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Ive been wondering for ages now how I can maximize the use of each of the ultramarine's special characters, to make the most of their given special rules

So what do you guys suggest?

Marneus Calgar
Cato Sicarius
Varro Tigurius
Ortan Cassius
Torias Telion
Antaro Chronus

Or if anyone can point me to a tactika thread that answers this question please do so, i'm eager to build up some lists focused on these heroes (not necessarily all at once)

This is what I would do:

Marneus Calgar: Take him if you expect to face many Morale checks, but don't take a character that makes you lose combat tactics. He is also pretty good in combat with this re-rolls and he can take on some high-strength weapons because he has eternal warrior. Always place him in a squad, I have some bad memories with fielding him on his own. Placing him in a squad also gives the advantage that you can allocate the wounds to your weaker models first and it isn't a very big problem that Calgar strikes last due to his power fists.

Cato Sicarius: He has some useful abilities, but don't field him and Calgar together in smaller games, because you don't need two leadership-affecting special rules. He is also pretty good at killing enemy HQs because of his tempest blade attack. If you really need the first turn take him, because he can re-roll when seizing the initiative. I prefer to field him only when I can take a command squad too, because that would make a really strong CC unit with Feel No Pain to keep them up.

Varro Tigurius: He is useful when you have a precise plan for your reserves, but otherwise I would advise not to take him. He can use all psychic powers available to marines, but most of the time you'll use only one or two often throughout the game, so you could as well take a Librarian, which is much cheaper. If I take him I normally use his gate of infinity to teleport right in front of the enemy, then use quickening to give him Fleet and before the assault use the might of the ancients for the extra strength. Still he needs to pass all those annoying psychic tests and making a lot of them won't increase your chances to pass them all.

Ortan Cassius: His high toughness is a real advantage over other HQs, but if you don't expect to face a high strength army a normal chaplain will do the job as well. Use him if you want to hold up some small elite units, but don't let him move around on his own, his high toughness and Feel No Pain will keep him alive and then move in your CC units to finish the small elite unit.

Torias Telion: His ability that makes you allocate wounds instead of your opponent is a real advantage. Now you can finally take out the models you want and your opponent can't just choose some army-fillers to die. His Voice of Experience is also useful when you really need one of your special weapons to hit. I would use him in a scout unit with snipers and camo cloaks and place them in a ruin. Bolster the ruin with a Techmarines special rule and you've got a 2+ cover save and your unit will be extremely hard to kill.

Antaro Chronus: Only choose him if you're facing a tank heavy army and mount him in a Land Raider so you'll blow up at least one tank every shooting fase. Otherwise he won't be of much use.

Life Gamer - excellent write up. Seriously. I like Sicarius, Marneus, Telion and Ortan. Telion and Ortan are the most frequently used by me, then Sicarius then Marneus (though never together).

You don't need to take cammo cloaks with telion he has stealth and conferes it to the unit via the FAQ's. It's part of the reason he is awesome he saves all those points that he is really cheap

My notes would be:

Calgar is just an expensive but awesome beat stick use accordingly. Honour guard can work like weird assault termies if you run out of elite choices as such I am not sure why you would ever want three. His combat tactics skill is a slight advantage but not really a consideration beyond combat tactics, I suppose keeping a dev. squad on the very back line might be nice.

Cato has too many ways to fit his tactical squad into a list to judge the best, why not use scout and use them with storms for fun. Otherwise he is a regular awesome cc guy who is too easy to instant kill.

Tigurius is way too easy to kill. So many interesting ways to use him. I personally build an army that all tries to land in turn 2, this means I can play 3 units of legion of the damned with MM,cm,meltas as my antitank - being able to play legion of the damned in a vaguely competitive means alone makes Tigurius worth it.

Cassius is just a cheap amazing chaplain. Use him like a chaplain, which is never but at a push with assault termies from a landraider.

Telion for me has to be with 10 scouts. Normally taking a good shooting position no where near an objective. Usually I let him use his own gun, I know others like him to use the heavy weapon but to me this is a waste.

I have never even touched Chronus.

yeslifegamer wrote:

Varro Tigurius: He is useful when you have a precise plan for your reserves, but otherwise I would advise not to take him. He can use all psychic powers available to marines, but most of the time you'll use only one or two often throughout the game, so you could as well take a Librarian, which is much cheaper. If I take him I normally use his gate of infinity to teleport right in front of the enemy, then use quickening to give him Fleet and before the assault use the might of the ancients for the extra strength.

One side note, as Gate of Infinity uses the deep strike rules you are prohibited from assaulting that turn.

Veldrain wrote:

yeslifegamer wrote:

Varro Tigurius: He is useful when you have a precise plan for your reserves, but otherwise I would advise not to take him. He can use all psychic powers available to marines, but most of the time you'll use only one or two often throughout the game, so you could as well take a Librarian, which is much cheaper. If I take him I normally use his gate of infinity to teleport right in front of the enemy, then use quickening to give him Fleet and before the assault use the might of the ancients for the extra strength.

One side note, as Gate of Infinity uses the deep strike rules you are prohibited from assaulting that turn.

On a side-side-note never put him into cc. Unless it is force dome and quickening but even then you'll miss then he'll be instant killed.
Also never use vortex.

The usual move is force dome, gate, null zone with shooty terminators or sternguard, the 5+ save is for tigurius in the terminator case

nice nice very educational its a shame a thread like this wasnt made previously

Varro Tigurius, he doesn't have an invul save does he?

Godric wrote:Varro Tigurius, he doesn't have an invul save does he?

Nope

The only way i see him being effective is mixing him with khan so you outflank a ton of TH/SS termies on top of someone

I would think when a lowly Chaplin has a 4+ invul save the master librarian of the Ultramarines would have the same.

Scene:The library

Tigurius:Ssshhh, I am trying to read: you know there is no talking here.
Jacobus:Brother Tigurius, they are handing out armour at the armoury right now don't think you should pick some up.
Tigurius:But I am still learning my 9th power, Brother Jacobus.
Jacobus:8 is 5 more than any other chapter's chief librarian, you could do with inv. save to keep you alive to use said powers.
Tigurius:How about mephiston? he doesn't have inv. save and he isn't even an independent character.
Jacobus:But after learning 3 powers he spent his time at the gym, in fact the usual weights at the gym were too light and he was forced to start lifting some conquered giant idols of Khorne.
Tigurius:Talking about regimes for getting ready for battle, he is my list of my rider that I need to prepare myself.
Jacobus:What this would cost the army about three typhoons worth of resources, there is no way they will ever choose to spend resources in this way.
Tiguriusrecisely, I am going to be safe here in this library until they prepare my rider whilst mephiston is chucked into battle and will eventually be instant killed by some Grey Kinghts for his rider explicitly stating that he needs 'just under three typhoons resources worth of blood for the blood God'.
Jacobus:I was wondering about those idols.