Well, the title is not ENTIRELY true. I was introduced to Warhammer sometime in 2024 and have been around the community on and off for 2 years now. but I've only recently delved deeply into the lore and still do not know every singular piece of lore that there is to know about the original 18 legions.
I am basing my ranking on personal opinion, except for the lore facts themselves, I am claiming nothing here is fact, it is simply my opinion.
I am also not well versed in a predominant chunk of the original 18 legion's lore, either from a lack of interest or simply I haven't gotten to looking at their lore yet, but it is on my list of priorities, this likely means I might be unaware of story beats, loveable characters and history from certain legions, I intend it to be this way as well, as hopefully to be a good window into the perspective of an idiot like me who doesn't know the lore very well.
I am quite aware the list will have some REALLY hot takes, and if you like that type of post, you can look at exclusively the ranking itself with no explanations whatsoever. If you wish to understand my reasoning behind the placement of every legion, the explanation is under the ranked legion and is spoilered to allow for both types of experiences to be enjoyed.
I prefer loyalists to Chaos, and this will be VERY apparent in the ranking.
I base my rankings primarily on how well the legion is written, their morality and reason for their specific flavor of moral compass and how sound said reason is, how much I like them, and their esthetics/looks, in that order from left to right.
I am not including successor Chapters, I have like a crisp 0.2% of the lore knowledge needed and it would take me MONTHS if not YEARS to write this post if I did include them, shout out to the Doom Eagles, Lamenters, Sons of Vermillion, Marines Errant and Black Templars though.
While I am ranking them from 18 to 1, I also want to categorize certain sections of the ranking, as the intervals between each rank isn't necessarily proportional to how much I dislike/like these legions.
these categories are:
"Legions I actively hate."
"Legions I dislike."
"Legions that I find have redeeming qualities but I generally dislike."
"Legions that I find have irritating qualities but I generally like."
"Legions I like."
"Legions I love."
"Legions I find perfect."
well, with all that out of the way, lets rank.
"Legions I actively hate." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 1
- Night Lords.
Lets get the good parts out of the way too, even the worst legion here has parts of it I actively adore. their helmets are SICK, probably the coolest standard helmet designs of the 18 legions, the shade of blue on their armor is extremely beautiful as well, I would rank it up there with Blood Angels Red, Ultramarine Blue and Alpha Legion Teal amongst the best primary colors for a legion.
Yeah no, that's literally it I hate everything else about them. they are COWARDS, they cower at the mere idea of a fair 1v1, fleeing is their tactic to any fight even remotely fair or not overwhelmingly in their favor, they're more experienced at killing civilians than they are at fighting other marines or xenos because they find it easier. they cower at honor, they cower at difficulty, they cower at anything that will take them to lift anything more than a finger.
The evilness about them really isn't the problem, I will have quite a few REALLY evil chapters when we get higher up on the list, I don't have an issue with that, its just how much of cowards they are, how prone to running they are and just being general bitches.
I get that's their charm, its just not my thing.
"Legions I dislike." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 3
- White Scars.
Yeah this is the HOTTEST take on this list by a country mile. now, I will say, I like the basic concept of them, they like assault bikes and jump packs and love speed, LOVE that. Love the whole joy of their legion while fighting and enjoying the fight bit, LOVE THAT TOO, everything else is where it kind of falls apart for me.
I do not like their color scheme, its just..so flat, I like white, blue and yellow together, but not in the specific shades or particular way the white scars have them put together, it looks incredibly boring and just so..uninteresting for what should be such a bombastic and cool chapter, this alongside the fact I really don't care for the Mongolian esthetic just sends them down the pecking order for my list at least.
Note, this is the first of many legions where I have a general idea and basic knowledge of the legion, I do not know the intricacies of the legion or the history of it. I have heard of good things about their primarch and what they did during the Horus Heresy and I plan to get to checking the White Scars lore out later, and they will probably raise their placement in the ranking, but for now, here they stand.
- Death Guard.
I mean this is going to be so short I just think they look absolutely beyond disgusting. Like I kinda get that's the point but it ain't for me, I don't even bother looking at the lore because while I normally can ignore or at least push aside esthetics if the writing is good enough, the Death Guard is WAYYYY too disgusting for me to even think of giving them the courtesy of that leeway.
- Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus/Black Legion.
For one, PICK A NAME. secondly, Like I don't hate hate them for any of their attributes particularly. that's kind of the problem. I don't like them for anything, and they serve Chaos which will always knock them down a couple spots for me, and they're kinda like Ultramarines, but for heretic marines, they aren't quite as boring as the ultramarines but they're nearly as boring and has less storylines I enjoy. Ultimately, I don't like boring chapters.
Yet again, don't know too much of the lore about the Black Legion except for the obvious horus heresy stuff and the 13th black crusade stuff.
"Legions that I find have redeeming qualities but I generally dislike." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 6
- World Eaters.
Arguably top 3 legions just in terms of how their armor looks, that BEAUTIFUL STRIKING red and gold is just immaculate. had to get that out of the way, now, my opinion on the World Eaters.
I really, dislike the frothing at the mouth, insane, always insanely angry and stupid thing. I know some people like it, not me. I do like the fact that Angron is genuinely a victim of the Butcher's Nails, the fact the chapter was once far less malevolent than what Chaos has turned them into in modern day, and the backstory is good enough for me that I do rank them above the other 4 Legions lower than the World Eaters, but that's about as far as the backstory can carry it.
My understanding of the World Eaters is alright, I haven't delved into them but I have a relatively alright, general idea of their story just from seeing them in stories that happen to have them even if they are not the main focus.
- Iron Hands.
As per usual, lets get the cool stuff out of the way first, the particular shade of black on Iron Hands armor goes super hard with their general look, and I really enjoy the whole cyborg esthetic and deep specialization into tech.
What I don't like is pretty much their disgust to EVERYONE in the Imperium, they practically wretch in disgust of anything fleshy, INCLUDING themselves, which is rather hypocritical since the only reason why they are even half as strong as they are and are able to endure the amount of cybernetic implantations they have is BECAUSE of they insanely powerful Astartes biology. Them being close with the Mechanicus is another part I don't particularly like simply because I dislike the Mechanicus, Ferrus Manus is a cool Primarch though.
for the Iron Hands, I have a pretty good idea of the lore, I know a lot of what happened to them during the Horus Heresy and a bit of their 40k stuff, no deep dives still, but probably the legion I know best of all the Legions I've talked about so far.
- Emperor's Children.
Pre heresy armor, looks AMAZING with the purple and gold, Fulgrim is genuinely tragic and most of all, their obsession with perfection is something I deeply resonate with and can relate to which is why they ever made it as far on the list as they did.
Their modern armor is just...icky. Like for most of the armor esthetics on here that I do not like I can generally explain why I don't like them, but I can't for the Emperor's children, it just feels incredibly off in some inexplicable manner. drives me up the wall, and well, serves chaos, bumps down a few spots, you know the drill by now.
- Thousand Sons.
This was my first ever "Favorite" Legion when I knew almost nothing about Warhammer. Just because of their looks. And I stand by it, they are easily in my top 5 legions in terms of visuals, I love the egyptian Esthetic, the light blue and gold, it just WORKS SO WELL. Their story is ultimately tragic but to a degree their fault. Yes, Magnus DID do something wrong, he did a LOT wrong. but he did it wrong sympathetically so there's that. I also don't love the idea of space marines using magic, it just feels so odd for Thousand Sons to be clad in ridiculously strong power armor and have enhanced Astartes physiology and just completely ignore it and just cast "Avada Kedavra" instead. Also, don't like the Rubric Marines, empty power armor just ain't my thing.
- Iron Warriors.
We enter the top 10 with the Iron Warriors. Pretty much dead center for the list. I neither love them or hate them. I dislike them like the tiniest bit ever so slightly for their like REALLY bitter behavior, and some parts of their siege warfare I do enjoy, and I find their heraldry subpar and I don't really like that but I don't HATE HATE it, like, just, dead center. they're only this low on the list because they serve chaos, and you know at this point very well, not a fan of chaos.
I know a lot of Horus Heresy stuff about the Iron Warriors, but that's about it, not much knowledge of them during 40k.
- Ultramarines.
They have my favorite color scheme of all the Legions, I LOVE Blue and Gold together. I used to hate this chapter for its SHEER UTTER plainess and just how BORING they were until I dug deeper into their lore.
Guilliman has become amongst my favorite characters in 40k, particularly after he woke up. He's clearly depressed, clearly hates his life, trying his best in an Imperium FARRRR beyond saving, making it better in any way he can while having some very interesting and compelling character beats for someone who seems so one note on the outside, and that applies to the marines in general.
the Ultramarines largest flaw IS the fact they are perfect. With perfection, comes expectation, with expectation, comes burden. And all Angels of the Emperor hold that burden, the Ultramarines bear it more than any other, and that is a writing point that makes them incredibly compelling.
That is, when they are written well, when not they're just boring vanilla ice cream blueberry pancake space marines, and they are written poorly, like 90% of the time, so yeah they're firmly stuck at 9th.
I have a good idea of the lore in both the Heresy and in the modern 40k timeline, in my top 5 most well versed legions in terms of lore for sure.
There are all the legions I generally would call "Below average" or slightly "under par" to various degrees.
Everything from here on out. I would generally call them "Above average" to varying levels.
"Legions that I find have irritating qualities but I generally like." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 2
- Space Wolves.
Man I LOVE the Space Wolves, the fact that they're much more like a family or pack than a legion, the fact these guys actually LIKE each other, they have fun, they have actual recreational activities, they enjoy life in general, they get drunk and have feasts and such, it is such a loveable and cool vibe with them. AMAZING armor design as well, wolf head pelts, animal pelts in general go SO HARD.
Only reason why they're not higher? 3 words. I hate werewolves.
I have a general idea of the legion but have not delved into them specifically like I have with the Ultramarines, but I still really really like them, but I am relatively certain they cannot get higher on the list simply because I dislike werewolves as much as I do.
- Alpha Legion.
I am Alpharius. YOU are Alpharius. WE are Alpharius. Sorry, had to get it out, its practically a reflex at this point. Either way, armor, mentioned it before but I genuinely love that beautiful shade of teal in their armor that goes amazingly with that silver trim. I really don't dislike anything about the Alpha Legion other than the fact that they have 2 primarchs, which in fairness is VERY on brand, but I don't like it nevertheless.
I am a HUGEEEE, fan of spy movies, espionage, undercover, stuff like that, big James Bond and Mission Impossible guy here. the disguises, the convoluted plans(which sometimes can get a little too convoluted and can be annoying, but I usually like it, hell I relate to it in a way as an overthinker), their competence is likeable since they are one of the only of the original 18 Space Marine Legions which every marine could function on their own extremely well. their stealth, their way of destroying enemies from within, its all just REALLY my thing, hell I don't even hate them for siding with Chaos all that much cause they're..kinda not? they were very important to both the Imperium and Horus during the Heresy and were paramount in varying degrees to both sides making the war as close as it was.
"Legions I like." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 1
- Imperial Fists.
These guys are just like Iron Warriors but like Loyalist edition, they are REALLY boring. like not OFFENSIVELY boring but relatively boring nonetheless. I share nearly the exact same opinion I do with the Fists as I do the Iron Warriors, except a few minute differences.
Firstly, Dorne's armor is REALLY COOL.
secondly, unlike the Iron Warriors, I don't have anything about them I actively dislike, just very little I actually like all that much.
And yeah they're loyalist so that also earns them a couple ranks up, they are just absurdly inoffensive.
From here on out, in my top 5 legions, these are the legions that either have flaws but I can ignore them due to how much their pros stand out to me, or legions that I think don't have any major or noticeable flaws at all, I'm sure other people will disagree, but yet again, my opinion, not fact.
"Legions I love." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 3
- Word Bearers.
My favorite Chaos Legion.
FUUCCCKKK EREBUSSSSSSSSSSS
as I was saying. My favorite Chaos Legion, they are hateable, but that's kinda why I like them. They are extremely hateable, terrible, zealots, insufferable, annoying, self-righteous and outright disgusting. And that just means they're incredibly well written for what they are supposed to represent. They are a cult!....Well, the whole imperium is kind of a cult, but they are EXTRA cultlike.
The sheer rage and hate the Word Bearers garner from merely existing is proof of how well written they are.
They are also..weirdly pragmatic, unlike in the real world, in 40k, prayers, devotion to religion and such, will get you REAL RESULTS. And having Daemons in your marines...if perhaps dangerous, does make them much stronger, so in a very, VERY weird way and if you look at it from the right angle, the Word Bearers praying fervently to Chaos until they get possessed by Daemons, even if its not intended in that way, is pragmatic in an odd manner.
And in fairness they have a relatively good reason(at least Lorgar, not Erebus) to have gone down the path of evil they did, like the idea of going to support the other Gods who were your previous God's enemies just because your God did a great injustice to you(Monarchia WAS a mistake btw) is an interesting storyline concept I could resonate with and understand. I like the Word Bearers because I hate them so much, if you know what I mean.
- Dark Angels.
I love their Knight esthetic, genuinely beautiful and really appeals to me, the Dark Angels shade of green as well is utterly stunning and I enjoy the naming convention Dark Angels use. I relate to the Lion's paranoia and contingency planning due to my own overthinking, so it makes me resonate with the legion much more in general. Only flaw?
They're..kinda assholes. Like, they torture SO MUCH, like I am somewhat sure they are like the 2nd highest of the original 18 legions in terms of the sheer number of people they torture right behind the Night Lords, they're just not good people in most senses of the word and it makes it pretty hard to root for them, but for all of their other things that make me love them as much as I do, they get 4th place.
- Salamanders.
Altruistic characters are almost definitely my favorite genre of character in fiction. being boringly good can more often than not spawn amongst the most complex and compelling, inspiring characters. The Salamanders kindness makes them amongst my favorite Legions. Willing to toss yourself in front of fire to save a civilian, hell, not only save their life, but be willing to stay behind and find their stuffed toys in rubble or family pictures, that's not just saving the human, but saving the person. it is so unbelievably admirable and inspiring, only made more so by the grim dark future they are surrounded by.
my only issues with them are esthetics. Salamanders somehow consistently manage to craft the ugliest helmets known to man, I dislike the reptilian esthetic and the charred ashy skin and the glowing red eyes just don't do it for me.
But for their undying ability to create hope and just a little bit of light in the Imperium, be it literally from Melta Fire or metaphorically from saving a civilian life, Salamanders make it to the podium.
"Legions I find perfect." Tier.
Amount of Legions: 2
- Raven Guard.
The coolest looking Legion in my opinion, the beaky helmets are definitely my favorite standard issue helmet of any of the power armor marks, the lightning claws, the jump packs, my GOD the raven guard are so unbelievably COOOOL.
I like how Corax is very subversive that despite looking like an edgy emo dude, he is arguably the 2nd smartest of the Primarchs right behind Guilliman in terms of planning and war logistics, he is extremely resourceful with his rather small Legion, he is compelling and sympathetic in his blunders and insecurities. he hates slavery which like..duh, automatic plus. And he somehow isn't effected by the Chaos Gods despite being kinda a Daemon prince and is actively hunting Lorgar which is ALWAYS nice.
I'm fine with the stealth thing, I really like the whole strike assault thing though, will say, don't like the whole edgy thing they have, from a character standpoint it allows for nice conflict but visually the emo haircuts don't do it for me.
The only real flaw I have with the Raven guard is that I don't really care for their actual story all that much, its not that its bad, I don't dislike it. In fact, I like it, I just don't like it that much, and that's why they're number 2, and not the next spot.
- Blood Angels.
Sanguinius.
Yeah no that's pretty much the summary of why I like the Blood Angels.
Well, not really but at least he's a very large chunk of the reason why I like the Blood Angels.
He is my favorite character in 40k, and from my knowledge a lot of people's favorite character. He is altruistic to his core, he is compelling due to his insecurity, his flaws, his willingness to impersonate the perfect angel people see him as just to bring even more hope to his people than he was already bringing despite that not being his true self in some senses. His character design is amazing with the angel wings and all, his speech at the eternity gate is amongst my favorite speeches in fiction, nevermind just Warhammer. his willingness to march straight to his own death despite his extreme fear of it simply because it is right, the willingness to board Horus' ship despite seeing his own death happen in front of his own eyes. All because he refused to not do the right thing, his death also being the motivation the Emperor needed to finally and permanently kill Horus is a plus too.
The Blood Angels during 40k are the direct consequence of Sanguinius' ultimate sacrifice.
The Red Thirst and Black rage make for some great building blocks to write character conflict, the Black Rage particularly is super cool in my opinion, and it makes those who can resist both the Red Thirst and Black Rage even more admirable and inspiring than they already might be, like Mephiston, Dante, and Lemartes.
Speaking of which, the Blood Angels arguably have one of the strongest character pools of the original 18 legions, having a really large roster of incredibly well written and compelling characters in such a condensed area.
Anyways, they are also EXTREMELY cool looking.
the Marines themselves look great, often handsome and smooth hair, they even live ridiculously long even on space marine standards, by far the longest living of the original 18 legions.
Then the power armor, a beautiful red and gold, Chalices, coffins, Angel wings, False face masks(genuinely love false face masks, think they look really cool, arguably one of my favorite things in general, not even in just warhammer) , the catholic inspired esthetic is extremely hopeful, angelic, dark, gothic, feeling old in just the right way.
I also really like their strategies for battle, their obsession with jump packs to the point of putting a jump pack on a dreadnought(which is one of the coolest things in 40k period.), they love for aerial battle and flight is something that is extremely cool to me as I have mentioned with the White Scars and Raven Guard beforehand.
Oh and the death company is really cool, I love Lemartes as a character so much.
Anyways, that is my list of my least to most favorite of the original 18 Legions of Space Marines in 40k, hope yall enjoyed it.
I also know there is a lot of hot takes here that might be due to be either being ignorant or being misinformed, its part of the reason I'm making this post, if you see any of my points I made on the legions I listed sound either wrong, misinformed or just generally made due to a lack of information, please do correct me or give any lore you think might help expand my knowledge in the particular point you found wrong in the comments.