves try to get the fighting over as fast as possible by just killing everyone. This I guess makes them two sides of the same coin, like BA/BL.

Alpha Legion and Dark Angels you can probably be confident, since they are both defined by how old they are.

Most of the Legions have clearly defined rivals, but not all of them are Loyalist/Traitor pairs. Usually they get paired up based on fighting styles moreso than anything else, there are plenty of references to the Emperor and Horus after him deliberately reinforcing these rivalries between similar legions to instill a sense of competition. Often Legions can have similar fighting styles which the implement in different ways (usually driven by the differences in the Primarchs personalities). The usual pairing I have seen:

Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists - masters of siege warfare, stubborn and brooding

Word Bearers and Ultramarines - the two largest Legions (absorbed the 2nd and 11th Legions). Both highly structured and bringers of order (worlds they conquered were stable, just through different methods)

Blood Angels and World Eaters - both bloodthirsty shock troops in battle led by vastly contrasting Primarchs (which lead them down different paths)

Death Guard and Iron Hands - relentless and ruthless. Another good example of similar styles achieved through different means, the Death Guard eventually turn to Nurgle and enhanced biology, the Iron Hands go the complete opposite direction and rely on bionics

Emperor's Children and Salamanders - craftsmen and artisans driven by very different ethos, Emperor's Children seek perfection to better themselves (making them arrogant and leading to their fall), the Salamanders build and shape things to better humanity (making them humble and protective)

These are the easy ones, the rest overlap with each other somewhat.

Raven Guard - overlap with the Night Lords as masters of stealth and guerrilla warfare, as well as the Alpha Legion

White Scars - masters of mobile warfare they are surprisingly fairly unique in their combat doctrine, some similarities with the Night Lords but their main rivalry is with the Alpha Legion (it just never grew that much due to the late discovery of Alpharius). Both practice divide and conquer/highly complex strategic level thinking.

Dark Angels - the main rivalry is with the Space Wolves rather than a traitor legion. Probably the closest traitor legion are the Sons of Horus, both were very self entitled legions (one is the first legion created, the other has the longest history/first Primarch to be found) with ambitious Primarchs, that both had secretive inner brotherhoods.

Space Wolves - rivals with the Thousand Sons, but that is due to completely contrasting views rather than similarities. They draw on most of the aspects of the other Legions which is reflective of Russ's role as the executioner (and his trick of picking up opponents techniques and using them against them). If you had to pick on then they match up fairly well against the Sons of Horus, often referred to as the single biggest threat to Horus's plans (alongside the Ultras, which is why they both get diverted away from Terra).

In terms of the Alpha Legion and Dark Angels: didn't an Alpha Legion marine become one of the founding members of the Grey Knights? Would tie in with the Dark Angels since half of them turned to chaos.
I like some of the simularities you drew. I'd almost say that the Dark Angels chaos mirror is the Dark Angels, but that might be confusing.

I am with Powerguy regarding Word Bearers / Ultramarines and Thousand Sons / Wolves.

Also, Magnus lost an eye to get wisdom, just like Woden/Wotan/Odin, the Norse god. His number is 9, he created civilization, is a god of magic and at the end of times he will be destroyed by a force of destruction: a wolf called Fenris. Wolves and Sons are connected in many ways.

Another "classic" rivalry is Emperor´s Children / Iron Hands.

And I see both Dark Angels and Alpha Legion as wildcards. There are many hints of Dark Angels being traitors, and many hints that Alpha are loyalists. These two legions are like a gate between loyalist and traitors.

So it is:
Undivided:
Word Bearers / Ultramarines.
Alpha Legion / Dark Angels.
Night Lords / Raven Guard
Iron Warriors / Imperial Fists.

Marked:
Emperor´s Children / Iron Hands.
Thousand Sons / Wolves.
World Eaters / Blood Angels (?): all about blood.

The Black Legion is not a legion. The Sons of Horus were destroyed and Abbadon created a completely different warband. This is why you can find any unit in the Black Legion.

This leaves Death Guard, Salamanders and White Scars. I don´t know if it is possible to pair them.

If we ignore the Emperor´s Children / Iron Hands feud, then we could go like this:
Emperor´s Children / White Scars: both enjoy what they do. Hedonistic.
Death Guard / Iron Hands: endurance.

which leaves Black Legion / Salamanders.

 da001 wrote:

Emperor´s Children / Iron Hands.

I don't believe we are going for feuds as such but I agree with this one, I always thought that they were a good mirror to each other although they have very different attitudes and mannerisms.

I've always thought that the Emperor's Childrens struggle for perfection reflected the Iron Hands belief that the flesh is weak and attempting to remove this by augmenting themselves with bionics, also striving for a certain perfection.

If we are going on flaws then the Space Wolves and Thousand Sons would be a good mirror, in despite of their attitudes towards each other their genetic flaws are all to apparent and both are known amongst the Legions. Both also have an affinity for knowledge. The Thousand Sons actively seek it out to learn more whereas the Wolves retain theirs in their own way to conserve it. I don't now if that is more of a ying yang thing though.

I think you can draw parallels to a few of the Legions if you look hard enough, but you have done a good job OP.

Another one I believe is the Word Bearers and Ultramarines for their attitude towards the written word and following orders. Lorgar and Guilliman both set out theirs ideals in books penned in their own hands and asked their Sons to follow it.

Wow, that is more than I honestly expected. Erm, let's see...

@pelicaniforce: I can agree that my list is by and large standard, fairly surface oriented, and not acknowledging of other options. But, I had designed the list so that each legion had one match rather then a couple to cut down on confusion and "level the field" so to speak. Frankly I'm loath to assign the Alpha Legion a counterpart, but that may just be my view of them. All the same, I don't think my reasoning is naive; simplistic maybe, but not naive. Finally, parsimonious isn't synonymous with linear or naive; it means frugal or stingy.

@Powerguy: I did not know that the Emperor promoted competition between his legions (might have been a mistake with hindsight), Yeah, there are a lot of different ways to pair up the legions; favorite punching bag is a solid choice. I've also seen some favorite pairings (First among Battle Brothers sort of deal).

@ Aeroroot: To my knowledge, no Alpha Legion were included in the founding of the Grey Knights. The last loyalists of the Traitor Legions were folded into the fledgling Inquisition (though in what manner is not something I know). However, there is a scene at the end of "The Serpent Beneath" in the HH book 'Primarchs", where Omegon reveals his ownership of a “...covered by a loose shroud, was his other suit of armour. To the casual eye, it was plain and unadorned.” A fan theory that I've heard before is that Omegon does become one of the first Grand Masters of the Grey Knights, and somewhere (looked but couldn't find) is a quote by the Second Grand Master that sound right up Omegon's ally.

I agree that Iron Hands and Emps Children are mirrors, their is a strong argument for Death Guard and IH, but IH and EC both are all about the reduction of weakness/yearning of perfection, yet go about things and battle in a very contrasting manor.

 LoyalistAlphaLegion wrote:

@Powerguy: I did not know that the Emperor promoted competition between his legions (might have been a mistake with hindsight), Yeah, there are a lot of different ways to pair up the legions; favorite punching bag is a solid choice. I've also seen some favorite pairings (First among Battle Brothers sort of deal).

Not sure if it was from the Emperor but Horus certainly made a deal out of it

There is also evidence that he sent dispatches detailing the World Eaters' most ferocious victories to the Blood Angels Legion and vice versa, presumably to foster a competitive rivalry. Likewise, it can be assumed that Horus was well aware of the feud between the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels. These two Legions were repeatedly deployed in joint actions, spurring them both on to greater military feats in order to outdo each other.

- Index Astartes Black Legion

parsimony is the criterion used for grouping things by traits they have in common. It essentially means avoiding most types of complication.

I also think it is more useful to compare the legions' traits and actions with each others' without reference, and actively avoiding reference, to their mutual interactions or history, e.g. rivalries between Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors or Ultramarines' and Black Legions' positioning as central or prominent in their factions.

I would actually say the Alpha Legion and Raven Guard match up better than Night Lords and Raven Guard.

It is the Alpha Legion who sabotages the Raven Guard's attempts to rebuild their legion which drives Corax insane. They are also more stylistically similar, trying to win the war before it ever gets to a battlefield. Both are all about striking from the shadows, to the point they will both use other space marines to fight it out while they go accomplish something behind the scenes.

Night Lords are all about terror tactics, and would match up better perhaps with the Blood Angels to me. Where the Night Lords lack a gene flaw, they are all about terrorizing their foes and generally don't play well with others. It has routinely been noted the Blood Angels are often mistrusted by their fellow Imperials, with dark, terrible rumors circulating about them. The Night Lords also conjure up images of 'demonic night terrors/monsters' while the Blood Angels conjure up an 'angelic' image. A sort of 'Heaven' vs 'Hell' theme here.

FALSE, the blood angels are considered heros of the imperium. some of there successor chapters are view with distrust (old flesh tearers). But the angels themselves are viewed pretty highly, even calgar omits generalship to them, which is a testament of their tactical insight and honor.

 raiden wrote:
FALSE, the blood angels are considered heros of the imperium. some of there successor chapters are view with distrust (old flesh tearers). But the angels themselves are viewed pretty highly, even calgar omits generalship to them, which is a testament of their tactical insight and honor.

Entirely true:

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Angels

I cannot remember which version of their codex it is, but it talked about how the Blood Angels are viewed with some mistrust by some Imperial commanders, and rumors of people disappearing in the night coincide with actions involving them.

don't believe everything you see in a wiki. but no, codex, nothing I have has people viewing blood angels with any distrust,the chapter you described is more like the dark angels as said their successor chapters are viewed with caution though, which does reflect poorly on the BA, but the BA in general are viewed as extremely loyal and honorable. At least, by their system and most other chapters.

Found part of it, 5th ed codex, page 13. Talks about rumors of people disappearing in the night on worlds watched over by the Blood Angels.

I would also say the BA could be good opposites for the World Eaters and the Emperors Children. Very blood thirsty combatants and also very interested in perfection, but unlike the EC, they are the flipside of that coin and often also tend to be very humble.

Still, it is the theme of the Blood Angels that they are noble warriors cursed with dark visions and tendencies, slowly battling against their degenerating nature.

The Space Wolves would also be good counter parts/opposites for the Night Lords. The Space Wolves cultivate a sense of fear and worry about them, they're often trouble, love shock and awe, have an ingrained sense of the 'hunt' for their 'prey', etc.

I have long thought about this and have come up with the following


Emperor's Children and Iron Hands

The Legions and Primarchs were incredibly close to one another and now despise each other. The Emperor's Children thought they could bring about perfection in their bodies and flesh and their Primarch was a "beautiful" man. By contrast his brother Ferrus was nicknamdd the Gorgon because he had a face like a Squig's behind and his Legion believed in the failure and imperfection of the flesh and sought to replace it with bionics.

Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists
There is much apathy between the two and focusing on the same profession there can only be one superior. They despised each other and they make a point of killing each other.

White Scars and ??? (Alpha Legion)
The Scars to me appear to have no special relationship with any other Legion, though its possible they dislike the Alpha Legion out of tactics . The Scars and the Khan are all about honour and fair play but the Alpha Legion are about Black Ops and covert warfare. Infiltration, disruption, etc.

Space Wolves and Thousand Sons (possibly Dark Angels)

The Thousand Sons were all about sorcery and magicks, but the space wolves hated that stuff. Russ himself was antipsychic and was despatched to arrest (and kill, by Horus) Magnus. I mention DA but that's more rivalry than anything else.

Night Lords and Raven Guard

The Night Lords hunted the Raven Guard down at the Dropsite Massecre, and they both utilised Stealth tactics where possible (allow for the Night Lords this was to inflict terror Batman style).

Blood Angels and Sons of Horus

The Primarchs Sanguinius and Horus were especially close and these two Legions were close too, and when the Betrayal came it was Sanguinius hit the hardest. He was noted as the only rival to Horus' job of Warmaster and he fought Horus. In one of the Black Crusades, Abaddon made a point of killing BA and the BA hate Abaddon because of the Talon of Horus he wears, the weapon used to kill their Primarch. This is clear cut IMO.

World Eaters and (Dark Angels?)

This one is not so clear. In my understanding the World Eaters hated everyone equally but its possible they were opposites to the other in their tactics. The XII were more "I see no dead bodies, let's make some more!", and the I were more tactically and strategic. The I were also more heirarchial and structured whereas (going off the depiction in Betrayer) the World Eaters favoured martial prowess over hierarchy. They cared little for rank and Angron even less so (he would only allow them to call him Sire, not Lord or Sir)

Ultramarines and Word Bearers (+ Alpha Legion)

These two hated each other since the events of The First Heretic. The Ultramarines destroyed the Word Bearers crown jewel, and the XVII attacked the realm of Ultramar. They were both huge Legions, and they and only they can hated each other.

Alpharius also disliked Guilliman because Guilliman criticised Alpharius' strategies and tactics and methods.


Death Guard and Salamanders

These are 2 Legions known for their implacable advance and so makes sense on a basic level.