There are few figures in the Warhammer 40,000 world as deadly, impressive, and outright well-known as the Imperium of Man’s primarchs. These eighteen (and definitely not twenty) sons of The Emperor himself are practically demi gods, leaders of legions of space marines, and altogether embody the pinnacle of humankind’s prowess at war.
While the Horus Heresy split them in civil war, one wonders which of the primarchs would stand the longest in a fair fight? Would heretical beliefs win out, or would loyalty to The Emperor withstand the threat?
The ranking of this list is under the assumption that all the primarchs are fighting solo and have the complete understanding that they are fighting one another, plus that all the primarchs are at the prime of their abilities, which means that some would be post-heresy and some pre-heresy.
Spoilers for the Horus Heresy, and some Warhammer 40k lore follow!
Corvus Corax
Raven Lord
Primarch of the Raven Guard, Corax is the master of stealth and ambush. He earns a place on this list for his custom jump pack, lightning claws, and speed.
In the books, he is considered to be one of the fastest of his brothers, being hard to follow with the naked eye. Magnified by this, post-heresy he seems to have learned the ability to blend perfectly into dark spaces. In a fair fight he is rather lacking, but he earns his place on this list over his nemesis Curze for being a little better at a one-on-one fight. As seen when Curze fought both Johnson and Vulkan and lost.
Magnus
Crimson King
Magnus of the Thousand Sons focuses on witchcraft and warp magic. As leader of a legion with almost all his children having some connection to the warp, he is argued as one of the most powerful psykers in the 40k universe, third only to The Emperor and Malcador.
Magnus, at the height of his abilities, was able to greatly magnify his own physical powers, and alter the world around him. One-on-one though, he would be at a disadvantage to his brothers, something that he knows as he often sends simulcrums and mirages of himself to battlefields instead of appearing in person.
Perturabo
Lord Of Iron
It may be a controversial statement, but Perturabo really does best when he is surrounded by his legion and his automata. Even with storm bolters, power armor, and his mighty hammer, he falls short.
He has enough intelligence in combat and weaponry that he could hold his own for an extended period of time, but as his ammo ran out, and his equipment was nullified, he wouldn’t be as powerful a combatant as some of his brothers with their natural strength. He is a mastermind of assault, and some of that could be honed down to a small-scale fight, but in the face of his competitors he would be far from the last one standing.
Rogal Dorn
Praetorian Of Terra
As is sure to cause some argument, as with any of the order of this list, Rogal Dorn beats out his brother Perturabo. But it is close. They are diametrically opposed to one another, but Rogal Dorn, throughout the Heresy, stood out on top.
Where melee combat is concerned, Dorn has the edge. You can see this in the Siege of Terra books as he often joins the fight in the frontlines at key points in the plot. While he does come back bloody, he is able to defeat even his brothers at various stages in their ascension to daemonhood. With a sword as large as he is, and the tactical brilliance to back it up, he would be a formidable enemy to face in single combat.
Mortarion
Death Lord
Mortarion marks a bit of a leap in combat abilities in this list. His rise to daemon prince rocketed him up as far as abilities go. Equipped with manreaper Silence, and plasma pistol, The Lantern has already made him a primarch able to hold his own. But, he was markedly weaker than some of his brothers due to his upbringing. Once touched by Nurgle, he made his weakness a strength.
Surrounded by poisonous vapors and plague flies, getting close to him is a challenge. But, a single blow from his scythe is enough to send a cocktail of poisons strong enough to weaken a primarch through his enemies’ veins. Not to mention that his moth-like wings allow for faster movement in his cumbersome armor.
Jaghatai Khan
The Warhawk
The Khan may not seem, at first glance, like they deserve such a high spot on this list. But, this underdog nature has worked to his advantage multiple times in the lore. He is the fastest of his brothers on foot, and his favored swords and dao are swung at blinding speeds.
Many of his brothers and sons equate his fighting to dancing, with each movement fluid and connected to the next. He wants to be overlooked, and his mysterious nature works to his advantage. He is also rather tenacious, something seen in his fight with Mortarion, in which he won by sheer endurance.
Roboute Guilliman
Master Of Ultramar
The Ultramarines and their primarch go back and forth between being Games Workshops’ favorites to being overlooked completely by players for more flashy legions. Guilliman embodies the tactical brilliance seen in his children, but his knowledge of battle doesn’t limit him to staying away from first-hand fights.
Over the years, he has fought many of his brothers and come out on top. Not to mention surviving in the void of space without a helmet and being revived after a mortal wound and stuck in stasis. In the 42nd millenia, he is even armed with his father’s flaming sword, making him even more of a threat and taking on the daemon prince Mortarion.
Angron
The Red Angel
When you think about a primarch who excels at combat, Angron probably comes to mind rather quickly. Even before his ascension to daemonhood he was a master of single combat.
As a daemon prince, he is armed with his favored chainaxe and a daemon-possessed sword. His wings, claws, and giant body are fueled by and made for killing. He would be a powerful opponent, in the lore taking on titans in single combat, but he still isn’t the deadliest of the primarchs.
Vulkan
Lord Of Drakes
One of the most overlooked primarchs in the 40k lore and tabletop game, Vulkan is the leader of the Salamanders legion and, like his sons, he has some abilities that set him apart from his brothers. He is incredibly strong, like many of his brothers, and also able to take the lava and fires of forges to create weapons by hand. Much like his brother Ferrus did.
Apart from having one of the most impressive ranges of weaponry of a primarch, he is also the only known primarch that is a Perpetual. Able to come back from death, he has been killed multiple times according to Curze, and even fell from space and came out relatively unscathed. Being nearly immortal would be a tough act to beat in this fight.
The exact limitations of his Perpetual nature is still up for debate, with some lore stating the lava of Nocturne is necessary to resurrect him from more mortal wounds.
Horus
The Warmaster
At one point, The Emperor’s prodigal son, and the leader of the heretical rebellion that tore the galaxy apart. Horus is by many considered to be The Emperor’s finest scientific achievement. He was a perfect cross between humanity and The Emperor’s own godly genes.
He exhibited many of the singular skills that his brothers possessed all at once, and most importantly, he was able to mortally wound his father after facing off against Sanguinius. This is even when he was in the throes of possession by chaos and some argue weakened by the struggle inside of him. By far, Horus would be the last one standing in a battle of the primarchs.