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Hey there. I'm new here and I'm new to 40k. I'm rocking a Space Marine army that I'm slowly building up as time goes on. But as it stands, here's what I'm running:

Tactical Squads 170
Tactical Squad 170
Dreadnaught 115
Dreadnaught 115
6 terminators 240
HQ 100
Land Speeder 95
-Assault Cannon+Multimelta
=1005 points

I play casual games in my college's gaming club, so the 5 points over is no big thing. I basically split two Black Reach boxes with a buddy of mine who wants to pick up the game as well(I've got 4 more Terminators sitting unassembled and unpainted). Then I bought a Land Speeder. In the pipeline, I'm grabbing another Land Speeder, a 10 man Devastator Squad, and eventually a Land Raider. I'm also going to buy a Pedro Kantor off of a friend of mine. I don't plan to run Crimson Fists, but it's my understanding I'll be able to use Kantor either way.

I'm toying with the idea of picking up some Drop Pods as well, but I want to play the game a bit more and see if I'd really need them or not.

Please tell me what you think of what I've got going here. I'm a big fan of constructive criticism and I'd love to hear what you guys think I should add, remove, and if my future purchases are worth my time and money. Thanks!

Tactical Squads 170
Tactical Squad 170
Dreadnaught 115
Dreadnaught 115
6 terminators 240
HQ 100
Land Speeder 95
-Assault Cannon+Multimelta
=1005 points

The list is a good starting point.
Give the Tacticals missile launchers and the Dreads multimeltas.
As HQ, I'd take a Librarian with gate of infinity. This gives your Termies increased mobility.
Finally, I'd drop the Speeder since it can be easily get shot down giving easy kill points.
Replace them by more Termies.

wuestenfux wrote:

Tactical Squads 170
Tactical Squad 170
Dreadnaught 115
Dreadnaught 115
6 terminators 240
HQ 100
Land Speeder 95
-Assault Cannon+Multimelta
=1005 points

The list is a good starting point.
Give the Tacticals missile launchers and the Dreads multimeltas.
As HQ, I'd take a Librarian with gate of infinity. This gives your Termies increased mobility.
Finally, I'd drop the Speeder since it can be easily get shot down giving easy kill points.
Replace them by more Termies.

You really think dropping the speeders is a good idea? I know they've got a 10 armor all around, but I mean, I figure I can get them in quick enough and pop a few bits of infantry while I work my Dreads across the map. And my Tacticals have missile launchers and my dreads are rocking multimeltas. I love those things.

And I'm starting to get plans to build drop pods from scratch, so once my Devasator sqaud comes in, I'm going to toy with dropping in my Dreads. A nice little "Oh hey. Just coming in to blast some stuff"

I am a new Space Marine player aswell, about two months, and i think your list sounds fairly balanced with speed, tctical mobility and strength. I would advise a predator tank as they enhance the firepower of your army are are a great model to use.

You really think dropping the speeders is a good idea? I know they've got a 10 armor all around, but I mean, I figure I can get them in quick enough and pop a few bits of infantry while I work my Dreads across the map. And my Tacticals have missile launchers and my dreads are rocking multimeltas. I love those things.

A single Speeder asks for getting smoked early in the game.
It gives easy kill points to your opponent.
I'd replace it by a squadron of two Attack Bikes.

A single drop pod will allow you to drop in a dred (or a tac squad if you so wish it!) behind anything really.. it wont blow up and itll do it your first turn (as half of 1 rounded up is 1 : D ) Thatll cook any nasty tank fairly well and possibly add in EA for a lil secruity. Or swap the points out entirely (from the speeder) and go for a venerable(also get bs & ws 5!) extra armoured podding dred. MM is a must.

@the Speeder comments:
I plan on running two of them, my first one's rocking the multimelta and assault cannon and the second one was going to roll out with an assault cannon and a bolter. But I'll look in to the bikes, they are wicked neat looking.

I want a predator or land raider at some point. Those things are too nasty to pass up.

And I don't know the drop rules. Is there a limit to the amount I can drop? Because I figure I'd drop both of my Dreads as close as possible and fry whatever's unfortunate enough to be there. Then I'd have the speeder(s) come up and do another sweep of the what ever figures are left that the Dreads didn't take.

And I really appreciate these tips. I'm really starting to get a good feel for how my army can play.

You have to drop half your pods on your first turn, the rest remain in reserve. So if you have 2 pods in total. One will drop on the first turn the other turn 2+ (on average it will show up on turn 3). 3 pods, 2 on the first turn etc.

Attack bikes would be more survivable than speeders - easier to hide and 3++ when on boost. But if you already have a speeder, give it a go and see how it plays. Small arms will bring down a speeder very quickly so you need to avoid closing within 24" of the bad guy. Take heavy bolter(s) and/or a typhoon launcher if your committed to using the speeders in low numbers.

Personally id find room for some transports, rhino's will protect your tac's from small arms fire and give some much needed mobility.

Could I have my speeder(s) deep strike? Maybe that would allow them to do some damage before/if they get killed.

And is it "frowned upon" to make drop pods from scratch? I've found some really cool designs/blueprints that look wicked neat and don't cost $30+

How far in to the board can I drop? As far as I've read, I'm set to drop within an inch of an enemy. If I'm dropping on turn one, is there a limit/restriction on where I can drop? And could I use the drop pod for a cover save if I've got units hiding behind it?