House Mordred, also called the "Tiger's Claws" in reference to a specific fraternal detachment to its allied Titan Legion, is a Renegade Knight house formerly of the Questor Mechanicus that repudiated its oath of loyalty to the Mechanicum and the Imperium of Man during the Horus Heresy.
The Knights of House Mordred were fiercely loyal to the Forge World of Incaladion and the sinister Legio Fureans that served it. When Incaladion was corrupted by the Dark Mechanicum, House Mordred stuck by the Forge World's rulers and sided with the Warmaster Horus during his rebellion.
House History[]
House Mordred colour scheme as displayed by one of their Knight Wardens, the Glatisant.
Drawn from the same world as the Legio Fureans, House Mordred was founded during the Age of Strife. Loyal to the Forge World's rulers, the house found itself embroiled in the near-constant cycle of battle that wracked Incaladion until it was liberated by the Great Crusade.
This millennia of warfare saw the two entities forge an eternal bond of brotherhood that called both into service at the forefront of the Great Crusade. This brotherhood was reaffirmed each time House Mordred and the Tiger Eyes shared the field of battle through ceremonies often deemed crude and primitive to outside observers.
In exceptional cases a princeps would accept a banner of Knights as sworn vassals, the Knights swearing oaths in ritualistic trials of blood that superseded any oath they had previously spoken. This seemingly unshakable bond ensured that when the Tiger Eyes declared for the Warmaster Horus in his rebellion against the Emperor, House Mordred followed in their wake.
House Mordred Cerastus Knight-Castigator Proditor Anathema
The uncompromising reputation House Mordred held proved indispensable in the opening years of the Horus Heresy, for their Nobles showed no hesitation in turning upon those they once fought alongside.
Much of House Mordred's strength remained at the side of the Legio Fureans, their numbers making notable contributions to both the invasion of Paramar V and the subsequent conflict in the Beta-Garmon Cluster.
The remaining strength was pledged to the Warmaster as tribute, serving under his will above all others and bringing wanton slaughter to dozens of worlds in his name.
Notable Campaigns[]
- Shadow Crusade (007-008.M31) - Amidst the brutality and horror of the Shadow Crusade, whereupon the World Eaters and Word Bearers Space Marine Legions sought to bring about a dark awakening within the Warp after the creation of the Ruinstorm, Traitor and Loyalist Legions did battle. While the Loyalists reeled from the Calth Atrocity, the butchers of Ithraca, the Legio Suturvora and House Mordred followed the Word Bearers and World Eaters across Ultramar on a trail of blood and flame. Giving themselves wholly to the Warmaster's cause, these Traitor Scions exercised their violence upon planets sworn to the Emperor.
- Crusade of Iron (008-010.M31) - In response to the Traitor Legions' assault across the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar during the Battle of Calth and the Shadow Crusade, the Loyalists within the region declared the Crusade of Iron. Spearheaded by the Titans of the Legio Praesagius, they led their allies from the Legio Oberon, Legio Lysanda and dozens of Imperial Knight households to isolate the Traitor forces and slaughter them piecemeal. The Legio Audax, alongside their allies from the Legio Infernus, Legio Mordaxis and House Mordred, took part in a number of notable campaigns against the Loyalists during this particular crusade.
- Ambush at Espandor (ca. 009.M31) - In the wake of the conflict on Ulixis, the Loyalists sought to press the advantage, working to divide the Traitors in order to more efficiently dismantle their strength. When word reached the Legio Praesagius of a gathering invasion intended to seize the Agri-world of Espandor, the Loyalists laid plans to intercept the Traitor efforts, focusing their forces on the Boreaus Agri-sprawl, a heavily developed area containing a maze of feed-towers and macro-granaries that would serve to negate the numerical advantage of the Traitors. Though only a handful of Titans from Legio Praesagius could be mustered, they were supported by several maniples from the Legio Oberon, alongside dedicated companies of both Titan Killer infantry and super-heavy tanks. Amongst their number stood the Psi-Titan Occedentalis-Damysus, the Warlord-Sinister lending its support to Princeps Ultima Dae Vergos' forces for reasons known only to its preceptor-intendant. Having marshalled their forces, the Loyalists hoped to spring a devastating ambush on the approaching Traitor force, consisting of Titans drawn from both the Legio Audax and the Legio Suturvora, with supporting banners from House Mordred. Though Vergos had constructed her plan with meticulous detail, she could not account for the actions of the dark powers to which the Traitors now bowed. The Occedentalis-Damysus, tasked with striking the opening blow against the Traitors, found its talents stifled by the forces the Traitors employed. With the Psi-Titan brought low by packs of Audax Warhounds hiding amongst the very buildings Vergos sought to use against the Traitors, the Loyalists were forced onto the back foot. In an effort to secure victory, Vergos ordered her forces into the city in order to limit the numerical advantage of the Traitors, drawing them into a bitter, close-quarters fight.
- Second Battle of Paramar V (011.M31) - Paramar V having fallen to the Warmaster Horus' hosts in the opening moves of the Horus Heresy, a mixed force of Loyalists launched an assault against the strategically vital supply nexus with the intent of denying it to the Traitors' war efforts. The Traitors numbered a substantial combined force of House Mordred banners, Legio Fureans and Legio Mortis god-engines that were in the system re-arming and re-supplying after several years of intensive campaigning, and a large presence of Sons of Horus and Word Bearers Astartes. The Loyalists committed a large Titan force drawn from the Legio Atarus, Legio Ignatum and Legio Solaria, with ground assault units of the Blood Angels and White Scars Legions. The Loyalists conducted a series of diversionary attacks across the Paramar System in order to draw forces away from their true target, before conducting a full-scale planetary assault against Paramar V's primary spaceport, capturing it intact and then pressing outwards to begin the destruction of the mass-provender silos sprawling across the plateau beyond. It was soon revealed that the Traitors had seen through the ploy and prepared a large counterattack. Though they inflicted heavy damage on the provender silos before the counterattack hit home, the vast majority of the Loyalist invasion force was surrounded and destroyed without mercy.
- Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - House Mordred took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign, which included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. During this conflict, House Mordred provided Knight support to the Legio Suturvora and the Legio Fureans. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster, the battle lines had long since been drawn, and fighting had been going on for many Terran years. It was a cauldron of battle that would consume millions of lives before its end and see the demise of entire Titan Legions, earning this campaign the dire moniker of the "Titandeath." The Beta-Garmon Cluster, also known as the gateway to the throneworld of Terra, was the last hurdle that the Warmaster Horus' forces had to overcome before they reached the Imperium's capital world. Heavily fortified by the Loyalists, Beta-Garmon would become one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of the Horus Heresy, as well as one of the longest-lasting.
House Combat Doctrine[]
The warfare practiced by House Mordred was methodical and brutal, for they marched in the shadow of Titans to eradicate anything that dared survive the power of the god-engines. For House Mordred, mercy was an unfathomable concept and none was offered to those within conquered cities, for they cared little for the distinction between the innocent and the guilty.
When the house was engaged in theatres of war separate from the Legio Fureans, such behaviour often placed them at odds with commanders more appreciative towards the value of life and many were the requests that House Mordred's savage excesses be reined in.
House Beliefs[]
Many within House Mordred were ardent believers in the rituals of their homeworld and would often refuse to send their banners into battle without observing the lengthy rites of devotion to House Mordred's feral representation of the Omnissiah.
These beliefs could not be called into question and none, friend or foe, were spared these Knights' wrath should they show disrespect to the practices of the household.
Notable Knights[]
- Glatisant (Knight Warden) - This Knight Warden depicted above was piloted by Seneschal Agvain during numerous cattles across the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar.
- Proditor Anathema (Cerastus Knight-Castigator) - In the sectors surrounding Paramar V, the name of Proditor Anathema still stands in infamy for the repeated planetary raids it conducted during the Paramar Successions. Of particular note was the extreme manner in which the Knight's Scion responded to any hint of Loyalist support amongst the civilian population. Proditor Anathema would frequently lead raids upon population centres rumoured to harbour resistance cells, or annihilate relief convoys intended for war-torn areas. Such attacks would only abate when new, public oaths of loyalty to the Warmaster Horus were proclaimed by every citizen within an area; pict evidence of these oaths was retained to be used at mock trials should the loyalty of the planet's population ever be brought into question again.
Notable Personnel[]
- Seneschal Agvain - This Scion piloted the notable Knight Warden Glatisant, and willingly followed his household into damnation when they sided with the Warmaster during the Horus Heresy. Agvain was a seasoned veteran by this time, of three solar decades of war, and Glatisant participated in numerous battles across Ultramar. An ardent believer in barbaric rites of his home world, Agavain often refused to send his banner into battle without first performing their lengthy rites of devotion to the Machine God. His extreme devotion saw Agvain rise quickly within the ranks and he was granted the rank of Seneschal when House Mordred descended upon Espandor.
House Allies[]
Traitor Titan Legios[]
House Strength[]
In strength and deposition of arms, House Mordred was unremarkable, with its number estimated to stand at 170-190 Knight armours at the onset of the Horus Heresy, marking it as a Secundus-grade house. The household's close association with the Forge World of Incaladion ensured it was readily supplied with new armours. Detachments of House Mordred were outfitted to complement the tactics of the Legio Fureans, with two-thirds of the household's strength consisting of Questoris Knight armours that protected the vulnerable flanks and rear of the Tiger Eyes' Warlord Titans.
The Horus Heresy forced a change in the makeup of the Legio Fureans, the attrition of war combined with the need for rapid resupply leading the Titan Legion to incorporate increasing numbers of Reaver Titans within their demi-legios. Alongside this, House Mordred underwent changes, deploying an increasing number of Cerastus Knight armours to support the faster elements of the Titan Legion.
House Appearance[]
House Colours[]
The colours of House Mordred are black and red with gold trim.
House Arms[]
The arms of House Mordred is a stylised white serpent wrapped around a great sword pointing downwards.
Trivia[]
Fittingly, House Mordred was named after Sir Mordred from the Matter of Britain, the legendary tales of King Arthur and his Round Table. Mordred was the traitorous knight and son of Arthur who rebelled against the king's authority and helped to bring about the end of the reign of Camelot.
Sources[]
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Traitor Legios (Specialty Game), pp. 94-97
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pg. 95
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Shadow and Iron (Specialty Game), pp. 9, 56-57
- White Dwarf (August 2018), "Parade Ground - The God-Machines March", pg. 106
- Warhammer Community - Adeptus Titanicus Part 5: Miniatures Showcase
Gallery[]
