Ultramarines - How much do you really see them?

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**TapedTempest**

As we all probably know, the Ultramarines are the the poster-boys of poster-boys, and that's why a lot of people seem to have a sour disposition towards them. GW's constant attention towards the Ultras sunk them to a state of (almost) everyone being tired of hearing about them. But, despite that, how much do you all actually see them on the tabletop? I feel that chapters like the Dark Angels, Space Wolves, and Blood Angels are a lot more common to see.

**TheManWithNoPlan**

There are two Ultramarines players that go to the same store as I. And I do agree with you on the other codex marines getting more attention - I am one of three Blood Angels players and there are also three Dark Angels players, I'm not sure how many Wolves players there are, but there is at least one - so they seem to get the most attention from what I see.

**dosiere**

I've never actually seen another UM army, at least one that was fully painted. In 6th/7th a fair number of people used their rules/characters but either they weren't painted or it was a home brewed chapter.

They do have a stigma amongst players, which I find really annoying but I guess I can understand.

Part of the reason you don't usually see them is that while they are the poster boys generally other power armored factions are more powerful on the table. In 5th it was all about GK or Space Wolves. In 6th and 7th it was all about biker and pod spam using other chapters rules. Sometimes you'd see an allied force cherry picked from UM units, like Tigurius but that was about it.

**Freddy Kruger**

At my FLGS, there are 3 marine players. One is blood angels, one is crimson fists and the last one a space wolves player.

Even in 30k, the 4 that play it don't use ultramarines. There's a big stigma against them, which reached critical mass at my FLGS when girlyman got released a few months back.

I wouldn't mind, but I can kind of see why they are shunned.

**Nevelon**

There are 3 Ultra players at my FLGS. One shows up regularly, one periodically, and one rarely.

I don’t think we are out of proportion to other SM players.

**hobojebus**

I haven't seen a smurf player for 15 years now.

**Verviedi**

There's multiple in my LGS. We also have Blood Angel, Imperial Fist (and very well painted Imperial Fists too), Raptors, and Carcharodons (beautiful as well) players, and that's just off the top of my head.

**CREEEEEEEEED**

Verviedi wrote:
There's multiple in my LGS. We also have Blood Angel, Imperial Fist (and very well painted Imperial Fists too), Raptors, and Carcharodons (beautiful as well) players, and that's just off the top of my head.

Come on the raptors. As goes the question, there's all sorts of SM, but a lot of DA, SW and BA players. A few of the kids I've seen once or twice had ultras, and obviously I form the Raptor contingent and maybe a half or possibly a third of the Tau representation, from what I remember.

**ZenBadger**

Back in the 80s almost everyone around here had at least a few Ultramarines, mainly because the blue paint was usually very good for coverage and the symbol was easy to replicate. I know one guy who did an Imperial Fists army and gave up after a couple of squads of painting the pauldrons, they looked terrible. There was also a standing joke about his marines being painted in Apache Yellow, a very patchy yellow.. But as the paint quality stabilised and decals or even moulded shoulder badges came along the boys in blue took a back seat to more interesting chapters and a lot of homebrew successors. I still see the odd UM army but nothing like the hordes of Dark Angels, Space Wolves or even Black Templars. Not that there is anything wrong with them, just that they are a bit boring compared to others.

**MrPyro**

I plan to make an ultramarine detachment soon, actually. Though largely because I know it will.piss off my friends to no end.

It's all about the mind games!

**Giantwalkingchair**

Theres a club nearby that is pretty much a smurf village. Yes right down to being named after personality traights and there is a papa smurf. It is an incredibly boring place to play. Avout 90% of players there are space marines with easily half of them being ultras and the other half being homebrew using generic (ultra) marine rules. Oh and a si gle dark angel player.
Blessedly theres no reason for me to go there these days as they all went over to 30k so they can have their....yeah im not going to go there.

**FortheEmperor!**

I've had my UM army since 2006 and it's still my favorite, but I've also built 5000+ point forces for BA, DA and SW. That being said, I rarely see a fully painted UM army (mine is).

People hate them, and that is why you don't see them much. It's really no mystery. If they were at the top of the meta like Grey Knights and Blood Angels and Space Wolves once were, then they would be much more common.

**Arbitrator**

I see 'em about as much as other chapters with their own separate book... so, pretty common but not a constant sight.

**Pr3Mu5**

I'm basically known at the moment as "the" Ultramarine player in the store atm.
Since I came back to the hobby about 18 months ago I've seen a total of 3 other Ultramarine armies. Two of those player very quickly moved on to other armies and the other rarely plays. Each of those armies was also built around a core concept ie. Tiggy with Grav cents or biker librarius conclave etc.
Most of the marine armies you see in the area are BA, DA, or wolves.
I've found that the approach of other Ultramarine players though has been rather typical of 75-80% of the players around here in that they change their faction every few months where as I have grown rather attached to my Ultramarines, starting out as a mini trip down memory lane with some of the models I had in the late 90's early 00's into the full blown monster that has become my current army.
I definitely see less of them than I do certain other chapter and I would guess based on anecdotal evidence that the perception of Ultramarines as a result of their "posterboy" status has played a big role in that

**Tamwulf**

How much do I really see Ultramarines? Painted blue in the chapter colors, I can think of only two players out of about 50 or so in the greater Portland, Oregon area. Now, there were a crap ton of "Counts As" Ultramarine players using their own color schemes in 7th edition. I'm sure they will continue the same idea into 8th.

In the past, newer players that are just getting into the game will show up at the FLGS on game night with a squad or two painted blue and the rest of the army unpainted, see all the other wonderful colors/paint jobs, and immediately ask "how can I strip paint off my models?". GW really promotes the blue color scheme of generic Space Marine models in the blue of the Ultramarines. If you are lucky at the FLGS, you'll see the red of Blood Angels, as they have the most BA specific box sets, followed by Space Wolves, and then Dark Angels (if you are lucky...).

I have no idea how well Ultramarines will be favored in 8th edition, if at all.

**Marsyas**

Nobody at my LGS uses Ultramarines. We have one Dark Angels player, one "Whatever gives the most bonuses" player, one White Scars player, a Space Wolves player, a Raven Guard player, and one Chaos Space Marines player. Of the people who come in on a regular basis, everyone else plays Xenos.

**MechaEmperor7000**

Not exactly an army, but everyone i know that plays 40k has at least one Ultramarine model.

And I don't mean "generic marine #2482785", I mean a marine that has Ultramarine Iconography and painted up as such. This is mainly due to those starter paint sets and in-shop tutorials all being ultramarine-centric.

**Marmatag**

I play Ultramarines. Occasionally I see another person come in playing some Ultras but it's pretty rare. I think i'm probably the only regular player who uses them.

What made Ultramarines unique got largely nerfed. Centurion Devastators are a joke now, Thunderfire Cannons are crap, Assault Centurions got so much worse it's actually funny, Grav is pathetic... The main thing Ultramarines have is Guilliman, but you can play another faction, like DA, and get similar effectiveness out of your rifleman dreadnoughts, while gaining better psychic powers, and a nicer variety of units overall.

All that said, if you can play UM as a gunline with Guilliman, you will do well. But, it's probably the most boring way to play the army, and you're using Guilliman entirely as a force multiplier, which leaves him feeling like an afterthought. This also works incredibly well with fixed objective locations, since you can position yourself to cover them with fire from your gunline.

All in all, what made Ultramarines fun for me was taken away in 8th edition. Tigurius, Centurions, Drop Pods, Skyhammer, the list goes on. I like winning games, but it's not fun watching your opponent get frustrated while you setup a gunline that never moves, and just shred everything from a safe distance. And without Guilliman, Ultramarines would be the weakest group, discounting the other astartes chapters, which are strictly weaker simply by virtue of less HQs.

I will run Ultras to back up my GK in 2000+ point games, though, since GK have pitiful anti-tank.

**BrianDavion**

I thinkl the UMs sufferly partly from the stigma and thus when a new player starts with UMs he's VERY quickly dischouraged with the "HUR HUR! I HATE ULTRAMARINES BECAUSE OF ONE LINE FROM A CODEX 3 EDITIONS AGO MADE MY FAVORITE SPACE MARINE CHAPTER SEEM LESS AWESOME" crap. that combined with the fact that for all the attention given then, and all the potential stories, GW has at the same time not really developed the UMs much.

I think the development is going to change as the new books role forward, with the spotlight on ultramar etc. there is a LOT of room to inject flavor into the UMs by giving them a lot of depth and story. we'll see if GW takes this up

**Galas**

The problem with the lack of Flavour from Ultramarines is the fact that they need to remain the "vanilla chapter".

If they give the "Vanilla Posterboy" to some codex aderent chapter from second or later founding and go full Roman-Greek style with Ultramarines, they'll gain theyr own weight again'st the other big Four (BA, SW, DA, BT)

EDIT: But to be honest as Brian has said the problem with Ultramarines is people letting internet hyperbole and memes dictating them how to think about things.

**Bi'ios**

I'm currently painting an Ultramarines force, but I've never seen anyone with a painted UM army before. Ive seen GK, DW, BA, DA, SW, Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists, and plenty of Your Dudes Chapters, though.

**Nightlord1987**

One actual True Blue UM army, and one Successor who used UM Chapter Tactics.

Wolves dominate as the most common SM army, followed by DA, BA, and single doses of Salamanders, Iron Hands, Templars, Raven Guard and my own White Scars (successor).

**BrianDavion**

Galas wrote:
The problem with the lack of Flavour from Ultramarines is the fact that they need to remain the "vanilla chapter".

If they give the "Vanilla Posterboy" to some codex aderent chapter from second or later founding and go full Roman-Greek style with Ultramarines, they'll gain theyr own weight again'st the other big Four (BA, SW, DA, BT)

EDIT: But to be honest as Brian has said the problem with Ultramarines is people letting internet hyperbole and memes dictating them how to think about things.

I think the best way to go with Ultramarines, (and what I'd do if I was in charge of GW)is to move forward and further into the "Ultramarines as the examplars of what a codex marine chapter is" by that I don't mean "they're the best around " etc but rather as an example of what a codex marine chapter is. where people can look at them in detail, and perhaps follow some good stories etc. while also yes using them as inspiration. flesh out the Ultramarines further, write stories that show us, in depth, how they work etc. and ALSO show us some contrasting differances between characters. if people think the most detailed space marine chapter is boring, clearly you have a problem, or you simply haven't detailed it eneugh.

**MarsNZ**

Galas wrote:
The problem with the lack of Flavour from Ultramarines is the fact that they need to remain the "vanilla chapter".

Disagree that they lack flavour. I'd argue they easily have as much flavour as the snowflakes without the cringeworthy cliche background and naming conventions of SW (murderwolftooth), DA, (evrythingwing) and BA (rawrbloodyblood).

Also I rarely see them. The most common colours of power armour around here seems to be silver and grey.

**Vector Strike**

Noone plays them here. Our Marine fellas are 2 starting players trying Space Wolves and a veteran that can't make up his mind between Raptors, Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists, Deathwatch or Custodes.

**War Kitten**

I'm an Ultramarines player, and I'm also the solo Vanilla Marine player at my FLGS. We have 2 Space Wolf players, a Blood Angels player, and a Dark Angels player, but I'm the sole Ultramarine player

**Stormonu**

I've got a 2E land raider and two squads painted up as Ultramarines (one squad with dual Powerfists....), but I don't generally use them in favor of my custom Chapter.

At our local FLGS, there are two ultramarine players, a couple Space Wolves and an Iron Warriors player. Plenty of marines all around, but just as many Xenos players too, running the gamut of armies. Well, except maybe Sisters.

**Galas**

MarsNZ wrote:
Galas wrote:
The problem with the lack of Flavour from Ultramarines is the fact that they need to remain the "vanilla chapter".

Disagree that they lack flavour. I'd argue they easily have as much flavour as the snowflakes without the cringeworthy cliche background and naming conventions of SW (murderwolftooth), DA, (evrythingwing) and BA (rawrbloodyblood).

Also I rarely see them. The most common colours of power armour around here seems to be silver and grey.

But what is 40k lore, if not cringeworthy background full of special snowflakes and cliches?

**Warplock**

Umm... so why do players hate the Ultramarine, again?

**Dakka Wolf**

Three Ultramarine armies where I play and three Ultramarine successor chapters.
Rainbow Warriors - Inspired by left over lizardmen feathers.
Chapter Unspecified - painting never gets past base black.
Chapter unspecified - painting never gets past base blue.
Both players did bother basing so we forgive their lazy asses for not painting.

As for hatred, we hate Matt Ward, we just give the Ultra Smurf players grief cuz everyone torments everyone, most players don't take real offense and the only one that does earned his abuse himself.