Alpha Legion: What Armour Mark?

[Excessus]

still, depending on how you want to read the fluff/HH books, it seems like all the legions were made before any of them left terra.  the space marines are now part of the terran unification war and the word bearers at least specifically took part in it.  so the AL wasn't made like a century after all the other legions left earth.  they began the crusade in mark II like everyone else and probably have some still in service at the time of the heresy.

That's a change in the fluff then, even Legion states they were created recently if I remember it correctly, it was a while ago i read it now. Just because Space Marines were present in the last bit of the unification wars, it doesn't have to mean that all the legions were...

[Daemon2027]

I was under the impression all the Legions had been created before Terra had been fully unified, however not all the Legions were at full strength, and in the case of the Alpha Legion, were not completed until very late in the crusade. Or the alpha Legion would have us believe they were created at the end of the great crusade to cover their activities in the early stages.

[Kol Saresk]

No, I think it was more like the gene-seed for the Legions had been created.

[Kais Klip]

Wondering at the particular pick of Mk VI for the Alpha Legion. I understand that some legionaries would be bound to wear it, but I'm curious as to why the team chose to portray them in Mk VI for the poster, when the Alpha Legion looks nicest with the silver pauldron trim that Corvus doesn't provide. 

 

As for AL's "start date", I do remember that they found their primarch extremely early when compared to the other legions, and thus had little terran/pre-primarch ways to overcome when they met up with Alpharius Omegon, so they definetely were the last legion to be officialy set forth as it were, and I'd bet the Sol system was well under compliance (a few points of interest were still to be conquered on Terra though, but well past the official date of Unification) since Horus was out "enlightening" other cultures outside of the Sol system when he ran into the pair. 

[Kol Saresk]

I thought it was they were relatively new and found their Primarchs early enough within their timeframe that they had no problem leaving it behind?

[Kais Klip]

I thought it was they were relatively new and found their Primarchs early enough within their timeframe that they had no problem leaving it behind?

Dunno if that was at me, but yes that is what I'm saying.

 

Edit post "circle": hehe, early as in early in the Legion's history.

[Kol Saresk]

I might be misunderstanding. I had the impression that you said the Alpha Legion found their Primarch early on compared to the other Primarchs.

 

I was saying that I thought he was one of the later Primarchs but due to the Alpha Legion being a later legion, it was early enough for the XXth's relative history. I think I said that right.

 

Anyway, that's how I always had the impression.

[Excessus]

You are both saying the same thing, and both are correct! :)

 

Though, Alpharius was not one of the last to be found, he was the last to be found...

[Kol Saresk]

Ok. So it was one of those "talking around in circle deals" okie dokie. Sorry for misunderstanding your post Kais Klip.

[MajorKhaos]

Anything other than Mk.VI armour for the Alpha Legion just feels wrong.

[skeletoro]

Who knows... maybe the reasoning goes like this.

1. Raven guard are practically synonymous with Corvus (Corax) armour.

2. Raven guard are in book 3.

3. "But sir, Raven guard didn't have their mk vi plate during Istavan V!"

4. "Shut up. It looks cool. Retcon time."

5. "Hmm, so we're producing a whole line of legion mk vi tactical/assault/heavy weapon/outrider/heavy squads for Book 3."

6. "We're not going to sell many squads if only Raven Guard are supposed to use that armour."

7. "Let's depict Alpha legion as having some Corvus suits too. If any other legion's getting it early, it's going to be them!"

I don't mean to be cynical or anything. I don't think there's anything particularly bad about this kind of minor retcon/fudge, as long as it stays relatively minor and allows us to see more exciting FW goodies sooner

[mysteriousmaskedmystery]

i was thinking they would focus more on marks IV and V for the rest of the heresy, especially for kits that don't get multiple versions, like the recon squad, bikes and such.  but maybe VI is going to be just thrown in there too, who knows.

[Kol Saresk]

Well, in theory, as the Heresy progressed, it is possible that someone somewhere started manufacturing more Mk VI and then others simply plundered it. Maybe the Traitors on Mars got a shipment off as well and it went to the Alpha Legion.

[Daemon2027]

Well, and this a theory, maybe the 2nd part of Massacare will focus on Corax and the RG gorilla war on Istvann V, initially against the Iron Warriors. The Alpha Legion may then be shown as trying to infiltrate the RG, so having running engagements against them to get armour and stuff (and bodies to do that crazy face off swap from Deliverance Lost), so maybe the Alpha Legion will be shown in Mark VI as they will be taking it from dead Raven Guard.

 

But skeletoro is probably right in, it's to help sell more Corvus armour.

[Excessus]

Even though the RG didn't get VI suits until after Istvaan, the AL would have gotten their hands on them shortly after, since a lot of operativs escaped Deliverance before the gene-testing and they could quite likely have the data with them. The dark mechanicus would most likely have been able to reverse engineer the suits and build their own. Remember that A&O:s homeworld never was revealed. They could possibly use the forges there to mass-produce them under the guise of a loyalist planet.