If Warhammer 40,000 is known for one thing, it is for its pumped-up Space Marines. These superhuman warriors are taller, stronger, and tougher than any other soldiers of the Imperium. But which of them are the best of the best? MeinMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus takes on a ranking.
Who is being ranked here? In the world of Warhammer 40,000, there are 1,000 or more orders of Space Marines, over 200 of which are known. To keep the list manageable, here you will only find the strongest of the nine original orders of the Second Founding and without their successor orders.
The Second Founding took place immediately after the Great Brother War and restricted the orders to 1,000 Space Marines through the Codex Astartes. These new orders are all loyal to the Imperium of Man. This makes it easier to compare the fighters.
Many successor legions have already emerged from the Second Founding. Here we are talking about the nine with which everything began.
This is how the ranking was established: Each order has its own specializations, strengths, and weaknesses. Their versatility is one of the reasons why the Imperium is still the currently second strongest faction in Warhammer 40,000.
For the ranking, I assume an open battle between the orders to test their strength, tactical skill, and logistical capabilities. Since they are all of equal size, the evaluation includes:
- how strong the warriors are physically and how they fight in battle
- what expertise in weapons and strategies the Space Marines bring to win a war
- what the general structure of the order looks like when it comes to managing its own realm
Especially the last point should reflect how disciplined and orderly the order actually is. After all, administration is also important for the fight against great dangers over millennia. With this information, I arrive at the following ranking.
For the sake of completeness, here are the remaining four orders in the ranking
- Place 9: Salamanders
- Place 8: White Scars
- Place 7: Raven Guard
- Place 6: Imperial Fists
Place 5: Iron Hands
Although their Primarch Ferrus Manus has fallen, the Iron Hands boast some of the strongest warriors in the galaxy. The reason for this is their affinity for augmenting their bodies. Translated, this means: The Iron Hands stuff themselves with bionic implants – even though they are already genetically modified.
Brothers of the order believe that flesh is a weakness, and there are even rumors of Iron Hands Space Marines who have now been completely transformed into machines. Imagine Arnie’s Terminator, only bigger and with futuristic super-weapons.
Actually, the Iron Hands are about on the same level of strength as the Imperial Fists, who specialize in siege warfare. However, what sets the cyber-order apart is their particular war doctrine.
Their leaders, the Iron Council, analyze data from battles and reduce it to bare, raw numbers. With these, the council then rationally calculates whether an operation is worthwhile or not (the Calculus Rationale
).
This is how the Iron Fists develop plans that they carry out with cold calculation. They choose whether to deploy or not with full strength – even without regard to losses when they think it is necessary. These sacrifices can even include other Space Marines. So the Iron Fists roughly use the same methods as the Tyranids, who are the greatest threat in the galaxy for good reason.
