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The 18th Chapter of the [[Raven Guard]] [[Space Marine Legion|Legion]] were known as the '''Ashen Claws''', taking their names from the Xeric tribes that supplied their first recruits. Before the Legion was reunited with their [[primarchPrimarch]], [[Corvus Corax]], they spent time under the tutelage of [[Horus]], who developed a stratagem he called the "Ashen Claw" whereby a sacrificial unit would draw the enemy out to allow the rest of Horus' force to strike their flank.{{fn|1}}

Notably, [[Praetor (Rank)|Shade Captain]] [[Nerat Kirine]] of the Ashen Claws developed the strategy employed by the XIXth Legion, accompanied by the [[Luna Wolves]], in the [[Battle of Hell's Anvil]]. Initiating a concussive bombardment on the subterranean fortifications, the Legions allowed the [[Imperial Army]] to suffer the worst of the casualties whilst the Ashen Claws launched hit and run attacks on the Overseers. The battle established the reputation of assignment alongside the XIXth as a death sentence to the Imperial Army{{fn|2b}} and, combined with their heritage as slaver-warlords, contributed to the ill-will which that Corax bore towards the Terran veterans when he took command of the Legion.{{fn|1}}

The Ashen Claws often decorate their armour with fragments of enemy weapons, including the skulls or teeth of alien beasts, taken as trophies, as well as carved stone charms similar to Terran jade. Although they no longer serve the Emperor, many still bear the [[Raptor Imperialis]] which that indicates they were veterans of the Unification Wars.{{fn|1}}

The Ashen Claws still maintain some links with the Imperium, such as with the [[Carcharodons]] [[Space Marines]]. The Ashen Claws , and often barter for war material and slaves with the Chapter.{{Fn|3}}

Once known for the hit and run tactics typical of the Raven Guard, and carried out with brutal efficiency by Shade Captain Kirine, the Ashen Claws became specialists in orbital interface raids focussed on acquiring the materiel required to maintain a force that had been operating without support for several years. A wide variety of orbital interface fighterfighters, bombers, and assault craft typically begin by targeting anti-air emplacements before [[Dreadclaw]] and [[Kharybdis]] drop pods deploy fast moving infantry squadrons to suppress the enemy. The intention is to circumvent the enemy's main strength, allowing a force with limited numbers to defeat a numerically superior foe piecemeal with the ultimate objective usually the seizure of munitions and materiel.{{fn|1}}

*'''''Wicked Claw''''' - An Infernus class battleship dating back to the Great Crusade. Originally used by the chapter Chapter when first exiled to the ghoul stars. The Wicked Claw served as the flagship of the Ashen Claws ever since, used through the millenia millennia up to M41, when it was used to reinforce a Carcharadons fleet under assault from Tyranid forces.