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Okay, this is my first shot at a marine list, so help me out here. I'm looking to do a White Scarsesque chapter which basically shuns everything slow. No foot sloggers (at worst, a drop-podded Sternguard squad in a higher point range), no lumbering walkers, and standard vehicles are too difficult to rapidly deploy and recover. I'm looking to focus almost exclusively on bikes and jump packs for speed and extreme mobility.

HQ
200 pts: Space Marine Captain
-bike, storm shield, lightning claw, artificer armor, melta bombs, auxiliary grenade launcher

Troops
330 pts: 8x Bikes + Assault Bike
-multi-melta, 2x plasmaguns, meltabombs and plasma pistol and power weapon for Sgt.
x3

Fast Attack
310 pts: 5x Vanguard Veterans
4x power weapons, 5x plasma pistols, 5x jump packs, power fist

1500 points


I figure, at first brush, that my experience with building lists for my previous army (Sisters of Battle) will apply here -- troops are tough, versatile workhorses that have to be able to do the work and yet be deep enough to hold the points after the work is done. So I've got 6 scoring units here if I combat squad, and I've got no range disparities encouraging awkward engagement distances. The vanguard vets are primarily there to heroic intervention and break up real trouble in close combat, or if they come in early enough, proactively engage durable targets to make use of their high power weapon attack density.

Initially, I had figuring on having more melta (instead of the plasmaguns) in the army; thoughts? I'd also thought about using Khan, but I've seen mixed reviews on the utility of outflanking (it seems flavorful for the army, though). I'm shying away from Rhinos as my Sisters army is primarily mechanized, and so I'm looking at bikes as an alternative to modelling more Rhinos. =) Primarily, my weakness is going to be having 33 models on the table, I realize. but with 5 toughness apiece and power armor, I think it should be reasonably durable, and the twin linked relentless bolters everywhere means I shouldn't be hurting for hits despite the small size and dearth of templates. The thing I'm least sure about is whether I should try to drop a troop and squeeze a command squad in to accompany the captain and complement his CC strengths as an asset on the table from turn 1.. -- in which case, it might behoove me to take Khan for the furious charge and hit and run, right?

So, have I made any big blunders, and are there areas I haven't considered that I should improve?

Khan is not worth the points, Captain on bike is better. I prefer melta guns, your fast, if you deploy right first turn 90% of your meltas will be in range and some of your multi meltas will be at half range (S8 +2d6 v Land raiders anyone?) Vanguard vets don't seem all that great, you would probably be better with land speeders or Tactical Squads in Rhinos. I'm using 3 squads of 5 bikes + Attack bike 2 melta, MM and PF firing melta v tanks and relentless rapid fire bolters v troops. Command squad on bike = huge point sink. i personally would look to increase model count, a few well placed blasts can kill you

Your missing the bike command squads of death!

Julnlecs wrote:Your missing the bike command squads of death!

I personally don't like the Bike Command Squad due to points cost its 205 points for them without upgrades. I find it better to have more standard bikers or tactical squads under the 1750 point mark

Then the list wont be good enough for a tournament setting. Bikes are too vulnerable without it.

Julnlecs wrote:Then the list wont be good enough for a tournament setting. Bikes are too vulnerable without it.

It is a "friendly" list, not a "tourney" list.

I think you could get away with my old 1500pt build for this, because it was fun, but still competative.

HQ:
Space Marine Captain
Bike, Relic Blade

Command Squad w/ Bikes
- Company Champion (Power Sword, Combat Shield)
- Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield
- Lightning Claw, Storm Shield
- Lightning Claw
- Apothecary

Troops:
8x Bikes, 1x Attack Bike
Power Fist, 2x Meltas, 1x Multimelta

8x Bikes, 1x Attack Bike
Power Fist, 2x Meltas, 1x Multimelta

8x Bikes, 1x Attack Bike
Power Sword, Meltabombs, 2x Flamers, 1x Heavy Bolter

Fast Attack:
3x Attack Bikes w/ Heavy Bolters

That was a blast to play and it can actually win, too. Just don't get mad when you lose guys to dangerous terrain.

Sorry, I thought that was your chapter name. Imagine, the 'Friendly Biker Marines'.

Pods before that ridiculous Vanguard unit please!

Julnlecs wrote:Then the list wont be good enough for a tournament setting. Bikes are too vulnerable without it.

How do you know? Have you played a marine bike list? And he did say it was a Friendly Marine Biker List, you don't need the cheese if your just playing with your mates

Thanks for the input, all. Consensus seems to be that investing in a command squad over either the third troops or the vanguard vets would make the list a bit beefier, and that giving up the meltas for plasma isn't a good move. Sound about accurate?

Arctik_Firangi wrote:Sorry, I thought that was your chapter name. Imagine, the 'Friendly Biker Marines'.

Pods before that ridiculous Vanguard unit please!

Okay, granted, the Vanguard was a bit gratuitous. Is it jump marines you're against, or the (admittedly preposterous -- hey, it was like 2 am when I was pencilling out the final composition!) point cost I invested in the OP? How about if I drop the plasma? Still ridiculous (because you don't think they should be there in the first place), or more reasonable? After seeing the command squad em_en_oh_pee conjured, I was reminded about diversifying models to control wound allocation, so I'd probably mix it up with some lightning claws and maybe a thunder hammer instead of just a bunch of power swords.

Coming from a Sisters background, I'm still working out good assault unit composition. Don't do much charging with Sisters. =P

If you like modelling, the command squad will be fun. Who doesn't like a TH/SS Biker?!

Freaky Freddy wrote:

Julnlecs wrote:Then the list wont be good enough for a tournament setting. Bikes are too vulnerable without it.

How do you know? Have you played a marine bike list? And he did say it was a Friendly Marine Biker List, you don't need the cheese if your just playing with your mates

I do play the bike army with all bikes and two command squads. People arent use to taking down two command squads that get a 3+ armour 3+ invul 4+ FNP. You turbo boost with all army to multi charge with command squads on turn two and shoot tanks with your troops . Its a tough list but a pain to paint 30 bikes. Its got 17 melta guns for anti tank, 30 twin linked bolters for anti infantry. What else would you want?

How are you taking bikes as troop choices with the new Codex? Not a legal list from what I can tell, unless you're running a different HQ or codex rule set.

inzeos wrote:How are you taking bikes as troop choices with the new Codex? Not a legal list from what I can tell, unless you're running a different HQ or codex rule set.

Read the Mounted rule right underneath the Captain's Entry in the Army List? The one about what happens when you put him on a bike...

TehCheator is right, bikes can be taken as troops. Thanks for coming out though.

If this is a friendly list you should arm them all with gift baskets and put your command squad in a welcome wagon.

Reecius wrote:If this is a friendly list you should arm them all with gift baskets and put your command squad in a welcome wagon.

Oh man, I laughed so hard at this... I totally need to get to work modeling these onto my Bike Army. Then maybe people won't hate it as much

I won't bitch and moan about the VV's, like everybody else. They're great fun. I would however, recommend you drop the plasma pistols; Vanguards are expensive enough without paying more points to potentially kill one YOURSELF. For the same points (310) you can have LC+SS VV's with JP's. MUCH more survivability, same points cost. I would also swap out the Plasma on the bikes for either meltas or flamers, maybe one of each per squad; You're a bit short on tank hunting ability, and Combat squadding will make CC a bit hard on your units unless you soften up the targets a bit.

Then maybe people won't hate it as much

Haha, how could they? If you have a thoughtful selection of flowers and fruits in a tastefully arranged basket, no on can stay mad at you, even after you table their ass!

Drop the veterans. They just aren't very good and cost a lot of points. You could have maybe 4 speeders for that cost.

Lordhat wrote:I won't bitch and moan about the VV's, like everybody else. They're great fun. I would however, recommend you drop the plasma pistols; Vanguards are expensive enough without paying more points to potentially kill one YOURSELF. For the same points (310) you can have LC+SS VV's with JP's. MUCH more survivability, same points cost. I would also swap out the Plasma on the bikes for either meltas or flamers, maybe one of each per squad; You're a bit short on tank hunting ability, and Combat squadding will make CC a bit hard on your units unless you soften up the targets a bit.

Yes. I've made some tinkery revisions to the list based on feedback here and elsewhere. I realized putting plasma on the VVets is silly, as the plan is to use them as a CC squad (that's the whole point of using VVets instead of a vanilla jump Assault Squad -- extra attack and heroic intervention). They're better off, as you say, if I focus them on CC with those points.

I don't *think* I'm too short on tank hunting ability, given that my revision also put power fists on all the troops sergeants, and each troops bike is a MM. Yes, I'll have trouble with some outlier builds like excessive LR spam, but as this is a friendly list, it's not necessarily one of my priorities. The plasma will do adequately for less exotic armor since it rapid fires. Plasma vs. meltagun gains in the MEQ/high toughness what it loses in anti-armor, too, and I think that's not to be discounted.