SM - immobile Army?

[ImperialReaper]

This weekend I went to the club one afternoon and had 2 games.

 

Those were my first competitive games where nobody created my armylist for me and nobody gave any advice during the games.

 

First games was 1K PTS vs Tyras. Second was 600 PTS vs CSM. I play SM Vanilla.

 

We had in the first mission 2 Objectives to take and in the second anihilation ( the one with the killpoints).

 

I ran Librarian, 2 Tactical Squads, Predator vs CSM

And then Captain, 2 Tactical Squads, Predator, Terminators, Cybot and Landspeeder Typhoon agains Tyras.

 

The games went pretty well - I was great fun but i was a little disappointed during the movement phases - becaust in both games the best thing for me to do was standing still.

 

VS Tyras I had to protect my Objective and had no intention of running into his close combat units. Standing still also allowed me to fire my heavy bolters/rocket launchers every turn. The only units moving where my land speeder and my predator - mainly to get them into cover and to protect them from his erm... thos flying snakes with big heads which can shoot a psi lightning which has strentg 10 at 24". I realy need a list of unit translations...

 

VS CSM - CSM charged right at me with khrone berserkers and plague marines - also a deamon prince and a rhino. And again - best option was to sit tight to fire my heavy weapons and my bolters at long range. Also no intention to get into close combat here. The only thing moving was again my predator - seeking for cover and getting around the woods so his rhino had no cover saves.

 

Is this the way to play SM? Set them up in the first turn as good as possible and then just fire away the rest of the game?

[Starblayde]

Is this the way to play SM? Set them up in the first turn as good as possible and then just fire away the rest of the game?

You can play them however you like.

 

A mobile Space Marine army tends to consist of Bikes, Speeders, Jump Pack Assault Marines and tanks. A gunline, immobile, Space Marine army can consist of Tactical & Devasator Squads, tanks and artillery. Space Marines are versatile enough to play all sorts of different ways.

 

If you like the idea of sitting back and shooting then your next investment should be something like a Techmarine and a Thunderfire Cannon, or perhaps a Whirlwind or Vindicator. Then there's Devastator Squads, a Dreadnought armed with Twin Lascannons & a Missile Launcher, and things like that.

[Brother-Captain Isaac]

Well, Codex: Vanilla Marines provides a wide range of unit selections to better suit your playstyle.

 

So it really comes down to your playstyle, from what I could gather you prefer a more mobile army.

HB/MM Land Speeders: Speeders with this loadout could pose a threat to both infantry and armor, being able to move 12" and fire a single weapon, the HB or MM depending on your opponent. Normally I would go for HF/MM but as you played 'Nids and CSM I would prefer keeping a distance.

 

Standard Land Raider: Thanks to Power of the Machine Spirit, it could move 6" and fire TWO weapons, or move at cruising speed and fire a single weapon.

 

Buy Rhinos for your Tacs: This gives them higher mobility. AND it provides an AV11 shield when your Tacs are where they are needed, and it could also Shock. I once used a Rhino to wipe out an enemy Tac. Our squads were in combat and he auto-retreated(CT) to avoid anymore casualities, and he plans on auto-regrouping next turn and rapid-fire me to death. BUT, my trusty Rhino followed them around while they fell back, keeping within 6" of them and having their Str 4 bolters "ping" off it's AV11 shell......

 

Or, if you feel suicidal, try podding in Dreads. I've ran something like this:

 

Dreadnought MM HF Pod

Dreadnought MM HF Pod

Assault Squad Remove jump packs Pod(so it rides in the Raider instead)

LR Godhammer

 

So, first turn, due to Drop Pod assault, both my dreads drop in and wreak havoc, be it's target tank or man, while my Raider drives in, taking pot-shots at the enemie's army and transporting the assault squad, maybe occasionally letting them out to tie up enemy assault elements when they attempt to crack the AV14 nut.

And yes, I'm getting an Assault Squad just to contribute to Drop Pod Assault. Sue me.

 

This tactic is mobile, considering that the dreads could be where they want FIRST TURN, and they are in reserve so the enemy can't shoot them.

[Starblayde]

Or, if you feel suicidal, try podding in Dreads.

Pod in Ironclad Dreads, then you'll be fine.

[Brother-Chaplain Gaius]

since you play "vanilla" marines as you described them sitting still and shooting is a good thing. then use combat tactics to fall back and regroup when the enemy gets too close. its a brutal combination that while is rather simple its very effective, go marines!

 

I suppose sitting still and blasting away is just as tactically challenging as rushing forward and assaulting :mellow:

[Brother-Captain Isaac]

since you play "vanilla" marines as you described them sitting still and shooting is a good thing. then use combat tactics to fall back and regroup when the enemy gets too close. its a brutal combination that while is rather simple its very effective, go marines!

 

I suppose sitting still and blasting away is just as tactically challenging as rushing forward and assaulting :mellow:

 

True, but remember as fallback moves are 2D6, unpredictable, so you might just fallback off the table before you even get a chance to auto-regroup!

[Ookami_81]

Otherwise, if you want to move a little more (It seemed I felt it reading your post), you have to invest on bikes, IMHO the best troops codex marines have (with proper size / captain).

Bikes + Assault Bikes are a deadly combination, providing you have a firebase to back them up when they are a little too weak.

 

My favorite goes with Vindicator + Assault marines (I'm a Chhhaaaaarge addict ! :P ) and in a more Firebase perspective the "Wonder W", the Whirlwind.

 

I think "sit and shoot" is as easy or complicated than "move and shoot" or "move and charge", but moving and shooting and assaulting is much more fun ! :P

[Koremu]

Rhinos.

 

You are playing an army that has small numbers of very hard guys, and the cheapest dedicated transport vehicles in the whole game.

 

You do not want to make your supersoldiers walk to the front lines.

 

For reference, my style of play tends to run towards barrelling a Rhino full of Tactical Marines at something, piling out of the Rhino, filling the victim full of Bolter rounds and then letting my Assault Marines go in and clean up whatever is left.

[Ookami_81]

An excellent one indeed ! Do you do this "en masse" (Rhino rush) ? Or just with a part of your army ?

 

If you're Rhino rushing, how do you cope with ennemies' mechs and armour ?

[Grey Mage]

With Meltaguns, Lascannons and TLAutos.

 

Seriously though... SMs are all about flexability. Almost every unit has flexability written in the bone... use it.

[Koremu]

An excellent one indeed ! Do you do this "en masse" (Rhino rush) ? Or just with a part of your army ?

 

If you're Rhino rushing, how do you cope with ennemies' mechs and armour ?

There is no such thing as a bad target for a Vindicator. There is only target priority.

[Brother-Captain Isaac]

True, a Vindicator is a C:SM player's wild card, but it's primary weapon is only 24" range, so whenever I ran one, I get myself 2 rifleman dreads(2 TL autos) to protect it's flanks as they advance together, and Dreads aren't that bad in close combat after all!

[Brother-Chaplain Gaius]

I've tested this and I find that if you can get past the initial fear and awe everyone has of the Vindicator, tank vs tank wether its a single one or 3, Combi preds AC/LC win every time :)

 

Go try it out

[Ookami_81]

I've tested this and I find that if you can get past the initial fear and awe everyone has of the Vindicator, tank vs tank wether its a single one or 3, Combi preds AC/LC win every time :D

 

Go try it out

 

True, but the combi pred has to keep static to fire effectively, not the Vindicator. And the last is more flexible I think.

Predator is OK in dakka or combi mode, but you have to choose. The Vindic is worse in both case, but is a better wild card, and that's why people fear them more: when a player put a Vindic on the table, or two (gasp!) or three (arrggghh...), you just don't know what he will do with those things. If he puts a Dakka Pred, you know that the tank will shoot on troops, just like annihilators and combis, anti-tank and anti MCs.

This way, you give your opponent a clear target prioritizing solution depending on his army.

That's why everybody fears Vindic, and shoot everything-to-rocks at it turn 1: Jesus, a free-shooting turn for the rest of your army !

Thinking of it, maybe that's the most usefull thing about Vindics: a fire magnet the size of a Land Raider, nearly as tough when placed in cover, and a lot cheaper. :D