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See I'm building a Space Marine army in the background (I'm primarily a Death Guard player) so what better chapter to pick than one that barely anyone knows who isn't vaguely deep into the lore of the universe!
I'm building a Minotaurs army, which sadly don't have any books to them (Unless I looked poorly)
They have three miniatures, shoulder pads, and doors! Which is better than some chapters

The reason I like them is because they have such weirdly intense and brutal lore? with Hecaton Aiakos having thirty something confirmed friendly kills because he was so caked in gore that they thought he was an enemy and shot on him by mistake.
That's kind of cool, and Asterion Moloc is just awesome in game and out of game.

Then you have chapters like the Raptors, which have rules for their Chapter master and nothing else (To my knowledge) they do have a bit of writing behind them, but no minies, you actually have to make your own Lias Issodon.

So my question to you guys and gals is.
What kinds obscure to semi-obscure chapters do you think need more love, lore, and attention?

Do renegade chapters count?

I really like The Scourged. Forced to murder innocents by the Inquisition, their chapter master prayed to know when a man was lying... and Tzeentch answered, giving his chapter the power to hear every lie spoken by mankind.

They don't seem to exist outside of a small blurb in the 6th edition codex, despite how cool they are.

 Arachnofiend wrote:
Do renegade chapters count?

I really like The Scourged. Forced to murder innocents by the Inquisition, their chapter master prayed to know when a man was lying... and Tzeentch answered, giving his chapter the power to hear every lie spoken by mankind.

They don't seem to exist outside of a small blurb in the 6th edition codex, despite how cool they are.

I'd say they count!
And I looked them up, they have an interesting look to them!

I think I'll add to the count of odd renegade chapters

The Brazen Beasts!

Whom were originally the Golden Blades, that when they were being attacked by a gak load of Khorne daemons, they had the brilliant idea of "Hey? Why not seal them in our old tanks so they can't come back?" They started using the newly made Daemon engines, and now use mostly daemon engines in combat as a spearhead leading khorne berserkers in

SHADOW WOLVES!!! I have about 1-2k points of them.

https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Extinct_chapters#Shadow_Wolves

The Storm Lords and the Sons of Medusa are cool.

Not obscure obviously, but we need a proper chapter like the Flesh Eaters taking centre stage instead of goodie two shoes like the Ultramarines and Salamanders

I'm building a Minotaurs army too! High Five!

Other cool chapters:
Exorcists
Aurora Chapter
Celestial Lions

Rainbow Warriors?

For you RT types.

I love the idea of Minotaurs and planned to make a force, but have put them on the back burner while I save up for some Alpha Legion. I'd also like to see more of the Celestial Lions. And definitely want to see more Consecrators. They're very shadowy and what we do know is really interesting so I'd love to see them crop up more.

Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

Easy answer; Mentor Legion.



Oddly they shouldn't really be played as an army. They're the original secretive bad-ass Chapter of space marines. They have a base that no one knows the whereabouts of, and they are the Imperium's students of war. They operate more or less as Delta Force style elements, small cadres or training teams who assist other armies - even Space Marine chapters in difficult situations. They also specialise in using new and untested wargear. They carry special ammunition in their boltguns, and have unique wargear like the targeting web (they can fire their bolters in unison at a single target - adding +1 Strength to the attack for each bolter that hits, etc.).

Their Cadre squads were extremely experienced veterans, etc. The Chapter Master is cool and has the official go/no-go for new weaponry and tech carried by Astartes. Overall, a super cool Space Marine chapter which actually has a unique identity and way of war. In fact, I'm tempted to write up some datasheets for them!

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

Then everyone will tell you that you don't deserve an army.

I'd want to see Exorcists. Daemon possessed Marines.

pm713 wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

Then everyone will tell you that you don't deserve an army.

I'd want to see Exorcists. Daemon possessed Marines.

Well, daemon possessed and then cleansed, to be sure, so that they're far more resistant to normal possession.

If you wanted actual possessed Marines, there's a neat unit called Possessed.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:

pm713 wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

Then everyone will tell you that you don't deserve an army.

I'd want to see Exorcists. Daemon possessed Marines.

Well, daemon possessed and then cleansed, to be sure, so that they're far more resistant to normal possession.

If you wanted actual possessed Marines, there's a neat unit called Possessed.

That's part of gross Chaos Marines. I'd rather the loyalist version.

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

Amen to that! Definitely feeling that pain after just starting iron hands

In terms of others?
Sons of Medusa and Star phantoms

 Arachnofiend wrote:
Do renegade chapters count?

I really like The Scourged. Forced to murder innocents by the Inquisition, their chapter master prayed to know when a man was lying... and Tzeentch answered, giving his chapter the power to hear every lie spoken by mankind.

They don't seem to exist outside of a small blurb in the 6th edition codex, despite how cool they are.

I, too, am a big fan... 5k points of them at home. I always thought there was such potential there, having a Tzeench warband that isn't 1k Sons for once, but, alas... Nothing more than a blurb, a paint scheme, and a single painted miniature in the codex.

pm713 wrote:

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

Then everyone will tell you that you don't deserve an army.

I'd want to see Exorcists. Daemon possessed Marines.

Not truly possessed. The process of exorcising daemons from a host makes them more resilient to future daemon attacks. The process is also used by the Illuminati, but their canon status is questionable. Space Wolves refer to this as being a Wyrd-Wraith.

 BaconCatBug wrote:
Iron Hands. They're a First Founding, non-Codex Compliant Chapter. If anyone deserves their own codex it's them, not Imperial Knights or Deathwatch.

over knights...perhaps? Over Deathwatch....err, no. Deathwatch 10x more interesting than Iron Hands.

Oh this is an easy one...

1. Mentors
2. Black Dragons
3. Blood Ravens

 corpuschain wrote:
I'm building a Minotaurs army too! High Five!

Other cool chapters:
Exorcists
Aurora Chapter
Celestial Lions

Nice!
I'm just waiting on Asterion Moloc to be restocked so I can unveil this damn army in actual play.

Honestly - obscure chapters just need to shut up and conform to the Codex Astartes. Too many special snow flake marine armies. Plus they all suck too.

 Xenomancers wrote:
Honestly - obscure chapters just need to shut up and conform to the Codex Astartes. Too many special snow flake marine armies. Plus they all suck too.

Maybe.

Though Blood Ravens should probably get a thing. as its one of those gate way armies from da videogames (though its a pretty old series by now.)

 Desubot wrote:

 Xenomancers wrote:
Honestly - obscure chapters just need to shut up and conform to the Codex Astartes. Too many special snow flake marine armies. Plus they all suck too.

Maybe.

Though Blood Ravens should probably get a thing. as its one of those gate way armies from da videogames (though its a pretty old series by now.)

I could get on board with this because the bloodravens probably brought more people into the game of 40k than any other chapter. However - they look like a codex compliant chapter to me - they don't have a lot of history. Just pick what suits your style from the marine codex.

 Xenomancers wrote:

 Desubot wrote:

 Xenomancers wrote:
Honestly - obscure chapters just need to shut up and conform to the Codex Astartes. Too many special snow flake marine armies. Plus they all suck too.

Maybe.

Though Blood Ravens should probably get a thing. as its one of those gate way armies from da videogames (though its a pretty old series by now.)

I could get on board with this because the bloodravens probably brought more people into the game of 40k than any other chapter. However - they look like a codex compliant chapter to me - they don't have a lot of history. Just pick what suits your style from the marine codex.

Not a lot of history but they have a unique mechanic from the game of going paragon or renegade.

It would be a very cool force if it was sort of like the fallen. or some sort of thieving magpie ability to take other peoples relics

 Desubot wrote:

 Xenomancers wrote:
Honestly - obscure chapters just need to shut up and conform to the Codex Astartes. Too many special snow flake marine armies. Plus they all suck too.

Maybe.

Though Blood Ravens should probably get a thing. as its one of those gate way armies from da videogames (though its a pretty old series by now.)

Do they? DOW1 and 2 were a while ago and the nicest thing I've seen said about 3 is that it was bad.

Answer is always SPACE SHARKS.

Or Carcaradons, if you want to use their less rad name.

Space Marines/Imperials are already overdone. We need no more.

pm713 wrote:

 Desubot wrote:

 Xenomancers wrote:
Honestly - obscure chapters just need to shut up and conform to the Codex Astartes. Too many special snow flake marine armies. Plus they all suck too.

Maybe.

Though Blood Ravens should probably get a thing. as its one of those gate way armies from da videogames (though its a pretty old series by now.)

Do they? DOW1 and 2 were a while ago and the nicest thing I've seen said about 3 is that it was bad.

Well i enjoyed 3

dow1-2 for me was more about the sisters so i didnt pay attention

I'm a fan of:

Celestial Lions
White Consuls (two chapter masters is hilarious)
Minotaurs
Mantis Warriors
Scythes of the Emperor

I had decided to paint my Loyalist SM a red color, that wasn't Blood Angels to swap Chapter Tactics around without feeling like a tool.

These are the red Marines that aren't Blood Angels that piqued my interest.

Red Talons- too brutal for the Iron Hands.
Red Templars- Search and Destroy IF chapter
Rampagers- White Scars with ritual scars so extreme, they caused a Fear test in the Deatwatch RPG.
Genesis Chapter- The very first Successor Chapter.
Imperial Talons- Red Raven Guard. Not much is known.

I'd have to throw in my vote for the Flame Falcons, I loved those guys. One of the chapters from the cursed 13th founding, they all seemed a-okay until one battle the first company all spontaneously burst into flame - though the flames didn't hurt them, and instead enhanced their strength and prowess. While the Flame Falcons declared it a miracle from the Emperor, some gung-ho Inquisitor decided it was heresy and mutation, and had almost the entire chapter wiped out. Rumours persist that a handful survived, but pretty much the entire chapter was wiped out after that badass pyrokinetic display of power :(