Human warriors who fight impressively against Astartes

[b1soul]

Can you guys help me compile a complete list based on BL works?

 

I'm thinking more along the lines of melee combat, so off the top of my head ...

 

1. Yasu Nagasena (crosses blades with Lucius)

2. The Lucifer Black at the end of Legion (stabs "Alpharius")

3. The gang of young nobles who actually best Cyrius in Fulgrim: The Palatine Phoenix

4. Perhaps Eisenhorn vs. Mandragore

5. Sister of Silence in general

6. Perhaps Chaos cultists who drag down Grey Knights (but more a case of massive numerical advantage than individual prowess)

 

What others? This is a rare ocurrence, so probably not many

[Kinstryfe]

Oh I swear that there's a part of one of the Gaunt's Ghosts books where their sniper god dude (a Google search makes me think Mkoll?) takes out some chaos marines and/or a dread. Someone else may have more details though, it's been ages since I've read any of those books.

[b1soul]

Yes, I've heard of that too...though the Ghosts take CSM out primarily out at range, info or quotes on how the Ghosts do it would be great as well

[Mechanicus Tech-Support]

That would be in Ghostmaker 

 

Been a while since I've read it, Mkoll does take out the Chaos dread, but it's not your standard one on one combat. The Dread is damaged from a previous fight and I think pretty much stumbling through the jungle blind and Mkoll uses the environment to kill it. I seem to remember an overcharged lasgun power pack/explosive charge(?) exploding, which opened the front armor of the dread exposing some of the inside. The sound sets off the planets dangerous flora (think giant cactus but the needles are massively poisoned and shoot out in a direction sound is made). Said needles enter the sarcophagus killing the marine inside. 

 

 

[bluntblade]

I found the little Ice Warriors book in a hostel two years ago. An officer with an augmetic arm lasts long enough against a CSM for his opponent to not just kill him automatically and is instead captured.

 

Like 1 and 2 on the list, though, in terms of odds it's about on par with Alajos' impressive feat of lasting twenty seconds in a spar with the Lion. We shouldn't overstate any mortal's chances here.

[DukeLeto69]

@mechanicustechsupport is spot on. I re-read all of the GG books last year in prep for Warmaster.

 

In Traitor General a small group of Ghosts and a village of "natives" manage to defeat a 5 man squad of chaos marines using very potent local poison on crossbow bolts (the CSM were not wearing helmets). It is handled well but proved controversial for some of the fanbase who simply couldn't accept it as being possible.

 

For me it was ok but did stretch things a bit and would have been more impactful if it had been a single CSM.

[b1soul]

@mechanicustechsupport is spot on. I re-read all of the GG books last year in prep for Warmaster.

In Traitor General a small group of Ghosts and a village of "natives" manage to defeat a 5 man squad of chaos marines using very potent local poison on crossbow bolts (the CSM were not wearing helmets). It is handled well but proved controversial for some of the fanbase who simply couldn't accept it as being possible.

For me it was ok but did stretch things a bit and would have been more impactful if it had been a single CSM.

Y'know...in some books, marines dodge bullets, so I'm assuming the CSM think the arrows can't harm them?

[bluntblade]

It's worth mentioning the Interex chap who holds his own for a little while against Loken.

[b1soul]

Some PDF kill a Plague Marine in Dark Millenium

 

...most impressive is still the human duelists who outduel EC Cyrius

[Sete]

Catachan soldiers kill a couple of plague marines in that Pandoras or whatever gk and da book.

[Orwell84]

@mechanicustechsupport is spot on. I re-read all of the GG books last year in prep for Warmaster.

 

In Traitor General a small group of Ghosts and a village of "natives" manage to defeat a 5 man squad of chaos marines using very potent local poison on crossbow bolts (the CSM were not wearing helmets). It is handled well but proved controversial for some of the fanbase who simply couldn't accept it as being possible.

 

For me it was ok but did stretch things a bit and would have been more impactful if it had been a single CSM.

 

That would be in Ghostmaker 

 

Been a while since I've read it, Mkoll does take out the Chaos dread, but it's not your standard one on one combat. The Dread is damaged from a previous fight and I think pretty much stumbling through the jungle blind and Mkoll uses the environment to kill it. I seem to remember an overcharged lasgun power pack/explosive charge(?) exploding, which opened the front armor of the dread exposing some of the inside. The sound sets off the planets dangerous flora (think giant cactus but the needles are massively poisoned and shoot out in a direction sound is made). Said needles enter the sarcophagus killing the marine inside. 

 

Of the two, I found Mkoll's fight with the dread was the more well-handled and believable, for lack of a better word. Not that the scene in Traitor General was badly done - Abnett's always been great with GG - but it might have seemed less borderline fanwank if one or more of the Ghosts had been at least seriously wounded when their opponents were Chaos Space Marines. Not cultist mutants or traitor guard, but full-fledged Chaos Marines who are supposed to be orders of magnitude superior to Guardsmen

 

Ciaphas Cain taking down a Khornate Berzerker rates as impressive in my book, for two reasons. First: any mere mortal bringing down one of the Blood God's elite in face-to-face combat is worthy of praise. Second: even if the encounter was accidental on Cain's part, it shows that despite his self-doubts about his heroism and propaganda image, at least some of the praise is truly warranted.

[Indefragable]

Hassan-something, Malcador's personal commando dude. Doesn't he+his team take on Word Bearers or something on a mission to retrieve a priceless artifact

The Rosetta Stone

to add to his collection?

[Carach]

@indefragable i don't think it's explicitly stated what they come up against in that audio-short?

 

i haven't heard it in a long time now to be fair though so i could be wrong, but i thought it was just some mystery stealthy fellow 

[Hit0k1ri]

Cadian Blood by A D-B

 

Kasrkin sergeant destroyed Death Guard dreadnought. Fair and square, in hand-to-hand combat. With power sword and hellpistol.

[Rob P]

Didn't Gaunt kill a CSM dreadnought in Sabbat Matyr?

 

Edit: In CC with power sword?

[rendingon1+]

Abnett's ghosts-CSM combat interactions are ridiculous. As much as I like his Tanith series, every time Gaunt's dudes encountered evil astartes it read like some fanfiction. Even in the first book iirc there was a facepalming moment when guardsmen were fighting DG and massacred them by setting their lasguns to MAX POWER so even PA was not really the problem.

 

As for normal humans having a moment with astartes I recall a duel between Cadian colonel and Honsou in which former managed to chop off Honsou's arm with a power sword. Lost eventually, but for me this is how things should be.

 

Oh, and if we count imperial assassins as normal humans than there are plenty of examples how they maul CSM (eversors mosty).

[pandion40]

As Orwell84 said above Ciaphas Cain fought world eaters. From memory he has faced at least 2, the first was relatively fresh and he ended up reluctantly engaging him head on acting as a distraction as his aid got into position and used his melter on the world eater.

 

The second I think he killed himself but it was very badly injured before he met it.

 

He also spent a lot of time practice dualing with a loyalist techmarine, from the Reclaimers I think. He did manage to strike the techmarine at least once during their many duals earning a lot of respect. But then cain is a very accomplished swordsman, an inquisitor describes him as one of the best swordsman she’d met, even after he retired the guy who taught swordsmanship to the cadets couldn’t touch him.

 

He does state an Astartes is physically on another level to him, skill can make up for some but the strength of the Astartes blows plus the massive increase in endurance means he gets exhausted before the Astartes even starts to get tired. So the longer a fight lasts the bigger the advantage to the marine and it’s really hard to take one down quickly.

[Indefragable]

all this talk makes me think of the Viper vs the Mountain from Game of Thrones...

[b1soul]

Just clarifying...feel free to bring up examples of mortal non-warriors who do well against Astartes (if there are any)

[Laughingman]

In the black books they describe early Heralds of the XVII legion  as occasionally being killed while delivering the emperors ultimatum to defiant cultures and peoples, "pulled down by human hands after slaying hundreds." 

 

The Warriors of the Olamic Quietude in Prospero burns appeared to put up quite the fight against astartes as well (they are debatably post human though)

[TheRealMcCagh]

There are a couple times a Perpetual does well against an Astartes. I realize that they are the exact opposite of mortal, but it's not like they have super strength or speed. In the vacuum of the fight they are pretty human, apart from the being incapable of dying. Damon does well against Narek in Old Earth, and I'm pretty sure Oll gets a few Word Bearers in Know No Fear

[b1soul]

A Perpetual kills Vulkan with a shuriken gun...

[karden00]

Eugen Temba essentially kills :cussing Horus

[Dumah]

Temba wasn't exactly still human at that point though, was he?

[TheRealMcCagh]

A Perpetual kills Vulkan with a shuriken gun...

 

Ya, but he got better