Space Wolves

Alright, it's been a while, I'm going to dive right in here. WARNING: Space Wolves are my army of choice, I figured I'd go a bit biased here, but I will still explain the downfalls of them. I was originally going to do Imperial Guard next, but I decided to do the non-codex Space Marines afterwards, so there's a close frame of reference. Also, it's worth saying that there's a lot more detail into playing Space Puppies over at Wolves for the Wolf God, So give them a shot. Now, let's get to it.

What's different?

In summary, very little and a whole lot. It's an entirely different style of play at work, so let's list this down.

• There are no cheap selections. Let that sink in. Unlike regular SM's, you don't have any "cheap" infantry to boost your numbers. The best you have is Blood Claws. And they're horrible. Just terrible. I mean rancid.
• You cannot combat squad them. This prevents them from splitting fire, or covering more ground with the same number of troops. This is a big deal.
• The only Infantry that can carry heavy weapons are your Long Fangs and Scouts. May not seem like much at first, but those extra weapons can mean a lot in a firefight.
• Everything has Counter-Assault and Acute Senses. This means you can afford to be the assaulted party in most situations. In 6th, I recommend it against practically everything but Terminators and Orks.
• Squad leaders must be bought separately, and are an Elites choice. I will get into that later.

Okay, what makes them so awesome?

• First and foremost, they are genetically modified, 8 foot tall, super-soldier, drunken, space Viking werewolves, equipped with chainsaw swords and axes, Power Armor, and .75 HE MP5's. That is pure manliness in a can right there. Just typing that sentence caused at least 3 women to become spontaneously pregnant, with children destined to be Delta Force operators.
• EVERYTHING in your army has Counter-Assault. Your primary Troops choice (really only troops choice, Grey Hunters) is equipped with chainswords, bolt pistols, and boltguns. That's 2 attacks each, 3 on the charge (or counter). Also can be upgraded with standards that allow you to re-roll 1's for the rest of the turn.
• Long Fangs. A 4-6 man squad, sorry, pack, that can split fire. Also, everyone but the pack leader must be equipped with a Heavy weapon, for cheaper than a Devastator Squad.
• Space Wolf Scouts using outflank have a 66% chance to come out from whichever board edge you choose. Because of Acute Senses, they can re-roll that. I believe that makes it an 88% chance. Combine that with access to melta bombs, melta guns, and a Wolf Guard Pack Leader with a combi-melta, you have yourself a unit that can pop out wherever you want to waste tanks.
• Aside from being superior to regular Grey Hunters, Wolf Guard can be individually customized and equipped with a gamut of weapons and other upgrades, for cheaper than Independent characters, by about 5 points per piece of equipment.
• The Rune Priest Psychic Power list is amazing. For at least small armies (and some large), always pack one as your HQ.
• Mark of the Wulfen: A lot of units have this upgrade. For the price of a Power weapon, you can give one of your models D6+1 Attacks. Add another for the charge. And those are Rending.

In conclusion, they have a lot that helps them midfield. They are much better moving and charging into the fray than regular Space Marines, with the option of being a static, defensive army.

That...sounds pretty awesome. What's the catch?

There's a lot that they can't do, and they do pay pretty well for it.

• Blood Claws. Not only do they suck, they're 15 points each. they have WS/BS 3, and, unless supervised by Wolf Guard, cannot shoot the turn they assault. Plus, Bike and Assault squads are made up of them (Swift- and Skyclaws, technically), which confer the exact same downfalls. This means that your usable Fast Attack choices are Land Speeders, Fenrisian Wolf Packs (not bad, but not good, either), and Thunderwolf Cavalry (amazing, but insanely expensive).
• Long Fangs. They are awesome. But the rules governing their packs means you can't up the squad size to waste less important models before getting to your weapons. Every failed armor save hurts a lot more.
• Wolf Guard. This requires some explanation. They can be assigned, as pack leaders, to most units in the game. This is more or less necessary, as it gives the squad some combi-melta/power weapon love and +1 Ld. The downfall is twofold. Because your Grey Hunters don't have heavy weapons, they can use one assault weapon, and another one for free, if you have a 10 man pack. If you mount them, your WGPL has to replace a model, in order to fit in the vehicle, reducing your squad's firing abilities. Ignore that if you go light. Second, a Wolf Guard Pack takes up an Elites choice (unless you have Logan Grimnar), thus reducing your available Elites Choices.
• You cannot Combat Squad your packs. This is the big one. It means that your individual squads will have to cover each other, making them stay close to each other. It doesn't seem like much, but that also means you can't spread out your forces, putting random missile launchers all over the place.

So what does this mean for a Space Wolves Player?
It basically means you're Space Marines, but a midfield version. Due to the nature of larger, less numerous separate units on the field, you can't control as much land at a time. You should be constantly on the attack with SW's. Inherently, they're meant to be, and much better at, moving around the board, wrecking things in both assault and at range. The lack of heavy weapons in most squads helps that out, too, allowing you to bring extra firepower, but stay mobile with it. Mix that, lots (and lots) of Assault upgrades, and some well picked Anti-Tank and Area Denial choices for backup, and you can play an excellent, slightly offensive Space Marine force.  Just don't take Blood Claws. Not kidding.

I've gotten my butt kicked by them. What should I do?
I've been there. One of the reasons I started playing as them. Very few armies would consistently and soundly pound mine into oblivion as Space Wolves. At first, I chalked it up to them being a cheap army. Now, I just see they're one of the easiest to adapt to the board. Here's the trick to beating them (totally shooting myself in the foot with this): avoid Grey Hunters. Seriously. The entire army is designed to move quickly, take an objective quickly, and quickly deal with most threats, before moving on. You beat them by avoiding their main force, and thus, avoiding the brunt of their attack on their turn. Instead, take out their support. Space Wolves are, to some extent, much more dependent on their Elites, Fast Attack, and Heavy Support choices, to make up for what they cannot. If you eliminate their support as quickly as possible, you will lose models and vehicles. But when you turn on their Troops, they will be (almost) a breeze to take down. Most people lose against them trying to capture objectives, or control corners. Space Wolves are best dealt with by treating the game as though it's a fight to annihilation, and, not to sound cocky (it's happened to me, when I played against them), if you don't, it might wind up being that, but your opponent will have the advantage.

Previously you said that you should start out with Space Marines. These guys seem better. Why shouldn't I start with Space Wolves?
In all honesty, you probably could, and wind up being about the same or better off for it. I still say start with regular Space Marines though. And, really, it's for two reasons. First is oddball unit types and abilities. Regular Space Marines are rather limited in both, and use pretty basic stuff for everything. When you're still learning to walk, though, it helps to keep it as simple as possible. Second, their strengths mean that an average player can pick them up and be semi-decent, or a bad player can pick them up and be horrid. I suggest learning to read the terrain and opponents better before picking them up.

My next post will deal with Blood Angels, followed by Black Templars and Dark Angels. After that, I will cover Imperial Guard, and we're going to get into some more advanced ideas with that, which will need images. That's all for now...

JaegerWolf

Edit: The world got in the way, and the order changed.

New Ideas/Offense, Defense, and Midfield

So I've come to realize that my priorities don't necessarily align with my blog, and when I do have the time, a lot of my image editing takes up far too long for me to continue as I have. From now on, I am going to have a change of style. Instead of simply writing out army info and how to use it for every piece in the game (as was the original intent), I will leave it open to send in questions for specific pieces. I will email with the person, and, should that correspondence prove fruitful, and allow insight into playing, I will post conclusions and summaries of what to do, as per this discussion. This allows a change from filing through tons of links and posts for each army, to finding a specific question. If you can't find something, just send an email, I will be happy to either answer it, or, if I have already talked about it, send you a link to the discussion. Aside from that, I will be doing my older, random, general tactics posts. Speaking of which...

Offensive, Defensive, and Midfield playing:
BAM! Bigger text. Means that $*!t is important. Not really. But kinda. This can also be re-described as aggressive, defensive, and mixed, or any other number of things. What it boils down to, thought, is how you are focusing your army. I prefer Midfield, but that's personal preference. None of them are better, but if you pick something that translates better to your thought pattern, it's easier to form strategies.

Defensive Strategy:
I'm going to start with Defensive strategy, because, simply put, this one is the easiest to implement and carry out. Armies meant mostly for Defensive strategy are Tau, Necron, Codex Space Marines, and Imperial Guard. The most defensive-oriented army would have to go to Imperial Guard, so I will be using them as the example throughout my assertions here.
Let me start this by saying playing defensively is more than just castling and fish of fury, or any idea of just setting up and letting your opponent charge you. There is that element, but it is not limited in that fashion. Instead, I'm going to go through and discuss the typical characteristics for fighting defensively:

1. Heavy use of cover: This goes without saying. Keep your men in cover, because that extra 6+ is better than nothing. Aside from that, being in cover makes your men a much less ideal target for assault, as it screws with your opponent's ability to charge and Initiative. Calculate every move out of cover. Run, if that helps. but you want to keep more static positions. If at all possible, Transports for Everyone! It gives you a mobile piece of protection, no matter what it has for weapons.
2. Forming a Wall: This is one way of taking care of things. Form a solid wall of your men, with everybody supporting everybody, and make your opponent pay for every inch. Basically, you want him to come to you, and whittling away at his troops in the process.
3. Trapping your opponent: This is a simple concept. Set up bait, like, say a unit your opponent will take risks to kill, and placed somewhere to emphasize that (like an objective). Now surround that unit, at a distance, with ranged support, so that when your opponent attacks, his guys will be annihilated.
4. Numbers matter: Best way to put this in perspective: I have a list written up for Imperial Guard. It is simply a Command Squad, and 4 Infantry Platoons (each have a full squad of Conscripts and 4 Infantry Squads). This totals in 385 models, for 2000 points. Yes, there is no anti-tank, fire support, anything to give them bonuses (except orders), but how much does it matter when you can literally just cover the objective with enough models to prevent your opponent from ever touching them?

Offensive Strategy:
As Defense is not merely sitting and waiting, Offense is not merely charging into the line of fire, and is definitely the middle child here, as far as ease of pulling off. Offensive armies are Blood Angels, Sisters of Battle, Dark Eldar, Orks, Chaos Daemons, and Tyranids. This has more of a set of rules to go by than characteristics:

1. If you can't shoot, move: This is pretty self-explanitory. If you are out of range, probably out of range, not sure if you're in range, or, for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER,cannot shoot, Go a full move and run. Until you meet the above criteria. Avoid heavy weapons. Also, unless you have a VERY good reason, don't shoot a heavy weapon when the rest of your squad is out of range.
2. If you can't move, shoot: See above, just the opposite.
3. When in doubt, attack: You need to bring the fight to the enemy, every turn. If you can't decide on your actions, do the one that involves shooting/assaulting.
4. Cover is your friend; difficult terrain is not: Because you need to be fast, weigh your options as to difficult terrain (push through vs going around). Then choose whichever gets you in range fastest.
5. Numbers matter: you're going to lose a lot of your troops. Use caution while purchasing upgrades, that extra Shoota could be the difference between winning and losing an assault.

Midfield Strategy:
This mixes ideas from both strategies, and favors mobility, firepower, and specialized or superior units over brute force or static formations. Midfield armies are Eldar, Chaos Space Marines, Space Wolves, Black Templar, and Grey Knights.

1. Move as an army: Never push your a unit out of support reach. When you move your army, do so in a way that keeps everybody together. If you have to overreach with a unit, make sure that either they can defend themselves, or your opponents will be tied up with other targets.
2. Never play your opponent's strong suit: Don't let a defensive army build a wall, don't fall for the bait. Don't let an offensive army slam into you like a sledgehammer. Find your opponent's weakness, and exploit it.
3. Divide and isolate your enemy: Look for that weak spot in your opponent's formations, and turn it into a chasm in the middle of his table. Make him adjust to what you're doing, not the other way around.
4. Never get cornered: you should never wind up with your back to a wall. If that is coming, focus your efforts on creating a hole in his forces to escape through. If you do get cornered, assault first. At best, you will be able to break free. At worst, you will do more damage than if your opponent charges you.

That's about all I got, I understand I might have gone over this before, but I figured a little more depth is never a bad thing.

Changes for 6th Edition, part 1

Alright, finally got a look at the new rulebook, and I can say there are some substantial changes here. I will take a break from what I was doing to break down a lot of the changes of rules for people, and talk about what/where I see GW going with this new edition/what I would like to see in the future. Should take a few posts (hopefully just a few weeks), and during this, I can continue writing about the Space Marines, and get a good post out to you.  I'm just going to go through some of the larger/more major changes. I will start with the basic phases:

Wound Allocation: This is the biggest change to my style of formations. Now all wound allocation will be done from the nearest model to the furthest model, with owner's decision in the event of a tie. I understand the earlier idea, based around the "other members of the squad pick up the weapon" theory, which is accurate. This means moving your Assault Weapons and Leaders to be more centrally located, so they receive a "buffer zone" from being killed, while staying forward enough to be used up close and personal.
This works in close combat as well, with Independant Characters having to roll a 6 to hit in order to specify the model taking the wound.

Morale: In ranged combat, It seems we have 2 Morale levels: above 25% strength and below. When below, you require a snake eyes to stay put. when above, it is a normal modifier. This simultaneously makes it harder for those that get chewed up in ranged fire, but easier for everyone else. In assault, you take a -1 modifier for every unsaved wound that you lose combat by, making it easier to break units.

Shooting: Bunch of changes. Let's start with my favorite.

• Snap Shots: actually something I had been arguing for and using as a house rule for a while now. You can fire Heavy Weapons after moving, but at BS 1. This seems like a crap deal, till you realize that allows your Heavy Weapons squads to fall back and fire, allowing you to cause casualties in the enemy and protect your unit better. This is also useful, as your regular line squads can now still move and shoot somewhat. Use blast weapons to maximize the impact. Didn't spot that you can't do this with blast weapons. My bad.
• Blast Weapons: now roll 2D6-BS, instead of D6
• Running: you may now assault after running. Big boost for assault oriented units.
• Flamers: I believe that, prior to 6th, they were almost useless upgrades for a possibility of getting to use it once. With the new wound allocation method, they must be placed either at the front, in which case they are the first ones killed, or centrally, where you run the chance of not being able to use them. Making them even more useless than they were before. "Then why did you even bother to bring it up," You ask? Simply put, they make great defensive weapons now. The problem with them in the past was the unreliability of the shot. You essentially had a 50/50 shot of using them. Either you used it once before an assault, or you didn't get a chance to (by the time your opponent was in range, it was his turn. And he assaulted.). Now, you have an opportunity with Overwatch to land some serious hurt on an opponent (D3 hits) before the first blows are struck. In my mind, it's still a bit of a gamble, but now I think the right person could make them worth the points.

More will be covered with special rules.

Special Rules:

Lotta ground to cover here

• Acute Senses: Now allows you to re-roll outflank. Most models with this rule have outflank. Mostly helps them. Puts a kink into the Space Wolves, because it doesn't state that it grants outflank (that would be awesome). Unless you have Bran Redwolf. Then it becomes awesome.
• Counter-Assault: Now needs a leadership check. Not much, but makes it slightly less reliable.
• Fleet: This changes every edition. Now it allows you to re-roll one D6 during a run or charge.
• Gets Hot: Now affects vehicles.
• Independent Characters: Now allow you to take Morale checks without penalty if the unit is under 25% strength.
• Skyfire: 6th seems to be bringing aerial rules fully into the game this time around. Skyfire basically lets you shoot at flyers normally, instead of only succeeding with shap shots.
• Sniper Weapons: same as before. Now a roll of a 6 allows the attacker to choose his target. Lets you pick off special/heavy weapons and leadership targets. On a personal note, sniper rifles are moving in a direction I have been wanting since 3rd Edition.
• There are a bunch of special rules now for melee weapons (Thunder Hammers are now Concussive) that were in existence, but now have names.
• New special rules were left out of this to save space and time. A lot of them were existing rules, but revamped to fit larger numbers of weapons/units.

Unit Types:

Infantry: No real changes, so to speak...

Bikes/Jetbikes: 

• Now have the Hammer of Wrath and Jink Special Rules, so you get an automatic extra hit with every bike, every time you charge, and they gain a 5+ cover save by moving. 
• They can also Turbo-Boost now, so bikes can opt to move up to 24", and Jetbikes up to 36" in a turn, but they give up the ability to shoot, charge, or anything else.
• Eldar Jetbikes can move 2D6" in the assault phase, without assaulting.

Artillery: only one thing seems to need mentioning. You always use the Toughness of the gun, and wound allocation goes to the closest model. Put all your crew in front of the gun (within 2")

Jump Units: May choose whether to use the pack in their movement phase (move 12"), or Assault Phase (can re-roll charge distance and gain Hammer of Wrath)

Jet Pack Units:

• Move as Jump Units.
• If not engaged they may move 2D6" in the Assault Phase (without charging)/
• Relentless

Monstrous Creatures:

• Can fire 2 weapons in the shooting phase.
• Fear, Hammer of Wrath, Move Through Cover, Relentless, and Smash rules.

Beasts: Move 12", and are not slowed by Difficult Terrain.

Cavalry: Beasts with Hammer of Wrath.

Flying Monstrous Creatures:

• 2 Flight modes: Swooping or Gliding
• Gliding: Treated as a Jump Monstrous Creature.
• Swooping: Same as above, with following rules:
• Must move 12-24"
• Can make a 90° turn at the beginning of the movement phase, but must move in straight lines only for the rest of the turn.
• Does not take dangerous terrain tests.
• May run 2D6" (straight forward, still)
• Cannot charge or be charged
• Shots resolved at Swooping FMC's are resolved as snap shots (unless the weapon/model has Skyfire).
• May be intentionally removed from the board and placed in Reserves.
• After hits and wounds are rolled, but before armor saves, the FMC may elect to Dive, gaining Jink until the end of next turn, but may only make snap shots during this time.
• After taking hits from shooting attacks, it must make a Grounded roll. On 1-2, it crashes, taking a S9 hit with no armor or cover saves allowed. It loses Jink, and may be assaulted until its next turn, where it can move as normal.
• Starts game in Glide mode when deployed normally; mode chosen when entering from reserves.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

So I have changed my author name, I'm no longer Tactica Imperialis, now I will post as JaegerWolf, as I am adding another author to the blog. Hopefully this will lead to more and better posts...

New Tabletop Image

Alright, I made this new image to accurately represent the average table. I think it is clearer and more concise than previous images. Red is your enemy's deployment zone, blue is yours, and the green squares represent terrain.

Well then...

So I sat down a couple days ago to start actively working on my blog again. I have been very busy with my job, a wife out of work, and 2 kids. So I haven't exactly been keeping up with painting, gaming, or knowing what's going on with GW. When I sat down, I found out there's a new edition rulebook out. Until I get a look at it, it's impossible to say how much has changed since I started this and wrote about tactics and whatnot (the codexes should still more or less apply), but I will have to look at it to see how much needs to be revisited. Until then, I shall continue as if nothing happened.

My Apologies

I haven't posted in a while, and I should. This is intended to be an in-depth guide, and I have fallen far behind in keeping it updated. In truth, I was writing this mostly at my workplace at a time where there was not much work to be done. I was part of our "office" team temporarily while my wife was in the later stages of pregnancy, delivery, and for a time period to deal with the new baby. That has since changed. A couple months ago, work picked back up much more. I have had problems writing from home, as there is a new baby, and I was usually gone 12-14 hours a day, due to the daily commute (Seattle traffic sucks, and it seems this state does not know how to drive), and working overtime. Now I am back on our "field" team, which means actual travel and whatnot. I am not sure when I can crank this next blog out, it is written, but the images involved need to be made, and I seem to not have the time. If this was a simple one or two images, it would be no problem, but it is a very long series of images designed to demonstrate whole games, which causes slight problems. I honestly have been trying to find the time, but it seems that it is not meant to be for the time being.

On a lighter note, my buddy Drew (of 40k Hobbiest) got me a gift of Njal Stormbringer, while I got him  Marneus Calgar. As he has discussed on his blog, he is deploying, but we have discussed, for his return, a game of Calgar, Sicarius, and Tiguris (with 3 Tac squads) vs. Grimnar, Blackmane, and Njal (and 3 Grey Hunter Packs). We have seen that statistically they are about even, with the Space Wolves having an edge in assault, whereas the Smurfs get an edge in range, and we would like to play a "best out of 3" series to test out who would wind up on top, of the 6 characters.

Well, that about sums it up for now, I will try to get this honking turkey off the ground, but it seems to be taking a lot to do so.

Land Speeder Formations

Alright, this is a bit of a fluff post, and not really for tactics specifically. It can give you some ideas for vehicle formations, though. Essentially, I love Land Speeders. In my personal opinion, they are one of the most tactically flexible units in the game. I'm sure many people will disagree with me, but, this is a fluff post. The basic premise here is to show some of the multitude of setups for your squadron that are available. They are all named after actual military vehicles, for lack of creativity.

Nighthawk:
3 Land Speeder Typhoons with multi-meltas.
This is a primarily anti-tank platform, but you can switch to frag missiles and use it against mass infantry in a pinch. It works best at long range, with the multi-meltas as a last-ditch, short range option.

Thunderbolt:
3 Land Speeder Typhoons with heavy bolters.
This is more flexible than the Nighthawk formation, giving you the ability to deliver plenty of firepower against troops or 6 krak missiles against vehicles.

Kiowa:
3 Land Speeder Tornadoes with heavy bolters and assault cannons:
Primarily crowd control and area denial. Use it for strafing runs and large numbers of shots.

Wild Weasel:
3 Land Speeder Tornadoes with heavy flamers and multi-meltas:
Drive them far into your opponent's lines and take out his tanks, up close and personal. I picked heavy flamers because they can deliver more wounds to troops and can be more effective vs vehicles.

Apache:
2 Land Speeder Typhoons with heavy bolters, 1 Tornado with heavy bolter and multi-melta:
This is a nice, flexible option. Primarily anti-troops, with the ability to toss some anti-tank fire out there.

Hornet:
2 Land Speeder Typhoons with multi-melta, 1 Tornado with multi-melta and heavy flamer:
Again, primarily anti-vehicle, but can be switched to anti-troop in a pinch. This one works at a variety of ranges.

In conclusion, these are just ideas. Tournament playability is, in all honesty questionable, as you're sinking a lot of points into any given basket, and that basket is fragile. In all reality, this whole post is just for fun. It demonstrates ways to look at your options, and construct units to work well, but aside from that, there's no real substance.

It's been a while...

Sorry about the delays recently...

Between National Guard obligations, a hectic work schedule, and having a new baby, haven't had time for much lately. I will get a new post out asap, though...

EDIT: looking through, there is something I can toss up...

Space Marines Army Tactics

Space Marines are the easiest army to start out with, and some of the most resilient and generally powerful basic troops in the game.  That being said, they also have some of the fewest numbers in the game, and that can become a huge disadvantage against the right player (looking at you, Gaunt horde). Now, once you realize this, there are a few ways to deal with this.

1. Space Marines are a static, ranged army.  They work best when entrenched and in cover, while your opponent is forced to advance towards them.  Position your troops well and let your opponent do your work for you while you whittle down his army.
2. Keep your forces together, supporting each other. Robert Baratheon had it right, at around 2:05: You need to keep your army together, and fighting as one.  Find one target, and eliminate it. Move onto the next.  Fight as one, cohesive army, and your opponent will find you much harder to swallow.  This works well for any army, but when you focus the firepower and Ballistic Skill of the Space Marines, it goes so much further.
3. Always be the player assaulting.  Yes, your marines are tough and have a good initiative, but they can be overwhelmed easily, especially when they are assaulted by units getting 20+ attacks in assault. You need to be the one charging and gaining the attacks, so you can quickly end the assault and go back to your static shooting tactics.
4. Avoid being surrounded.  This is harder than it sounds.  When your army is surrounded it becomes harder to focus your firepower and you must split your fires. If you do find yourself surrounded, focus your forces on one target, move to it, shoot at it, and assault through it, until your forces are only dealing with a single-direction attack.
5. Have you seen 300? If not, watch it, regardless of this blog. Regardless, my point is that area denial is the Space Marine's friend. Use it to your advantage, and force your opponent into funneling his troops through difficult terrain to get to you. His mass of troops can't do near as much damage when they're in single-file line slowly working their way towards your position, one squad at a time.
6. Anti-Tank works best in one of three ways: 

• By joining and travelling with your "fist." Make them part of your troops and further enhance your fighting abilities by mixing anti-vehicle support.
• By staying static. Find them a location with good cover and line of sight either during deployment or on turn 1, and keep them there, preventing your opponent from using his vehicles.
• By staying mobile. Take all of your Anti-Tank forces, move them as another solid fist, maneuvering around terrain to flank and annihilate your opponent's vehicles.
• Any way you work your anti-tank, once your opponent's vehicles are destroyed, use them to target characters and command units.

That being said, this is a tactics site, and I will also list tips to fight against them. While, as previously mentioned, they are tough, Space Marines are far from invincible. There are a handful of ways to exploit their inherent weaknesses and deal with their strengths.

1. Keep them on the move. Deny them ground to consolidate and centralize their forces, and prevent them from forming that cohesive force. They fight best as a static force, so keep them from being that.
2. Bait and surround them.  Give them one target to attack, and make them come to it, then surround and eliminate them.
3. Always assault them, and always with superior attacks or numbers. Their low numbers means that keeping one squad bogged down in assault for too long can bog down his entire force.
4. Do not funnel your forces. Avoid it at (almost) all costs, and make area denial Space Marines a high priority target.
5. Volume of fire. While they can single out one of your squads to wipe out at a time, do the same to them.  One Tactical Squad is usually worth 1 1/2 or more of your squads. Similarly, their high armor save means that most of the weapons where the AP even factors in will only get 1 or 2 shots.  Focus instead on ordnance, blast, template, and multiple shot weapons. If you can inflict 30 wounds, odds are 10 will fail. Play that to your advantage.

That's all I have for now, next I will move more onto army formations and ideas.

Taking a break...

So there's been a lot going on recently, and, as a result, I have had neither the time nor the inclination to post things. Probably not going to do so this weekend, as there is much work to be done. Long story short, I've been working 11 hour days, unpacking (I moved a short time ago), National Guard obligations, and sleeping on average 3-4 hours. A couple of years ago, this would have been no problem, but I find that as time goes on, my body is not keeping up with my demands of it. I had pre-written a number of blogs, but they need to be severely edited. As I need to do this, I am cutting out a snippet of one and adding it later (it really didn't have a place in the overall blog, I tacked it on because I thought it was good ideas).

Space Marines Characters

Alright, for this installment we are doing things a little different.  I'm avoiding listing an average points cost per unit, as each single model can wind up costing you a lot anyways, just giving you perspective on what to equip them with, and how to do it.

Chapter Master:
Fluff-wise, this is the Space Marine in charge of his chapter. Game-wise, the strongest single character in the Codex.
Pros: Extremely tough and delivers a lot of punishment in assault.  Allows Orbital Bombardments once a game. Lots of upgrades.  Allows you to purchase Honor Guard squads. 4+ invulnerable save.
Cons: Expensive. Very, VERY, expensive.
Recommended Upgrades: Terminator armor or artificer armor.  You're already spending a minimum of 125 points on him, make him survive as long as possible. Aside from that, a combi-melta will grant a nice, Str 8 attack right before the charge. Always give him at least a power sword, if not a power fist.  Thunder hammers and relic blades are more or less unnecessary for him, or not worth their price.
Tactics: If in power/artificer armor, keep him in a squad in a Rhino.  You can pause the vehicle to drop an Orbital Bombardment on your opponent, and it's a powerful enough character that it may force him to commit more units to attacking that squad.  If in Terminator Armor, toss him in a Land Raider with a squad of Terminators and Honour Guard.  Then unleash them on your opponent's command units.

Honour Guard:
Act as bodyguards for the Chapter Master.  Excellent assault unit.
Pros: Come standard with boltgun, bolt pistol, power weapon, and artificer armor.  Only a few upgrade options, but they are effective.
Cons: Expensive (115 points for 3, 35/model after that.)
Recommended Upgrades: Give your champion a thunder hammer and digital weapons.  If you have 5, take a couple of relic blades for higher-strength attacks.  A few auxiliary grenade launchers are effective as well, no matter how many you use.  Always take the Chapter Banner.
Tactics: Honour Guard are made to eliminate special characters and commanders.  Get them to assault range with your opponent's HQ as fast and safe as possible, then assault.

Space Marine Captain:
The Space Marine in charge of a Company.  Not as many wounds or attacks as the Chapter Master, but cheaper.
Pros: Options, gives access to Command Squads, cheaper than a Chapter Master
Cons: Expensive for what you get.
Recommended Upgrades: Same as Chapter Master.  Note that if you have a Captain on a bike, you may take Bike Squads as Troops.
Tactics: Same as Chapter Master

Command Squad:
Similar to an Honour Guard, a small squad with commander abilities and a lot of upgrade options.
Pros: Apothecary, Company Banner, have the ability to combi-weapon spam, can give out power weapons like candy.
Cons: Expensive (115 for 5 models, upgrades cost extra)
Recommended Upgrades: Company Standard, Company Champion, a couple of combi-meltas, some power weapons, and some power fists.
Tactics: The Apothecary grants the Feel No Pain USR to the squad, making it (in my opinion) superior to the Honour Guard.  You can use as a tough unit of shock troops to support your main force, or make them into character hunters.  Keep in mind they cannot have jump packs, and can be placed on bikes.

Librarian:
The Librarian is the Space Marine psycher unit.
Pros: Psychic powers, psychic hood, force weapons, and psychic powers.
Cons: Not as well-endowed stat-wise as some of the other Independent Characters, Perils of the Warp attacks.
Recommended Upgrades: Don't waste your points upgrading his bolt pistol.  If you do you're doing it wrong, he shouldn't be using it anyways (except for that bonus attack).  Epistolary is a bonus, but pricey.  Terminator armor is iffy (will explain in Tactics).  As far as Psychic Powers go, the 4 main ones I will suggest are Smite, Force Dome, Null Zone, and Might of the Ancients.  They have a wide range of uses.  Avenger, Machine Curse and Quickening can be quite handy, but have their problems (Avenger is a template weapon, so will probably not get used more than once, Machine Curse only works on vehicles, and only causes a Glancing Hit, if he is in a squad, they all must fire at that vehicle, and if he is in a squad, he will only benefit from half of Quickening).  Avoid Gate of Infinity (if he moves with a squad, you can lose members of said squad) and Vortex of Doom (if he fails, you put a S10 AP1 blast template on top of your Librarian), even though they at first seem to have the most potential.
Tactics: Librarians are rather fragile, as Independent Characters go.  He needs to be in a squad.  Similarly, his psychic powers (and therefore points) go to waste locked up in a Land Raider.  If you put him in a tactical squad, he creates new avenues for that squad to explore, and his force weapon gives them a bit of commander hunting ability.  He does best in a Tactical Squad, either in a Rhino, casting, or on foot (and remember, you cannot fit models with Terminator armor in a Rhino).

Chaplain:
In fluff terms, he leads the chapter and company spiritually into battle.  In game terms, he is a commanding unit that lends assault buffs to the unit he is with.
Pros: He gives the unit he joins the Fearless USR and the Liturgies of Battle ability (the turn they assault, they may re-roll all rolls to hit).  To boot, comes with a 4+ Invulnerable save and a power weapon. He's fairly cheap.
Cons: Like the Librarian, not as stacked as some other IC's.
Recommended Upgrades: Give him digital weapons, to further his assault abilities, or Terminator armor.  It is not unknown to replace his boltgun/pistol with a power fist.
Tactics: He needs to be in a dedicated assault unit, be it Terminators, Vanguard Veterans, Assault Squads, or just on a Bike.  But he does the most damage where he will be assaulting multiple times.

Master of the Forge/Techmarine:
In fluff, they maintain all of the chapter's equipment.  In game, they can fix vehicles and provide some nasty support.
Pros: Servo-arm/Harness, Bolster Defenses, Blessing of the Omnissiah, artificer armor, MOTF only: BS 5, conversion beamer, can take Dreads as Elites or Heavy Support.
Cons: Not very stacked, stat-wise.
Recommended Upgrades: Always take either a Servo-Harness or conversion beamer.  Besides the additional servo-arm attack, it provides lots of ranged firepower to your model.  Combi-meltas as well.  Give him at least a power weapon, if not thunder hammer.  If you do not take Servitors, mount the model on a bike (it allows him to move quickly around the table to perform repairs/keep at longer range for the conversion beamer.
Tactics: Techmarines and Masters of the Forge are some of the few IC's that work best on their own.  You want them mobile and either repairing vehicles (always good), or at range shooting. Due to the servo-harness, conversion beamer, and combi-spam (and MOTF getting BS 5), they excel at range, and are not as effective up close.  If you to put them in a squad, keep the Servo-Harness and thunder hammer, as you can slow down any characters (thunder hammer), and get 3-4 S 8 attacks (4-5 when assaulting).

Servitors:
Half-machine servants to the Techmarines, can be used to aid in repairs and give some offensive firepower.
Pros: Cheap, disposable, equipped with servo-arms and/or heavy weapons.
Cons: Mindlock, cannot take transports or bikes (to keep up with a Techmarine/MOTF on a bike)
Recommended Upgrades: 5 Servitors, 2 with Plasma Cannons
Tactics: I honestly do not support using them.  They cannot move and shoot, more or less must be in a unit with the Techmarine/MOTF, and count as a squad (therefore preventing him from joining another squad, making them slightly more useful). however if you equip him with a conversion beamer, he can sit in place and fire with it, and his servitors, and use them to soak up wounds.

Now that that is over with, I shall go over  the individual special characters.  I have removed the pros and cons section, as well as the recommended upgrades (few have options), because for the most part their cons are their points cost.  Essentially, these units need to be viewed by how they affect the table, as opposed to a stricter discipline of pros, cons, points, and what how many attacks they give.

Marneus Calgar:
Points: 250 (+15 for Armor of Antilochus)
Tactics: First, he allows you to take up to 3 Honour Guard Squads. You probably can't afford them, but if you can, take them.  Second, he allows your entire army to choose whether or not they pass or fail any given morale or pinning tests.  Effectively, he makes your army Fearless, but better.  Once that is out of the way, he is a beast of a model.  2 power fists and the ability to re-roll any fails to wound make him fairly nasty, even up against Greater Daemons and 'Nid Monstrous Creatures. Add in Assault 2 24" AP2 weapon, he can pack a hell of a punch.  But, in all reality, you get him for reason 2.  Having an entire army choosing whether they pass or fail any leadership checks can tilt the game in your favor.  A lot. For placement, give him his Armor for 15 points, and either an Honour Guard or some Termies in a Land Raider. Use as directed.  If assault lasts more than 2 turns, contact a physician.


Captain Cato Sicarius:
Points: 200
Tactics: He gives several buffs to the game.  He allows you to re-roll the Seize the Initiative die, all other Space Marine units can use his Leadership for Morale and Pinning tests, and you can give one squad of your choice Counter-Attack, Infiltrate, Scout, or Tank Hunters.  That is a lot to pack into one model.  He himself is a tough model, with 3 wounds, a 2+ armor save, 4+ invulnerable save, and Feel no Pain.  He also has the ability to use a single attack and cause Instant Death to an enemy model, giving rise to a possibility of killing your opponent's characters outright. Either give him a Command Squad, or fit him in a Tactical Squad.  He demands to be on the front lines. For the Emprah.


Chief Librarian Tigurius
Points: 230
Tactics: Tigurius allows you to re-roll any reserve rolls you make (including successful ones).  If you are playing using deep strike or other reserves, this is extremely useful.  Also, he is a beast of a psycher once that is done.  He gets all the psychic powers, and can cast 3 per turn. In assault, he has a master-crafted force weapon, allowing him to re-roll fails to hit.  The problem is, he is in regular Power Armor.  For a special character, he is rather fragile, and must be protected and used carefully.  And at 230 points, he's rather expensive to have to worry about that.

Chaplain Cassius:
Point: 125 pts
Tactics: For an extra 25 points, you're getting a normal Chaplain with Toughness 6, Feel no Pain, and a master-crafted combi-flamer. Not a bad option, especially if you have an extra 25 points in your 500-1000 point army and wish your HQ option had a bit more surviveability.

Chapter Master Pedro Kantor
Point: 175
Tactics: Kantor is the reason you take Sternguard Squads.  When he's leading your army, they become scoring units (making them actually useful, in my opinion).  They do not count as Troops, but they can still hold objectives.  He also grants your army the Stubborn USR.  Finally, all units within 12" of him gain +1 attack.  As a model, he has the Orbital Bombardment and Honour Guard given to any Chapter Master, and he himself is more or less normal.  He has normal power armor, meaning you need to be a bit careful with him, and for range he has Dorn's Arrow, which is an AP 4, assault 4, storm bolter.  Altogether, he is a decent package, considering the price.

Captain Darnath Lysander
Point: 200
Tactics: Alright, he gives your army Stubborn, as Kantor. He also provides you with the Bolster Defenses ability.  For this guy, you want to put him with a large contingent of your forces, as he gives any squad he joins the ability to re-roll fails to hit with any bolt weapons.  And he is fairly stacked, statwise.  4 Wounds, Terminator Armor, a Storm Shield, and Eternal Warrior means he will be alive and kicking well into the game.  To boot, he has a master-crafted thunder hammer that strikes at S 10. He can deliver a decent amount of pain for his points cost.

Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike
Point: 195
Tactics: If Kantor is the reason you get Sternguard, Shrike is why you get Vanguard. He gives your army fleet, and can infiltrate with whichever squad he is in.  Considering he has twin lightning claws that have the Rending rule and a jump pack, putting him in a Vanguard squad and infiltrating them seems almost natural.

Forgefather Vulkan He'stan
Point: 190
Tactics: First, using him makes all your flamers and melta weapons twin-linked.  If you're playing a short range army or taking lots of them, then he is almost a must. Stat-wise, he's a normal Chapter Master (though he does not get an Honour Guard), with a few exceptions. He gets artificer armor (2+ save) and his Kesare's Mantle (3+ invulnerable), giving him good longevity, for a decent price. Further, he gets his Gauntlet of the Forge (heavy flamer), and the Spear of Vulkan (master-crafted relic blade), meaning he doesn't have a whole lot of ranged power, and not a high number of attacks, but can be rather devastating at close range, especially in the right squad. Either put him in a Tactical Squad, or with Terminators, and allow him to get in close.

Kor'sarro Khan
Point: 160 (+45 for Moondrakkan)
Tactics: Pay the points for Moondrakkan.  If you don't, you shouldn't be playing White Scars, which are supposed to be based entirely around bike squads. When given that, he gains Fleet, and you can take Bike Squads as Troops (as a Captain on a bike). Aside from that, he gives any squad he joins Hit and Run and Furious Charge, and you may give your entire army (including transports) Outflank. Depending on how you wish to run your army, this changes the game entirely, as pretty much nowhere on the table is "safe," for your opponent to stay. Finally, he has the same stats as a regular Chapter Master, including power armor, and a power sword that allows "to wound" rolls of 6 to cause Instant Death. This, combined with being on a bike, Furious Charge, and Hit and Run, can cause him to be a rather potent character hunting unit.

Space Marines Vehicles/Heavy Weapon Support

Alright, back on track here.  I'm going into the vehicular section of Space Marines in this entry.  Also covered will be Devastator Squads, because they fill the role better here than in the troops/infantry section.  That being said, let us begin with them:

Devastator Squad:
Pros: Lots of heavy weapons (see here for better list of options), may be placed in combat squads, can take 10 models (allowing you to have "sacrificial" models to allocate wounds to), the Signum allows you to take a single BS 5 shot every turn.
Cons: Cannot move and shoot, vulnerable to close combat, moderate-high points cost.
Recommended Upgrades: Give your sergeant a power weapon to help deal some damage in case they get assaulted.  If you can, take a full squad, to allocate wounds to.  Give at least 3 missile launchers, and possibly a single lascannon.  This allows them to create a decent amount of flexible firepower.
Tactics: Combat squad the unit, and either have both set up to get good cover and have a good view of the field, or put one combat squad in a Rhino to allow a mobile base of fire. If you are taking a short squad, always take a Rhino for protection/mobility. You may also take a Razorback.  Do not put any troops into it, just place it onto the field to create more shots.
Average Points Cost: 185-250 points

Next, we shall cover the vehicles.  I will start with the Land Raider variants, as they are basically the big vehicle to have in any army.

Land Raiders:
Land Raiders are large, tough tanks, the best the Space Marines bring to the table, and can offer a lot of firepower, not to mention troop transport ability, as they are the only vehicle in the game that can move models in Terminator armor.
Pros: Lots of weapons, solid 14 armor all around, machine spirit, high troop capacity, can transport Terminators
Land Raider: Anti-vehicle loadout
Land Raider Crusader: Effective against large numbers of troops, highest troop capacity (16), frag assault launchers
Land Raider Redeemer: High power template weapons, higher troop capacity (14), frag assault launchers, cheapest of the Land Raiders
Cons: no fire points, high cost
LR: lack of anti-infantry weapons
LRC: lack of anti-vehicle weapons, 24" range for all weapons
LRR: lack of anti-vehicle weapons, lack of range
Recommended Upgrades: Extra armor (if points are available)
LR: Storm bolter/multi-melta, as the storm bolter will give it an additional 2 shots useful against mass infantry, and the multi-melta gives it a solid, close range, anti-tank weapon.
LRC: Hunter-killer missile/multi-melta: allows some anti-vehicle options.
LRR: Storm bolter/multi-melta, the storm bolter allows additional shots on the move, and the multi-melta allows some anti-tank/anti-character weaponry.
Tactics: The tactics are more or less the same for all of them.  You want them to be carrying a full load of Terminators.  Because they are assault vehicles, keep them moving, get them directly into the fray, and unload their cargo where it's most needed, moving them in such a way to make full use of their primary weapons.  (the LR should be trying to take out vehicles in route, while the LRC and LRR should be going directly into the front lines, taking out as many models as possible). A Land Raider is a must for any army using Terminators that are not Deep Striking onto the board.
Average Points Cost:
LR: 250-285
LRC: 250-285

LRR: 240-275

Dreanought
Dreadnoughts are walkers carrying a decent amount of firepower, with at least one Dreadnought Close
Combat Weapon standard.  They have medium armor values, but a wide range of options for weapons. The Dreadnoughts all share the same pros and cons, so are listed as the same, with extra exceptions for the variants shown.
Pros: Relatively inexpensive, may take a Drop Pod, wide range of customizations.
Venerable: Higher WS/BS, Venerable rule.
Ironclad: Higher armor values, Move Through Cover, Seismic Hammer
Cons: Weak rear armor
Venerable: Higher points cost
Ironclad: Lack of ranged fire
Recommended Upgrades: Plasma cannon, assault cannon, or twin-linked lascannon.  If taking the lascannon, the missile launcher can give you more firepower against vehicles.  Extra armor (points prohibiting).
Venerable: Multi-melta, plasma cannon, or assault cannon.  BS 5 is enough, do not bother with twin-linked weapons.  Do not replace CCW, as this Dreadnought can do a lot of damage at range and up close.
Ironclad: Replace the storm bolter with a heavy flamer.  It can do more against either infantry or vehicles.  If you desire it to have more ranged ability, replace the arm altogether with hurricane bolters (and take the Ironclad assault launchers).  If keeping it strictly anti-armor, take at least 1 hunter-killer.
Tactics: Use your Dreadnought to either move along with your main force, providing additional firepower and close combat support, or have it go seperate and take out tanks/harass stray squads in ranged fire and close combat.  But always be wary of its rear armor. If using Drop Pods, put it behind your opponent's forces.  This works best as anti-tank with lascannon/missile launcher combo or a multi-melta, as you can take out at least one tank before your opponent can react.

Ironclad: Charge this baby straight into assault.  Take out vehicles if able, but any assault with this thing is guaranteed to see some problems caused for your opponent.
Personal Note: Dreads are a decent, well-rounded unit.  If you wind up needing something in your army for 150-200 points, Dreadnoughts can bring a decent punch to your game.
Average Points Cost: 115-195
Venerable:  165-235
Ironclad: 135-215

Predator:
The Space Marines take on an all-purpose battle tank, it is cheap, quick, and can be loaded with a multitude of weapons.
Pros: Cost, can be upgraded with lots of weapons
Cons: Low armor values, cannot be taken in squadrons (so each Predator is a Heavy Support choice)
Recommended Upgrades: Take heavy bolter side sponsons, a storm bolter, and hunter-killer missile.  If you wish to make it anti-tank, take the twin-linked lascannon and lascannon sponsons, with the same optional upgrades.  Take extra armor, if it is affordable.
Tactics: Use it for a persuasive area denial unit (no one wants to deal with a possible 11 shots directed at their squad), it can follow your main body of troops as a crowd control device, or you can use it to deter your opponent's tanks.  When using it, ensure that it's rear armor is always covered, as it is extremely vulnerable to even decent regular fire (bolters and pulse rifles can destroy it), and always keep it supported.
Personal Note: I personally do not think this is a bad tank, it's just not a good one.  It's a bit of a glass cannon, and it's major downside is that it takes up an entire Heavy Support slot.  If you could take a squadron, I would recommend this over anything else in the SM Codex Heavy Support section.  But as a result, I must advise against using them, except as an additional support to balance out an army for cheap.
Average Points Cost: 80-180

Whirlwind:
Whirlwinds act as indirect anti-troop tanks.
Pros: Decent Crowd Control, relatively low points cost
Cons: Low S, AP, ineffective vs vehicles, each takes a full Heavy Support choice, weak armor
Recommended Upgrades: Storm bolter, just in case
Tactics: Set it behind cover, either in the corners or centrally.  From there, bombard your enemy's ranks with pie plates.
APC: 85-110 pts

Vindicator:
The Vindicator is a Rhino chassis supporting a demolisher cannon.  It can be a devastating weapon on the battlefield, or a liability.
Pros: Demolisher cannon
Cons: Short range, weak rear armor
Recommended Upgrades: Take a storm bolter, hunter-killer missile, siege shield and extra armor.
Tactics: Kinda tricky.  The short range and need for LOS means that it needs to be mobile.  The Ordnance weapon means it needs to be still to shoot.  My suggestion is to move it with your troops, let them cover it, and it will keep tanks and troops at bay.
APC: 125-160

Quick Break:  Brother-Sergeant Chronus:
Brother-Sergeant Chronus is a single, 70 point upgrade for a single tank you field.  The price is steep, but he allows your vehicle to ignore crew shaken and crew stunned results (making extra armor irrelevant), and gives it BS 5.  If you decide to use tanks, it wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in him, especially if you're mixing your vehicles with your troops (should his vehicle be destroyed, there's a 66% chance he is dropped on the board as an Independant Character), so he can quickly join up with a squad.

Thunderfire Cannon:
How artillery is done with the Space Marines.  It's a giant, immobile cannon manned by a techpriest.
Pros: It's cheap, has good range, can lay down more anti-infantry firepower (4 3" blasts per turn) than a Whirlwind, comes with a Techmarine, and can be loaded into a Drop Pod
Cons: no upgrade options, immobile, requires line of sight, and its only defenses against armor are an ability forcing it to move as if it were in difficult terrain and a S6 salvo.
Tactics: Use this very basically, for area denial and crowd control.  Just ensure you have it set up in the right place.  Use the Techmarine's Bolster Defenses ability to place it in a section with an additional +1 cover save.
APC: 100-135 (with Drop Pod)

Land Speeder Squadron:
Land Speeders offer Space Marines a fast skimmer weapons platforms.  They are excellent platforms, albeit glass cannons.
Pros: They are cheap, have a wide variety of upgrade options, and, of course, fast skimmers (12" move and still fire? Don't mind if I do...).
Cons: Weak armor values.
Suggested Upgrades: For anti-infantry, take either the Tornado variant with an additional heavy flamer, heavy bolter, or assault cannon.  For anti-tank, take 2 multi-meltas. Typhoons offer range and a multiple shot missile launcher.
Tactics: Take multiples. Try to take 3.  Also, add a good mix of Typhoons and Tornadoes.  Just keep it designated towards one specific task.  In game, fly them as far forward as quickly as you can, making sure you keep firing at whatever they are specialized against.  Remember, they are probably not going to survive the game, just keep them alive as long as possible while dealing as much damage to your opponent as possible before they do go down.
APC: 60-100 per model (depending on loadout); 120-300 for a squadron

Attack Bike Squadron:
Squadrons of up to 3 Attack bikes.  Offer some maneuverable (albeit limited) firepower.
Pros: Cheap, fairly tough, and fast.
Cons: Lack of options, can only work 1-2 ways
Suggested Upgrades: They only have one: they can take a multi-melta upgrade.
Tactics: I would only use them for limited engagements.  They count as having toughness 5 for your opponent's to wound rolls, and that is nice, but you have to be careful if you're using them for tank hunting, as most vehicles would tear the squadron apart in a turn of shooting.  I suggest using them as outriders for your main force, as a mobile area denial and/or picking off vehicles/characters that are a bit too close for comfort. Also, make sure you take 3 any time you use a squadron, otherwise you are only looking at one or two turns of shooting with them.
APC: 40-150 points

Land Speeder Storm:
Land Speeder Storms provide Scout transport and options on the board.
Pros: Fast Skimmer, can transport 5 Scouts
Cons: Armor 10, it's open-topped, and BS3.
Suggested Upgrades: If points are available, switch out the heavy bolter with an assault cannon.
Tactics: Load it with a squad of 5 Scouts, give them a missile launcher, Sgt Telion, and 3 sniper rifles, allow it to roam around the field as a crowd control unit or last-ditch anti-vehicle missile.  Remember, sniper rifles don't have a strength, and missile launcher frag missiles are S4, so they can be fired as defensive weapons.
APC: 50-85 points

Alright, that's it for this installment.  I have to move to a new apartment, so it may be a week or two before I post again.  Oh, and I have to throw a shout-out to my buddy over at 40k Hobbiest. He's a personal friend, a good guy, and a damn good painter. Until next time...