Warhammer 40K: 18 Strongest Primarchs

Which of the Emperor’s 20 children, known as the Primarchs, are the absolute strongest? Which ones manage to excel above all their brothers?

Highlights

• The Primarchs were genetically engineered ‘super babies’ created by the Emperor of Mankind. (1/3)
• Each Warhammer 40k Primarch shared attributes such as strength, charisma, intellect, and constitution. (2/3)
• Lorgar Aurelian is widely hated, Ferrus Manus was a renowned blacksmith, and Mortarion is an unstoppable tank, to name a few of their ‘gimmicks’. (3/3)

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Sugar, spice, and everything nice, that and the genetically engineered power granted by the Emperor himself. Thus the sons of the Emperor were born in Warhammer 40,000. Twenty superior and ‘perfect’ men who were intended to be superhuman generals would embark with the emperor upon the Great Crusade and unite the scattered worlds of the Imperium and bring mankind into a new ‘Golden Age’.

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Each Warhammer 40k Primarch shared attributes such as strength, charisma, intellect, and constitution and was supposedly immortal. Each also embodied a particular skill that set them apart from the others, as intended by the Emperor. Strength is a hard indicator to measure in the tabletop board game realm of Warhammer. Apart from brute strength or martial prowess, there are many other aspects to observe as entire battles and wars have been won on more than strength alone.

Updated January 11th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: With Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40k series assumably underway (as contracts have been signed with multiple studios), Warhammer 40,000 is going to see a huge surge in popularity when the show eventually comes out. This is fantastic, as while there are flaws in the 40k universe, it’s by far one of the most complex and interesting fictional settings around. And, one aspect of 40k’s history that will obviously appeal to almost any demographic is the Primarchs. Each of these ‘sons’ of the Emperor has their own gimmicks, abilities, stories, and Legions, which makes it very easy for people to find one that they relate to (or like the aesthetic of) the most. Still, while all of the Primachs are worlds above a normal ‘soldier’ in just about every category, how do they stack up to each other?

18 Lorgar Aurelian: Urizen & The Anointed

Primarch Of The 17th Legion: The Word Bearers

Fanart By Johannes Helgeson

Lorgar is the most widely ‘hated’ of all the Primarchs, both in-universe and out of it. He’s a fanatical zealot of the highest degree, and this was during a time when the Imperium of Man was not at all the heavily religious empire it is in 40K. Granted, Lorgar grew up in a world, Colchis, that had religion embedded in its very foundation, so this does make sense.

Still, this guy is basically the first Primarch to fall to Chaos, the main perpetrator behind Horus falling to Chaos, and is all-around a very sociopathic person, switching from overflowing charisma to violent rage in an instant and without warning. Before the Horus Heresy, Lorgar was easily the physically weakest of all the Primarchs. Obviously, this still put him leagues above a mortal man, but the difference between him and his brothers was clear. During the Horus Heresy, due to the influence of the Chaos Gods, Lorgar grew a lot more powerful in both the physical and psychic sense. Still, even then, there aren’t many tales of his one-on-one victories against his fellow Primarchs.

17 Ferrus Manus: The Gorgon & Sacrifice Of Fulgrim

Primarch Of The 10th Legion: The Iron Hands

Ferrus Manus (AKA ‘The Gorgon) was a Primarch that sadly didn’t get a lot of ‘screentime’ in most Warhammer media. This is mostly due to the sad fact that Manus died during the events of the Horus Heresy. To be more precise, Ferrus was the most renowned blacksmith alive, able to use his ‘living metal’ arms to mold and shape metal barehanded (no Smithing Hammer required). And, like most artisans, Ferrus Manus was a perfectionist, always trying out some new armor or weapon he designed in battle so that he could re-tune and perfect it later.

As a fighter, not much is really said about him, other than little mentions here or there. His metal arms have made many speculate he might’ve been the physically strongest Primarch, but that still ultimately falls to Vulkan, as multiple Primarchs have backed up this claim. In general, Ferrus Manus was well known and respected, but ultimately his biggest contribution to Warhammer’s lore is being decapitated by Fulgrim to show him fully giving himself to Chaos. Well, that and the fact that Perturabo still uses Manus’ legendary melee weapon, the Forgebreaker hammer, as his weapon of choice.

16 Mortarion: The Death Lord & Prince Of Decay

Primarch Of The 14th Legion: The Death Guard

Mortarion is probably one of the more well-known Primarchs overall. He’s absolutely not one of the most iconic, but most Warhammer 40k fans at least know his name and his dedication to the Chaos God Nurgle. For reference, anyone who has put a lot of time into Warhammer 40k: Darktide has had a lot of exposure to the minions of Nurgle. Mortarion is another one of those who joined Horus in the Horus Heresy, as he let his long-held grudge against the Emperor for ‘stealing the kill’ of his adoptive father on Barbarus fester for too long. In the current age of 40k, Mortarion is still the most powerful champion of Nurgle and is basically the primary representation of the Chaos God in general. And Nurgle, for those who are unaware, is the Chaos God who has the most ‘love’ for their minions, as can be seen by how the faction functions in Total War: Warhammer III.

As a fighter, Mortarion is the very definition of a ‘Tank’. He’s bulky, slow, powerful, and dense. While he doesn’t provide a ton of offensive power using his gaunt frame, Mortarion almost always tanks damage to a degree where he quite literally tires his opponents out. This is yet another way in which Mortarion echoes his Chaos God, as Nurgle is all about being unmoving, unchanging, and unrelenting.

15 Alpharius & Omegon: The Hydra & Threefold Serpent

Primarch(s) Of The 20th Legion: The Alpha Legion

There are Primarchs that specialize in stealth warfare, Primarchs that specialize in defensive battles of attrition, and then there’s Alpharius Omegon and their battles of espionage and deception. To be blunt, while the name Alpharius Omegon is meant to describe ‘one’ of twenty Primarchs, it is, in fact, two separate identical twins, one named Alpharius, and the other Omegon. These twins run the XXth Legion of the Imperium of Man, and there is very little truly known about them.

They barely ever appear in their true form, they always attack from multiple sides with a myriad of appearances, and most people aren’t even aware they got on the bad side of the XXth Legion until the battle is basically over. Alpharius and Omegon are some of the bigger fan-favorite Primarchs since the concept of a Primarch who is unknown even amongst their own Legion is so incredibly unique. While Alpharius is the ‘public face’ of the Alpha Legion, the two can be swapped at any time without anyone recognizing the difference. And, as a final little fact, even their own Legion alters their appearances to look as similar to Alpharius and Omegon as possible so that the twins can pass unknown and undetected even among their most trusted brothers.

14 Angron: Angronius Of Nuceria & The Lord Of The Red Sands

Primarch Of The 12th Legion: The World Eaters

Funnily enough, though many would consider Angron to be one of the stronger Primarchs, given his unending fury and penchant for battle, the guy has been beaten by his loyalist brothers more than he’s beaten others. As it turns out, strength for an individual or even an entire faction doesn’t boil down to just raw physical strength. In fact, even during his ‘introduction’ when the Emperor first discovers Angron on his home planet, Angron has lost the rebellion he had been fighting since his days as a Gladiator. And, oddly enough, the Emperor doesn’t help Angron win his war and doesn’t even let Angron die with his ‘brothers and sisters’ like he wanted to.

Overall, Angron is a perfect warrior of Khorne, relishing in battle, violence, and fury. But, power isn’t just about raw fighting strength, and Angron is lacking in all categories not related to raw emotion or combat potential. He has no talent for tactics, no skill in leadership, and literally has tech in his brain that causes him immense pain whenever he’s not feeling anger.

13 Jaghatai Khan: The Great Khan & Warhawk

Primarch Of The 5th Legion: The White Scars

Out of all the many Primarchs of the Emperor, only one seems to have been blessed with the gift of ‘common sense’, and it’s Jaghatai Khan. The Legion Jaghatai leads, the White Scars, were obviously based on the Mongol Empire, and it worked wonders for them. This Space Marine chapter excelled in one thing, speed, and no one else even came close. As for Jaghatai Khan as an individual fighter, he was around the middle of the pack. Of course that isn’t including his speed, as the man was so fast that one time, while killing Orks, he killed them so fast that even Orks stopped having fun fighting him.

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Many of his Primarch brothers respected him, but not many directly feared him. That said, Jaghatai, when he does get to be in books or other media, always seems to make sensible decisions and outsmart those who try and trick him. In fact, he’s the only Primarch who listened to both sides during the early stages of the Horus Heresy and even told the Traitor Legions that he understood where they were coming from.

12 Fulgrim: The Phoenician & Palatine Phoenix

Primarch Of The 3rd Legion: The Emperor’s Children

Primarch of the traitorous Legion of the Emperor’s Children, a name that became a mockery of the Imperium after his betrayal, Fulgrim is best remembered as the favored Daemon Prince of Slaanesh. To achieve this, he slaughtered his most trusted brother, Ferrus Manus, with decapitation. Fulgrim is an excellent warrior who is perhaps one of the only turn-cloak Primarchs to express remorse for the massacre of his battle brothers on Istvaan V.

Though Fulgrim’s abilities are usually a topic of hot debate among the fanbase, given how depraved and twisted he is, remember that Fulgrim and his Legion pursued ‘perfection’ before they became turncoats. And now, as a giant snake-like Daemon Prince, Fulgrim is still dedicated to perfection, but his definition of the word has changed, and nothing about him represents the idea of a ‘hero’ that would’ve described him before the Horus Heresy.

11 Corvus Corax: The Raven Lord & Liberator

Primarch Of The 19th Legion: The Raven Guard

With several monikers and titles such as the ‘Raven Lord’ and ‘Liberator’, Corvus was always considered striking in his appearances and on the field of battle. As Primarch of the Raven Guard legion of Space Marines, Corvus was blessed with the ability to move about unnoticed and slip away from his enemies with ease, making him an unrivaled assassin.

It was these skills and his undying loyalty to the Imperium that allowed him (and several other Raven Guard Astartes) to survive the massacre at Istvaan V when so many others did not. Though devastated by the betrayal and loss of so many battle brothers, Corvus did not give up and actually got permission from the Emperor of Mankind to try and remake his Legion using the same or similar technology the Emperor used to make the Primarchs. Ultimately, however, this was in vain, as the attempt failed, and Corvus had to ‘put down’ what he had made.

Then, as a sort of exile, he ventured into the Warp in an attempt to take vengeance on his traitorous Primarch brothers. In the few times Corvus Corax has been seen since then, he’s basically become a Warp Entity that people love to say is a Daemon. He can now turn into the shadows themselves, a flock of ravens, a whirlwind of shadow, and a few other things. And, while some may say this proves he’s a Daemon, that’s absolutely not the case.

10 Magnus The Red: The Crimson King & Red Cyclops

Primarch Of The 15th Legion: The Thousand Sons

The Primarch of the Thousand Sons, Magnus the Red, honestly has one of the most tragic stories out of all the Emperor’s children. One of, if not the strongest Psyker alive (second only to the Emperor at his peak), Magnus and his Legion were the most powerful Psyker fighters in all of the Imperium. And, in all their pursuits, Magnus even managed to create a Utopia for himself and his people on a planet called Prospero. Sadly, this put him at odds with the Emperor more often than not, as Magnus seemed to relish in his Warp abilities while the Emperor ultimately wanted to break everyone away from Chaos and the warp entirely.

Then, through events during and before the Horus Heresy, Magnus not only lost Prospero, but he unintentionally ruined the Emperor’s long-term web-way system plan and also fell prey to Tzeentch, the Chaos God of Change and Sorcery. Now a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch (and honestly one of the more powerful Daemon Princes), Magnus literally bends the fabric of space and time wherever he walks and destroys the minds of all those nearby just by being around them.

9 Perturabo: The Lord Of Iron & Hammer Of Olympia

Primarch Of The 4th Legion: The Iron Warriors

And now here’s another Primarch who ultimately fell to Chaos simply because he wasn’t appreciated enough. Perturabo, the Primarch of the Iron Warriors and now Daemon Prince of Chaos (all of them in general, rather than being subservient to one), is basically a walking supercomputer in terms of immediate understanding and adaptation on the battlefield. Anything he looks at he can almost immediately understand how it works, what makes it, and how to improve it. When his own Gestation Pod was falling after being thrown through the Warp, an embryotic Peturabo was able to understand that he was falling, quickly make sense of how his Pod worked, and was aware of his own name and purpose upon exiting the pod.

In a one-on-one fight, he’s not anything special, but the scariest aspect of Perturabo is that his paranoia and constant usage of inventive techniques/plans makes it so that, if he can set up the battlefield at all, the enemy side will end up having to deal with scheme upon scheme while attempting to approach him.

8 Vulkan: The King Of Drakes & Unbound Flame

Primarch Of The 18th Legion: The Salamanders

Ah, Vulkan, one of the only truly ‘kind’ people in the mature, cruel, and unforgiving world of Warhammer 40k. Vulkan is the Primarch of the Salamanders Chapter of Space Marines, a Legion that actually helps people instead of terrorizing them. Though, funnily enough, because of the radiation and environment of their homeworld of Nocturne, all of the Salamanders are incredibly stereotypically ‘scary looking’. Not only are they 8+ feet tall like other Space Marines, but they also have ashen ebony skin and bright red eyes. Combine this with their love of flame-based weaponry in relation to the Salamanders and volcanos on Nocturne, and it’s no wonder citizens and even other non-Space Marine fighters misunderstand their intentions at first.

But, let’s focus on Vulkan a bit. Not only is Vulkan hands down the most physically strong Primarch, but he’s also the biggest in size at over 10 feet tall. Now, put all that power and size into a man who is honestly quite kind and reasonable and it’s clear to see why he’s one of the strongest. But, let’s not also forget that he’s a Perpetual, like the Emperor, and is functionally unkillable and immortal. Out of all the stories of the Emperor finding and recruiting his children, Vulkan is one of the only ones where he directly competes with the Emperor and keeps up to a commendable extent.

7 Konrad Curze: The King Of Terrors & Night Haunter

Primarch Of The 8th Legion: The Night Lords

Also known as the Night Haunter or the ‘Dark King’, Konrad was the Primarch of the traitorous Night Lords Space Marine Legion. With an ability to see possible futures (usually the darkest ones) in his Dreams, Konrad was a deeply tragic character from birth. To elaborate on this, the planet Konrad landed on as a baby, Nostramo, was bathed in eternal darkness and was a land full of crime and inequality. In this land, Konrad grew up alone without anyone to support him (unlike all his other Primarch brothers). To survive here, Konrad had to constantly fight for his life, kill street animals to eat, and kill others just to sleep at night.

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Eventually, Konrad became a makeshift ‘Batman’ of Nostramo, only he was much more grimdark. Instead of simply sending criminals to jail, he would murder and mutilate them in horrifying ways as a warning. Oddly enough, after a certain period of time, this worked, as it made his city peaceful, though it was purely out of fear. Then the Emperor came along with Rogal Dorn, Logar, Ferrus Manus, and Fulgrim, all of which Konrad saw the twisted futures of as soon as they introduced themselves.

From here, Konrad’s depravity, madness, and violence only become worse over time, and he eventually joins Horus as one of the traitorous Primarchs. As an end to his story, Konrad is assassinated, and many assume he let this assassination happen based on the future he saw for himself.

6 Lion El’Jonson: The Lion & Master Of The First

Primarch Of The 1st Legion: The Dark Angels

Primarch of the Dark Angels, Lion El’ Jonson is an exceptionally powerful Primarch, so much so that he was referred to as ‘The Duelist’ by the combined powers of chaos. His battle prowess was exceptional and he was known to have unrivaled reflexes when dueling.

As most of the other Primarchs might have had doubts or questioned their abilities when facing off or fighting other Primarchs, it is implied that Jonson did not. Jonson came close to killing Konrad Curze twice by using Curze’s own prophetic abilities against him, as Curze would see the future, adapt, and then Jonson would adapt to his adaptation mid-swing.

Lion El’Jonson is very much going for that whole ‘Knight of the Round Table’ vibe and it works well for him. So well, in fact, that just recently he’s actually woken up and is back in the current events of 40k, at least at the time of writing this.

5 Rogal Dorn: The Unyielding One & Praetorian Of Terra

Primarch Of The 7th Legion: The Imperial Fists

Remember, this list is about the strongest Primarchs, but that doesn’t mean just raw physical or fighting strength. And, this is exactly why Rogal Dorn is on here. Most only remember this Primarch as a master of defense, one that constantly seems to be the target of Perturabo’s ire, but that’s a bit of an understatement. Dorn literally defended Terra and the Imperial Palace from the Traitorus factions during the Horus Heresy with a fraction of Horus’ troops to do so, and that’s no small feat.

Outside of this, Rogal also wasn’t born with the same overpowered superhuman abilities as his brothers, his only real ability seems to be an innate power to push back the Warp around him, which makes him comparable to a ‘Blank’ but not quite the same. Funnily enough, the Imperial Fists Legion as a whole is so well-known in large part because of the appearance of their starship, the Phalanx, in the Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 game.

4 Leman Russ: The Wolf Lord & Emperor’s Executioner

Primarch Of The 6th Legion: The Space Wolves

Fanart By Johannes Helgeson

A lot of the Primarchs and their Chapters sort of represent different concepts or periods of history. For example, Roboute Guilleman, as a character, is very obviously inspired by the Roman Empire while Jahatai Khan and his Chapter are essentially just twists on Genghis Khan and his Mongol Empire.

In that same respect, Leman Russ and his Space Wolves draw a lot of their design inspiration from both Viking and Norse mythos. They’re basically Space Vikings who embrace the barbarian lifestyle of their homeworld Fenris and despise all things having to do with Psykers or Sorcery of any sort. This is already on top of the normal diehard xenophobia all humans in the 40k setting seem to have against races like the Aeldari or Tau. Leman is the ultimate example of this, as he’s well-known as one of the best one-on-one combatants among the Primarchs, and this is primarily without the use of Psychic abilities. That said, Leman Russ is still missing after suddenly disappearing one day after receiving a prophetic vision, and his Space Wolves have gone on many ‘Great Hunts’ in search of their leader.

3 Roboute Guilliman: The Master Of Ultramar & Blade Of Unity

Primarch Of The 13th Legion: The Ultramarines

Ah, Roboute, the Ultramarine’s Primarch serving as a surrogate-type Emperor in the new Imperium and trying to constantly put out the fires this crumbling religious empire full of Zealots, Inquisitors. and even Space Traders have ruined. Roboute Guilliman is the Roman-inspired Primarch, and even his home world, Macragge, is basically just a version of Rome that Roboute made thrive. Now as a fighter, Roboute is decent if not pretty good, but his real talent is as a leader and master of bureaucracy. Roboute is the absolute peak of organizational efficiency and adaptability, which are two fantastic traits for a leader to have.

In fact, during the Horus Heresy, Horus and his traitorous brothers basically did everything they could to keep Roboute as far away from Terra as possible, for they knew how much he could hurt their plans if he was anywhere nearby. Additionally, his Ultramarines are sort of the ‘standard’ for what Astartes should be, and are often used in any Warhammer 40k media such as the 2010 film, Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie​​​​​.

2 Sanguinius: The Great Angel & Brightest One

Primarch Of The 9th Legion: The Blood Angels

Also called the ‘Great Angel’ and ‘Red Angel’, Sanguinius was the Primarch of the Blood Angels Legion and was gifted in every way. As Horus’ closest brother and friend, it is implied in the Warhammer book, Fear To Tread, that Horus, the most favored son of the Emperor feared Sanguinius and only him. Horus even goes further to say that the mantle to lead and oversee the Emperor’s Great Crusade should have gone to Sanguinius as he ‘had it all.’

Sanguinius would ultimately perish defending the Emperor from Horus on Horus’ flagship. However, some fan theories in recent years hint at some unknown connections between Sanguinius and the Necron. In any case, in life, every Primarch knew that Sanguinius was the best fighter (especially with a sword), the fiercest combatant, and one of the strongest Psykers alive. In fact, even Henry Cavill himself named the Blood Angels as one of his favorite Legions, proving that Sanguinius is popular amongst just about every type of Warhammer fan.

1 Horus: Warmaster, Lupercal, & Perpetrator Of The Horus Heresy

Primarch Of The 16th Legion: The Luna Wolves

The favored son of the Emperor himself and Primarch of the Luna Wolves/Sons Of Horus traitor legion, Horus was the Warmaster who led mankind’s Great Crusade and is considered to be the greatest traitor in the history of all Warhammer 40k stories. It was his actions and instigation of the Horus Heresy that has left mankind a shell of its former self, becoming a stagnant and repressive regime.

Horus was powerful in every sense. Talented and naturally strong as well as being the champion of Chaos. But, it does go to show what Horus lacked, as he did fall to the Gods of Chaos rather easily where many of his other brothers would have stayed strong. Ultimately, it was Horus’ pride that was his fatal flaw, and it eventually led him to have both his body and soul absolutely atomized by the Emperor’s Psyker abilities.

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