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So, we've seen a lot of polls about favorite Primarchs, loyalist legions, traitor legions, etc, lately, but what about the less prominent chapters and warbands? My two favorite Chaos Marine groups aren't legions at all. It's a tie between:

The Scourged: Used to be a chapter called the Seekers of Truth that killed in the name of the Inquisition. The Chapter Master was so bothered by the killing of the innocent that he prayed to know when a man was telling the truth or lying. Unfortunately, it was Tzeentch, not the Emperor who granted him his wish. The entire chapter is now blessed with the ability to know when something is a truth or a lie. They abandoned the Imperium within days once they were able to see all the lies it ran on, and have gone insane from the constant stream of lying everywhere.

The Cleaved: A Nurgle affiliated warband with warriors who wear flesh colored armor that leaks oil and blood from the joints. Nobody knows where they came from, but the first recorded encounter with them was when they were summoned by rebels and saved a heretical planet from rebellion. Their only attributed quote is "Call with all your soul, little one. Call and we shall answer." So they seem to be keen on protecting heretics from the Imperium's rough brand of justice. Of course, what happens to the rebels afterwards isn't explained...

Those are my two favorites. What are some of your favorite warbands that aren't in the big nine?

I'd do a poll, but there are so many, it'd be a pain to put up.

Could they have splintered off of a legion?

 dragoonmaster101 wrote:
Could they have splintered off of a legion?

Sure. Why not?

I honestly can't think of any Warbands that are well written and not of the Legions. The best I can think of is the Blood Gorgons, and their quality is just okay at best, with the last book being a complete let-down.

Definatly the Sons of Damnation. They are notable for being a warband being only comprised of one terminator squad! It is a whole warband you could kill in a single turn of lucky rolling.

Crimson Slaughter. They're on all of the boxes so they must be the most important, interesting and influential Chaos warband out there.

I like the Flawless Host and the Death Shadows. No real reason as to why other than I think they both look the coolest out of any warband. And the name "The Flawless Host." So arrogant, so awesome!

Flawless Host:


Death Shadows:


The Purge would be my next choice. They killed 14 billion imperial citizens in the Vaxhallian genocides , though I suspect that figure is only so impressive because no figures of casualties are usually given. If SMs and CSMs regularly invade worlds and sometimes slaughter their entire populations (orbital bombardments and the like), then this figure might not be that impressive.

Got three myself.

The Purge: Holy Warp , what a name! I like their philospophy of "Evil exists. Life exists. Life most be evil then", and their ruthless Lawful Stupidity. I also pity them for thinking they are indpendent, when they are nothing but.

The Scourged: In the other reign, we have someone who are anything but delusionary. I personally have a Loyal Chapter, who's entire idea is that they are borderline renegade for ignoring conventional Space Marine dogma and going kinda-rogue for the Imperium and its citizens, so the Scourged are rather cool at that. Also shows exactly what Tzeentch provides: Hope, which leads to despair.

The Crimson Slaughter: Honestly my favourite Chaos Marine Warband, out of all. They are, in my opinion, better developped at this point than many of the Legions, by having a meaningful and bitter rivalry with present day Imperium forces, being pity targets of Chaos, developing into true horrors through hatred and bitterness towards everything but/including themselves, lacking the ability to reflect upon their position and importance in the galaxy... Just like real life, really.

Thunder Barons just because they have the best name.

Story wise, the Violators.

Ahriman's The Prodigal Sons

I'd have to go with Sons of Malice

I like the Astral Claws/Red Corsairs, the Purge, Warp Ghosts, the Scourged, Skyrar's Dark Wolves, Fire Claws/Relictors, Flame Falcons, Sons of Malice, Souls Drinkers, but out of those I think the Red Corsairs are the ones I like the most. They had real grievances which makes them easier to believe.

Sons of Mala- er, Malice, have all my Chaos love because they're a big fat reference to a dead IP that I loved. THEY'RE BRINGIN' IT BACK!

Do the Flesh Tearers count?

For me, Crimson Slaughter win by default as a deeper level of detail is available for them compared to other warbands.

 Manchu wrote:
Do the Flesh Tearers count?

For me, Crimson Slaughter win by default as a deeper level of detail is available for them compared to other warbands.

Wait...aren't flesh tearers a clan inspired by the Blood Angels?

Yeah they are BA successors.

I think Ide still consider the Crimson Slaughter a legion warband, all they did was change the Sabres in their name to Slaughter. Warbands did break off from them in the fluff though.

My personal favorites would have to be Sons of Malice and Red Corsairs.

The Crimson Sabres were a successor chapter, not a Legion/First Founding chapter.

The Sons of Malice are cool in an anarchist kind of way. I also really like the Red Corsairs because space pirates with the biggest fleet this side of the Eye.

Another point for the Scourged, from me. It's a great example of Tzeentch playing with the "vengeful djinni" trope. Oh, you want to know when someone's telling the truth? Wish granted. Here's the lies of all mankind!

Silver medal to the Purge.

Bronze to the Red Corsairs.

 Manchu wrote:
The Crimson Sabres were a successor chapter, not a Legion/First Founding chapter.

Much dishonor upon me wasnt paying close enough attention. But that's what I get for reading/posting at work.

#1 Sons of Malice - They're the warband that got me interested in Chaos in the first place (and as a result, Malal/Malice is my favorite god). Also, fava beans and a nice chianti
#2 Crimson Slaughter - combination of being pretty cool, a tragic fall and just because of how much has been fleshed out about them
#3 The Bloodborn - Semi-Legion, Semi-non-legion. Led by Honsou. need I say more?

Probably the Red Corsairs, simply because I love how much of an unapologetic badass Huron is.

I like Huron, and this is petty, but... he's just butt-ugly. He looked a million times more awesome before he went full heretic. You never go full heretic.

 Darth Bob wrote:
Probably the Red Corsairs, simply because I love how much of an unapologetic badass Huron is.

He's so much cooler before going outright CSM. If possible, get yourself copies of the Badab books from FW. They are expensive but worth every penny, probably the best fluff in any GW books I have seen since Realms of Chaos (although obviously not as influential).


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 j31c3n wrote:
You never go full heretic.

LOL well said. Just compare his FW mini to his Citadel one ...

For me, The Scourged. Working with the Inquisition and slowly being worn down by doubt, the perfect target for Tzeentch.

Also, because there's not much fluff, I can make up my own story

Probably Crimson Slaughter, the Purge and Red Corsairs would be on my list!

The Prodigal Sons are cool, Also The Thunder Barons have the coolest name in the Warhammer universe.

 Arcsquad12 wrote:
The Sons of Malice are cool in an anarchist kind of way. I also really like the Red Corsairs because space pirates with the biggest fleet this side of the Eye.

Can I just say what he said? Because that.

 j31c3n wrote:
I like Huron, and this is petty, but... he's just butt-ugly. He looked a million times more awesome before he went full heretic. You never go full heretic.

I mean, I imagine having half his body obliterated by a Melta bomb went someway towards that too...