Help for a noob

[Allgame]

I am getting The AOBR set and codex space marines for christmas, can anyone give me some tips to prevent utter defeat. Besides looking around on this board.

[spartan249]

Get more tactical squads. And Rhinos. Get 3 Tactical Squads and 3 corresponding Rhinos for them at the least. Only then, consider what you want the rest of your army to be.

 

And do not, I repeat, DO NOT glue on heavy weapons until you get the feel for what heavy weapons you want. Experiment first before commiting to heavy and special weapons.

[Ntin]

I would pay the $5 extra dollars and get Razorbacks over Rhinos. You do not need to glue the top hatch or turret in place so you could switch between the two. Mobility is the key to this edition of the game all on foot armies do poorly. Play a few games see where you want to branch out.

[Allgame]

Are there any recommendations besides buy more stuff, because I know I will need more tac squads and rhinos.

[captain sox]

to be honest, you are going to get owned for the first little while. It's a fact, so accept it! (not trying to be an arse, just stating a fact, we've all been through it.) Practice, play and enjoy the hobby. It's not about winning and losing, it's about getting together to paint, build, learn and play.

 

I've only been playing for about 8 months, and I just got my first win last week. It felt great to win (darn Necrons) but what I've really gotten out of my time with this hobby is quality time with friends.

 

There is no easy path to victory, but there is an easy path to happiness!

 

to answer your question, add an assault squad, it will help

 

Time will make you a master of your craft!

[Grey Mage]

90% of the SM army list is support units, so dont expect to do one job with one unit- support each squad with others, and use their combined strengths to rapidly take down enemies.

 

Example- Two Tactical Squads and 5 Shooty Terminators against 3 mobs of 30 orks- you could fire on each one with one of your own squads and wittle down their numbers a bit, OR you could focus your fire and really chop down a squad each turn for greater effect. Yes, that increases the chance that one of them will get through, but at the same time youll find that you dont have to kill every boy- the shots from those squads should decimate a squad a turn, making them manageable in Close Combat.

[Prosedragon]

Most people on this board will disagree with me, but don't get more than two tactical squads (aobr+1 more) till you get a feel for the game. Proxy your orks for an assault squad, sternguard, a command squad with whatever loadout you like, etc-if it turns out you like the stability of multiple tac squads, cool, then invest in a third one. If you like mobility, maybe go for assault squads, etc.

 

Same thing with razorbacks - proxy one as a vindicator, next time as a whirlwind, a predator, etc. Unfortunately, rhinos really are necessary, so you'll likely need 3-4 of them.

 

If youre new to modeling stuff like this building slowly has the added benefit of getting a feel for converting, so that your army has a more personalized look.

 

As far as solid investments go, rhinos for sure, a devestator box (as Spartan said-don't glue them yet), and some files and a razor.

 

To avoid utter defeat? Rigged dice help :) try to retain 'initiative' - to the greatest extent possible, make sure things happen on your terms. This involves gauging distance, which comes with time, but as an example, look at that flamer you'll get with the aobr set. Flamers are amazing, they can pay off so much in one shot...if you get to shoot it. Try and work the board, and your opponent, so that you do. It just takes practice though, and against some armies [tyranids] it's just not often possible.

 

Oh, and proxy the storm bolter on your black reach dread for a heavy flamer. 1 storm bolter is worthless, 1 heavy flamer can be devestating.

[Grey Mage]

Yeah, always proxy before you buy- saves alot of time, money, and paint.

[LardO'Blood]

I would get a Rhino, scout squad, tactical squad and then some sort of HQ character as the one that comes with AoBR isn't that great. After that I would get a LR (For the terminators) or a dreadnought.

[Allgame]

Thanks guys for the help.

[wizard12]

heres a tip I can work out from paper.

 

DON'T spend points on a chapter master unless you have the space 25 points. Ypur just paying for orbital bombardment and the abbillity to field a really expencive and hard to model honour guard unit. But if you have acess to special charaters then go for it.

 

another is dettol can work wonders on bably painted models. soak for a few days, scrub and rinse in soapy water and volia, cleam models with no damage what so ever.

[thade]

Simple Green is also very good for stripping minis, and safe for you to use; I use it all the time. Soak it for a day or two then a toothbrush will pull most all of that paint right off. Remember to base coat with something even before you paint (like black spray paint; I prefer Krylon, personally).

 

Sorry, I realize this is a Tactics discussion; but painting for a rookie is definitely relevant. <_<

 

Tactical Squads are great. Dreadnoughts and Vindicators are also very useful. The Captain that comes with AoBR isn't the most brilliantly geared with a sword and a bolter, which means no bolt pistol, thus no extra attack in CC. (When I did run him, I did so as if he had a Relic Blade, Artificer Armor, and Hellfire Rounds in that Bolter). It's true that a CM gets you access to HG which is hard to use properly and an Orbital Bombardment single shot which is less than impressive. It's nice when it comes with a character though (e.g. Calgar); sort of a nice gift.

 

Most people I've met go very hard assault when they start Space Marines then ramp down to lots of shooting with some choice assault support (or all-shooting). Given that you'll have several mounted Tac squads (a very good way to go) and some shooty terminators (which are worth their weight in gold) and a handy MM Dreadnought, you are on a fine start. I'd recommend trying out a Vindicator (a Rhino could easily proxy as one with some sort of marker on it and a friendly opponent) or two; those are really nice also. Predators and Devastators are sort of tricky to use and configure to fit your play style and your opponents, and all the specialized stuff (Thunderfire Cannon, Sternguard, Vanguard, Bike Marines, Land Speeders) you'll want to play a bit before you'll know what kind of value you can get out of them.

 

Also, if something looks like it'd be fun to paint, I recommend you pick it up. Painting for the sake of painting is really fun and can set you up with some interesting combinations. =) Doing things that you think won't work is a good way to learn what will work. I think of it this way: I learn a great deal more when I lose than when I win.

[Doploctor]

I suggest trying out assault marines and get yourself a preferance for a HQ peoples command coices realy change the way they play.

and on a modeling tip NEVER glue attachments or turrets down i have a dreadnought thats 90% useless because he has a lasscannon and missile pod glued to him and my predators turret is glued so it can't turn (bought that off a friend) but as far as what to get if you don't mind starter kit models i suggest getting a 2nd AoBR the price is great for what you get 95 dollers is a steal the terminators and dreadnought are 100 together

[waaanial00]

As has been said before practice as much as possible. Try not to get talked into playing big games too quickly, Marines arguably dont operate well in lower point games however these games are exactly the sort of games you should be playing to learn the game and tactics.

 

Design a 500 point list based on what models you have and play a couple of games with them. Useage of Marines looks really simple however there are tactical decisions which take a while to get used to. For example you have a full Tactical Squad with Flamer and Missile launcher facing off against a squad of 7 Chaos Marines, you are 11" away what do you do?

 

Move 6" fire flamer, fire pistols and charge in the assault phase

Move 6" fire flamer and rapid fire bolters

Stay put, rapid fire and shoot a frag

Stay put, rapid fire and shoot a krak

 

All of the options are legitimite and the real answer is it all depends on what else is going on in the game, however it is a decent example of the different choices that you will be faced with on the battlefield that makes the game less point and click (something I dont think actually exists because against a smart player its a telegraphed set of decisions which can be easily expected and countered) and more brain work.

 

Of course maths could tell you the statistical probability of each decision but then it doesnt take into account the bigger picture (such as what turn is it, what is the objective of the mission, is it better to be stuck in combat at the Chaos position etc).

 

Buying more of the same or a varied range is all well and good but if you are basing such decisions solely on the advice of others then you might end up with someone elses army that you dont like playing with. Proxy as much as possible as it will allow you to figure out what you think works without having to shell out for the actual models.

 

As said though expect to get rolled, its likely that the person playing you will have a greater grasp of the rules in practice than you and further likely that they will understand the way their army behaves better than you so just learn from the experience and worry little about the result. Hell I have been playing for years and I sometimes play games where the outcome is a lot less interesting to me as I tend to test things to destruction (sending Nob bikers through cover to see how dangerous it can be to a list).

 

Once you have got a grasp (4 is games) of how the game works you can start to concentrate on building a larger army, thats when the real headaches start.

 

Wan

[Allgame]

Another question I am planning on getting a battleforce and a rhino with the money I get for christmas, is this a good idea? Thanks.

[Grey Mage]

That will give you a second Tactical squad, mounting for both, some scouts, and some assault marines if I recall correctly.

 

I think its a wonderful idea. You get to outfit the new tac squad as you see fit really, and you can use the bitz from the battleforce to customize the AoBR tacs a bit *switch out wargear, etc* and you can model the combat squad as more marines to mix in with the AoBR or you can model them as sterngaurd.

 

The scouts are a little limited- BP+CCW, Shotguns, and a heavy bolter. Id actually suggest leaving them on the sprue for a bit, until you know how youd like to model them, and maybe get some more bitz.

 

I also fully endorse a PF and flamers on your assault marines- its a good all around setup, and for 145pts isnt a bad deal at all.

[Xeonic]

Seconding battleforce+aobr marines being a fantastic idea. You may want to consider finding another new player or someone else who has just bought an aobr box and see if they'll swap your orks for more marines.

While the wargear choices aren't always the most ah... "appropriate", the ML/flamer combi is nice enough I'd say 80% of the time. What the battleforce does give you though is options to upgrade that sergeant and pick other special weapons, such as the melta, which is a fantastic close range anti armor weapon, or the plasma gun, which is great vs heavily armored elite troops(but also dangerous to the wielder).

 

As the above poster said, you could run the AoBR captain as bearing a relic blade(which can't get the bolt pistol bonus attack anyways) and hellfire shells(to hit on a 2+ and wound on a 2+ is never a bad thing!), or convert his bolter fairly easily into a combi weapon. Alternately consider picking up another HQ choice, the captain box is a fantastic buy and would also give you a lot of great bits to customize your marines.

[Allgame]

Thank you. I am already going to trade a friend for his AOBR marines. Another question I am also getting Space Hulk for christmas, how difficult would it be to convert them for use?

[Xeonic]

Well, most of the terminators won't require too much work, a little filing and trimming of blood drops and chalices and you're golden. If there's some detail you can't remove, cover it with a chapter symbol, skull or purity seal, works every time. :P

You'll need to seperately purchase Terminator bases for them, and you'll have to build them up with green stuff or trim/file off the SH deck plating, wouldn't be too hard. I'll get around to doing this with one of my SH terminator sets someday.

[gdeathlegion]

You should get a drop pod to try out with your marines\MM dread. some attack bikes with MM would be good for you as well.

[Doploctor]

if you plan on shooting or even playing against hoard armies get a vindicator i have two and they scare the living daylights out of orks and nids 24 inch range and at 115 points thats more damage than a tactical squad at 170 can output also if you plan on getting assault terminators and give them lightning claws convert a thunder hammer onto a assault marine thats what i did for my Sargent its way more bang for your buck then a power fist auto result of 1 for HITTING the vehicle and makes characters HIT by it initiative 1 next round

[Grey Mage]

Thank you. I am already going to trade a friend for his AOBR marines. Another question I am also getting Space Hulk for christmas, how difficult would it be to convert them for use?

Whats your chapter?

 

I ask because they are beautiful miniatures, truely, and if your doing BA, BR, or any of their successors it might be better to not convert them- just put them on the properly sized bases with some good scenic basing to match them.

[Slyfox1990]

Thank you. I am already going to trade a friend for his AOBR marines. Another question I am also getting Space Hulk for christmas, how difficult would it be to convert them for use?

Whats your chapter?

 

I ask because they are beautiful miniatures, truely, and if your doing BA, BR, or any of their successors it might be better to not convert them- just put them on the properly sized bases with some good scenic basing to match them.

 

I fully agree with what Grey Mage has said here. They are magnificent looking models and I unless you have superb skills in conversion then its not worth trying to make them anything other than Blood Angels or Successor.

 

 

In regards to the original question, I would first suggest that you play with the units in the AoBR box and see how it goes. As others have already eluded to, you will most likely lose all your games initially whilst you get to grips with playing and due to the units you field. However, this is the best way to work out what units you lack and what you would like to get. Do you lack anti-armour? Mobility? Anti-infantry? etc etc.

 

There is no substitute for playing with your army and getting a feel for what YOU need to improve it. People on here will always give good advice but it isn't always the advice which is tailored to any given individual. What you would like to field doesn't have to be a set formula! Make sure you also choose things by personal preference.

 

I hope that is some use as advice ;)

[Allgame]

Thank you. I am already going to trade a friend for his AOBR marines. Another question I am also getting Space Hulk for christmas, how difficult would it be to convert them for use?

Whats your chapter?

 

I ask because they are beautiful miniatures, truely, and if your doing BA, BR, or any of their successors it might be better to not convert them- just put them on the properly sized bases with some good scenic basing to match them.

 

I am doing a diy chapter, origin unknown but not BA or BR. I probably will despite the iconacghraphy just put them on the right bases and paint them with my chapter colors.

[Grey Mage]

A little Greenstuff can turn those Blooddrops into other things easily without destroying the models... if you have a custom chapter symbol, with wings *the falcon in your avatar?* you might consider that.