List of all the Heresy-era legion formations

[b1soul]

I'd like to compile a list and would like to request the help of forum members 

 

To my knowledge, there are two types. General, multi-legion formations and legion-specific formations. 

 

Destroyers would be an example of the former. A favourite of the Death Guard (and the concept really fits DG fluff), but some other legions have them as well. 

 

There are many examples of the latter, off the top of my head: Palatine Blades, Red Butchers, Devourers, Catulan Reavers, Justaerin Terminators, Deliverers, etc. 

 

I just thought it would be cool to get a list going. Thanks

[Conn Eremon]

Is there going to be a distinction between "squad types" like Destroyers, and "named squads" like the Catulan Reavers, or will it be a comprehensive list of everything that has a unique, non-generic name/title?

[b1soul]

Is there going to be a distinction between "squad types" like Destroyers, and "named squads" like the Catulan Reavers, or will it be a comprehensive list of everything that has a unique, non-generic name/title?

 

Well, I'm hoping for as comprehensive a list as possible. Anything non-generic. 

 

Destroyers are found in multiple legions. Reavers are found only in the Sons of Horus. Catulan Reavers are a subset of Reavers. All would be on the list, which I hope to organise.

 

I suppose Reavers are really just SoH-style assault marines, but hey, I think they're kinda special. Reavers are closer to techno-barbarian, headhunting kill-gangs than they are to squads of soldiers. 

[Conn Eremon]

Well, Catulan Reavers are really just a named reaver squad. Same for the Justaerin Terminators, the Locasta Tacticals and the Hellebore Tacticals.

 

The Luna Wolves seemed to name each of their squads uniquely, based off of the squad type.

 

But a comprehensive list of everything named would rock, I was just wondering if there was a limit to what gets added.

[Grimtalos]

You also have stuff like the Emperors' Children's Sunkillers,  elite heavy support lascannon squads & the Sons of Horus Rukal Breacher Battalion. Those are the only ones I can remember from work.

Would be cool to have a list of all of them, will have a look through my books when I get home.

 

 

Edit: For the Emperors Children we also have the Palatine Blades, but they are not restricted to the Emperors Children. They are also not really a formation, as its number changes each battle and it does not have a commander. Before certain battles, members of renown and skill in melee combat team up outside of rank. As its spread to other legions, (never states which ones) I think it should be classed as a multi-legion formation. 
 

[Leif Bearclaw]

Well, Catulan Reavers are really just a named reaver squad. Same for the Justaerin Terminators, the Locasta Tacticals and the Hellebore Tacticals.

 

The Luna Wolves seemed to name each of their squads uniquely, based off of the squad type.

 

But a comprehensive list of everything named would rock, I was just wondering if there was a limit to what gets added.

Only in the original BL books. Now FW has the Catulans and Justaerin being the two halves of the 1st Company, both commanded by Captians, and significantly larger than a single squad of each.

[Conn Eremon]

 

 

Well, Catulan Reavers are really just a named reaver squad. Same for the Justaerin Terminators, the Locasta Tacticals and the Hellebore Tacticals.

 

The Luna Wolves seemed to name each of their squads uniquely, based off of the squad type.

 

But a comprehensive list of everything named would rock, I was just wondering if there was a limit to what gets added.

Only in the original BL books. Now FW has the Catulans and Justaerin being the two halves of the 1st Company, both commanded by Captians, and significantly larger than a single squad of each.

Those two interpretations are one and the same thing actually. In the first BL books, there was only two squads of the 1st Company, led each by Captains. Calling them 'squads' threw everybody off, and back then numbers were significantly lower, but there has been no change except that of squad size.

[Leif Bearclaw]

 

 

Well, Catulan Reavers are really just a named reaver squad. Same for the Justaerin Terminators, the Locasta Tacticals and the Hellebore Tacticals.

 

The Luna Wolves seemed to name each of their squads uniquely, based off of the squad type.

 

But a comprehensive list of everything named would rock, I was just wondering if there was a limit to what gets added.

Only in the original BL books. Now FW has the Catulans and Justaerin being the two halves of the 1st Company, both commanded by Captians, and significantly larger than a single squad of each.

Those two interpretations are one and the same thing actually. In the first BL books, there was only two squads of the 1st Company, led each by Captains. Calling them 'squads' threw everybody off, and back then numbers were significantly lower, but there has been no change except that of squad size.

 

I believe there's references in Horus Rising to white armoured Luna Wolves of the 1st Company, which cannot be either of the elite formations, both of which wear black armour. Frankly, if these two 'squads' were meant to account for the entire company, it's rather sloppy writing on Abnett's part. I'd assume most BL readers know the approximate size size of a Marine squad. If there's dozens of Catulans and Justaerin, calling them squads doesn't portray their 'intended' size very well at all.

[Conn Eremon]

 

 

 

 

Well, Catulan Reavers are really just a named reaver squad. Same for the Justaerin Terminators, the Locasta Tacticals and the Hellebore Tacticals.

 

The Luna Wolves seemed to name each of their squads uniquely, based off of the squad type.

 

But a comprehensive list of everything named would rock, I was just wondering if there was a limit to what gets added.

Only in the original BL books. Now FW has the Catulans and Justaerin being the two halves of the 1st Company, both commanded by Captians, and significantly larger than a single squad of each.

Those two interpretations are one and the same thing actually. In the first BL books, there was only two squads of the 1st Company, led each by Captains. Calling them 'squads' threw everybody off, and back then numbers were significantly lower, but there has been no change except that of squad size.

I believe there's references in Horus Rising to white armoured Luna Wolves of the 1st Company, which cannot be either of the elite formations, both of which wear black armour. Frankly, if these two 'squads' were meant to account for the entire company, it's rather sloppy writing on Abnett's part. I'd assume most BL readers know the approximate size size of a Marine squad. If there's dozens of Catulans and Justaerin, calling them squads doesn't portray their 'intended' size very well at all.

It is possible, though I don't recall there being any.

 

As for the whole squad size thing, I am sure most people assumed that it wouldn't follow the normal structure when they saw that Captains were in charge of them, right from the get-go in the dramatis personae.

[Leif Bearclaw]

 

 

 

 

Well, Catulan Reavers are really just a named reaver squad. Same for the Justaerin Terminators, the Locasta Tacticals and the Hellebore Tacticals.

 

The Luna Wolves seemed to name each of their squads uniquely, based off of the squad type.

 

But a comprehensive list of everything named would rock, I was just wondering if there was a limit to what gets added.

Only in the original BL books. Now FW has the Catulans and Justaerin being the two halves of the 1st Company, both commanded by Captians, and significantly larger than a single squad of each.

Those two interpretations are one and the same thing actually. In the first BL books, there was only two squads of the 1st Company, led each by Captains. Calling them 'squads' threw everybody off, and back then numbers were significantly lower, but there has been no change except that of squad size.

I believe there's references in Horus Rising to white armoured Luna Wolves of the 1st Company, which cannot be either of the elite formations, both of which wear black armour. Frankly, if these two 'squads' were meant to account for the entire company, it's rather sloppy writing on Abnett's part. I'd assume most BL readers know the approximate size size of a Marine squad. If there's dozens of Catulans and Justaerin, calling them squads doesn't portray their 'intended' size very well at all.

It is possible, though I don't recall there being any.

 

As for the whole squad size thing, I am sure most people assumed that it wouldn't follow the normal structure when they saw that Captains were in charge of them, right from the get-go in the dramatis personae.

 

Here's a couple that was quoted to me in another thread. Unfortunately I don't have a page reference, or my copy of Horus Rising to check it myself.

 

"Three kilometres away, across the flat plain of the basalt platforms, across the tide of charging men and striding Titans and stitching fire, Abaddon’s company, First Company, was crossing the bulwarks into the far flank of the palace. Loken magnified his view, resolving hundreds of white-armoured figures pouring through the smoke and chop-fire. At the front of them, the dark figures of First Company’s foremost Terminator squad, the Justaerin. They wore polished black armour, dark as night, as if they belonged to some other, black Legion."

 

"Imperial banners had been hung along the vault, and the whole of First Company assembled in full plate as an honour guard. The Astartes formed two unwavering blocks of white figures, rigid and still, their front rows a glossy black line of Justaerin Terrminators."

[Conn Eremon]

Double-checking Forge World, it looks like they confirmed that Reavers was a squad type, like Terminators and Tacticals, and turned the Justaerin Terminator Squad into the Justaerin Terminator Squads. The first was already known from the books, and the second is in line with the increase to numbers. Not seeing anything to indicate these are the only formations to make up Abaddon's company.

 

So it looks like I was wrong that it was just these two formations to make it up, but I don't see anything in their unit entries in the Forge World books to suggest they changed that either.

[Leif Bearclaw]

The bit about the 1st Company only containing Catulans and Justaerin isn't in their unit entries. I think it's in the 'Unit Organisation and Unit Structure' section in the SoH section in Betrayal. Afraid I don't have my copy on hand to quote scripture and verse, but I believe it's just after they talk about how the Company was the SoH's basic organisational unit, and those companies tended to focus around the Tactical Squad. The 1st being mentioned as a noteworthy exception.

[Conn Eremon]

It does, and calls them squads rather than a squad each. Reading the whole thing, what it looks like they did is change the Captain in charge of a squad, to a captain in charge of squads of a certain type within a Company, led by a senior Captain. It does explain that the First Company is rather small, so it just looks like they broke up the oversized squads into regular squads and added normal sergeant officers.

[Relict]

Also, the Sons of Horus has a rather loose numerical definition for its companies, with the smallest having no more than a few dozen Legionaries and the largest being nearly chapter-size in strength (according to Betrayal). 

 

As of Vengeful Spirit, the Sons of Horus first company definitely has more than one squad of Justaerin Terminators - the body count in the story alone is testament to that.