Bloody Hands

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Chaos Warbands Articles ---

The Bloody Hands are a Chaos Warband dedicated to Chaos Undivided. Originally they were the Ruby Sabres, a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter from the 15th Founding. The Chapter was known for its close adherence to the Codex Astartes. They defended the Imperium from the countless enemies of Mankind for centuries. Yet one battle-brother would soon make a grave mistake on the world of Thesulia Prime. Now they fight against the Imperium, against those they once swore to protect. A large number of Alpha Legion have found their way into the warband, which the Bloody Hands have accepted with excitement, for any opportunity to sabotage the Imperium that the Alpha Legion uses, the Bloody Hands are glad to assist in.

Most recently, the Bloody Hands have been more or less taken over by Kho'mzond the Devious, a Lord of Change, a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch. Until then they were led by Khârn the Betrayer, who gladly accepted them into his own warband. However, Kho'mzond saw greater potential in the Bloody Hands and staged a coup, sending Khârn back to Angron, Daemon Primarch of the World Eaters Traitor Legion. Now Kho'mzond leads the warband, along with many cohorts of Daemons and cults of Thousand Sons, against the Imperium. With the plotting and subterfuge of the Alpha Legion mixed with the cunning and deviousness of the Lord of Change, the Imperium is now faced with a dangerous enemy, one that often turns its own forces against them.

A Fatal Mistake
"The Ruby Sabres, eh? Ah yes, I remember how they once were. Shame what happened to them. They were great allies, pious and noble. Nonetheless, that is the greatest danger of Chaos - anyone, no matter how loyal, can be affected."

- Reclusiarch Volker Aldermann of the Atomic Gladiators

The Ruby Sabres found themselves on the Hive World of Thesulia Prime, responding to the Planetary Governor's pleas for aid. Exactly five Planetary Defense Force regiments rebelled against the Emperor and began raiding the Hive Cities over several months, using the old armory bunker complexes against them. The Ruby Sabres immediately deployed with heavy armor and fast attack units, ambushing the traitors and slaughtering them wholesale. The war was proceeding extremely well - the traitors were on the brink of collapse within mere solar days.

Soon, however, Sergeant Stossen Freelon discovered a temple complex that the traitors were unearthing. He moved his Tactical Squad in, hoping to catch them off guard. The complex was made of ancient and obsolete materials, possibly dating back to the Age of Strife. They ambushed traitor engineering and excavation squads as they moved in. They soon approached the central chamber where they killed the last higher ups of the traitors. Most of the squad then held position for support from the rest of the 5th company. It was then that battle-brother Castor Mikulec noticed the sword in the center of the chamber. It was arcane and curved, covered in ancient script. Castor grabbed the sword and kept it, despite protests from the others.

This was to be a fatal error.

Spiral Into Madness
Over the next few decades, Castor Mikulec steadily rose through the ranks of the Ruby Sabres. All the while the sword - now named Castigator - remained at his side. Soon, Castor was a Captain of the 5th Company, leading a hundred battle-brothers against the enemies of Mankind. Yet unknown to all, the sword...spoke. At night, as Castor slept, the sword whispered horrible, twisted things into his ear. For years, every time he slept, his dreams were filled with horrible visions, twisted thoughts, and terrible ideas. Castor, while becoming an incredibly popular battle-brother, was slowly corrupted by a Daemon of Chaos.

In the mid-39th Millennium the Chapter Master of the Ruby Sabres, Marneus Hoyal, was slain in combat by an Aeldari Avatar of Khaine. Castor defeated the Avatar in single combat as Hoyal's Honor Guard fended off Striking Scorpions and Howling Banshees. In the aftermath the captains of the Ruby Sabres gathered to vote for the next Chapter Master. Castor was elected almost unanimously - almost. Reclusiarch Ligarius Klabunde argued against this, for the last few decades he had detected the taint of corruption among the Chapter. All originating from Castor. Unknown to Ligarius, however, the Daemon had reached out and whispered to more than Castor. Almost eighty percent of the Chapter had suffered nightmares from the Daemon, although these nightmares soon turned to normal dreams, thoughts, even ambitions. Ligarius demanded that Castor step down from his role as captain and discard Castigator at once.

The chamber fell silent at such a statement. Many of the attending captains experienced anger at this demand, although many were unsure why - at first. Castor calmly replied that Ligarius' statement was false, yet he admired how observant he was. Ligarius exclaimed that the Emperor's Finest would not be led by a corrupted heretic and raised his plasma pistol, overcharging it and aiming at Castor's head. In that moment the Captain of the 7th Company, Melchor de Andrada, smashed Ligarius to the floor with his Power Fist, crushing the Chaplain's bones in his right arm and chest. Castor then informed his fellow captains that this was evidence at the "narrow-mindedness and weakness of the Emperor and his servants". The Daemon's hold on the Ruby Sabres was complete; the captains agreed and cheered on as they instated Castor as their new leader.

Right after, as Ligarius attempted to vox for back-up by his fellow chaplains, Captain Raynor Nordigard of the 2nd Company crippled the Reclusiarch with a strike on the leg with his Thunder Hammer. Over solar hours, the captains tortured Ligarius in horrific ways in the chamber. Upon his death, Ligarius cursed them all, wishing the worst vengeance imaginable from the Imperium. It was then that Castor - his feet already stained with blood - ripped Ligarius' hearts from his body, soaking his gauntlets in blood. In that moment he proclaimed that they were no longer the Ruby Sabres. They were now the Bloody Hands.

Destruction of Darcadia
Over the following centuries the High Lords of Terra lost all contact with the Ruby Sabres' Chapter Homeworld of Darcadia. This did not raise too much concern; after all, many Chapters can go Terran years without any major outside contact. The next time contact was made, it was on the world of B'allmar. The Ultramarines were carrying out missions against a T'au Hunter Cadre when a warp portal materialized within an ocean. On the coast, several Ultramarine Rhinos were gathering in preparation to launch an assault against the T'au. Soon after, they were themselves assault by several Daemon Engines, including Forgefiends, Maulerfiends, and Death Wheels. Within minutes the Ultramarines were decimated, losing nearly all of their Rhinos and attempting to regroup to counterattack. They never stood a chance as Bloody Hands Havocs annihilated them with Kalibrax-pattern autocannons and Mars-pattern heavy bolters.

It soon became apparent that these Chaos Space Marines were once the loyal Ruby Sabres based on surmounting evidence, the main one being that the attack was led by the Master of the Forge Hebediah Briehl, now a twisted Warpsmith. Upon this discovery, the Ultramarines sent three entire companies to the Alpha Iota system. On approach to Darcadia they were fired upon by surface Defense Lasers. They decided to attempt to attack via Thunderhawk. As the Thunderhawks came in low toward the Defense Lasers, one was shot down by Bloody Hands' Havocs. The situation soon turned in favor of the defenders. As the Ultramarines attempted to both complete their objective and secure the fallen Thunderhawk, the latter was swarmed within seconds by Possessed and daemons. The Ultramarines at the crashed Thunderhawk were slaughtered to a man, their gene-seed stolen and wargear looted. The remaining Ultramarines forces were hounded by autocannon and heavy bolter fire from more Havocs as Forgefiends soon joined the battle. Only a handful of Ultramarines were able to escape the surface of the planet.

Over the next solar weeks the Ultramarines instead blockaded Darcadia. The Bloody Hands attempted to continue their piratical raids on nearby Imperial shipping lanes only to be countered every time by Ultramarines voidcraft. Over this time Ultramarines' scouts learned that the Bloody Hands had been withholding their gene-seed and ambushing other Chapters to steal theirs to create more and more numbers for their warband. It was estimated that by this time their numbers had reached up to 5,500. Soon the Dark Angels also arrived. The Ultramarines shared their information with their fellow Chapter. It wasn't long before the Dark Angels suggested that the only course of action was to subject Darcadia to Exterminatus.

In order to do so, however, they would need to take out the Defense Lasers in order to get close. So the second assault began, only this time with Dark Angels support. Upon landing via Drop Pod and Thunderhawk the landing zones were almost instantly assailed by Forgefiends, Havocs, and Possessed. Ultramarines and Dark Angels Devastator Squads pounded the traitors with relentless heavy weapons fire as Stormtalons strafed the Bloody Hands without mercy. At the same time, Assault Squads landed among the renegade defenders of the Defense Lasers, cutting them down before planting Melta charges.

The two Chapters pulled out their forces. Soon Cyclonic Torpedoes streaked through the atmosphere by the dozens. Yet the Bloody Hands would not be exterminated that easily. Grand Librarian-turned-Sorceror Boreas Kofoot opened a warp portal into the Immaterium and soon all 5,500 Bloody Hands had disappeared from Darcadia as it died. They materialized on the Daemon World of Arkanis, deep in the Immaterium. The planet was already partially ruled by the Bleeding Eye, a Night Lords Chaos Warband. Chaos Lord Castor led his Bloody Hands against the Night Lords, annihilating them all as the Night Lords were outnumbered 400 to 1. Afterwards the Bloody Hands started building the Fort of Misery.

The Betrayer and the Hydra
Soon after the Fort of Misery was finished the Bloody Hands were approached by Alpha Legion Chaos Lord Kalissar. Kalissar led a contingent of around 5,000 Alpha Legionaries and was looking for another promising warband to ally with. He found that in the Bloody Hands. Castor, now going by the name Jericho Nazkayok, negotiated with the Alpha Legion Lord about joining the two warbands. The negotiations went well and soon the two warbands merged.

Sometime later the Bloody Hands were recruited by Khârn the Betrayer shortly after the 13th Black Crusade. For many Terran decades the Bloody Hands and the Butcherhorde carved the Red Path all throughout Imperial territory, bringing themselves to the Atomic Gladiators Chapter World of Maolia. Caring nothing for the Aeldari Artifact many of the factions on the planet fought for, the Butcherhorde slaughtered the civilian population before the Gladiators arrived in earnest and blunted their massacring. As the Gladiators then attempted to escape the planet, the Bloody Hands and Alpha Legion fought relentessly to secure the Gladiators' flagship Atomic Fury. Yet the Gladiators punched through them and escaped to Toyotis.

Shortly after, the Bloody Hands arrived to lay siege to the planet. The Atomic Gladiators' and Adeptus Mechanicus fleets pulverized the Chaos ships at range, yet still a significant number of them managed to land on the planet in the Jorgani Badlands. The Atomic Gladiators assisted Toyotis' Skitarii Legions against the Chaos Space Marines. Daemon Engines were reduced to scrap, the Daemons bound within were banished to the Warp. Chaos Space Marines were herded into killing zones before being reduced to corpses in droves. Yet still the Chaos Space Marines fought on, inflicting heavy casualties on the Imperial forces as they attempted to take over the forges of the Forge World.

The Knights of House Stark pushed them back into the Jorgani Badlands, where, desperate, the warband deployed dozens of Chaos Knights. The battle was intense and bloody, with Gladiator Devastator Squads providing support from a distance. The Chaos Knights were stubborn, and did not yield their ground. House Stark refused to do the same. Sir Malcom Stark proved himself worthy by catching a Lord of Skulls' axe, attached to a Chaos Knight, in his Thunderstrike Gauntlet before using his Thermal Cannon to melt the Chaotic Knight in half, then tossed the top half at another Chaos Knight, destroying both completely. Then he was destroyed by Chaos Lord Jericho, who was piloting a Knight with a giant two handed Lord of Skulls axe.

Jericho attempted to destroy Lady Selina, in her Castellan, before Sir Cornelius stepped in front of the swipe, blocking it with his Reaper Chainsword. This gave Lady Selina enough time to pulverize Jericho with her Volcano Lance. The warband retreated back into the Eye of Terror, promising revenge.

A Change Of Hands
With the death of Castor, the Bloody Hands were assumed to be led by Khârn the Betrayer. Yet as they returned to the Fort of Misery, they were met by a Lord of Change named Kho'mzond the Devious. Kho'mzond informed the Bloody Hands that they were a promising force for his plans. Khârn, his Nails causing him pain from being near the psyker, went to attack the daemon with Gorechild, only for Kho'mzond to cast him through the warp back to Angron with the rest of the Butcherhorde.

The Lord of Change continued, saying that he had great plans to bring the downfall of entire sectors of the Imperium for his patron god, Tzeentch, the Architect of Fate. Kal'khar Mehalko, former captain of the Ruby Sabres' 9th Company, stepped forward and stated that Lords of Change were known for their cunning and trickery. Why should they trust the daemon at all?

The Greater Daemon chuckled, explaining that if he planned on killing the Bloody Hands, we would have simply denied them being whisked to safety through the warp as their planet died. He then told Kal'khar that he promised riches and glories beyond their wildest dreams and ambitions. Kal'khar then agreed to have Kho'mzond lead them, but only if the Gladiators would suffer at their hands.

Kho'mzond smiled. He was waiting for him to say that.

Tarvokia
arvokia is a Hive World on the southern edge of Segmentum Tempestus, a hub for manufacturing in the region of Sector Ventos. Because of its importance and isolation, massive effort was made to ensure it would not fall. This meant that its moon and two other worlds (of seven) that weren't gas giants were turned into Fortress Worlds under Tarvokia's government. Its regiments are regarded as some of the best troops available in the Segmentum, praised for their resilience against overwhelming foes. In terms of the planet's capability, roughly eight percent of Battlefleet Tempestus is made up of vessels were produced on Tarvokia. The last Imperial tithe reported that a whopping 700 million fighting ready men were taken into the Guard, for that year alone.

A Lord of Change named Kho'mzond convinced a massive force of Chaos warbands, renegades, and daemons to invade Tarvokia. Yet the Tarvokians, already used to near constant raids from Ork and Chaos Space Marine pirates, were quick to organize their defenses as regiments from a dozen worlds were sent by the Departmento Munitorum to assist in its defense as the war zone was expanded.

The Atomic Gladiators, Titans of Legio Vulpes, and Knights of House Stark, as well as the Imperial Scythes, arrived as well. Soon after, despite success in assisting the Imperial Guard, Chapter Master Artemis was killed by Ahriman as he attempted to prevent the Arch-sorcerer of Tzeentch from claiming his prize - a tome said to be written by the Architect of Fate himself. However, instead of letting his death decrease their morale, the Atomic Gladiators only fought harder, especially with the arrival of several more Space Marine Chapters - the Minotaurs, Carcharadons, Red Scorpions, Raptors, and Mantis Warriors.

After the Forces of Chaos were defeated on the ground, a last, desperate orbital battle took place, where the Atomic Gladiators, Imperial Scythes, Grey Knights, and Minotaurs boarded the Desolator-class Battleship Pirate's Haven and banished the Greater Daemon responsible for the siege, Kho'mzond the Devious.

With the banishment of their daemon leader, Kal'khar brought his warband, with his close Alpha Legion allies, back into the warp in a retreat. He then decided that enough was enough. The Gladiators had foiled their plans time and again. Tarvokia would be the last time that they did.

The Fortress
The galaxy is a vast and lonely place. For every sector abuzz with life, there are countless more that are dead zones. Even as wars reach into every corner of the galaxy, great swathes still lie silent, untouched and empty.

It was in one such silent sector in the galactic west that a new, seventh Blackstone Fortress appeared. In the furthest reaches of the Segmentum Pacificus, it sits amid a graveyard of starships that stretches more than a million miles across. This latest Blackstone Fortress is a key tactical asset for any who might suborn it to their will. Even a single one of these star fortresses can turn the tide of the most apocalyptic space battles, armed with weapons of unparalleled power.

The Blackstone Fortress is more than just a weapon, however, it is a cache of archeotech and artefacts from bygone ages. Relics of countless species lie abandoned in its halls -- a technological treasure trove that would prove utterly irresistible for any who seek to collect, study or leverage technology in their wars.

But unlike any of the other Blackstone Fortresses found before, this citadel is not inert, but seems to act, and even react, of its own accord. What this means is one of the most puzzling aspects of this Blackstone Fortress.

More mysterious still are the "hidden vaults." None can say what lies within -- but given the other secrets possessed by the fortress, the treasures inside must be priceless -- and many factions from across the galaxy have already begun to converge on the newest Blackstone in an attempt to seize its secrets.

The Hydra and the Hand
Exalted Sorceror Kalophis soon convened with the higher ups of the warband; champions from the Bloody Hands, Night Lords, Alpha Legion, and countless others. He told them that he had spoken with Kho'mzond in the warp, who was using every available asset and opportunity to do so. Kho'mzond said that if they were to seize the newest Blackstone Fortress for Chaos, his patron God would allow him to once more traverse the material realm.

Alpha Legion Lord Hekastis Crowbane immediately began planning with his other Aspiring and Exalted Champions of the Alpha Legion. Already many factions were converging on the Blackstone as well. The Bloody Hands would have the advantage of being a piratical warband with a huge fleet of voidcraft. With the Blackstone Fortress drifting within a amid a graveyard of starships that stretches more than a million miles across, the Bloody Hands have a hundred, thousand, even possibly a million routes to take that will conceal their approach and give them the element of surprise.

Kal'hkar ordered his own Aspiring and Exalted Champions, and other such underlings, to ready the warband for departure. The aspect of loot from all of those ships, not even to mention the Blackstone itself, was too great to resist. The pirates scrambled to ready their vessels. Non-lethal duels for rights to the best docks with the best launch times broke out. Soon the ships in orbit above Arkanis were bustling with activity as beastmen, renegades, traitor Guardsmen, Chaos cultists, Hereteks, mutants, rogue psykers, apostates, malefic scholars, warp touched, and forsaken priests boarded these vessels by the hundreds of thousands.

The Bloody Hands would soon close in on the Blackstone Fortress like a shark on prey.

Warband Gene-Seed
The gene-seed of the Bloody Hands was once pure, free of taint and corruption. After they embraced Chaos the gene-seed slowly degraded as corruption took over. The Chapter's gene-seed had felt the touch of the Warp. They now show signs of physical mutation and are shunned by certain Traitor Legions, or embraced by others. Normally this would be cause for concern in a regular Loyalist Chapter. However, the Bloody Hands embraced this change and took no action to correct it. The Apothecarion slowly changed into the Clinic, and the Apothecaries War Clerics. The main purpose of these Clerics is to capture gene-seed from fallen Astartes, regardless of p faction, twist it into the standards and liking of the Bloody Hands, and then insert the gene-seed into new aspirants.

Due to the taint of Chaos in their gene-seed, the Bloody Hands "suffer" from a hyper-stimulated Omophagea. Having tasted the flesh of the foe once, the Warband's warriors developed an addiction to the processes allowed by the Omophagea. Now upon winning a battle these warriors can be observed tearing flesh from the fallen with their new fangs thanks to mutation.

Mutation
The Chaos Gods are generous but erratic with their favours. When blessing one of their followers, a Chaos God might make them stronger, tougher, faster, astonishingly attractive, hyper-intelligent or otherwise improve their lot in the world. Just as likely, the Chaos God may feel their loyal subject would benefit from their toes falling off, having an eye sprout in their navel or being transformed into a dribbling and imbecile mountain of flesh. Most Gifts of Chaos take the form of some physical mutation. The more of these gifts a champion receives, the more potentially disastrous their cumulative effects can be - even the body of a Chaos Space Marine can only withstand so many mutations before he passes the point of no return.

Any champion of Chaos, regardless of prestige, can find himself on the road to becoming a Chaos Spawn, for the Dark Gods are fickle. A champion who does not earn himself the ultimate reward of Daemonhood will surely become a Spawn, unless he dies by some other means first. Such is the lot of the Chaos champion - those that survive are destined either for everlasting, diabolical glory or an ignominious end as a slavering heap of limbs and protrusions.

For the Bloody Hands mutations have run rampant ever since they landed on Arkanis. This takes form in two ways - bestial appearance and daemonic voices. The Warband's warriors are rapidly growing claws, fangs, pincers, wings and other strange parts that belong on beasts rather than men, but it doesn't have to be seen as all bad. The most useful are fangs or anything to do with the jaw that allows the warband to feast upon the flesh of the fallen, as stated above. In addition, the Chaos Marines of this Warband may speak in strange tones like two voices at once or grinding tones like a machine, or in strange languages that nobody but them can understand.

Warband Organization
The Bloody Hands are, first and foremost, pirates. Although possessing of a Daemon World they are incredibly mobile, able to launch raids across multiple sectors at once. The Bloody Hands are also huge rivals with the Red Corsairs, who vie with them for plunder. This goes in hand with the warband's scorched earth policy; many times they've destroyed valuable prizes such as battleships and cruisers by overloading their reactors just so that the Red Corsairs could not take advantage of them.

The vast majority of Chaos Space Marine Warbands are disjointed groups and have little organisation except for the Chaos Lord, individual champions and those who follow them, however some choose to maintain the system of companies/grand companies and ordered squads to keep the Warband together. Some Warbands choose to maintain order but deviate in some areas, altering numbers in companies and squads to suit them, or to show divine devotion. Finally, there are a small number of Warbands who hold strict regiments and follow the same organisation they did as Imperials. For the Bloody Hands, they are more orderly than most. They have a clear system in use for its organization. Squads and their leaders are kept active and some may use a system of grand companies to organize large numbers of troops. And a large number they possess indeed.

Most of the warband consists of Bloody Hands Heretic Astartes. Based on their preferred combat style some choose to become Havocs or close assault squads. As time goes on many are twisted and mutated into Obliterators or Mutilators, respectively. Many instead choose to remain regular Chaos Space Marine units led by Aspiring Champions. Some will instead choose the path of Raptors, while others still become War Clerics, Bikers, or Warpsmiths.

With the recent addition of the Thousand Sons thanks to being led by Kho'mzond the Devious, the Bloody Hands have included a large number of Rubric Marines, Scarab Occult Terminators, and Tzaangors. Due to the nature of the Rubric Marines the Bloody Hands don't usually mind them, especially as they bring Inferno Boltguns to battle.

Another large portion of the warband includes Alpha Legionaries. These legionaries bring cultists, renegades, mutants, and beastmen into the warband thanks to their specialty in infiltration, subterfuge, and manipulation. The Alpha Legion assist the Bloody Hands using their special tactics. The Alpha Legion was well known for their use of subterfuge and the innate ability of its Astartes and other operatives to blend-in with any environment. The Legion's agents mimicked those that they infiltrated to gather intelligence, perform sabotage, or plant disinformation.

The Legion's badge, the hydra, is a multi-headed mythical beast which could keep fighting even if one of its heads was cut off. This legend seems to reflect the Alpha Legion's command structure, as well as echoing its doctrine of multiple simultaneous attacks. Alpharius Omegon believed in planning and co-ordination, and the twins always sought alternatives and multiple solutions to any given problem, with different elements working together for the end result. These doctrines, thoroughly embraced by the Legion as a whole, have apparently been continued by the Traitor Legion warbands and have proven effective, especially in the disparate and secretive way they now operate. Extensive preparations are made before actually attacking an Imperial target, including using spies and corruption to weaken an enemy's resolve. Not only is an enemy attacked from every angle, but every attack is often coordinated to achieve the most destructive results. Many actions are planned to utilise and support local Chaos Cultist activity. These cults go to considerable effort to spread propaganda, perform sabotage, and carry out acts of unrest and rebellion, providing a distraction and weakening the enemy before the Alpha Legion strikes. Furthermore, the Legion has been known to ally themselves with anti-Imperial forces including other Traitor Legions and even xenos like the Dark Eldar. On worlds far away from the Eye of Terror, daemons are less relied upon since they cannot remain stable for long enough in the physical universe to be useful. If the Alpha Legion succeeds in securing the belief of a local Chaos Cult the cultists are summoned to add to the variety of their attacks.

As such, tens of thousands of beastmen, cultists, renegades, and mutants have joined the Bloody Hands in the recent years since the Alpha Legion joined. The Bloody Hands welcome this addition, mostly for cannon fodder for their Astartes to get close to the enemy. Yet even more so, the opportunities offered up by the use of infiltration are too good to pass up. Often times the arrival of a Bloody Hands raid is foretold by defense systems suddenly failing, entire regiments casting their loyalties into the dirt, and armies of cultists and renegades rising up.

Infiltration
The Alpha Legion's Primarch Alpharius' axiom was to attack one's enemy in as many diverse ways as possible, at the same time. The most experienced of the Alpha Legion are always specialists in the arts of the infiltrator and the thoughtsmith. The chosen agents of their warband's leader, these master operatives are able to bind their victims in spiralling webs of suspicion, confusion and doubt before springing their lethal traps.

In practice, this doctrine manifests in a variety of ways depending on the size of the operation and locale of the battle zone. Obfuscation and skullduggery are the Legion's mantra. The Alpha Legion has been known to employ devious tactics such as flanking maneuvers, tunneling to bypass enemy defenses, diversionary tactics, disguising troops and vehicles in enemy colours, air drops and teleportation behind enemy lines, infiltration, disabling enemy transport vehicles and routes, sabotage of essential supplies, ammo, food, and fuel depots, as well as atmospheric and ecological tampering, triggering seismic and tectonic activity, coercion, bribery of enemy troops and officers and Imperial officials, disguising as and impersonating Imperial officers, enlisting enemy forces, distributing propaganda to incite civil unrest and outright rebellion, organizing anti-Imperial activity and supplying heretical groups and cultists, and allying themselves with corsairs, aliens and other Traitor Legions. Many of these unscrupulous tactics are employed by the Legion after careful coordination, often resulting in an elaborate and enigmatic strategy that leaves their enemies confounded and confused. Through the use of these completely unorthodox tactics the Alpha Legion is able to deploy smaller and more mobile forces than is normally necessitated, for the Legion employs actual combat as only one part of their overall strategy.

Close and Ranged Combat
Aside from the Alpha Legion aspect of their combat doctrine the Bloody Hands excel in ranged and close combat. The close combat part of this includes many Khornate warriors, the most notable of which are Khorne Berzerkers. In combat, these frothing, psychotic berserkers are ferocious and will fight to the death, knowing that their own blood is as welcome to the Blood God as that of their enemies. The World Eaters are an army entirely dedicated to and specialised in close combat. Reflecting the breakdown of overall organisation and strategy in the Legion after the Horus Heresy, most World Eater combat consists of rushing a force of World Eater Berserkers towards the enemy line as quickly as possible so they can engage in melee combat. Once locked into close combat, few enemy units can persevere against the World Eaters' Khornate Berserkers. World Eater armies feature little to no long-range weapons, but they balance this lack with their exceptional close combat and melee prowess. The World Eaters do, however, possess various artillery weapons gifted to them by Khorne.

World Eaters who seek to grow even closer to their bloodthirsty patron may partake in horrific rituals inviting possession by daemons of the Warp. A warrior claimed by a Lesser Daemon of the Blood God like a Bloodletter has their body twisted into a living weapon known as a Possessed, the better to harvest blood and skulls for Khorne, while the daemon itself benefits from a mortal host that provides a permanent anchor to realspace.

The ranged combat portion of the Bloody Hands closely mimics the Iron Warriors, seeing as they allied with the Iron Warriors for a few Terran decades, most notably during the Siege of Tarvokia. They commence battle with a sustained artillery bombardment, utilizing every weapon at their disposal. The basis of this is a complex fire plan in which every weapon is directed with utmost care at the optimum target, for maximum effect. Where possible, the Bloody Hands will coordinate with Traitor Titan Legions to add to their own considerable firepower. This emphasis on artillery and mechanized warfare means that Iron Warrior forces often fare best in siege warfare and armored advances on enemy territory.

Where possible, field fortifications will be used. Iron Warrior doctrine includes extensive use of fortifications to occupy the maximum number of opponents while using the absolute minimum number of troops. This in turn keeps the bulk of the Iron Warriors Marines fresh and available for assaults, and allows them to achieve superiority elsewhere.

When an Iron Warriors force launches a planetary assault, they begin with an intense orbital bombardment (be it nuclear, plasma, viral or chemical) which could pressure the enemy into surrender without a single Iron Warrior having to land on the surface. However, stronger, well-defended worlds are unlikely to surrender so readily. If the planetary bombardment is indecisive, a landing force will be launched from the Iron Warriors' fleet. The first wave of atmospheric fighters, gunships, and bomber craft will saturate landing zones and launch raids on enemy bases and supply lines. All efforts are made to demoralize and weaken the enemy to the point of destruction before any troops are landed. Sometimes, however, this hammer-blow approach is unsuitable and instead the Iron Warriors will resort to covert insertion of select Iron Warriors on-world to scout and secure a landing zone in a surprise assault, preferably while also eliminating as much of the enemy's defensive capability as possible.

Daemon Engines
The Bloody Hands also use a large number of Daemon Engines along with their regular vehicles. Alongside Chaos Rhinos, Vindicators, Predators, and Land Raiders, the Bloody Hands use entire formations of Forgefiends, Maulerfiends, Decimators, Deathwheels, Heldrakes, and Defilers. Due to this, the Bloody Hands also possess a large number of Warpsmiths. This also works with the big number of Chaos Knights found in the ranks of the Bloody Hands.

Sorcerous Might
The Thousand Sons were known to dislike close combat, instead relying on strategy and their psychic abilities. Deceit and guile were their hallmarks, and the legion was commonly criticized for its ways, particularly by Leman Russ, who thought that any battle won by means other than strength and courage was dishonorable. Magnus was confident that he had taught his officers well enough for them to act independently and indeed the legion could function very efficiently without the presence of their Primarch. Following the casting of the Rubric of Ahriman, the Thousand Sons' tactics have changed somewhat to compensate for the effects of the spell, and as a result they now make extensive use of Sorcerers and Aspiring Sorcerers leading squads of slow yet unrelenting Rubric Marines into battle.

In the Bloody Hands warband the Thousand Sons and the Bloody Hands/Alpha Legion work in mutual bliss. The Bloody Hands and Alpha Legion take care of most of the ranged combat and all of the close combat while the Thousand Sons bring their own ranged combat to bear. In addition the Thousand Sons use all kinds of sorcery and magic against their foes or to bolster their own allies.

Warband Beliefs
"The old and the weak are doomed..."

- Unknown Bloody Hands Champion

Those who lack strength deserve no mercy, even fellow marines. The Bloody Hands believe in survival of the fittest. It has happened many times where Imperial or xenos forces fighting the Bloody Hands have observed the heretic Astartes cutting down their own brothers when they were found wanting. Furthermore, the Bloody Hands understand that in order to gain you must first give something in return. They're willing to sacrifice anything to advance themselves, even their lives or the lives of others. Many champions of the Bloody Hands have sacrificed part of or even all of their souls in order to gain favor of the Dark Gods, whether it be daemonic allies, a daemon weapon, or - for the most fanatical - possession.

Warband Demeanors
The Bloody Hands have a few demeanors they use in combat. The first is exploit and conquer. The Warband views all others as mere pawns, assisting them when it helps their own goals and tossing them aside once they are no longer needed. These Marines are selfish and untrustworthy, at least to those immediately outside of their warband. Many other Chaotic or renegade warbands have disappeared from history for making the mistake of siding with the Bloody Hands before being cut down or assimilated once their goals were met.

The second is scorched earth. The battle-brothers of the warband commonly destroy anything they do not need so the enemy cannot use it. Even valuable things, such as captured fortresses and ships, are considered expendable if the foe can use it to their advantage. Many times this has happened at the end of sieges of failed raids. Imperial reinforcements arriving to end a siege have observed the Bloody Hands knocking orbital shipyards or even the ships docked at them into the atmosphere when forced with the prospect of abandoning them.

The third - and last - is desecrate and defile. The Marines of this Warband bear hatred towards icons and relics of the enemy, and will try to destroy or corrupt them whenever the chance arises. Temples burn and works of art are twisted by their hands.