Do you love Space Marines? Then you’ll want to join the Legion that exemplifies their transhuman fury and brutal purpose. Do you hate Space Marines? Then you’ll want to join the Legion that was killing them long before the Horus Heresy, serving as the Emperor’s own executioners. Dogs? Pah! Let slip the wolves of war.
If you were impressed by some noisy biker gang, it’s high time you learned what real spacefaring savages look like. That’s right, our unbiased guide to the Legiones Astartes can finally take a look at the goodest Legion of all – the Space Wolves.
The VI Legion was born to be wild. While other Legions plodded through the daily grind, these ferocious hunter-killers were the Emperor’s literal attack dogs. He might have designed all the Primarchs to be perfect (i.e. in his image), but there’s always a chance – just a small one – that a Legion of highly-strung genetic supermen might go off the rails. It was up to the Space Wolves to clean up these little upsets – some remembrancers might claim they’re why this series has only 18 articles, and not 20. We couldn’t possibly comment.
Every Legion has its quirks, whether by accident or design, but the Space Wolves boast more obvious alterations than most. Enhanced senses and reflexes? All the better to hear you with. Intense aggression and thickened hair? All the better to shout you down. Big ol’ canine fangs? All the better to… well, you get it.
The only real problem the VI Legion has ever had is deciding what to call themselves – are they the Rout? The Vlka Fenryka? The Sky Warriors? Or just the Space Wolves?* Actually, that might be their second-biggest problem – there’s another tiny issue, barely worth mentioning, that sometimes their already-mutant gene-seed metastasises and transforms them into hairy, frothing berserkers that are more beast than man.
The Space Wolves are tireless predators who specialise in furious infantry shock assaults, exploiting their speed and ferocity to overwhelm enemy formations with close-range firefights – and then move in for the kill. Frankly, if you can’t kill it with a boltgun and blade, is it even worth fighting?
Like a pack of over-eager huskies, these brutes barrel into their enemies, colliding with an eagerness that borders on the sadistic. This Bestial Savagery overwhelms most foes, giving the victorious Space Wolves plenty of epic combat yarns to spin at their post-battle celebrations.
Of course, sometimes your prey isn’t so eager to flee – particularly when their preening, finely-dressed leaders are standing around barking orders. Fortunately, the Emperor’s executioners have plenty of experience decapitating enemy forces. If your Warlord’s a Crown Breaker, he’ll find it easy to take out enemy characters – whether hacking them up or gunning them down – and shrug off grievous wounds to claim the glory of a melee kill. Even better, his buddies get the same benefit!
The superstitious sons of Fenris loathe psychic sorcery and would obviously never fight alongside a Librarian witch. Fortunately, they can call on the eminently wise Casters of the Runes to harness the elemental power of their home world’s heart, shrouding their brothers in howling storms. No witchcraft here, no sir! If only Magnus could have been so sensible.
Plenty of Legions had some friction with their newfound Primarchs – not so for Leman Russ, a warrior-king perfectly suited to his fearsome sons. Spirited away from the Emperor’s labs along with his brothers, Russ found himself on the icy death world of Fenris. There he was raised by wolves, learning essential family values like loyalty to the pack, persistence on the hunt, and the polite time to sniff strangers.
In time, the wolf-child encountered his first actual humans. The Russ tribe managed to placate the Primarch (possibly using a squeaky toy), and he was adopted by their king. He soon rose to become a legendary ruler whose saga made its way to the ears of the Emperor, still searching for his lost sons. The Master of Mankind headed straight to Fenris, but Russ refused to bow to a stranger – until the Emperor issued a challenge.
First, Russ beat the Emperor in an eating competition! Then, Russ beat the Emperor in a drinking contest! At this point the Emperor lost his temper – the two had a brawl that left Leman out cold, but he still claimed the moral victory. Oh, and his headache after the fight was totally due to all the mead he drank, not because he was punched in the face by the strongest psyker in the galaxy.
Russ had few friends among his brothers – it might have been the primitive traditions, the barely-veiled death threats, or just jealousy over his incredible mane. The Wolf King didn’t much care, and actively played up his barbaric ways – people tend to underestimate you when they think you’re just a drunken brute. Other than Horus, his best bro was probably Lion El’Jonson, after the two rivals beat each other to a pulp. That’s a Fenris friendship, baby!
As you might expect, it was the Space Wolves who drew first blood against a Traitor Legion – in fact, they managed to claim victory before their opponents had even turned Traitor! You’ve got to nip these things in the bud.
In a different life, the jock Leman Russ and the nerd Magnus the Red might have been best friends – sharing an apartment, revelling in each other’s idiosyncrasies, and learning a few life lessons along the way. Sadly this wasn’t to be, and after Magnus broke dad’s favourite chair, Russ was dispatched to bring him to (totally proportionate) justice. Even faced with the mightiest defences of Prospero, the Space Wolves easily swept aside the dweebs of the XV Legion and burned their forbidden libraries to the ground – only fell magics saved Magnus’ life.**
Bloodied and bruised by their early battle against the Thousand Sons, the Space Wolves were left on the back foot when the Horus Heresy truly erupted. The Warmaster had absolutely no intention of letting these dogs off the leash, and dispatched the Alpha Legion to ambush Leman Russ out in the Alaxxes Nebula, where he joined forces with a contingent of Dark Angels to fight his way back to Terra.
Russ was never one to sit around, and soon decided it was up to him to deck Horus in the schnozz. The Wolf King even grappled with some seriously spooky powers in search of an edge – Magnus would have been proud. Though juiced up on Chaos, the Warmaster proved no match for his feral brother in single combat – unfortunately, Russ knew how excited everyone was about the Siege of Terra, and didn’t want people to miss out on that epic saga. He pulled his punches, and the judges called it a draw.
During the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves sent watch-packs to other Legions to keep an eye on their Primarchs, just in case they turned against the Emperor. A single squad against a Primarch? Doesn’t feel like a fair fight – you’d need more Primarchs. See how Guilliman’s watch-pack got on in The Unremembered Empire.
For an earlier look at the VI Legion during the Great Crusade, you can learn how the great rivalry between the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels began in Leman Russ: The Great Wolf.
You can get your own Legionaries ready to keep an eye on the Primarchs of the 31st Millennium with this step-by-step painting guide.
Are you a suitable candidate for the ranks of the VI Legion? Do you like drinking, boasting of your deeds, and the smell of wet dog?*** Find out if you’re worthy by taking the Discover Your Legion quiz at the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy website – now updated with even more information on the incredible new edition of the game.
* Frankly, any one of these names would be an excellent metal band.
** Ignore the blatant pro-Magnus propaganda in A Thousand Sons.
*** It smells like victory.