Illuminati

I bought a series of 'standard' chaos marine some years ago and gave them a quickie paint job, which I have finally got round to upgrading. These are supposed to be 'recent' renegades, rather than the old Horus Heresy Traitors.

I like to concoct a back story for my armies as it helps me 'design' them; yes, I know, I am a very sad wargame geek but there are worse fates in life.

The back story of the Illuminati Warband is that they were once the Sundancers Chapter. Their origin was always a mystery, which caused them to be distrusted by the Inquisition. Matters came to a head on Sphactia.

The Sundancers specialise in commando and deep-strike tactics so a Sundancer battle group under Captain Menro was tasked with capturing a strategic bridge across an acid river before traitor forces could blow it, so that Imperial forces could break open the enemy’s defensive line in a surprise assault. They were promised that an Imperial Guard Armoured Spearhead would reach them in two days.

In the event, they held out for nine days against increasingly desperate traitor attacks but no loyal reinforcements arrived. After suffering heavy losses the Sundancers were forced to withdraw. Captain Menro stormed into the Imperial Guard command bunker to discover that there never was a plan for a relief force. The Sundancer attack was a feint to throw the traitors of balance while the real assault went in elsewhere. Lord Marshall Krakow added insult to injury when he informed Captain Menro that they were not informed of their role in advance as their loyalty was suspect.

Menro and his elite Terminator Squad stormed through the Imperial HQ complex killing everyone in their path. He surrendered himself to the justice of the Sundancer Chapter at their stronghold of Icarus and was acquitted because of the grievous insult offered to the Chapter by Lord Krakow.

As far as the Sundancers were concerned the matter was closed, so it cam as a complete shock when the Blood Angels led an Inquisition strike team in a suprise raid against Icarus. Only a few hundred Sundancers managed to escape off planet, Menro among them. He swore revenge against the Imperium, and the Blood Angels in particular.
The Sundancers broke into renegade warbands, one led by Captain Menro, now Warlord Menro, who carries the skull of Lord Krakow on the front of his helmet and sports a Blood Angel Leader’s helmet on his trophy rack. On his back is the Blood Angel cloak he took as a trophy, the rips from Sundancer bolter fire untended.

Menro’s Warband is known as the Illuminati as they claim illumination about the true nature of the Imperium and the galaxy.




Below are some of the possessed marines serving in the warband. The bases are ‘infected’ resin models from Scribor (with a couple of additions made from ‘green stuff’).



Launching himself into the air in berserk rage.


Blind Pew and his mate, who is usually in two minds.


Ugly so in so.


Still thinks he's a dancer.


'Is this a dagger that I see before me?' - No, it's my left arm.