For the average line grunt, definitely Catachan.
While the discipline of Krieg and Cadia are scary for enemy commanders, how would you as a boot on the ground feel about having to fight Prime Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvestor Stallone, and Carl Weathers all wielding Machetes and Flamethrowers?
This is legit how I've learned all my WH40k lore. Someone on this sub asks a question. The people here respond with great answers and book references and quotations etc. I go down the rabbit whole of learning about this entirely new faction/regiment I never even knew existed. I love this sub.
A man of culture! I loved those games. I still think the original dawn of war games are the best. The sequels lost that big army feel and went for a more warcraft 3 hero RTS set up with smaller squads. I remember playing DoW with all it's expansions on LAN with my lil bro. Painting my own army. Great times.
My headcannon say northern hemisphere of catachan they have a Texas/American southern accent.
Southern hemisphere is an Australian accent.
An army of Florida men, crazy Texans ,and wild Australians would be frightening indeed
They're mostly based on action movie portrayals of GIs in Vietnam. Hence why they are all so ridiculously ripped.
They are basically an army of Rambos.
Who of course have their own Rambo - a kind of Rambo squared, if you will - in the form of Sly Marbo.
Deathworlder is specifically about Catachans. They're on a world falling to Tyranids and they're given a final mission to extract an essential McGuffin. Cue an odyssey of alien horror.
Yeah and the subsequent story where the Tau are doing counter-insurgency operations against Catachan terrorists. It's cool seeing them from the POV of a freshly minted T'au commander. Highly recommend!
Catachans. You die brutally to a regiment of the toughest, strongest and most natural warriors of the Imperium. Regiments of Rambos pretty much. Tons and tons of Rambos and Dutch's (Arnold Schwarzenegger from Predator).
You won't win..
I imagine their tactics would be similar to vietcong hit and run and various dirty tricks to demoralize the enemy and wear them out. Not just kill them.
If the kind of enemy they were fighting called for that and the terrain made it possible, definitely. I could also see them directly confronting them if they are an inferior force and overwhelm them with their strength and speed.
I love Catachans because they are so adaptable. Still, you are correct in that their primary type of warfare is asymmetrical and guerilla type warfare.
Definitely would use irregular tactics, their operational doctrine is similar to British Commandos. Applying point pressure in small force groups to catch enemy positions unaware with overwhelming rapid force, disrupting and devastating before withdrawing again.
US army Rangers were modelled after the commandos too.
Except of course you ramp all this up to 11 with the 80s action hero being your standard trooper. It's erm.. quite a threat.
> US army Rangers were modelled after the commandos too.
The Rangers are modeled after the American and Canadian rangers of the American Revolution and the Indian Wars before it, and in turn which saw a modern remake with the First Special Service Force
Rangers act more like small-unit light infantry and their job was more often that of a long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP unit.
The concept of a ranger in North American colonies goes back to at least 1622 with a organized unit by 1676 while that tactic - a group roaming about for weeks and weeks - of course goes farther back with the native people.
"When I had ten men able to go abroad, our common wealth was very strong: with such a number I ranged that unknown country 14 weeks." - Capt. John "Samuel" Smith - 1622
Edit - If anything the concept of Commandos comes from the rangers of North America
No, the concept of commandos comes from the Boer commandos in the Boer Wars. Major General Truscotts original proposal to set up the Rangers was literally quoted as "along the lines of British Commandos".
No way in the warp does that happen, krieg are scary in that they’re tactically a huge monolith which churns out bodies to die essentially. It’s scary yes to see just an unending horde but if it was just the troops dropped off on a planet vs my planetary army per se no way in hell I’d be as scared if they dropped off the same in catachans. The catachans would spread like wildfire sabotaging all important things, butchering patrols, and make a prolonged real fight impossible so you never know how man you’re facing. Then the obvious strength they have coming up close to them your men would be terrified. Even the krieg would break under such circumstances and without a continual reinforcement supply. Don’t fuck with catachans. Alone catachans and a small imperial inquisitor group were able to save a world from becoming a portal to hell. The catachans actually are capable of being adaptable. They’re just as good with a lasgun and better in melee than the average guardsmen, and they are an army of rambos. If given a chance to use guerrilla tactics they can quickly become a nuisance to a problem to a planetary uprising.
I completely agree that Catachans will shit all over Kriegers, but kriegers arent going to run from anything. They have commissars specifically to prevent them from doing stupidly suicidal shit and they’re quite happy to do things like throw themselves headlong into gauss flayer fire to give their melta-carrier time to set up another shot, or engage a canoptek wraith in melee combat to bait it into phasing into reality and both being vaporized by said melta.
I think this quote makes good case for elysians
"The enemy commanders think themselves safe from the Emperor's Wrath behind kilometres of fortifications and legions of warriors. They did not account for us. Make your peace with the Emperor, men—we drop in two minutes."
I love the elysian troops, the image of one dropping on a heretic Astartes with a melta bomb primed is *chefs kiss*
Be neat if GW gave guard some of the unique infantry options back again.
My favorite Elysian slaughter happens in Dark Apostle:
The word bearers have enslaved the population of Tanakreg into the production of massive daemonic tower(called a Gehemehnet). The Elysians drop right on top of the enemy and it goes… poorly:
“Scores of Valkyries were being ripped apart by the relentless anti aircraft fire that slashed up through the roiling black clouds. Thousands of the Elysian drop troopers were slaughtered as they plummeted down through the atmosphere at terminal velocity, but others survived and Laron prayed that other storm trooper platoons were amongst them.
It was a baffling experience, to be falling alongside something so massive. They had launched from their Valkyrie above the tower and he had been falling past it for the last few minutes. That such a thing could be so high was inconceivable, the engineering impossible, but there it was in front of his eyes. It made him physically ill and he could hear strange voices in his head. The thing seemed to exert a gravitational pull off its own and he angled away from it, so as not to be drawn too close.
‘Keep your distance from the tower’ he said into his micro-bead, but the thing merely fed back a glare of roaring, horrifying sounds in his ears and he doubted that any heard his order “
Cut to the PoV of Varnus, an enslaved citizen enforcer of Tanakreg, blessed by the ruinous powers to witness the Gehemehnet’s birth from atop its magnificence:
“The body jerked as the chains broke its fall and the man’s back, and the body hung for a moment before it continued downwards, spiraling madly, down into the depths of the planet. A moment later, a roar of hot air was expelled up the hollow shaft, and Varnus saw more bodies falling around him. He decided that he must truly have lost his sanity, if he was seeing men fall from the heavens.
Still they fell, some tumbling down into the gaping maw of the Gehemehnet, as if it were drawing them to it, and others flashing past him, smashing into the outside of the tower. He jumped to his feet as a figure fell directly towards him, scrambling out of the way as it smashed into the stone with a sickening sound. The man lay broken and very dead, his legs and arms bent beneath him, blood splattering out over the stones and across Varnus’s legs. He stood, looking down at the helmeted corpse dumbly. It was Imperial!”
Word Bearers: The Omnibus pg 190
Chem Dogs probably aren't fun to fight. A bunch of criminals high off their asses on space PCP running toward you because behind them is another group with guns sighted on their backs so if they stop they get shot. And also all of this was just a diversion because they are still the Imperial Guard and those artillery shells are gonna be hitting soon.
I mean *all* Guard regiments are scary when you're some barely literate underhive scum caught up in a rebellion. Shits hit the fan when you see full time, professional soldiers arriving in their hundreds of thousands with tanks, artillery, heavy weapons, Naval and specialist support to put down your demands for fairer working hours and food.
By the time the guard get involved, you've already proven to tough for the pdf or the stuff you were making is too vital to risk supply disruption. In that case, maybe start listening to the weird tattooed bald guy who claims to have friends.
So, you want to see the fear in the eyes of those Xenos/Heretics :
Tempestus Scions would change any tide of battle with their most advanced training and arsenal, definitely one of the scariest sights for any enemy to see Emperor’s finest land in hi-tech god tier gear. A very rare sight indeed, but it means someone with power wants to get this sh*t done fast and clean. *They are practically Space Marines without augmentations, peak-human conditions armed with the most insane arsenal Mechanicus can spawn. Grey Knights alternative for Astra Militarum.*
Catachan are natural born warriors that goes through a real Monster Hunter game all their lives. If they have the environmental advantage rather than open-warfare, it will be a real nightmare and they-will-win. *One story involves a famous leading officer losing his arm to a freaking LAND SHARK and then ripping the sharks throat out by biting it. Another boring day in Catachan forests.*
Even Imperium thinks Kriegsters are batsh\*t insane, if they werent so useful Big E himself would vote to nuke them off. Those relentless bastards destroyed Space Marines, Tyranids, even pushed Necrons back and destroyed tombworld cores. You know something is really wrong when Commissar actually tries to be reasonable or Inquisition itself tries to avoid few problems related to Krieg. *A Krieg team once coordinated almost instantly to force an invulnerable/phasing Canoptek Wraith into melee-combat (so that it would engage its phase-out protocols to become vulnerable) and then the rest of the team shot the everliving sh\*\*t out of the damn thing along with their charging-comrades. Didnt even blink.*
As a fear bonus but not regiment, seeing the lonesome Eversor Assassin wandering amongst the ruins and friendly/enemy corpses means you are fu\*\*ed beyond measurement. It means various fun activities like being branded a heretic-fugitive by Inquisition for nothing-at-all and being involved in an active scorched earth protocol. *That is what they send to make the place disappear from history while Exterminatus batteries are charging.*
Commenting on the inquisition and their hesitancy to Krieg:
I really love this aspect of their lore. The inquisition is well aware that there is something off abt them. However, they are so useful to the imperium that the matter is deemed a stone better left unturned.
A lesser known candidate would be the [Miasman Redcowls.](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Miasman_Redcowls)
All other guard regiments fear fighting alongside them for their incredibly destructive flamer weapons. In fact, the Imperium use them like the Legion Destroyers of old.
>Edit- and the green flames really draw further parallel that the IoM are space Skaven
I mean, it is more a unique property of their home gas giant. If the Tau and Orks start harvesting that gas giant to make flamethrowers, it would likely have the same effect.
If you want more Skaven parallels, look to the Dark Eldar. They live in a near-inacessible realm to non-eldar races. Their entire society is built on backstabbing and murder. Whole operations are sabotaged by their own regardless of costs to Dark Eldar loves. They segregate between vatborn and trueborn, like how Skaven favor white- and black-furred newborn over others. Most of the vatborn exist as downtrodden and abused slaves until they murder their way into the Clan-like Kabals. They absolutely love being sadistic bastards, stealing life-saving STCs like how Skaven mine gold just to piss off the Dawi. Mandrakes are mystical mutated warriors like Plague Monks. They both focus on being fast fighters, like using raids/ambushes and use combat drugs much more often then the Imperium. The Haemonculi will easily match Clan Moulder in creating bio-horrors. Their weapons are like Skaven as being focused on horrific melting and/or debilitating poisons and toxins to better grab their slaves back to torture and work to death. They even hang blanks and psykers in cages for infernal contraptions like how Skaven do their machines. They have weapons that easily cause stellar disasters like how Ikrit Claw blew up the moon. They absolutely do not trust each other to the point of using other races as bodyguards.
While those are all good points, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer Age of Sigmar also have Dark Eldar armies though. They have Dark Elves armies.
(As far as I understand it WFB had a full Dark Elf army while W AoS has a small army from like a boxed set or army units that can be added to a regular High Elf army or something like that.)
>While those are all good points, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer Age of Sigmar also have Dark Eldar armies though. They have Dark Elves armies.
By that same token, should you not consider the Imperium the space counterparts to Bretonnia and the Empire? Guardsmen are much more likely to get outnumbered by orks or outmatched by eldar, like the bretonnian peasants and empire state troops who have to stick and work together in large numbers to survive. The greatswords are better armed veterans like regimental grenadiers. Space Marines are like the Empire's Knightly Orders. Like the state troops, guardsmen's weapons seem unimpressive but reliable and rugged. State troop very often need officers and priests to keep the men's fighting soirit up and hold the lines, like the sergeants, commissars and preachers among the Guard. [40ktheories has a video about counterparts and doppelgangers between 40k and Fantasy.](https://youtu.be/-oh3wiy9s6k?si=7D1tVmenu2pDKgZx) The Empire and Bretonnia also launched their own crusades against Araby. They kept expanding even after their initial target was achieved. The Empire publicly denied the existence of Skaven and suppressed knowledge regarding daemons like the Imperium's policy regarding daemons.
>AoS has a small army from like a boxed set or army units that can be added to a regular High Elf army or something like that.)
The Dark Elf roster is currently divided into multiple snall subfactions consisting of a few units each that could be mixed with other subfactions of the great Cities of Sigmar roster. They are currently the only remnants of the older elf range for AoS. Some of these dark elf subfactions joined Morathi's annexation of Anvilgard or fought against it. There are rumors that Malerion is creating shadow elves for his own.
Tanith First and Only or the XXIV Catachan regiment
Both for the same reasons, they are experts on killing from the shadows. The Taniths are expert marksmen and good at moving covertly
The XXIV Catachan is the same, ambush and traps. Just a bunch of Rambos killing and dissapearing into the jungle
Your forces would be picked apart one by one by an unseen force, If you run, surely you will trigger an explosive trap, If you don't, snipers will kill you
Probably because they’re not really that terrifying of a regiment if they aren’t currently benefiting from plot armor. There’s tons of others that surpass them in several or all categories if you take the plot armor out of the equation.
I will throw the macabian jannisaries in
They are zealous fighters who charge will screaming for their patron saint and they are very well equipped. And imo when you mix zealous soldiers with good equipment shit gets real and scary
This is the IG Regiment that guards the Imperial Palace and most of the Senate. While they would be a scary regiment, I don't think most enemies of the Imperium are ever likely to encounter one of them.
Do the Lucifer Blacks even have any feats? They just seem to be told exclusively as guards which is pretty bad because they cannot build up combat experience other regiments have a shitton of.
After the War of the Beast not really. They basically exist on their prestige from the early days of the Imperium. They are well known because of their posting moreso than their combat record.
They see deployment in the watcher of the throne. Mostly, they clean up as their boss makes it rain viscera. Which is tad ironic as their boss is a Custodian.
The only feat I can think of is when a squad of them take on [Alpharius](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Legion_\(Novel\)) actual, he kills every single one of them before the final member gets a melee strike on him which he complements before killing him too. Not particularly interesting but it was a few humans vs a primarch on short notice.
That wasn't actually Alpharius. The book was following the Alpha Legion with Alpharius, Omegon, and several of the named high ranking legionaires that occasionally pose as one of the Primarchs. The comment that "Alpharius" makes after he gets struck is identical to a line from one of his marines earlier in the book. It's meant to be a subtle tell that they are fighting a marine, not the Primarch.
But yeah, 7 guys managing to do real damage to a named and high ranking space marine? Still a damned good showing.
The only other big thing I remember them doing is halfway through the of the beast series.
IF Captain Koorland is attempting to gain emergency powers over the Imperium until the crises is solved but faces opposition from paranoid High Lords thinking it's a HH style astartes power-grab. They order a Lucifer Blacks officer and his men to eject them. [The officer takes a knee to Koorland saying it's an honour to serve him, and the men all swear their allegiance to him personally](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyquiA8RL1Q). Without their support of Koorland as Lord-Commander, the Imperium probably ends right there. He's >!literally the only Imperial Fists marine alive!< and the only other backup he has with him in the room is other Dorn descendant marine officers. Soon after the Imperial Fists are back up to full-ish strength, the Death Guard is founded, >!Vulkan!< is found, humanity is not enslaved by Orks, and the beheading occurs.
It's inferred that earth is not a fun nor safe place to be in though. Orks and bids can't get even close without getting nuked, sure. But they must have seen their share of shit
Catachans is the natural answer but I definitely wouldn't want to be put up against the Savlar Chem-Dogs. Some of the worst of the worst Penal conscripts from a borderline death world neighboring Armageddon where the options are join the guard or slavery in the chem mines with a loot lust and kleptomania that'd make an Ork and a Blood Raven blush with the bonus penchant for flamers, heavy bolters, chemical weapons, and juicing their rebreathers with drugs. No thanks.
Catachan or cadians, more specifically the kasirkin. Either a bunch of Rambo’s with lasguns knives and flamethrowers or elite stormtroopers who once jumped a daemonhost and had the attending inquisitor more afraid of them than the host.
(Joke answer)
The Valhallan 597th.
One moment you're traitoring/xenosing along with not a care in the world, you even have a brilliant sneak attack going on that the enemy hasn't detected at all, earlier you had a good chuckle when you sent some guy with a stupid hat and his grubby minion running away and you're about to win the day for your Chaos God/Craftworld/Kabal/Dynasty/The Greater Good.
And the next your whole sneak attack is dismantled, your entire command structure is dead and the disordered remnants of your force are being gunned down by a bunch of soldiers in shirtsleeves despite it being ten degrees below freezing, being led by a captain spouting the most horrible purple prose at you.
Also what was that bright flash right behind you, where did the guy next to you go and why do you smell a combination of ozone and dirty socks?
Not to mention that one of them is responsible for killing a chaos dreadnought with nothing but a lasgun and some local plants. And don’t get me started on what he can do when he’s really trying.
0) Medusa planet abhumans clan warriors. Like Sly Marbo-Conan Barbarian hybrids who can kill Astartes and Apex predators who can kill Astartes and many enemies of Imperium with primitive weapons. No mercy, no pity to anyone, no foolishness and ready to die to kill enemy cos their life is hell already. But they are not used as regiment. Imperium not know about what happen below think and deadly Medusa atmosphere.
1)Lucifer Blacks/Tupelov Lancers
2)Vostroyan Firstborn
3)Mordian Iron Guard
4)Tempestus Scions.
5)Terrax Guard.
Maccabian Janissaries for my first choice. Because if you think Kriegsmen are suicidal emperor botherer’s then you are in for a surprise. Second choose is Tannith. Yes, Catachans are scarier is a flat fight. But you would never know you were being followed by Tannith troopers till your numbers just start disappearing to ghosts. One minute you’ve got a full strength squad. The next? You are all alone and you hear nothing as the trees laugh at you.
Krieg. A long drawn out war of attrition would definitely effect the sanity of most people. Imagine hearing artillery shells landing in and around your trench daily and having to wonder when one is going to kill you. You'll also have to face off against a foe that is very difficult to break. Imagine having to defend against a horde of faceless infantry advancing in silence in the mist and gas.
Kreig or catchan depeninging on what type of combat you're talking about if im defending with no need to leave a fixed position. Kreig wins that 10/10 as just a demoralizing force, thay are a faceless legion that acts as a hammer. Now, if I have to attack and come fight on there terms catchan win that
Krieg are absolutely monstrous to fight against. There is no reasoning, no mercy, no compromise, no talk, you're in for a bad time from the moment they land.
If they’re allowed to leverage their strengths and not being stuck in a trench for 6 months, many enemies of the Imperium will panic when the trees start speaking Tanith
It seems like the Krieg, but not because they’re incredibly strong. Like Catachan is terrifying because you’re basically fighting and army of people who could get in the ring with Prime Mike Tyson and actually give him a fair/even fight. But Krieg, the willingness to throw their lives away, the endless hoard of soldiers, devoid of emotion, with unbreakable loyalty, willing to not only let but willingly sacrifice themselves and their fellow soldiers just to be certain that you die. That’s a level of psychological terror that I think out does any other legion
I'm pretty new to 40k lore but Krieg seems like hell to go up against. If they don't drown you in an endless wave of soldiers, they will just shell you for about a decade to make sure nothing of you, or your home is left
Pretty new to 40k here but Catachans are amongst one of the scariest to deal with, think Vietnam War but with prime Rambos wielding crazy flamers and large bowie knives. They can easily pull of ambushes aiming to disintegrate forces at once. Close second would be Tanith's First and Only, literally masters of stealth. Oan Mkoll, ambushes 3 White Scars Astartes only making masterful use of his skills in tracking and hunting down enemies. Imagine this dude being John Wick, literally scaring 3 Astartes making then think that the C4 trap he planted were legit only to find out they were rations. Another would be the Death Korps of Krieg. These troopers dont fear death at all, Siege of Vraks is one example. Despite the numerous casualties sustain trying to take back the Armoury World and for it to last 17 long terran years, the still kept pouring in. These dudes have literally have balls of steel, growing up in such a hostile homeworld where toxicity and radiation literally can kill in seconds. 4th would be Cadians, their conduct during the Fall of Cadia for me was outstanding, they also know no fear and the fact that their loadouts became standardized equipment in the Imperium shows how they are one of the best, and as always, Cadia still stands!!
Depends. Catachan would be scary, but in the end their just people who are extremely buff.
Kriegers are something else though. Faceless murder machines that never act human. They get killed easily enough, but they never break. When ordered to attack, their not going to stop for anything until strategically told otherwise. You may shoot one or two with your lasgun, but if you don’t kill them they’ll keep coming. Thousands upon thousands of gas mask wearing maniacs with no care for their life with one intention: kill you. And I don’t mean kill you to take the objective, or kill you for any other reason. Your a traitor, you renounced the emperor, and we’re coming for you, and we’re not gonna stop until you are dead.
Mordian Iron Guard. Hear me out...
Maybe they'll think they're fighting a prissy bunch of boot polishers, but they will have a very sudden realisation that they're actually facing a bunch of stone killer ex gangers that can fight in perfect formation and are superbly drilled.
Krieg. It's honestly less so a war against humans, and more a war against an unending tide of semi-sentient zombies. With enough artillery to block out the fucking sun.
I'd be scared of Kriegsman, to be honest. The hollow breathing from gas masks and if I'm the mini gun guy in charge of mowing them down or something crazy happens and they're STILL running at me. I also don't want to be beaten to death via shovel
Night Lord equivalent? Definitely Catachan Jungle Fighters.
They're able to stealth around in heavy cover and attack unexpectedly from out of nowhere. Their attacks are scary, because they're difficult to anticipate and prevent, but they're also not above torture if they need info or cooperation.
They also embody different combat styles that can be deployed at will, from heavy weapons to armor to sniping and melee combat, giving them tactical flexibility.
Now the thing about them is they're really not all utility soldiers. They are what they say on the package: jungle fighters, and that's what they excel in. Put them somewhere else, or give them something they don't run into in the jungle, and they're going to struggle.
There's a funny section of Deathworlder where a bunch of Catachans have been dunking on a Cadian, right up until they get to a big body of water. Suddenly the big tough Catachan get a little red in the face:
>Anditz eyed the far spires out in the water. The coracles had been stored on the other side of the great edifice, along with the cache of equipment. ‘It’s only a few thousand feet away.’ He turned to the squad. ‘We can get out there in fifteen minutes or so, get the rebreathers and get back on the coast road towards Carnadine City.’
>‘You’ve not noticed a problem with that plan?’ Haruto asked. Anditz looked at him blankly. ‘The fact that half a mile of the sea is in the way?’
>‘We can swim there,’ Anditz said, confused. Then he realised. ‘You can’t swim?’ he said, looking at the Catachans.
>‘Within reason. But that distance is pushing it. Believe it or not, lieutenant, there’s not much water on Catachan that you’d want to drink, let alone swim in,’ Khan said.
>‘Or anywhere we’re deployed,’ added Haruto.
>Anditz shook his head and sighed. He began to pull off his flak armour and empty his pockets. ‘What are you doing, soldier?’ Khan asked.
>‘Preparing to recover a coracle as per our plan, sir,’ Anditz said, setting down his laspistol.
>‘Solo?’
>‘Cadians train for this, major. Basic aquatic combat.’
>‘Done much battlefield swimming, sir?’ Adair said.
>‘No, but you never know when you’ll need to,’ Anditz said, pulling his shirt off. ‘That’s the point. That’s why we train for every eventuality.’
If you're fighting them in their preferred environment then absolutely the **Catachans**.
These blokes are hard enough to eat nails and shit concrete. They're bigger, stronger, tougher, more skilled and more suited to the rigours of jungle warfare than you are and they're coming to kick your teeth in. Fighting them in anything like their preferred environment ie. the jungle is like fighting the Night Lords at night and would be an actual nightmare.
>the Night lords equivalent?
The Day Lords.
Fighters of the Night Lords. Champions of the Sun. They're the masters of Cwlwhl and friendship for everyone.
Definitely Kriegsmen. Their regiments often practice combined arms (infantry, mechanized infantry, armor and artillery), whereas most Imperial Guard units do not, and operate at larger than average numbers than traditional regiments. Due to their history and loyalty, they're one of the few worlds approved for vat grown soldiers (or something of the sort) so their units are replenished much faster than most. They place little value on individual lives other than how much damage they can cause to their enemies at an acceptable Kill-to-Death ratio for the success of their campaign. They have no qualms strapping bombs to their chests and charging trenches or Traitor Astartes, or using chemical and biological weapons. They used them on their own damn planet. Atomics too. They don't care about civilian casualties. They're probably the only Imperial Guard Tithe Planet that trains as rigorously as Cadians.
And they have shovels.
However, if a Catachan deployment includes Sly Marbo, then Catachans are scarier. By far.
EDIT: Honorable mention for the Solar Auxilia. I'm not sure if they're technically Guardsmen or not, but if you're a baseline human you're losing. They're trained specifically for defending Terra and the Sol system against everything that could threaten the Homeworld. They have resources and training that just outmatch anything any other Guard unit puts forth. They probably make IG stormtroopers look like school children.
Solar Auxilia are originally from 30k. And yeah...they all have full void armor and volley guns. And they're very well trained. The best of the Solar Auxilia are far better than any normal Imperial Guard regiment in sheer versatility, strength, and combat training. That being said, I don't think we see much of them in the 40k setting.
He's a character from the codices, earlier editions. No book I'm aware of. Sly for Sylvester Stallone and Marbo as an anagram of Rambo. He was a character for the Guard that was essentially a Warhammer version of "Chuck Norris facts." Excerpt below:
"The Colonel stepped up to Trooper Marbo. Marbo's eyes were empty again, like they always were when he wasn't stalking through the jungle or carving his name in some enemy's internal organs. Inwardly the Colonel sighed - there was something wrong with this boy; blood and death had warped him to the point where he could only be normal with a blade in his hand. Once again the Colonel pronounced the well rehearsed words. "For valour in battle and service to the Emperor of unbounded courage, you are hereby awarded the Star of Terra, bear it with pride that you may inspire others to worthy endeavor in the service of Man". The Colonel completed the dedication in a single breath before pinning the ribbon onto Marbo's chest. This one was for wiping out a whole squad of aliens, killing their commander and capturing their command post single-handed. He leaned closer to Marbo and asked, "You want me to look after it for you son? Like the rest?", Marbo nodded solemnly. "Alright son, you can go". The words had barely left the Colonel's lips before Sly Marbo had plunged back into the jungle as smoothly as a fish slipping into a stream."
—Colonel Traupman of the Catachan XII, awarding Marbo the Star of Terra for his actions on Sask's World.
For the average line grunt, definitely Catachan. While the discipline of Krieg and Cadia are scary for enemy commanders, how would you as a boot on the ground feel about having to fight Prime Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvestor Stallone, and Carl Weathers all wielding Machetes and Flamethrowers?
This is legit how I've learned all my WH40k lore. Someone on this sub asks a question. The people here respond with great answers and book references and quotations etc. I go down the rabbit whole of learning about this entirely new faction/regiment I never even knew existed. I love this sub.
Tbh this is how most people get into it, just not all on reddit lmao. I've gotten several people into the hobby just by dropping a bit of knowledge.
I got into it from DoW 2. Love CoH and gave it a shot. Was immediately enthralled by Space Marines.
A man of culture! I loved those games. I still think the original dawn of war games are the best. The sequels lost that big army feel and went for a more warcraft 3 hero RTS set up with smaller squads. I remember playing DoW with all it's expansions on LAN with my lil bro. Painting my own army. Great times.
"Sir, why are the trees speaking australian?"
“We’re down under now.”
"We ain't making it out back with this one"
If Catachans were Aussie they’d specialise in being friendly fired; that’s what they mostly did in nam (bloody yanks can’t handle their tangs)
If Catachans are Australian, they’d never defeat an army of Emus unfortunatly
I'd like to know what the 40K equivalent to a emu would be.
Cassowary
Las-sowary. They shoot lasers from their eyes.
Bloody Aussies always stealing ideas from New Zealand, there’s already a laser kiwi
Emus weilding lasguns
Don't give hive mind an idea!
I think the emus actually won that engagement. At best it was a tactical win with strategic failure :P
And gulf 1. 2 was marginally better.
Are Catachans really Aussie? Interesting.
They're based *mostly* on American GIs in Vietnam
My headcannon say northern hemisphere of catachan they have a Texas/American southern accent. Southern hemisphere is an Australian accent. An army of Florida men, crazy Texans ,and wild Australians would be frightening indeed
Never thought about this but I love it
They're mostly based on action movie portrayals of GIs in Vietnam. Hence why they are all so ridiculously ripped. They are basically an army of Rambos. Who of course have their own Rambo - a kind of Rambo squared, if you will - in the form of Sly Marbo.
Yeah and they weren’t to subtle on the rambo reference there.
You are more right than I was :)
>lissen here cunt
Love a good Rambo quote 😂
Any good catachan novels or series?
They have a couple of books I've not read. Some of them show up in a few other novels like.. er I think Pandorax? Where they show some big skills.
Deathworlder is specifically about Catachans. They're on a world falling to Tyranids and they're given a final mission to extract an essential McGuffin. Cue an odyssey of alien horror.
The Straken novel I really enjoyed, deathworld was banging too
Straken was pretty decent tbf.
Hunters is good, catachans doing guerrila warfare vs tau
Yeah and the subsequent story where the Tau are doing counter-insurgency operations against Catachan terrorists. It's cool seeing them from the POV of a freshly minted T'au commander. Highly recommend!
Catachan Devil was a fun read
Catachan Devil was a fun read
Half way through Death World (not the new Death Worlders). It's fun pulp.
Deathworlder was pretty good.
Catachans. You die brutally to a regiment of the toughest, strongest and most natural warriors of the Imperium. Regiments of Rambos pretty much. Tons and tons of Rambos and Dutch's (Arnold Schwarzenegger from Predator). You won't win..
I imagine their tactics would be similar to vietcong hit and run and various dirty tricks to demoralize the enemy and wear them out. Not just kill them.
If the kind of enemy they were fighting called for that and the terrain made it possible, definitely. I could also see them directly confronting them if they are an inferior force and overwhelm them with their strength and speed. I love Catachans because they are so adaptable. Still, you are correct in that their primary type of warfare is asymmetrical and guerilla type warfare.
Definitely would use irregular tactics, their operational doctrine is similar to British Commandos. Applying point pressure in small force groups to catch enemy positions unaware with overwhelming rapid force, disrupting and devastating before withdrawing again. US army Rangers were modelled after the commandos too. Except of course you ramp all this up to 11 with the 80s action hero being your standard trooper. It's erm.. quite a threat.
> US army Rangers were modelled after the commandos too. The Rangers are modeled after the American and Canadian rangers of the American Revolution and the Indian Wars before it, and in turn which saw a modern remake with the First Special Service Force Rangers act more like small-unit light infantry and their job was more often that of a long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP unit. The concept of a ranger in North American colonies goes back to at least 1622 with a organized unit by 1676 while that tactic - a group roaming about for weeks and weeks - of course goes farther back with the native people. "When I had ten men able to go abroad, our common wealth was very strong: with such a number I ranged that unknown country 14 weeks." - Capt. John "Samuel" Smith - 1622 Edit - If anything the concept of Commandos comes from the rangers of North America
No, the concept of commandos comes from the Boer commandos in the Boer Wars. Major General Truscotts original proposal to set up the Rangers was literally quoted as "along the lines of British Commandos".
You should read the short story "A Commander Shadow"! They end up becoming straight-up terrorists lol. Love it!
You literally put a Kreig regiment against a Catachan regiment and the catachan are going to be calling for reinforcements.
No way in the warp does that happen, krieg are scary in that they’re tactically a huge monolith which churns out bodies to die essentially. It’s scary yes to see just an unending horde but if it was just the troops dropped off on a planet vs my planetary army per se no way in hell I’d be as scared if they dropped off the same in catachans. The catachans would spread like wildfire sabotaging all important things, butchering patrols, and make a prolonged real fight impossible so you never know how man you’re facing. Then the obvious strength they have coming up close to them your men would be terrified. Even the krieg would break under such circumstances and without a continual reinforcement supply. Don’t fuck with catachans. Alone catachans and a small imperial inquisitor group were able to save a world from becoming a portal to hell. The catachans actually are capable of being adaptable. They’re just as good with a lasgun and better in melee than the average guardsmen, and they are an army of rambos. If given a chance to use guerrilla tactics they can quickly become a nuisance to a problem to a planetary uprising.
I completely agree that Catachans will shit all over Kriegers, but kriegers arent going to run from anything. They have commissars specifically to prevent them from doing stupidly suicidal shit and they’re quite happy to do things like throw themselves headlong into gauss flayer fire to give their melta-carrier time to set up another shot, or engage a canoptek wraith in melee combat to bait it into phasing into reality and both being vaporized by said melta.
I think this quote makes good case for elysians "The enemy commanders think themselves safe from the Emperor's Wrath behind kilometres of fortifications and legions of warriors. They did not account for us. Make your peace with the Emperor, men—we drop in two minutes."
I love the elysian troops, the image of one dropping on a heretic Astartes with a melta bomb primed is *chefs kiss* Be neat if GW gave guard some of the unique infantry options back again.
This would be cool if the Imperial Armour books didn't have the Elysians get absolutely slaughtered in all the books they appear.
Biblicaly accurate airborne.
It's like frontal mass cavalry charge.. Fails often but damn it is cool
My favorite Elysian slaughter happens in Dark Apostle: The word bearers have enslaved the population of Tanakreg into the production of massive daemonic tower(called a Gehemehnet). The Elysians drop right on top of the enemy and it goes… poorly: “Scores of Valkyries were being ripped apart by the relentless anti aircraft fire that slashed up through the roiling black clouds. Thousands of the Elysian drop troopers were slaughtered as they plummeted down through the atmosphere at terminal velocity, but others survived and Laron prayed that other storm trooper platoons were amongst them. It was a baffling experience, to be falling alongside something so massive. They had launched from their Valkyrie above the tower and he had been falling past it for the last few minutes. That such a thing could be so high was inconceivable, the engineering impossible, but there it was in front of his eyes. It made him physically ill and he could hear strange voices in his head. The thing seemed to exert a gravitational pull off its own and he angled away from it, so as not to be drawn too close. ‘Keep your distance from the tower’ he said into his micro-bead, but the thing merely fed back a glare of roaring, horrifying sounds in his ears and he doubted that any heard his order “ Cut to the PoV of Varnus, an enslaved citizen enforcer of Tanakreg, blessed by the ruinous powers to witness the Gehemehnet’s birth from atop its magnificence: “The body jerked as the chains broke its fall and the man’s back, and the body hung for a moment before it continued downwards, spiraling madly, down into the depths of the planet. A moment later, a roar of hot air was expelled up the hollow shaft, and Varnus saw more bodies falling around him. He decided that he must truly have lost his sanity, if he was seeing men fall from the heavens. Still they fell, some tumbling down into the gaping maw of the Gehemehnet, as if it were drawing them to it, and others flashing past him, smashing into the outside of the tower. He jumped to his feet as a figure fell directly towards him, scrambling out of the way as it smashed into the stone with a sickening sound. The man lay broken and very dead, his legs and arms bent beneath him, blood splattering out over the stones and across Varnus’s legs. He stood, looking down at the helmeted corpse dumbly. It was Imperial!” Word Bearers: The Omnibus pg 190
Chem Dogs probably aren't fun to fight. A bunch of criminals high off their asses on space PCP running toward you because behind them is another group with guns sighted on their backs so if they stop they get shot. And also all of this was just a diversion because they are still the Imperial Guard and those artillery shells are gonna be hitting soon.
I love the chem-dogs
Penal legions. Nothing says "hell no" like 100s of guys with bombs strapped to em junked up on space PCP (frenzon) with nothing to lose!!!!
Penal legions go hard
Penile, hard, huehuehueh
Or die trying!!
I mean *all* Guard regiments are scary when you're some barely literate underhive scum caught up in a rebellion. Shits hit the fan when you see full time, professional soldiers arriving in their hundreds of thousands with tanks, artillery, heavy weapons, Naval and specialist support to put down your demands for fairer working hours and food.
By the time the guard get involved, you've already proven to tough for the pdf or the stuff you were making is too vital to risk supply disruption. In that case, maybe start listening to the weird tattooed bald guy who claims to have friends.
So, you want to see the fear in the eyes of those Xenos/Heretics : Tempestus Scions would change any tide of battle with their most advanced training and arsenal, definitely one of the scariest sights for any enemy to see Emperor’s finest land in hi-tech god tier gear. A very rare sight indeed, but it means someone with power wants to get this sh*t done fast and clean. *They are practically Space Marines without augmentations, peak-human conditions armed with the most insane arsenal Mechanicus can spawn. Grey Knights alternative for Astra Militarum.* Catachan are natural born warriors that goes through a real Monster Hunter game all their lives. If they have the environmental advantage rather than open-warfare, it will be a real nightmare and they-will-win. *One story involves a famous leading officer losing his arm to a freaking LAND SHARK and then ripping the sharks throat out by biting it. Another boring day in Catachan forests.* Even Imperium thinks Kriegsters are batsh\*t insane, if they werent so useful Big E himself would vote to nuke them off. Those relentless bastards destroyed Space Marines, Tyranids, even pushed Necrons back and destroyed tombworld cores. You know something is really wrong when Commissar actually tries to be reasonable or Inquisition itself tries to avoid few problems related to Krieg. *A Krieg team once coordinated almost instantly to force an invulnerable/phasing Canoptek Wraith into melee-combat (so that it would engage its phase-out protocols to become vulnerable) and then the rest of the team shot the everliving sh\*\*t out of the damn thing along with their charging-comrades. Didnt even blink.* As a fear bonus but not regiment, seeing the lonesome Eversor Assassin wandering amongst the ruins and friendly/enemy corpses means you are fu\*\*ed beyond measurement. It means various fun activities like being branded a heretic-fugitive by Inquisition for nothing-at-all and being involved in an active scorched earth protocol. *That is what they send to make the place disappear from history while Exterminatus batteries are charging.*
Are there any books on the scions?
The Eisenhorn series features them briefly as well as the Cain anthology.
Commenting on the inquisition and their hesitancy to Krieg: I really love this aspect of their lore. The inquisition is well aware that there is something off abt them. However, they are so useful to the imperium that the matter is deemed a stone better left unturned.
A lesser known candidate would be the [Miasman Redcowls.](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Miasman_Redcowls) All other guard regiments fear fighting alongside them for their incredibly destructive flamer weapons. In fact, the Imperium use them like the Legion Destroyers of old.
That's a really interesting answer Edit- and the green flames really draw further parallel that the IoM are space Skaven
>Edit- and the green flames really draw further parallel that the IoM are space Skaven I mean, it is more a unique property of their home gas giant. If the Tau and Orks start harvesting that gas giant to make flamethrowers, it would likely have the same effect. If you want more Skaven parallels, look to the Dark Eldar. They live in a near-inacessible realm to non-eldar races. Their entire society is built on backstabbing and murder. Whole operations are sabotaged by their own regardless of costs to Dark Eldar loves. They segregate between vatborn and trueborn, like how Skaven favor white- and black-furred newborn over others. Most of the vatborn exist as downtrodden and abused slaves until they murder their way into the Clan-like Kabals. They absolutely love being sadistic bastards, stealing life-saving STCs like how Skaven mine gold just to piss off the Dawi. Mandrakes are mystical mutated warriors like Plague Monks. They both focus on being fast fighters, like using raids/ambushes and use combat drugs much more often then the Imperium. The Haemonculi will easily match Clan Moulder in creating bio-horrors. Their weapons are like Skaven as being focused on horrific melting and/or debilitating poisons and toxins to better grab their slaves back to torture and work to death. They even hang blanks and psykers in cages for infernal contraptions like how Skaven do their machines. They have weapons that easily cause stellar disasters like how Ikrit Claw blew up the moon. They absolutely do not trust each other to the point of using other races as bodyguards.
While those are all good points, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer Age of Sigmar also have Dark Eldar armies though. They have Dark Elves armies. (As far as I understand it WFB had a full Dark Elf army while W AoS has a small army from like a boxed set or army units that can be added to a regular High Elf army or something like that.)
>While those are all good points, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer Age of Sigmar also have Dark Eldar armies though. They have Dark Elves armies. By that same token, should you not consider the Imperium the space counterparts to Bretonnia and the Empire? Guardsmen are much more likely to get outnumbered by orks or outmatched by eldar, like the bretonnian peasants and empire state troops who have to stick and work together in large numbers to survive. The greatswords are better armed veterans like regimental grenadiers. Space Marines are like the Empire's Knightly Orders. Like the state troops, guardsmen's weapons seem unimpressive but reliable and rugged. State troop very often need officers and priests to keep the men's fighting soirit up and hold the lines, like the sergeants, commissars and preachers among the Guard. [40ktheories has a video about counterparts and doppelgangers between 40k and Fantasy.](https://youtu.be/-oh3wiy9s6k?si=7D1tVmenu2pDKgZx) The Empire and Bretonnia also launched their own crusades against Araby. They kept expanding even after their initial target was achieved. The Empire publicly denied the existence of Skaven and suppressed knowledge regarding daemons like the Imperium's policy regarding daemons. >AoS has a small army from like a boxed set or army units that can be added to a regular High Elf army or something like that.) The Dark Elf roster is currently divided into multiple snall subfactions consisting of a few units each that could be mixed with other subfactions of the great Cities of Sigmar roster. They are currently the only remnants of the older elf range for AoS. Some of these dark elf subfactions joined Morathi's annexation of Anvilgard or fought against it. There are rumors that Malerion is creating shadow elves for his own.
Tanith First and Only or the XXIV Catachan regiment Both for the same reasons, they are experts on killing from the shadows. The Taniths are expert marksmen and good at moving covertly The XXIV Catachan is the same, ambush and traps. Just a bunch of Rambos killing and dissapearing into the jungle Your forces would be picked apart one by one by an unseen force, If you run, surely you will trigger an explosive trap, If you don't, snipers will kill you
The most terrifying thing is when Tanith First and Only shows up and you have no plot armor piercing rounds
Really surprised I had to scroll down so far to see the Tanith first and only
Probably because they’re not really that terrifying of a regiment if they aren’t currently benefiting from plot armor. There’s tons of others that surpass them in several or all categories if you take the plot armor out of the equation.
I will throw the macabian jannisaries in They are zealous fighters who charge will screaming for their patron saint and they are very well equipped. And imo when you mix zealous soldiers with good equipment shit gets real and scary
Yeah they're basically the Krieg with actually decent gear. You don't give a backpack full of grenades and carapace armor to your cannon fodder.
Lucifer Blacks come to mind.
Who are these?
This is the IG Regiment that guards the Imperial Palace and most of the Senate. While they would be a scary regiment, I don't think most enemies of the Imperium are ever likely to encounter one of them.
Do the Lucifer Blacks even have any feats? They just seem to be told exclusively as guards which is pretty bad because they cannot build up combat experience other regiments have a shitton of.
After the War of the Beast not really. They basically exist on their prestige from the early days of the Imperium. They are well known because of their posting moreso than their combat record.
They see deployment in the watcher of the throne. Mostly, they clean up as their boss makes it rain viscera. Which is tad ironic as their boss is a Custodian.
The only feat I can think of is when a squad of them take on [Alpharius](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Legion_\(Novel\)) actual, he kills every single one of them before the final member gets a melee strike on him which he complements before killing him too. Not particularly interesting but it was a few humans vs a primarch on short notice.
That wasn't actually Alpharius. The book was following the Alpha Legion with Alpharius, Omegon, and several of the named high ranking legionaires that occasionally pose as one of the Primarchs. The comment that "Alpharius" makes after he gets struck is identical to a line from one of his marines earlier in the book. It's meant to be a subtle tell that they are fighting a marine, not the Primarch. But yeah, 7 guys managing to do real damage to a named and high ranking space marine? Still a damned good showing.
well, empra damn it
I know right? Baseline(ish) humans can't have shit :(
The only other big thing I remember them doing is halfway through the of the beast series. IF Captain Koorland is attempting to gain emergency powers over the Imperium until the crises is solved but faces opposition from paranoid High Lords thinking it's a HH style astartes power-grab. They order a Lucifer Blacks officer and his men to eject them. [The officer takes a knee to Koorland saying it's an honour to serve him, and the men all swear their allegiance to him personally](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyquiA8RL1Q). Without their support of Koorland as Lord-Commander, the Imperium probably ends right there. He's >!literally the only Imperial Fists marine alive!< and the only other backup he has with him in the room is other Dorn descendant marine officers. Soon after the Imperial Fists are back up to full-ish strength, the Death Guard is founded, >!Vulkan!< is found, humanity is not enslaved by Orks, and the beheading occurs.
Kreig have killed world eater berzerkers. I’m not impressed with a Lucifer black dinking an alpha legion Pauldron lolol
It's inferred that earth is not a fun nor safe place to be in though. Orks and bids can't get even close without getting nuked, sure. But they must have seen their share of shit
One of their colonels sank his sword entirely into Alpharius' side before getting cut in half
Catachans is the natural answer but I definitely wouldn't want to be put up against the Savlar Chem-Dogs. Some of the worst of the worst Penal conscripts from a borderline death world neighboring Armageddon where the options are join the guard or slavery in the chem mines with a loot lust and kleptomania that'd make an Ork and a Blood Raven blush with the bonus penchant for flamers, heavy bolters, chemical weapons, and juicing their rebreathers with drugs. No thanks.
Terrax guard, I mean commissars are scary, now imagine entire regiment of them
TIL, thanks man
Assuming they all don't shoot each other for some sort of heresy within 24 hours of being formed
Catachan or cadians, more specifically the kasirkin. Either a bunch of Rambo’s with lasguns knives and flamethrowers or elite stormtroopers who once jumped a daemonhost and had the attending inquisitor more afraid of them than the host.
(Joke answer) The Valhallan 597th. One moment you're traitoring/xenosing along with not a care in the world, you even have a brilliant sneak attack going on that the enemy hasn't detected at all, earlier you had a good chuckle when you sent some guy with a stupid hat and his grubby minion running away and you're about to win the day for your Chaos God/Craftworld/Kabal/Dynasty/The Greater Good. And the next your whole sneak attack is dismantled, your entire command structure is dead and the disordered remnants of your force are being gunned down by a bunch of soldiers in shirtsleeves despite it being ten degrees below freezing, being led by a captain spouting the most horrible purple prose at you. Also what was that bright flash right behind you, where did the guy next to you go and why do you smell a combination of ozone and dirty socks?
Tanith first would be pretty fucking scary. They pulled off some crazy shit and their chief is the guy from balhaut, damn.
Not to mention that one of them is responsible for killing a chaos dreadnought with nothing but a lasgun and some local plants. And don’t get me started on what he can do when he’s really trying.
0) Medusa planet abhumans clan warriors. Like Sly Marbo-Conan Barbarian hybrids who can kill Astartes and Apex predators who can kill Astartes and many enemies of Imperium with primitive weapons. No mercy, no pity to anyone, no foolishness and ready to die to kill enemy cos their life is hell already. But they are not used as regiment. Imperium not know about what happen below think and deadly Medusa atmosphere. 1)Lucifer Blacks/Tupelov Lancers 2)Vostroyan Firstborn 3)Mordian Iron Guard 4)Tempestus Scions. 5)Terrax Guard.
The 83rd Malradian Ball Stompers. Incredibly wild regiment, definitely don’t want to get on their bad side
What do they do to the bad guys? Do they have any feats?
I think they use their feats on the bad guys.
The name is self explanatory
Last chancers
Maccabian Janissaries for my first choice. Because if you think Kriegsmen are suicidal emperor botherer’s then you are in for a surprise. Second choose is Tannith. Yes, Catachans are scarier is a flat fight. But you would never know you were being followed by Tannith troopers till your numbers just start disappearing to ghosts. One minute you’ve got a full strength squad. The next? You are all alone and you hear nothing as the trees laugh at you.
Maccabian Janissaries are my fav regiment. Such a cool look and history
Any solid books you recommend about them ?
I just read the wiki and excerpts on here lol
I wanna say Krieg just cuz of their batshit insane mentality. But idk there’s some lesser known regiment that’s worse.
The Tanith first and only. You don't see or hear them. Slowly your unit gets taken out one at a time until you're left.
I'd say Kriegers. They have the suicidal death cult found in some mujahideen, but have the equipment and numbers to fight as a regular army force.
Krieg. A long drawn out war of attrition would definitely effect the sanity of most people. Imagine hearing artillery shells landing in and around your trench daily and having to wonder when one is going to kill you. You'll also have to face off against a foe that is very difficult to break. Imagine having to defend against a horde of faceless infantry advancing in silence in the mist and gas.
Kreig or catchan depeninging on what type of combat you're talking about if im defending with no need to leave a fixed position. Kreig wins that 10/10 as just a demoralizing force, thay are a faceless legion that acts as a hammer. Now, if I have to attack and come fight on there terms catchan win that
Krieg are absolutely monstrous to fight against. There is no reasoning, no mercy, no compromise, no talk, you're in for a bad time from the moment they land.
Death korps for complete disregard of there own lives. Honorable mentions goes to any regiments renowned for zealous adherence to the Imperial cult
If they’re allowed to leverage their strengths and not being stuck in a trench for 6 months, many enemies of the Imperium will panic when the trees start speaking Tanith
Gaunt’s Ghosts, Tanith First & Only baby
Ghosts kill team with MKoll
I think either the Catachans or the Death Korps.
It seems like the Krieg, but not because they’re incredibly strong. Like Catachan is terrifying because you’re basically fighting and army of people who could get in the ring with Prime Mike Tyson and actually give him a fair/even fight. But Krieg, the willingness to throw their lives away, the endless hoard of soldiers, devoid of emotion, with unbreakable loyalty, willing to not only let but willingly sacrifice themselves and their fellow soldiers just to be certain that you die. That’s a level of psychological terror that I think out does any other legion
I'm pretty new to 40k lore but Krieg seems like hell to go up against. If they don't drown you in an endless wave of soldiers, they will just shell you for about a decade to make sure nothing of you, or your home is left
We are forgetting one thing that makes catachan a big problem. Catachan frequently uses Ogryn. Just nope, no thanks. Fuck that.
Pretty new to 40k here but Catachans are amongst one of the scariest to deal with, think Vietnam War but with prime Rambos wielding crazy flamers and large bowie knives. They can easily pull of ambushes aiming to disintegrate forces at once. Close second would be Tanith's First and Only, literally masters of stealth. Oan Mkoll, ambushes 3 White Scars Astartes only making masterful use of his skills in tracking and hunting down enemies. Imagine this dude being John Wick, literally scaring 3 Astartes making then think that the C4 trap he planted were legit only to find out they were rations. Another would be the Death Korps of Krieg. These troopers dont fear death at all, Siege of Vraks is one example. Despite the numerous casualties sustain trying to take back the Armoury World and for it to last 17 long terran years, the still kept pouring in. These dudes have literally have balls of steel, growing up in such a hostile homeworld where toxicity and radiation literally can kill in seconds. 4th would be Cadians, their conduct during the Fall of Cadia for me was outstanding, they also know no fear and the fact that their loadouts became standardized equipment in the Imperium shows how they are one of the best, and as always, Cadia still stands!!
Depends. Catachan would be scary, but in the end their just people who are extremely buff. Kriegers are something else though. Faceless murder machines that never act human. They get killed easily enough, but they never break. When ordered to attack, their not going to stop for anything until strategically told otherwise. You may shoot one or two with your lasgun, but if you don’t kill them they’ll keep coming. Thousands upon thousands of gas mask wearing maniacs with no care for their life with one intention: kill you. And I don’t mean kill you to take the objective, or kill you for any other reason. Your a traitor, you renounced the emperor, and we’re coming for you, and we’re not gonna stop until you are dead.
One that gives out koolaid
Either Catachans, the Tanith 1st, or the Salvar Chem Dogs.
Karskin units killed some Chaos Marines in Cadia's last stand.
I’d say either catachans or the penal legion
I would say it depends the situation. But you do NOT want to besiege or be besieged by Krieg guards.
Mordian Iron Guard. Hear me out... Maybe they'll think they're fighting a prissy bunch of boot polishers, but they will have a very sudden realisation that they're actually facing a bunch of stone killer ex gangers that can fight in perfect formation and are superbly drilled.
One with titans in support.
Krieg. It's honestly less so a war against humans, and more a war against an unending tide of semi-sentient zombies. With enough artillery to block out the fucking sun.
I'd be scared of Kriegsman, to be honest. The hollow breathing from gas masks and if I'm the mini gun guy in charge of mowing them down or something crazy happens and they're STILL running at me. I also don't want to be beaten to death via shovel
Night Lord equivalent? Definitely Catachan Jungle Fighters. They're able to stealth around in heavy cover and attack unexpectedly from out of nowhere. Their attacks are scary, because they're difficult to anticipate and prevent, but they're also not above torture if they need info or cooperation. They also embody different combat styles that can be deployed at will, from heavy weapons to armor to sniping and melee combat, giving them tactical flexibility. Now the thing about them is they're really not all utility soldiers. They are what they say on the package: jungle fighters, and that's what they excel in. Put them somewhere else, or give them something they don't run into in the jungle, and they're going to struggle. There's a funny section of Deathworlder where a bunch of Catachans have been dunking on a Cadian, right up until they get to a big body of water. Suddenly the big tough Catachan get a little red in the face: >Anditz eyed the far spires out in the water. The coracles had been stored on the other side of the great edifice, along with the cache of equipment. ‘It’s only a few thousand feet away.’ He turned to the squad. ‘We can get out there in fifteen minutes or so, get the rebreathers and get back on the coast road towards Carnadine City.’ >‘You’ve not noticed a problem with that plan?’ Haruto asked. Anditz looked at him blankly. ‘The fact that half a mile of the sea is in the way?’ >‘We can swim there,’ Anditz said, confused. Then he realised. ‘You can’t swim?’ he said, looking at the Catachans. >‘Within reason. But that distance is pushing it. Believe it or not, lieutenant, there’s not much water on Catachan that you’d want to drink, let alone swim in,’ Khan said. >‘Or anywhere we’re deployed,’ added Haruto. >Anditz shook his head and sighed. He began to pull off his flak armour and empty his pockets. ‘What are you doing, soldier?’ Khan asked. >‘Preparing to recover a coracle as per our plan, sir,’ Anditz said, setting down his laspistol. >‘Solo?’ >‘Cadians train for this, major. Basic aquatic combat.’ >‘Done much battlefield swimming, sir?’ Adair said. >‘No, but you never know when you’ll need to,’ Anditz said, pulling his shirt off. ‘That’s the point. That’s why we train for every eventuality.’
Krieg death korps
If you're fighting them in their preferred environment then absolutely the **Catachans**. These blokes are hard enough to eat nails and shit concrete. They're bigger, stronger, tougher, more skilled and more suited to the rigours of jungle warfare than you are and they're coming to kick your teeth in. Fighting them in anything like their preferred environment ie. the jungle is like fighting the Night Lords at night and would be an actual nightmare.
Krieg. They're fucked. No fear and their only desire is death through duty.
Maybe the Savlar chem dogs or any other kind of penal battalion would be the closest to the night lords in terms of brutality and savagery
>the Night lords equivalent? The Day Lords. Fighters of the Night Lords. Champions of the Sun. They're the masters of Cwlwhl and friendship for everyone.
Not the Cadians, just pocket sand them and laugh as they cry and scream.
The one that makes Harlon Nayl, who is widely regarded as the most badass base human, fearful. The Kaserkin.
Whatever regiment it was that fought Necrons, underground, on their own tombworld.. for like 30 days and won.
The Death Corps of Krieg are noted for being particularly terrifying just from a presentation standpoint.
Any of them.
Definitely Kriegsmen. Their regiments often practice combined arms (infantry, mechanized infantry, armor and artillery), whereas most Imperial Guard units do not, and operate at larger than average numbers than traditional regiments. Due to their history and loyalty, they're one of the few worlds approved for vat grown soldiers (or something of the sort) so their units are replenished much faster than most. They place little value on individual lives other than how much damage they can cause to their enemies at an acceptable Kill-to-Death ratio for the success of their campaign. They have no qualms strapping bombs to their chests and charging trenches or Traitor Astartes, or using chemical and biological weapons. They used them on their own damn planet. Atomics too. They don't care about civilian casualties. They're probably the only Imperial Guard Tithe Planet that trains as rigorously as Cadians. And they have shovels. However, if a Catachan deployment includes Sly Marbo, then Catachans are scarier. By far. EDIT: Honorable mention for the Solar Auxilia. I'm not sure if they're technically Guardsmen or not, but if you're a baseline human you're losing. They're trained specifically for defending Terra and the Sol system against everything that could threaten the Homeworld. They have resources and training that just outmatch anything any other Guard unit puts forth. They probably make IG stormtroopers look like school children.
Solar Auxilia are originally from 30k. And yeah...they all have full void armor and volley guns. And they're very well trained. The best of the Solar Auxilia are far better than any normal Imperial Guard regiment in sheer versatility, strength, and combat training. That being said, I don't think we see much of them in the 40k setting.
Sly Marbo. Not his regiment, just him.
Who is sly marbo? I've heard of him but never a read a book about him
He's a character from the codices, earlier editions. No book I'm aware of. Sly for Sylvester Stallone and Marbo as an anagram of Rambo. He was a character for the Guard that was essentially a Warhammer version of "Chuck Norris facts." Excerpt below: "The Colonel stepped up to Trooper Marbo. Marbo's eyes were empty again, like they always were when he wasn't stalking through the jungle or carving his name in some enemy's internal organs. Inwardly the Colonel sighed - there was something wrong with this boy; blood and death had warped him to the point where he could only be normal with a blade in his hand. Once again the Colonel pronounced the well rehearsed words. "For valour in battle and service to the Emperor of unbounded courage, you are hereby awarded the Star of Terra, bear it with pride that you may inspire others to worthy endeavor in the service of Man". The Colonel completed the dedication in a single breath before pinning the ribbon onto Marbo's chest. This one was for wiping out a whole squad of aliens, killing their commander and capturing their command post single-handed. He leaned closer to Marbo and asked, "You want me to look after it for you son? Like the rest?", Marbo nodded solemnly. "Alright son, you can go". The words had barely left the Colonel's lips before Sly Marbo had plunged back into the jungle as smoothly as a fish slipping into a stream." —Colonel Traupman of the Catachan XII, awarding Marbo the Star of Terra for his actions on Sask's World.
Dam thts pretty badass