TAC Marines have proven to not only be fun to play, but quite popular as well! Here are my plans to expand up to 1750pts using some Forge World units.
Hey everyone, you’re all probably seen the videos of the TAC Marines going up against various power builds in the game and with a combination of a little energon and a lot of luck, come out victorious.
The army is sweet, and good fun. No repeated units, and a tool for every situation. Up until now I have been playing at 1500pts, but we’re confident that by the time we get to the BAO, the community will be ready to go back up to 1750pts. So, in anticipation of that, I am getting ready to ramp the TAC Marines up.
Also, since we allow Forge World units in our events, I am going to incorporate some fun units from FW into the army and explain why I am choosing them. Hopefully soon, we will have a video bat rep up showcasing the new A Team! We would do it sooner but we’ve been slammed with orders for 6th ed starter set orders and that is definitely more important than playing 40K! Although, I have managed to slap some paint on the models that weren’t painted, so that will look nice once we do get around to filming another bat rep.
So, here’s the new list!
| Unit | Description | Size | Cost |
| HQ | |||
| Azra Redth | 1 | 165 | |
| Troops | |||
| Tactical Marines | Flamer, M.launcher | 10 | 170 |
| Tactical Marines | P.Gun, L.Cannon | 10 | 190 |
| Tactical Marines | Melta, M.Melta | 10 | 175 |
| Elites | |||
| Rifleman Dread | A.Cannon x 2 | 1 | 125 |
| Seige Dreadnought | 1 | 120 | |
| Drop Pod | 1 | 35 | |
| Fast Attack | |||
| Attack Bikes | M.Melta x 3 | 3 | 150 |
| Strom Talon | 1 | 130 | |
| Typhoon | 2 | 180 | |
| Heavy Support | |||
| Whirlwind | 1 | 85 | |
| Vindicator | S.Shield | 1 | 125 |
| Fortifications | |||
| Aegis | Quad Gun | 1 | 100 |
| Totals | 43 | 1750 |
So first of all, the HQ. Azra Redth is the Mantis Warrior special character from the Baddab War books (and all those characters are just so cool and characterful, and not at all OP). Why would I take him over a normal, and much cheaper Libby? Several reasons.
For one he is mastery level 2 and he has access to the Divination school of powers which is awesome for Marines as they normally can’t get it. However, he has to take his special psychic power as one of his powers but thankfully, it is really useful! His power Mirage gives he and his unit Shrouding and any unit that charges them counts as making a Disordered Charge (lose their charge bonus and Furious Assault). That is pretty dang good, not crazy as he will always be with a Tactical squad, but it really helps to keep them alive and holding an objective.
Redth also has a 5++ and he is Initiative 5, but all other stats are the same. Again, nothing crazy, but a nice benefit over a normal Libby.
He also can reroll one failed psychic check per turn, which is really nice to help avoid those perils.
Redth also switches Combat Tactics for Infiltrators which is good and bad. Combat Tactics is SUPER useful, but for my list Infiltrate is not a bad substitute. It is great for the Attack Bikes and it is nice for the Tacticals as it allows them to see where to best deploy, outflank if needs be and to get a head start on heading towards objectives if needs be.
Lastly, he gives enemy units -1 on their reserve rolls (awesome when facing Flyers!) and he lets you reroll the Seize the Initiative roll. Nice one!
So in all, he isn’t all that powerful on his own, but he is a great utility and in a list like the TAC Marines, he adds a lot. I think he is definitely worth the extra points.
The Flamernaught was dropped for a Seige Dread. The Seige Dread is fantastic, one of the best units for his points, IMO. He has a Flamestorm Cannon (Strength 6 AP 3, Template) and a Heavy Flamer with his DDCW. He comes stock with Extra Armor which is nice and as a really cool bonus, if he gets a penetrating hit on a Foritifcation or Transport vehicle, any unit inside gets hit with a Heavy Flamer! Cool! And all of that for only 120pts, nice one! He rides in the Drop Pod and scares the piss out of everything.
In Fast Attack I added 2 Typhoons. I LOVE Typhoons, have since they got upgraded at the beginning of 5th. They are fantastic units and can put the serious ass whip down on any type of unit. In a pair, they can smoke infantry or take down vehicles.
The rest of the list remains the same and I think this will be a very well rounded army, and again, a ton of fun to play as it is so mobile and packs a wallop. To jump up to 2,000pts, I would add a unit of Assault Marines or Assault Terminators.
What kinds of balanced lists are you guys playing?