Masters of the Chapter - Master of the Forge

[Captain Idaho]

Continuing the Masters of the Chapter series with possibly the most effective of the bunch, the Master of the Forge.

 

Master of the Forge - Overview

 

A Techmarine is already a great choice for Space Marines, since they are so cheap in points, taking up a mandatory HQ slot whilst also happening to be effective at what they do. Honestly, for 45pts (the cheapest cost one can be fielded) you'll not find better value in the Codex. Try. Go away and take a look. Find it? Nope, didn't think so.

 

We should go over the stock standard options in depth and consider the roles of a Masters of the Forge before we talk about Warlord Traits and Relics, though the over all role may change when you consider these options.

 

A Master of the Forge can have basic equipment with the Servo Arm, which is likely what you'll consider optimum if you fancy a support role for your inexpensive character. If he's fixing vehicles that act as fire support, this is definitely the most cost effective option. After all, why throw investment on a character to have him never use?

 

However, that isn't to say a Servo Harness or power weapon/Relic of some kind is totally wasted on the Master of the Forge, as battles often get close and deadly. The guy is already cheap so why not if you got the points spare and expect Blood Angels or Genestealer Cults getting close?

 

Since he's supporting vehicles, this could be where the Warlord Trait Master of the Machine can be considered an excellent investment. Giving ALL Chapter vehicles within 6" a lovely +1 to hit (both shooting and close combat) will likely see opponents chewing their bottom lip with consternation, especially if one of the vehicles is a Dreadnought with Wisdom of the Ancients.

 

Has your jaw ever dropped when you see just how many shots a Repulsor gets? Or a Land Raider and it's Lascannons? Get obnoxious and support them with a character that gives bonuses to hit as well repairs them a flat 3 a turn!

 

On the flip side of this playstyle would be Warden of the Ancients as Warlord Trait, fully equipped with a Servo Harness and marching up the table alongside some heavy hitting Dreadnoughts. Thanks to the benefits we get from the Tactical Doctrine, Ultramarines armies can select a multitude of different ancient heroes to assail an opponent, all of which can lay down a hail of fire as they get close enough to charge the enemy. Don't forget to repair Dreadnoughts as you go, whilst using Strategum support such as Duty Eternal to elongate the survivability of the Master of the Forge's charges.

 

I consider faster moving Dreadnoughts an ideal choice in this regard, since they can put pressure on an opponent right away. The Contemptor and Redemptor Dreadnoughts are a nice pairing, or better yet a pair of Contemptor Dreadnoughts charging forward under the supportive fire of the Redemptor, since the speed of the former will see them hitting the enemy soon.

 

Special mention goes to the Forge World Dreadnoughts. Relic Contemptor Dreadnoughts are excellent choices to march up the table and assault things alongside a Warden of the Ancients, whilst a Leviathan and Deredeo can blast the enemy to the warp under the guidance of a Master of the Machine. Healing 3 a turn on a Leviathan that is taking half damage is a joy to behold and will make your opponent do that uncomfortable smile and eye twitch we all get sometimes playing 40K.

 

I don't consider it prudent to take more than a single Warlord Trait on him, since it will be a Strategum you cannot use elsewhere whilst costing you another Command point for the pleasure. At that point, if you're putting that much investment into your Techmarine I just have to consider the 10th Company recruiters must have picked up Neophytes from the Iron Hands in the Land Speeder Storm by accident!

 

As you can tell, the wargear you grant your Master of the Forge I consider secondary to the mission of supporting your army appropriately. However, don't forget the Master of the Forge had a BS2+ as well as a 2+ save, so fire that bolter, throw that grenade and remember; he is a Space Marine.

 

Other Warlord Traits are down to preference but I don't recommend any if I'm honest. The Master of the Forge Warlord Traits should be all a character like this requires. The one exception I might consider is using Exemplar of the Chapter to grant him Iron Will, which should keep him alive a little longer if he's moving up the table for a fight. That would mean he is your Warlord, but then in this circumstance I presume you've surrounded him with Dreadnoughts to back up your investment.

 

Other than that, remember a combat character is going to give you more bang for your credits, so only consider this if you've got a very specific playstyle in mind. The Techmarine being cheap is an advantage so consider a cheap Master of the Forge his advantage; stick to support.

 

Relics

 

Starting with the Master of the Forge specific Relics, we have the Endurant Protector. If your Master of the Forge is getting stuck in, working alongside a Dreadnought assault force with Warden of the Ancients, a boost to toughness and a 4+ invulnerable save will go a long way to keep him alive longer.

 

The other Master of the Forge Relic is the Mortis Machina. It's not a bad weapon but really feels wasted on a model with Techmarine stats. If you give it to a model with a Servo Harness, you're wasting 2 attacks, if you charge your Master of the Forge into a Dreadnought you have to remember you only have WS3+ on this model. However, with a spate of hits and a clutch of wounds, you can cause a little extra damage to a vehicle which is nice. If I'm honest I wish I could give this to a Captain since axes are cool and this would provide quite a buff.

 

Ultimately, the 2nd specific Relic isn't quite as hot a choice and neither are particularly useful on a Master of the Forge supporting vehicles with Master of the Machine. Tighter games need to manage points and Command Points well, doubly so in tournaments.

 

Consideration of other Relics must be given and there are a couple that are solid in the hands of any Master of the Forge.

 

First up I consider the Primarch's Wrath to be very well suited to this model. Hitting on a 2+, with Tactical Doctrine in effect, means your top Techmarine can still contribute to the battle whilst fixing vehicles safely behind the main conflict zone. This is an excellent weapon and one more people in Ultramarines circles should consider - damage 2, 4 shots (most of the time) at Strength 5 AP -2... the bargain this weapon provides is unmatched at zero points.

 

The other contender here is Vengeance of Ultramar. Replacing a mere 2pt weapon, this gun will give you a volume of fire that will make people think you've appropriated Tau tech! Personally I'd save this for a Paragon of War Biker Captain simply because 12 shots on that platform is pretty nasty, but you definitely haven't made a mistake if you plum for this upgrade. Remember the Tactical Doctrine helps quite a bit here, so you can put down 8 shots at range and expect some to stick.

 

The Seal of Oath is, as always, a powerful option and since the Master of the Forge is often supporting your fire support units, he will do very well with this Relic.

 

Other options I don't feel make the cut, however. Why take pistols when you can give the aforementioned Relics to a Master of the Forge? If he's getting close enough to use a pistol, he probably needs protection, in which case the Endurant Protector wins out over things like Articifer Armour, The Armour Indomitus and the Tarentian Cloak as a 2+ save still has a 5+ against AP-3. At only 4 wounds, you're better off preventing them than healing them.

 

Likewise, close combat weapons are will be difficult to justify on such a character. Does he need the Teeth of Terra when he's hanging behind vehicles? The Mordant Machina is still a powerful weapon remember and for a model that prefers shooting to close combat, you're just wasting potential here.

 

Similarly a support character like this won't make much use of the Helm of Censure or the Honour Vehement, since his role is to make assist vehicles rather than fight on the front lines. Give such things to other characters if you have to.

 

Summary

 

Ultimately, a Master of the Forge is a solid selection in an Ultramarines list that includes vehicles. Repairing a guaranteed 3 wounds a turn is just about worth the Command Point investment alone, let alone the Warlord Traits he can have.

 

My advice is play cheap where possible and don't chuck Relics or Wargear on him he'll never use and try not to get him killed by counter charging a unit. You're better off backing away, shooting them with his bolter and some supporting units.

 

In a game where force multipliers can make an army of mediocrity roar like lions, the Master of the Forge can be considered one of the best choices available.

Edited January 22, 2020 by Captain Idaho

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Excellent write up!

 

I used to always take a Techmarine with a combi plasma before the new supplements - can a Techmarine gunner take these WLTs and relics ?

[Kallas]

can a Techmarine gunner take these WLTs and relics ?

Nope.

 

 

Also, a note, since it was mentioned about taking a MotF with both WLTs; that's not possible, as Exemplar of the Chapter requires that one be from the Ultramarines list.

[NKirkham24]

In the last game I played I used a MotF. He strolled up the board with a Repulsor and an Executioner, buffing them all the way. 

 

I gave him the Endurant Protector (i think it's called) that gave him +1T and 4++ as his relic, along with the +1 to hit bubble trait. 

 

I really enjoyed using him, he kept the Tanks and the Invictor in my list functioning much longer then they otherwise would have, when he did end up exposed his relic kept him fairly safe. 

For such a cheap HQ with the impact he can have, albeit at the cost of 2CP in this case, I would definitely recommend taking him. 

[L30n1d4s]

My last game I used MOTF with a pair of WW Scorpius.... not only did he keep them firing at BS2+ all game (even moving, after turn 2, thanks to UM Doctrine), but when one took some significant damage, he buffed it back to its top profile with his ability to heal an automatic 3W each turn.... definitely a good 50 pt investment, especially as it filled one of the Mandatory HQs on my Brigade.

[Captain Idaho]

 

can a Techmarine gunner take these WLTs and relics ?

Nope.

Also, a note, since it was mentioned about taking a MotF with both WLTs; that's not possible, as Exemplar of the Chapter requires that one be from the Ultramarines list.

Important information I may have missed (writing away from home/Supplement etc) and I rarely use the trick.

 

Top post amended.

[Aothaine]

In the last game I played I used a MotF. He strolled up the board with a Repulsor and an Executioner, buffing them all the way. 

 

I gave him the Endurant Protector (i think it's called) that gave him +1T and 4++ as his relic, along with the +1 to hit bubble trait. 

 

I really enjoyed using him, he kept the Tanks and the Invictor in my list functioning much longer then they otherwise would have, when he did end up exposed his relic kept him fairly safe. 

For such a cheap HQ with the impact he can have, albeit at the cost of 2CP in this case, I would definitely recommend taking him. 

 

Pshhhh... This is going to be a pretty fun build to use with Iron Hands Successors. Gonna plop this idea down into my ideas of nasty things to use in hyper competitive games.

[Subtleknife]

Out of interest how did your repulsors survive long enough for the tech marine to fix 3 wounds. My most recent games I played (Tau and Orks) I was getting 1 to 2 repulsors a turn vaporised. I would not have a chance to heal any of them. Edited January 22, 2020 by Subtleknife

[Snazzy]

As you can tell, the wargear you grant your Master of the Forge I consider secondary to the mission of supporting your army appropriately. However, don't forget the Master of the Forge had a BS2+ as well as a 2+ save, so fire that bolter, throw that grenade and remember; he is a Space Marine.

 

Please don't throw grenades.  It is a waste of their firepower.

[NKirkham24]

Out of interest how did your repulsors survive long enough for the tech marine to fix 3 wounds. My most recent games I played (Tau and Orks) I was getting 1 to 2 repulsors a turn vaporised. I would not have a chance to heal any of them.

 

I was playing a fairly tank heavy Aeldari which included several wave serpents, a Night Spinner and a Warp Hunter. I think there were six tanks in total in their army. 

 

The Executioner was smashed out of the skies Turn 1 without a chance to fire after they seized. The Repulsor got to Turn 3 thanks to MotF, and the Invictor survived til the end. He got down to 4W after turn 2, but repeated healings saw him end the game on 7W.

[Captain Idaho]

 

As you can tell, the wargear you grant your Master of the Forge I consider secondary to the mission of supporting your army appropriately. However, don't forget the Master of the Forge had a BS2+ as well as a 2+ save, so fire that bolter, throw that grenade and remember; he is a Space Marine.

 

 

Please don't throw grenades.  It is a waste of their firepower.

If you only have a bolter on your Techmarine, throw a grenade. Krak grenades are pretty good.

[Snazzy]

But, Techmarines are so cheap, and have so many shooting options.  Go full on, Flamer, Cutter, Combi-weapon.  Make em hurt.

[Captain Idaho]

True it doesn't cost much. Depends how cheap you want to go.