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Space Marine Honour Guard Squad

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Targetdrone.gif This article is about the Codex Standard Space Marine Honour Guards. For other uses of Honour Guard, see Honour Guard (disambiguation).
An Honour Guard of the Ultramarines[1]

A Space Marine Honour Guard is a unit made of the best soldiers a Space Marine Chapter has to offer.[1]

Overview

Honour guards are two extremes, solemn and taciturn at peace but ferocious and unyielding in combat. They have achieved all awards and honours that a marine can, which puts them in a position of unrivaled knowledge. Often their experience and knowledge of warfare outstrips the Captains of a chapter, but to offer unsolicited advice would be to undermine the position of these captains. To this end, any advice given by an honour guard carries much weight within the command circle as well as among the rank and file. Even Chapter Masters have been known to seek advice from honour guards.[1]

Honour guard weapons and equipment are the oldest and greatest the chapter has to offer. Most often this includes ancient and ornate artificer armour and weapons which have had hundreds of previous users, all of whom were great heroes. Most chapters can muster only a handful of honour guards and only the largest chapters have over twenty guards. It is very rare however, that such a number would ever fight together.[1]

Often the honour guard will form the retinue for the Chapter Master, keeping him safe in battle as well as carrying the Chapter Banner. They fight with a cold courage, their experience and abilities help them to calm the rage of combat whilst maintaining lightning reactions and instant analysis of battle conditions. This strength has turned the tide of many battles and saved the life of several chapter masters. When one of the honour guard dies in battle, his brothers fight all the harder to recover his body and return it to the chapter's Vault of Heroes.[1]

Chapter Variations

Pre-Heresy

During the Great Crusade, it became traditional for the primarch of a Space Marine Legion to be accompanied by an elite bodyguard unit, frequently equipped with Terminator armour. Units of this kind included:

Legion Primarch Title Notes
Alpha Legion Alpharius Lernaean Alpharius often switched places with these warriors[2]
Blood Angels Sanguinius Sanguinary Guard Often equipped with Artificer armour instead.
Dark Angels Lion El'Jonson Paladins, Five Hundred Companions, Deathwing
Death Guard Mortarion Deathshroud Names were deliberately expunged from the Legion's rolls, so they remained completely anonymous.
Emperor's Children Fulgrim Phoenix Guard
Imperial Fists Rogal Dorn Huscarls, Templars
Iron Hands Ferrus Manus Morlocks
Iron Warriors Perturabo Tyranthikos/Iron Circle
Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus Horus Justaerin Acted as an elite unit within the 1st Company, rather than a bodyguard unit. Captained by Falkus Kibre.
Night Lords Konrad Curze Atramentar
Raven Guard Corvus Corax Shadow Wardens
Salamanders Vulkan Pyre Guard
Space Wolves Leman Russ Wolf Guard
Thousand Sons Magnus Scarab Occult
Ultramarines Roboute Guilliman Suzerain Invictarus
White Scars Jaghatai Khan Keshig
Word Bearers Lorgar Gal Vorbak
Harbingers of Death
World Eaters Angron Devourers Unlike most primarchs, Angron disdained his need for a bodyguard unit, and so the Devourers were not the Legion's most skilled warriors.

Post-Heresy

Chapter/Legion Title Notes
Black Legion Bringers of Despair Personal bodyguard of Abaddon the Despoiler
Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard
Blood Ravens Honour Guard
Death Guard Deathshroud Personal bodyguard of Mortarion
Iron Warriors Rending Guard Personal bodyguard of Warsmith Andraaz
Night Lords Atramentar Bodyguards for Night Lords Chaos Lords
Space Wolves Wolf Guard Retinue of a Wolf Lord.
Ultramarines Honour Guard
Victrix Guard
Chosen of the Tetrarchy

Related Articles

Sources


Space Marine Infantry
Chapter Command Chapter MasterMaster of SanctityChief LibrarianMaster of the ApothecarionMaster of the ForgeMaster (Master of the WatchMaster of the FleetMaster of the ArsenalMaster of the MarchesMaster of the RitesMaster of RelicsLord ExecutionerMaster of RecruitsMaster of the SignalMaster of Reconnaissance)Chapter Ancient (Primaris Ancient) • Chapter ChampionHonour Guard
Company Command Company Command SquadReclusiam Command SquadCaptain (Primaris Captain) • Lieutenant (Primaris LieutenantVanguard Lieutenant) • Company Ancient (Bladeguard Ancient) • Company Champion
Specialists Librarian (EpistolaryCodicierLexicanumPrimaris LibrarianVanguard Librarian) • Chaplain (ReclusiarchPrimaris ChaplainJudiciar)Apothecary (Primaris ApothecaryHelix Adept) • Techmarine (Primaris Techmarine)
Veteran Squads Sternguard Veteran SquadVanguard Veteran SquadTerminator Squad (Terminator Assault Squad) • Bladeguard VeteranVeteran Intercessor SquadCompany Veterans
Battleline Squads Tactical SquadIntercessor Squad (Heavy Intercessor Squad) • Infiltrator Squad
Close Support Squads Assault SquadAssault Intercessor SquadJump Pack Intercessor SquadInceptor SquadReiver SquadIncursor SquadAssault Centurion Squad
Fire Support Squads Devastator SquadHellblaster SquadAggressor SquadEliminator SquadSuppressor SquadEradicator SquadDesolation SquadInfernus SquadDevastator Centurion Squad
Scouts Scout Squad