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Who is or is there a rival for the World Eaters on the loyalist side? I.e. Space Wolves and the Thousand Son, Iron Warriors and the Crimson Fists.

An acquaintance and I are working on a campaign, he has Traitor Guard and World Eaters, and I have Imperial Guard and Space Marines. I thought it would be a good idea to style my marines as the rival of the World Eaters, if one existed.

Your help in this matter would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance;

BakedBeans

During the Great Crusade there was a rivalry between them and the Blood Angels for who was the best shock assault legion.

I would go with the Scars...

The Blooad Angels rivals were the Sons of Horus.

I would say the White Scars or the Salamanders.

Unfortunately for most legions there is no one answer. But it isn't my opinion that the Blood Angels and World Eaters were rivals during the Great Crusade, it is mentioned many times in the fluff.

There's also the Space Wolves angle. They came to blows with the World Eaters before the Heresy even started, and they were there during the First War for Armageddon, holding the line against Angron and the World Eaters until the Grey Knights showed up.

 CalgarsPimpHand wrote:
There's also the Space Wolves angle. They came to blows with the World Eaters before the Heresy even started, and they were there during the First War for Armageddon, holding the line against Angron and the World Eaters until the Grey Knights showed up.

I think the Space Wolves work better with the Thousand Sons rivalry, but that's still a good point.

 Orblivion wrote:

 CalgarsPimpHand wrote:
There's also the Space Wolves angle. They came to blows with the World Eaters before the Heresy even started, and they were there during the First War for Armageddon, holding the line against Angron and the World Eaters until the Grey Knights showed up.

I think the Space Wolves work better with the Thousand Sons rivalry, but that's still a good point.

The Space Wolves make decent rivals for anyone. It isn't like they're restricted to one.

I mean Russ was such a reasonable, get-along kind guy, so I know how it's hard to imagine him having problems with other Legions.



Oh wait. His fluff, at this point, has him coming to blows with Lionel, Angryon, Magnus, and The Emprah. One can only assume he went into the Eye of Terror because he still hadn't had a chance to punch enough Primarchs yet.

Blood Angels or the White Scars is my vote.

During the Horus Heresy, they tried to trick the Blood Angels into following Korne like the World Eaters. Blood Angels would work well post heresy, but pre-heresy Angron and Russ didn't care for each other.

Weren't the Blood Angels tricked into to going somewhere so......(someone please fill in the blank) could take advantage of their genetic flaw and turn them to the dark side?

Why did nobody mentioned UM ? Angron and Lorgar carving through Ultramar certainly made them pissed...

I imagine they're still pretty butt hurt towards the Space Wolves over Armageddon.

 Themanwiththeplan wrote:
Weren't the Blood Angels tricked into to going somewhere so......(someone please fill in the blank) could take advantage of their genetic flaw and turn them to the dark side?

Yes, that wasn't by the World Eaters though. Before Horus' betrayal was known, he sent Sanguinius and the Blood Angels to the Signus Cluster which ended up being a trap. They were attacked by Ka'Bandha and a horde of Khorne daemons. Fear to Tread shows us that Slaanesh and Tzeentch wanted to turn Sanguinius to their cause, but Horus and Ka'Bandha (possibly Khorne himself?) wanted Sanguinius eliminated.

 Orblivion wrote:

 Themanwiththeplan wrote:
Weren't the Blood Angels tricked into to going somewhere so......(someone please fill in the blank) could take advantage of their genetic flaw and turn them to the dark side?

Yes, that wasn't by the World Eaters though. Before Horus' betrayal was known, he sent Sanguinius and the Blood Angels to the Signus Cluster which ended up being a trap. They were attacked by Ka'Bandha and a horde of Khorne daemons. Fear to Tread shows us that Slaanesh and Tzeentch wanted to turn Sanguinius to their cause, but Horus and Ka'Bandha (possibly Khorne himself?) wanted Sanguinius eliminated.

Thanks for clearing that up Oblivion.

According to HH1: Betrayal the allies chart lists Ultramarines and Alpha Legion as the worst allies type.

So your answer is Ultramarines.

In the fluff, there isn't any one good rival.

Space Wolves: They share a lot of similarities in their aggressive nature, and no-nonsense attitude. Yet they had their falling out over how to harness or unleash that aggression.

Blood Angels: Both were assault troops. Both were approached by Khorne, but one stayed loyal.

The answer the Space Wolves.

i dont remember where it is, but theres a quote in one of the HH novels, i believe by Kharn, about how the World Eaters cant be kept on a leash like the Space Wolves

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
The Space Wolves make decent rivals for anyone.

Particularly Imperial forces, of late.

During their time as a loyalist Legion Horus would attempt to get them competing against the Blood Angels

IA: Luna Wolves

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.

Actually during the heresy I think any loyalist Legion would be fair game.

The World Eaters are a Legion of frothing berserkers who lead with their rage, rather than their brain.

They don't have rivals, everyone exists to be butchered and sacrificed to the Blood God. Even themselves.

It is worth mentioning though that Kharn seemed to have a particularly low opinion of the Space Wolves.

Kharn had a low opinion, but the Legion did not. As I said earlier, Ultramarines and Alpha Legion are the "Apoc only" allies listed by Forge World during the Heresy.

DA, Imp. Fists, Salamanders, and Raven Guard are listed as distrusted allies.

The Wolves are actually Fellow Warriors. So all the calls for SW are just incorrect.

In the current timeline (40k), all loyal chapters would be a valid chapter to use. If you want a rivalry that spans the ages Ultramarines are the answer. With Salamanders or Raven Guard being close second that would also be easy to paint.

Veteran Sergeant wrote:Oh wait. His fluff, at this point, has him coming to blows with Lionel, Angryon, Magnus, and The Emprah. One can only assume he went into the Eye of Terror because he still hadn't had a chance to punch enough Primarchs yet.

This is super, I'm sigging it

In terms of analogue chapters such as the imperial fists vs the iron warriors, I would say that'd answer is probably that they lack a true rival. They hate ultramarines, mock space wolves, hold grudges against blood angels....they pretty much just dislike everybody, as befits their lore.

If I had to choose from among the obvious choices though I would say space wolves for their similarity to the world eaters. Their rage, however harnessed, is still a defining characteristic. The ultramarines aRe obviously an analogue to the black legion, while the white scars and night lords are pretty much the same when you ignore the wonton murder of the night lords. The blood angels are the only chapter left that I struggle to place. The choices become pretty limited after awhile

Space wolves - world eaters
Black legion - ultramarines
Imperial fists - iron warriors
Iron hands - death guard?
Word bearers - ? Maybe Raven Guard?
Salamanders ?
White scars - night lords
Emperors children - ?
Thousand sons - ?
Alpha legion - ? We don't even really know if this chapter is traitor
Dark angels - ?

I'm not as up to date on BL stuff but it doesn't seem like every chapter has an obvious, overt rival.

Thousand Sons hate Space Wolves.

Why would the Black Legion and Ultramarines have some tremendous beef? The Ultramarines are based on the opposite side of the galaxy, and had no real interaction with the Black Legion in the Heresy (though probably drubbed them up quite a bit in the Scouring).

The Black Legion hates everybody. Especially their fellow traitors.

The Ultramarines, on the other hand, probably have a special place in their hearts for hating the Word Bearers.

I thank you all for your replies.

It appears that there is not a direct rival for the World Eaters, nor a particular chapter that has an greater hatred for the World Eaters.

I think that I will chose to represent the Salamanders. Their preference for close ranged combat, will force me to change my tactics from my standard Imperial Guard gun-line.

Thank you all again;

BakedBeans

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
Why would the Black Legion and Ultramarines have some tremendous beef? The Ultramarines are based on the opposite side of the galaxy, and had no real interaction with the Black Legion in the Heresy (though probably drubbed them up quite a bit in the Scouring).

The Black Legion hates everybody. Especially their fellow traitors.

The Ultramarines, on the other hand, probably have a special place in their hearts for hating the Word Bearers.

I was not intending to say that the black legion was a bitter rival with the ultraMarines, only that they are analogous and that they both are the prototype of their given faction

Given that the World-Eaters are a Khornate legion, and that Khorne views all blood shed in his name as equal, would it not make sense that they have absolutely *everyone* as their preferred enemy?

 Psienesis wrote:
Given that the World-Eaters are a Khornate legion, and that Khorne views all blood shed in his name as equal, would it not make sense that they have absolutely *everyone* as their preferred enemy?

mostly... there's no "rival" for the world eaters, because they're too awesome to have such thing... as you say, everyone is their victim, not rival