Heresy Fists and Iron Warriors

[Kol Saresk]

I was just looking at the cover art for Shadows of Treachery the next Heresy-era anthology, and I noticed that the Imperial Fists and the Iron Warrior on the cover are wearing the exact same armor. Doesn't that strike anyone else as odd? Or at least ironic given the circumstances?

 

It can be found here.

[The Colossus]

I dunno, they're (at their most basic) each others counterparts. One builds, one casts down. Two legions who both complement each other, fighting brother against brother. Having them both in the same armour gives it more of a sense of sadness, they're clearly former brothers. Plus, it's the armour mark I most associate with the two legions...

 

My two kraks ^_^

[Legatus]

Not particularly odd, seeing as how the Imperial Fists and the Iron Warriors are both very suited for the MK2 and MK3 armour. If you disregard MK1 and MK7, and perhaps also MK6 as brand new at the time, that would leave four potential armour types to choose from. It just so happens that these two Legions look good in MK3, and perhaps not so much in MK4 or MK5.

[The 13th Goat]

Not particularly odd, seeing as how the Imperial Fists and the Iron Warriors are both very suited for the MK2 and MK3 armour. If you disregard MK1 and MK7, and perhaps also MK6 as brand new at the time, that would leave four potential armour types to choose from. It just so happens that these two Legions look good in MK3, and perhaps not so much in MK4 or MK5.

 

You make it sound like they are teenage girls?

 

"Oh I can't pull of Corvus armour, totally makes my hips look huge!"

Sigsmund on his Legions slow adoption of the newer armour types.

[Perrin]

They're wearing Mark III right? Designed for boarding actions and fighting in narrow passageways, its probably just that both Legion commanders decided it was the best armour to go for in a space marine fleet battle.

Plus it suits both Legions battle-style anyway.

[Olis]

I agree. It's an assault on an enclosed position where fighting in corridors would be common - Mk3 is the logical choice of armour here, even if the legions have later marks available, as it was designed for such fighting.

[Doghouse]

Plus things in the time of the great crusade were much more uniform than they are now, especially as the Emperor was beginning to make greater use of the STC system as it became harder to resupply front line troops. Up until the advent of the Mk IV suit all Legions wore Mk II armour and Mk III was used as stop gap for siege and starship combat. Once the Heresy kicked in and a lot of the Legions were forced to improvise this is traditionally where we start to see the first examples of pick and mix armour.

[Servus Christi]

One builds, one casts down.

 

Funnily enough it's the Iron Warriors that tend to build and the Imperial Fists that tend to casting down yet many people reverse the roles because of the Imperial Fist's place in building and reinforcing Holy Terra's defences. The Iron Warriors were the ones always being left behind as a garrison whilst the Imperial Fists went from world to world smashing cities, kicking asses and taking names. I've always imagined the (pre-heresy) Imperial Fists to be rather similar to the Blood Angels and World Eaters actually. A close-combat force with the exception that they excelled in the gritty fighting of siege warfare in cities and trenches and kept a level of sanity when doing so. Of course they had the big guns to punch down the walls but they didn't truly enter their element until they were in the breach.

 

I remember someone once wrote that Dorn was so good at building walls because he spent most of his life knocking down other people's.

 

[/digression]