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Ok, there is a GT coming up that I am very interested in playing. 1500 points.

Tactical Squad:
Counter attack, True Grit.(Advantage)
No allies(Drawback)
9 Marines. 1 Melta-gun
1 Vet Sarge with PF and BP.
DP with Deathwind Launcher.
4 Squads of these.

Chapter Masterower Weapon and PPistol.
*CA & TG/Furious Charge.
Attached Command Squad.
8 Marines, 1 of whom is Company Champion. (PW,CCS & BP)
2 x Melta Gun.
1 Vet Sarge with PF and BP.
DP with Deathwind Launcher.
1 squad of these.

All up, 50 Marines in DP's(No deployment 1st turn!!).
NO heavy weapons.
6 Melta guns(Assault-yay! NO Overheat!!YAY-YAY!)

A friend tells me "An Eldar MEQ army will be bad news".
I countered with "When aren't they???"

So will look forward to any observations/criticisms, except by Stelek........................only kidding, lol.

ZOMG IT'S THE UBER! /BOW



Personally I'd run a SW army instead...

Yeah Stelek, SW are nice, but a mate of mine plays them, so I think Vanilla Marines with traits.

What is your Tactical estimation though Sir?

I'd have 8-man squads with two special weapons each, and drop the deathwinds and probably TYBB. I'd also add something besides tacs in, like a termie squad and/or some speeders. Don't know that the Chapter Master is the best option, either, I'd consider a libby with fear.

Thanks Mnemoch for the feedback.
The DP's are the pivotal style/inspiration for the Chapter.

I have been playing SM's on and off for about 20 years(started in 87, and had a few breaks in-between).

I have found that the best way to get value for points is to excel in an area where your Army is traditionally weak. So instead of 'walking' my ladz across the field, to be 'popped' on the way(whether they be in Tanks or on foot/jetpack) is counter productive. Place em where I want them, RF, and HOPE he charges. If not(depending on the Armour value of opposing troops) I charge him.

If I lose 3 per squad on the way, My DP would have been paid for.

So the idea is basically, with 5xD6, I will hopefully get at least 2 down on the first turn of reserves. It is because of this that I have put 1 assault weapon in each squad for popping a tank(if neccessary!) and/or a Big beastie(Carnie etc). The Deathwind is S5, AP5,5" Blast, BS2.

I am also denying my opponent at least 1 turn of shooting, and possibly 2. IMHO this is costing them points(un-utilized, design specific assets)

Chapter Master gives them Ld10 all round.
He is fairly cheap.
Seargents with PF in every squad gives me some nice H2H stuff as well.
Melta's don't kill as many troops as plasmas(mine!!)

Lack of heavy weapons means my army is ALWAYS mobile and lethal(to anyone in RANGE lol).

Yesterday I play-tested this against IG. My opponent, knowing I was using DP's, tried to use the 'Refused Flank' Tactic.

Apart from the RF'ing Marines, my Deathwinds killed 22 Guard in the first volley(only 2 of 4 hit lol)

At the end of turn 3, he had no scoring units left, all of my marines were in assualt in his deployment area, and I still had 1 tac squad to come down.

Well, there's this version:

It includes 'Boo', whatever that's worth, and the DW missile launchers.

1500 Pts - Space Marines Roster

1 Codicier @ 338 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x1); Force Weapon; Tank Hunters; Psychic Hood; Command Squad; Fear of the Darkness
1 Psychic Hood @ [0] Pts
5 Command Squad @ [226] Pts
Bolter (x3); Meltagun (x2); Drop Pod; Tank Hunters
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [51] Pts
Bolt Pistol (x1); Power Fist (x1); Tank Hunters; Terminator Honors

6 Tactical Squad @ 231 Pts
Bolter (x4); Meltagun (x1); Meltagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [48] Pts
Power Fist (x1); Bolter; Terminator Honors

6 Tactical Squad @ 231 Pts
Bolter (x4); Meltagun (x1); Meltagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [48] Pts
Power Fist (x1); Bolter; Terminator Honors

6 Tactical Squad @ 231 Pts
Bolter (x4); Meltagun (x1); Meltagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [48] Pts
Power Fist (x1); Bolter; Terminator Honors

6 Tactical Squad @ 231 Pts
Bolter (x4); Meltagun (x1); Meltagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [48] Pts
Power Fist (x1); Bolter; Terminator Honors

6 Tactical Squad @ 231 Pts
Bolter (x4); Meltagun (x1); Meltagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [48] Pts
Power Fist (x1); Bolter; Terminator Honors

Total Roster Cost: 1493

Then there's this version, which I think highly of.

1500 Pts - Space Marines Roster

1 Captain @ 205 Pts
Command Squad
4 Command Squad @ [145] Pts
Bolter (x2); Meltagun (x2); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Tactical Squad @ 130 Pts
Bolter (x2); Plasmagun (x1); Plasmagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [30] Pts
Storm Bolter; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Tactical Squad @ 130 Pts
Bolter (x2); Plasmagun (x1); Plasmagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [30] Pts
Storm Bolter; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Tactical Squad @ 150 Pts
Bolter (x2); Plasmagun (x1); Plasmagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Tactical Squad @ 150 Pts
Bolter (x2); Plasmagun (x1); Plasmagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Tactical Squad @ 150 Pts
Bolter (x2); Plasmagun (x1); Plasmagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Tactical Squad @ 150 Pts
Bolter (x2); Plasmagun (x1); Plasmagun (x1); Drop Pod
1 Drop Pod @ [50] Pts
Storm Bolter; Deathwind Missile Launcher; Inertial Guidance System
1 Sergeant @ [15] Pts
Bolter

4 Veteran Squad @ 145 Pts
Bolter (x2); Meltagun (x1); Lascannon (x1); Drop Pod; Tank Hunters
1 Sergeant @ [18] Pts
Bolter; Tank Hunters
1 Drop Pod @ [30] Pts
Storm Bolter; Inertial Guidance System

4 Veteran Squad @ 145 Pts
Bolter (x2); Meltagun (x1); Lascannon (x1); Drop Pod; Tank Hunters
1 Sergeant @ [18] Pts
Bolter; Tank Hunters
1 Drop Pod @ [30] Pts
Storm Bolter; Inertial Guidance System

4 Veteran Squad @ 145 Pts
Bolter (x2); Meltagun (x1); Lascannon (x1); Drop Pod; Tank Hunters
1 Sergeant @ [18] Pts
Bolter; Tank Hunters
1 Drop Pod @ [30] Pts
Storm Bolter; Inertial Guidance System

Total Roster Cost: 1500

So I don't think much of 50 marines in 5 pods, but I do think quite a bit of 50 marines in 10 pods.

You get the number of units on the table that you need, with average dice rolls for reserves.

I know alot of experienced players don't mind when you drop only 2-3 units in a turn, that means you can usually only shoot 4-6 units in a turn. While it may work on small elite armies, armies with alot of bodies and alot of units will just take whatever you've got to give and then crunch you.

If you have 2 really big waves (4-5 then 4-5) of pods coming down, despite being small in number you can block alot of LOS and fire at 8-10 units per 'wave', and odds are you'll have more of each wave survive.

Hope that helps ya man.

Wow Stelek-That is one waaaay cool list.
Drops my numbers from 50 to 36 though.. so not too sure..

Plus the fact that"I will be in your face" and losing a few troops through attrition, makes me lean towards the 10-man squad side of things.

As a quick question to your Uber knowledge-Don't the DP's lose the SB when the Deathwind is upgraded? I do not know is all. Either way, you can only fire one of the two in any given shooting phase.....
Boo rarely works for me, as my dice rolling SUX.(Hopefully the Dakka Dice are just what I need!!!

2 Meltas per squad is just mean, you bad boy!! FTW(EXALT!!)


Thanks for the excellent pointers Stelek-You Da Man!

Don't think they lose the SB but since the spirit can only ever fire one weapon...does it matter much?

And not every DP has DW in that 2nd list (points are tight).

I don't think much of Boo myself.

2 meltas per squad is pretty standard stuff for drop troops.

Command squads can go tank hunter if you really need to.

The double plasma guns per tactical squad is what makes most players cry.

The DW launchers make up for your anti-horde firepower off the marines, but having lots of units is what helps.

Your list won't do much against 100+ horde armies, they can just take it and gobble you up; then eat your next wave as dessert.

I often run my drop pod army for new players at the FLGS, so I don't drive them away. lol it's always been easy to beat, just some people don't figure it out till it's game over.

Thanks for the excellent advice Sir!
I particularly like the 10DP list. I have 10, so no worries there!!

It also means they need to kill 3 guys in every squad to make them 'non-scoring'-nice.

Now I am looking at that last list you did....do you have copyright issues if I use it???

That is one nice list indeed!

Will re-work tonight @ home and repost, using some of your ideas, thanks heaps mate!

Well, I'd take 8 men squads using Cleanse & Purify in DPs:

7 Marines w/ melta (x2) + Vet Serg w/ power fist
Drop Pod
That's 205 pts

Take 4 squads - 1020 pts.
Add a drop podded Cmd squad led by an Epistolary with vot, fota (or fod),
and a drop podded Dread with heavy flamer, venerable, armour.

@wuestenfux- Excellent stuff.

So, 5 x 8 Man Tacs
Cleanse and Purify
2 x Melta
5 x Bolter
1 x Sarge with PF and BP.
In DP with Deathwind
=225 points.
Total-1125 points.

1 x Codicier with 'Fear of Darness'
Bionics
Force sword aned PP.
1 x attached Command Squad.
4 x Bolter
2 x Melta Gun
1 x Sarge with PF and BP.
In DP with Deathwind
=374 points.

Total 1499 points.

Opinions?

I wasn't suggesting losing the drop pods, I was saying drop the deathwind upgrade and leave them with the plain old storm bolters. Deathwinds aren't worth their money, in my experiance. And don't let yourself get fooled into thinking you have no anti-horde capabilities. With as many bolters dropping into rapid-fire range as you'll have in this list, you've got a good amount of anti-horde. If you're still worried about horde lists, I'd rather keep the TYBB trait. Horde lists all have poor armor saves, and that's where TYBB shines. And in any case, horde lists are less common at GTs.

Wuestenfux sample squad is exactly what I use in my DP lists, although I mix half-and-half melta and plasma, and I add a combi-plas to the vet in the plasma gun squads. I'd also consider putting the libby in a termie command squad.

Not sure whether the Deathwind upgrade is useful. It's really pricey.
I would drop this upgrade altogether and add a drop podded Dread. Versatility is key.

Versatility is good only if you bring enough of it.

My SW army has 4 dreads and 6 drop pod squads, which is still 10 pods and gives enemies pause since they have different targets to shoot.

Adding 1 dread doesn't really accomplish the same goal, imo.

Hmmm. I guess my old bias against ANYTHING that costs more than 50 points and can be blown up by a Multilaser is showing.

In some of my first few games of 40k I fielded a LR.
250 points gone in 1 shot. Craptastic.

So Dreads and Landspeeders, Predators and such hold ZERO appeal for me.

I would rather have a 10 Man Dev squad with 4 las-Cannons.

i'm right with you on that one

I'll show ya why I like my SW list, akira. You tell me what you think of it in comparison to the ones in this thread.

Thanks Stelek!

It is EXACTLY for reasons like this thread, and the help I have recieved, that make Dakka 'Rock Da House' Hurr.


Can I make a SW list equivalent from the Vanilla Marine Codex?

Yep.

You can do True Grit/Counter-Attack and the Ancients, to give you the dreads and marines.

SW pretty much don't run from combat though, it's part of what makes them so good.

@Stelek, I would much like to see this SW list of yours.

yes please post it, it would help us all out. I never got the general jist of SM's and always try to play them like CSM's which obviously doesn't work. I know what isn't good for the SM's armies, but also don't know which things are the best taken for success with them