And the Most Powerful Primarch is…
One gamer asked such a simple question and off to the races we go…
It all started so innocently:
BobMorton asked:
Question which has been haunting my dreams: which of the primarchs that have rules is the most powerful on the table top. Can you rank them in terms of power level in game?
Then the community started to chime in with some remarkable feedback on just what Forge World has created:
Baneblade noted:
Depends of what you mean by most powerful. Some are combat beat sticks, others can tank a titan, and others provide buffs to the army in general.
YorkNecromancer added:
‘Best’ is kind of a weird thing – like others have said, it requires qualification: ‘best’ at what?
Primarchs that stand out to me as particularly good:
Ferrus Manus – he’s effectively T8 against all shooting attacks, then has a 2+/3++ on top of that. Plus he should be mounted in a tank, because that’s what his army is defined by… In which case, he gives that tank IWND and heals it like a Techmarine, only he succeeds on a 2+. He’s got good shooting, and strong melee, and is effectively indestructible. So yeah, pretty powerful.
Angron – he’s not exactly tough compared to his peers: only 3+ save, BUT, if you can get his Butcher’s Nails fully ‘levelled-up’ by going after hordes (which is what he’s for) then he’s pretty much the most dangerous melee fighter in all of 30K or 40K. I mean, that’s ALL he can do, and he goes down to shooting like a (relative) punk. But in melee, no-one can f**king touch the guy.
Roboute Guilliman – excellent force multiplier. He can’t really handle hordes as well as some of his peers, but that’s not his thing. He affects his whole army, and significantly so.
AdvertisementHorus – see Gulliman. On his own, he’s dangerous. But – as it should be – it’s the buffs he brings make him very dangerous.
Vulkan – a very strong all-rounder. He’s tough like Ferrus Manus, but in a different way. Vulkan resists the usual ‘character killer’ weapons, like melta; Manus is resistant to everything. I’d say the two of them were pretty equal… Assuming Manus’ player isn’t using some hideous Heresy-era superheavy as Manus’ personal transport.
Alpharius – just a horrible b*stard. He’s another Gulliman or Horus: not as dangerous as some of the other primarchs in terms of sheer ‘making things die’ power, but Christ alive, Alpharius allows tactical shenanigans like nobodies’ business.
Bottom line: assuming the Primarchs are fighting with an appropriately synergised army, they’re all equally horrifying, just in subtly and not-so-subtly different ways. There is no ‘best’ Primarch; they’re all the best at what they do and what they all do is very different indeed.
Subscribe to our newsletter!Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Put them one-on-one in a 10’x10′ white room with no cover and just have them go at each other?
If Vulkan doesn’t shoot a fully-leveled up Angron to death, Angron takes the win.
Learn3Eel quoting Caederes notes the following “mathhammer test results”
Just to clarify, this is how all the Primarchs rank in terms of number of actual wins – and this assumes they have their best weapons (meaning Fulgrim has Fireblade, etc), the ones with Hit and Run can pull their shenanigans (namely Corax and Kurze), no charge bonuses so they are on an even footing (except for the aforementioned Hit and Run dudes once they start taking full advantage of that) and that the Primarchs are strictly 1v1 with no assisting models, while someone like Angron doesn’t get his potential bonus attacks factored in – this is using the (mostly accurate?) numbers done on 1d4chan with corrections done where necessary (Strikedown doesn’t affect Initiative anymore, etc);
Horus – 12 wins
Lorgar Empowered – 11 wins
Fulgrim – 10 wins
Perturabo – 9 wins
Roboute – 8 wins
Vulkan – 7 wins
Ferrus Manus – 6 wins
Angron – 5 wins (surprising, no?)
Konrad Kurze – 4 wins
Mortarion – 3 wins
Corax – 2 wins
Rogal Dorn – 1 win
Alpharius – 0 winsOf course, it’s a very different story if Angron gets bonus attacks first, but for these strict 1v1 duels he’s actually not as crash hot as some believe. In fact, if Angron has maxed out bonus attacks, he gets 11 wins (only losing to Horus)! Also of note, regular Lorgar (i.e. not empowered) loses against everyone, including Alpharius.
So as usual, it’s clear as mud. It’s a complicated question with some Primarchs being assault monsters, some better at range, whole others are less individually potent but strongly buff their armies.
~Which Primarch do you think “has the best rules” and why?
