Phalanx Warder

Phalanx Warders were a specialised unit utilised by the Imperial Fists Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras during the 30th and 31st Millennia. These warriors were selected from amongst the ranks of the VII Legion's Legion Breacher Siege Squads. This reinforced company was assigned to the defence of the Imperial Fists flagship, the Phalanx. Armed with a variety of deadly close range weaponry, and guarded by a formidable, slab-like Legiones Astartes Boarding Shield, the Phalanx Warders presented a wall of Ceramite to any aggressor that defied any assault, and counterattacked with grim determination once the attack was blunted. Phalanx Warders were trained to fight from behind their shield wall to deadly effect; its armoured protection and the immense firepower at their command providing a deadly match for any foes who dared to assail them. Even among the ranks of the Imperial Fists, the Warders were renowned for the stark regime under which they trained and served, eschewing any duty save their training, the protection of the Phalanx or the prosecution of war on the foes of Mankind. The Warders displayed few battle honours and practised no vainglorious rituals to mark achievement, holding the honour of continuing their service as the only mark of distinction they required. Staunch and immovable, they are the last line of defence when attack threatens and the first into the fray when the Legion boards enemy vessels.