The Space Wolves Great Companies are the twelve standing warbands that make up the Chapter, each one a self-contained force with its own Wolf Lord, recruitment, and traditions. They’re the reason the Sons of Russ don’t look or fight like a normal Codex Chapter.
What a Great Company actually is
Think of a Great Company as a Chapter in miniature. Each one recruits its own Blood Claws, keeps its own ships and armoury, and answers to its Wolf Lord rather than to a central command staff. That semi-feudal setup is deliberate, and it’s the opposite of how most Chapters run.
The Wolf Lord of the leading Great Company takes the title of Great Wolf and serves as Chapter Master. Right now that’s Logan Grimnar, who leads the Champions of Fenris.
- Twelve Great Companies, not the ten a Codex Chapter fields
- Each one handles its own recruitment, upkeep, and deployments
- Wolf Lords command them; the senior Wolf Lord becomes Great Wolf
Why they break the Codex
After the Horus Heresy, the Codex Astartes told every Legion to split into 1,000-strong Chapters of ten companies. The Space Wolves kept twelve and never really pretended otherwise. Their stubbornness is a defining trait, not a paperwork error.
The Legion did split once, into the Space Wolves and the Wolf Brothers, but the second Chapter was crippled by mutation and disbanded. Since then the Wolves have stayed as they are.
The current Great Companies
Names and sigils shift with each Wolf Lord, so a Great Company’s identity is tied to whoever’s currently leading it. Some have cycled through dozens of badges; others have kept the same mark for centuries.
Each company also keeps a sacred banner called a Wolf Totem. Some, like the Spirit Wolf, haven’t been seen in millennia, while others such as the Hunger Skull of Jorghun Vor are treated as grim omens.
| Great Company | Wolf Lord |
|---|---|
| Champions of Fenris | Logan Grimnar (Great Wolf) |
| The Blackmanes | Ragnar Blackmane |
| The Deathwolves | Harald Deathwolf |
| The Seawolves | Engir Krakendoom |
| The Sons of Morkai | Erik Morkai |
| The Red Moons | Gunnar Red Moon |
| The Stormwolves | Bjorn Stormwolf |
| The Drakeslayers | Krom Dragongaze |
| The Bloodmaws | Bran Redmaw |
| The Duskwolves | Torval Wyrdbane |
| The Runemarked | Hrothvyr Runescar |
| The Grimbloods | Kjarl Grimblood |
The missing 13th
There used to be a 13th Great Company, and its fate is still argued about in-universe. One story says they were lost in the Warp during the assault on Prospero, the Thousand Sons’ homeworld. Another says they vanished after Leman Russ himself disappeared.
Imperial records barely mention them, which is exactly why they’ve become one of the Wolves’ favourite mysteries. The 13th is treated as a special case rather than a normal company.
How big are they, really?
During the Great Crusade, a Great Company was nominally 10,000 Astartes. By M42 nobody’s sure of the exact numbers, and they clearly vary by Wolf Lord and by what the company is doing at the time.
What is known is that they’re bigger than a standard Codex company. Treat the old 10,000 figure as Legion-era trivia, not a current headcount.
Key facts
- The Space Wolves field twelve Great Companies instead of the Codex’s ten.
- Each Great Company runs its own recruitment, fleet, and deployments under a Wolf Lord.
- The senior Wolf Lord becomes Great Wolf and Chapter Master; Logan Grimnar holds that role.
- Great Companies are named for their current Wolf Lord and carry a sacred banner called a Wolf Totem.
- A 13th Great Company once existed and disappeared, and its fate is still unknown.
- Legion-era Great Companies were nominally 10,000 strong; modern sizes are unconfirmed but larger than a Codex company.
FAQ
How many Great Companies do the Space Wolves have?
Twelve active Great Companies, plus the lost 13th. That’s two more than the Codex Astartes allows, and the Wolves have never bothered to fix it.
Who leads a Great Company?
A Wolf Lord. The most senior Wolf Lord becomes the Great Wolf and acts as Chapter Master, a role Logan Grimnar currently holds.
What happened to the 13th Company?
Nobody in the Imperium can say for certain. The leading theories are that they were lost in the Warp at Prospero or vanished alongside Leman Russ.