Elysia is a verdant civilised world of the Segmentum Solar, lying some thirty light years from Armageddon. Its home system sits astride a major trade route amid dense asteroid fields and clouds of gas, terrain that once made it a notorious refuge for human and Aeldari pirates alike. The constant threat bred a martial people well versed in swift, sudden violence.
Admission to an Elysian regiment is not lightly given. Each recruit must first complete a full tour of duty in the planetary defence force before he may even be considered for the Astra Militarum, and only after surviving a dozen or more battles is he drilled through long solar months in the arts of airborne assault. The result is a soldier of exceptional quality but narrow specialisation.
Conventional infantry, armour and artillery are rare among the Elysians, for the overwhelming majority become the famed Drop Troops. An entire regiment, thousands strong, will descend upon the foe by grav-chute or rappel from Valkyrie assault carriers, supported by air-mobile Sentinel walkers and light scout vehicles able to drop alongside them. Landing amid or behind the enemy, they excel at the surprise strike, the ambush and the guerrilla campaign, relying on speed and audacity to keep the initiative and to survive where a slower force would simply be surrounded and destroyed.
Order of battle
The Elysian Drop Troops field the units of the Astra Militarum, a detachment from the roster:
Other Astra Militarum formations
Armageddon Steel LegionForged on a poisoned hive world locked in endless war against the greenskin, the Armageddon Steel Legion are the foremost mechanised infantry of the Astra Militarum. They ride to battle sealed within Chimera transports, their faces hidden behind rebreathers that filter their world's toxic air. Tempered by successive Ork invasions on their own soil, they are grim, methodical, and utterly unyielding.
Cadian Shock TroopsRaised on a fortress world that stood sentinel beside the Imperium's greatest warp storm, the Cadians were the finest line infantry the Astra Militarum ever produced. Bred from birth for war and drilled to machine-like precision, they became the standard by which all other regiments were measured. Their discipline under fire was legendary, and their sacrifice in the defence of their homeworld passed into grim Imperial legend.
Catachan Jungle FightersFrom a death world of predatory flora and monstrous fauna come the Catachans, the deadliest close-quarters and guerrilla fighters in the Astra Militarum. To reach adulthood on Catachan is itself a feat of survival, and those who muster into its regiments bring an animal instinct for ambush, sabotage, and the killing blade. They despise parade-ground discipline but excel where the fighting is dirtiest.
Death Korps of KriegThe Death Korps of Krieg are grim specialists in siege and attrition warfare, drawn from a blasted world that atoned for an ancient rebellion through centuries of self-imposed sacrifice. Masked, silent, and utterly fatalistic, they regard their own deaths as a debt owed to the Emperor. No regiment endures the horrors of trench warfare and grinding sieges with such uncomplaining resolve.
Mordian Iron GuardFrom a tidally locked world of eternal night come the Mordian Iron Guard, perhaps the most rigidly disciplined line infantry in the entire Astra Militarum. Resplendent in immaculate parade dress even amid the carnage of battle, they stand shoulder to shoulder and pour disciplined volleys into the foe. Where lesser men break and flee, the Iron Guard hold their ground, unmoved by terror or slaughter.
Savlar Chem-DogsThe Savlar Chem-Dogs are penal regiments scraped from the poisoned mining moons of Savlar, where convicts toil and die amid toxic chemical deposits. Driven not by discipline but by greed and the promise of plunder, they are filthy, treacherous, and astonishingly effective in the very dirtiest fighting. The Imperium tolerates their crimes only because so few regiments kill with such vicious enthusiasm.
Tallarn Desert RaidersHailing from an irradiated desert world, the Tallarn Desert Raiders are the Astra Militarum's foremost practitioners of mobile and mechanised warfare. Masters of the hit-and-run strike, they wear down their foes with speed, patience, and relentless raiding rather than head-on assault. Their armoured columns strike from nowhere and are gone before the dust settles.
Valhallan Ice WarriorsBred in the frozen warrens of a shattered ice world, the Valhallan Ice Warriors are masters of attrition, siege, and the long war of endurance. They wed massed artillery to relentless infantry assault, spending lives without hesitation to grind an enemy down to nothing. Cold, stoic, and inured to every hardship, they have no equal when a campaign becomes a contest of sheer, unbreakable will.
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