Lord Solar
Lord Solar (Plural: Lords Solar, and formally "Lord Commander of the Segmentum Solar") is the highest ranking Imperial Guard officers, just below the High Lords of Terra. The rank is only handed out rarely, when there is a major military undertaking requiring the resources of multiple Segmentum underway: to put a minimum of a curfew on the politicking/backstabbing/hoarding of resources/..., a Lord Solar is put in charge of the whole endeavour and whatever he says goes, no discussion or else! (Do note that the Lord Solar himself is not above the watchful eyes of the Commissariat either.)
Lord Solar a title equivalent to that of Warmaster, but that particular title fell in disuse because, you know...
Originally the only Lord Solar we knew about was Macharius, but GW just released a new HQ named Leontus, and he is meant to be the Imperial Guard's Shadowsun equivalent. He rides a horse, so if you ever wanted an all cavalry army, go wild.
Overview
Technically, just like the Adeptus Custodes, the Lord Solar is meant to stay home and keep the lights on, but since the Imperial Guard is never the focus of any Siege of Terra books, Lord Solar Leontus has decided to go on sabbatical and Live Laugh Love all over the Imperium.
He never goes anywhere without a posse of logistical administrators to keep track of his Baneblades, priests to weed out heresy, sanctioned psykers because he's into big tiddy goth girls ensure he stays true to the Emperor's plan via the Emperor's Tarot. Also brings along a retinue of sub-commanders who presumably do all the real work.
Notable Lord Solars
- Lord Solar Macharius - The original tabletop Lord Solar and 40k's Alexander the Great.
- Lord Solar Leontus - The current Lord Solar, though we've not known a damn thing about him until 9E. Rides a very fabulous cyber-pony.