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part 4 of the Gunline marine unit focus series. this series focuses on the different marine units used in a Gunline, but it is good for any other army style as well.


Unit focus: Predator tank

Predator tanks are the main battle tank that space marines use. Decent armor combined with some good builds for decent points costs.

there are 3 builds that are viable for predator tanks.

Annihilator pattern, 160 pts: Tl-lascannon turret and 2 lascannon sponsons. Expensive, slowmoving and powerful. no PotMS means all 3 lascannons are after the same target, if that target is a Lemun Russ or Killa kan squadron then its fine, but if its a single side armor shot on a Battlewagon then it might be overkill. very effective at what it does, but is pretty expensive.

Destructor pattern, 85 pts: Autocannon turret and 2 heavy bolter sponsons. cheap Dakka and lots of it. Effective against hordes of enemy models with the ability to threaten medium and light tanks if required. very effective for the points cost.

Maverick pattern, 120 pts: autocannon and 2 lascannon sponsons. a comprimise between the Annhilator and Destructor patterns. the maverick should be tasked with hunting medium tanks and, if there are no more vehicles, MEQs. 4 shots can down enough Marines to make it worth its points while still being powerful enough to stop tanks.




Unit focus: Vindicator

there is really only 1 build of Vindicator, so this focus is on tactics.

a Str10, AP2 Pieplate makes the vindicator the most powerful tank in the SM codex.

the major question is "how many?"

i say 3. that means no predators, Landraiders that aren't DTs, TFCs, Devestators, or Whirlwinds.

the effectivness of Vindicators is summed up in this. 1 Vindicator will die, 2 are twice as survivable, 3 are 4 times as survivable.

Vindicators are defensive tanks NOT offensive tanks, you BA players out there(you know who you are, you cheezy little gits) have Fast on your vindicators allowing you to use vindicators offensively and thus may ignore this.

it is the 24" range that makes them a defensive tank, perfect for a gunline. you shall place your vindicators in cover overlooking a nice patch of open ground, hopefully where only the Front armor is visable. if an objective based mission place an objective right there in the open. now you have a nice open ground objective that is right in the firing line of the most powerful blast weapon outside of an Appoc game. Area denial.

a vindicator placed every so often along the gunline army will cread a bubble of area denial that your opponent will have to cross to reach you. no one likes to have a Str10 template dropped on them, 3 even more so.



Unit focus: Landraider

Landraiders are the toughest tanks in the game next to Monoliths, but they don't have the danger of disappearing.

Tactics:

Phobos: 2 TL-lascannons and a Tl-Heavy bolter. the best varity for a gunline. thanks to PotMS you can fire the heavy bolter at avandcing infantry while the lascannons fire at a menacing tank OR you can split the lascannons between tanks. the ability to fire a weapon while shaken is also very important.

Crusader: if your gunline has a large quantity of anti-tank a crusader can add some needed anti-infantry fire to your force. if a MM is purchased you can fire it at a tank by the PotMS while the Assault cannon and bolters mow down infantry.

Redeemer: the Redeemer is valuable in a Gunline as an area denial mechanism. it is designed as a offensive tank, but it does Area denial effectivly too. no enemy will go anywhere near an AP3 flamer and for good reason. it can move 6" and split its 2 flamers at different targets that are advancing on your lines. Alternativly it can charge the enemy lines and do the same thing with its flamers to draw attention away from your gunline.



Unit Focus: Tactical Terminators

tactical terminators are seen as a subpar terminator unit. I1 in CC and only a 5+ invuln makes them vulnerable to power weapons. they are however perfect for a Gunline army.

the build you want for them is the following.

5 terminators and 1 clyclone missile launcher or 10 terminators and 2 clyclone missile launchers.

the tactic on this is massed bolter fire backed up by 4 Str4 AP5 blast or 4 Str8 AP3 shots.

on the first turn you can begin picking off transports or thinning hordes down with the missile launchers. once the enemy is in range of the bolters they become even deadlier. another advantage to the Missile launchers is that they retain use of their stormbolters if purchased, something you lose with assault cannons and heavy flamers.

you might say the Powerfists are being wasted, but they do serve a purpose. the ability to take a tank down in CC and more importantly a deterrent to MCs.

Grey Templar wrote: . its also a barrage weapon meaning it can be fired indirectly to ignore intervening cover as well.

I was following you until there.

Good advice as usual, I take 3 vindicators too, all or nothing.

Grey Templar wrote:a Str10, AP2 Pieplate makes the vindicator the most powerful tank in the SM codex. its also a barrage weapon meaning it can be fired indirectly to ignore intervening cover as well.

Did i mess up?

i do know that any cover is measured from the center of the blast and not the direction of the firer.

o well, they are still effective without that.

Yeah... that... vindicators are beautiful though.

fixed my statement.

its late here and i am nearly passed out from all this tactical genious.

Whoops, late here too.

uuuuhhh.

in which codex?

mine says Ord.1, barrage.

Try editing for spelling and punctuation prior to posting.

Also, it's the Phobos Pattern Land Raider. "Godhammer" is the pattern of the Lascannons it carries.

changed the pattern name

and, although my grammer isn't steller, i do belive it is better then some out there.

what grammer and spelling is confusing you?

Well, the random capitalization is pretty distracting, for starters. You have a tendency to use commas as semi-colons, and to use acronyms without introducing them. Mis-spellings like "clyclone" are pretty distracting too.

I'm one of those so-called "gits." True I have only used my line breakers for defensive measure till the new dex came out.

But yeah its just 1 ord, large blast. Not barrage, so it must be fired directly.

Jihallah wrote:

Grey Templar wrote:a Str10, AP2 Pieplate makes the vindicator the most powerful tank in the SM codex. its also a barrage weapon meaning it can be fired indirectly to ignore intervening cover as well.

I am missing something? Str 10 Ap 2 Ordnance 1, Barrage? Grey has the text right?

"Ordnance 1, Barrage" is a typo in the codex (towards the back) for the Demolisher cannon. Under the Vindicator entry, it simply reads, "Ordnance 1".

This is supported by the Chaos Space Marines, Blood Angels, and Imperial Guard Codices which all refer to it as, "Ordnance 1".


So yeah, it's not a barrage weapon, that's just a typo on that one page of Codex Space Marines.

What codex though. Demo cannons are supposed to be 24" s10 ap2 Ordnance Blast. No barrage just plain ordnance.

If they were barrage you wouldn't be able to drive up and fire it like you can. Look earlier on in the codex, it's just plain Ordnance but later on in the reference page it says barrage.

Neither of these are actually correct for the Demo cannon as Ordanace by itself would mean it doesn't get the large blast or any blast template at all.

However this was fixed in the FAQ by stating it as an Ordnance Blast weapon. Meaning you can still drive up to the speed that would allow you to fire one non defensive weapon and fire the cannon.

http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2250129_FAQ_SpaceMarines_Nov2009

aaahh.

i thought they changed it to Ord1, Large blast and kept barrage.

I knew it wasn't barrage!

Anyway, I use it as on offensive tank.

i just overhauled the content of these posts and made an article here on dakka with a couple of sample lists and more units not previously discussed.

check it out

Grey Templar wrote:
Destructor pattern, 85 pts: Autocannon turret and 2 heavy bolter sponsons. cheap Dakka and lots of it. Effective against hordes of enemy models with the ability to threaten medium and light tanks if required. very effective for the points cost.

And to make destructor slightly more destructive, add a storm bolter on it. Those 2 extra S4 shots usually earn their points back Also it can be fired when moving 6 inches or less in addition to autocannon or one heavy bolter.

You should put this up as a 1,750 point list:

Librarian
Null Zone
Gate of Infinity

10 Tactical Marines
Flamer
Combi-Flamer
Multi-Melta
Melta Bombs

Razorback
Assault Cannon

10 Tactical Marines
Plasma Cannon
Flamer
Combi-Flamer
Melta Bombs

Razorback
Assault Cannon

10 Tactical Marines
Plasma Cannon
Melta Gun
Melta Bombs

Razorback
Assault Cannon

10 Tactical Marines
Plasma Cannon
Melta Gun
Melta Bombs

Razorback
Assault Cannon

10 Tactical Marines
Plasma Cannon
Melta Gun
Melta Bombs

Razorback
Assault Cannon

Vindicator

Vindicator

Vindicator



Glad you put it as an article though.

Thats 50 marines to paint Symphonious

Even with 'anyone say spraygun' thats a lot

Also if you start losing your vindis early, you're relying a lot on assault cannons for your AT here

Great work Grey Templar - clear and precise.

Loricatus Aurora wrote:Thats 50 marines to paint Symphonious

Even with 'anyone say spraygun' thats a lot

Also if you start losing your vindis early, you're relying a lot on assault cannons for your AT here

I'm heavily considering using Hulksmash's wonderful services!

I would suggest anyone to him, cheap and amazing painter.