How would things change with Sanguinius as the Warmaster?

[Manthor]

While looking around Lexicanum I came across this quote attributed to Horus, when he was ill over Davin:

“Sanguinius. It should have been him. He has the vision and strength to carry us to victory, and the wisdom to rule once victory is won. For all his aloof coolness, he alone has the Emperor's soul in his blood. Each of us carries part of our father within us, whether it is his hunger for battle, his psychic talent or his determination to succeed. Sanguinius holds it all. It should have been his...” -- The Warmaster Horus

Looking back at the Primarchs, I noticed that Sanguinius tended not to have any major enemies, had the closest relationship with Horus next to the GEOM and was also on generally good terms or at least was maintaining stable relationships with the rest of the Primarchs, or at least had no bad blood existing between him and them.

So would things have been better or not with him as the Warmaster? And would he have fallen to corruption?

[doom3607]

All IMO, of course: If Horus actually felt that way, it probably would have made if difference- if Horus felt unworthy, he might have gone to extreme lengths trying to become worthy. Maybe he was embracing Chaos to know thy enemy, at first, or simply to gain power and thus, in his eyes, possibly, worthiness for the title he got.

[Hawkwings]

IIRC, his initial introduction to Chaos wasn't because he wanted to, it was part of a local warrior tribe's initiation process.

I can't imagine Horus would be too thrilled about being replaced as Warmaster by Sanguinius. First of all, Horus was the first son found and for a long time, the only son that the Emperor had by his side. He was the favorite, and it would be a huge shake-up if Sanguinius was promoted to Warmaster and Horus demoted. Pure speculation at this point, but even if Horus thought that Sanguinius may have deserved it, he still probably would harbor a grudge, and possibly attract the attention of Chaos in that way.

[Serafina]

The point isn't so much whether Horus would fall to chaos, but rather whether it would have the same impact.
After all, if he is not warmaster, he would have far less influence in other legions and be in a much worse position to strike against the Imperium.
While many other legions would still fall to chaos (because there were independent machinations to ensure that), they'd be in a much worse position to coordinate themselves and maneuver other legions into bad positions if Sanguinus (assuming that he is not corrupted instead) is warmaster.

[Purple]

Another thing is that without being the warmaster Horus would have much less pull on the other parts of the imperial machinery like the imperial army and the admech. How much of them would be able to drag down with him like he did?

We must also consider the rift that would be created when Horus is replaced by Sanguinius. Even if he does not hold a grudge there will be many people in the aforementioned organizations who will not be as nice. And this friction within the imperial army might actually tip the emperor off that something is brewing long before Horus can mobilize to strike.

[Hawkwings]

It'd probably be best to determine the situations separately. After all, a former Warmaster Horus would likely have a lot more influence on others if he were to fall to Chaos rather than a Horus who had never been Warmaster in the first place. If, say, the Emperor had found Sanguinius first, and he had become the favored son, then Horus would be just another primarch and likely not have the opportunity to be corrupted in the first place.

[2000AD]

I don't think the OP meant Sanguinius replaced a demoted Horus as Warmaster, rather what if he was the first choice to be Warmaster.

[Manthor]

Actually either scenario could result in an overall lessening wouldn't it?

If Sanguinus was appointed Warmaster instead of Horus, then Horus would lack the central authority that provided him with so much strategic advantage in organising the Heresy in the first place. He would still probably tempt a few legions to his side but otherwise the Heresy would have played out differently and I reckon Davin and Istvaan wouldn't have happened. And that is an interesting thought, as Chaos is rather tricky and could probably have made use of any envy and jealousy on the part of Horus to trick him.

But then wouldn't Chaos switch its focus towards Sanguinus?

[Kojiro]

If Sanguinius was promoted instead of Horus the heresy fails quickly, or it's renamed Sanguinius' Heresy. Perhaps, if Sanguinius is indeed 'superior' to Horus then maybe it goes Chaos' way in the end. Maybe when the showdown between the two primarchs happens Horus turns and the Emperor has to face two of his sons instead of one? It's not like he won that fight by a huge margin. Perhaps Horus stays out of the fight and instead battles Dorn over control of the Emperor's body in the aftermath? Hard to say for certain.

What I find almost as interesting is where would the Blood Angels be today, had they in turn fled the the EoT and taken up a chaos marine role? Over 10,000 years surely almost all of them would have succumbed to the Black Rage (which I assume would be Sanguinius being killed by the Emperor rather than Horus). But then I assume a chapter of such marines wouldn't be able to function outside of being 'released' by a more thinking commander.

[wautd]

As far as I know, the warrior lodges never really got a foothold in the Blood Angel legion, so even if Warmaster Sanguinius were to be corrupted, there's a better chance that the bulk of his legion will remain loyal to the Emperor.

[Ahriman238]

Frankly, Horus was the greatest of the Primarchs, and he was the only person who thought he wasn't the best choice, that's why his fall is so tragic. Even Russ said that the Emperor gave each of his sons a special destiny, and Horus' was to be heir to the Imperium. Yes, each Primarch had that little (and sometimes not-so-little) voice in their heads saying "It should have been me! What's he got that I ain't got?" But he really was objectively the best candidate. There will be friction and division between the Primarchs, as before, the precise lines of conflict may be slightly different, but I doubt it. Sanguinus was a pretty big supporter of Horus, and most of the primarchs who objected to Horus would not meekly accept Sanguinus. Really, the problem is more that any one of their number was elevated above the rest, rather than any specific complaints against Horus.

But okay, the Word Bearers were corrupted decades ago, the Alpha Legion a couple of years before the main event, and I believe Fulgrim has already accquiredh is Daemon Sword. The plan to corrupt Horus may go on, or be adapted to Sanguinus. Remember, anyone can be corrupted if the Dark Gods are prepared to spend enough time and resources on it. The one area where I really see him making a difference is the council at Nikea and the fate of Magnus (well, sort of.) Does anyone know what the original Blood Angel's stance on librarians was?