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So long story short, I had never heard of Ragnar till GW announced his model. Apparently he's some well known space wolf character, I thought he was a brand new Primaris character like the dark angels guy. I made an offhand comment of why didn't they pick a more well known character like Yarrick to fight Ghaz and, well, it started a pretty interesting discussion.

So I decided to make a poll to see if I've just been living under a rock or if this was common. For fairness sake, please don't vote if you play Imperial Guard or Space Wolves, it's pretty obvious which you'd be more familiar with there. When I say are you familiar, I mean which character would you feel more comfortable answering questions about at the drop of a hat with no way to look up things online, stuff like

1. Famous battle they were in

2. A signature weapon

3. A mighty deed they've done

4. A well known enemy

Or really just any interesting tidbits. This is purely a "who is more well known" poll. So even if you've heard of both, vote for the one you feel you are more familiar with off the top of your head.

There's no "both" option.

No pole is needed. You have been living under a rock! All joking aside though I think Ragnar has more books about him than any other 40k character possibly.

I don't play either Imperial Guard or Space Wolves and I'm familiar with both (but I've been playing forever).

I didn’t vote since there’s no option for both.

As far as I’m concerned they’re both equally well-known. I don’t play guard or space wolves, but I did start playing in 2nd ed. I’d put Ragnar and Yarrick as the most well known characters in their respective factions.

Having played both space wolves and guard I'd say Ragnar. Ragnar's book series started with one of the very first black library novels. He was one of the first named characters to get a model at the tail end of RT. Space Wolves actually got the first ever codex which came out just before 2nd edition. In fact Logan Grimnar didn't get a model until much later.

This is a really weird question as they both are incredibly well known and I would have assumed that most 40K players are familiar with both.

 Crimson wrote:
This is a really weird question as they both are incredibly well known and I would have assumed that most 40K players are familiar with both.

I agree. I think there's some sort of "how dare Ghaz fight and maybe even be beat by this no name space marine! he's stealing Yarrick's thunder" sentiment. but ragnar is a insanely well known character, and frankly I see nothing wrong with Ragnar and Ghaz kicking each others asses. Just like I saw nothing wrong with dark angels fighting the 1k sons instead of the space wolves. GW'd get boring if we only ever got the same rival match ups again and again,

The problem isn't who is more well known, the problem is WHEN they were well known. Ragnar has had a full book series that was a common intro-level black library series. But that was back in 3rd or 4th?

Meanwhile, Yarrick has been a staple of Guard and Ork codex fluff, and I think main rulebook too, but I'm not aware of him featuring in a black library book? (Armageddon Wars could really use a series if they haven't gotten them already.)

So, if you started playing in 5th ed or later and don't read black library, you'd not know that Ragnar was any more famous than any of the other variety of Space Wolves characters added in the 5th ed Space Wolves Codex that don't have books about them. Whereas you would be likely to have heard of Yarrick due to his mentions in codices/rulebooks, and if memory serves, higher likelyhood to appear on the tabletop.

Why do people keep saying both? Both are more well known? That doesn't make sense.

Also I voted Yarrick because space marines hold no interest to me. Wolf Marines even less so.

Played since 2nd. Much more familiar with Yarrick than Blackmane.

I was aware of both of them and their exploits more than some Primarchs (looking at you Ferrus Manus). It does kinda surprise me that a person could be on Dakka Dakka for a few years, an active player who at least glances at the lore and isn't aware of either of them.

Of the two, I know Blackmane a little more as I encounter more Space Wolves players than I do Ork players.

 Crimson wrote:
This is a really weird question as they both are incredibly well known and I would have assumed that most 40K players are familiar with both.

You seen the Psychic Awakening thread? There are a few there whose egos are so bruised by the thought of Ghaz getting hurt that they're trying to act as if Ragnar is a nobody who's never done anything of note and has never had the spotlight on him.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
You seen the Psychic Awakening thread?

Yes, unfortunately I have...

 Sim-Life wrote:
Why do people keep saying both? Both are more well known? That doesn't make sense. .

People are saying both because asking which is better known is a bit like asking which of your feet you are more aware of. I know I have two feet, I've known about both of them for about the same length of time, and I know more or less the same about them both. It would be impossible for me to choose one or the other.

 Drudge Dreadnought wrote:
Meanwhile, Yarrick has been a staple of Guard and Ork codex fluff, and I think main rulebook too, but I'm not aware of him featuring in a black library book? (Armageddon Wars could really use a series if they haven't gotten them already.)

He's got loads of stuff - Yarrick: The Omnibus.

 insaniak wrote:

 Sim-Life wrote:
Why do people keep saying both? Both are more well known? That doesn't make sense. .

People are saying both because asking which is better known is a bit like asking which of your feet you are more aware of. I know I have two feet, I've known about both of them for about the same length of time, and I know more or less the same about them both. It would be impossible for me to choose one or the other.

You don't need a "both" option though?

If you know about them equally then surely the act of not voting is the same as expressing this opinion?

The OP wants to know who you're more familiar with. If the answer is both, perfectly equally, then don't vote.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Crimson wrote:
This is a really weird question as they both are incredibly well known and I would have assumed that most 40K players are familiar with both.

You seen the Psychic Awakening thread? There are a few there whose egos are so bruised by the thought of Ghaz getting hurt that they're trying to act as if Ragnar is a nobody who's never done anything of note and has never had the spotlight on him.

This is a complete and utter lie.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

BrianDavion wrote:
I agree. I think there's some sort of "how dare Ghaz fight and maybe even be beat by this no name space marine! he's stealing Yarrick's thunder" sentiment.

This is also untrue.

I'm in the same boat, I'd never heard of Ragnar Blackmane before this release whilst Yarrick is obviously super famous.

I don't think Ghaz and Yarrick always have to be together though, even power couples like them need some time apart.

I didn't know who ragnar is either. I'm sure I've heard his name before, but to me he'd just be one of many not-chapter master heroes for one of the many types of space marine. I don't mean to be snide, I don't expect non-eldar players to know who nuadhu fireheart is either for example. It doesn't help that I don't read space marine novels of course.

Yarrick on the other hand I've known about for editions.

 An Actual Englishman wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

 Sim-Life wrote:
Why do people keep saying both? Both are more well known? That doesn't make sense. .

People are saying both because asking which is better known is a bit like asking which of your feet you are more aware of. I know I have two feet, I've known about both of them for about the same length of time, and I know more or less the same about them both. It would be impossible for me to choose one or the other.

You don't need a "both" option though?

If you know about them equally then surely the act of not voting is the same as expressing this opinion?

The OP wants to know who you're more familiar with. If the answer is both, perfectly equally, then don't vote.

yeah because THAT wouldn't skew the survay at all, nope not at ALL.

The fact is Ragnar is a pretty well known character, and unless you hate space Marines you've proably read the books featuring him. and Yarrick is a well known character (although he's less well noted in the novels as he doesn't apper in any of the "first stop for faction X" books out there)

just judging from the responses here the over whelming response seems to be everyone knows about him.. unless they're part of the "anti-marine crowd" in which case yeah why would they know about him?

I voted Yarrick because though I know that both characters exist, I couldn't have answered any of the OP's questions about Ragnar before reading all the comments from the pa thread earlier today, while I've been able to answer all four questions about Yarrick for years.

This is probably due to the fact that, though I play neither faction, I've read far more lore and novels about the guard than loyalist marines, and none about Space Wolves. I just prefer underdogs to alpha wolves I guess, and with the sheer number of books bl produces it's pretty easy to read about what you like and avoid what you don't.

 An Actual Englishman wrote:
This is a complete and utter lie.

You're the chief culprit here mate. You're the one acting as if Ragnar is just some captain. And you're clearly the one with the bruised ego, who has filled every PA thread with endless whining about the Orks not getting enough stuff, and then when Ghaz was shown off, complaining about the fluff with him being "killed".

 Insectum7 wrote:
Played since 2nd. Much more familiar with Yarrick than Blackmane.

Pretty much the same. I was enamored with that sassy claw of his.

I'm super happy they didn't pick Yarrick this time. It has been done and done and this won't weaken the Yarrick / Gazghull relationship.
It's like we used to have the Ultramarines vs Behemoth and now we have the Blood Angels vs Leviathan.
But both are still true.

I'm honestly surprised by the amount of responses saying they've never heard of Ragnar before. I don't play space wolves or play anyone that does, but I at least know of him. Are people just not curious about other factions models and characters? I know I tend to check out other factions models just out of curiosity.

To be honest, probably Yarrick.

Don't get me wrong, I know about both pretty well after playing the game for 20+ years. But if it weren't for one of my friends playing Space Wolves, I probably wouldn't have known much about Ragnar, other than him being a Wolf Lord and one of the oldest special character models recently available.

But Yarrick definitely has a more interesting story to me, so I've retained more information about him. A regular bloke (as regular as a Commissar gets, at least) who beat up a bunch of Orks with one arm cut off, who then grafted an Ork power claw to the stump, and then gave himself a laser eye just to fuel Ork superstitions? That's pretty badass. The whole Vietnam-esque Armageddon Wars were so evocative to me as a teenager as well.

So, I know Yarrick "better" because he's more memorable to me, especially in the context of Ghaz.

 fraser1191 wrote:
I'm honestly surprised by the amount of responses saying they've never heard of Ragnar before. I don't play space wolves or play anyone that does, but I at least know of him. Are people just not curious about other factions models and characters? I know I tend to check out other factions models just out of curiosity.

for some people they seem to hate marines and try to pretend they don't exist as much as possiable. I don't get it but I don't get the anti-jedi SW bandwagon eaither

I haven't read a single space wolves novel, I don't know exactly what he did, but I was aware of him, his name, and that he was famous and exceptional SW captain.
So not as much as Yarrick (probably one of the most famous characters) but I knew who he was, just not in details.

Yeah, as both a SW & Guard player, I'm just going to ignore the OPs request that I not vote....

I'm equally familiar with both.

I voted Ragnar however as I've been familiar with Ragnar longer (so I guess that counts as "more"?):
A) I've been playing SW when they were a RT era White Dwarf list,
B) the SW have the honor of being the 1st Codex ever printed (in 2nd ed),
C) Ragnar (or at least his stats) has led my SW army since day 1. Always. Every time. The actual model I use is Leman Russ himself (the RT era mini - because Ragnars listed gear 100% (and what he's sculpted with) matches what LR is sculpted with. Including the wolves.
And as long as 1) Russ himself is still on walkabout, 2) non-primaris power armor Ragnar is an option, that's how it'll stay. Should the sad day arrive when only primaris-ragnar exists & Russ is still MIA? Then my LR mini gets a downgrade ruleswise. :(

I came to the Guard about 6 months after their 2e codex arrived. And while I've certainly used Yarrick plenty over the years, he's nowhere near being used in every IG list I make.

 An Actual Englishman wrote:

You don't need a "both" option though?

If you know about them equally then surely the act of not voting is the same as expressing this opinion?

The OP wants to know who you're more familiar with. If the answer is both, perfectly equally, then don't vote.

Refraining from voting is not proffering an opinion, it's simply not participating in the poll. Limiting the poll to responses from people who are only familiar with one or the other is a bizarre choice, given that both characters are established enough that most people (or at least most who have been in the game for any length of time) will be familiar with both.