And (most importantly), why they kick ass!
You hear the phrase “Space Marines.”
Which Chapter came to your mind?
There’s a high chance that your imagination brought up an image of the blue color scheme of the Warhammer 40k Ultramarines.
The blue-clad warriors are practically the poster child for the whole faction, and one of the most famous and influential Chapters. They’re the exemplars as well who set the standard for everything a Space Marine should be: brave, honorable, and absolutely relentless in protecting humanity.
Let’s find out why the Ultramarines have earned that reputation. We’ll keep it casual, but don’t worry – everything’s backed by 40K lore.
We hope you’ll like our article. Maybe we’ll inspire you a bit to start collecting Space Marines with our studio. Contact us, and let’s talk about your future army!
Let’s crack straight into it!
Origins & History of the Ultramarines in Warhammer 40k Universe
Creation of the Chapter and the Great Crusade
The Ultramarines Chapter actually traces its roots back to the Legiones Astartes of the Emperor’s Great Crusade. They were originally the XIII Space Marine Legion, nicknamed the War-Born.
When the Emperor created twenty superhuman Primarchs (his gene-sons) and their legions, the Ultramarines were one of them, with Roboute Guilliman as a Primarch. Guilliman (as other Primarchs) was taken away as an infant by the powers of Chaos, and removed to a far world in an effort to prevent the coming Age of the Imperium.
He grew up on the world of Macragge and came out as a genius leader. By the time the Emperor found him, Roboute had already made Macragge the center of a small thriving empire of its own (the realm of Ultramar) with efficient government and prosperous people.
Guilliman and his Ultramarines
Once reunited with Guilliman, the Ultramarines Legion took off in the Great Crusade, campaigning across the galaxy. They became the largest of all Space Marine Legions by the later days of the Crusade. In fact, they got so huge that Guilliman had to subdivide his Legion into many chapters even before the Horus Heresy, just to manage them better.
The Ultramarines were kicking butt and bringing many worlds into the Imperium. Guilliman’s realm of Ultramar kept expanding; it contained about 500 worlds, which shows how far Ultramarine’s influence spread.
Ultramarines During Horus Heresy
Then came the Horus Heresy. In the Warhammer universe it was the biggest, interplanetary civil war where half the Space Marine Legions turned traitor. The Ultramarines were loyalists, firmly on the Emperor’s side.
But get this! They weren’t at Terra for the final battle because Horus and the Word Bearers Legion conspired to keep the Ultramarines busy on the far side of the galaxy. The Word Bearers ambushed them at the Battle of Calth, trying to delay their comeback.
Still, even while the civil war raged elsewhere, Guilliman and his Ultramarines held the Imperium together. They fought off aliens and rebels on the far corners of the Galaxy. Unfortunately, when they came back, Terra burned.
They arrived too late to fight Horus, but ended up picking up the pieces and glueing the Empire back to its pre-Heresy shape.
The Aftermath of Horus Heresy
By the end of the Heresy, the Ultramarines were said to make up over half of the remaining loyal Space Marines (because many other legions were… traitors, or dead. Or both). Thanks to numbers of the Ultramarines, and Guilliman’s governing skills, he became the crisis leader holding humanity together after the war.
One of the biggest things he did to ensure humanity never went through such a civil war again was creation of the Codex Astartes.
The loss of the Primarch - Battle of Thessala
The Battle of Thessala was a pivotal confrontation during the early years of the Imperium’s decline, fought between the Ultramarines and the Emperor’s Children.
During the battle Guilliman faced Fulgrim, the Demon Prince of Slaanesh. The duel was fierce, but it ended in disaster: Fulgrim struck a mortal blow to the neck, critically wounding Guilliman.
Guilliman’s injuries were so severe, that he was placed in stasis to prevent his death. The Battle of Thessala thus had far-reaching consequences. Though the Ultramarines remained a formidable force, they had lost their Primarch and guiding leader.
It would not be until M41, during the events of the Gathering Storm, that Guilliman would finally be revived – thanks to the efforts of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Eldar, and the mysterious power of the Armor of Fate.
Let’s leave Guilliman’s resurrection and his actual involvement in the Emperium for now (we will return to that shortly), and look how Codex Astartes shaped the future of Space Marines.
The Codex Astartes – Guilliman’s Rulebook for Space Marines
Origins, and purpose of Codex Astartes
The Codex Astartes is basically the Space Marine rulebook written by Roboute Guilliman himself. After the Heresy, Guilliman sat down and poured all his knowledge of warfare and organization into this “book”.
It covers everything: how a Chapter is organized, how squads should be structured, tactics for every scenario, even what color helmet denotes which rank.
Reorganisation of Space Marines
Its most famous rule was breaking up the old Legions into smaller Chapters of about 1,000 Marines each. This way, no single man (or Primarch) would ever command a giant Legion that could threaten the Imperium again.
For example: Instead of one Legion of 100,000 Ultramarines, you’d have 100 Chapters of 1,000 each. One of those would keep the original name “Ultramarines,” and the rest would become new Chapters, with their own names. Guilliman’s own Ultramarines Chapter would be the model that all others followed.
Now, not everyone was on board at first. Some Primarchs like Rogal Dorn were pretty upset about splitting their Legions, but eventually even the stubborn ones gave in and agreed to the new order. Thus, the Codex Astartes became the core law for Space Marines.
Ultramarines as exemplars of the Codex
The Ultramarines take pride in being the shining example of the Codex Chapter. They stick to Guilliman’s teachings rigorously, which is why they’re often called the most orthodox or strict of all Space Marine Chapters. They believe that their Primarch’s guidelines saved the Imperium, so they continue to serve as the paragon of those ideals.
In fact, roughly two-thirds of all Space Marine Chapters in the galaxy ultimately descend from the old Ultramarines Legion gene-seed and still look up to Guilliman as their spiritual patriarch. Guilliman basically gave the Space Marines a blueprint for success, and the Ultramarines have been following it faithfully for 10,000 years.
Ultramarines in the 41st Millennium
Return of the Primarch
The most recent history that directly shapes the Ultramarines today begins with the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman.
It all started during the Gathering Storm – Cadia fell, the Eye of Terror blew up into a gigantic warp storm called “the Great Rift” that literally split the galaxy in half and Chaos was running rampant. Things were bad. Then boom – Eldar sorcery and Imperial tech brought Guilliman back. He was immediately hailed as the Imperial Regent.
Great Crusade 2.0 - Indomitus Crusade
After visiting the Emperor’s throne room, Guilliman decided to run the Indomitus Crusade: similar to the Great Crusade, but its aim was to reclaim and defend Imperial worlds that were overrun by Chaos and Xenos during the chaos following Cadia’s fall. The Lord Commander gathered basically everyone he could: Space Marines from dozens of Chapters, Astra Militarum, Adeptus Mechanicus, even the Sisters of Battle and Custodes were part of the Crusade.
During the Indomitus Crusade, a new type of Space Marines emerged, turning the tide of battles.
The rise of Primaris
Guilliman didn’t come back alone. He brought a new type of Space Marines with him. Archmagos Belisarius Cawl had spent 10,000 years on a secret project Guilliman gave him during the Heresy era. The result: the Primaris Space Marines. These guys were like Space Marines 2.0: bigger, stronger, faster, with edited gene-seed by Archmagos. The research was conducted on the very edge of heresy, but the advantage it gave the Imperium justified the action.
The Crusade lasted a few years of relentless war. Imperium reclaimed many worlds, established fortified routes, and spread hope that the Imperium wasn’t done for.
Plague Wars
After the Crusade Guilliman returned to Ultramar, which was under serious threat from Nurgle’s forces. Mortarion (one of the Chaos Daemon Primarchs, Death Guard leader) had invaded Ultramar with hordes of plague zombies and demons. Guilliman and the Ultramarines (now bolstered with Primaris) fought a grueling campaign to purge Nurgle’s rot.
Guilliman nearly dies (again), but the Emperor’s spirit aids him at the last second, and Mortarion is banished. Ultramar was saved, though scarred.
Other events
Over the next few years, more big events kept shaking the galaxy.
- Psychic Awakening: the warp and psychic powers started surging everywhere, causing mini-campaigns all over.
- Pariah Nexus campaign: Necrons launched a big offensive where they were cutting off systems from the warp with pylons.
- Arks of Omen campaign: colossal space hulks (the Arks) full of Chaos forces wreaked havoc.
- Fourth Tyrannic War: The 10th Edition opens with this desperate war against Leviathan.
In summary: since Guilliman’s resurrection we’ve had a giant crusade, new super-marines introduced, a civil war against Chaos, and ancient enemies like Necrons and Tyranids rising. And Ultramarines are practically more or less present in every big moment of the 41st Millenium.
Role and place in the Emperium
In the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, the Ultramarines are still front and center, doing what they’ve always done – protecting humanity and leading by example. They reign over a region called Ultramar on the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy, which includes a bunch of worlds they govern and defend. This realm is incredibly well-run compared to the rest of the Imperium (thanks to Guilliman’s legacy of good governance). The Chapter is headquartered on Macragge, their homeworld, where the gigantic Fortress of Hera stands as their fortress-monastery.
Model Chapter of Space Marines
The Ultramarines are often seen as the gold standard of the Adeptus Astartes. Because so many Chapters descend from them, there’s a sense of brotherhood and leadership – many look to the Ultramarines for guidance or inspiration. The Ultramarines themselves kind of consider it their responsibility to be a model Chapter and uphold the highest ideals of the Space Marines. They’re not arrogant about it (well, maybe a little proud), but they definitely know they carry the legacy of Guilliman’s vision.
Reasons to collect Warhammer 40k Ultramarines
Ultramarines are popular for a ton of reasons. Some even say it’s the vanilla flavour of Space Marines. Is it any good? Let’s break it down:
Balanced Playstyle & Versatility
In the game, Ultramarines are known for being versatile – they’re good at a bit of everything. They don’t have crazy gimmicks or glaring weaknesses. This makes them a friendly choice for newcomers and veterans alike.
Rich Lore & Heroic Vibe
Ultramarines have a deep lore with lots of novels, background stories, and characters. If you get into their story, you’ll meet legends like Marneus Calgar, Captain Cato Sicarius, Chief Librarian Tigurius, Chaplain Cassius – the list goes on. They’re portrayed as noble, duty-bound warriors who actually care about the worlds they protect.
They’re the "Good Guys" (relatively speaking)
Warhammer 40K is a universe without clear-cut heroes – it’s all pretty grim. But the Ultramarines come closest to the classic heroic ideal. They don’t have weird mutations or curses plaguing them (looking at you, Space Wolves and Blood Angels). Some folks enjoy that straightforward, noble ethos.
So yeah, whether it’s for their gameplay, their story, or nobility, people find a lot to love in the Ultramarines. They’re the quintessential Space Marines, and that “vanilla” can be pretty darn awesome.
Forge Your Own Ultramarines Army
If all this has fired you up to start or grow your own Ultramarines army, that’s fantastic!
Building an army is a rewarding hobby, and with Ultramarines you’ll have no shortage of fun.
And if you ever feel like you want your Ultramarines to look ultra-amazing without the stress, remember that we are here to help. Commissioning your models to our painters can get you an awesome Ultramarines army with all the highlights and details done to a high standard.
Shoot us a message, and let’s paint together your Ultramarines army!
Resources:
- Ultramarines: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ultramarines
- Guilliman: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Roboute_Guilliman
- Codex Astartes: https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/pl/wiki/Codex_Astartes
- Macragge: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Macragge
- Places in franchise, where Ultramarines appeared: https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/231922-the-ultramarines-throughout-the-editions/
- Battle of Thessala: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Battle_of_Thessala
- Battle of Macragge: https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Macragge