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In the new Chaos Space Marines Codex, there's a line about how the Alpha Legion uses the most cultists out of all the other legions because they're sneaky like that. I had a few follow up questions for the more knowledgeable minds at the Dakka community ...

1) Are there any examples in the fluff where the Alpha Legion did not use cultists when attacking an Imperial world? Specifically around 40K and not including the Horus Heresy.

2) What happens when the Alpha Legion attacks a Xenos target? Do they take cultists along for the ride or do they stick with whatever Chaos resources they have?

3) Hang on, does the Alpha Legion routinely engage Xenos targets?

4) If they do, does the Alpha Legion actively recruit Xenos cultists, or is that just something they reserve for the Imperium?

Thanks for the help!

(I'm basically trying to assuage my guilt of starting to play Alpha Legion, but having zero desire to purchase/paint up a large quantity of cultist models.)

The codex depictions of CSM are as superficial as you can possibly get. They would have you believe that every single Word Bearer has a stable of daemons, every single Iron Warrior has a stable of daemon engines, and no Night Lord has ever actually enjoyed messing around with Chaos. Chaos warbands are far more nuanced than that.

The Alpha Legion is generally considered the most "blank slate" of the Chaos warbands, while still having ties back to the original legions of the Great Crusade. They would have whatever resources they could get their hands on, and whether or not they made use of those is entirely up to how your particular warband is being governed. If their leader isn't opposed to making more direct assaults with armor and boots on the ground (which half of the Alpha Legion operated this way) then they won't limit themselves to just establishing operative cells.

They don't so much carry Cultists around with them, as go around setting the cults up in the first place.

Who knows what the Alpha Legion fight or why - they're the Alpha Legion, and are ded sneaky.

If you want a Cultist Free Alpha Legion, here's my concept.

The Imperium is a prodigiously ignorant place. For many, Astartes are a mere myth.

Of course, the Alpha Legion know this - and can easily turn it to their advantage. Rock up on the planet, accuse the Governor of being a pawn of Chaos (easily done, spesh for getting evidence planted). Anyone asks who you are, tell them 'we're the Ultramarines'. It's not like the liveries of the Astartes are well known.... And one can always repaint one's armour, no?

Basically an excuse for a Chaos Astartes force that uses no Chaos models at all - all instead being sourced from the Heresy range.

I mean, Gulliman is Alpharius, as is just about everyone in the Imperium. The idea the Alpha Legion could just rock up to a world totally openly and pretend to be a different Chapter is so awesome I'd love a full story about it.

Oh they'd have to brew up a Cult or two on the planet - just to the level where they're being a real nuisance.

Then the 'Chapter' arrives and deploys. As they're doing a Palpatine and pulling all the strings, the cult can be quickly and comprehensively eradicated. Then the finger pointing starts....

Done just right, you can get a planetary system at it's own throat. Pick the right one, and you can easily destabilise a region.

Shroud of Night is a very recent piece of fluff that has a small force of Alpha Legionnaries doing battle, without making direct use of cultists.

It was more a covert operation, and though the Khorne CSM and Cultists and such benefitted them, they had different goals and were enemies. It was a small group of Alpha Legion members fighting for a goal, while a war was going around them.

It's always struck me that a legion so focused on infiltration, espionage, guerrilla warfare and coercing uprisings would ever take the field as an "army". Destabilizing regions isn't really necessary when you have a fleet capable of exterminating a planet or one of the most potent military forces in the galaxy at your command.

I just find it odd that the AL goes to war in two such contradictory ways, but hey, they're the AL after all.

 Retrogamer0001 wrote:
It's always struck me that a legion so focused on infiltration, espionage, guerrilla warfare and coercing uprisings would ever take the field as an "army". Destabilizing regions isn't really necessary when you have a fleet capable of exterminating a planet or one of the most potent military forces in the galaxy at your command.

I just find it odd that the AL goes to war in two such contradictory ways, but hey, they're the AL after all.

I did think the same thing, but someone pointed out to me their Heresy-era tactics which sort of explained this slightly.

Basically, any Alpha Legion force that is actually deployed is probably a cover for something more insidious. They'll deploy an army, square up to the enemy force and duke it out...all the while their actual operatives are off completing their real agenda. Any tactical objectives the enemy identifies the Alpha Legion force are after are probably just ruses to build up disinformation about what the Alpha Legion are actually here for.

Either that, or all of their plans and schemes hinge on that one particular Chapter Master getting his head caved in, and if you want a job done properly you have to do it yourself

Also, as much as they love intrigue, subterfuge and misdirection they are still space marines. Chaos space marines.

As such, it would be an anathema to their very essence if they couldn't occasionally get their hands dirty and prove their superiority against the weakling fools* of the False Emperor.

For the people saying the Alpha Legion could literally walk up and say they're *blank* Chapter, there's precedent for it.

In one of the Deathwatch RPG campaign books, one of the missions has you investigate a world with .

However, you're beaten to it by a force of what appear to be Black Templars, which the local Imperial forces have submitted to, because they're Space Marines, and why wouldn't they listen to what Space Marines have to say.
Of course, you realise they're Alpha Legion, but the population don't.

 Retrogamer0001 wrote:
It's always struck me that a legion so focused on infiltration, espionage, guerrilla warfare and coercing uprisings would ever take the field as an "army". Destabilizing regions isn't really necessary when you have a fleet capable of exterminating a planet or one of the most potent military forces in the galaxy at your command.

I just find it odd that the AL goes to war in two such contradictory ways, but hey, they're the AL after all.

But in doing so you become the target.

For a war effort on a galactic scale, having units capable of massively destabilising enemy held areas before you even show up pays dividends. If you rock up to a planetary system already wracked with internecine conflict, you're job is that much easier. Not only will you likely face only half the defenders, but that half will already be under strength.

And with the Alpha Legion, than can do that more or less where they please it would seem. Get really cunning, and you can force your enemy to mis-predict where your main assault is actually going to land.

 Sgt_Smudge wrote:
For the people saying the Alpha Legion could literally walk up and say they're *blank* Chapter, there's precedent for it.

In one of the Deathwatch RPG campaign books, one of the missions has you investigate a world with

Spoiler:

Necrons sleeping at the bottom of the ocean. Of course, because of the time it takes place, you don't know they're Necrons, but you fight them all the same.

.

However, you're beaten to it by a force of what appear to be Black Templars, which the local Imperial forces have submitted to, because they're Space Marines, and why wouldn't they listen to what Space Marines have to say.
Of course, you realise they're Alpha Legion, but the population don't.

Oh cool!

i always thought there was legs in the idea that no-one in the 40k universe really knows who anyone else is. We can recognise most of the Space Marine chapters, and most of the guard Regiments. However, imagine you're the captain of an Imperial Navy vessel. You drop out of warp at your designated planetary rendesvous and there's an unidentified Space Marine Battle-Barge hanging in the void.

How the hell do you know whether they're friendly or not? How do they know you are? You could hail them, but what if they don't respond? Do you really trust the codes you have been provided? Will they trust yours? What if they respond with a verbal message saying 'we're Space Marines of the X chapter that you've never heard of, vacate this system immediately'. Are they the Emperor's faithful? If so, why do they not greet you with open arms. Are they just gruff and arrogant? Are they traitors wishing to see you off so they can descend upon the planet unmolested?

You'll have to send a greeting party to parlay in person and hope they don't get blasted out of the sky, or captured, or worse.

Cue gak going down...

Thanks for the responses guys! I'm definitely getting a better picture of the Alpha Legion now.

That being said, is there any fluff about them (there was that one entry in the codex about them fighting off Orks only to take over an Imperial world) actively targeting Xeons targets? Or are they really only interested in targeting the Imperium?

Sounds completely possible. Especially with false flag ops

Example:

Alpha Legion warband scouts out a system or sector, identifying nearest possible space marines responders to an assault. Donning that space marine chapter's colors, they launch an assault on an imperial world, while simultaneously sending out a distress signal that the world is under siege by CSM. They then feign defeat and retreat before the chapter that they had mimicked comes to the rescue. Defending world, well, defends itself against perceived threat. Perhaps the matter can be resolved, perhaps the chapter decides to exterminate the population with extreme prejudice.

Shroud of Night's a book that anyone interested in Alpha Legion in modern Warhammer should read. It's got a lot of new information, and it's a piece of fluff that cements aspects of their lore.

And as has been suggested in above posts, yes, the Alpha Legion will pretend to be other Chapters when its convenient for them. To escape a dying planet overrun by Khorne beasties, they boarded an Imperial Ship, claiming to be Loyalists. When someone had gotten wise, recognizing the markings on their armor as Alpha Legion, they made up a story about how they were in a covert operation from the Inquisition, to disguise as Alpha Legion for mysterious purposes. And it was believed, as nobody wanted to defy the Inquisition.

It's a good book, IMO. I'd suggest it to anyone in to 40k.

 Thadin wrote:
Shroud of Night's a book that anyone interested in Alpha Legion in modern Warhammer should read. It's got a lot of new information, and it's a piece of fluff that cements aspects of their lore.
...
It's a good book, IMO. I'd suggest it to anyone in to 40k.

I agree, it was a great book!