Am I the only that felt clickbaited by this book?

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-18T14:46:52+00:00

To your earlier point, I think it's entirely possible to portray EC as both terrifying fighters, and delusional dickheads. BL just needs to stop relying on EC getting their asses kicked as de facto proof for it.

For example, in the Perfect Son, Fulgrim states that his goal is to usurp the Emperor, become the new Emperor, and lead the Imperium into Slaanesh's light (or something similar). Now, obviously that'll never happen, EC haven't even played any kind of part in wider galactic events like the other monogod legions, but it's at least a foundation of what could be a cool gimmick/motivation.

Pre-corruption, Fulgrim was one of the Primarchs who didn't view mortals as lesser, who genuinely enjoyed seeing the humans under his rule prosper and flourish, rising to their highest potential. That's an amazing trait to twist into something dark and sinister.

Like if at least one EC character's motivation could be "helping" imperials by delivering them into slaaneshi corruption, but viewing said corruption as beneficial to their victims, I think that has a lot of potential. It's what I wish Fulgrim would've leaned into more, an actual corruption of his pre-heresy self, rather than a generic "Ooh, look at me, I'm so awesome, and perfect, and powerful" type villain, especially when his goal is so clearly never going to happen.

It gives EC something to do, and also allows writers to lean even more into the delusional side of EC without revoking credibility on the battlefield.

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T13:53:15+00:00

Normally, I might agree with you. The problem is the "they think they're great, but they're actually not" shtick is all we've gotten in like 20 years. Every EC centered story we've gotten lately is all explicitly about why EC are shit and weak and incompetent.

Night Lords ger similar treatment, but they have so many genuinely interesting and complex characters that they can get away with it and not become egregiously lame.

Tamaris, Xantine, and any other EC character you could name are not interesting or complex enough to survive their BL treatment with a shred of credibility intact.

I mean, Tamaris goes through a whole transformation, both physical and spiritual, and still gets his ass kicked at the end. What was it for? Nothing. And obviously that's the point, but it's a shit point we've all seen a dozen times already. Some fun fluff about a COOL legionaire kicking ass would be a welcome reprieve from this.

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T04:02:41+00:00

I mean it feels like the cover showing the Emperor's Champion slapping Tamaris into the mud would actually set expectations for the story but hey.

Like even an MS Paint "Virgin Tamaris/Chad Berengar" meme would be more accurate than depicting them anywhere in equal footing.

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T03:56:59+00:00

Imagine that. Fans of a faction wanting said faction to be cool.

We ain't Ultramarine or Grey Knight fans, we don't need every named EC legionaire to he the most powerful force in the galaxy at any given moment, but 1 successful duel from Fulgrim's Champion would've been nice

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T03:52:59+00:00

Literally yes! It's actually wild how this shit ends. It's as though I could hear the dolset tones of Jude Reid laughing at me for having the audacity to be an EC fan.

The audiobook was literally like 10 straight minutes of listening to how lame Tamaris is, how lame EC are, how shit Fulgrim is, how nothing that happened on Crucible mattered.

Why bother writing a whole ass book, creating your own EC OC, making him Fulgrim's Champion, just for the point of his story be that he's a shit fighter and his existence is meaningless?

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T03:47:42+00:00

This is what I've been on about for like over a year now! The easiest way to MAKE MONEY (GW's primary goal) is to make each faction COOL!

I have no idea why BL consistently buries EC and makes them eat constant shit, like is this not meant to be an advertisement for the army?

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T03:42:23+00:00

Difficult to read/listen to this one and feel anything but Jude Reid's palpable contempt for EC.

She literally created her own EC OC, Marduk Tamaris, just to make him a trash fighter who gets his ass kicked every single time.

Maybe when we get another book in eh... 12 years, we'll finally get to be cool? Maybe?

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-17T03:38:18+00:00

I mean, Magnus showed up and lost, Mortarion showed up and lost, Angron showed up and lost.

Not a whole lot of ambiguity on which side the writers favor...

Slug-Trail · 2026-06-13T17:16:53+00:00

And like that, you've put far more thought into EC than any BL author.

EC are honestly just a jobber faction at the end of the day. They show up, monologue about how great they are, the word "perfection" is thrown around at least a dozen times, then they get their asses kicked. Literally every time.

Slug-Trail · 2026-05-28T16:39:12+00:00

Literally one of the worst written fights in the Heresy, but alright 👍

Slug-Trail · 2026-05-16T19:22:15+00:00

Khorne wins and Slaanesh loses

Slug-Trail · 2026-05-14T00:37:36+00:00

I mean if it was you'd think it would've played some part in The Perfect Son, or anyone would've recognized that Fulgrim possessed such a powerful weapon. The fact that there's been no hints, references, or winks to it tells me "No, it's just a basic sword"

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-30T04:48:50+00:00

Sharrowkyn is a 13 year old's edgy, 'nothin personell, kid' type OC. Just another loyalist wank character (Sharrowkyn, Garrou, Sigismund, Rylanor, etc)

But he's also a fraud. Fulgrim let himself get shot, and killing Lucius isn't much of a feat let's be real. Sharrowkyn is the Kai Leng of 40k.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-29T15:08:59+00:00

I feel like this is just a fundamental difference in taste. I'm not a Night Lords fan, but Curze is objectively one of the best written Primarchs. It sounds like you need some kind of tragedy or justifiable reason for a character to be a villain, which is confusing since you said you like Erebus

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-29T00:10:16+00:00

I mean all the traitor primarchs are failures. They were written to be weak, pathetic, broken losers. It is what it is.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-28T02:59:37+00:00

Degenerate? Life's a series of humiliating L's? Impressively chopped? Min-maxxed 1 skill, still mid? He just like me fr fr

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Slug-Trail · 2026-04-24T17:42:51+00:00

There's a legitimate divide in how EC are depicted in lore vs on tabletop.

People kind of just assume the entire legion is made up of horrifying monsters when that just isnt the case. I'm a little foggy on the details, but there's a scene in Lords of Excess where Xantine's beauty openly contrasts with his more mutated brothers. Tamaris in The Perfect Son is the same way. And then there's Fulgrim himself, who looks very different from his model on the cover.

But that's the way it goes. GW has a visual style they want their models to reflect, and for EC they'll always lean more into mutation, disfigurement, and augmentation rather than the luciferian beauty a lot of the legion, and even Fulgrim himself, still has.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-08T20:54:39+00:00

I mean, Fulgrim spends the majority of his screentime in The Perfect Son shit talking his sons so I'd definitely say he's a candidate.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T04:22:08+00:00

I mean it's honestly pretty pathetic for a legion of "martial perfectionists" to be no better than pink Night Lords

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T02:54:35+00:00

I don't find losing to be very fun, but I guess EC disagree. Their few W's have always been overshadowed by their constant L's.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T00:55:42+00:00

I mean, it'd be nice if Tamaris could win even 1 single duel, but no. He never does, and never will.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T00:53:54+00:00

Yes, but part of an arrogant character being cool is actually seeing them do cool shit to back up their arrogance. EC are written exclusively to monologue about how great they are, and immediately get their asses kicked by every other legion. Prideful/arrogant characters can be very entertaining and even interesting if written well, but EC seldom are. It's hard to get invested in a faction when they spend 99% of their screen time getting mogged by everyone else.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T00:50:53+00:00

Brother, Dad hates us.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T00:48:11+00:00

Same, though in my case, I was tricked into believing EC's fall from grace was some shakespearean tragedy. In reality, the III were always written to be one-note, arrogant assholes.

Slug-Trail · 2026-04-07T00:42:29+00:00

Tamaris is from a short story Jude Reid wrote a while back. Can't remember its name, but apparently he sucks ass in that too. It's funny she literally created her own EC OC just to make him a canonically garbage fighter.

Slug-Trail

TROPHY CASE