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The Primarchs were scattered through the galaxy by the Chaos Gods and then found one by one by the Emperor during the Great Crusade.

  1. It is well-known that Horus was discovered first. This gave time to the Emperor and the future Warmaster to develop a deep bond.

  2. We (at least me) learn at the beginning of Wolfsbane that Leman Russ was the second to be discovered.

  3. I believed, and Wikipedia also claims it (but without a source), that Alpharius was last to be found. However, I have a slight doubt about it since everything with the Alpha Legion is "shrouded in mysteries". Also, from Lexicanum,

before Alpharius' discovery by the Emperor, members of the XXth Legion were already using the codename, as seen during the Rangdan Xenocides.

Does it mean that Alpharius had already been discovered by the Emperor but his discovery kept secret for a while?

  1. According to Lexicanum, Magnus the Red was with the Emperor when Lorgar was rediscovered.

What other information on the order of rediscovery of the Primarchs do we have?

I am looking for absolute (like "Leman Russ was the second to be discovered") or relative ("Magnus was discovered before Lorgar") information.

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    In the table on Lexicanum there is a column with the discovery order of each Primarch; missing the Lost Primarchs of couse - wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Primarch#Rediscovery
    – Odin1806
    Jul 20, 2019 at 16:07
  • @Odin1806: I read that table many times but never noticed it! It was added last year, so I probably overlooked it. The link to the source does not seem to work. Have you seen it? Is it reliable?
    – Taladris
    Jul 20, 2019 at 21:14
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    i tweeted Laurie Goulding(black library) who is mentioned as the source for confirmation on the list, hopefully he answers. Jul 23, 2019 at 11:43
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    He answered :), twitter.com/LaurieGoulding/status/1153686349871894529 So yeah it seems that @Odin1806 's link shows the chronological order of primarchs found. Jul 23, 2019 at 16:04
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    @TerranGaming: great! You should write an answer, so I can accept it and award your efforts.
    – Taladris
    Jul 23, 2019 at 20:24

1 Answer 1

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As @Odin1806 mentioned https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Primarch#Rediscovery shows the chronological order of Primarchs being discovered.

TL;DR

Below are the primarchs numbered by legion, the number at the end signifying when discovered compared to their brothers.

I Lion El'Jonson The Lion 11

III Fulgrim The Phoenician 5

IV Perturabo The Lord of Iron 12

V Jaghatai Khan The Great Khan, The Warhawk 15

VI Leman Russ The Wolf King, The Great Wolf 2

VII Rogal Dorn The Emperor's Champion, The Praetorian of Terra 7

VIII Konrad Curze The Night Haunter, The Lord of the Night 16

IX Sanguinius The Great Angel 10

X Ferrus Manus The Gorgon 4

XII Angron The Red Angel, The Lord of the Red Sands 17

XIII Roboute Guilliman The Battle King, The Avenging Son 8

XIV Mortarion The Death Lord, the Reaper of Men 13

XV Magnus the Red The Crimson King, The Red Cyclops 9

XVI Horus Lupercal The Warmaster, 1

XVII Lorgar Aurelian The Urizen, The Golden One 14

XVIII Vulkan The Lord of Drakes 6

XIX Corvus Corax The Raven-Lord 18

XX Alpharius Omegon The Last Primarch, The Lord of Serpents 20

Verified by Laurie Goulding writer and editor of a number of black library books who was kind enough to help. Should the author provide more information i will update this answer if appropriate.

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  • added them just for you ;) @TheAurochs Jul 24, 2019 at 15:26
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    Thanks for the list. So, Alpharius was really the last to be found. And the Primarchs that were executed were the third and second-to-last to be found. Interesting
    – Taladris
    Jul 24, 2019 at 16:00
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    @TerranGaming - Well down sir... it is always a shock to me when social media can be used for something more than posting selfies... this is much more important!
    – Odin1806
    Jul 24, 2019 at 17:19
  • New lore has it that Alpharius may have been found first
    – JMERICKS
    Jul 16, 2021 at 20:50
  • This is not correct. In the primarch series (Alpharius: Head of the Hydra), Alpharius is the very first primarch found. Dec 16, 2021 at 6:39

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