Ultramarines

The Ultramarines are considered to be one of the greatest of all the Space Marine Chapters in the Imperium of Man.

The Ultramarines were created during the Great Crusade from the gene seed of its lost Primarch, Roboute Guilliman. When the Emperor found Guilliman efficiently ruling the prosperous planet Macragge, he brought him back and gave him the command of the Ultramarines.

During the Great Crusade, Guilliman turned out to be one of the greatest commanders in the Imperium, surpassed only by Horus himself. Despite this, his tally of victories was not as great as others such as Russ or the Lion, nor did his ability as a tactician extend to the perfetion of Fulgrim, the planning of Dorn ar even the brilliance of Alpharius and Omegon. Under his command, the Ultramarines claimed many worlds for the Imperium. They also recruited heavily during the crusade, at point accounting for half of all Space Marines in the Imperium, and as such were one of the largest legions by the time the Horus Heresy broke out.

Unfortunately, the Ultramarines were nearly on the other side of the galaxy when the Chaos forces stormed Terra, and so were unable to participate in its defense. By the time the legion mobilized and were on their way to Terra, the battle was all but over.

After the Heresy, it was decreed that the Legions be split up into 1,000-man Chapters. Due to their vast size, the Ultramarines were broken up into no less than 10 different Chapters (the Apocrypha of Skaros claims twenty-three).

During this time, Roboute Guilliman wrote the Codex Astartes, a book detailing the proper structure and mobilization of a Space Marine Chapter. The Codex has been adopted by the vast majority of Space Marine Chapters. Consequently, most Space Marine Chapters are considered "Codex Chapters," due to their adherence to the Codex.

The Ultramarines typically paint their power armor and vehicles a medium blue, and their symbol is a white Omega, turned upside-down to resemble a U.



Gameplay
The Ultramarines mostly play according to the normal Space Marine Codex, with very few alterations (their Primarch wrote the book the army list is based on). As such, they are the quintessential army, with no particular strengths or weaknesses.

They have three unique Special Characters and two unique units. The special characters are Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, Chief Librarian Tigurius and Chaplain Cassius. The two unique units are the Tyranic War Veterans, a special, elite veteran unit specialized in fighting Tyranids and the Honour Guard, a special Command retinue.

Some of the game fluff also seems to suggest the Ultramarines are the creators behind the design of the Terminus Ultra Landradier tank.

External link

 * Photos of Ultramarine figures