Ultramarines: They really are the greatest of them all

Let’s start out with some fluff:

The Ultramarines were the 13th of the original 20 Space Marine Legions. Their Primarch was Roboute Guilliman, whose leadership (not to mention the Codex Astartes) were instrumental in humanity’s survival following the Horus Heresy. The Ultramarines are possibly the most important Imperial organization on the Eastern Fringe. The Ultramarines are unique in that, unlike their fellow chapters, they control nine star systems, rather than a single planet. Collectively, these systems are known as Ultramar, with Macragge as its capital.

After the Horus Heresy, Roboute Guilliman set himself to create the Codex Astartes, which would define the tactics and organization of all Space Marines, from battlefield strategies to squad markings. Most important of these changes was the division of the Legions into 1,000 member-strong Chapters. One of the Chapters would retain the heraldry of the original Legion, but the others would be given a new name and symbol. In doing so, Guilliman hoped to divide the power of the Space Marines to ensure that the Horus Heresy could never occur again. Roughly two thirds of all Space Marines can trace their origins to the Ultramarines, and many still revere Roboute Guilliman as their creator.

The Eagle Warriors, Silver Eagles, Doom Eagles, Novamarines, Patriarchs of Ulixis, White Consuls, Black Consuls, Libators, Inceptors, Praetors of Orpheus, Genesis Chapter, Aurora Chapter, Sons of Guilliman, Silver Skulls, Sons of Orar, Mortifactors, and Howling Griffons are all descendant Chapters of the Ultramarines.

Unfortunately, The Ultramarines don’t get a lot of love in the 40K community. Why is that? If you browse the ‘net (and I know you do) or visit your FLGS – you’ll hear things like this:

They are “over-marketed” by Games Workshop.

They’re “too goody-goody”.

Only “newbies and kids” play them.

Playing according to the Codex Astartes is “too limiting”.

Their name “sucks”.

Fluff-wise, they’re “boring and haven’t really done anything”.

They’re “too easy” to paint.

And those are some of the nicer criticisms!

But you know what? I call “heresy” on all of it.

Let’s take the above criticisms for a start:

• They are “over-marketed” by Games Workshop.

- There’s a pretty simple reason as to why they have this particular chapter as the ‘face’ of Space Marines. It’s an easy way of identifying which models are ‘universal’. It’s a type of branding – that’s why you see Ultramarines on every Space Marine product.

• They’re “too goody-goody”.

- Just because the Ultramarines aren’t bordering on Chaos like some of their fellow Astartes chapters (like the Space Wolves and Blood Angels, to name two) doesn’t make them “goody-goody”.  They fight for the good of the Imperium and would willingly commit genocide to defend it. Anyone willing to unleash death on the scale that all chapters are willing to do are a far cry from “goody-goody”. If any one Chapter is even close to being labeled as “good” – that would probably be the Salamanders.

• Only “newbies and kids” play them.

- I have yet to run into more than 10 or so new players in 20 years that play Ultramarines. They do love the hell outta Dark Angels, though – so take that for what it is worth.

• Playing according to the Codex Astartes is “too limiting”.

- Rigid adherence to the Codex Astartes bestows them with all the tactical flexibility any commander could hope for. The Ultra Marines can be relied upon to deploy whatever resources best suit the tactical situation, and they take whatever force best suits a given scenario. Ignoring the very document that allows for the most successful Chapters can hardly be called a sound plan.

• Their name “sucks”.

- This is, like most of the things listed, a dumb argument. “Ultra” is either an adjective meaning “going beyond what is usual or ordinary; excessive; extreme” or a noun – meaning “an extremist, as in politics, religion, fashion, etc.” It isn’t a reference meaning that they are the “Ultimate” at anything. I mean, you want a sucky name? There is an actual chapter called the “Rainbow Warriors”. Really.

• Fluff-wise, they’re “boring and haven’t really done anything”.

- Haven’t done anything? Horus himself knew Guilliman was the only one of his brother primarchs who could match him. The Ultramarines were the largest post-Heresy legion by far and were what held the Imperium of Man together after the Heresy was over. Without them the Imperium would have been long destroyed by xenos and civil war. Period.

• They’re “too easy” to paint.

- Not really any more or less so than most chapters are. It takes about the same amount of time to do Black Templars as it does Imperial Fists and Ultramarines.

At the end of the day, I think that most of the gripes and complaints are little more than tall poppy syndrome. For a lot of people, it is cool to hate what is popular.

From a game-playing perspective, The Ultramarines are a powerful force to reckon with. Just look at Marneus Calgar, the Ultramarines Chapter Master. Pound for pound, he’s probably the best special character in the game.

Ultramarines are the epitome of balance with regards to the shooty / assault mix (although balance may be stretching it, considering how unbalanced the game itself is). They are good at everything, which is something that the Black Templars, Space Wolves, and Blood Angels can’t say.

And on a personal note, as an amateur historian who is enraptured by ancient Rome, the iconography is hard to mistake. While all of the “main” chapters have a historical angle in inspiration

The Ultramarines are a reflection of the Golden Age of Rome, where vast professional armies formed of citizen legionaires were ready to fight for the Empire.

Militarily the Ultramarines are a reflection of Roman style combat- flexibility, planning, and strategy over individual might and numbers. They maintain troops for every situation and strictly standardize everything.

I know I’ll never swing diehard Ultramarine-haters to my cause, but if there are some Ultramarines fans out there – I’d love to hear from you.

Courage and Honor