Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-94.3.72.36-20131224225315/@comment-18016240-20140512003636

62.226.250.150 wrote: have you read the horus heresy novels? I recommend "deliverance lost"....

corax had worked down miners that were political dissents, and children. not really what you would call fighters.aside from not having the easy access to weapons ;)

Curze actually controlled a planet ALONE, through atrocity, but he had no helpers at all. no army no nothing.

the khan took bows against blackpowder rifles and heavily armoured cavalry.

others had worse odds than angron, who was leading an army of trained fighters with motivated people and fighting for a cause. Couldn't find a copy of that sadly. :(

Corax also didn't need to worry about his enemies knowing what he was doing til it was too late, and he mostly worked through hit and run tactics using explosives.

Curze was a master at psychological warfare and grew up in a planet where terror was the only way to control the place, and even then he failed in the long run.

Black powder weaponry wasn't as OP against a composite short bow as you might think, considering that they're highly inaccurate and take a while to reload compared to the shootiness of light cavalry with said bows. Heavy armor can be pierced with a close up shot or circumvented with a mace or similarly blunt and heavy weapon.

Angron was leading a desperate horde of slaves, many of which were probably half starved and didn't have any other skill than gladiatorial combat. Their motivation was "Try and be free or all get massacred."