Steel Tigers

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The Steel Tigers are a Fifth Founding Chapter, intended to perform the role of the Imperium's Rapier. Intended to be the pinnacle of Imperial shock troops, they have no Parent Chapter, per se, but are a genetic melding of several Gene Seeds taken from several First Founding Chapters and replicated on a massive scale (though not exceeding the numbers of other such Chapters. They received the boons of this amalgamation of Gene Seed, but also suffered dreadful side-effects, combining the shortcomings and mutations of their parent Chapters. In many ways, this has resulted in the Steel Tigers being counted among the Cursed Foundings, alongside the likes of the Sons of Antaeus and the Legion of the Damned.

Origins
By the time of the Fifth Founding, the Imperium was beset by many foes, among them were foes conventional forces simply could not defeat without impractical commission of resources and manpower. And so, a Chapter of Space Marines was ordered to be created by the High Lords of Terra. While this order seems odd to the casual observer, if not downright insane, it was founded on solid history, as the Grey Knights and the Deathwatch Chapters were both commissioned for an express purpose to combat foes conventional Space Marines could not overcome without great risk. And so the gears were set in motion for one of the most beloved and reviled Space Marine Chapters in recorded history.

The Steel Tiger's baptism by fire was during a large-scale counter-assault against Chaos Space Marines of the Word Bearer's Legion as they surged out from the Warp-Real Space Tear known as the Maelstrom, to the Galactic East of Terra. As expected, the Steel Tigers assault struck like a hammer, throwing back the Word Bearers with a savagery even the Daemon-Worshipping blasphemers were unprepared for. Again and again, the Steel Tigers overran enemy positions, severing supply lines and leaving them isolated in the Imperial thrust. Eventually, the Word Bearers were forced to band together to hold against the wild, relentless charges and reckless assaults. Were any force other than Space Marines to attempt these tactics, they would fail. But the Steel Tigers crashed on the Chaos defences, riding a wave of bloodshed akin to the World Eaters Traitor Legion, slaughtering all in their path, whether or not it fired, even after cultists or slaves surrendered, they were gunned down or put to the sword.

On world after world, the Steel Tigers received immense praise for their courage and skill as they pushed the Traitors back towards their home. Many observers admired their zeal and unshakeable conviction, while the more cynical observers claimed that the Tigers were every bit as savage as the World Eaters, and every bit as resilient as the Death Guard. Obviously, none of these opinions were voiced in the presence of the Steel Tigers, as they had sworn no oath nor come to any agreement about the Campaign, and so could, in theory at least, abandon their meteoric advance as and when they chose to. Just as they had before, the Steel Tigers hurled themselves at the final bastion of the traitors as the Warp Storms surrounding the system abated. Robbed of their Daemonspawn allies, the Word Bearers could not hope to weather the coming storm of steel and fire that the Tigers brought, and so they fled. However, not satisfied with the rout of their foes, the Steel Tigers relentlessly hounded the Word Bearers as they turned tail and headed back towards the Maelstrom, the Tigers gnashing at their heels until the very border of the Warp Storms around the massive tear in Space-Time. It was a glorious moment for the fledgling Chapter, as they were hailed heroes by all.

However, their bloodlust and battle-rage had not gone unnoticed, and the Ordo Malleus and Ordo Hereticus began monitoring the Chapter for any signs of corruption, gravely irritating the higher echelons of the Chapter Command with their probings and constant evaluations of the Chapter's purity. So much so that the Steel Tigers began training an inordinate amount of Chaplains to look after the spiritual well-being of the Battle Brothers. To this day, the Steel Tigers Chapter contains more Chaplains than any other, in a similar manner to the Blood Ravens containing inordinate amounts of Librarians (although the reasons are clearer).

Gene Seed
The Gene Seed of the Steel Tigers is one of their most interesting traits, as it is not like the Gene Seed of most other Chapters. Rather than containing the genetic blueprint of a single Primarch, it contains the genetic legacy of many. The majority of the Steel Tiger's genes can be traced back to the Space Wolves, the Blood Angels and the Raven Guard, three of the Imperium's most famous Space Marine Chapters, all of whom prefer close action and slaying the foe face to face. Other genetic markers can be traced to other Chapters, though only in trace levels, such as the White Scars. This granted them the traits of the most brutally efficient assault forces in the Imperium. However, it also forced upon them some of the most tragic flaws of any Chapter.

Mutations and Genetic Flaws
It was assumed that the flaws of the parent Chapters would be diluted by the genetic melding, and to an extent this is true. The flaws are rarer than the parent Chapters, but are often compounded. They are susceptible to both the Black Rage and the Curse of the Werekin. While both being present at the same time is rare, there are records in the Chapter Archives of deranged and psychotic Wulfen suffering from the Black Rage. They became utterly uncontrollable and had to be euthanized at battle's end. Members of the Steel Tigers all display elongated canine teeth like the Space Wolves, and are every bit as temperamental as the Blood Angels and their own successors, though the presence of Raven Guard genes temper that to an extent.

Combat Doctrine
Coming Soon!