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I have noticed people always peg SMs and different power levels and enough of an opening. I made a poll where we can all say how strong we like are SM and the winning number become the official for the form! d(^.^)b No not at all. This is just for fun. How much is a SM worth to you?

Don't forget this is all for fun.

I reckon one Space Marine could take on 100 normal Imperial Guardsmen and win.

I would also guess 100 because we already have a hundred man kumite where a guy from some martial arts faction will take on 100guys, although this is one at a time and not to the death, but hey there space marines

Fluff-wise, 100. In-game, 3.

1000

I'd say it would be 100 in reality if deployed like a shock trooper, or in a small space. On open ground at range when the guardsmen knew he was going to attack them, he'd take down maybe 30-40 before the flashlights blinded him.

@ Nicholas it depends, if he were attacking guerrila style, he could kill more than 100, frontal assault 30-40 is reasonable, melee he'd probably kill all 100

I like the old stand by of one SM being 12 guards men. I also deprecate them based on upkeep cost.

If its a SM from the SM game then there wont be enough guardsmen

Reference "Movie Space Marines"
White Dwarf 300 (US)

I'd say 6-15 is about right.

It says in a white dwarf that one company of Space Marines is better than 100,000 (or is it 10 billion) Imperial Guardsmen

Pretty much all figures given in every Codex says 1 space marine can be equal to 10-12 guardsmen which seems fairly reasonable and is about the limit of what you'd see on the tabltop. Once you start getting past that, you get into ridiculous mode, venturing into Fanfic territory, breaking the suspension of disbelief and making gameplay feel...silly.

Also, Movie Marines are not "fluff' marines, they really aren't.


1 Space Marine is not going to take on 100 Guardsmen and win, sorry fanbois, but even as a Marine player, it's ridiculous.

3 € a Piece.

1 to one hundred is the most conservative estimate I would ever venture. A Guardsman with marine equipment, forget the huge genetic advantage, forget the centuries of experience, forget the super-condensed training beamed into their heads, would be able to take 6-15 guardsmen.

Vaktathi wrote:Also, Movie Marines are not "fluff' marines, they really aren't.

I'm glad someone said this, so many look at the Movie Marines list and think it's meant to be an accurate representation of a Marine in the fluff.

Though would say it depends on context. Just a normal shoot-out, 12-20 or so guardsman is probably equal to a Marine, but in physical combat the difference is greater.

While I'd agree that the 6-12 range is a pretty good estimate for what a single Astartes could handle, I should point out that the ratio isn't exactly linear. One hundred Astartes could probably take on many more than 1200 guardsmen, since the real strength of the Space Marines is their ability to operate as a deadly stand-alone army. A single marine is limited by the extent of his own skills, while a company or chapter can cover the relative weaknesses of each marine, resulting in an overall stronger force (aka Assault squads and dev squads working with tac squads, etc).

^Agreed^
A whole Chapter is likely worth tens of regiments, probably reaching the 100 mark.

Even the "marinetastic" ( and damn the marinewank was strong in these, otherwise good, books ) Word Bearers series ( Dark Apostle to be specific ) mentions that a single marines is worth "only" 30-40 well trained Guardsmen on the battlefield.

Of course, this also depends on the regiment we pit against the marines. Some conscripts who have never heard of a weapon heavier than the lasgun? Well...
Hardened Cadians on the other hand might find marines much less intimidating than soldiers from other regiments ( oh look Bob...another battlebarge in orbit...someone tell Hank to ready his Hydra for incoming droppods...).

KingDeath wrote:Even the "marinetastic" ( and damn the marinewank was strong in these, otherwise good, books ) Word Bearers series ( Dark Apostle to be specific ) mentions that a single marines is worth "only" 30-40 well trained Guardsmen on the battlefield.

A book about Marines displaying the Marines as being powerful? Why I never!

The following quote is attributed to Rogal Dorn, primarch of the Imperial Fists:
"Give me 100 Space Marines or, failing that, give me 1000 other troops."
Each Marine being worth 10 men is a little conservative given recent fluff, but it's at least something more conclusive from in the universe.

Vaktathi wrote:1 Space Marine is not going to take on 100 Guardsmen and win, sorry fanbois, but even as a Marine player, it's ridiculous.

Until you play Deathwatch.

My Deathwatch devistator has killed over 100 renegade guardsmen in a single fight before.

when a magnititude 300 renegade guardsmen horde comes at you, a Heavy bolter is a great thing to have.

I would say 1000.

a single marine certaintly couldn't take on all 1000 at once, but if you turned them all loose in a ruined city with plenty of cover I would bet on the Marine. He would use his super human senses to sneak and hid and mug the guardsmen in their 2s and 3s untill none are left.

I find this matter to be a bit annoying at times, but not too much. I just read 'Battle of the Fang', and there it is 2000 Marines vs. Millions of GEQ at times. I thought that was a bit much.

The power levels of single characters seem to change within the space of a few pages, too, which is mildly annoying as well, but not as much as to completely break the suspension of disbelief.

A fortified position makes a huge difference.

in the Middle Ages, a well designed castle could be held by a very small garrison against forces sometimes outnumbering them 1000 to 1.

Grey Templar wrote:A fortified position makes a huge difference.

in the Middle Ages, a well designed castle could be held by a very small garrison against forces sometimes outnumbering them 1000 to 1.

Yes, but So this is in fact even worse.

1 to 5 i guess...
I like guardsmen more..
A space marine could take 100 cultis


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Grey Templar wrote:I would say 1000.

a single marine certaintly couldn't take on all 1000 at once, but if you turned them all loose in a ruined city with plenty of cover I would bet on the Marine. He would use his super human senses to sneak and hid and mug the guardsmen in their 2s and 3s untill none are left.

Maybe guardsmen regroup and bundle their strength..
It isnt really fair to say boltgun vs lasgun

"Give me a hundred space marines. Failing that, give me a thousand other men."

1000 divided by 100 is 10. Therefore a space marine is worth 6-15 guys.

If my recent games are any sign to me, 5 marines are worth 1 guardsmen.

They were some pretty bad dice rolls

I like how "One really excited cat" is coming in 3rd overall

I think it is hard to gauge how many guardsmen a Space Marine can kill in the fluff, as it varies by author on how good they are. It also depends on which regiment he is fighting, as training varies greatly, and on what terrain he is fighting (open field, city) along with at what distance (close combat, long range). Finally, as others have said, the kill ratio would also differ depending on if he is alone or in a group.

16-30 says I.

Depends. Open combat 40-60 Guardsmen die.

A lone astartes using methodical Guerrila warfare to take out single squads at a time? As long as he doesn't mess up (and he won't because he excels humans in ever single area conceivable dozens of times over) and stumble upon a primary camp or some such, then he could conceivably keep on killing till the jobs done.