Veteran Squad (Space Marines)
Veteran Space Marines are mostly members of the 1st Company of a Space Marine Chapter, the so called Veteran Company. They form the Chapter's battle hardened core and have wide access to its armoury. Recently, though predominately identified with the 1st Company, each Space Marine Company maintains its own Veteran Squads.[8a]
Overview
To be promoted into the 1st Company is a great honour for all battle-brothers. Those that have proven themselves worthy usually have centuries of service behind them and have risen to the rank of a sergeant. Sometimes a less experienced Marine may be accepted after committing several acts of outstanding heroism.[4][5]
The Marines of the 1st Company bear the privilege of taking the Chapter's finest and most revered equipment to battle, as well as the duty to return with it afterwards.[5]
Heraldry
Members of the 1st Company traditionally wear white helmets. The sergeant's red helmet is adorned with a white stripe.
Their power armour features white or silver trimmed shoulder pads. The tactical symbol on the right shoulder is a stylized cross which is derived from the Crux Terminatus. A small crux, known as "Terminator honours" is carried on the left knee pad.[1][2]
Veteran Squads
- Terminators are trained to fight in Tactical Dreadnought Armour, the toughest armour the Chapter has to offer.[1] Terminators that are geared for close combat fight together in Terminator Assault Squads.[3]
- Vanguard Veterans excel in close combat. Apart from a huge assortment of melee weapons, jump packs are often used to add the advantage of speed to their attacks.[5]
- Sternguard Veterans are experts at ranged combat. They rely on finely crafted weapons and highly specialised ammunition to take on all manners of foes.[5]
- Bladeguard Veterans are a new type of Primaris Space Marine Veteran which serve in the First Company.[7]
- Veteran Intercessor and Veteran Assault Intercessor squads[8].
- Company Veterans are the fighting elite of their respective company and act as their Captain's bodyguards and closest advisors. They equip themselves for any battlefield situation, leading offensives or reinforcing weakening elements of the battle line.[8a]
Chapter Variants
Some Codex-divergent Chapters have their own unique veteran formations. Below are some notable examples:
- The Sword Brethren of the Black Templars
- The Wolf Guard of the Space Wolves
- The Deathwing of the Dark Angels and their successors
- The Sanguinary Guard of the Blood Angels and their Successors
- The Tempest Blades of the Storm Wardens
- The Firedrakes of the Salamanders
- The Morlocks of the Iron Hands
Images
Veteran Sergeant (4th edition)
Veterans (5th edition)
Veterans (4th edition)
Sources
- 1: Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition), pgs. 25, 66
- 2: Insignium Astartes, [Needs Citation]
- 3: Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pgs. 8-9
- 4: Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pgs.12, 30-32
- 5:Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pgs. 62-64, 136
- 6: Games Workshop
- 7: Warhammer Community: Warhammer 40,000: More Models Revealed (24/05/2020) (Last accessed on 24 May 2020)
- 8: Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition) pg.16
- 9: pg.151
