Workshop Wednesday — Heroes Of The Ultramarines

Welcome to the table,

In the landscape of Warhammer 40,000, there are countless heroes who rise and fall in the seemingly endless war that expands across a million worlds. While a menagerie of forces clash in bloody conflict across the stars, one force that feels iconic to the Warhammer setting is the noble and steadfast Ultramarines.

Traditionally clad in Blue and white (two thin coats of Citadel Paints Macragge Blue as a basecoat, with Kantor Blue, Altdorf Blue, and Clagar Blue, with some spot accents for flavor and meta, if you want to get super specific to my personal preferences), the Ultramarines are the iconic and often main characters when it comes to anything Warhammer Horus Heresy or 40k.

Ultramarines may not be as spooky as the Raven Guard, as emotionally in touch with themselves as the Blood Angels, or as furry as the Space Wolves. Still, they always seem to be the best chapter of Space Marines to introduce people to the hobby with.

This is because in the history of the Imperium of Man, outside of Malcador the Sigillite himself and the forces of the Legio Custodes, the Ultaramarines are the thread that keeps the Imperium of Man together. That’s especially true after the events of the Horus Heresy, where a few of the genetically modified supersoldier sons of the Emperor of Mankind turned against their father and his loyal children and tried to topple the Empire of Man.

Ultramarines are very skilled in all areas of combat. They maintain a culture that loosely resembles that of ancient Rome, complete with brutal trials to decide if a normal human youth can join the ranks of the Ultramarines. This trial would begin the long journey into the warlike culture of this fabled force that defends mankind against the various horrors that dwell between the stars.

Ultramarines are everywhere in Warhammer, so much so that these icons can be found in the Warhammer 40,00 Introductory Set along with some really rad paints and a few Tyranids to get you started in the hobby.

Now, you don’t have to make these guys Ultramarines specifically, but the paints and such that come with the box do seem to indicate that they would make a pretty rad fit. Of course, if you do, you can always grab yourself some of the epic leadership of the Ultramarines to go along with them—notably, the epic Roboute Guilliman.

Roboute Guilliman is one of the few primarchs, those genetic super soldier sons of the Emperor of Mankind, who is still alive. Oh, they tried to kill him, and he sat in a stasis field for ages with a neck wound, but that is a rad story for another time. It was Roboute Guilliman who armed himself with the Emperor’s burning blade and took on the mantel of the Lord Commander of the Imperium as mankind rebuilt itself after the Horus Heresy.

It was also Roboute Guilliman who was, honestly, instrumental in how the Imperium was shaped during the Time of Rebirth. On the field of battle, he is an absolute powerhouse, slaying foes with devastating accuracy and spellbinding speed.

The multi-part plastic kit contains the components necessary to build yourself your own Roboute Guilliman mini clad in his Armour of Fate. His winged backpack features an Adeptus Mechanicus maker’s plate and glorious iron halo, with many cables and hoses attaching it to the weaponry it feeds. The Emperor’s Sword, held in his right hand, is a huge blade that burns with righteous fury (and fire). The Hand of Dominion, the enormous gauntlet on his left, is also capable of unleashing hails of armor-piercing gunfire. He also comes with an alternative head to put his helm on if that is the way you want to go with it.

For those who have played the Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 video game, you may recognize the iconic Lord Marneus Calgar, who arrived at the final battle with his legendary Gauntlets of Ultramar, giant armored fists fitted with bolters that are honored relics of the Ultramarine chapter.

Marneus Calgar is cool because he was supposedly the first to undergo the surgery to transform a normal Space Marine into a more powerful Primaris Marine. This surgery is almost always deadly, so the fact that he took the risk to do this for the honor of it all speaks to his mentality on and off the field of battle.

Speaking of the Space Marine 2 video game, the protagonist of those epic adventures is the Ultramarine Captain Demetrian Titus. Titus is one of those cool protagonists who feels very rounded and lived in with a touch of destiny on him for flavor.

Titus was recruited young, and while a hothead, he showed a natural prowess on the theater of battle. On an early mission, Titus’s squad was attacked by a powerful Sorcerer wielding the ruinous powers of Chaos. Through some strange twist of fate or the indomitable will of the Emperor of Mankind*, the powers of Chaos destroyed all of the Ultramarines, but Titus, while injured, somehow survived the fatal forces from beyond reality.

This would not be the last time Titus showed this strange immunity to the powers of the Warp. He would find himself and his unit being attacked once more by a different Chaos Sorcerer, who brought with him a horde of Chaos Daemons and Chaos Space Marines. While the majority of the forces of the Imperium of Man fell to horn, hoof, and claw of the forces of Chaso, the magics of the warp somehow did not affect Titus. One time was a miracle, but more than once immediately raised suspicions that Titus himself was somehow corrupted and a sleeper agent or something worse.

Because of his seemingly heretical abilities, Titus was sent to join the Deathwatch (more on those guys in a few weeks). The short version is these guys lose their name and go off to fight seemingly unwinnable battles until they die in the name of humanity.

Titus does not die, though! Our magical boy somehow survives all this, finds his way back to an apothecary transport after a bloody battle, and is brought back into the Ultramarines because they are so overwhelmingly impressed with this guy’s inability to die. In the world of Warhammer, Titus is essentially the Batman-esque or Superman-esque character of the setting as he survives all manner of nonsense, remains noble and just, and gets cool costume changes.

I have been hunting for a Titus miniature, but the only one I have ever found was in a Warhammer board game that was only at Target, and they don’t even sell it anymore.

Imagine my excitement when I saw that the publisher DK was releasing a Warhammer 40,000 Character Encyclopedia that not only included an amazing array of photos and deep dives into the lore, but also came with a Lieutenant Titus miniature! The book has a sweetheart price point, and the fact that it comes with a named miniature on top of that makes this a must-have for any Warhammer player or collector.

We are running short on time for now, and there are so many other cool Ultramarines and Ultramarine units to call out, so expect this to be only the first instalment of these fine fellows that you find during Workshop Wednesdays as we dive into the wonderful world of Games Workshop games over here at Comicon.com.

Until next time, “We march for Macragge! And we shall know no fear!”

*or Malcador the Sidgilights being his sneaky self, and until you prove me otherwise, I’m saying this was somehow Malcador the Sidgilights doing because it would make total sense that Willy old wizard had something to do with this