Coastal Assault Army - 1500 points - Indepth and new Fluff

Coastal assault is only 4 weeks away. I managed to get my list table-able on the weekend. I'd like to do more work on the tanks then varnish them and call them finished but the army is at a point where I can field it and get a reasonable score. I've also decided to rename my exorcists with a DIY chapter.

THE RED SKULLS

Originator - Ultra Marines

Home World - Golgotha

Chapter Master - Augustus Grant

Specialties - Trench Warfare, Librarians, Salvaging Tech

The red skulls were almost destroyed shortly after their creation. Since then they have survived by salvaging weapons from battle fields and repairing them. Most of their remaining space marines fill the second company and vital command positions. They are cautious, chosing to ware down an enemy while minimizing casualties, some see this as cowardice, they see it as survival.

Strength - Weakened. Rebuilding after disastrous campaign against a Hive Fleet

High Command - Chapter Master, 5 Honour Guard, Chief Librarian, Master of the Forge, Various Officers and Advisors (master of the Fleet, Master of the Arsenal, etc)

1st Company - Captain, Chaplain, 2 Librarians 10 Assault Terminators, 20 Terminators, 20 Stern Guard, 2 Dreadnoughts, 1 Drop pod, 1 Land Raider, 1 Land Raider Redeemer

2nd Company - Captain, Librarian, Chaplain, Command Squad, 2 Rhinos, 2 Dreadnoughts, 60 Tactical Marines, 20 Assault marines, 20 Devastators

10th Company - Captain, 28 Scouts

Armoury - 1 Predator, 2 Dreadnoughts, 2 Vindicators, Whirl Wind, Thunder Fire Cannon

______________________

My thinking for this list revolved around the question: "What do marines do best?". The answer Attrition. Dealing damage with out taking casualties. So I decided on a mostly static force with plenty of shots and armor

______________________

Coastal assault Army list 1250 Points

Red Skulls Siege Force

HQ

Chapter Master - Relic Blade, Storm Bolter - Not my usual choice in HQ. The storm bolter was obvious the orbital bombardment is a little hit and miss but I'm hoping that it can give me a little extra bang when I need it.

Troops

Tactical Squad - Melta Gun, Multi Melta - Pretty standard short range, high impact anti tank unit.

Rhino - 2 x Storm Bolter - Move 6 fire 2 storm bolters and 2 boltguns. 6-8 shots is not bad for a rhino.

Tactical Squad - Plasma Gun, Plasma Cannon - Marine hunters. MEQ ussually makes the bulk of any tourney. I see them playing a big role. I also know there will be at least one plague marine list and 1 terminator heavy BT list, this unit should help slow them down.

Razor Back - Twin Linked Heavy Bolter, Storm Bolter - Again the extra bolt rounds. in practice games when paired with the rhino this has been great for shifting troops of objectives.

Tactical Squad - Plasma Gun, Lascannon - Classic anti tank and anti FNP/MEQ/Terminator. This can take on any unit and do damage at range.

Elites

Dreadnought - Twin Linked Lascannon, Missile Launcher - I call this the Tank Sniper config. It is one of the best anti armor combos out there. It has 2 decent anti armor weapons and it can move 6 and fire both. I usually run them in pairs but decided to try something different this time out

Dreadnought - 2 x Twin Linked Auto Cannons - I have been looking for an excuse to finish and use this model. I converted it from a "Black Reach" dread. In testing it consistently landed 4 wounds on nearly any target. Plus 4 shots(Twin Linked) at Str 7 makes it great for hunting armour 10 and 11 targets and ok for Armour 12.

Dreadnought - Plasma Cannon, CCW, Storm Bolter - Yes a 3rd Dread. This is another back reach conversion using a devastator plasma cannon. This is for plague marines and MEQ. Its a lethal combo of fire power and close combat strength.

Heavy Support

Predator - Auto Cannon, 2 x Heavy Bolters, Storm Bolter - The ultimate dakka pred. generally a 5 shot fire base or a 10 shot pill box. This is a little horde/MC protection.

Vindicator - Originally I was going to run a whirlwind but the WW just seemed to situational. The vindicator is awesome. it costs 50 points less than a guard demolisher for little difference. This is the most under costed item in the marine dex.

Thunder Fire Cannon - I was a little undecided about this at first but the more I use it the more it becomes a necessity in nearly every list I build. And even if it gets destroyed I have a tech marine repairing my gun line.

_______

This is very much a stationary gun line. Its a "come get me" list. It is about trying to fire as many shots per turn as possible and then rolling over the objectives. This list is designed with the end game in mind, its about getting to turn 5 and then grabbing the objectives. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.