Ultraknights image - Warhammer 40K Fan Group

Before the time of stupid - before Matt Ward.
There was an actual fanbase for this chapter once, one that once held deep reverence for the Ultramarines - not because of idiotic Matt Ward fluff, but because they were honest-to-goodness "Joe Everyman" heroes on the battlefield. Many players who stuck with Marines got their start with the Ultramarines, and there was ample fluff of the chapter taking its lumps and fighting on, like men - Maccrage, Black Reach, and more. Hell, even Winter Assault harkened back to these simpler times, back when the Ultramarines were worthy of respect and whilst /tg/ simply disliked them before, it was mostly because of the population of newblets that arrived, and not because the fluff was retarded and portrayed them as SECOND TO TEH EMPRAH. Armies like Matt Hudson's were examples of what an actually good Ultramarines group with deep fluff centered around every victory and loss could be like. Players reminisced over the Ultras because they were, for many, their starting army for 40K.
There was a time where the Ultramarines were frankly more human, showing both the strengths and weaknesses of humanity all the stronger. They lost members to Chaos, and groups of their forces undertook penitence crusades. There was battles they lost, such as against the Necrons. They held Maccrage, but with a staggering toll in lives. They defeated the Alpha Legion, but fell prey to the trap set by said legion and paid the price for Guilliman's hubris, something that Guilliman himself felt immense guilt for. They were fallible before Matt Ward got involved, and they were more characterful for it, as it made their victories that much more inspiring.

The Ultramarines players that actually existed before Matt Ward were rarely given much more than mild indifference from /tg/ in the past. There is thus no one who hates their fluff in the new edition more than those who were long-term fans and players of the Ultramarines. Matt Ward's fluff was so bad, in fact,