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I have just started playing Warhammer 40k with some friends. I have decided to go the route of Space Marines for my first army, and had a few questions that were confusing me.

Hopefully this is the right forum for it, I couldn't decide if it was here or in GD where I should post, but since it is more rule-related than not, I figured this would be the best place.

My friend plays Tau, and after looking through his Codex, it seemed that it's more straightforward with equipping items to his units. I have read through my SM codex, and have yet to really find a good breakdown on what the points are worth for weapons and add-ons for my units, where as the Tau codex seems to do a pretty good job of it.

Is that a quality of the Tau that the SM lack, or am I just looking in the wrong book for what I need? I have the "lite" rulebook that came with AoBR and the SM Codex that I am basing all of this from.

I guess the main thing I am looking is I would like to modify my Terminators and have them use combi-meltas and equip items like locator beacon so I can (hopefully) get some anti-armor units behind his Hammerheads/Devilfish that cause me so much pain. But I can't seem to find a resource on what the point value of all of this stuff is, and whether or not I can actually equip my termies/other units with the weapons/add-ons.

The codex offers some information, but it says nothing about terminators using combi-meltas, even though I swear I have read of other's doing it. But is there some other resource I am missing that holds more detailed information about the breakdown on points for individual weapons/upgrades/add-ons, etc?

Sorry for the long winded first post, and thanks in advance for guidance/help.

Any equipment options and points values that are available to that unit are under "Options" in the SM Codex.

Each unit has its own entry and its own upgrade options and anything not listed are unavailable to that unit.

Firstly - the mini rulebook has ALL the rules you need to play the game. So no problems there.

Trouble is, what youre trying to do is not allowed by your codex. If you look under their entry at the back, you will be able to see what they are allowed to carry, and what they arent. Unlike the Tau codex, which has an "armoury" where you can select weapons from, the later codexes are all much more restricted, usually showing all options available to a unit in the unit entry at the back.

You may have seen chaos terminators carrying combi-weapons, because they are allowed to.

Look in the army list section towards the back, it had the points for any upgrades a unit can take. And I don't play SM, but I don't think termies can take combi-weapons.

nosferatu1001 wrote:Firstly - the mini rulebook has ALL the rules you need to play the game. So no problems there.

Trouble is, what youre trying to do is not allowed by your codex. If you look under their entry at the back, you will be able to see what they are allowed to carry, and what they arent. Unlike the Tau codex, which has an "armoury" where you can select weapons from, the later codexes are all much more restricted, usually showing all options available to a unit in the unit entry at the back.

You may have seen chaos terminators carrying combi-weapons, because they are allowed to.

That definitely clarifies it then. I was pretty sure that may have been the case. I wasn't sure though if there was something I was missing as far as the rules go.

Thanks for the super prompt replies!

Of course they could have been Wolf Guard as well.

Well you can still give them cyclone missile launchers to shoot a few Krak missiles up their blue butts

SM v tau: get up close and personal with the suckers

How: Use rhinos to help close the distance, when they inevitably get shredded by broadsides or plasma guns, run the rest of the way.

How to actually do it without losing a ton of points in the process: use cover to allow for saves in regards to the broadsides, get some bikes to soak up wounds and close the distance fast to lock them into combat for a while.

yeh, look at the entry for each unit near the back of the book. i find it much simpler that way. of course, i play necrons, so it doesnt really matter, to me.

nosferatu1001 wrote:Firstly - the mini rulebook has ALL the rules you need to play the game. So no problems there.

Trouble is, what youre trying to do is not allowed by your codex. If you look under their entry at the back, you will be able to see what they are allowed to carry, and what they arent. Unlike the Tau codex, which has an "armoury" where you can select weapons from, the later codexes are all much more restricted, usually showing all options available to a unit in the unit entry at the back.

You may have seen chaos terminators carrying combi-weapons, because they are allowed to.

Excellent answer....however, to that point, most modern codexes are LESS restrictive than tau, and have tons more options.
(the crisis suit is the only unit with a lot of options, if you actually look at the infantry and vehicles, there is not a lot there, unless you get a SGT, and a troop still cant get a melta, missile, sniper rifle, power weapon, meltabomb, plasma, feel no pain, etc.).

So, don't worry, your marines have lots of wonderful toys...

If you're looking for DSing tank killers, sternguard in a drop pod with combi-meltas do what you're trying to accomplish.

Or if you wanna get expensive there is always LOTD with Multi Meltas or Melta guns