Goonhammer Launches Five-Part Deep Dive Into Ultramarines Lore
Goonhammer's five-part Ultramarines deep dive opens with the First Company's near-total destruction at Macragge against Hive Fleet Behemoth.
Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones and Kevin Stillman kicked off an ambitious five-part series on Goonhammer with "The Lore Explainer: The Ultramarines, Part 1 – The First Among Equals," published on 9 March 2026. The series promises to cover who the Ultramarines are, how they operate, what readers need to know about them, and how their lore has evolved across editions.
The Ultramarines, the XIII Legion and the self-described "ostensible poster boys of the Warhammer 40,000 universe," get the full treatment across five instalments. Part 1 focuses squarely on current lore, with Jones and Stillman framing the series as a long-form primer designed to give readers a comprehensive foundation before moving into historical context in later parts.
The article's most compelling section covers the First Company, led by Captain Severus Agemman and supported by heavy armour in the form of Land Raiders and Storm Ravens. It was this company that bore the full weight of defending Macragge when Hive Fleet Behemoth descended on the Ultramarines' homeworld, and the toll was catastrophic. The engagement effectively wiped out the entire First Company, leaving one of the Chapter's most prestigious formations shattered.
The rebuild fell to Chaplain Cassius, whose vision shaped the reconstituted company around Tyrannic War Veterans, warriors forged specifically in the crucible of that same conflict with the Tyranids. The pipeline didn't stop there: particularly promising veterans from the rebuilt First Company are occasionally elevated to the Victrix Guard, an elite formation representing the next step beyond standard company service.
Jones and Stillman are four parts still to go in the series, with subsequent instalments set to address operational structure, essential lore touchstones, and how the Ultramarines' story has shifted over the game's history. For players who have always found the blue boys a bit overwhelming to get into lore-wise, this series is shaping up to be the definitive starting point.
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