Codex Space Marines 101 - planning

[DarkGuard]

Thanks for taking time on that Validar, I don't think I could have done it much better myself, and now I get more time on my essay :P. I'm quite glad you mentioned curse of the machine spirit, which while I never use, I still advocate for stun locking. You also make a good point about Epistolary's, they are too expensive really. A couple of things though, I'd say another weakness of his is that he sucks in combat. A lot of HQ choices are good in combat, but with his average initiative, low attacks and wound count, not to mention no invulnerable, and just a force weapon, he can't do a lot in combat in my experience. I'll strike that one of the list then.

[DarkGuard]

OK then, I'm going to take a crack at Devastator squads:

 

Devastator squads:

Devastator squads carry the big guns of the Space Marine arsenal, laying down a hail of lethal covering fire while their brothers advance on the enemy. Able to take a four heavy weapons in the squad, this unit is incredibly dangerous in the shooting phase and can be a very powerful firebase unit.

 

Wargear:

Devastator squads are initially equipped the same as their tactical brethren, with the exception of the sergeant carrying a signum, a device which allows one Marine in the squad to be more accurate with their shooting. Their wargear options don't include special weapons, but rather they can choose up to four heavy weapons, regardless of squad size. The sergeant has the same options as a tactical sergeant, and devastator squads can take the same transports as tactical marines.

 

Strengths:

The main strength of a devastator squad is the amount of powerful weapons they can take. One squad could drop four plasma templates onto the enemy, or fire a hail of heavy bolter fire, or take a tank out with four lascannons. This unit can dominate the shooting phase, putting out a lot of damage from the relative safety of the deployment zone. Furthermore, they can be specialized to decimate a unit, regardless of what it is, which certainly a plus over tactical marines who can't match that level of specialization.

 

Also, with the ability to take 10 men these squads can be resilient, especially against weapons which would ordinarily take out tanks easily, and combat squads can also be used in mixed weapons squads, allowing one unit to focus on two different types of units.

 

Weaknesses:

The strength of a devastator squad is also it's weakness, and that is the points cost for their powerful guns. With many people preferring to use 10 man squads with 4 heavy weapons, these units can easily cost upwards of 220pts before adding a transport. Furthermore, they are vulnerable to anti-infantry firepower, while assaults can leave them tied up and unable to use their expensive weapons. They are also a Space Marine, and like most small Space Marine squads small fire squads of these will die quickly.

 

Devastator weapons are also heavy, meaning that in DoW missions, and missions where they've been set up poorly or have blocked LoS they have to reposition, wasting valuable turns of shooting just to reposition.

 

Common builds:

Normally, four heavy weapons are put into 10 man squads, while 5 man squad only use 2/3 heavy weapons, allowing the unit to have bullet shields and not lose killing power quickly. Transports are rarely taken for actual transport, given the heavy nature of the weapons.

 

1 lascannon, 3 missile launchers: this unit looks to destroy tanks, specifically transports and other light vehicles. Missile launchers are more than adequate in this respect, while the lascannon takes advantage of the signum to give a high powered punch. This unit is also good at anti-infantry with 3 frag templates. Furthermore, it can be combat squadded into sergeant and lascannon and 3 missile launchers, allowing split fire.

 

2-4 missile launchers: like the above, but without the added punch of the lascannon in a trade off to being cheaper.

 

4 heavy bolters: one of the cheapest configurations, this unit can cause a lot of hurt on infantry, inflicting a lot of wounds. 4+ or worst saves will die to this unit, and even Marines may struggle.

 

4 multi-meltas: often loaded into a rhino or a drop pod, this unit looks to deploy in midfield and then dominate the area with 4 high strength weapons more than capable of killing anything.

 

2-4 plasma cannons: deadly unit that can slaughter enemy units with several high strength, low AP templates. Gets Hot! is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the other weapons will fire, meaning the squad will do something.

 

Devastators are rarely wanted in combat, and the sergeant tends to use the signum, therefore leading to the sergeant rarely being upgraded.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

After my post on rhinos I think i'll do Assault terminators!

 

Assault Terminators

 

 

Wargear: Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields OR Paired Lightning Claws

 

Purpose: Heavy assault infantry, they get in close and start cracking skulls

 

 

The Assault terminators are a tough close combat unit. They can be likened to either a sledgehammer or a lawnmower based on their loadouts. Their purpose is rather singular and they are soley based on fighting in close combat, with no access to ranged gear. With TH/SS the terminators are like sledgehammers, resilient and very hard hitting and can be thrown in to combat with just about anything except the faster power weapon armed enemies. Their storm shields keep them safe and the hammers are a fiercesome item not found often in our options. With LCs the assault terminators become more like a lawnmower and can scythe down light infantry rapidly with little fear of retribution thanks to their tough armour.

 

Loadouts:

 

Thunder Hammers + Storm Shields - Heavy hitting resilient infantry, can be thrown at almost anything and have good results

 

Paired Lightning Claws - The powerful claws can tear to pieces many soldiers, but not effective against vehicles or tougher enemies

 

Strengths

 

The assault terminators can pack out a decent amout of death dealing close combat fury effectively. Generally the TH/SS configuration are considered our most effective melee unit. They are capable of killing off just about anything quite happily and efficiently. However with their lightning claws can allow them to tear to pieces light infantry nicely too. Their heavy armour makes their already fearsome output even more scary, whilst being terminators means that they can deep strike into the fray if need be.

 

Weaknesses

 

Being oriented in close combat they have no ranged weaponry to speak of, giving them a very 1 dimensional role in a fight. They are also clad in terminator armour meaning that they must either walk, deep strike (both poor options for something with no shooting at all!) or ride in a land raider. Of course taking a land raider quickly makes them exceptionally expensive and limits the number you can take. Also the lightning claw versions are largely redundent as the TH/SS versions can do the same job and take on sturdier foes, where elites should be fighting! The other problem for them that they should avoid enemies with power weapons generally as they can cut through their armour, or hordes which will bog them down and drown them in attacks!

[DarkGuard]

A good review on Assault Terminators I feel. There's only one thing I would mention, and that is that if they take a Land Raider their numbers are limited, meaning that they can potentially be dragged down in combat. The Rhino entry looks spot on though, good work :).

 

I'll crack on with Razorbacks and possibly Drop Pods in the morning, get the dedicated transport section out of the way :).

[Shadowstalker Grim]

Captain

 

Wargear: Huge selection of melee weaponry and some specialist ranged weaponry normally allowed for sergeants

 

Purpose: Hardest hitting single unit in our army, useful to either support a unit with extra teeth or better yet head up an assault specialist unit

 

 

The captain is one of the common choices we space marines take and with good reason, with an amazing statline and a tough selection of wargear. He is through and through one of the toughest fighters (if not the toughest) non special chracter we have! He has access to some rather special gear to help him join squads, from a jump pack to join jump infantry to the bike. The bike is something that unlocks bikers as troop choices and increases his profile a small amount by increasing his toughness by 1 and adds obvious mobility. The captain also has access to the built in invulnerable save and has more wounds than our other regular HQ choices which makes him that bit more survivable! The captain has great skill with both weapons, both melee and ranged - though you'll want to make use of the melee capability more often than not! He also unlocks the command squad for taking, something that cannot be done by ANY other unit in the codex for us and combined with them they work exceptionally well together!

 

Loadouts:

 

Relic Blade, Storm Shield, Artificer Armour - Little ranged punch, but with this common loadout you'll see a tough captain with a 2+,3+ which makes him very hard to hurt and with his relic blade he can probably chop up most things!

 

Paired Lightning Claws, Jump Pack, Artificer Armour - Useful for chopping up rank and file infantry like the puny mortals they are, this guy can take out loads of enemy units happily and sits well with squads using jump packs. Not so strong against tougher enemies without the strong relic blade however.

 

Bike, Relic Blade, Combi-Melta, Hellfire Rounds - A fast captain that swings hard with his blade, but also has a very lethal melta shot and tough rounds for anti-infantry. It's fearsome as a combination and only helped by the support of the other bikers or biker command squad.

 

2 Thunder Hammers, Artificer Armour, Digital Weapons - More of a fun build, but something thats unlikely to be found anywhere else in the army, it doesn't make good use of the captains initiative but he'll certainly have some fun clobbering people and the artificer armour will help him live long enough to smash the enemy!

 

There are many more however!

 

 

Strengths

 

The captains main strength is his fighting capability, hes a really tough guy! He can butcher most enemies before they can even raise their hands! His wargear options also mean that he won't be left wanting for the right gear for the job either and the fact he can take a command squad to compliment him means that he only gets better! He can also take ranged gear and often a combi-weapon and hellfire rounds means that he's not likely to go wanting in a gunfight either, although his profile means that he'll probably take close combat as his top priority. He can access a bike and unlock bikers as troops to score which invites rapid biker armies into play, this can change the whole feel of an army as now your troops are going to be rapidly moving accross the field and with a higher tougness and also it eliminates the need for tacticals or scouts as our main choice and gives us these rather hyped up speed junkies as the troop choice! The captain is pretty darn scary! Able to work with his command squad he can also afford to take thunder hammers or power fists which make him slower as his Feel No Pain allies decrease the threat to him a bit and give him so help in the fight!

 

 

Weaknesses

 

Well we know that the captain is a tough fighter, but thats more or less where he ends. He cannot support the army as a whole, nor does he buff a squad like the other options. In fact the only 2 things he unlocks are command squads and (if riding a bike) bikers as troops and the biker command squad. The option for terminator armour is somewhat redundent unless he is going to deep strike with terminators. Also against very hard melee opponents he will probably strike later and get hurt and as with with all independent characters he'll be singled out a lot too.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

Instead of doing 2 options in a single post i'll spread em out

 

Chapter Master

 

Wargear: Huge selection of melee weaponry and some specialist ranged weaponry normally allowed for sergeants

 

Purpose: Hardest hitting single unit in our army, useful to either support a unit with extra teeth or better yet head up an assault specialist unit

 

The chapter master is a full 25 points above the captain and has the same identical statline. However he gains access to the formidable weapon of Orbital Bombardment, which is a powerful explosive attack! He also has access to pretty much anything like the captain and the same deadly wargear which means that he favours melee combat and is very deadly there, whilst also having the tough and dangerous shooting ability. Instead of having a command squad he has his honour guard which are quite different, they cannot be unlocked by ANY other unit in the codex. He cannot get access to biker troops like the captain however!

 

Loadouts:

 

Relic Blade, Storm Shield, Artificer Armour - Little ranged punch, but with this common loadout you'll see a tough captain with a 2+,3+ which makes him very hard to hurt and with his relic blade he can probably chop up most things!

 

Paired Lightning Claws, Jump Pack, Artificer Armour - Useful for chopping up rank and file infantry like the puny mortals they are, this guy can take out loads of enemy units happily and sits well with squads using jump packs. Not so strong against tougher enemies without the strong relic blade however.

 

Relic Blade, Combi-Melta, Hellfire Rounds - A fast captain that swings hard with his blade, but also has a very lethal melta shot and tough rounds for anti-infantry. It's fearsome as a combination!

 

2 Thunder Hammers, Artificer Armour, Digital Weapons - More of a fun build, but something thats unlikely to be found anywhere else in the army, it doesn't make good use of the captains initiative but he'll certainly have some fun clobbering people and the artificer armour will help him live long enough to smash the enemy!

 

There are many more however!

 

 

Strengths

 

The chapter master has all the same strengths of the captain, his fighting capability, number of wounds and his wargear options also mean that he won't be left wanting for the right gear for the job. He can also take ranged gear and often a combi-weapon and hellfire rounds means that he's not likely to go wanting in a gunfight either, although his profile means that he'll probably take close combat as his top priority. He can also access the rather illusive honour guard which are fearsome foes, he works naturally with them and with their banner to increase his own prowess and with their tough profiles and power weapons they can form a very hardcore assault unit. He also has orbital bombardment which is probably what you pay 25 points for and is a 1 shot super explosion. For the price of a powerfist you get something that can probably anhilate anything the template sits on top of!

 

 

Weaknesses

 

Sadly the chapter master has all the weaknesses of the captain, he cannot support the army as a whole, nor does he buff a squad like the other HQ options. He also loses the command squad and biker troops options! The bike option then seems slightly out of place and uneccessary really, although he can always ride with regular bikes. This sadly leaves him slightly behind the captain in some regards, the fact that he doesn't really improve on the captains wargear or statline means that he's left feeling less powerful. The access to Orbital Bombardment isn't amazing either as it can be quite hit and miss.

[Captain Idaho]

I think you missed crucial elements of a Captain or Chapter Master; they both unlock units that are otherwise unobtainable.

 

The units themselves don't only come with what fighting potential they bring to the table, they also have the ability to enhance both characters. The Command squad grants an accompanying Captain Feel No Pain, making him much harder to kill from non-power weapon attacks and thus suitable to have a power fist as he probably won't get killed before he strikes.

 

The Honour Guard grant the Chapter Master a hard escort, becoming a solid centre inside a destructive unit. He also gets an extra attack in assaults, thanks to the Chapter Banner, making him much more destructive in assaults.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

A fair point Idaho! Though I have noted they unlock the squads.. Perhaps you'd like to tactical honour guard? I can think of noone finer for the job!

 

Also one note about the vindicator post darkguard, the demolisher cannon can only cause a single wound - making it less effective against multi-wound models!

[greatcrusade08]

the codex works best with force multipliers.. as idaho said the benefits the units give the ICs and the other way round need to be considered.

 

khan and command squad for example.

khan gives the squad furious charge and outflank, the squad gives khan FNP... win win all round

[Shadowstalker Grim]

I get what you're saying, but perhaps this is something worth delving into deeper in the actual squads themselves as the captain cannot offer much by himself on his lonesome! It is only with that squad he gains those powers, whilst often the squad have the abilities built into themselves anyway. If the captain offered a bonus like khan did it might be more worthwhile talking about. Needless to say i have made small mention of it as it is a valid point you bring and worth mentioning in the captain and chapter masters profiles.

[Validar]

I think you missed a huge point on the biker captain: He unlocks biker troop choices. This allows you to change the fundamentals around your force! You can build a force with tons and tons of scoring units, all t5 and fast as *bleep*!

 

The Command Squads and Honour Guard will most likely have their own mentions, but the biker captain who makes another unit troops enables you to pass up on the usual troop choices, take more bikes and generally have a far more mobile force.

 

Atleast mention it :D

[DarkGuard]

I think you missed a huge point on the biker captain: He unlocks biker troop choices. This allows you to change the fundamentals around your force! You can build a force with tons and tons of scoring units, all t5 and fast as *bleep*!

 

The Command Squads and Honour Guard will most likely have their own mentions, but the biker captain who makes another unit troops enables you to pass up on the usual troop choices, take more bikes and generally have a far more mobile force.

 

Atleast mention it :P

 

He's mentioned the fact that the biker captain shifts bike squads to troops, it's in the paragraph underneath Purpose and in Strengths, and I daresay when bike squads get done then the bike captain will be mentioned again, plus if we go ahead with plans to explain a few army types then the biker army list will be mentioned there as well.

 

@ Grim: A couple of good 101s there, well done. I know I would have shied away from such a diverse unit! :thanks:.

 

Also, sorry I didn't get round to Razorbacks today, was a little busier than I thought I'd be, they should be done tomorrow.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

bike is something that unlocks bikers as troop choices and increases his profile a small amount and adds obvious mobility.

 

He can access a bike and unlock bikers as troops to score which invites rapid biker armies into play.

 

 

I mentioned it twice! Well i'll mention a bit more about it, but largely bikers talk about themselves in their relevent section, though i'll add more depth about the biker cappys changing the whole dynamic bit :thanks:

 

EDIT: Beat me to it DarkGuard! Ah well...i'm sure i'll get more 101s up at some point too!

[DarkGuard]

Razorbacks

Razorbacks are the second dedicated transport in the Space Marine codex, and are normally compared to Rhinos. Coming in at base cost of just 5 more points than a Rhino, the Razorback offers increased firepower and options for decreased transport capacity.

 

Purpose:

A dedicated transport meant to ferry small units of Space Marines across the battlefield while laying down supportive fire.

 

Wargear:

Comes standard with a twin-linked heavy bolter, although this may be upgraded to a TL-heavy flamer, TL-assault cannon TL-lascannon or a lascannon/ TL-plasma gun turret. Also comes base with smoke launchers and a searchlight, and can be further upgraded with a dozer blade and extra armour to help movement, and a storm bolter and hunter killer to augment firepower.

 

Strengths:

The standard Razorback with heavy bolter is still a cheap transport, and it can still take small units of Space Marines across the board. Therefore they tend to be the transport of choice for Space Marine units utilising combat tactics or small squads. However, its biggest strength over the Rhino is the superior, more accurate firepower it can boast of, along with increased weapons options, including a TL-heavy flamer, TL- lascannon, TL- assault cannon and a lascannon TL- plasma gun turret. In large numbers the Razorback army can put out a lot of firepower while being scoring with small tactical squads inside.

 

The las plas Razorback is often considered the better choice when buying a weapons upgrade due it's ability to put out 3 high strength, low AP shots at close range, in addition to it having range at the beginning of the game with its lascannon.

 

Weaknesses:

The Razorback suffers from a small transport capacity, meaning that it cannot take 10 man tactical squads unless they split down into two separate combat squads. Furthermore, while a standard Razorback is a quite cheap, one with a weapons upgrade is quite expensive. This can be problem as the Razorback still has the low armour of a Rhino, meaning that they can be easily destroyed and taken out of action. Furthermore, for all Razorback variants apart from the las plas turret they have no redundancy, meaning a weapon destroyed result will take out their, often expensive, killing power. Also, if you are to upgrade the weapon, then it is unlikely that you'll be able to shoot it if you are using it as a transport, due to moving too fast, and thereby you are wasting points. Therefore, for Razorbacks going forward it is often better to stick with heavy bolters, while the longer-ranged variants are used as base objective holders, making some of the closer ranged weapon options undesirable.

 

Furthermore, Razorbacks do not have a fire point, unlike Rhinos, and so therefore the troops inside can do little else except twiddle their thumbs until they get out, or are forced out. Therefore, you can't do drive by heavy flamer shootings or the like, making them somewhat undesirable to some as the troops inside have to expose themselves.

 

Common builds:

TL- heavy bolter: cheap, and able to threaten the majority of infantry in addition to light vehicles.

 

TL- assault cannon: more expensive, but able to put out a large amount of accurate, rending shots that can decimate infantry and vehicles alike.

 

TL- lascannon: a home base defender, this vehicle can throw out a high powered shot each turn that is very likely to hit the unit its firing at.

 

Lascannon, TL- plasma gun: another home base defender, this upgrade is often preferred due to the addition of a plasma gun, which increases its capability against light vehicles and marine armies, while also increasing the survivability of the unit by having two weapons rather than one.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

Land Speeders

 

Wargear: A standard gun (Heavy flamer, Heavy Bolter or Multi-Melta), a second gun (same as before, with additional option of assault cannon) when in tornado pattern or a typhoon missile launcher when in typhoon pattern. So - 1 base weapon with possibility to have an additional weapon and a missile launcher

 

Purpose: Rapid moving weaponry to shoot out a variety of targets, primary purpose is rapid offensive heavy weapons

 

 

The Land speeder is something that should be highly valued and carefully used. It is a light platform that packs a fierce bite, carry heavy weapons and a good selection to choose from. Often it can be armed to take out multiple targets with one speeder making them good if they need to operate alone. Also speeders can have multiple different loadouts in the same squad to work different elements. They are fragile but powerful and the speed they have makes them so deadly as they can rapidly take out targets of opportunity.

 

 

Loadouts:

 

Heavy Flamer, Multi-Melta - For many the grail of combinations as its effective against both vehicles and infantry and can turn its hand to just about any battlefield opportunity.

 

Heavy Bolter, Typhoon Missile Launcher - A strong combination that is a decent threat to just about anything, but obviously focuses on lighter infantry and vehicles, but the missile launcher and bolter can both fire on the go as the 2 (yes 2!) frag missiles are defensive weapons! The choice between frag and krak is handy, though krak missiles should help smash vehicles nicely even if they aren't defensive weapons like the frags are.

 

Multi-Melta - A pure simple and cheap anti-tank platform that can rapidly move to shoot tanks down

 

 

Strengths

 

The main strength of the speeder is indeed its speed. It can move around and shoot targets of opportunity. It's ability to take out a variety of targets equip itself appropriately means that it is a really diverse unit that can really make the difference on the battlefield. Armed correctly the speeder can turn its hand to just about anything and will prove a real thorn in the side of an opponent, whilst its speed gives it the chance to bring such high powered weaponry to bear possible. It can also deep strike and cut right behind the enemy lines, which means it can deposity a nasty payload and shoot off to fight new targets. They are relatively cheap for what they do and this helps to mitigate the light armour they have.

 

Weaknesses

 

Well sadly the fall of these speeders are that they are fragile. Really fragile! They fall to pieces quite easily as they are only AV 10 all round. Effectively this means that although they are fiercesome and dangerous they are quite like glass arrows, they fly in and deal the damage but may well shatter to pieces after they do the damage. Of course this means that a savvy player may be able to keep the speeder at arms reach and keep it safe, but poorly used it can just fly in and die before it achieves anything. Another problem it has is that it cannot fire all weapons when moving at full speed (the typhoon pattern may be able to as it's missile launcher is a defensive weapon and can be fired happily on the go) so it may sacrafice some firepower for movement.

[DarkGuard]

A good review on the Speeder there Grim, just one amendment you might want to make and that is just making it clear that the frag missiles on the Typhoon are defensive weapons, whereas the krak are still main weapons. It might also be worth mentioning though that the missile launcher is on weapons system so that's two kraks a turn ;). I don't know if you've mentioned it, but deep striking is a strength, as it gives a deployment option and it can still fire a weapon (and all defensive weapons), making this an attractive option for MM/HF and MM speeders. Otherwise, good work :).

 

Drop Pod

The Drop Pod is the iconic transport of the Space Marines, and when they make planetfall their enemies often look to the skies to see several of these hitting their positions. This is Space Marine battle strategy at its finest, hitting the heart of the enemy and tearing it out through precise landings. Several units can take drop pods, from Tactical squads to mighty Dreadnoughts, so Drop Pod armies aren't unusual. A further rule of the Drop Pod means that half of them hit the ground in the first turn, meaning that with lots of Drop Pods a player can get big hitting units into position before his opponent has made a move.

 

Purpose:

The Drop Pod's purpose is to disgorge its contents into the heart of the enemy, letting them bring the full brunt of their firepower to bear, decimating the enemy. They are also useful for deploying your force tactically, reacting to threats that your opponent's force may have made.

 

Wargear:

Storm bolter, although this may be upgraded to the more powerful Deathwind launcher. A Drop Pod can also further be upgraded with a locator beacon, which works like a teleport homer except for all deep striking units, and so it is normally taken on Drop Pods being used in the first wave.

 

Strengths:

The Drop Pod's main strength is in letting units to deploy further up the board then would be possible, allowing them to bring their full firepower to bear. Furthermore, its armour of 12 all round makes it harder to kill than a Rhino, and say it may stay around longer, enabling it to block line of sight and contest objectives. It can carry a wide variety of units, including tactical squads, sternguard, jump pack units on foot and even dreadnoughts, meaning that a player can get massive killing power within range of the enemy quickly. Another key strength is its unpredictability, an opponent is not likely to know where you deploy it. Furthermore, if you were to scatter, the drop pod cannot land on units or impassable terrain, and so it is unlikely to be lost through a deep strike mishap. Finally, its locator beacon can make it easier to receive reinforcements in the right place through deep striking.

 

Weaknesses:

The drop pod rarely contributes nothing more to the army except deep striking. Like the Rhino is basic firepower is shocking, and some are unwilling to increase its points cost to increase its firepower. Furthermore, drop pods held in reserve could fail to turn up for ages, delaying valuable reinforcements for many turns. Despite the drop pod assault rule allowing half the drop pods to turn up first time, this is forced and you can't choose not to in undesirable situations, such as your opponent putting his entire army into reserved, allowing him to dictate the game and react to your deployment. Furthermore, drop pods are immobilized on entry, and are also open topped, making them somewhat fragile. While they cannot deep strike mishap due to units and terrain, they can by going off the board, often leading to valuable and expensive units dying inexplicably.

 

Common builds: with only two options, I will instead mention units that are likely to be in this transport.

MM/HF Dreadnought (sometimes Venerable): this unit is an alpha strike unit, able to drop in and either torch infantry or turn vehicles to slag. It's lifespan, however, is limited, and it will often die in one turn.

 

MG/HF Ironclad Dreadnought: this unit does the same as above, but has to deploy nearer to get its meltagun in range, although it is more survivable thanks to higher armour.

 

Sternguard squad: normally packing combi-flamers, combi-meltas and heavy flamers, this unit often combat squads, allowing the combi-meltas to destroy a big vehicle, while the flamers roast a unit. Slightly survivable due to breaking down into two units, they will still take a lot of firepower in the next turn.

 

Devastator squad with 4 multi-meltas: dropped straight into midfield where they can control the game through the use of their powerful meltas. Also the ability to combat squad to threaten individual targets.

 

 

Let me know if I've missed any other common units.

[Ookami_81]

Biker squad

 

Wargear: Everyone goes with twin linked bolters. Even with base 3 bikes, you've got access to two special weapons, either flamers, plasmaguns, or meltaguns. It should be noted that when choosing a special weapon, you replace a bolt pistol, and so your special doesn't replace the bike armament: you can choose what to use when firing depending on what you face and range. It should also be noted that your bikes are relentless, so you can use the shooting weaponry at its best and even charge after. Sarge can have a combi-weapon in all flavours and eventually a Fist or a power weapon. You have the option to add a assault bike to your squad, and up to five regular bikes.

 

Purpose: Difficult to explain quickly. I will divide into two parts:

- Bikes as "suicide" fast attack choice: to keep it simple, tank hunting. See loadouts and further comments.

- Bikes as troops: the backbone of your army. Very mobile troops (that cannot lose this ability early), resilient to anti-infantry fire due to T5, able to turboboost and benefit from a 3+ cover save when doing so, allowing rapid "redeployment" and survivability under heavy fire. And finally a very important point to remember: excellent shooting troops, and relatively poor (for PA standards) assault troops.

IMHO when properly use and supported the very best troop choice a C:SM army can have.

 

From now on, I will be in "bikes as troops" mode, because I don't know any people that'll choose bikes as fast melta delivery service in a non bike army instead of the much more usual assault bike multi-melta squadron.

 

Loadouts:

Regarding sergeants: being what they are in assault, I say that power fists and power weapons are not a good choice for biker sergeants, as every possible CC gear (Only known exception: a full biker squad with Khan on Moonraker. Here you want CC oriented weapons). Either you charge IG or tau or a really weakened squad to finish it in one assault phase, and you don't need one, either you're doing something stupid. Avoid at any cost any power weapon or fist like in assault, and of course MC. If you want to spend points on a special gear for the sergeant, choose a combi-weapon, but only as a point filler. A combi-flamer is always a good choice for a bike squad: your mobility garantee you will position yourself in order to use it, and you can avoid the worst if you know you'll be assaulted by killing as many enemies as possible during your violent short ranged fire before the assault. The other choice is a combi-melta in tank hunting units, but I don't think it's worth the cost. I generally diregard plasma other than the plasma cannon.

You can take two special weapons, and you have to: without them bikers are not up to what they should always be as troops. Two special weapons + mobility is everything bikers are.

As another general note always take an assault bike: this thing is a bike with 2HP, 2A, and a heavy weapon. It adds so much to your squad you can't discard it.

 

Tank Hunters: four bikes (including the sergeant), two meltaguns, one MM AB. Simple and straightforward: See a tank, run for it, shoot at point blank melta SR range: kaboom. Next one ! ... If you're lucky. These guys tend to be obliterated with furious anger next turn, either in assault or with heavy shell rain. Use survivors to avoid combat and shooting as much as possible, for example turbo-boosting each and every further turns, in order to capture or contest objectives turn 5. Choose this over MM AB squadron, you'll need FA slots for your long ranged firepower.

 

Troop killers: six bikes (including the sergeant), two flamers, on HB AB. Much trickier to use. If you see heavy infantry or big mob of light infantry, shooting at short range and charging will lead you to an unpleasant and long CC confrontation, that you'll lose, or if lucky, exit with such losses that your squad is now useless. You should do this only when facing:

- really inferior light infantry like tau firewarriors, eldar guardians, or basic IG. You can even multi-charge those in order to avoid their fire.

- weakened regular infantry, like half tac squads, mobs of truk boys and the like.

- avoid at all costs: CC specialists, MCs, heavy infantry full squads.

Remember your flamers are optionnal and flamer equipped bikes can use their TL Bolters at long range.

The Key to success here is to weaken everything before finishing them off, either by mass long range shooting or by "kiting" less mobile troops, that is shooting from 24" single bolter shots, and using superior mobility to avoid contact.

If you plan to face horde armies here the combi-flamer on the sarge will shine.

 

Another choice here is the "elite troop killer" with plasma rifles instead of flamers. Some will say they can also take light transports, but I dislike this loadout: not enought plasma fire to be really effective, plasma just too weak against vehicles, and get hot sucks when you've got few bodies in your squad.

 

The thing with bikes is that you have neither a really powerful long ranged firepower, neither face bashing CC units. If you've got a shooter mentality, you can perfectly live without the second one... or add hammernators in LR to your list, or even a CC biker command squad. On the opposite, long range firepower is mandatory because your bikes will not be able to take out massive mobs of infantry, and be in danger if you pop transports with them, and have to assault the loadout of those transports. That's the reason why you choose troops as tank hunter units: you'll need all the rest of you FOC slots to buy heavy firepower to support your troops. Here the name of the game is: Typhoons, Riflemen dreadnoughts or combi/dakka/preds, Typhoons, Vindicators, Typhoons, Whirlies, and oh, I'm pretty sure I forgot to mention the outmost importance of Typhoons.

 

Strength:

1) Mobility without having to count on a transport that can be shot turn one.

2) Versatility in firepower.

3) Toughness on an individual plan.

4) Five bikers have nearly the same bolter fire output at 24" compared to a full tactical squad, and they moved twice as much before shooting. In fact they can be compared to five tactical pew pew termies.

 

Weaknesses:

1) To powerful weapons, beware of plasma, AT weapons, PFists/Klaws

2) Low body count

3) In assault, exceptionally when stuck in CC for more than one turn.

 

Think of your biker squads as light tanks units. They can be everywhere very fast, can shred everything they're designed to take very effisciently and very fast, but they really need C.A.S. and artillery to shine.

[Validar]

well, well, looks like I got it all wrong on the bikers :( I'll see if second time is a winner:

 

On razorbacks: I think it is worth mentioning that you give up the top-hatch ability when you compare to the rhino. Letting your marines shoot their weapons from inside their transport is gold, especially with the assault weapons that needs to be up-close and personal before they work.

This is what makes me think the heavy bolter razorback is actually worse than the rhino, in spite of the higher pointcost. As long as you have marines inside it with an assault weapon, the rhino will be better, and your marines will in most cases not leave their rhino until it blows to bits :tu:

[Captain Idaho]

@Darkguard: Nice work on the Razorback but I think you need to touch upon an important element when using them.

 

A weakness on the Razorback that i think is often overlooked and that is when you are using a Razorback as a transport you often can’t shoot its main gun, therefore if you upgrade it’s weapons and actually intend to use it as a transport (shock, horror!) you will be potentially wasting a lot of points.

 

A fair point Idaho! Though I have noted they unlock the squads.. Perhaps you'd like to tactical honour guard? I can think of noone finer for the job!

 

That’s fair enough that the units have their own mentions, but it is definitely worth touching on the benefits to the character by association to their “unlock”, though only briefly.

 

I will see if I can find time to do an Honour Guard 101 in your style here for you. I plan on doing a full article on their usage sometime, but as always my eyes are too big for my belly and I have so many projects on the go I end up taking forever to finish any of them.

[DarkGuard]

@ Validar and Idaho. You guys got me there, completely forgot out forfeiting the top hatch ability and I should have mentioned more about our Razorbacks not being to shoot if they want to transport. Thanks for the heads up guys, I'll get that sorted asap :unsure:.

 

Also thank you writing that Bike tactica Ookami_81, personally I'm not a biker fan so wouldn't have been able to provide such an in depth tactica on them.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

Ah good call on the typhoon missile launchers, i hadn't realised that about them!

 

Land Raider

 

Wargear: Two Twin Linked Lascannons and a Twin Linked Heavy Bolter, options for almost any vehicle upgrades but notably Multi-Melta, Hunter Killer Missile, Extra Armour

 

Purpose: The land raider is a heavily armoured tank with a good transport capacity. As with all land raider variants, it is the only vehicle that can take Terminator units.

 

 

The humble and original version of the land raider, often named 'Godhammer' for the lascannons. It's wargear means that at a range it can shred tanks to pieces happily, whilst the heavy bolters can mulch up light infantry. It's heavy armour make it one of the hardest vehicles in the game to get rid of and its fearsome wargear in combination with that make it a real threat, but in addition it can fire nicely on the move thanks to the Power Of The Machine Spirit (POTMS). And after all this, it can also carry troops inside it, but with an assault ramp built in as standard, it means that they can assault right out of the beast!

 

 

Loadouts: Usually it needs to take nothing extra, though extra armour and multi-meltas or Hunter Killer Missiles are common additions to give it a little more bite.

 

 

Strengths:

 

The strength of the land raider comes in its AV 14 all round armour. It has a very hard hide to get through which will shrug off all but the most powerful weapons quite happily. It also packs two twin linked lascannons which can tear to pieces any tank really, though it excels at shooting out lighter vehicles rather than tougher ones. It's bolters also help it fight the rank and file infantry, although a tank shock also helps there. The strength of the weapons is further increased by POTMS which helps the vehicle scoot and shoot without losing any firepower, even if it has suffered some minor damage! This comes in handy when looking at its second purpose of taking troops, this ability lets it take up to 12 regular infantry or 6 terminators. This in itself means that whole squads can sit inside safely with perhaps the best protection around, but with the assault ramp it can give assault units maximum protection before they get to their objectives and then get stuck right in! Terminators, in particular the assault variety, almost seem like they were born to run out of land raiders of any variety. The loadout of the land raider means that it compliments a variety of squads quite nicely.

 

 

Weaknesses:

 

The flaws in the land raider are quite excruciating. First up is the fact it is a costly investment of 250 points, something that is going to take up a massive chunk of army and then theres the squad inside, usually looking at 400+ odd points in 2 units! Often that will mean around 1/3 of the army! Secondly the land raider in this varient is a little confused, it looks like it wants to sit back and use the range of the lascannons to kill off enemies, but the assault ramp wants the land raider to charge in and deposity its cargo, which leaves it with a dilemma in what to do. The fact it is AV 14 gives it good shielding but means that it'll be top priority for the enemies biggest weapons, especially with a worthwhile target inside. The land raider also lacks firepoints like the rhino does, so whatever unit is inside cannot shoot out of it! This is a big problem if you plan on moving a shooting squad as it means to shoot they'll have to disembark.

[DarkGuard]

A good overview of the Land Raider there, thanks for doing that. A couple of points though, I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning a lack of firepoints again, as the unit inside cannot contribute anything until they get out. Of course, I'm not too concerned about this because the firepower of the Land Raider is more than enough. The other thing though, is that our PotMS is amazing and shoots at BS 4, unlike the Templars and older Codices that are BS 2, but that's the only mistake I can find. I may, however, nick a few of your comments so that I can do.....

 

Land Raider Redeemer

The Land Raider Redeemer (LRR) is a Space Marine assault vehicle of the highest calibre. Based around the older Land Raider Crusader, this variant is distinguishable in having superior anti-infantry and in particular anti-marine firepower, while being cheaper than the other two variants, although it does sacrifice some of the transport capacity of the Crusader variant.

 

Wargear: Two sponson flamestorm cannons and a hull mounted twin-linked assault cannon, in addition to frag assault launcher. It has options for almost any vehicle upgrades but notably the multi-melta, hunter killer missile and extra armour.

 

Purpose: The land raider is a heavily armoured tank with a good transport capacity. As with all land raider variants, it is the only vehicle that can take Terminator units. The LRR in particular looks to get into the front lines and deliver its often lethal load into the enemy lines.

 

Strengths: A big strength of the LRR is shared with all other Land Raiders, that of having armour 14 all round, thereby making it impervious to all but the strongest of weapons. Furthermore, this armoured shell not only carries troops but also highly destructive firepower in the form of two flamestorm cannons. Both of these guns are S6 AP3 flamer weapons, thereby meaning they will wound the vast majority of models easily, while bypassing their armour save and disallowing any cover saves. The LRR also has an assault cannon, which is handy for shooting up infantry or vehicles, or just for shooting while on the move. The LRR also has Power of the Machine Spirit, enabling it to shoot additional weapons than usual and continue shooting in every turn until it is destroyed or has all its guns knocked off

 

The frag assault launchers on the LRR further its cause as an assault vehicle, granting any unit charging out of it frag grenades, units being able to charge out of the LRR even when moving due to its assault vehicle rule. Also, when taken with its preferred cargo load of Assault Terminators, the LRR doesn't take up a heavy support slot, becoming a dedicated transport instead. Furthermore, it is cheaper than the other variants, and those points could make all the difference.

 

It is worth noting that the flamestorm cannons do something that other units in the Codex cannot so readily do, kill other Marines effortlessly, and this is also a prime strength and reason to take them.

 

Weaknesses: Despite being cheaper the LRR is still very expensive, especially when you combine its cost with its cargo. It also has no option for a dozer blade or siege shield, and so it could immobilize itself if it tries to go through difficult terrain. However, the biggest weakness of the LRR are the flamestorm cannons which are its strength. Compared to the Land Raider Crusader, the LRR cannot fire every weapon if it moves, having to be content with firing only one or two. Furthermore, the flamestorm cannons require the LRR to be in melta range in order to use them, making it more vulnerable to melta weaponry which tends to easily destroy it. The LRR also has no fire points, so there is no ability for drive by shootings (although its inbuilt weaponry should really be enough).

 

Common builds: Usually it needs to take nothing extra, though extra armour and multi-meltas are common additions to give it a little more bite.

[Shadowstalker Grim]

Thanks for pointing those out, its nice to have things ive missed pointed out because I feel like people actually take the time to read it and make suggestions and point out silly things that ive missed! Ok, onward and upwards!

 

Chaplain

 

Wargear: Rosarius, Crozius Aranum, Bolt pistol, variety of replacement guns for the bolt pistol and some extras such as terminator armour options, jump pack, bike, melta bombs and digital weapons to supplement fighting ability

 

Purpose: Buff the squad he joins by allowing re-rolls to hit opponents, which means more damage output! This means he works best in assault units.

 

 

The chaplain is the spirtual centre of the chapter and works alongside units in battle rising their power to new levels with his special abilities. The chaplain himself is reasonable fighter, he comes with his own power weapon and invulnerable save, but isn't as strong as a captain so somewhat blurs the line between librarian and captain, as he fights and buffs but not overly on either front. He has the right tools to join just about any squad he feels like and can offer some significant power to that squad, especially if the squad he is joining happens to be an assault based squad.

 

Loadouts:

 

Plain - A cheap and cheerful leader thats pretty basic but useful and comes with a built in power weapon and invulnerable save!

 

Terminator Armour - For when hes marching with terminators, hes got the power weapon and stormbolter and gets tougher thanks to the armour.

 

Jump Pack - Probably one of the most common variants, it means he can fly around and drop a lot of pain on people with a rapid moving squad

 

Biker chaplain - Usually taken in conjunction with a biker command squad and captain for a very tough and fast close combat command unit

 

 

Strengths

 

The strengths of the chaplain are in his buffs really. He packs a reasonable statline and has access to a modest selection of wargear to increase his power, but generally you'll take him for what he does to a squad rather than anything else. He has the potential to turn a solid squad into a real killing machine! In fact he works in just about any assault unit! In particular he works well with assault marines, who aren't amazing assault specialists, by making them much more damaging and also he works with units that rely on massed power weapon attacks to kill their targets, like honour guard, by increasing their damage output. This means that the squad he works with is going to benefit from his prescence and become more powerful, whilst the chaplain himself isn't left lacking in the fight either thanks to his built in power weapon.

 

 

Weaknesses

 

The weaknesses of the chaplain are that he's a bit underpar in some ways. His fighting ability is reasonable but not amazing and on his own he can't be expected to kill much, the rather lacking selection of wargear to help him power up means that often he'll be left lacking in a fight (digital weapons is about all he can use to boost his power weapon). His ability also affects a single unit that he has to join. He works with assault units but, outside of the command squad and honour guard (which he works very well with but this is another 200+ points) this leaves terminators of both kinds and assault marines and vanguard veterans. Whilst not exactly spoilt for choice it'll be a marginal improvement to the squad that you're paying a 100+ points upgrade for and that can hurt if the squad isn't something you're building the army around. In comparison to the tough fighting captain and the army buffing and psychic protecting all round librarian the chaplain perhaps loses out to not being quite as useful.

[DarkGuard]

Thanks for pointing those out, its nice to have things ive missed pointed out because I feel like people actually take the time to read it and make suggestions and point out silly things that ive missed! Ok, onward and upwards!

 

No worries, I know what you mean, and it's also on a project like this that you want feedback to make sure everything is good. The Chaplain entry looks very good as well, can't see much wrong with it, perhaps a quick mention about digi weapons being an option to increase his somewhat mediochre killing power (I don't rate S4 power weapons that much but that's me). Thanks again for stepping in to do the Chaplain.

[DarkGuard]

OK then, sorry about the delay in more 101s, was a bit busy yesterday, so today I shall treat you all with Land Raider Crusaders:

 

Land Raider Crusader

The Land Raider Crusader (LRC) is a Space Marine assault vehicle of the highest calibre. A variant of the Phobos pattern Land Raider, this variant is distinguishable in having superior anti-infantry, even when on the move, and an increased transport capacity.

 

Wargear: Two sponson hurricane bolters and a hull mounted twin-linked assault cannon, in addition to frag assault launcher. It has options for almost any vehicle upgrades but notably the multi-melta, hunter killer missile and extra armour.

 

Purpose: The land raider is a heavily armoured tank with a good transport capacity. As with all land raider variants, it is the only vehicle that can take Terminator units, although the LRC can hold more men, either 16 in power armour or 8 in Terminator armour. The LRC in particular looks to get into the front lines and deliver its often lethal load into the enemy lines.

 

Strengths: A big strength of the LRC is shared with all other Land Raiders, that of having armour 14 all round, thereby making it impervious to all but the strongest of weapons. Furthermore, this armoured shell not only carries troops but also impressive firepower in the form of six twin linked bolters, an a twin linked assault cannon, and the option for more weapon options. As the bolters are a defensive weapon, the LRC can always fire them regarded it doesn't go past combat speed, allowing it to lay down a withering hail of fire on the enemy.Furthermore, even when moving combat speed and firing the assault cannon and bolters it doesn't use up its PotMS shot, and so can use that to fire a multi-melta at a different target. If the LRC wants to move full distance, it doesn't have to worry too much about wasting shots (bolter shots) and can fire the assault cannon. Truly the LRC is a fantastic battle tank in its ability to fire everything on the move.

 

The frag assault launchers on the LRC further its cause as an assault vehicle, granting any unit charging out of it frag grenades, units being able to charge out of the LRC even when moving due to its assault vehicle rule. Furthermore, you can fit more Terminators in it thanks to its enhanced transport capacity. Also, when taken with its preferred cargo load of Assault Terminators, the LRR doesn't take up a heavy support slot, becoming a dedicated transport instead.

 

Weaknesses: The LRC is very expensive, especially when you combine its cost with its cargo. It also has no option for a dozer blade or siege shield, and so it could immobilize itself if it tries to go through difficult terrain. If it has assault units in it, the LRC will seek to get close to enemy, and so put itself into melta range, would wouldn't prove beneficial to it. It also isn't as destructive as its younger brethren, the Land Raider Redeemer. Like all other Land Raiders there are no firing points, and so a unit inside will have to get out in order to contribute to the shooting phase.

 

Common builds: Usually it needs to take nothing extra, though extra armour and multi-meltas are common additions to give it a little more bite.

 

 

And....

 

Whirlwind

Wargear: Whirlwind multiple missile launcher, complete with two firing modes: one which is a heavy bolter big blast and one which is a flamer big blast.

 

Purpose: Space Marine artillery, designed to shell opponents who are out of range of conventional weapons are out of sight, and to pin them in place while the bulk of the force advances. Is extremely effective against medium to light infantry, and light infantry in cover.

 

The Whirlwind doesn't tend to fit into traditional Space Marine warfare as well as the Predator or the Land Raider, but that makes it no more valuable. While it cannot itself advance on the enemy, it can support them by providing covering fire, keeping the enemy pinned until the main force makes contact with them. Furthermore, it is able of redeploying, meaning that if it needs to it can roll up behind the Space Marine advance at some distance.

 

Strengths:

The main strength of a Whirlwind is the nature of its weapon, it's an indirect fire weapon. Therefore, despite it's armour being the same as a Rhino, it can hide in cover or out of line of sight and still fire at the enemy. It's shots are large blasts, meaning that when they hit they'll hit a lot of things, and when they scatter they'll still probably hit something! As it is an ordnance barrage, it also causes pinning more readily than other pinning weapons, potentially impeding your enemy's plans by preventing one of his units from doing anything for a turn.

 

The Whirlwind is also flexible, with its multiple missile launcher allowing it to fire different missiles. One of them has the statline of a heavy bolter, and so can wound and kill light to medium infantry in the open with ease, while power armoured infantry will still take a few saves from a direct hit. It's other firing mode is a little less powerful, but has the ability to ignore cover, meaning that light infantry hiding in cover will often be incinerated. This is incredibly useful for attempting to get those pathfinders off of an objective, or to downgrade a powerful cover save to a more mediocre armour save.

 

Weaknesses:

The Whirlwind has weak armour, matching that of a Rhino or Razorback, but is substantially more expensive than either. This means that a simple missile launcher or autocannon is likely to knock it out of action if it sees it. Like the Vindicator, is only has one gun, and so your opponent only needs a weapon destroyed result to disable it. While it can mitigate this weakness somewhat by hiding behind cover, its shots are liable to scatter more, and as it has one shot per turn any missed shot can be a big loss and means it has contributed barely anything in the turn. Finally, while its weapon is great for light to medium infantry, it does little to Space Marines and hardly anything to tanks, thereby making its roll somewhat one dimensional.

 

Common builds: Whirlwinds are often taken with no upgrades, as they rarely have any need for any.