Best Combos -- Tactical Doctrine + Scions of Guilliman

[L30n1d4s]

There are so many possibilities with these two new rules (not to mention all the new components of Angels of Death) that it is almost impossible to take it all in.... I am definitely excited about what Ultramarines will be able to do competitively going forward, with or without Guilliman support!

 

That said, out the gate, here are what I think are some of the best "battle group" combos for UMs when they have the Tactical Doctrine (and, hence, Scions of Guilliman as well) activated:

 

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1) 5 x Aggressors (with Flamestorm Gauntlets) in Repulsor with Roboute Guilliman -- Guiliman follows behind the Repulsor to buff its shooting Turn 1 as it moves up 10" toward the enemy lines. Turn 2, the Aggressors unload 3" and move up another 5" with Guilliman right behind them (and you activate Tactical Doctrine/Scions of Guilliman) -- you then shoot your opponent with 20D6 automatically hitting S4 AP-1 shots (averaging 70 hits!)... with Guilliman's re-rolls of 1s to Wound, that averages 41 unsaved wounds on Orks, 20 unsaved wounds on Marines, or even 6 unsaved wounds on a T8 3+ save Imperial Knight.

 

You can then charge right after this with the Aggressors and Guilliman.... thanks to Angels of Death, that is 15 x S8 AP-3 DmgD3 attack, re-rolling all to Hits and 1s  to Wound, not to mention Guilliman's attacks if he makes the charge as well.... easily enough to finish off even a Castellan that has already suffered multiple wounds from shooting. Aditionally, thanks to Codex Discipline, if the Aggressors do get stuck in combat, they can simply fall back and shoot with 10D6 auto-hitting S4 AP-1 shots (again, still re-rolling wounds, thanks to Guilliman) and, if they are charged after that, then they can overwatch with the same shooting, making it almost suicidal to try and get into melee with them.

 

Finally, while all this is going on, the Repulsor can continue to move up and provide heavy fire support (buffed by Guilliman's re-rolls) and, for all of its "secondary" Rapid Fire/Assault weapons, gaining a -1AP, thanks to Scions of Guilliman. Put it all together, and you have a potent anti-infantry/anti-tank battle group that is dangerous at both range and in close combat.

 

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2) 3 x Sicaran Battle Tanks (with 3 x HBs each) with Biker Smash Captain (SM Bike plus TH/Shield Eternal Relic), JP Lieutenant (BP and Teeth of Terra Relic), and 9 Scout Bikers (Sgt with TH/SB) -- The entire battle group advances as a unit, with the Captain/Lieutenant in the middle to provide re-rolls and the Scout Bikers up front to screen from enemy charges. Turn 2 activate Tactical Doctrine/ Scions of Guilliman... this means that the Scout Bikers can put out 40 x S4 AP-1 shots out to 24" (and another 18 S4 AP-1 shots at 12" range) to shred enemy light infantry/screens, all with re-rolls from the Captain and Lieutenant. 

 

Simultaneously, the Sicarans can shoot with no penalty to their Heavy Bolters and their Accelerator Cannons gain -1AP (so now S7 AP-2 D2, Assault 8, with no penalty when shooting at units that can Fly)... combine with re-rolls from the Captain/ Lieutenant, that means they average 14-15 wounds against a T7 3+ Flyer like a Storm Raven (so killing it outright in a single Shooting Phase) and 19-20 wounds against a T6 3+ Eldar Flyer (so almost enough to kill two of them... add in the Flak Missile Stratagem and a Smite and you have two dead Hemlocks or Crimson Hunter Exarchs, on average).

 

On top of this, the 27 "Relentless" Heavy Bolter shots on the Sicarans can help clean up against infantry/light vehicles, etc., while the Scout Bikers continue to screen against enemy Smites, assault etc. Finally, if you do need to charge/counter-charge, the Smash Captain, Teeth of Terra Lieutenant, and Scout Biker Sergeant with Thunder Hammer provide a real close combat capability that can deal with all but the toughest melee adversaries. The best part of this battle group is that, thanks to the high movement characteristic (i.e. 12" or more a turn) of all the units in it and the Ultramarine ability to fall back from combat and still shoot, it has tremendous flexibility and can maneuver where you need it to be all game long.

 

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3) Captain in TDA, Lieutenant in Phobos Armor, Relic Leviathan Dread (2 x Gravflux Bombard in a Dreadnought Drop Pod), three squads of Devastators (each with 10 models, x5 bolters, Sgt with SB, and x4 Multimeltas, and riding in a Drop Pod) -- This is obviously a "drop force" style battle group which starts in Reserve. Turn 2, activate Tactical Doctrine/Scions of Guilliman, then bring in the entire force. The Leviathan uses its Gravflux Bombards to either deal with hordes or do high damage against tough targets like vehicles, all while ignoring the -1 to hit for moving because of Scions of Guilliman (and also re-rolling 1s to Hit/to Wounds, thanks to the Captain and Lieutenant).

 

Simultaneously, the two Devastator squads unload, their Bolters Rapid Firing with 42 x S4 AP-1 shots out to 24" to kill more infantry while their 12 x "relentless" Multi-Meltas take on a hard target, like an Imperial Knight, with re-rolls on the D6 damage thanks to being inside the 12" melts range (and, of course, benefitting from character re-rolls to be improve their accuracy and chances to wound). This battle group can operate independently from your main army, or can work in conjunction with it, based on the tactical situation, and since it starts in reserve, is safe from enemy attacks until at least the turn after you deploy it.

[StraightSilver]

I'm actually thinking Infiltrators with the comms uplink are going to be a must have as they will be taking advantage of the Tactical Doctrine with re-rolls without having to have a LIeutenant or Captain nearby.

[Captain Idaho]

I too am flustered with all the combinations - and we don't even know what the Strategums and other bonuses will be yet!

 

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Let me play too:

 

Scouts with Bolters and Heavy Bolter are a cost effective and reasonable choice to fill out a Battalion for cheap CPs, that I feel we will be needing now ;)

 

Marine horde marching up the table with all the rerolls. Personally I think Primaris do this better. Let's take Guilliman out of the equation - Primaris have a little more staying power to be able to soak up fire in a game of attrition.

 

Both can do it of course as Tactical Marines can put pressure on with Heavy weapons alongside other units. Hmmm. Perhaps a mixed force is best...

 

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Many of us default to pure Classic Marines or pure Primaris. There is possibly a 3rd way. A large Primaris Intercessor squad or 2 marching forward taking fire and attention with Classic Marines holding back with their heavy weapons under the Devastator Doctrine, able to follow up when the switch to Tactical Doctrine comes.

 

This works well as Classic Marines have a greater access to Heavy Weapons overall and Primaris can advance under the new Warlord Trait to use the Tactical Doctrine alongside the Devastator Doctrine.

 

A really powerful combination coming there.

 

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Combined arms for me.

 

Bracket the opponent early game with Devastator Doctrine, meaning plenty of Heavy weapons. Whirlwinds and Thunderfire Cannons just went up in value. Anything with a Heavy Bolter just became crucial due to range. Missile Launchers became cheaper Lascannons against all bar T8 yet have AP-1 frag as well if needed.

 

Special mention goes out to Centurions, Redemptor Dreadnoughts, Repulsors and Predators under the Devastator Doctrine. I personally feel the superior range of Classic Marines benefits more under this Doctrine but anything that dishes out large amounts of heavy shots is formidable.

 

A truly balanced Ultramarines list shouldn't jump straight to the Tactical Doctrine, especially since we can now use Master of Strategy to get the best of both worlds.

 

I'm actually going to make the rest brief because I feel a full article coming along and I'd like to get the whole Supplement in my hands first!

 

Suffice to say after moving forward under heavy weapons support, we can switch it up as needed to carry on pressuring the opponent with higher quality. As such I want mid ranged specialists and the Troops section is where this is found for cheap. Marching Tactical Marines can fire heavy weapons without penalty once we switch to Tactical Doctrine, which also means jumping out of a transport is worthwhile again.

 

In fact, my Grav Cannon used to miss a bunch of shots and now can support my double plasma again as a hit squad. I'm willing to bet I'll still get reroll to hits in a Strategum form for them eh ;)

 

And those who know me know I love Honour Guard and assault so my Vanguard squads are the crucial finishing element to my list.

 

Oh and Dreads. I'm a Dread-nut. There will be Dreadnought support.

[Ishagu]

Grav Cannon Devastators are something I am thrilled to bring back. A cheap-ish unit that is firing 18 grav cannon shots hitting on a 3 upon disembarking from a Razorback.

[Prot]

Funny I actually played Grav Devs..,, deep striking in pods coming down around Guilliman for a while in 8 th. I was just thinking how that list just got a boost.

 

Again I like cheap suppressors even better. Also run and gun sniper scouts are even better at grabbing objectives.

 

The thing about the Infiltrator radar thingy... I think it can only take advantage of “Phobos” command auras so I don’t know if I’ll ever use it.

[Joukernaut]

The phobos captain is pretty usefull with his 12 inch deepstrike denial.

[Captain Idaho]

We all have our style. There's plenty of stuff I don't use.

 

I think Suppressors will do better not just under the Tactical Doctrine but really enjoy the Devastator Doctrine. AP-2 Autocannons is amazing.

[Valdr Fell-fist]

I believe the Suppressor Autocannons are already AP-2, brother. So AP-3 under Devastator Doctrine.....

[Prot]

What about the Stalker Bolter with Scions and the new rules? Auto Bolters are better now too and again I’m using my Reivers as well as part of the Tactical Doctrine and Scions.