Detachment Focus: Blade of Ultramar (Updated January 21, 2026)

In this series of articles we take a deep dive into a specific detachment for a faction, covering the faction’s rules and upgrades and talking about how to build around that faction for competitive play. In this article, we’re covering the Gladius Task Force Detachment in Codex: Space Marines.

With every other non-supplement chapter receiving their own special detachment this year, it was pretty much a lock that the Ultramarines would receive one as well, and shortly after the world championships Games Workshop dropped the Blade of Ultramar. This Detachment acts as a special "Ultramarines only" version of the Gladius Task Force Detachment, with an added bonus for taking Marneus Calgar.

Changelog

2026-01-21 (Current): Updated with lists
2025-11-12: Initial publication

Detachment Overview

Move over, Gladius - the real Ultramarines-themed detachment is here, and it gives you some added flexibility with your combat doctrines if you take Marneus Calgar, and swaps out your ability to Fight on Death for a -1 to wound ability that works on any unit in the army. It's otherwise unchanged, but that's OK - the Gladius Task Force was already one of the strongest detachments in the game, and this detachment figures to continue that trend. If you're planning to run Ultras with Guilliman and more of a focused on ranged damage, then it might be the Detachment you're looking for over Gladius. On the other power-fisted hand if you want a heavier focus on melee, you'll likely find that you'd prefer to fight on death.

This Detachment took a small hit with the nerf to Victrix Guard, but that change is very easily made up for with the release of a new Captain Titus and the Wardens of Ultramar, which give the Ultramarines even more pieces to play with.

Credit: JD Reynolds

The Video Version

If you’d like to watch a video version of this Detachment Focus, we’ve got you covered here:

Detachment Rule: Mastered Doctrines

At the start of your Command phase, pick one of the Combat Doctrines listed below. Until the start of your next Command phase, that Combat Doctrine is active and its effects apply to all Space Marine units in your army. You can only pick each one once per game, unless a friendly MARNEUS CALGAR unit is on the battlefield.

Devastator Doctrine: Your units can shoot after Advancing
Tactical Doctrine: Your units can shoot and declare a charge after Falling Back
Assault Doctrine: Your units can charge after Advancing

These are three incredibly good abilities, and each has its uses and timing. Devastator tends to be good early when you need to get into position on objectives without giving up shooting and is great on units like Vindicators and Centurions, which have shorter range or less movement. Likewise Assault Doctrine is huge for making early charges from further away or helping an otherwise slow unit like Aggressors or Centurions close the gap in a crucial moment. Tactical is always useful as well for thwarting an opponent's plans, and you'll find these have additional benefits when it comes to the detachment Stratagems.

In short, this Detachment basically lets you do anything you need, when you need it, staying mobile the whole time. Mobility is life in 40k, and this Detachment ensures you're never giving it up in exchange for damage output. Calgar further ups your versatility here by giving you access to any of these whenever you want, in addition to the flexibility offered by his own abilities and the Detachment rule. If you're running this Detachment, you should be running Calgar.

Note that you don’t have to pick a Doctrine is because there’s only three of them – the classic Devastator, Tactical, and Assault – and you can save a use of them for when they're most valuable. That said, compared to the Gladius Task Force, this Detachment tends to favor shooting armies a little more, so you'll likely be leaning more on Devastator and Tactical Doctrines when you play this army.

Ultramarines Cato Sicarius. Credit: SRM

Stratagems

There's a ton of power in the Stratagems in this Detachment, and three of these key off your currently active Doctrine. The big swap here is that Blade of Ultramar loses Only in Death Does Duty End (2 CP to fight on death) for Tactical Foresight. These are all priced at 1 CP, making them even more affordable in a detachment that likely has more than enough CP to work with between Captains and Calgar/Guilliman.

Armour of Contempt (1 CP, Battle Tactic): Used in your opponent's Shooting phase or the Fight phase, after they pick one of your units as a target. Until those attacks have all been resolved, reduce the AP of those incoming attacks by 1. Not as good as it used to be but still plenty useful - especially in the Fight phase, where you're unlikely to be taking hits from multiple units.
Tactical Foresight (1 CP, Epic Deed): Use in your opponent's Shooting phase or the Fight phase, when they pick one of your units as a target of attacks. Until the end of the phase, incoming attacks on that unit get -1 to their wound rolls if their Strength is greater than the unit's Toughness. This is a very good generic defensive buff, and the fact that it works on vehicles is frankly kind of crazy. This makes it good from a distance against incoming attacks from Lascannons and the like, and if you're able to combine it with cover or Smokescreen/Armour of Contempt (check to make sure your TO allows multiple reactions to a event), you can really protect a key unit.
Courage and Honour! (1 CP, Battle Tactic): Used in the Fight phase. Until the end of the phase, the melee weapons on one unit in your army gain the [LANCE] ability, and if they are under the effects of the Assault Doctrine they also improve their AP by 1 as well. This is great for punching up, particularly with something like Bladeguard Veterans, where S5, AP-2 weapons really want both buffs to punch up effectively into tougher targets like light vehicles and more elite infantry. It's also very good on Assault Intercessors and Agressors.
Ultramarian Adaptivity (1 CP, Strategic Ploy): Use in your Command phase; you can choose one unit from your army to have the Devastator, Tactical, or Assault Doctrine active until the start of your next Command phase, instead of any other Combat Doctrine that is active for your army. This also allows you to re-use doctrines for a single unit at a time. The obvious use cases are to keep a single unit in Assault or Devastator doctrine to combine with Courage and Honour or Exemplary Vigilance respectively, but it can also be handy for if you have just one unit that you could really use advance and charge or fall back and shoot or whatever other effect on this turn without wanting to potentially waste the whole doctrine on it. 1 CP is a steal for this and it's a great use of your Captain's reduced cost ability.
Exemplary Vigilance - (1 CP, Battle Tactic): Use in your Shooting phase. One unit in your army gets [IGNORE COVER] on its ranged weapons, and if you're in Devastator Doctrine they also improve their AP by 1 as well. Stacking this with the Veteran of Behemoth enhancement (see below) is how you get one of the most powerful combos in the detachment, and you can use a Captain to guarantee you get the full effect every turn even if you only have the single start of turn CP to work with.
Practical Tactics - (1 CP, Strategic Ploy): Use in your opponent's Movement phase, just after an enemy unit ends a Normal, Advance, or Fall Back move within 9" of an INFANTRY or MOUNTED unit in your army. Unless it's in Engagement Range, your unit can make a Normal Move of up to D6", or 6" if it is under the effects of the Tactical Doctrine. This is one of those stratagems that is deceptively powerful - use it to extend an opponent's charge range or get out of it altogether, or to move a unit out of range or line of sight of a shooting unit they've just lined up, or even more aggressively as a way to push onto an objective they thought they had just secured with something weak. Use it to just drop back into a transport for maximum protection and opponent frustration. The D6" makes this a bit risky unless you're in Tactical Doctrine, but there's always likely to be a time in your games when being able to make an out of phase move will have an impact.

This is a veritable toolbox of Stratagems, giving you a great mix of movement, offensive, and defensive buffs. You shouldn't ever look at the board and think there's nothing any of your Stratagems can do to help you out, and you'll typically have more than enough CP to use multiple stratagems per turn/round.

Credit: Keewa

Enhancements

There are some solid Enhancements here, but which ones you'll want will depend heavily on how you've built your army. They're the same as the ones you have in Gladius Task Force.

Armour of Antonius (10 points) is a straightforward upgrade for any character, giving them a 2+ save and a 5+ Feel No Pain – a significant defensive upgrade, but not necessarily something you need all that often given your characters either already have a 4+ invulnerable save or a 5+ Feel No Pain, in the case of the Combi-weapon Lieutenant.
Oath of Macragge (15 points) buffs your model’s melee ability, adding 1 to the Attacks and Strength characteristics of their melee weapons, or 2 if they are under the effects of the Assault Doctrine. This has less value in Blade of Ultramar than it does in Gladius, since your army is likely to be more shooting-focused here. That said, being able to pop Assault multiple times without spending CP can make this more interesting.
Student of the Codex (20 points) is only for a CAPTAIN model, but it represents one of the ways to play with Doctrines – effectively what it allows you to do is to always select the Tactical Doctrine to be active for the bearer’s unit, even if you’ve already used it this game (though importantly you pick this instead of picking a Doctrine to be active generally – so you can’t e.g. pick Assault for everyone else and then Tactical for your Captain’s unit, it’s one or the other, which makes it a much weaker effect and probably not worth its cost). Basically, you'll be using this on a round where you aren't using a doctrine for your army already, and those situations will be limited.
Veteran of Behemoth (25 points) is for any character; while leading a unit the bearer gives [SUSTAINED HITS 1] to ranged weapons in their unit. In addition, while the unit is under the effects of the Devastator Doctrine, they can re-roll Advance rolls. This isn't as bonkers as it used to be but it's still a powerful enhancement in general, and combines really well with Exemplary Vigilence to further bolster a unit's output in Devastator Doctrine. Because Blade of Ultramar is a more shooting-focused Detachment, you want to build around this more than you would in Gladius.

Victrix Guard – Credit: Keewa

Playing This Detachment

This is going to play like a shootier Gladius most of the time. Your play style is going to be flexible - you can do a bit of everything and have a fighting chance with it, and Tactical Doctrine means that you have a get out of jail card if your units get tagged by a melee army. You'll want to be strategic about how you use your Doctrines early - avoid popping them before you need them, or using an entire Doctrine if the Stratagem version will do and you can pop that free. Because you can just choose whichever doctrine you want whenever, you don't need to worry about sequencing, and can instead just sit in Devastator all game, getting extra movement and shooting on Repulsors, Gladiators, and Vindicators, and using tactical when you get tagged to fall back and shoot them.

Your army still has plenty of melee punch between Courage and Honour!, Assault Doctrine, and Tactical Doctrine, but you'll need to play a little more cagey without the ability to use fight on death to completely destroy a unit charging you and preventing it from trading effectively. But generally speaking the ability to blunt incoming attacks with -1 to wound on vehicles means that this detachment prefers to take a more ranged approach than Gladius. That said, Guilliman, Calgar, and the Victrix Guard still all love being in this Detachment, and Dev Centurions and Aggressors let you kind of do both as they advance and shoot their way up the table but are still able to punch decently in melee.

The ability to advance and shoot/charge with your army has knock-on effects in that you are typically going to be punished less for holding units in strategic reserves. While slower units arriving from a table edge might otherwise struggle to close gaps to their targets or objectives the turn after arriving, you'll typically have the extra movement you need to get into position without losing damage output. That's a big deal which can help make short-ranged shooting units like Vindicators more useful if you need to protect them early.

Strengths

Flexibility. You can do pretty much everything. You can advance and Charge, fall back and charge, advance and shoot, and you've got a variety of buffs here.
Speed. When you need to scoot, you can do it, and this Detachment more or less gives you two turns of Advancing without having to worry about the downsides.
Defense. Between Armour of Contempt and Tactical Foresight you have some solid tools for protecting your units from ranged and melee attacks.

Weaknesses

Reserves. While you have a lot of ways to move around the table, you don't have any way to go back into reserves, leaving this one at a disadvantage compared to some other detachments.
Jack-of-all-Trades. This Detachment does a lot of things well, but at the expense of focusing on one thing more. If you want more shooting and vehicles, Ironstorm is a better bet, and if you want to go heavier melee, you've got other, better options. Vanguard also does movement and mission play better.
Enhancements. The Enhancements here are just so-so. You could take or leave them.

Ultramarines Assault Terminators with Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields. Credit: SRM

Sample Lists

While Gladius seems to still be the preferred flavor, there have been plenty of successful Blade lists, typically combining high-wound midtable brawling infantry with heavy vehicles for shooting.

Kenneth Mackenzie's List - Loch 'n Load GT3 (1st Place)

Kenneth took this list to a 5-0, first place finish at the Loch 'n Load GT in mid-January. It mixes melee punch with a pair of Vindicators.

++ Kenneth's List - Click to Expand ++

Don't worry about me. I'm a fluffy gamer. (2000 points)

Space Marines Ultramarines Strike Force (2000 points) Blade of Ultramar

CHARACTERS

Captain Sicarius (85 points) • 1x Artisan plasma pistol 1x Talassarian Tempest Blade

Librarian (65 points) • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Force weapon 1x Smite

Lieutenant with Combi-weapon (70 points) • 1x Combi-weapon 1x Paired combat blades

Marneus Calgar in Armour of Antilochus (140 points) • Warlord • 1x Gauntlets of Ultramar

BATTLELINE

Assault Intercessor Squad (150 points) • 1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant • 1x Plasma pistol 1x Thunder hammer • 9x Assault Intercessor • 9x Astartes chainsword 9x Heavy bolt pistol

Intercessor Squad (80 points) • 1x Intercessor Sergeant • 1x Astartes grenade launcher 1x Bolt pistol 1x Bolt rifle 1x Power fist • 4x Intercessor • 4x Bolt pistol 4x Bolt rifle 4x Close combat weapon

OTHER DATASHEETS

Eradicator Squad (180 points) • 1x Eradicator Sergeant • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Close combat weapon 1x Melta rifle • 5x Eradicator • 5x Bolt pistol 5x Close combat weapon 3x Melta rifle 2x Multi-melta

Infiltrator Squad (100 points) • 1x Infiltrator Sergeant • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Close combat weapon 1x Marksman bolt carbine • 4x Infiltrator • 4x Bolt pistol 4x Close combat weapon 1x Helix Gauntlet 1x Infiltrator Comms Array 4x Marksman bolt carbine

Repulsor (180 points) • 1x Armoured hull 1x Hunter-slayer missile 1x Las-talon 1x Repulsor defensive array 1x Twin lascannon

Scout Squad (70 points) • 1x Scout Sergeant • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Boltgun 1x Close combat weapon • 4x Scout • 4x Bolt pistol 2x Boltgun 4x Close combat weapon 1x Heavy bolter 1x Scout sniper rifle

Sternguard Veteran Squad (200 points) • 1x Sternguard Veteran Sergeant • 1x Close combat weapon 1x Power fist 1x Sternguard bolt pistol 1x Sternguard bolt rifle • 9x Sternguard Veteran • 9x Close combat weapon 9x Sternguard bolt pistol 7x Sternguard bolt rifle 2x Sternguard heavy bolter

Victrix Honour Guard (220 points) • 1x Chapter Ancient • 1x Banner of Macragge 1x Master-crafted power weapon • 1x Chapter Champion • 1x Blades of honour • 4x Victrix Honour Guard • 4x Master-crafted bolt carbine 4x Master-crafted power weapon

Vindicator (185 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Demolisher cannon 1x Hunter-killer missile 1x Storm bolter

Vindicator (185 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Demolisher cannon 1x Hunter-killer missile 1x Storm bolter

Wardens of Ultramar (90 points) • 1x Ancient Gadriel • 1x Bolt rifle 1x Close combat weapon • 1x Veteran Sergeant Metaurus • 1x Heavy bolt pistol 1x Master-crafted power weapon 1x Storm Shield • 1x Gaius Silva • 1x Archeotech laspistol 1x Power weapon 1x Refractor Field • 1x Aemelia Minervas • 1x Archeotech laspistol 1x Power weapon • 1x Dainal Komelius • 1x Astropathic Blast 1x Force stave • 1x Lucia Vestha • 1x Archeotech laspistol 1x Close combat weapon

Exported with App Version: v1.46.1 (107), Data Version: v728

There's a pair of Vindicators here for mid-ranged heavy shooting, supported by a 6-man Eradicator squad in a Repulsor and some great mid-table harassment and scrapping units with the 10-man JPIs, Sterngard, and Victrix. The Wardens give you a cheap unit to put in the middle of the table, forcing opponents to deal with them as you close in and destroy them.

Marneus Calgar Credit: Alfredo Ramirez

Zach Point's List (3rd Place)

Want an alternate version? Zach ran this list at the GW Open in Palm Springs in early January, finishing in third place with his only loss to the event-winning T'au list. It's a more shooty version of the list, sporting two Repulsor Executioners to go with its pair of Vindicators.

++ Zach's List - Click to Expand ++

Guilliman? Roboute Guilliman In This Economy?

Space Marines Ultramarines Strike Force (2000 points) Blade of Ultramar

CHARACTERS

Lieutenant with Combi-weapon (70 points) • 1x Combi-weapon 1x Paired combat blades

Marneus Calgar (200 points) • 1x Marneus Calgar • Warlord • 1x Gauntlets of Ultramar • 2x Victrix Honour Guard • 2x Victrix power sword

Uriel Ventris (95 points) • 1x Bolt Pistol 1x Invictus 1x Sword of Idaeus

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Impulsor (80 points) • 1x Armoured hull 2x Fragstorm grenade launcher 1x Ironhail heavy stubber 1x Shield Dome

OTHER DATASHEETS

Ballistus Dreadnought (150 points) • 1x Armoured feet 1x Ballistus lascannon 1x Ballistus missile launcher 1x Twin storm bolter

Company Heroes (105 points) • 1x Ancient • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Bolt rifle 1x Close combat weapon • 1x Company Champion • 1x Bolt pistol 1x Master-crafted power weapon • 2x Company Veteran • 2x Bolt pistol 2x Close combat weapon 1x Master-crafted bolt rifle 1x Master-crafted heavy bolter

Repulsor Executioner (220 points) • 1x Armoured hull 1x Heavy laser destroyer 1x Heavy onslaught gatling cannon 1x Icarus rocket pod 1x Ironhail heavy stubber 1x Repulsor Executioner defensive array 1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber 1x Twin heavy bolter

Repulsor Executioner (220 points) • 1x Armoured hull 1x Heavy laser destroyer 1x Heavy onslaught gatling cannon 1x Icarus rocket pod 1x Ironhail heavy stubber 1x Repulsor Executioner defensive array 1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber 1x Twin heavy bolter

Scout Squad (70 points) • 1x Scout Sergeant • 1x Astartes chainsword 1x Bolt pistol 1x Close combat weapon • 4x Scout • 4x Bolt pistol 4x Close combat weapon 2x Combat knife 1x Missile launcher 1x Scout sniper rifle

Scout Squad (70 points) • 1x Scout Sergeant • 1x Astartes chainsword 1x Bolt pistol 1x Close combat weapon • 4x Scout • 4x Bolt pistol 4x Close combat weapon 2x Combat knife 1x Missile launcher 1x Scout sniper rifle

Victrix Honour Guard (220 points) • 1x Chapter Ancient • 1x Banner of Macragge 1x Master-crafted power weapon • 1x Chapter Champion • 1x Blades of honour • 4x Victrix Honour Guard • 4x Master-crafted bolt carbine 4x Master-crafted power weapon

Vindicator (185 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Demolisher cannon 1x Hunter-killer missile 1x Storm bolter

Vindicator (185 points) • 1x Armoured tracks 1x Demolisher cannon 1x Hunter-killer missile 1x Storm bolter

Wardens of Ultramar (90 points) • 1x Ancient Gadriel • 1x Bolt rifle 1x Close combat weapon • 1x Veteran Sergeant Metaurus • 1x Heavy bolt pistol 1x Master-crafted power weapon 1x Storm Shield • 1x Gaius Silva • 1x Archeotech laspistol 1x Power weapon 1x Refractor Field • 1x Aemelia Minervas • 1x Archeotech laspistol 1x Power weapon • 1x Dainal Komelius • 1x Astropathic Blast 1x Force stave • 1x Lucia Vestha • 1x Archeotech laspistol 1x Close combat weapon

ALLIED UNITS

Ministorum Priest (40 points) • 1x Zealot's vindictor

Exported with App Version: v1.46.2 (108), Data Version: v732

Double Repulsor Executioners definitely give this list a lot bigger punch, and let it throw down more effectively against knights, T'au, and other big "stat check" lists. It has plenty of midtable scrap potential with Ventris, Calgar, the Victrix, and Company Heroes. The Impulsor gives the list a bit more mobility, and the Ministorum Priest is just in there as the cheapest single model you can add, as Zach didn't want to run 30+ points under the 2,000 point limit.

Final Thoughts

We were very worried at the thought of an "upgraded" Gladius Detachment hitting after new Calgar dropped but fortunately this one is enough of a side grade that we think it won't see as much play. Gladius is still the only option for non-Ultras marines, and even for Ultramarines you'll often want the ability to fight on death over -1 to wound and the triple doctrines ability from Calgar, which is nice to have but not super crucial given your ability to recycle doctrines for CP with Ultramarian Adaptivity. Still if you're running Calgar, this one's worth looking at.

Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don’t forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.