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...

Symmetry

Random thought I had, and realized it needed to be put down:

There is a lot to be said about a symmetrical army.  Set up your forces in such a manner that it has a certain symmetry to it, the same when it is put on the table.  If you take one unit, have another one identical (or, near identical, anyways) if you can.  There are going to be units you only take one of, given, but for your main forces (your troops and their primary support), you want doubles.  If you have 3, then that is fine as well.  Take your first two, and your third acts as a middle support pillar, aiding whichever most needs it.  This helps your army immensely.  When you form your army on the tabletop, do the same.  Place your army so it near mirrors itself, this gives you an even defense against both sides.  Run any single units in the middle, as this allows them to flex and maneuver to either side and lend support.  If you have all of your troops on one side, and your vehicles on the other, then they cannot support each other.  Take from this what you will, but following this will help you immensely.

Space Marines: Troop Formations

Before I get into individual squads, I would like to point out the "normal" squad upgrades and go over which upgrades are good and which are not as good, and why.

Leadership Upgrades:
Storm Bolter: cheap; allows 2 shots at 24", is an assault weapon, but it does not allow you to have an additional attack in close combat.  I personally do not recommend this as much. (3-10 pts)
Power Weapon: moderately priced, close combat weapon, it's a good investment. (15 pts)
Plasma Pistol: moderately priced, excellent S and AP, can kill your sergeant. Not recommended.  At all. (15 pts)
Power Fist: expensive, excellent for last minute wounds or against that monstrous creature/walker.  If you can afford the extra 10 points from a Power Weapon, get it.(25 pts)

Special/Assault Weapons:
Flamer: cheap, template (hits a lot but short range).  This can go either way, there are benefits to this weapon, and reasons others are better.  Use your best judgement.
Meltagun: almost as cheap, short range (12"), high S, AP values. I recommend this choice.
Plasma gun: expensive, rapid fire (so no shooting before assault, where you can get the most out of it), and it overheats. Not recommended.

Heavy Weapons:
Heavy Bolter: cheap, multiple shots, 36" range.  Not a bad weapon, just not great either.  In comparison to other options, it just kind on sits between Krak missiles and Frag missiles out of a Missile Launcher. I recommend using a Missile Launcher instead.
Missile Launcher: cheap, multiple rounds (S 8 AP 3/S 4 AP 5, Blast), 48" range.  I recommend this.
Multi-melta: cheap, short range, but excellent against vehicles, and can add that last minute high-powered, no armor save shot.
Plasma Cannon(only used by some units): expensive, powerful, has a blast diameter, 35" range, overheats. Not a bad choice, but you pay too much and it has the potential to kill one of your own.
Lascannon: expensive, powerful anti-tank weapon, 48" range.  I do not recommend this.  Go with a Missile Launcher instead, it will save you lots of points.  If you must have anti-tank, go with a multi-melta. The range is significantly shorter, but if you are mobile, that should not be an issue.

Dedicated Transports:
Rhino:
Pros: It's a cheap armored vehicle.  It allows you to either have it be a mobile heavy weapons carrier or allow you to castle. 30 pts.
Cons: It's a cheap armored vehicle.  It is easy to kill, only 2 fire points, and the tank itself has almost no firepower.
Recommended Upgrades: Additional Storm Bolter (bringing you up to 4 shots, plus your two fire points), Dozer Blade, Extra Armor.
Conclusion: It's weak, but it can safely carry your troops for at least one turn.  Points well spent. Besides, with the Combat Squad ability, these can give you noticeable flexibility.
Razorback:
Pros: It's only 5 points more than a Rhino and offers more firepower. 40 pts.
Cons: Only holds 6 models, does not have any firing points.
Recommended Upgrades: Storm Bolter, Dozer Blade, Extra Armor.  There are multiple weapons options (Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter is standard), Recommendations are towards Twin-linked lascannon and Lascannon with coaxial twin-linked plasma guns (aka las-plas)
Conclusion: Take it for command or small assault squads.  Possibly for Devastators.  If you use it for your regular squads you are just weakening them.
Drop Pod:
Pros: You can Deep Strike masses of them onto the battlefield, where they sit, adding another storm bolter to the fray.  They have decent armor, so can keep your opponent's anti-tank busy, as they can be quite a nuisance.  They will not hit terrain or enemy squads, and you can drop half of them on Turn 1. 35 pts.
Cons: They are immobile.  They cannot move from where you place them.
Recommended Upgrades: none
Conclusion: This can cause a lot of confusion and problems for your opponent.  That storm bolter is no threat in itself, but the fact that it can just sit there and continuously fire at his units means that it can still cause wounds, and should be eliminated.  Armor 12 means he will need to use some of his anti-tank (or at least his better anti-infantry) weapons to do that.  Not to mention you can deploy half of them on turn one.  It's not a bad choice, should you wish to use Reserves/Deep Strike.

Now that upgrades are out of the way (they are mostly the same throughout the squads, and I will add notes when they are not), we can discuss units.  I will be discussing your main body forces here, i.e., the majority of your ground troops.  The only squads I will not discuss in this blog are Devastator Squads, which will be placed in my Heavy Support blog, and Honor Guard and Command Squads, which will be in my HQ/Support blog.  Every unit entry here will have a brief description of the unit, any upgrades (aside from the normal, previously listed, or changed from that list in some way), it's pros and cons, recommended upgrades, and recommended tactics for them. I thought about a conclusion paragraph, but I decided against it.  At the end of the Space Marines section of blogs, I will discuss overall army tactics with them, and you can decide whether or not to take units mentioned here.  Also included are "average" points range.  This is purely so you can tell how much you're going to be spending, and do not include vehicle pricing.  So, on with the units:

Tactical Squad:
This is the mainstay of any Space Marine army.  They are a good, static unit, and can be very flexible.
Pros: As most Space Marines have WS/BS of 4 or higher and an armor save of 3+, I will not list that.  Their main pros are that they can combat squad, can deliver a lot of firepower for their size, and all-around good troops to have.
Cons: They are expensive, and cannot deliver a lot assault-wise.  They are meant to be a static, ranged unit, as the majority of the Codex is.
Upgrades: I recommend a power weapon for your sergeant, if you do not have the points for a power fist.  Take melta bombs to burn up last-minute points. As previously stated, go with a meltagun or flamer and missile launcher.
Tactics: you can do a lot with them.  If using them as a light unit, combat squad them, give your heavy weapon some good fields of fire, and place your special/assault weapon and sergeant in the other combat squad.  Your heavy weapon will support your close combat squad at range, and can continuously fire.  If Mechanized, either place the whole squad in the Rhino and advance as such, or combat squad them, keeping the aforementioned plan, with your heavy weapon in the vehicle (as it can now move and shoot).  While advancing, keep your "assault" combat squad behind your Rhino, using it as cover. If using Drop Pods, take or leave the heavy weapon (you can't shoot it the turn your troops come on the board anyways), and deep strike right next to the objective.
Average Points Cost:  190-200 Note that this list is purely what is placed above, with no vehicles or other upgrades.

Scout Squad:
Your other Troops choice, Scout Squads benefit from can infiltrate.  They are not allowed the full range of upgrades, and their weapons choices are bolters, bolt pistols/combat blades, shotguns, and sniper rifles.  One scout may carry a Heavy Bolter (with hellfire shells, S X AP5, Blast, Poisoned) or Missile Launcher.
Pros: They are cheaper than Tactical Squads, can infiltrate (I would place them on or near an objective to take it asap), move through cover, and take a wide variety of weapons for much more flexibility than your regular tactical squads.  They can also carry teleport homers, which are useful if you are deep striking your squads, and camo cloaks to boost their cover saves.
Cons: WS/BS 3 and a 4+ Armor save.  They are the most vulnerable unit in the space marines, and cannot take vehicles.
Upgrades:  If you want them to deal with assault, give them shotguns/combat blades, in whatever mix you desire.  If you want them to be a ranged unit, give them sniper rifles and a missile launcher.  Because you can combat squad them, you can create a mix, where 5 are straight assault oriented, and 5 equipped for longer range. Regardless, the power weapon/power fist for your sergeant is still a viable option.
Tactics: Due to their saves and (comparatively) low WS/BS, I do not recommend them as your main force, and instead suggest using them as support.  Infiltrate them on or near the objective and take it on turn one, then either use your snipers reduce numbers/pin your opponent's squads or assault them and stall their movements while your Tactical Squads advance to the objective.
Note: Veteran Sergeant Telion Upgrade: you can give a scout squad Veteran Sergeant Telion for 50 points.  He offers BS 6, Ld 9, and a sniper rifle with 2 shots, and can give his BS to another member of the squad (provided he does not shoot that turn).  If you have the points and are playing a sniper setup, take him.
Average Points Cost: 140-230

Bike Squad:
Bike Squads are a fast attack choice, but if you take a Space Marine Captain and give him a bike, they count as Troops (and can therefore hold objectives)
Pros: They are extremely fast, and offer twin-linked bolters that can be fired on the move, in addition to your regular upgrades. This can give your army a huge boost of hit-and-run tactics.
Cons: They are also extremely expensive, and your heavy weapons choices are limited to heavy bolter or multi-melta attack bikes.
Upgrades:  Treat your sergeant like a tactical squad one.  Same with your special/assault weapon.  Take the multi-melta for a mobile anti-tank shot.
Tactics: Use them to hit-and-run your opponent and whittle his numbers down, staying just outside his assault range, then assault them once their numbers are manageable or they become a threat to your objective.  If using them as Troops, combat squad them and keep your heavy weapon on the objective.
Average Points Cost: 125(only 3 bikes)-300

Assault Squad:
Assault squads are jump pack equipped shock troops, equipped with bolt pistols and close combat weapons.  They can take 2 flamers for 10 points or plasma pistols for 15.
Pros: Lots of attacks (3 each on the assault), highly mobile because of the jump packs, and can trade in jump packs for rhinos or drop pods for free if you do not want to risk them taking fire.
Cons: They are expensive and have no ranged fire, so must be supported by your other squads.
Upgrades: Sergeant as normal, give them flamers for additional killing power on the assault.
Tactics: use them to follow your Tactical Squads, and either as a counter-assault element, objective clearing, or assault ahead of your Tactical Squads to hold up your opponent's squads/prevent them from reaching the objective.
Average Points Cost: 125 (5 model squad)-235

Scout Bike Squadron:
Scout bikes provide you with cheaper-than-bike-squads mobile firepower/assault elements.  They can also take teleport homers, cluster mines, and astartes-pattern grenade launchers.
Pros: Again, fast and agile, with the ability to hit and run and create a mobile "safe haven" for deep strike elements.  Grenade launchers are also a big plus
Cons: Even though they are Scouts, they are still expensive, and still suffer from lower WS, BS, and armor save.  They cannot take an attack bike.
Upgrades: Treat your sergeants as normal. Get the grenade launchers.  They are expensive, but worth it.  Cluster mines can be placed to prevent enemy movements.
Tactics: Use them the same as your bike squads.  If you take teleport homers and wish to use deep strike, keep them in a position to support your main forces without engaging in assault (at least until you get your units on the board).
Average Points Cost: 115(min squad)-250

Legion of the Damned Squads:
Space Marines turned ethereal ghosts of vengeance, they can deep strike and offer a decent amount of fire.
Pros: Slow but purposeful, 3+ invulnerable save, re-roll deep strike rolls, fearless
Cons: Expensive
Upgrades: As a normal Tactical Squad
Tactics: This is kinda tough.  They always deep strike, and there is never a guarantee of them actually showing up.  They can be put to good use as a mobile fire squad, able to deal a lot of ranged damage.
Personal Note: I recommend against using these squads. The raged firepower and invulnerable saves are nice, when dealing with low ap weapons and power weapons.  Against most ranged/melee attacks they are killed just as easily as regular marines.
Average Points Cost: 190 (short squad)-355

Sternguard/Vanguard Squads:
These take the place of the older Veteran and Deathwatch squads.  Sternguard are, basically, upgraded Tactical Squads, Vanguard upgraded Assault Squads. I mixed these two together because they compliment each other, and I believe limited abilities.
Pros:
Sternguard: Can create an impressive support by fire or enhance your Tactical Squads with some nasty bolter ammo, combi-weapon spam, and much more flexibility with your special/assault/heavy weapons.
Vanguard: Massive number of attacks (4 each on the charge), your sergeant comes with a power weapon, and can assault the turn they deep strike (provided they do not fire-Heroic Intervention). Can give the entire squad power weapons and melta bombs or better.
Cons: Very Expensive
Sternguard: Limited assault abilities. They get 1 additional attack per turn over Tactical Squads, but it still means they cannot do much.
Vanguard: Almost no ranged power.  You have to pay to give them jump packs.
Upgrades:
Sternguard: Combi-meltas.  Their greatest strength is in their special issue ammunition.  Using special or heavy weapons takes away from that firepower, and having a fistful of combi-meltas gives you a massive boon up close.
Vanguard: Power weapons/fists/thunder hammers/melta bombs. If you wish to use Heroic Intervention, give them Jump Packs or Drop Pods.  If not, a Rhino or Razorback will suffice.
Tactics:
Sternguard:  Keep them close to your Tactical Squads.  They are a great boon to your ranged fire, and the extra attacks are useful in an assault.
Vanguard: Use them as a character hunting unit.  I have debated on adding anti-tank, but in all reality, they might take out 1 or 2 before being completely annihilated.  I personally do not think that makes up for their points cost. Keep their numbers small and use them to intercept and destroy your opponent's support characters before they start destroying your line forces.
Personal Note: I recommend against using these squads.  They are good, but you are paying for Space Marines with a cool ability or two and an additional attack.  If you want to spend hundreds of points on a squad, use Terminators.  They have a 2+ save and a 5+ Invulnerable. Speaking of which...
Average Points Cost:
Sternguard: 150-285
Vanguard:  275


Terminator/Terminator Assault Squads:
Juggernauts with power weapons, storm bolters, and high armor saves.  They are the best foot troops in the Space Marine Codex. Terminators can be upgraded with Heavy Flamers, Assault Cannons, or Cyclone Missile Launchers (basically a 2-shot missile launcher).  Terminator Assault Squads come with lightning claws and can be given thunder hammers and storm shields.
Pros: Deep Strike, Terminator Armor, Relentless
Terminators: Lots of firepower, lots of power fists
Terminator Assault Squads: lots of assault ability
Cons: Very Expensive, can only ride in Land Raiders
Terminator Assault Squads: no ranged firepower. At all.
Upgrades:
Terminators: Cyclone Missile Launchers.  They are expensive, but can do a lot.  Give one or two a chainfist to deal with vehicles in melee.
Terminator Assault Squads: Give them a decent spread of lightning claws and thunder hammers, so you have a nice bit of wound allocation and a few hits with thunder hammers to deal some instant death/deal with monstrous creatures.
Tactics:
Terminators: With a full squad, deep strike them onto the tabletop (either whole or in combat squads) and begin releasing huge torrents of fire.  Assault or counter-assault in support of objectives or characters.  With a short squad, place them in a Land Raider and use them as a counter-assault, allowing them to support with ranged fire after the melee.
Terminator Assault Squads: Take a short squad and put them in a Land Raider.  Use them as character hunters and counter-assault, keeping the Land Raider close, to load them back up after melee.  Keep in mind that they have a minimum size of 5 models, so if you attach a support character to the squad, you will have to use a Land Raider Crusader or Redeemer.
Average Points Cost:
Terminators: 235-470
Terminator Assault Squad: 200-400 pts

I hope this has been informative and helpful, please leave comments if you wish clarification.

Merry Christmas and some notes (redux)

First, have to post this.
Warning: NSFW

Second, images for your viewing pleasures of the Christmas variety:

Alright, do enjoy your Christmahannukwanzakuh.

Now that being said, there are some things I wish to clarify before moving forward next week (Exciting stuff).

Light Infantry vs Light Infantry:
I will make use of the term Light Infantry in two ways.  One is the Light/Mech method, covered here. The second is the Light/Heavy method, which is a bit harder to explain, and with more grey area.  Light units are overall cheaper and with a lower save, heavy units have a better save.  This may seem easy, but it also goes into purpose on the board.  For example, a Space Marine Scout Squad with a 4+ save I consider Light.  However, a Storm Trooper Squad has the same armor and I consider Heavy.  So, I have devised a little cheat sheet here for future reference.

Light:

1. 4+ save or worse
2. Occupies Troops or Fast Attack slot
3. Equipped primarily against other infantry or low toughness/save targets
4. Cheap choices
5. Focused on amassed firepower vs effective firepower

Heavy:

1. 4+ save or better
2. Occupies Elites or Heavy Support slot
3. Equipped primarily against tanks or high toughness/save targets
4. More expensive
5. Focused on higher percentages of hits vs large number of shots

Now, there is some grey area, and that is where you have to figure it out for yourself.  But this should help clarify when I discuss a weapon or ability being effective against Light or Heavy Infantry.

Next on the agenda is Crowd Control vs Area Denial. I should point out that all anti-infantry weapons can be used for this purpose (and some anti-tank ones as well), but I specifically point out sniper rifles instead.  This is because I believe they are a great tool, and not many early players appreciate how effective they can be.  Most start off trying to take out commanders and such, but while they can do that, their best uses (in my opinion) is right here.

Crowd Control works by eliminating large numbers of troops, slowing down their advance, or softening them up for assault. This is the most generalized usage of anti-infantry heavy weapons in the game.  The following is an example of how it works.

In this example, the dirty yellow box indicates an objective, the dark green boxes represent terrain, the red infantry symbol is an opponent's squad, the dark red line illustrates your area denial lines of fire, and the green/red arrows indicate your opponent's options for movement.  No matter where how the opponent approaches the objective, his troops will always be under heavy fire from your weapons, and must survive that and assault.  You can use sniper rifles in this method as they pin your opponent's troops, and slows them down, preventing them from advancing (which, in turn, gives you more time to shoot at them.  It's a great cycle.).
Area Denial goes a step further by setting up firepower in areas so that your opponent does not want to pass his troops through there.  Allow me to present a case to you:

Now as we can see in this slightly different example, there are two paths.  If your opponent chooses Path A, which is shorter, he will be subjected to your Anti-Infantry squad, as well as your troops squad on the objective.  If he chooses Path B, his unit will be safely out of line of sight from both for quite some time, and only in range of your anti-infantry squad a short time.  You can use sniper rifles in this method because between rending and causing pinning, his units can suffer a lot of damage before reaching the objective. While the idea of making a "safer approach" may seem counter-productive, it's not.  It buys you turns on the objective, as well as time to deal with any other squads on the board, and to reinforce the objective.  His squad may not be annihilated this turn, but you have made him change his plans.  And that is what you want to achieve throughout the game.  If I can get one thing through to you new players out there it is that You want your opponent to have to adjust to everything you do, while not having to adjust any of your plans to what he's doing.

That's all I have for this week.  Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Format for army tactics pages

Alright, now, in the upcoming posts is starting the hard parts...

As I stated previously that I thought Space Marines would be good to start with, when I do start my individual army tactics, I am starting with them.  After that will be Imperial Guard, as I see them as the most tactically flexible army, followed by Space Wolves (which I play).  Space Wolves will be short as there is someone who has extensively written on their tactics, and his site will be linked when I discuss them.  Following the Space Wolves will be Dark and regular Eldar, as I have 2 friends who play them.

Also, before I go into this, there is enough to write whole books on how to use individual armies.  I will be much more brief than that, instead focusing on individual units, strengths, and weaknesses, with brief overall army tactics and a sample army list or two and how they work.

One last bit about timeline.  I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to do this.  Furthermore, next weekend is Christmas.  I do intend on spending it with family, so, if I post at all, it will be brief.  But trust me, I will be back, and my upcoming posts will start getting interesting.

That's all I got for this week. Until next time...

Alright...

Well, this one was a... well, female of the canid variety.  It took me a lot but I did manage to get it up and running.  So, this one is all about full-on game tactics.  So let's dive right in, now, shall we?

Part one is to visualize the board.  Just so you know, all the "tables" shown follow the scheme of blue is your deployment zone, red is your opponent's, green is difficult terrain/cover, and the lettered circles are objectives.  So let's get this image up there.

Alright, got your basic, 48" by 48" table.  for making this as basic as possible, I limited this to 4 pieces of terrain and 3 objectives, as everything else I will do can be modified from the tactics given here to deal with it.

Now, the next step is to identify the avenues of approach.  The blue blocks/lines are the horizontal, the green are the vertical.  These are going to be the main routes of movement and giving the direction for most of the game.

"Why is this important?," you may ask.  The answer is that you can use this to identify, early on, all of the paths of movement around the table, and it will help you see and block your opponent's plans before he initiates them.

The next step, for me, is to figure out where I am going to put my area denial and anti-tank units.  You want to place them someplace with good field of view, where they can be supported easily, and where they have cover saves.  In this map I "placed" two of them as shown:

Alright, this requires a bit of explanation and can look a little confusing, and for that I apologize.  The lines mean long, uninterrupted lines of sight not blocked by objectives.  The dark pink areas are areas that can be shot at by both units, and the light pink can only be shot at by 1 or the other. The lines and fans are to scale, representing weapons with 36 inch range. Now, as you can see, models on the vast majority of the disputed area are definitely within range and able to be engaged by your support.  They are in cover, and they can fire at units directly in front of each other, allowing cross-support.  They will probably never have to move for the entire game.

Next I normally figure out how I am going to deploy my troops.  I believe that your army should be built towards capturing the objectives, and as such I create my tactics in such a manner as to best accomplish that.  I have a handful of basic strategies, the Pincer, Strongwall, and SBP.

Pincer:

The pincer works best with large armies, such as Imperial Guard or Nids.  It works by splitting your forces, taking the outside objectives as quickly as you can, and swiftly attacking the middle, leaving some forces behind to to hold your initial captures.  It's strengths are that,if you have sufficient manpower, you can take two objectives right off the bat and at least contest for the third by the end of the game.  On the flip side, if you use this on a board too large, you can easily have your forces separated and eliminated.

Strongwall:

Strongwall works better with smaller armies.  you move quickly to two adjacent objectives and hold there, with any other units located in between your forces and acting as counter assault and support troops.  It's strengths are that you take (possibly) two locations at once, and your units can support each other, plus you have a quick reaction force nearby.  Basically it's easier to hold your position, and you can elect to just sit in place and let your opponent come to you.

SBP:

SBP, or Slow but Purposeful, works by moving all of your troops to one objective, taking it by mass numbers and force, leaving a skeleton defense, and moving to the next objective with the rest of your troops. Continue this process until you can only attack with one squad.  It's strength is that it keeps your attacking force unified and allows you to systematically eliminate your opponent with overwhelming numbers one objective at a time.  It's weakness is that you have to leave skeleton defenses, which can easily be retaken by your opponent.  Also, every time you take a new objective, your attacking power is reduced for the next one.

Last, we come to tank uses.  There are a lot of good tactics, so I am going to give you the basics, and the most simple of them:

Alright, not much to explain here.  Having a wedge in the middle allows you to centrally locate your armor and divert it to attack either left or right, situation depending.  The echelons allow you to move your armor behind the objectives, change direction and formation to wedge, and sweep them across the board.  Generally speaking, the wedge would be most useful with the Pincer or Strongwall, whereas the echelons more useful in Strongwall or SBP.

And, there you have it.  I believe this to be, for all its brevity, a fairly decent basic look at tactics and strategy.  I am going to take some time off, collect my notes, and start with individual army strategies, starting with Space Marines.