Wednesday 3 June 2015

Favourite Battle Scenes

Hi all

I was listening to Episode 21 of the Imperial Truth podcast and I came up with an idea for a post. Like on the podcast, they gave their top 5 battle scenes in the Horus Heresy, I have asked my fellow battle bunnies for their favourite scenes. 

I will warn you that there will be spoilers in this post, however before any spoilers are given, we will say what book the scram we are talking about in first. So if you chose to, you can skip any scenes from books that you have not read yet.

Targel Vypus  

Unremembered Empire
Narek of the Word Bearers showing his true colours. 
This is by far one of my favourite books with so much cool things to choose from, however I have picked when Narek of the Word Bearers kills he to possessed Word Bearer companions in order to pursue his own personal goals. I think it's really cool to have a space marine who has his own agenda and I really interested in how his story pans out.

The First Heretic
Custodian Vendatha fighting for his life against the Word Bearers in the ritual chamber.  The way it describes how Vendatha kills the first 4 kills in 3 seconds is just fantastic and really makes me not able to wait for when Forge World do the Custodian army list. Makes you feel sorry for the Thousand Sons lol.

Outcast dead
The first encounter with the thunder warrior and he kicks some major space marine arse. It the first time really that space marines, all be it poorly equipped ones, have been seriously outmatched but 1 guy. Really looking forward in see what happens next with them.

Horus Rising
Dual between Loken and Lucius.
By this point Lucius was becoming a character you love to hate, and him getting his face punched by the less skilled Loken to prove a point really put a smile on my face. I also believe that this was really the start of Lucius's path of perfection and self mutilation.

Mechanicum
Imperator Titan's demise
I may shock a few people here but I am not really a fan of this book. Although I have to admit that I found the part where the Imperator Titan melts into the Larva. It just shows that even the largest machine or war is still no match to mother nature.



Khall Sithis

1. Scars
On the surface of Prospero the Khan and his honour guard face off against Mortarion and his Death Shroud. Primarch vs Primarch and terminator Vs terminator. Epic.

2. Horus Rising
The Emperor's Children fight against the tenacious Megarachnids in hostile terrain. Tarvitz and Lucius help save the day and rally the troops.

3. Promethean Sun
the Salamander legion fight against primitive Eldar in a tough battle that includes dinosaurs!!

4. Unremembered Empire
the wolf pack sent to watch Guilliman find themselves protecting the hearth from Konrad Curze. In an epic conclusion, Vulkan rushes his treacherous brother and they smash through a window to the street below.

5. Fulgrim
the battle of Laer. Imagining ancient Rylanor fighting in the streets as the 1st Company works its way towards the Primarch and his Phoenix Guard. Very cool.


Drake Seta

Betrayer.
 Armatura. 
The Ultramarine Shield wall trying to hold against the Fury of the World Eaters. Sounds brutal and furious. 

Vulkan Lives.
 Isstvan V. 
The Salamanders coming against the Death Guard in the trenches. The chemical warfare and the Thunderhawks flying over sounds awesome. 

Prince of Crows. 
1st Legion Flagship. 
The Night Lords board Johnsons Flagship and take the fight to the first Legion. The way Sevatar arrives on that Starfighter and rampaged through the Hallways to get to the Atramentar makes Sevatar my favourite Heresy Character ever.

Prospero Burns. 
Prospero. 
The Vlka Fenryka raze Prospero to the ground. Titans, Landers, Sisters of Silence and Custodes join with the Wolves of Fenris to Sanction Magnus the red. The running battles are epic and the Wolves prove unstoppable. 

Prospero Burns. 
The Vlka Fenryka attend a Warzone and watch and wait as the Imperial Army struggles to defeat the Cuiatude. They Wolves are given permission to take the World and drop a space station on their enemies. They then are unleashed and nothing survives. Shows how a smaller Legion can conduct its battles.


Darko Thane

Galaxy in Flames
Isstvan 3
The duel between Loken and Abaddon was a favourite of mine in that book but my favourite part is where just as it looked like hope was lost a tank bursts in through the walls. Loved that part as it is a massive interruption that I don't think many were expecting, including me.

A Thousand Sons 
Aghoru 
The battle between the Thousand Sons and the Titan from the mountain. Where Magnus struts up and unleashes all hell and fury of his psyker-ness and annihilates the titan. I liked this scene as it firsts demonstrated to me the absolute power wielded by Magnus and correctly demonstrates what it means to be a God in Battle

Butcher's Nails 
Space battle
Where Angron has enough of the xenos vessels and releases the Ursus Claws and uses them to bring in the ships for a close encounter assault. Can easily picture Angron licking his lips as the ships were being brought in and I enjoy the barbaric tactics in war and this being one of them

Please comment below with you thoughts and also your favourite scenes. 

Also if you are a fan of the Horus Heresy, I would strongly suggest listening to the Imperial Truth podcast. The podcast covers all aspects of the Horus Heresy including gaming, the fluff and modelling.

Take care :-)

Sent from my iPhone

18 comments:

  1. The final stand of Tarvitz and Loken and the other loyalists in Galaxy in Flames!! That scene hooked me on the Heresy!

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    1. That scene was epic, as was the ending where Tarvitz and the few survivors stand on the surface and wait for the enemy bombardment defiantly. Tarvitz is my guilty "I hope they find a way for him to return" character of the Heresy, but I do love it when they kill a main character off Game of Thrones style. Makes it feel bleaker and more hopeless.

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    2. Well Loken survived so you never know!!

      Also a big fan of the battle on Signus Prime in Fear to Tread as well as Gullimann punching Word Bearers in Know No Fear!!

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  2. So many epic moments in this serie, it's hard to choose favorite ones. Here are some of mine among many others. ^^

    - The battle of Armatura ("Betrayer"):
    I love the way Ultramarines fight like almost stereotypical Roman legionaries, you feel the unyelding resolution of the guys even against the most savage foes.

    - The Razing of Prospero:
    Lets be clear, I HATE the 30k (and only 30k) Space Wolves since GW made them the "overpowerfull legion everybody wrongly underestimates which despises psykers while they have some but you understand it's something different so they are the cool guys until an author finds a way to show the hypocrisy and drawback of the thing".

    Sorry for the rage, but 30k SW and the depiction of pre-Heresy Curze in "Vulkan Lives" are some of my unforgivable disappointements in this serie, I love my Night Lords and Wolves too much...

    Nevertheless, the battle is an impressive slaughter, Russ and his sons are the hurricane of destruction we expect them to be. Vlka Fenryka are no puppies. With mutating Astartes and a Warp-possessed Titan. Hell yeah...

    - Sevatar VS Alajos ("Savage Weapons"):
    Not such a great fight, but...
    "I am Sevatar the Condemned and I will wear your skin as a cloak before dawn ruins the sky."
    Best. Quote. Ever. Sevatar is definitely boss.

    - Angron VS Warhound Titan ("Betrayer"):
    Not a true fight but I love how it changes our perception of Angron while making him even more badass. A Aaron Demski Bowden's book again, this man has no equal to make convincing characters in my opinion.

    - The Dropsite Massacre ("Fulgrim" and "The First Heretic"):
    The wall of bolter fire reaping the Loyalists, the death of Ferrus, Lorgar hopelessly charging Corax and so much more... The various points of view about the event make it justice.

    And a special mention for Perturabo b*tch-slapping Fulgrim in "Angel Exterminatus". I applaused. Not a battle, but still a monstruous display of violence. XD

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    1. Sir. You have mentioned many of my favourite moments of the Heresy including the Perturabo Warhound Titan incident, the Angron Warhound Titan incident and the back and Fourth between Sevatar and Corswain.

      But I have to say that I am totally opposite you when it comes to 30k and 40k Space Wolves. Ever since Wolf riders, cyan armour, more wolf riders, Logan on a sled, a Space Wolf Dreadnought whose pilot has his bare head out and to top it off the trickster; 40k Space Wolves are dead to me (was a fanboy since 1994 and first codex).
      30k Vlka Fenryka in grey armour, led by Russ, Wulfen, a small (yet still capable) Legion showing that the Emperor created them for a reason. They re-kindled my love for all things Fenrisian. You know they cannot stand up to a Legion like the 13th due to sheer numbers 300,000 to 6,000 if I recall, but they would have a go if necessary.

      We are all different though lol.

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    2. I know what you mean Drake, and I agree with everything you say! ;^) I am a great fan of the old school Space Wolves (I began 40k with them in the early 2000’s), so I will take the time to explain why I am so angry. ^^'

      My problem with 30k Space Wolves is their lack of balance. Space Wolves have to be super Astartes, it is their role and that gives them a true personality among the legions. But I hate their lack of psychological drawbacks in most of the stories they appear in.
      Look at the Ultramarines (my favourite Legion). They are some of the finest warriors of the Imperium and yet they have true drawbacks: tactical rigidity, a bit of condescension... While some of them claim to be perfect warriors, they are clearly not. It is part of their personality, that flaws make them human.
      Space Wolves have no REAL drawback, when they say they are the killiest, there is always a scene to confirm it. Their overconfidence is never portrayed as hubris. Space Wolves don't have to be weak, but they have to show limits.

      That stuff with the Psykers made me mad. I thought it was deliberate hypocrisy and the base for some plot trick in order to make them humbler and even more awesome in the end. I expected the stories about Prospero to show Space Wolves were not that different from their brothers, it would have created empathy for both sides and the battle would have been even more tragic.

      I think the specificities of the Wolves give them an incredible potential as characters but they are too often used as plot armour. Their background is one of the richest; the Fenrisian culture is very present and well exploited. I don't complain about the Wolves, I love them, I complain about the general lack of subtlety of their use in the HH. The HH brought a lot of excellent things for them but their role as the Emperor’s executioners justifies everything too often in my taste.

      You say they cannot stand up to a Legion like the XIIIth. I agree, but I also think the BL could make them win. Just because they are the Space Wolves. And that kind of simplification does not serve my beloved Vlka Fenryka.

      That’s just my opinion as an old school Space Wolf fan. Sorry for the wall of text and the vindictive tone of my first post, not a good move. As you say we are all different, it's always a pleasure for me to learn from opposite views. :^)

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    3. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't take it in any bad way what so ever and you make some good points.
      I like the way many of the other Legions hold the Vlka Fenryka at arms length or view them with Suspicion. I do enjoy the fact they are the Emperor's Executioners and have such a brutal reputation in 30k and I feel their niche is very characterful. Want to conquer a Sector send Guilliman, want to terminate a civilisation which have proven difficult to conquer; unleash the Wolves.
      The whole "Our power comes from Fenris" discussion helps show their arrogance, but I'm still not sure why they decided to comment that (apart from as you say above).
      I am looking forward to FW's take on this Legion (similar to what they did for the Alpha Legion where they actually added a lot of Legion background and filled in a few blanks).

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  3. ^this. 30k wolves make me like wolves again.

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  4. I think many of the best and more inspiring scenes have already been mentioned, and I tend to go for almost anything that's written by ADB, but I'd like to highlight the first and most brutal encounter between Daemon and Space Marine: the doomed sojourn of Orfeo's Lament into the Eye, when Argel Tal and his squadmates succumb to the minions of Chaos. It's not a nice read, as they flail around futilely, shooting at ghosts with their bolters, until it's finally over. I read the passage some years ago well into the wee hours and it was truly hair-raising. I had to blink twice to steady myself after it! Cheers.

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    1. ADB is by far my favourite Author too. Looking forward to his Webway war novel. Think it will be brilliant. He has created Argel Tal and Sevatar which in my opinion makes him a full legend.

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  5. Agreed - ABD along with Abnett, Counter, McNeil and Swallow are all brilliant writers! The only book I have an issue with is Fallen Angels - absolutely terrible book!!

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  6. Lots of great battles and confrontations but Angron vs Russ gets my vote.

    It doesn't even get a full description in the book but no other confrontation has made me so eager and exited to see who won.

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    1. Russ :)
      Loved Lorgar's rant and Angron at the end of the book.

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    2. I guess it's defo subject to opinion or how people look at it.

      My interpretation was Angron won the battle but Russ won the war, however, even that's arguable as it didn't change Angron's behaviour.

      Can't wait to see if Russ and Horus have a battle (as was set up in Spirit of Vengeance). I'd love to see the 2 wolves 1 on 1.

      I'm also hoping Kurze and Sanguinius fight too. The potential is there after Unremembered Empire.

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  7. The little drips we get of the perpetuals along the way.

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  8. Also not a battle as such but the projected holographic assault/defence of Terra by Perturabo and Kroeger!! For me shows the mental ability and capacity of a primarch against a marine - brilliant writing!!

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    1. I agree. Was excellent.
      "I can beat you, brother" was awesome. The audiobook of this was great too!

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  9. Yeah, a Primarch playing an Apocalypse-size 40k game! :^D

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