Sell me on the Iron Warriors?

[Plague Angel]

With the Heresy books coming out from Forge World, I'm finding myself in my free time looking more closely at Legions I've always ignored before.

 

I know Iron Warriors have always been popular, but beyond the warcry of "Iron Within, Iron Without" I've never taken the time to examine them or their history. Out of the corner of my eye, from a distance they always looked like a middle ground between the Iron Hands and the Imperial Fists, which are already two Legions I don't pay a lot of attention to either.

 

But after going over what's written about them in Extermination, I'm growing to find the idea of the Iron Warriors more interesting, and I've neglected learning about them long enough.

 

So two-fold question for their fans: what about them appeals to you so much, and what are your favorite stories about them?

[Dam13n]

Well I come from painting my first Iron Warrior during 2nd edition, collecting my first Iron Warrior army during 3rd edition and, although I detoured into World Eaters with the 3.5 codex, I then created my second and third Iron Warrior armies in 4th and 5th edition (that merged together into my current army - linked in my sig.)

 

I personally love the overlooked, unappreciated back-story.  They are often depicted as a Legion who was used by others to do a job, then denied their share of the glory.  Whether it be a meat-grinder trench war or a gruelling siege, the Iron Warriors were used to create the breach or to hold the enemy so that another Legion could deliver the killing blow.

 

They were the Legion pushed down into the muck, while their cousins were lauded.

 

Prior to the Heresy they were also gradually dispersed, forming garrison forces on compliant worlds.  As such their strength was diluted and weakened, further robbing them of their chances to claim their own share of the glory.

 

It was this that turned them bitter and resentful, they grew to hate the Emperor and the Imperium who seemed to clamber to ever greater heights upon their shoulders, yet never seemed to offer any words of praise or thanks.

 

At least that is the perception that came from much of the old fluff.

 

Since then, Angel Exterminatus has shown us more, revealing Perturabo to be more than just a siege-master, but he is denied the freedom to explore his other talents because of how he and his Legion are used by the Crusade.  It also displays his proficiency at the very style of warfare he was typecast into, the simulations that they play out see him bring down the walls of the Imperial Palace with seemingly contemptible ease.

 

Post heresy, they were responsible for the Iron Cage, which brought the Imperial Fists to the edge of destruction.  I personally love the vindictiveness of this, it is described as cold, callous and cruel.  But the fact that such levels of destruction are visited upon the Fists by a numerically inferior force of Iron Warriors adds a hint of the impressive to the feat as well.

 

Other little things that I like about them include their practice of replacing mutations with (daemonically powered) bionics, their links to the Dark Mechanicus and their use of siege equipment (I love meltas and demolisher cannons).  I also like using relatively mechanised armies, and Iron Warrior tanks look cool.

 

Of course, for me it helped that the colour scheme is simple, yet always seems to look cool.

[minigun762]

I was always a fan of their pragmatic nature.

They aren't crazy cultists or pleasure seeking sensationalist. They are straight up professional soldiers.

[Chaeron]

I often think first of all that if I have to sell something to someone, it often means that they're either: already decided, or set against it.

 

I won't do either, no hard sell or a quick positive pitch. They're effective and efficient, pretty ruthless, and fun to play. Stubborn and stoic - they're still a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps better in previous editions, but if you like painting chevrons - you'll love them!

[Beachymike123]

Well I come from painting my first Iron Warrior during 2nd edition, collecting my first Iron Warrior army during 3rd edition and, although I detoured into World Eaters with the 3.5 codex, I then created my second and third Iron Warrior armies in 4th and 5th edition (that merged together into my current army - linked in my sig.)

 

I personally love the overlooked, unappreciated back-story.  They are often depicted as a Legion who was used by others to do a job, then denied their share of the glory.  Whether it be a meat-grinder trench war or a gruelling siege, the Iron Warriors were used to create the breach or to hold the enemy so that another Legion could deliver the killing blow.

 

They were the Legion pushed down into the muck, while their cousins were lauded.

 

Prior to the Heresy they were also gradually dispersed, forming garrison forces on compliant worlds.  As such their strength was diluted and weakened, further robbing them of their chances to claim their own share of the glory.

 

It was this that turned them bitter and resentful, they grew to hate the Emperor and the Imperium who seemed to clamber to ever greater heights upon their shoulders, yet never seemed to offer any words of praise or thanks.

 

At least that is the perception that came from much of the old fluff.

 

Since then, Angel Exterminatus has shown us more, revealing Perturabo to be more than just a siege-master, but he is denied the freedom to explore his other talents because of how he and his Legion are used by the Crusade.  It also displays his proficiency at the very style of warfare he was typecast into, the simulations that they play out see him bring down the walls of the Imperial Palace with seemingly contemptible ease.

 

Post heresy, they were responsible for the Iron Cage, which brought the Imperial Fists to the edge of destruction.  I personally love the vindictiveness of this, it is described as cold, callous and cruel.  But the fact that such levels of destruction are visited upon the Fists by a numerically inferior force of Iron Warriors adds a hint of the impressive to the feat as well.

 

Other little things that I like about them include their practice of replacing mutations with (daemonically powered) bionics, their links to the Dark Mechanicus and their use of siege equipment (I love meltas and demolisher cannons).  I also like using relatively mechanised armies, and Iron Warrior tanks look cool.

 

Of course, for me it helped that the colour scheme is simple, yet always seems to look cool.

 

this is pretty much how i feel of the IV legion too, and why i love them so much. they are cold hearted killers who trust nothing and no-one but their wargear. of all the rivalries too, the one between Perturabo and Dorn is perfect and plays out well. 

playstyle wise they're perfectly suited to any role. as undivided just don't use any marks, simples. mark of khorne can represent the forward elements who break the line; nurgle can be used to represent the bionics they extensively use; slaanesh could be advanced bionics that augment movement; and tzeentch could represent the protection granted by bionics (more in a 3rd edition sense than anything but hey-ho).

although each of the legions are officially dissolved and don't essentially follow a grand hierarchy, the Iron Warriors (and word bearers, black legion and most mono-god legions) are still cohesive to a degree but have fractured into different warbands only through millennia of fighting and in-fighting. they are the most bitter of chaos space marines, down-trodden since the great crusade and smashing the imperium's face ever since. 

that's my reason for collecting them anyway. 

[Noctus Cornix]

1000 heathens plays them, so they must be good.

[Warsmith Aznable]

One of my favorite flippant quotes concerning the IV Legion

Hey, remember that time Perturabo dug a big ditch and bet Dorn he couldn't fill it with the bodies of his own dead?

And Dorn said you, I'll fill it so full I can walk across the bodies, kick down the door to your house, and punch that smirk off your face?

And he did, except Perturabo wasn't in there and the house was a bomb?

I guess you could say that I like their no-nonsense attitude. They see what needs to be done and they get to it. Other legions are messing about trying to impress their gods or whatever, but the Iron Warriors just sort of roll their eyes and start unpacking the big guns. They bombard sites from orbit, they roll in giant artillery pieces and bombard them from the ground, then they send camp followers and captives to find out just exactly how far out the enemy can still shoot straight, and from just beyond that point they begin the trenches. They dig, dig, and dig, and just when their enemy gets complacent, a wall unexpectedly falls down and suddenly there's dozens of Iron Warriors all up in the place, ruining everyone's day. They're nothing if not thorough.

I like Perturabo's depiction in Angel Exterminatus. Here's a guy who is frustrated to no end and who could, and would rather, be putting the likes of DaVinci to shame with his genius for art and design, but instead is plodding along with the methodical destruction of the galaxy so others can follow on and put it to their own crude uses, all because he is asked to and it's what the war effort needs.

[Brother Heinrich]

http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q532/mv8830/3411612_zps8dad5656.jpg

[Yogi]

You've fought for years in the great crusade. Many of your brothers have died unsung and unremembered. You bare the scars and augmentations of a life time of war. Despite your grim and dour nature a new development has brought a sense of excitement. Your Primarch has been found. Right now he is meeting the leadership of your legion. Your squad waits with you in anticipation. You feel tension like before a battle, you know because your bionic hand's connection aches. You detect that your sergeant is receiving on his vox.

 

Your sergeant stands. "Word has come down. Our Primarch is displeased."

 

The squad remain silent. The ache in your hand grows. The sergeant stands and empties a satchel of its particulars. You look to your squad, none show any sign of understanding. Your sergeant unloads his weapon. He takes his magazine, slowly and deliberately dropping the shells into the satchel.

 

"One. Two. Three..." He counts as the shells fall into the satchel. "Four. Five. Six." You begin to ask something but a look from your sergeant stops you. "Seven. Eight. Nine." Your sergeant casually tosses the magazine away. You are perturbed.

 

The sergeant fishes in his webbing and removes another bolt shell. It bares a different stamp to the others. He drops it in the satchel. "Ten."

 

The sergeant holds the satchel out. "We are to be reforged, by the will of the Primarch, draw one shell." Each member of the squad draws a shell. You draw a shell, it sits in your bionic hand, but you don't dare look at it.

 

"Who holds the the Terran pattern shell?" Each squad member looks to their bolt. You look to your bolt, you have the Terran shell. You grunt in disgust.

 

"Brother," the sergeant address you. "Random chance has selected you to bare our Primarch's displeasure." His eyes are cold, almost dead as he speaks the words.

 

"Orders are to now beat you to death. Speak your last words" 

 

After all the battlefields, all the death and destruction, to survive it all, just to die here. You silently curse you Primarch.

 

"Iron within."

 

The sergeant nods, his dead eyes bore into your own. "Iron without." He says as his armoured fist smashes into you face. You are flooded with pain as the rain of blows strike you, somehow you are on your back, you can barely see, with your one good eye you struggle to focus on the shadow above you. As it descends you recognise the tread pattern of a Mark II boot as it crushes your skull into oblivion. 

[Hyaenidae]

Ever heard the term "A picture is worth a thousand words"?

[Plague Angel]

I often think first of all that if I have to sell something to someone, it often means that they're either: already decided, or set against it.

 

I won't do either, no hard sell or a quick positive pitch. They're effective and efficient, pretty ruthless, and fun to play. Stubborn and stoic - they're still a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps better in previous editions, but if you like painting chevrons - you'll love them!

Chevrons are pretty cool. I'm not a big fan of the hazard stripes though. But that can be kept minor enough.

[incinerator950]

Thankfully the amount of hazard stripes needed isn't many.

[Plague Angel]

Yeah, the when and where for the stripes is personal discretion.

 

Maybe I'll do up a War(p)smith. I can't stand the new model, but the old one hasn't aged too poorly compared to some of its contemporaries.

[incinerator950]

I intend to kitbash the Warsmith for my Biker Lord. 

 

Among other things, and problems. 

 

[Nehekhare]

search for these keywords:

 

Perturabo (lat. perdurabo)

Olympia (olympus mons).

Forrix.

Obliterator virus.

Medrengard (old norse: mæðr garðr).

Dark Mechanicus.

"Eye of Terror" (name)

Processing Omega (Siege of Castellax).

[A D-B]

I was totally gutted with Alan when the Iron Warriors went through decimation, as I wanted to do it in the Black Legion series as this crazy-ass unprecedented thing.

 

I plan to make him pay by beating the snot out of his army next time we play.

[Nehekhare]

you got to give him that: with BL, it would have been crazy-ass indeed - with IW, it's the logical conclusion of their way of making war and Perturabo's contempt for the self-aggrandizement of the individual.

[A D-B]

you got to give him that: with BL, it would have been crazy-ass indeed - with IW, it's the logical conclusion of their way of making war and Perturabo's contempt for the self-aggrandizement of the individual.

 

Off the cuff, yeah. But take just the old Iron Warriors lore like the IA article, and although you can retrofit it into place, it's not some inevitable or logical situation. (It makes sense now in context, but several thousand words of published scene-setting and theme against a sentence on a forum will always look better.) It's not like there's no good way to tell it as an appropriate and interesting story with any other Legion. With the right setup, it could work perfectly.

 

I prefer it how it is, sure enough, and it's an easy sell given the Iron Warriors' nature, but it'd still have been awesome and appropriate - especially depending on how it happened, and why, under whose orders, and how the Legion reacted to it on the ground level, and so on. Lots of possibility, especially with how little we really know about the Black Legion.

[hopkins]

read this

then read it again

 

http://www.blacklibrary.com/Images/Product/DefaultBL/xlarge/Storm-of-Iron.jpg

[incinerator950]

I'm going to have to roll die on the generator to figure out which Grand Company I descend my Warband from.

[Iron-Daemon Forge]

So two-fold question for their fans: what about them appeals to you so much, and what are your favorite stories about them?

Part 1

I been collecting Iron Warriors since 2001. It was down to Index Astarties being release during that year with bit more on the background & I just really like the art work. Also a friend had converted up some really nice Obliterators for his Thasound Sons army during 3rd ed. Also I'd say Andy Chamber Iron Warriors force was always great when I saw them in WD 199, 202 & 204?

For Chaos Marines in general it because I enjoy converting models, it the main part of the hobby for me since I started back in 1996 because of John Blanche art work in WD 202/2nd ed codex Chaos.

Since then the Iron Warriors have been my main army & all time favrout. Pretty much a high school teacher ran a wargaming club & use to say - you are what you collect, how many people have we seen who do relate to there chosen armies eg: Space Wolves player looking like there SW's them self's.

More I read on the Iron Warriors, more I can relate to them. Also I've just always enjoy reading about siege warfare & World War 1 on the trench warfare. It a army I always kept going back to.

Part 2

Story - Pretty much Storm of Iron the main one & for me the later once on Honsou, just read Renegades of the Dark Millennium which has a brand new short story on Honsou. Angel Exterminatius has been pretty cool & also the short story Endeavour of Will in the novel Architect of Fate. Also the Index Astarties article been really great & as said there started it all off for me. I've also read the recent Imperial Fist supplement that had a lot of cool bits on the Iron Warriors & the Warsmith from the short story Endeavours of Will, along with his warband the Son's of Forge.

I'm also really looking forward to getting the third Horus Heresy novel in the next few weeks time

IP

[Brother Heinrich]

Ever heard the term "A picture is worth a thousand words"?

Still my favorite piece of 40k artwork to this day.

[Rain]

Eh, I'm actually not too crazy on the whole decimation thing myself. I understand the point it's selling, but I liked the old angle of the IW considering Perturabo to be their savior from a cold and uncaring Emperor who just wanted to use them like one uses bolt shells and offer them none of the glory. Now that's Perturabo's whole schtick, which makes the pathos of his legionaries either less distinct, or less coherent. Ah well, I mean for the vast majority of it, the Istvaan trilogy has been an absolute masterpiece so one sour grape doesn't ruin it.

[Plague Angel]

I'm okay with the concept of the decimation. When you're just reading about the Iron Warriors, it fits pretty appropriately.

 

In context of the other legions, though? I dunno, it feels like a similar-but-weaker moment that a lot of the primarchs have. Forcing his Legiones to take the Nails is a lot harsher in the long run, and conveys a similar response towards Angron.

 

Anyways. Storm of Iron is pretty universally praised, I know, so I'll try to get to it after this re-read of Betrayer. For all the good things I've heard about it, though, I'm still pretty hesitant, because I'm not a big Graham McNeill fan. By contrast, I do like CL Werner a fair bit, but I've heard a huuuuuge range of different reactions to Siege of Castellax.

[Rain]

Siege of Castellax is awful. Really, really bad. I get the feeling the author isn't really that familiar with the 40k license, and even if he is, most of the characters are really one-dimensional. Storm of Iron is the prototypical McNeill book. Really well done battle scenes, not much of a plot, a single Unlikely Hero getting way more done than he should, and everyone but the main character dies (spoiler but not really, again it's a McNeill book). People just like it because the first half or so makes the IW seem really badass.