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In Know No Fear it's revealed that Guilliman always favours certain Primarchs and legions over others in a battle. The 4 primarchs he favours are; Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius, Ferrus Manus and Leman Russ. I was wondering why he would choose these legions and their fathers? The Blood Angels and Iron Hands weren't renowned for how many victories they tallied in the Great Crusade. Why would he pick them? The Emperors Children perfected war, why aren't they here? Then I spoke to my bro and he pointed something out to me: These 4 legions are all specialists and bring something unique to the fight that the Ultramarines might not be as good at.

Want to outnumber the foe and destroy them? You're an Ultramarine, you can handle it. However...

Want to deepstrike from the skies and smash into the enemy with the best shock troops the Imperium has to offer? Blood Angels are your Guardian Angel.
Want an advancing tank line that can wither the enemies firepower with infantry tough as balls that will never wilt or retreat? Iron Hands will give you a Hand.
Want to defend a Fort from a horde of Greenskins? Imperial Fists will do it. *insert imperial fist joke here*
Want to get absolutely smashed? Leman Russ will bring the beer! Jk, Space Wolves will just do whatever needs to be done, no questions asked.

Who would you pick for your dauntless few and why? If it was 100 years into the Great Crusade, no signs of heresy from anyone yet- who would you pick? i'd go with:


Sanguinius and the Blood Angels- Noble soldiers who are excellent shock troops with a capable tactician and an amazing warrior at their head.
Magnus the Red and the Thousand Sons- An army of psykers can't hurt right? Also, scholars who can show compliant worlds the light of the Imperium.
Corvus Corax and the Raven Guard- Stealth missions are a go, a force that it's pretty difficult to dislike.
Mortarian and the Death Guard- Chemical warfare for traitors to the Imperium. Tough infantry, amazing Terminators. Work simmilar to the Night Lords and World Eaters: their precense is to scare worlds back into compliance.

Alpharius (Omegon) and the Alpha Legion: recon, subterfuge and the enemy will never no their plan because no one does.
Magnus and the Thousand Sons: due to Imperial ruling, they may not practice magic or use psychic powers on the field of battle but that doesn't stop them from being the most intelligent/knowledgable legion, great for forming tactics or exploiting unknown weaknesses.
Angron and the World Eaters: these are your ground troups, a force who will keep hitting the enemy and back down for nothing.
Perturabo and the Iron Warriors: these are the guys who broke the defences of Terra and almost broke the Imperial Fists after Dorn lead the chapter in an assault on the Iron Warriors fortress (the Imperial Fists only survived due to Ultramarine intervention).

I would put Konrad Curze down for his terror tactics only, in this scenario, I would be Curze and these are my four. Tremble before us, MWAHAHAHAHA!

I think Guilliman just picked the brothers he thought were the most reliable. Had nothing to do with capability. One of the things that gets lost is that all Space Marines are good at being Space Marines. Especially the Ultramarines. You don't need Blood Angels to assault things, or Imperial Fists to build fortifications.

The reality is that Sanguinius, Ferrus, Dorn and Russ were loyal, and dependable. Potentially he saw value in their ways of thinking. And it wasn't like he said he didn't like any of the others. Only that if he could choose four, those would be them. Fulgrim was vain. Magnus was a thinker more than a war leader. Lorgar wasn't much of a general. Kurze and Angron were unreliable loose cannons. Horus was too competitive. Maybe Khan was too wild and Corax too enigmatic. Maybe Vulkan was too cautious, or too empathetic. The Lion was too proud, etc.


Though, to be fair, Ferrus turned out to be too impulsive and emotional and was prone to losing his head. I'd guess though, the four Abnett chose for the Few were to show that Guilliman was a good judge of character and analyst, since none of his Dauntless Few were among the Traitors. Ultimately, the loyal Primarchs tend to embody the Classical Virtues, whereas the Traitors embody the Eight Evil Thoughts/Seven Deadly Sins. And Guilliman, who was all about Duty, Gravitas and Courage, would have most closely identified with and gravitated to the primarchs most like him. Russ is a bit of a wild card, but Abnett likes the Spess Wolves.

'Dauntless' was just Guilliman's way of calling them the 'Heroic type' idiots who crash headlong into the most dangerous parts of battle and absorb the greater punishment, all four of them could abide by a strategy but all four of them could be played like musical instruments to take the most dangerous part of the mission.

Brothers like Angron would rampage and not give a damn about nonsense like 'Strategy'.
Brothers like Alpharius would question Guilliman's sanity.
Brothers like Horus would order Guilliman to do it himself.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:

Though, to be fair, Ferrus turned out to be too impulsive and emotional and was prone to losing his head.

I thought that about Russ as well. But there is the fact that he would be very loyal, and he would do what needed to be done without the debate the others may have had. Given Guillimens tactical ability, even when compared to the other primarchs, he knew that the wolves brutal directness is sometimes needed and that the other primarchs would look for and alternative, even though Guillimen most likely would have considered and disregarded those options already.

I'm assuming that I'm supposed to be Guilleman and the Ultra's?
In which case:

Pert/IW's: Honestly if it wan't fr the whole decimation thing I would have expected the IW and Ultra's to get along, being large legions who valued planning, had analytic leaders who wanted to build empires, and having formerly close ties (If I recall correctly, Guilleman was friends with several of the IW's killed in the decimation).
Magnus/TS: Knowledge is always useful, even without powers. Honestly if, after Nikea, the Emperor had told Magnus to take his legion and go kill something it probably would have turned out better. If he'd sent them into battle alongside another legion that had used librarians, valued knowledge and preserved it within reason, and would welcome a legion with academic interests, I don't see the heresy going nearly as badly.
I honestly would probably keep Ferrus/IH and probably the blood angels.

If I wasn't Guilleman and was just picking 4 legions I'd want watching my back, I would pick some of the following: Iron Warriors, Dark Angels, Iron Hands, Thousand Sons, and Night Lords.

Rogal because of his determination and ultimate loyalty and faith in the Emperor and his brothers (and, by extension, their legions)
Sanguinius because he was widely considered to be Horus' equal, so everything that everyone loved in Horus they see in Sanguinius (Even Horus thinks so)
Leman Russ because he gets gak done and that's about it. Whether it be charging front lines or holding a point no matter the cost, the Wolves would be there (and also his legion makes interesting alcohol, which Gulliman approves of in a strange sort of way in Unremembered Empire)
Ferrus for his Iron resolve against opposition, though he was prone to fits of illogical emotion he was overall one of the more stable and dependable Primarchs and his legion was so again.

I think other loyal primarchs didn't make the cut because they offered what Gulliman thought the Ultramarines already had or what they didn't need/want:
Vulkan was too compassionate for his own good sometimes, and his legion's tactics didn't really supplement the Ultramarines.
Corax was enigmatic, and whenever he wasn't he seemed somewhat naive, though his legions deployed tactics that the Ultramarines could have used, they didn't.
Jaghatai because he was a Khan first, and a Primarch second. He put conquest before all else, and while others in the Dauntless few weren't exactly lap dogs (Ferrus and Russ) they could be trusted to follow orders to the letter, the Khan preferred to use his own methods.
The Lion because he played his cards way too close to his chest. The First was a secretive legion and because of this secrecy he couldn't be trusted to the Dauntless Few.
Alpharius and his legion couldn't be trusted either (Guilliman also saw them as cowards)
Purturabo was a bitter, petulant tyrant. While his legion got the job done, they weren't the nicest bunch.
Angron was a hot-headed tactician and a berserker.
Fulgrim was vain and full of himself. While he and his legion were exemplary fighters their character wasn't something Guilliman appreciated.
Curze was completely mental. As was his legion.
Lorgar was a religious nutcase and overall just not very good at the whole 'war' thing.
Horus was too eager, and would bite off more than he could chew to prove himself.
Mortarion was grim and uncaring. He wasn't much one for concerning himself with the Imperium and Guilliman found that distasteful.
Magnus was a massive nerd. (Or maybe his extensive dabbling in the warp wasn't trustworthy either but I'm pretty sure it's just because he was a nerd)

My personal pick would be Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius, Leman Russ and Vulkan. Dorn and Sanguinius are my favourite Primarchs, Russ for the reason stated above, and Vulkan because I like Vulkan, he seems like a real solid guy.

The Dauntless Few were the Legions he felt meshed best with the Ultramarines in warfare, and the Primarchs that meshed best with Guilliman.

Leman Russ is pretty much the only questionable one in that list, to me... but then again, Leman Russ was more like a war hound than Angron was, and was loyal, dependable, and had his own kind of wisdom about him (between bouts of extreme hypocrisy).

Guilliman was also shown to care more for these Primarchs than the others - when the news of Isstvan reached him, and it was thought that Corax/Vulkan/Ferrus were all dead, the only one he was really upset about was Ferrus Manus. Perhaps it was because he had worked with Ferrus a lot in the past (designing the Sicarian, Ferrus did a lot of work on his armour, both were logical primarchs that tended to prefer practical before artistry), or perhaps it was because he was closer to Ferrus than we've really seen in the series.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
I think Guilliman just picked the brothers he thought were the most reliable. Had nothing to do with capability. ....

The reality is that Sanguinius, Ferrus, Dorn and Russ were loyal, and dependable. Potentially he saw value in their ways of thinking. And it wasn't like he said he didn't like any of the others. Only that if he could choose four, those would be them. Fulgrim was vain. Magnus was a thinker more than a war leader. Lorgar wasn't much of a general. Kurze and Angron were unreliable loose cannons. Horus was too competitive. Maybe Khan was too wild and Corax too enigmatic. Maybe Vulkan was too cautious, or too empathetic. The Lion was too proud, etc.
.

Thats what I originally said to my bro, he countered me because I think Gage says something like "There are brothers he favours in certain tactical situations" and they are the dauntless few. Then he pointed out why each force is unique. Blood Angels are amazing shock troops but can be controlled unlike World Eaters. Imperial Fists can build and destroy fortifications and wont be bitter. Iron Hands can perform an armoured assault like no one else, tough infantry too. Russ can obey any order.

Funny how they were all primarchs he thought he could bend to his way of thinking.
Sangys the guy everyone picks first to be on their team. And hes got the best hair. They arent so much the jump pack smashem up force yet, Thanks to Thorpe pinching their thing for the Emo cutter Raven guard.
Lorgar is just a slower Guilliman, but he wrote a book everyone liked better.
The Khan just wanted to ride man, orders, up yours. But if you screw with my friends, I'll feth you up. Malcador wont even stand up to him when his pissed..

Untill they eventually change things with the HH. My Dauntless few are the BA (tactical), Fists (heavy support) and Scars (fast attack).Guilliman is not even in it.

the differance between Lorgar and Gulliman is that Lorgar focused on MONUMENTS, whereas Gulliman focused on INFASTRUCTURE. (it also presumably was a matter of how the resoruces where devoted to it, I suspect the vast majority of the Ultramarines legion was fighting not building, whereas Lorgar likely stopped and had his men errect the monuments) it's a lot easier to justify taking time to build roads, and ensure good governance, serv ices are maintainced etc, then it is to justify "BUT WE BUILT AN AMAZING STATUE OF YOU DAD!"

Really bizarre considering in one of the books Guilliman says while he admired Russ "for what he was," he didn't really look up to him the way he did to Lion and Horus.

However he developed a really negative impression of Lion throughout the Imperium Secundis series. He sounded like he was atrocious at statecraft and a really crappy people person. It was obvious they couldn't stand each other.

Hid admiration for Sanguinius was pretty clear. Maybe he had a crush on dat flowing blonde hair.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
I think Guilliman just picked the brothers he thought were the most reliable. Had nothing to do with capability.

I think this has the best explanatory power. The one thing all four have in spades.

The guy who died for him, the Emperor's dog, the defender of Terra, and the dude who died on the tip of the spear at Istvaan.

When you look at the Primarchs that Guilleman picked, there is a sense of trust that he has for them. He can count of them to get the job and to work with them, while other Primarchs might not be the same. Although, Corax and Magnus could fit in that idea too, but Angron, Alpharius, and Konrad were people who had their own agenda, or make things worst for not only Guilleman, but for whatever Imperial forces are with them.

Night Lords, Alpha Legion, White Scars and Word Bearers. 4 different ways to get them compliances rolling with minimal casualties.

Rogal Dorn - Siege specialist, literally called the immovable object by Horus himself.

Sanguinius/Angron - Either the red angel, second to none were it not for his insecurities, or the butcher, first of his name, literally self explanatory.

Konrad Curze - Terror/stealth specialist, yes an absolutely glorious nutjob, and hardly dependable for long periods of time, but still grand tool to have in your arsenal.

Alpharius-Omegon - Misdirection and intelligence gathering, aswell as providing troops (wiki/lex says anyway) which can jack of all trades a situation should it be required.

I couldn't really say I'd be happy with just picking 4 in any situation though to tell you the truth, the emperor designed the primarchs and legions as literally an element each of a greater army, eventually meant to be combined as one force - as such, without most of the crucial pieces i still feel the whole thing would fall apart.

 Nova_Impero wrote:
When you look at the Primarchs that Guilleman picked, there is a sense of trust that he has for them. He can count of them to get the job and to work with them, while other Primarchs might not be the same. Although, Corax and Magnus could fit in that idea too, but Angron, Alpharius, and Konrad were people who had their own agenda, or make things worst for not only Guilleman, but for whatever Imperial forces are with them.

I tend to agree. these are people who he could work with, people whom he could trust.