Hey everyone, Reecius here to talk about different strategies in building a Tactical Marine heavy list! Be sure to check out the Tactics Corner for more great articles!
I love me some infantry heavy armies, always have. I have always been drawn to the infantry over armor in any military style setting. It just feels more intense and personal. But, as far as tactics and list building are concerned, there are a number of reasons why infantry armies work well in 40k. For one, you generally make enemy anti tank weapons wasted points as they often do little more than take out a single infantryman. Secondarily, they often excel at taking objectives as they will have a legion of ObSec units to lean on.
Space Marines do this especially well with Tactical Marines. On his own, the humble Tactical Marine really isn’t much, these days despite what the fluff might make him sound like. He’s got a Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Frag and Krak Grenades and a 3+. But, he also has the incredible And They Shall Know No Fear special rule, which means every point invested into a unit of Marines is going to be a pretty safe bet.
Strength in numbers and morale control are the name of the game with this style list. You can outlast your opponent simply because you have so many reliable bodies to ensure you have more ObSec models on objectives at end game than your opponent does. You can also choose to us Combat Squads, which means you can double down on your Tactical Marines units if it is a benefit for the mission you are playing. Nice!
In missions that use progressive objectives (like Maelstrom) or end of game objectives (Dawn of War missions), or both, large numbers of mobile, reliable Tactical Marines can win games without doing a lot of damage. These armies are actually a lot of fun to play, too. They require a lot of thought with movement, but when played well will defeat armies that are much more powerful offensively.
However, there are a number of questions you want to ask yourself before you commit to a Tactical heavy list. Firstly: which book do you use to build your army? While Tactical Marines are largely the same from chapter to chapter, there are some subtle differences that can really add up.
While every chapter has something to offer, these are my favorites.
Ultramarines: the boys in blue are built to rock Tactical Marines. With their Combat Doctrines, they can really pack a wallop on a critical turn (or two, with Calgar). Going this route requires the most tactical acumen, IMO, as each Doctrine is only useable once, so you really need to be able to think a turn ahead. And, speaking of Calgar, gaining the ability to choose to pass or fail any morale check is incredibly good for the style of play Tactical spam encourages. I can’t emphasize enough how good this ability is! Being able to flee if you need to, or stand firm at a critical time is game winning.
White Scars: Hit and Run, combined with potentially Scouts from Khan (assuming they are in Dedicated Transports) means these Tactical Marines can be very flexible during deployment and slippery as hell, which makes them even better at taking objectives than other types of Tactical Marines.
Sentinels of Terra: With twin linked Bolt weapons at half range, what’s not to love? This makes the marines really efficient with their Bolters and you get Tank Hunters on your Devastators. Not bad! The big question here is Rhinos or Drop Pods?
Salamanders: a free Master-Crafted weapon and master crafted flamers (and potentially Meltas, with Vulkan) means you get a really powerful punch out of these Tacticals. Plus, you get increased flamer defense, too, which while not always relevant, is awesome when it kicks in.
Iron Hands: With FnP 6+, and IWND on vehicles, Iron Hands tactical spam is actually quite solid. They get their nice little buff to their resilience, and their vehicles are harder to kill, too. Plus, they gain access to the wonderfully versatile Chapter Master with Shield Eternal on a bike. With his increased durability, mobility and hitting power, he’s a one man support tool that will really help to shore up your Tactical Marines wherever he is needed.
Blood Angels: The option for a Heavy Flamer in the unit is very valuable, and helps to keep them mobile. Furious Charge is a nice little boost to their melee ability, too. But, really it’s the option for fast Rhinos that makes Blood Angels so appealing for this style list! The ability to put an ObSec unit up to 24″ away in a single movement is potentially game winning.
Red Scorpions: Every Tactical Squad gets an Apothecary. Not bad! They cannot go to ground which is kind of a big deal, honestly, but, their increased durability is a nice benefit that keeps them mobile and they are capable in any type of Tactical spam list, be it on foot or mounted. Plus, you gain access to the incredible Severin Lloth, who is easily one of the best Librarians in the game and to Carab Culln, who is a solid melee character that also boosts ld of all your Tacticals to 10 for morale and pinning tests.
Charcharadons: The ole Space Sharks allow you to take a melee weapon on your Tacticals at +1 pt per model. That is a reasonable price tag to gain truly flexible Tactical Marines. You also gain the underwhelming Fear USR, and Rage if you defeat an infantry unit in melee. If you max out 60 of these bad boys, you’re essentially getting Tactical Marines and Assault Marines. Not bad!
Raptors: besides just being cool, Raptors Tacticals gain Scouts, stealth on the first turn and if they hold still, their Bolters become heavy 1, Rending. Nice! These guys are quite viable on foot, if you wanted to go that route. Lastly, you get access to Lias Issodon, one of the best support characters available to Space Marines.
Mantis Warriors: Like the Raptors, these guys function fairly well on foot, if you want to do that. You gain MtC and HoW, which is pretty solid for taking on high initiative models and light infantry or Invisible units. For example, HoW on your Tacticals makes fighting things like Daemonettes and Harlies a lot less daunting. You also get Furious Charge when you assault out of terrain, which is a cool little benefit. Lastly, the army bonuses of a re-roll to seize the initiative (awesome!), Divination for your Libbies (also, awesome) and the named Librarian Azra Redth, make Mantis Warriors another great choice for Tactical Spam!
Red Hunters: Lastly, the very cool Red Hunters. They come stock with Adamantium Will, which is solid. They can also, once per game, choose to give a number of units equal to the turn number one of the following USRs: Counter-attack, Monster Hunter, Tank Hunters, Hatred, Skyfire, or Interceptor. That is really cool, and provides a lot of flexibility. Like Ultramarines though, you need to know when to pull your ace card with these guys but when done right, it can be devastating.
Clearly, there are a lot of viable options to spam out your Tacticals. You can make any of the chapters work if you wanted to, even Dark Angels, but those listed above are my favorites.
The next question to ask yourself is how to play the units? Do you want to go on foot? Mount up in Rhinos or even Razorbacks? Or, Drop Pods? All of these can be viable options, depending on what style of play speaks to you the most.
If you go foot, you will want to take a close look at those Chapter Tactics that boost your mobility or that focus on boosting infantry models that are on the table. For example, Raptors gain Scouts and Stealth on the first turn (but not their transports). This means you can get them further up-field, right out of the gates, be in range to start using your Rending Bolters, and take advantage of Stealth. You can also Outflank if you want to. Mantis Warriors are also a good example, with MtC, HoW, and gaining Furious Charge out of terrain. All of these abilities favor units that are on foot. Their named character, Azra Redth, is a 3 wound libby that has a WC1 Shrouded psychic power + whatever else you roll (including Divination), and if he is the Warlord, gives the unit Interceptor (great for those Deep Striking Wraithguard) and Night Vision. Nice! Positioned well, this can be a really solid deterrent unit.
Foot lists will also want to consider taking advantage of solid, ranged weapons like Las Cannon, Plasma Guns or Missile Launchers. Using Combat Squads to leave a shooting half of the unit and a mobile half to grab objectives is a solid strategy. With a foot list, you also gain the benefit of saving points by not buying transports, less Kill Points in the list, but also less ObSec units and reduced mobility in addition to not gaining the protection that a transport provides.
If you choose to mount up, you get a lot of benefit with little draw back. For one, you get mobility. That counts for a lot as Tactical spam is all about movement. You gain another ObSec unit, and, you gain protection for your Tacticals inside. This can be critical for last turn objective grabs where you need a layer of protection from a powerful shooting or assault unit. Transports also allow you to Tank Shock, charge block, and provide mobile LoS blocking cover. They also make the game play quicker for you, as you are moving fewer models. You will want to focus on mobile weapons, and cheap Heavy Weapons if you take any at all as you will likely be on the go every turn. Blood Angels shine here with their Heavy Flamer option.
In this edition, I am in favor of Rhinos over Razorbacks as they transport a full 10 Marines, allow two to fire out the top, and are cheaper. However, while Razorbacks are certainly not what they were in their heyday in 5th ed, I bet a creative player could still make them work. Assuming you go with Rhinos, however, many of the chapters will work very well in them. White Scars Tactical heavy lists especially, want to be in Rhinos. If you take Khan, they gain Scouts which is fantastic. That plus Hit and Run means White Scars are going to be masters of movement. Iron Hands also favor Rhinos as theirs will repair themselves as you go! Blood Angels are also stand outs for Rhino rush tactics. With fast Rhinos, and a weapon load-out that really favors mobility, Blood Angels can race around the table scoring objectives and posing a threat to armor or infantry units.
Lastly, you can mount up in the trusty Drop Pod. While Pods are tailor made for Alpha Striking, they do have some draw backs. For one, once you’re down, you’re down. You can find your Tactical Marines spread out, unsupported and out of position if you drop poorly. Secondly, you are reliant on reserves. Whereas Rhino rush Tactical Spam has all of your assets on the table and in play from turn 1 if you want, Drop Pods dictate that some of your units start off the table, which can hurt as it allows your enemy to focus on what you do have. Drop Pods also don’t contribute too much once on the ground. If you can drop them into scoring position on an Objective, awesome! If not, they won’t be doing much. However, I do have to add, the Deathwind Missile Launcher is surprisingly good. A friend of mine plays Drop Marines, and all of the Pods come with Deathwinds…they start to rack up kills which make them much higher of a priority to deal with, confusing target priority.
On the plus side, Drop Pods give you the ability to go pretty much anywhere on the board with impunity–thanks to the Inertial Guidance rule–and hit an enemy unit (usually) before they hit you. Beware of Interceptor, obviously, but beyond that you typically hit first. Chapters like Salamanders, Ultramarines, Sentinels of Terra, Red Hunters, etc. that can do a lot of damage in a single volley, will enjoy deploying in Drop Pods. Charcharadons are also solid in Pods as they come down, perform like normal Marines, and then next turn are in position to assault like Assault Marines if that is what you require of them. No matter which way you go, though, try to get a means of controlling your reserves built into your list to ensure you get those second wave pods in when you need them!
If you go a full 6 units, you’re looking at a roughly 1,000pt to 1,250pt investment. That is a big chunk of your army. But, remember, your game plan is victory through objectives and attrition. So, the more units of ObSec Tacticals you have, the better. What you need to consider beyond this point is what support units to take? You have limited points, so you want to choose wisely.
Firstly, which HQ are you going with? In some instances, the choice is obvious as with Khan for White Scars, Calgar or Tigerius for Ultramarines, Issodon for Raptors, Vulkan for Salamanders, or a Chapter Master for Iron Hands. But, in other cases it isn’t so clear cut. What I do recommend though, is either choosing a very useful support character such as Redth for Mantis Warriors, who will multiply the effectiveness of your Tactical Marines, or a solid, mobile melee unit. Melee is not dead, despite what the internet claims. In fact, it is alive and well and quite effective. A fast melee unit that is reliable will help you immensely. Tactical Marines can get bogged down in combat, or wiped out if facing a tough melee unit. If you have the ability to quickly move to support them, that can be incredibly useful. Conversely, the ability to go and apply pressure to your opponent will help to keep the heat off of your Tacticals for a while. A unit like this plays well as a free safety, going wherever needed and providing support. Dante fills this roll well with Blood Angels and is easily taken with a small unit of Assault Marines, for example, for a potent, accurate unit that becomes a very dangerous backfield threat.
Another unit in this roll can be a Dread in a Drop Pod, particularly in a Lucius pattern pod. You plop a high threat unit in your opponent’s backfield and force them to deal with it, which buys your Tacticals time. Every turn they aren’t getting chewed up, is a turn you are imposing your strategy on your opponent.
If you find yourself facing these types of units, you have to use some smart play. Tacticals can get gobbled up by powerful, speedy assault units. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice a Combat Squad here and there, even if only to move block a unit. Again, remember, the clock is your friend. You want to tie up your opponent’s key units as long as possible to allow the core of your army to win the mission.
Anti air is another consideration to factor in. Tactical Marines are not always that great vs. air units, and can suffer a fair bit to them, especially units like Heldrakes, which are mercifully less common, now (but making a comeback due to Eldar and Crons!). Air units of your own, or ground based AA (which in some cases, is covered by your Tacticals as with the Red Hunters) is a solid bet. Baring that, Contemptor pattern dreads are solid, as are Daraedeo, and Mortis Dreads, as well as the ever popular Storm Talon or Fire Raptor.
Long ranged fire support is also something to consider. As your opponent will often have their hands full trying to deal with all of the units you have running around the table, some solid backfield firepower can really make an impact and go relatively unmolested. Thunderfire Cannons are the most common, but also 5 man Devastator Squads, particularly with Chapter Tactics that buff them as with Sentinels of Terra, Ultramarines or Red Hunters. But, units like Sicaran Tanks, Scorpius Tanks, and even Attack Bikes will compliment Tactical Spam very well.
If you can squeeze in the points, a true hammer unit is not a bad choice, either, such as some Centurions with a Chapter Master, or something similar. A unit that can pack a mighty wallop and take a punch, too. This helps to not only take a chunk out of the other player, but again, buys you time by forcing them to deal with you on your terms, leaving your Tacticals to focus on winning the mission.
I hope this has helped you Tactical Marine players out there, or perhaps inspired some of you to give it a whirl! Tac Spam is a ton of fun, challenging and very good at winning missions.
nice article reece. Lots of really solid advice in here! I remember Eric Hoerger used the Red Hunters USR when he took 2nd at LVO a couple years back.. pretty damn powerful ability and super underused.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I prefer Rhinos over pods, especially for my Sentinels of Terra list. Rhinos protect them from Helldrakes, the Burning Brand of Skalthrax, Meledictions and any other Ap1-3. It lets me roll them up, jump out and erase a unit with 18 twin linked bolter shots.
For foot Marines I think the basic Imperial Fists is also pretty good. Re-rolling 1s with bolters gives you better accuracy at range, combat squad a HB to gun line while the other half runs around or blocks charges. A HB devastator squad is especially good for basic Imperial Fists, 12 shots hitting on 3s re-rolling 1s, threatens AV11 with Tank Hunters, wounds Necron Warriors on 3s and ignores their armour.
Speaking of Devastators, I have found the hard way that you should never run them in a 5 man unit. The second they start taking wounds their firepower is horribly degraded. The other problem they have is accuracy since they lack twin linking. For this reason I highly discourage las cannons and flak missiles. Even with Tank Hunters those two weapons won’t do much because they won’t get enough hits (4 shots with no twin linking sucks). Missiles, plasma cannons and HB aren’t bad however since templates are more reliable and HB get 3 shots each. Plasma Cannons do have to worry about gets hot, but ignore armour saves and are this really good against Eldar bikes and Necron blobs. Missile launchers are versatile and highly useful, but don’t pay for flak missiles as they’re not worth it at all.
Here’s the list I’m taking to Scorched Earth tomorrow, thoughts?
+++ Scorched Earth ’15 (1850pts) +++
++ Space Marines: Supplement – Sentinels of Terra (2013) (Combined Arms Detachment) (1850pts) ++
+ HQ (150pts) +
Librarian (150pts) [Epistolary, Force Axe, Relic: The Bones of Osrak, Warlord]
····Terminator Armour [Storm Shield]
+ Elites (465pts) +
Mark V Mortis Pattern Dreadnought (FW) (145pts) [2x Twin-Linked Lascannon]
Sternguard Veteran Squad (320pts) [Rhino]
····9x Veteran [5x Bolter, 4x Combi Melta]
····Veteran Sergeant [Chainsword, Combi Melta, Melta Bombs]
+ Troops (615pts) +
Tactical Squad (205pts) [Rhino, 8x Space Marine, Space Marine w/ Plasma Gun]
····Sergeant [Chainsword, Combi Flamer, Melta Bombs]
Tactical Squad (205pts) [Rhino, 8x Space Marine, Space Marine w/ Plasma Gun]
····Sergeant [Chainsword, Combi Flamer, Melta Bombs]
Tactical Squad (205pts) [Rhino, 8x Space Marine, Space Marine w/ Plasma Gun]
····Sergeant [Chainsword, Combi Flamer, Melta Bombs]
+ Fast Attack (270pts) +
Land Speeder Tempest Squadron (FW) (270pts) [Land Speeder Tempest, Land Speeder Tempest, Land Speeder Tempest]
+ Heavy Support (350pts) +
Relic Sicaran Battle Tank (FW) (250pts) [2x Lascannons, Armoured Ceramite, Relic of the Armoury]
····Legacies of Glory, Tank [LoG: Battle of Sarosh]
····Legacies of Glory, Tank [LoG: Schism of Mars]
Thunderfire Cannon (100pts)
Created with BattleScribe (http://www.battlescribe.net)
You may want to rethink the two LoG. Only one per 1000 points is allowed, and never two on one model.
One vehicle per thousand points may take a legacy of glory. I don’t remember reading a restriction on how many legacies one vehicle may take, but I’ll double check my copy of IA2 when I get home from work.
I believe if it’s an 1850 tournament then you can only take one legacy, you would need to play 2000 for two
You can only take one VEHICLE per full 1000 points, not one legacy per full 1000 points.
No – it’s 1 vehicle per 1000 pts. You can put as many as you want on that 1 vehicle.
One of the great things about the sicaran is that it’s cheap. When you hit 250 with it, its no longer cheap. It’s firepower to cost ratio goes off. I’d keep it cheap and cheerful without most of the upgrades.
I’ve been tempted to leave off the las cannons and ceramite since the former have a poor hit ratio and the latter only reduce melta to hitting on 4+ with 1d6. The legacies however are more than worth it, especially the Schism of Mars. We’ll see how it goes in tomorrow’s tournament.
Schism is fantastic and perfect for what it does; Sarosh is a bit of a waste. Ditto with Ceramite.
This is a list that I consider buying every once in a while. It uses the basic Imp Fist CT.
Here’s the revised list!
Librarian: 65
10 Tactical Marines: 175
Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs
10 Tactical Marines: 175
Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs
10 Tactical Marines: 175
Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs
10 Tactical Marines: 175
Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs
10 Tactical Marines: 175
Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs
10 Tactical Marines: 175
Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs
10 Assault Squad: 185
Meltabombs, 2x Flamers
10 Assault Squad: 185
Meltabombs, 2x Flamers
10 Devastators: 200
4 Lascannons
10 Devastators: 200
4 Lascannons
Wall of Martys Bunker: 115
Additional Quad Gun, 1 Barricade Section
Obviously the gimmick is that this is a full company of Space Marines 101 models strong. The assault squads are obviously terrible in most contexts, but having moar bodies on the table is nice and they can help with maelstrom and distraction if needed.
I’m not looking to break the game here, but I think it could be an interesting list in the hands of a good general.
Las cannon devastators suck so hard though. Most of the time you’ll be firing both squads at the same vehicle to bring it down. I really think missile launchers are better because you can turn them on hordes.
Tank Hunter with imperial fists makes them worth it. I would just take 2 5 man squads personally.
5 man squads lose firepower to quickly and even Imperial Fists CTs doesn’t help much because you can’t re-roll armour penetration on shots that don’t hit. I play Imperial Fists exclusively and stopped using las cannon devastators because they just wouldn’t hit often enough to bring things down. I even tried adding an Inquisitor for prescience and he didn’t help enough because d6+1 warp dice doesn’t let you get off a WC2 power reliably.
Interesting perspective. Honestly though, I’d rather have the lascannons than anything else. Getting Pens and then having AP2 is pretty important, as is being able to target things like Centurions and Riptides and knowing you can bypass their armor. Hordes I wouldn’t even begin to worry about with the rest of the list.
I see what you are saying, but they did work for me at LVO on a skyshield – often with Coteaz. I think Nick Rose’s LVO list had 2 of them. Depends on play style and what else is in the list but with the Sgt boosting the BS of 1 marine you average 2.83 hits and then with prescience ( Bones of Osrak on a libby helps ) it jumps to 3.63 hits. Then the reroll on the penetration.
But certainly far less effective when not shooting at vehicles.
@ghost valley. Skyshield is interesting, obviously, this list is a pure gimmick fluff-fest, so it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. That being said, I went with the wall of martyrs as it easily houses the devys and has an anti-air weapon, which is nice.
I’ll have to check out stronghold assault again. I’m not that familiar with all the wall of martyrs perks etc.
Space Marine Libbys can’t take Divination so no Bones of Osrak prescience unfortunately.
For Ap2 I prefer plasma cannons.
You’re right. I usually have coteaz. Bad suggestion on my part.
40 tactical marines is usually the limit for me. Still leaves about 1000 points for the rest of the list. I like rhinos over pods, but 1 pod can always come in handy, even if it just forces your opponent to bubble wrap a back field tank or makes him come out and deal with it after it lands on an objective in the middle of the board
I’ll usually run plasma, combi plas with no heavy weapon and will sometimes put flamer, combi flamer in a drop pod. I find with Sentinels of Terra, these builds combat squad well, as you can select higher armour/light vehicle for the plasma squads and keep them close, but the 5 bolter combat squads can still do work with the rapid fire reroll or camp on objectives and go to ground, but not be as punished by the snapfire
I still prefer my bikes. Much more Tactical
No love for the DA and Dakka banner? 4 full squads dropping 160 shots, 40+ of which are twin linked if proper supported by librians.
I mentioned them briefly, but did not dig into it. That is a good idea, though.
“even Dark Angels”….
Like we have to be played with a clothes pin on one’s nose or the kid that’s always picked last on the play ground with a “hah, you get the DA’s”.
🙂
I joke mostly. The big problem is if the banner carrier gets popped by either barrage/precision shot, the strategy can fall apart.
As a DA Player, I find that the Dakka Banner is way less effective in 7th due to Maelstrom. You place yourself at a big disadvantage when you stay in a grouped gun-line while your opponent uses mobility to claim points.
Personally, I’m planning on testing out a Tactical Spam list as soon as I save up for one of the new Knight kits.
L2 Bike Libby w/ PFG
4 Squads in Rhinos
Contemptor Mortis (2x tllc + cml)
Sicaran (lc + scism)
Knight Errant (iwnd relic)
What the best load out for a sergeant? Best heavy weapon/spacial weapons? Do I just go all bolters? I heard a lot of trash talked about the load out for the sergeant on the box.
Good questions, I should have a dressed them. For me, melt a bombs on sarge, every time. Anything else is too risky for a model that’s likely just going to get killed in a challenge. For special weapons, I tend to go with a mix. Some plasma, melt a and flamers. Heavy weapons can be anything depending on what you plan on doing with the squad, but I tend to default to multi meltas or missile launchers, with heavy bolters if I’m playing sentinels of terra, and heavy flamer for blood angels.
For me, the Combi-Weapon matching the Squad’s Special is the first stop for Sarges. Plasmagun is my default, but you need to have some Meltaguns in there somewhere, and should have at least one Unit with Flamers. Multi-Melta is my default Heavy Weapon, because it’s cheap and expands the Squad’s options immensely, but as mentioned, the Heavy Bolter is good for Sentinels of Terra, and the Missile Launcher’s flexibility can be handy at times, tho you pay a premium for it.
I run three squads of combi-flamer, melta-bomb and plasma gun. With only three squads the flexibility of flamer+ plasma gun is great (assuming the squad doesn’t get sun cannon’d to death) if you run more then I’d start specializing the squads (flamer+ combi-flamer, melta gun+ combi melta, etc.) I try and stay away from heavy weapons because you really need to stand still to use them.
I’ve been running a lot of Grey Hunter spam recently, and a lot of this looks relevant to those builds as well. They tend to want to be somewhat more aggressive, tho, given the extra CCW and double Special options. The lack of Combat Squads, and needing to get a “Veteran” to get a Combi-Weapon or Meltabombs into the Unit are the really major drawbacks as I see them.
I’ve mostly been using Pods, but this has me thinking a lot about Rhinos. Gonna have to give them a try soon.
Rhinos seem like a particularly interesting option for SW, since I can hide TWC behind them for immediate CC Support.