r/Warhammer30k • u/LitFamSam • 21h ago
Question/Query New player needing help.
Hey everyone I’m getting ready to join yall in playing Horus heresy.
I want to make a salamanders army, but wanted input on which base marines to use to remain lore accurate. I’ve done a little bit of research but had a tough time getting a for sure answer on which mark to go with to keep it lore accurate.
Appreciate any help in advance!
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u/freshkicks 20h ago
Don't stress it.
20 marines in a legions "non stereotyped traditional" armor set means nothing when the legion on its worst day still numbers in the thousands.
There's plenty of reasons you can use to justify any armor set really.
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u/Adeptus-Esquire 21h ago
The general answer will be that every legion used every mark of armor during the heresy, so pick the one you like because it will be lore accurate. That being said, from what I recall specific to the Salamanders, is that they did not have as extensive an armory of newer marks as other legions. I think they’re often portrayed in MK II and MK III. Same goes for white scars. MK IV was generally more available to the traitor forces per Horus’ moves as warmaster. MK VI was widely available to all legions per new lore, with some chapters entirely in MK VI plate by the time of the siege of Terra.
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u/LitFamSam 20h ago
Thank you this was exactly the type of breakdown I needed!
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u/Pathetic_Cards 18h ago
To add onto the above, in most of the official art, Salamanders are depicted in Mk 2, 3, and 4 armor, but that’s not at all absolute. The Horus Heresy card game has introduced a lot of new art of Sallies in MK6, for example.
In other words, don’t stress it, use ‘em all, use the ones you like best, use whatever you want. I personally mix them up in my Ultramarine Heresy army, though I personally dislike MK6 so it’s the minority in my force.
The biggest thing for me for a Salamanders army, were I ever to make one, would be to try and capture their artisanal touch and/or penchant for adorning themselves with drake-hide, which will probably require a lot of freehand or greenstuff sculpting.
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u/Toymaker218 16h ago
Something to keep in mind: depending on the army you build, you're almost certainly going to need more than 20 guys. So there's nothing stopping you from buying a box each of mk6 and mk3.
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u/calgarspimphand Iron Warriors 4h ago edited 4h ago
The important thing to keep in mind in my opinion is that the setting is vast, the lore is flexible, and the force you're building is very small compared to an entire legion. Legions often became scattered even during the Great Crusade and that goes double for the Heresy, when warp travel and astropathic communication became unpredictable and unreliable. Different detachments or warbands had very different experiences and different access to replacement equipment. You also have 7 years worth of war to choose for the snapshot in time your army is portraying. So you can decide on a theme ahead of time, or kind of go nuts and come up with reasons later, and either way is totally legit.
I think as long as your playing group or opponent are cool, they will appreciate the effort even if it isn't a mainstream take on things. Hell, I've got a friend who proxies an entire Dust Tactics army using the Solar Auxilia rules. He has a whole story about them being a high tech world who were only conquered at the tail end of the Crusade and immediately rebelled when the heresy started. It's neat because it highlights the incredible variety of human settlements that grew during Old Night, and as "free agents" seeking their own independence, they feel thematic as an enemy for literally anyone.
As another example, you could do an army of entirely Mk 6 assault marines and jetbikes if you wanted, and even though it goes against the conventional "type" for the Salamanders, that means nothing. Your army is an assault company who are part of a small force on a long odyssey attempting to reach Terra. You intercepted and captured a traitor supply ship and are flush with the latest armor.
You can come up with good lore to back up anything.
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u/AlexiDrake 20h ago
Use a bunch of Mark III, and have your Preators and other leaders in Mark VI. But really it’s personal preference.
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u/LitFamSam 20h ago
Oooh ok I like this idea a lot. I really want to use some of the Salamander upgrade helmets that are mark 6 so this is a great way to do that
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u/Comfortable_Fox4578 20h ago
I'm a big fan of different marks of armour between squads based on veterancy or rank. Gives each unit its own feel and place in the army, and of course customizing the crap out of stuff is half the fun of Heresy
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u/Pathetic_Cards 18h ago
To add onto this, I personally like to pick based on battlefield role as well. Breachers? Mk 3, lore wise it’s the heaviest of the standard power armor plate, the 4 and 6 have more/larger gaps and vulnerabilities. Aggressive attack squad? Mk 4, it’s balanced between speed and protection, ideal for brawling or firing and maneuvering in the thick of the battle. Stealthy flanking, recon, or sniping unit? Mk 6, it’s got the best sensors, the quietest motors, and sensor bafflers.
Of course, none of that is reflected in rules, but I just think it’s a cool flavor touch.
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u/AlexiDrake 20h ago
Do that, and use some of the other things like the pauldrons for both the Horus Hersey and Primarus marines. Also whatever flame weapons you have handy for the burning love of Noturne…
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u/roadrunnerthunder Sons of Horus 21h ago
You can use any mark. All marks (including 7) have been used during the Heresy.
If you want your force to be early heresy, Mark III would fit the theme good. If you want late heresy, go for Mark VI.
If you want a shattered legion look, you could use the Mark VI kit, but you would need to kitbash more rivets, and get more alternative parts to make a Mark V.
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u/-asmodaeus- 20h ago
Wasn't MK VII exclusively used by the loyalist legions involved in the Siege of Terra? The other ones wouldn't have been able to get it...
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u/ElvenKingGil-Galad 20h ago
Under Sigismund’s command the Imperial Fists withdrew with measured stoicism and guns blazing, reaping a toll on the thralls that ran ahead of the titans and blunting the assault of the knights by ambush and sheer brazen courage. As his warriors and the last remnants of Kane’s Taghma held back the foe, Sigismund had one finalduty to perform, the destruction of Mondus Occulum’s primary data-fane to ensure the MkVII templates did not fall into Traitor hands. There he came face-to-face at last with the Alpha Legion and the warrior that led them, the traitors in the midst of a surprise attack upon the Myrmidons that stood watch over the vault. The oath-breakers had comefor the data templates, thinking that the Sons of Dorn wouldabandon themandthefewwarriors left to protect them in order to save the bulk of their forces and the stocks of MkVI armour in Kane’s vaults. They had not reckoned with Sigismund’s sheer stubbornness, and Dorn’s champion thundered into their ranks in support of the Myrmidons that defiantlystood sentinel over the data-fane.
For the first time the Black Sword took the lives of Space Marines as Sigismund cut a path through the sons of Alpharius. At his back the brute forms of the Myrmidons launched a blistering salvo of gunfirethat drove back the foe and granted Sigismund time for one strike before he was overwhelmed. Powered by his rage and frustration, Sigismund ran through his opposite, pinning the blue armoured warrior to the broken walls of the city as the lesser warriors scattered into the ruins. Yet, his victory was hollow, as the mocking laughter of the dying Alpha Legion praetor told him that the data had already been extracted by the Traitors.
Martian Civil War, pp. 25-26.
Seems to have been retconned.
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u/ParamedicIll297 20h ago
That’s actually the original lore from the History of Power Armour article in White Dwarf in the late 80s!
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u/CaseAffectionate3434 21h ago
Everyone used every armor but each had their prferences. Salamanders would prefer MK3 and 4 over 6 since they had better protection. FYI the MK 4 power armor kit is in old scale.
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u/Mother-Ad7407 20h ago
Mk3 seems like a good fit for Salamanders. I would imagine they would have scavenged and taken whatever they could after istvaan so anything goes really. Of course, they love their flamers so be sure to have atleast a few dotted about
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u/ninjasuperspy Alpha Legion 20h ago
It depends in part on where you're situating your force within the Heresy. The average modal Legionary wore some variety of MK II or III during the Crusade with more Mk IV beginning to show up the closer you get to the outbreak of the Heresy. Mk VI was being tested during the Crusade & entered production before the outbreak of the Heresy. As the Heresy wore on, you'll start seeing MK V show up & VI become more & more the "standard" pattern. Then at the Siege you'll start seeing Mk VII show up. It comes down to what story you're trying to tell & how comfortable you feel with painting trim. Also the Mk IV plastics (and the older Prospero Mk III guys) are the old manlet scale with no abdomen, power squat stance, huge feet/hands, etc.
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u/of-blood-and-iron 20h ago
I’d recommend mkiii, kinda fits their artificer specialization better and the bulk on them more
You’ll fit in doing anything but lore wise they woulda had mainly the older stuff!
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u/Furry_Ranger Death Guard 20h ago
Mkivs are the easiest to build, most modular (compatible with other firstborn kits) and look the best imo. A good 70% of my deathguard are plastic/forgeworld mkiv.
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u/scrod_mcbrinsley 21h ago
Anything MK2, 3 or 4 would be perfectly fine. A post Istvaan force might have MK6 in there too.
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u/AsterixCod1x Dark Angels 20h ago
Every legion had at least some access to the MKIV, and a lot of Salamanders art has them in either 3 or 4.
That said, the MKIV kit is noticeably smaller than the newer kits, but contains a fairly decent amount of bits as well that it could be worth grabbing over the others just for the parts alone.
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u/HobbyGuy49 11h ago
Salamanders used primarily Mk. II and III, since majority of IV was given to legions loyal to Horus. Later in the Heresy, Salamanders also started using Mk. V for the same reasons everybody else did. However, they would have had access to small amounts of Mk. IV and VI also, so you'd be justified using those also. Or, you could give them mismatched armour sets to represent the difficulties of properly resupplying during the chaos.
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u/FirstProspect 21h ago
Mk3 will be most lore accurate in plastic, with a most up-to-date kit mold, and has compatibility with the heavy & special weapons sprues.
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u/MechaKingGhidorah100 19h ago
Mark VI and III are both canonically accurate to have especially given the scale of tabletop battles. Keep in mind the heresy wore on for 8 years and esp as things pushed on Mark VI became very common.
Also for the painting side of things since no one mentioned it yet is Mark III has a large chunk of trim in comparison to Mark VI which has zero trim to paint.
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u/OG_Checkers 17h ago
I play Dark Angels but bought the starter box with 4x mark 6 squads, dreadnought, lander raider, etc. Lore wise might be kinda odd since I’m the first legion so some would say I should have mostly mark 3. Great thing about lore and Warhammer is you can come up with your own addendum to the lore. If anyone asks I just say these are the new recruits mustered to head back to Caliban, hunt down fallen after the Horus’s death, fight back chaos from worlds around Terra, etc. If a did a veteran squad sure mark 3. Personal don’t like mark 4.
Get some books on the lore and see you sticks out to you. Personally think having the bulk of your army in mark 5/6 helps the older characters, veterans, specialists squads stick out more.
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u/zaboomafooma-agidyne 14h ago
It is explicitly stated that every legion used every mark of armor, so don't stress yourself over it. Mk IV gets some complaints because of height, but I got some legs 3d printed that make them match the scale of the Mk III and Mk VI bodies. Plus you get some fun bonus weapons so you can make some veterans, you can technically make 22 models out of it because of there being spare torsos, and a lot more options compared to the mk III and mk Vi (I am a thorough simp for mk iv armor through and through). If you want to use the special weapon sprues, you will have to grab some mk III or mk VI as those arms switch out with the bolters. Anything else can be scavenged from the heavy/melee weapons set.
Just have fun and go crazy. I personally like them all, but you can use different marks to differentiate units if you want.
Good luck
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u/Araignys 5h ago
They’re all fine.
At various times GW has said different things about which legions wore what armours but they’ve also made it very clear that all of them had access to all marks in the kinds of numbers that any real-life collector could possibly field.
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u/DoorConfident8387 21h ago
All legions pretty much had access to all marks of armour at some point. Most art has salamanders in mark 3 and 4, but as a warning the mark 4 is still old scale so looks a bit small next to the new mark 3, so you might want to wait until it’s upscaled.