RULES
And they shall know no Fear - can regroup when under half strength, Go fearless when being chased down
Combat Tactics - You can choose to fail moral tests - Use it to fall back out of assault range, or to leave combat at the end of your opponents assault phase.
UNITS
HQ
Special Characters - Can work but are often to hard for a noob to come to grips with. Think about them later, they do often define your strategy. If you do want one Pedro is a nice easy intro character
Chapter Master - Bombardment not worth 25 Points. Take a captain.
Honour Gaurd - To expensive to be usefull
Captain - A good bogging unit. Distracts the opponent and gives a little CC Punch
Command Squad - You need the points else where.
Librarian - Best value for money HQ. A little fragile. Avenger and gate are probably the best. Null zone is situational, the rest are pretty crap
Chaplain - Take a captain
Master of the Forge - I want to like it but I don't. 6 dreads are nice, Conversion beamer has never really worked for me, might reserve judgement and try it again
TROOPS
Tactical Squads - Divide the point limit by 500 and round up. That is the MINIMUM number you should take.
Scouts - Point/troop fillers. Unless they are power fist units in storms. then awesome
Transports
Rhino - cheap. effective
Razor - Transport of Choice. Need more
Drop Pod - 1 is suicide, but that can be ok. I'm not a fan of the full drop pod army
ELITES
Terminators - To many other better options
Assault Terminators - Same as above
Stern Guard - Great unit. Drop pods work with them. I run them as suicide distrations
Dreadnought - Under Priced mobile heavy weapons. Take at least 2.
Ven Dread - Over Priced
Iron Clad Dreadnought - there are better uses for the 30 points.
Tech Marine - Could work with Plasma cannon servitors but there are better places to spend the points
Legion of the Damned - Sternguard in a drop pod are better
FAST ATTACK
Assault Squad - Mostly useless. I know people disagree but there are too many other ways to spend your points
Vanguard - Novelty. To expensive
Land Speeder - Nice idea, Cheap, to fragile
Bikes - Work well in numbers, Expensive to buy, if your opponent stays above ground level your screwed.
Land Speeder Storm - Great unit. Should get some.
Scout Bikes - Look good on paper but aren't really needed.
Heavy Support
Devestators - Work well as 5 man squads in small games and 10 man squads in big ones. can survive better than tanks.
Thunder Fire - Expensive to buy, hard to put together, but worth it, I have trouble leaving it at home
Land Raider - Obsolete. 250 points thats to easy to kill. any serious player can take it out turn 1-2
Predator - Auto cannon, Heavy Bolters, Stormbolter is 10 shots for 95 points, hard to beet for wound output on MC's
Whirl Wind - Indirect, Ignores cover. it just works
Vindicator - the most under-priced unit in the dex. little short on range, works well in pairs, 3 is overkill.
STRATEGY
Attrition warfare works for marines - Inflicting casualties with out taking them. I generally go for cheap units that can effectively put out wounds while having a large fire base that can still be effective even after a number of casualties. In larger games a distraction to slow your opponents approach is also usefull
got questions? Ask me
I largely agree, but you're overlooking the best unit in the book: TH/SS Termies. Dirt cheap for the ultimate beater unit, especially considering how easy it is for them to smash just about any comparable super unit for half the price.
ReplyDeleteNormal Termies are good for mobile firepower, I use them for bubble wrap and they work nicely. <3 new Cyclones.
Command Squads are nasty beater units too when properly equipped (bikes, storm shields, LCs) but really pricey. You get what you pay for with them.
Scouts are solid objective holders, but units in Storms are too fragile to get much use.
1 Land Raider is easy to pop, 2 are tough, especially with other mech backing them up.
Thanks for the feedback.
ReplyDeleteI'll agree that TH/SS termies are a good bogging unit, they can be a little hit and miss as they can often be avoided/bogged, peppered to death.
Maybe I just haven't given them enough time.
I ran termies with a cyclone and attached gate Librarian last thursday to great effect. They need a way to stay in the fight. However I keep thinking I can get 2 dreads for the same price.
I checked the Dex again, This is the first time I've realized that the command squad can take storm Shields.Wow. I'll have to re-evaluate them. 3+ invul and feel no pain seems like a winning combo.
I have used scouts in the past but tac marines are better and cost only a little more. I still run them from time to time.
The scouts in storms are fragile. But a turn 1 or assault with a fist can really ruin someones day. their job is a suicidal distraction unit. You hope the enemy shoots them instead of something important or ignores them for and they get a last minute objective grab.
I agree with what you are saying about the land raiders but when I look at the points I keep thinking about what else I could get.
I think you're seriously undervaluing Landspeeders. I would consider them one of the best units in the book, and one of the strengths of the Marine army. You can load them up for hordes (double flamer), mech (double multi-melta), or a solid all-comers unit (multi-melta and flamer or heavy bolter). Combine that with their ability to reach out and touch anything via their speed, plus the ability to quickly tap objectives, and they're a super versatile unit. You do need to take care of them a little given their weak armor, but it's very rare that I leave home without two of them in my army.
ReplyDelete