Anaton Thassarius is a captain of the fabled Ultramarines Chapter, a lord of high status and impeccable bladesmanship. It was he who slew the Barbed Colossus of Hexagrad with a single sweep of his power sword, and he who executed the Bloody Tyrant of Varadd with a pinpoint blast of energy from his plasma pistol. Thassarius leads from the front, a warrior hero in the legendary tradition of ancient Macragge.

‘The Emperor’s will guides my blade, just as I guide my brothers to victory.’

Few warriors embody the stoic and dutiful mindset of the Tactical Marine better than Thaldus Castor. The mass-reactive, self-propelled bolts Castor sends towards his foes punch through armour before detonating with killing force, but Castor takes little joy in his kills – unwilling to waste a single second, he is already firing at a fresh target even as the first is torn apart in a welter of blood.

‘Let the enemies of Humanity look upon our bloody work and despair.’

After mastering the heavy weapons of the Devastator and the close combat skills of the Assault Marine, Lethus Gaiun found his true calling – that of the Tactical Marine. His rate of fire is astounding, each deadly bolt he fires sent to its destination with merciless efficiency even as he runs toward the front line. Few warriors are as deadly on the move as Gaiun, a fact that sees him at the fore of many a victorious charge.

‘I may go through three clips to your two, brother, but my death toll is twice as high.’

Dothran Garus is ambidextrous, able to lay down deafening fusillades with bolter and bolt pistol at much the same time. He earned the coveted Marksman’s Honour within a year of his induction into the Ultramarines. The golden shell that marks his uncanny skill hangs from the grip of his pistol, shining bright even as he picks out his targets with volleys of mass-reactive ammunition.

‘Come forth, then, voidspawn! Garus has a bolt for each of you!’

Emanad Titus is a veteran warrior who has spent over two centuries at the core of the Ultramarines chapter. He is so steeped in battlefield experience that Brother-Sergeant Sevastus consults him whenever the squad faces a new challenge – over his long lifespan Titus has faced down every major alien race to threaten the worlds of Mankind, and never once taken a backward step.

‘The xenos will charge soon enough. Let us be ready to greet them.’

The plasma gun is the most dangerous of all the Tactical Marine’s weapons, and those skilled in its use – Notan Promethor amongst them – are accorded great respect. In battle Promethor levels blasts of incendiary plasma that can melt through a battle tank’s hull in an instant. The gun’s risk of lethal malfunction is high, but such is Brother Promethor’s devotion to duty he never shirks from his role as deadly fire support.

‘If I die in the service of Macragge, so be it. I will bring the foe screaming with me.’

Valatan Remus is the heavy weapon operative of Squad Sevastus. A deadeye shot and possessed of limitless patience, Remus can thread a krak missile through the windows of a burned-out ruin to destroy an enemy tank trundling beyond. Wherever Remus goes to war, death is soon to follow – when facing infantry, his deadly fragmentation missiles tear enemy squads apart with shocking force.

‘One moment, brother. A perfect kill is a matter of timing.’

Jaenos Sevastus’ red helm is a bright rallying point amongst the smoke of battle as he calls for his squad to advance. His whirring chainsword adds its throaty roar to his warcries as he carves his foes limb from limb. The largest of enemies Sevastus targets with his grav-pistol, a weapon that can distort gravity to crush even the most heavily armoured monster into the ground.

‘Courage and Honour, sons of Ultramar! We strike like the Primarch’s blade!’

Though Osodan Vanial is a superb shot with his bolter, his arm is so strong and his eye so sharp he has come to specialise in the use of thrown explosives. As Squad Sevastus’ informal grenadier, he hurls frag grenades into the thick of the foe with uncanny precision, each explosion sending the enemy sprawling. Even before the smoke has cleared Vanial and his brothers close in, bolters raised for the kill.

‘A small gift from Ultramar, foul aliens! May it put you out of your misery forever!’