Horus Heresy · atlas

Legion XIX · loyalists

Raven Guard

Primarch: Corvus Corax

Homeworld: Deliverance / Kiavahr · Segmentum Tempestus

The XIX Legion — masters of stealth, ambush and decapitation strikes from Deliverance (the moon Lycaeus, by the forge world of Kiavahr). Their primarch Corvus Corax, “the Raven” and “the Liberator”, himself raised the slaves against the tech-guilds and imposed on the Legion a war of cunning and shadow. On Isstvan V only a few thousand of ~80,000 survived, and Corax waged guerrilla war for 98 days until he was evacuated. He tried to rebuild the Legion rapidly with gene-technology from the Emperor, but the Alpha Legion’s sabotage produced “raptor” mutants, whom he destroyed.

Side in the Heresy: loyalists Remained loyal. They formed part of the first wave of loyalists on Isstvan V (006.M31); Corax called in vain for a retreat when the trap snapped shut.

Number
XIX (19)
Side
Loyalists
Events in the chronicle
27 events
Strength
About 80,000 before Isstvan V (Journal Tactica: 79,000). The number of survivors is disputed: 4,724 as calculated from Journal Tactica, “less than three thousand” in the audio drama “Raven’s Flight” (per Fandom), about three or five thousand in retellings of “Deliverance Lost” (Lexicanum); they agree in the main — only a few thousand survived.

Fate

Broken as a Legion on Isstvan; partially rebuilt, but not to full strength. Corax survived; the Legion fought the entire war as raiders and hunters. After the Heresy, tormented by guilt, Corax went into the Eye of Terror with the words “Never again”.

Speciality

Stealth, infiltration and guerrilla war; lightning strikes against weak points and high-value targets, decapitation — but without reckless frontal assaults.

Tactics

Hit and withdraw, sowing confusion, jump-pack assault squads and reconnaissance; autonomous companies. The secretive Mor Deythan (who slip into shadow), the Dark Fury; silent insertion aboard the Whispercutter.

What the Legion is known for

Corax the Liberator and the uprising on Deliverance; covert warfare; the carnage on Isstvan V (a few thousand survivors of ~80,000); the “raptor” mutants after the Alpha Legion’s sabotage; “Never again”.

Wargear

Lightning claws (the favoured weapon of commanders), jump packs; the Whispercutter and the Darkwing for silent insertion; the Mor Deythan and Dark Fury squads.

Notable warriors

Events involving the Legion

The Isstvan Massacre

Shadow of War

The Road to Terra

The Siege of Terra

Characters of the Legion

Sources

  1. FW Black Book II: Massacre
  2. Lexicanum: Raven Guard
  3. WH40k Fandom: Corvus Corax
  4. Deliverance Lost (G. Thorpe)
  5. Journal Tactica: The Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre — Part One (GW)
  6. WH40k Fandom: Drop Site Massacre
  7. Raven’s Flight (G. Thorpe, audio drama)
  8. Lexicanum: Drop Site Massacre
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