Warhammer 40K has featured a number of space marine chapters, but among them, which are the most powerful?
If there’s one thing Warhammer 40,000 has never been short on, it’s fearsome Space Marine chapters. Elite-level, transhumanist super warriors in service to the Emperor and charged with protecting the Imperium of Man, the Space Marines are no strangers to dealing with the forces of Chaos.
The Emperor’s finest weapon in the defense of humanity throughout the spaceways, the inhumanly strong and scarily skilled Space Marines are simply a cut above everyone else when it comes to warfare. While the near-endless number of chapters offer a diverse array of particular skills, traits, and ideals, none of them are any less than deadly in carrying out their crusades. Not only must the space marines save humanity from extra-terrestrial threats, but it often falls to them to essentially save humanity from itself, stepping in to deal with the follies of mankind that genetic experimentation has separated them from. Of the many menacing chapters out there, a select few stand out as what are likely the best Space Marine chapters in Warhammer 40,000.
Updated September 11, 2024 by Chad Thesen: If the grim darkness of the far future did not already look bleak, then Warhammer 40,000 has made sure of it with recent events in its lore. With the fall of the Imperial Fortress world Cadia and the Great Rift (or Cicatrix Maledictum to those fluent in High Gothic) tearing a fissure straight down the center of the Milky Way, the Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by the forces of Chaos and a plethora of Xenos races.
However, with great tragedy has also come hope in the form of a new Ultima founding of the Emperor’s greatest warriors: the Adeptus Astartes, better known as the Space Marines. In a burning galaxy, both veteran and brand-new chapters vie for position as some of the strongest and best Space Marine chapters the Imperium of Man has to offer. This article has been updated to include three more chapters of Space Marines, as well as enhance various other aspects of this article’s structure.
Additional chapters of Space Marines have been added to increase the number of entries on this list. This includes the Astral Knights, the Ravenguard, and the White Scars chapters of Space Marines. The Astral Knights are one of the chapters that are no longer among the roster of Space Marines due to their heroic sacrifice. The Ravenguard serve as an elite black ops team of stealth professionals. Lastly, the White Scars are speed freaks that tear through the battlefield on heavily armored vehicles, mowing down their foes with bolters and blades alike.1 Iron Hands
The Iron Hands chapter believes that it is too easy to succumb to the corruption of the Legions of Chaos Space Marines. They possess an internal hierarchy within their chapter, sort of like sub-chapters, that differs from what other Space Marines are accustomed to.
They have a close relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus, due to them sharing many similar beliefs — such as the weakness of flesh. Members of the Iron Hands chapter are continuously modifying themselves into something more than just human through the use of bionic components to replace their organic ones.2 Void Tridents
Being a successor chapter to the ever-popular and iconic Ultramarines, the Void Tridents have quite the legacy to live up to and, if their actions to date are anything to go by, they are indeed doing so. Created at the Ultima Founding of 999.M41 and made up entirely of Primaris Space Marines, any renegade or Xenos faction would do well to avoid engaging with the sailors of the void.
Recruited from the Ocean world of Talassar, a culture of naval warfare runs deep through the veins of every Void Trident Space Marine. In context to the chapter’s combat doctrine, this translates to the Void Tridents being experts in void-ship to void-ship combat as well as the boarding of space-faring vessels and stations. Although extremely dangerous to face in space warfare, the chapter has also proven its worth in other battlefield situations, specifically in the siege of enemy planets where their relentless invasion by drop pod is nigh on impossible to weather.
While the Void Tridents have yet to fully flex their potential, they have already won great victories during the Indomitus Crusade against both the forces of Chaos and the Orks under the leadership of Chapter Master Theodro Vethrus. Out of all the fresh chapters of the Ultima founding, the Void Tridents are rapidly proving their strength.3 Astral Knights
The Astral Knights serve as the predecessor to the Sable Swords. The Sable Swords are one of the newest chapters and rose from the remnants of a no longer existent chapter of Space Marines known as the Astral Knights.
The entire Astral Knights chapter met their end on a heroic crusade to stop a massive weapon called the World Engine — which was controlled by the Necrons. This weapon was a planet-sized spacecraft, capable of causing mass extinction across countless worlds, but it was stopped thanks to the sacrifice of the Astral Knights. The Astral Knights were known to fight one another in epic duels, all in the name of their own honor, and bare colors similar to that of the Sable Swords.
With the Astral Knights gone, the Sword Sables fill their place among the other chapters but have yet to prove themselves as powerful as their predecessors.4 Legion Of The Damned
Clad in deathly black power armor and wreathed in spectral flame, the Legion of the Damned is a mystery that still perplexes and excites Warhammer 40K fans to this day. Only appearing on the battlefield to aid Imperial forces on the very edge of being overrun, blade and bullet pass through the Legion’s warriors without a hint of damage while their own crushing swords and fiery ammunition reign down the Emperor’s vengeance on foes.
It is prudent to note that the Legion of the Damned brutalize the enemies of the Imperium in complete silence and no single instance has ever been captured for further study as, after they have decimated the threat, the Legion of the Damned disappear without a trace. A popular theory is that the Legion are the remnants of the Fire Hawks Chapter, lost to the Warp and returned in a state between life and death, afflicted with a Warp-born disease. Still, these are just theories and, regardless of the origin of these ethereal Space Marines, there is no doubt that the Legion of the Damned possess a strength reserved for the unnatural.
