Yo, yo, yo! So, I had a chance to test my White Scars theory list and have evolved the idea! As always, head over to the Tactics Corner for more articles, lists and bat reps!
So here is the original list from a few weeks back which you can read about here.
I had a chance to test the theory with Spam Adams from our team against his very powerful Triple Riptide/Triple Broadside Taudar list. He was nice enough to let me try the list under optimal conditions: me going first and him not seizing. We did that just to test it out to see if it was a viable list/tactic.
So I brought the following:
- Khan on Bike
- Command Squad with Apothecry and 5 Grav Guns
- 6 x 10 Tactical Squads with Flamer, M.Melta, M.Bombs in a Rhino
- 2 x Thunderfire Cannons
So, really, really straight forward: Bum rush the enemy with an overwhelming amount of Tactical Marines, fire support with Thunderfires and a Grav Spam command squad to donkey punch vehicles and MCs.
I Scout Moved forward due to Khan (I take White Scars over Raven Guard as Hit and Run with Scouts is obviously much better than Scouts without Hit and Run), and then with first turn moved forward 6″, disembarked 6″ and had 60 Marines plus Khan and his Command Squad damn near in the Taudar deployment zone. As he had castled up, it was a quick and bloody fight.
Between my alpha strike, the T-Fire Cannons, and the Grav Guns, I took out a Riptide, half the Broadisdes, all of the Missile Drones and immobilized a Devilfish. Ouch. His turn 1 he hits back with his still potent firepower and kills almost 20 Marines. Turn 2, I assault everything and that is game. Brutal!
So, the concept works. And works well. This list is good against damn near anything but it has a few big weaknesses. If the other guy Scouts or Infiltrates before you, he can shut it down. Bummer. I thought about taking some Scouts or Scout Bikers of my own to counter the counter but it is still luck dependent. I also asked myself how this list would fare against Screamerstar and the answer wasn’t positive. I would have to run away from them and play to objectives, killing their troops and support units, letting the Screamerstar eat a unit a turn. No fun. The Grav Spam Command Squad was really powerful but tends to die right after it shoots…because it is so brutal! It is an expensive unit to risk but they do drop an MC like a hot rock.
So then I thought, Space Wolf allies. That gives me a Rune Priest who, obviously, adds a lot with a Runic Staff to try and stop psyker powers and he gives me JotWW, so broken but so useful and it combos with Grav Weapons like rice goes with beans! Lowering a targets In before dropping them into the bowels of the earth is a nasty trick. Plus, Divination powers are amazing. I could drop a unit of Tactical Marines, take a unit of Grey Hunters in a Rhino or Pod and still have roughly the same army. Plus, and here’s the kicker, the Rune Priest gives me a Chooser of the Slain, which flat out stops enemy scout moves and infiltrators in an 18″ radius bubble. Brutal.
The nice thing about the Rhinos over Bikers is that if you don’t go second you still have the Rhinos so soak up a round of enemy shooting. It gives you the ability to take an Alpha Strike if you go second or get seized on, and not have it be so devastating whereas Bikers really suffer in a game of attrition. Plus, you seriously can’t go wrong with 60 Tactical Marines that all have Hit and Run! Money in the bank, right there.
I think this is a list that really has legs. I plan on trying it out some more but so far I am very pleased with the concept and look forward to trying it out against some more tournament lists! I am still fine tuning it, but here is the rough idea. The only real weakness is a lack of AA but hopefully your army is in HtH before it really matters and then, again, Rhinos helps a ton to keep you mobile and safe. I may have to find room for a Stalker or Stormtalon, though.
- Khan: Bike
- Rune Priest: Bike, Chooser of the Slain, JotWW, Storm Caller
- Command Squad: Bikes, Grav Guns x 5
- 5 x 10 Tactical Marines: Special Weapon, Heavy Weapon, M.Bombs, Rhino
- 1 x 10 Grey Hunters: D.Pod, Flamer x 2, P.Axe, Standard
- T-Fire Cannons x 2
Great right up and fun ide for SM..
You love to see an article like this for all the new chapters that got new rules in Codex:SM. I know white scars are considers the best atm but I still have to believe that there are other setup for the other chapters that would work well 🙂
For sure, that is a great idea. I have some lists for BTs and UMs in the Tactics Corner if you click the tab at the top. I will add more, too. Glad you liked it!
Well, it remains to be seen whether this list is legal or not.
The question is whether the Apothecary still counts as a veteran (and therefore can take wargear) or not… thus this 5th grav gun may be illegal.
For the independent tournament FAQ we ruled it that way (Adepticon, LVO, BAO, WargamesCon, Feast of Blades, etc.) so I know the main events i go to it will be good to go. For gaming groups though, I understand what you’re saying. Best to ask. It’s a minor rule issue though, if I went somewhere and they didn’t play it that way I’d just drop a Grav Gun, no biggie.
Hi,
I’m currently working on a similar list, but I changed some things and this is what it looks like roughly:
Khan (no bike)
7 Terminators with Hammers and Shields plus LR Crusader (of course with a MM on top)
2×10 Tactical Marines with plasma gun and multimelta plus Sergeant with M.bombs and combi plasma in rhinos
9 Tactical Marines with flamer and sergeant with combi flamer and M.bombs in rhino
5 Tactical Marines with melta and sergeant with combi melta and M.Bombs in Razorback
5 Tactical Marines with missile launcher
2×7 Devastators with 3 missile Launchers and 1 Lascannon
Khan goes with the Terminators or the flamer squad depending on the opponent.
What do you think of it?
I like it a lot! I think you have a good mix of assault, scoring units and shooting. My only critique would be to take a Thunderfire cannon as they’re worth their weight in gold.
Thanks for the compliment on the list. 🙂
I already thought about including a Thunderfire cannon as well and the only reason there is none in this list is I don’t own the miniature. When i upgrade this list to 2k (1,85k it is at the moment) and I have some spare change left I will definitely pick one up. However may I ask what unit you would drop in my list to fit in the Thundefire cannon?
AH, makes sense. Yeah, the T-Fire is auto-include for me in a Marine list, they add too much not to take. Drop the Las Cannon Tac squad and a body from a dev squad. Should do it.
The all biker list is quite first turn dependent, so yes I think your approach has legs. However, why not fusion the two concepts, i.e. bring bikes and tacticals half and half? This way you get better ap 2 and better threat range while still having a reasonable amount of bodies. With 3 rhinos and some LoS blocking terrain you should be able to hide your bikes if going second, I think…
I was thinking about that, too. Blend them together for a mix of both. The only thing holding me back is the fact that my list needs to hit critical mass in terms of bodies on the table. A big part of the strength is the sheer volume of MEQs. I feel that is it’s strength. But, it sure couldn’t hurt to try it with Bikes. May end up being the stronger build.
I’ve been running something similar lately. One point of note, however: Chooser only prevents infiltration, has no mention of Scout.
Thanks for the heads up, I will have to double check that. I thought it said Scouts and Infiltrators.
WTF guys stop ruining all my plans
That’s what I live for, son! Muahaha!
Have you considered a couple 3-man 2GG plus combi-GG bike squads instead of the command? Not sure what the point difference is, but might be more flexible and easier to hide if necessary.
And another troop unit, too. Not a bad idea at all. The Command Squad tends to get waxed immediately after shooting once. But, the Apothecary is a nice bonus.
How do you precvent your rune priest from being focus fired out of the command squad, his cover save is one worse than the rest of the bikes, so basically your enemy can always shoot the rune priest instead of the closest target.
I had not even considered that, thanks for pointing that out. LoS! would be the only defense against that, really. Or trying to hide him out of LoS.
One lower save because the White Scars don’t actually have skilled rider? I hadn’t thought of that either.
Use your other Space Wolves HQ slot to take a Wolf Lord on a Bike, have him take two Fenrisian Wolves. Now two guys have the same save, and have two little Wolves to put wounds on. Plus, new beatstick!
More realistically, you could take the Rune Priest off the bike and put him in a Rhino with some GHs. He doesn’t have to be in the command squad for his psychic bubble to help out (he can help from 12 inches behind). Or you could leave him on the Bike, take 15 Fenrisian Wolves, and attach a White Scars character to the Wolf Pack with the Rune Priest (as focus fire only works one way) and scout that pack
Or yeah, lots of Look Out Sirs
All good solutions. I may just drop the bikes, Honestly and take Khan on foot in a Rhino and the Rune Priest also in a Rhino with the Grey Hunters.
Have you considered using a land speeder storm with a 5 man scout squad? In my (albeit limited) experience using them with the new codex they are worth their weight in gold against tau (and most armies really) as they can scout forward 12 inches, then move 18 inches first turn before dropping a large blast with blind on the enemy. As it only needs to hit 1 model in each unit to reduce the entire unit to BS and WS 1, it means you can blind 3 or 4 units with each shot if the opponent castles up for supporting fire and tau have a 66.6% chance of failing the test, meaning those units cannot realistically do any damage. Even better if they are markerlight units!
Yeah, the only problem is that most Tau heavy hitters are immune to blind, stupid suits! (Blacksun Filters) but, it works great against Firewarriors and Pathfinders, as you pointed out.
I like the bubble of non scouting, infiltrating that the chooser would give you. is 6th edition the return of the rhino rush?
Or take Grey Knights and Servo Skulls! Works even better!
The Rhino rush with Scouts is 100% viable, I think I have a list that truly is TAC. We’ll see!
Should go with good old GK allies, just have to figure out which one is best, Its between
Coteaz
3x crusaders
Storm Raven with psy ammo, hurricane bolters
or
Inquistor. psyker. 3x servo skulls
Shooty GK troop squad
Storm raven with psy ammo hurrican bolters
Choice 1 is great except for there is no safe place for coteaz, in the storm raven if it gets popped he dies, in the open he is all alone, thats why the new space marines are so great it gives you a place to put coteaz, while taking all the goodies.
2nd option you get servo skulls (amazing) a place to put the inquisitor but you don’t have the added bonus of a scoring squad inside the stormraven.
The GK stormraven is probably the best ally for most armies, can deal with flyers, can deal with psykers and you can put a 45 point 3 man 3++ unit in it for scoring if you take coteaz.
So funny, I was just thinking about that last night, GK with Servo Skulls. The only downside is that the Servo Skulls would stop my WS scout moves, too.
I’d like to see this one in action vs the Screamerstar. Because I don’t think you need to worry much really. Simply Combat Squad and you have 12 Scoring Units. Even if you play all 7 turns you still have 5 Scoring Units intact. Thunderfire Cannons will be amazing against the Daemon Troops, and the Grav-bikers will have a damn good shot at Fatey. It won’t be able to be as aggressive as described above, but I think it’d still do really well.
I’d be more worried about CSM really. Charging CSM with SM tends to be suicide in my experience (I play CSM, so I laugh when it happens 😉 ). In my experience I tend to lose half of my army to SM shooting in the beginning of the game, but the second half of the game has my half army walk through their whole army… I know this isn’t the typical meta-build, but something you should have a plan for me thinks.
Your CSM win fights with SM? That intrigues me. What troops are you running with CSM?
All of them actually. Most commonly I run the often looked down upon normal CSM though. When going for a ‘in-your-face’ list I tend to replace Bolters with CCW, and always add VotLW, which keeps them from running away from shooting, and once they get in combat they usually beat down enough Marines due to Hatred so they’ll stay in combat for next round and can then finish off the fight in the enemy turn.
But even if I have Bolters I still get VotLW, which is usually enough to tip the scales into my favour vs SM.
The important part here is that everything needs to hit at once, and each piece of the list must do it’s part. So it’s kind of hard to just take a single unit out of the list in this instance. It’s more about positioning and wining the match-up war.
I can see it working with VotLW for sure, against Marines. The issue is that you don’t see that many Marines in tournaments anymore. Maybe now, but I often pass on VotLW as it doesn’t always help much.
Actually it helps against all shooty armies, as Ld10 is quite a lot better than Ld9 when having to take those Morale tests. It’s basically Fearless on a budget.
In either case I find that CSM are so expensive in general that those few points VotLW costs doesn’t make much difference.
In either case it strays away from the first question, as to what you’d do if facing an army that straight up beats you in CC?
Yeah, exactly. I find that CSMs, as much as I want to like them, are just so rotten that I can’t justify taking them.
just out of interest, what would your plan be against a triple helldrake list?
Get into combat ASAP, turn 2 usually. Baring that, Turkies actually such against Rhino infantry. The Rhino helps a ton to protect them. Basically play around them I guess is the short answer. I am thinking I am going to take a Stalker though, to help with FMCs and Flyers.
Must admit ive been trying to get the marines to work myself. Started with the scar bikes with wolfsi, decided tac marines were better and went to ultramarines and then swtiched back to scars again but sans le bikes.
I dropped the wolfs as they were good but as has been said before – when wolfs get redone soon whats the chances jaws and rune weapons stay as is…so better get used to it now.
This is what mine has ended up as, it has alot of similarities:
White Scars primary:
Khan on bike
command squad on bikes, apoth, 5 grav guns
10 tactical, melta gun, combi melta, multi melta – rhino, dozer blades
10 tactical, melta gun, combi melta, multi melta – rhino, dozer blades
10 tactical, melta gun, combi melta, multi melta – rhino, dozer blades
10 tactical, melta gun, combi melta, multi melta – rhino, dozer blades
Thunderfire
Iron Hand Allies:
Chapter master, arti armour, bike, shield eternal, thunder hammer, auspex
10 tacticals, melta gun, combi melta, drop pod, deathwind launcher
Hunter.
its a nice mix or marine horde and uber deathstar with all the scvouting shenaigans youve mentioned..whihc realy messes tau up.
The pods there cos i found in hammer and anvil its still a slog, and also i like using it to suck up shots that should have been shooting rhinos.,….
What do you do when the other guy can shut down your Scout moves?
get an easy first blood 😛
you just got to roll with it is suppose. but i am tempted with cherapo scouts for that or back line campers
I’m considering using Scouts too, to shut down the enemy scout moves.
I’ve been running a bike version of your last concept but instead of rhinos, bikes and drop pods.
4x units of bikes, khan on bike, captain on bike/w fist and shield
and then a Runepriest on bike and 2 units of Grey Hunters in pods plus a unit of longfangs with a pod.(magic #3)
just tons of “in your face” stuff, melta and grav and a few “hard” CC threats in the characters.
If i get first turn, its usually a win, losing first turn, i can lose a bunch of bikes turn 1 and then it gets dicy.
the idea of using a Rhino rush instead feels awesome…. (and deployment takes 30 seconds)
That sounds like a great list!