Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Aside from having a primarch, they are not even close to the most played, or most beloved of the Astartes by the player base. But they get two back to back Editions as the primary Faction. I get they are just a blank slate, but I'd like to know why they chose Ultramarines Vs Leviathan, over Blood Angels vs Leviathan, or even Space Wolves? Ultras just seem an odd choice as the primary faction.

Could it be a tie in with Space Marine 2?

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
they are not even close to the most played, or most beloved of the Astartes by the player base.

'Source: trust me dude'

Uhh yeah people were sick of it and making threads about being suck of it almost 20 years ago.

But, sales are king. UM are popular so they're going to always be a posterboy.

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
but I'd like to know why they chose Ultramarines Vs Leviathan, over Blood Angels vs Leviathan, or even Space Wolves? Ultras just seem an odd choice as the primary faction.

Gosh, I wonder if it could be because the Ultramarines are the ones who had the big climactic battle with the first Hive Fleet, because their chapter master is the Marine with the most personal vendetta and history with the Swarmlord, or that their Chief Librarian is the one who has the most intimate (not in a sexy way) connection with the Tyranid Hive Mind?

Also, Ultramarines do indeed sell. And it's not hard to see why, considering their Primarch is the only loyalist Primarch that isn't a dull nothingburger of a character and don't have stupid juvenile or edgy teenage boy traits like being a brooding jackass, being a wolfman riding another wolfman, or having a "genetic flaw" that makes them thirst for blood like roided up vampires.

We'll never know if another faction would sell better, because you'll never see them. I really think as a faction, to the new 40k hobbyist, Ultras are an easier faction to both play and approach. Obviously SW and BT are out. WS and GK are both cool in their own way but hard to get into. I could see IF taking the posterboy spot if their Chaptermaster wasn't the ugliest model ever. Even Duncan can't fix him. That leaves IH, which don't really scream "Humanity's savior". I don't think we'll ever see GW put the Salamanders up in front.....for very obvious reasons.

Ultramarines are the posterchild because people like blue.

Ultramarines are the posterchild because Ultramarines have been the posterchild.

Ultramarines are the posterchild because they are Ultramarines, duh.

Also, before Roboute returned, Marneus Calgar was a spiritual liege because he lead the Ultramarines.

Next up in the news, people complaining that Superman & Batman are the posterchildren for DC Comics and Spiderman is the posterchild for Marvel.

Oh sure. It would have been so much better to have re-hashed Blood Angels Vs Levitation again.

Ultramarines are blue, simple, follow the rules, and are generally heroic.

This is no accident. GW designed them from the beginning to be poster-children, and despite OP's claims, they are actually very commonly played. Many new players enter the hobby and the first thing they do is try to paint their new space marines blue, just like they are on the box.

Some people dive into the lore and love the Ultramarines for the parallels with the roman army, the clean blue aesthetic, or the fact that they know the Ultramarines are always going to be first on GW's priority list to get updated.

Am I sick of it? Hell yes. But whinging about it aint gunna change anything.

But hey, let's beat the dead horse some more.

Haha, had that discussion in my group yesterday. I think that Primaris overall are presented in that ugly smurf blue is one of the reasons I hardly like any of these models. They feel totally out of place in the grimdark 40K setting and as Main representatives of a fascist empire. And again, they're simply ugly, at least in the clean, official scheme, it gets better with heavy weathering or darker patterns.

It's consistent branding. Blue also stands out.

Why not blood angels is incredibly simple. Red is a pain to paint especially if you're relatively new. Blue is one of the easiest colours there is. Blue also stands out and the yellow/gold on the rims is something that stands out and also is easy to paint.

Many other chapters also have more complicated colours. Of course, the Dark Angels are relatively easy as well but they come with more complicated baggage than the Ultras and traditionally were a 'different' chapter. And, of course, Ultramarines are everywhere which also makes it easier to keep them front and centre.

It's a good job it's not Ultramarine Primaris with assault cannons or the OP would really lose his mind

 Dolnikan wrote:
Why not blood angels is incredibly simple.

Because Blood Angels have a bunch of unique units. Ultramarines do not.

I like seeing ultramarine’s on the table more than all the others.

Also could you imagine players first mini collection yellow. May as well offer a kicking services.

Only other chapter I think would be cool to see won’t be happening so Ultra is the way!

It’s almost like they’re the Chapter that Invented the Codex.

I'm less sick of ultras in marketing than I am people acting like it's going to change or making posts complaining.

I'm ok with the Ultramarines being posterchildren, they are pretty much THE Posterchildren Faction so I'm not moved by them doing what they are supposed to do.

But what I'm NOT ok with is angsty voiceovers where the narrator tells me that this trailer is Grim(tm) and Dark(tm) because the storyboard team was clearly struggling to get the point across with the action.

 AtoMaki wrote:
I'm ok with the Ultramarines being posterchildren, they are pretty much THE Posterchildren Faction so I'm not moved by them doing what they are supposed to do.

But what I'm NOT ok with is angsty voiceovers where the narrator tells me that this trailer is Grim(tm) and Dark(tm) because the storyboard team was clearly struggling to get the point across with the action.

That voiceover is apparently tailored to provoke insane takes from the internet though:

But even more surprising is the trailer's voiceover. Spoken by the Imperium's de-facto leader Roboute Gulliman, it's a hopeless commentary on the hollowness of the Imperium's victories against their enemies, and the deception it uses to keep its own people in line. It's a far cry from the usual straightforward battle rhetoric that accompanies Games Workshop's marketing—perhaps indicating a changing approach to the setting in light of the pretty persistent problem of the game attracting fascists who idolise its grimdark heroes without irony.

Though Games Workshop has made its opinion of such people and its stance that "there are no goodies" in the setting (opens in new tab) clear in recent years, it hasn't done a particularly good job of reflecting that in its stories and marketing materials. Increasingly the game has drifted from its satirical roots, and frequently landed at the awkward stance that while the Imperium's fascism is bad, it's a necessary and even noble cost for ensuring humanity's survival. Sort of the 'at least under Mussolini the trains ran on time' of dystopian sci-fi writing, and exactly the kind of fallacy that real Nazis flock to.

In the trailer, Gulliman is stating quite the opposite—that the lies the Imperium tells its people are in pursuit of meaningless victories that prop up rotten institutions. It makes perfect sense for the character—Roboute was alive back when the Emperor was still around and striving for a totally different kind of society, and awakened into this twisted future with some pretty big concerns about how it's all been going since then—but it's still striking to hear front and centre in the reveal marketing for a new edition of the game. Personally I hope it's a sign of a new era for the setting.

https://www.pcgamer.com/warhammer-40000s-new-edition-looks-accessible-nostalgic-and-perhaps-a-bit-less-appealing-to-nazis/

Yeah, i... i just don't know.

No. I like them, their Primarch, their colors etc.

Tsagualsa wrote:

 AtoMaki wrote:
I'm ok with the Ultramarines being posterchildren, they are pretty much THE Posterchildren Faction so I'm not moved by them doing what they are supposed to do.
But what I'm NOT ok with is angsty voiceovers where the narrator tells me that this trailer is Grim(tm) and Dark(tm) because the storyboard team was clearly struggling to get the point across with the action.

That voiceover is apparently tailored to provoke insane takes from the internet though

I'm not surprised .

 AtoMaki wrote:

Tsagualsa wrote:

 AtoMaki wrote:
I'm ok with the Ultramarines being posterchildren, they are pretty much THE Posterchildren Faction so I'm not moved by them doing what they are supposed to do.
But what I'm NOT ok with is angsty voiceovers where the narrator tells me that this trailer is Grim(tm) and Dark(tm) because the storyboard team was clearly struggling to get the point across with the action.

That voiceover is apparently tailored to provoke insane takes from the internet though

I'm not surprised .

I'm convinced that 40k has not lost its satirical roots so much as reality has moved so far in the direction of satire that 40k's satire just does not register anymore Poe's Law writ large, really.

 alextroy wrote:
Ultramarines are the posterchild because people like blue.

Can confirm that I like the colour blue, and play ultramarines!

Ultramarines being posterboys has nothing to do with their lore or how easy or difficult it is to paint them. The sole reason are the roots of 40K, which started as a satire, which was reflected not only in the lore, but also in naming convention. This is how we got Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau, Mag Uruk Thrakka or Sly Marbo. And Marines that were so marine, that one could even call them Ultra Marines and to stress their flawless nature they paint themselves using ultramarine pigment. TLDR, they will forever be posterboys because of a single bad pun.

nou wrote:
Ultramarines being posterboys has nothing to do with their lore or how easy or difficult it is to paint them. The sole reason are the roots of 40K, which started as a satire, which was reflected not only in the lore, but also in naming convention. This is how we got Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau, Mag Uruk Thrakka or Sly Marbo. And Marines that were so marine, that one could even call them Ultra Marines and to stress their flawless nature they paint themselves using ultramarine pigment. TLDR, they will forever be posterboys because of a single bad pun.

That sounds good, but doesn’t really match up with the origins of 40K. The cover art in Rogue Trader were Crimson Fists, the 2nd Ed box art was Blood Angels, and 3rd Edition launched with Black Templars. Ultramarines weren’t on the starter set until 4th edition.

Aash wrote:

nou wrote:
Ultramarines being posterboys has nothing to do with their lore or how easy or difficult it is to paint them. The sole reason are the roots of 40K, which started as a satire, which was reflected not only in the lore, but also in naming convention. This is how we got Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau, Mag Uruk Thrakka or Sly Marbo. And Marines that were so marine, that one could even call them Ultra Marines and to stress their flawless nature they paint themselves using ultramarine pigment. TLDR, they will forever be posterboys because of a single bad pun.

That sounds good, but doesn’t really match up with the origins of 40K. The cover art in Rogue Trader were Crimson Fists, the 2nd Ed box art was Blood Angels, and 3rd Edition launched with Black Templars. Ultramarines weren’t on the starter set until 4th edition.

And yet GWs been making heavy use of UM imagery since RT.....

I'm ok with it. I don't follow the codex.

Aash wrote:

nou wrote:
Ultramarines being posterboys has nothing to do with their lore or how easy or difficult it is to paint them. The sole reason are the roots of 40K, which started as a satire, which was reflected not only in the lore, but also in naming convention. This is how we got Obiwan Sherlock Clousseau, Mag Uruk Thrakka or Sly Marbo. And Marines that were so marine, that one could even call them Ultra Marines and to stress their flawless nature they paint themselves using ultramarine pigment. TLDR, they will forever be posterboys because of a single bad pun.

That sounds good, but doesn’t really match up with the origins of 40K. The cover art in Rogue Trader were Crimson Fists, the 2nd Ed box art was Blood Angels, and 3rd Edition launched with Black Templars. Ultramarines weren’t on the starter set until 4th edition.

That's true. But Ultramarines were the "Standard Marine Template" since at least their 2nd ed codex.

Compared to the miles thick plot armour of the Space Wolves and other chapters - no not really

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
...they are not even close to the most played, or most beloved of the Astartes by the player base.

Well dang, I was walking around Adepticon yesterday... 40k Friendly: plenty of Ultramarines, and tons of units bearing their iconography that aren't technically "Ultramarines". Not quite as well represented in the Horus Heresy room... but I've played (and metaled) there in past years, and the Ultramarines do pretty good representation-wise. Team Events: Ultramarines may not have dominated, but they were still easily found. Competitive events, I didn't go see those... but looking over LVO from 2020-2022, even there the Ultramarines were as represented as any faction under the Astartes umbrella.

And this was all looking at more top-tier gamers in the hobby. As someone who runs their own 10-20 player club (depending on the season... lots of students in it), and frequents two FLGSs that do 40k... hobby people use lore chapters more and meta chapters less. For whatever reason Imperial Fists (if you add in their successors) seem to be the most represented of codex chapters... after that it's UM. Blood Angels don't show up too often, and space wolves have fallen off... but in order I'd say IF, UM, DA are the big Astartes around here.

I make it a point to visits FLGS when I travel (and I travel for work and pleasure frequently)... 4 things I'm most likely to see if armies are on display... UM, Death Guard, Sisters, Eldar... after that, BT, Guard, and Tau get honorable mentions

And it's not like I'm some UM fanboy (despite my avatar)... I have 1st and 2nd companies of UM +2nd company done Primaris, but also first 3 companies of DA, 1 company of IF, 1 company of BT, 2 Companies of HH RG, 1 Company of HH IF, and a couple lists worth of 1KSons, Eldar, CSM, Tau, almost 3 companies of Guard, and at least a solid list worth of Sisters, DW, GK, Orks, Necrons, etc.

UM are the posterboys, because when you travel the 40k world... that's how both GW and the players want it.

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:
Aside from having a primarch, they are not even close to the most played, or most beloved of the Astartes by the player base. But they get two back to back Editions as the primary Faction. I get they are just a blank slate, but I'd like to know why they chose Ultramarines Vs Leviathan, over Blood Angels vs Leviathan, or even Space Wolves? Ultras just seem an odd choice as the primary faction.

Could it be a tie in with Space Marine 2?

Who else should be the face of 40K? Rainbow Warriors?