The Legio Destructor ("Beasts of Steel") is a Loyalist Titan Legion of the Collegia Titanica.
Legion History[]
Reaver-class Titans of the Legio Destructor overwhelm an Ork Gargant during the Thermopylae Scouring.
The Beasts of Steel are one of the Imperium of Mankind's largest Titan Legions, comprising over 100 Titans of all classes.
This is unsurprising as the Legio Destructor's home Forge World of Accatran, which is located in the Ultima Segmentum, lies within a hundred light years of the Wheel of Fire and at the very edge of the Ork Empire of Charadon.
Led by their eccentric Grand Master Thaedius Wilson the Legio Destructor has sallied forth to stave off numerous Ork WAAAGH!s issuing from the Wheel of Fire or the Charadon Empire. Consequently, the Legion spends much of its time building up its strength to resist the next avalanche of maniac Ork warriors and war machines.
It is murmured in some areas of the Adeptus Mechanicus that the constant exposure to Ork attacks has made the Legio Destructor increasingly "Ork-like" in its outlook and behaviour, particularly in its attitude to combat. The Princeps and crews of the Legio Destructor hunger for battle with an unusual exuberance.
So far this thirst for battle has been viewed as a useful attribute, particularly against foes other than Orks who find the Legion a highly unsettling opponent. Even the Fabricator General of Mars expressed surprise when he first learned that this Legion's crewmen had outfitted their war machines with amplifiers so that they could reply to the Orks' war cries with their Legion's own somewhat simple-minded battle chant.
Notable Campaigns[]
- Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - The Legio Destructor took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign, which included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. During this conflict, the Legio Destructor was supported by the Knights of House Orhlacc. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster, the battle lines had long since been drawn, and fighting had been going on for many Terran years. It was a cauldron of battle that would consume millions of lives before its end and see the demise of entire Titan Legions, earning this campaign the dire moniker of the "Titandeath." The Beta-Garmon Cluster, also known as the gateway to the throneworld of Terra, was the last hurdle that the Warmaster Horus' forces had to overcome before they reached the Imperium's capital world. Heavily fortified by the Loyalists, Beta-Garmon would become one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of the Horus Heresy, as well as one of the longest-lasting.
- The Ruin of Maerdan (008.M31) - This battle of the Horus Heresy saw the Imperial colony world of Maerdan on the edge of the Segmentum Solar become savagely contested between Loyalist and Traitor forces. Loyalist Titans of the Legio Gryphonicus, Legio Metalica, and Legio Destructor clashed with the Traitors of the Legio Mortis, Legio Argentum, and Legio Vulturum. One of the largest Titan battles of the early Heresy era, more than 200 god-engines clashed as Maerdan was ultimately reduced to ruin. Ultimately heavy losses were incurred by both sides and neither combatant was able to claim true victory.
- Thermopylae Scouring (Unknown Date.M41) - The Legio Destructor Battle Group "Redempta" is credited with taking part in this little-known Imperial campaign, where it battled against the forces of Chaos. The Titans of the Legio Destructor held out in a narrow pass, denying the Traitors their vast numerical advantage and allowing the Beasts of Steel to engage them in the close combat that they so relish, reaping a huge harvest with their fearsome weapons. The battlegroup "Redempta" succeeded in staving off the onslaught for thirteen days, until Imperial reinforcements arrived and annihilated the Chaos horde. The "Redempta" Battle Group commander, Princeps Leonidas, knew that the Chaos army had few long range weapons, and elected to hold a narrow pass where the horde would have to attack in a large mass. Since the bulk of a Chaos army consisted of infantry and daemons, the Titans reaped a huge harvest with their weapons, while the Warlord Titan Deathfiend stalked out of cover to battle the Khorne Lord of Battles and Banelord Titans, destroying them with Melta fire or besting them with its Chainfist. The Barrage Missile Launcher on Deathfiend was used early on to destroy a swathe of troops before they could reach cover. Their carapace Multi-Lasers allowed the Battle Group to change their position, moving out occasionally into the midst of the enemy formations to seek out troops that were hidden amidst the rocks at the entrance to the pass. Had the enemy laid hold of more weapons such as a Cannon of Khorne, or the longer ranged Daemon Engines, the Battle Group might have been in serious trouble. If the Chaos army had been able to attack them at long range, then the Titans would have been forced to move out of the pass, where the enemy's greater numbers would have swamped them. Though the Legion's conduct during this campaign only added to the worries that the Beasts of Steel were becoming increasingly Ork-like, none could deny their prowess in battle.
Notable Titan Battle Groups[]
- Legio Destructor "Redempta" Battle Group - This notable Titan battle group took part in the Thermopylae Scouring. The weapon fit of this battle group added to the worries of Imperial command that the Beasts of Steel were becoming more "Orky" with every battle, enjoying the prospect of battling close up to the enemy. The mixture of short ranged weapons and high rate of fire allowed the battle group to stave off a Chaos attack for thirteen solar days, allowing reinforcements to arrive and annihilate the Chaos horde.
Notable Titans[]
- Death Monger - A Warlord-class Titan of the "Redempta" battlegroup that participated in the Thermopylae Scouring.
- Doomlord - A Warlord-class Titan of the "Redempta" Battle Group that participated in the Thermopylae Scouring.
- Deathfiend - A Warlord-class Titan of the "Redempta" Battle Group that participated in the Thermopylae Scouring. The Deathfiend is noted for breaking out of the defensive position that the battle group took to combat the Khornate Banelord and Lord of Battles Chaos Titans, destroying them with Melta Cannon fire and viscious melee blows dealt with its Titan-sized Chainfist.
Notable Personnel[]
- Thaedius Wilson - The eccentric Grand Master of the Order responsible for and approving of the Legion's unusual attitude to battle.
- Princeps Graine - Legio Destructor Princeps who attended an assembly of the Titan Legions' representatives on Mars dubbed the Council of Tharsis, shortly before the outbreak of open hostilities on the Red Planet during the Schism of Mars. Graine was encased in a life-sustaining exoskeleton.
- Princeps Leonidas - Leonidas was the commander of the "Redempta" Battle Group during the Thermopylae Scouring.
Legion Appearance[]
Legion Colours[]
This Titan Legion's colours are not listed in current Imperial records.
Legion Badge[]
The Legio Destructor's Legion badge is a winged Adeptus Mechanicus skull, centred in front of the sacred Cog Mechanicum, with two crossed Omnissian Pattern axes pointed downwards.
Sources[]
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Rulebook (Specialty Game), pg. 15
- Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pg. 93
- Imperial Armour Volume One, pg. 8
- Mechanicum (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- Titan Legions (2nd Edition), pp. 10, 50
- White Dwarf 180 (UK), "Titan Legions: Fists of Death", pp. 30, 35