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I did a quick search and it looks like no made a poll of this at least in the last couple months, to my surprise. So which is the best all around Chapter Tactics set in the new vanilla marines codex?

I'm allowing multiple choice answers because I feel they are all equally good to some degree. Its why I feel that C:SM is the best codex for 6th thus far: with the right chapter tactics and strategy you can take any unit in the book and make it viable (yes, even assault marines).

But I'd like to hear the arguments for which CT is better than the rest so...

I vote Salamanders in all of these things because I love them too much and therefore everyone else is wrong.

White Scars, followed by IH. Bikes are the best thing in the 'dex and Scars tactics make them even better.

 obsidiankatana wrote:
White Scars, followed by IH. Bikes are the best thing in the 'dex and Scars tactics make them even better.

This guy gets it. Bikes are the only viable troop choice, and making them better is just....best.

I cannot believe anyone voted for Imperial Fists....I mean, tank hunting centurions are solid, but bolter drill is pretty crappy.

Lol who voted Ravenguard/BT neither of these even come close to the top five let alone number 1 bummer since templars Teutonic knights is space is pretty awesome.

 obsidiankatana wrote:
White Scars, followed by IH. Bikes are the best thing in the 'dex and Scars tactics make them even better.

This, by a long shot.

I'd say the "top three" are Ultramarines, White Scars and Hands. I'd put Ultras first as they have the best character and devastating rules if you're a savvy player, and they make the Drop Pod army work best, which is the best build in my mind. Second is White Scars for the above reasons, because bikes are great. Iron Hands are also good for durability but don't do much for firepower. Sallys are ok, Fists are ok, Templars/Raven Guard are bad.

Imperial fists for 3 squads of Heavy Bolter Devastors. Dakka dakka dakka dakka dakka dakka....

 jifel wrote:
I'd say the "top three" are Ultramarines, White Scars and Hands. I'd put Ultras first as they have the best character and devastating rules if you're a savvy player, and they make the Drop Pod army work best, which is the best build in my mind. Second is White Scars for the above reasons, because bikes are great. Iron Hands are also good for durability but don't do much for firepower. Sallys are ok, Fists are ok, Templars/Raven Guard are bad.

Meh Salamander Pods lists are probablythe best, getting Flamer and Melta bonuses is great.

If you've just got a generic list and want to slap a Chapter on it without making the list and the army choice work together, Iron Hands or Imperial Fists will give you the best bang for your buck.

If you're making a list to work with your Chapter Tactics, then they're all good. Salamanders, Iron Hands, and White Scars are the easiest to build lists for.

White Scars is undeniably good. Not just for bikers which is fantastic but even for khan led TAC marines in dedicated transports.

Iron Hands can actually become the most brutal of the chapter tactics if you take a lot of the tougher forgeworld vehicles or even the GW flyers. For some reason though GW doesn't believe in giving SM tough vehicles. (you almost never see such a list though because the price tag is huge) This is my favorite CT for an allied SM force.

Salamanders makes for a very nasty drop pod list. Legion of the damned become incredible with vulkan. There is a bit of meta bias against this at the moment. With an increase acceptance of escalation though this list could really find it's place.

Imperial Fists are a strange army which is very meta dependent. In a mech based meta they become incredible. In a MC dominated meta they become somewhat mediocre. So the question is how many eldar serpent players do you have in your meta?

Ravenguard can put together a very nasty army that becomes nastier with the addition of stronghold assault. They can also do fairly well in an escalation environment. The only place they have a lot of trouble is when codex inquisition is used and the stronghold and escalation are banned.

I'm glad Ultramarine CT are in 3rd place so far. As befitting the fluff its the one that requires the most strategy to use properly (unless you take Calgar).

White Scars are way good. Biker troop choices with all those bonuses are crazy useful, and H&R for all your units is awesome against certain armies. Khan is a useful HQ. Clearly the best CT.

Iron Hands are second-tier. Their FNP rolls don't save that many models over the course of a game. Their repair and vehicle buffs are excellent, but you need to play a mech list to take advantage of that (which is not quite as competitive in this edition). They don't get a cool IC, which is lame.

Ultramarines are second-tier. Relentless Devastators are powerful. Re-rolls to hit are good. Assault Doctrine is pretty lame. Actually requires some player skill to execute effectively, which is fun. Mediocre CT, but excellent HQ choices make up for that.

Salamanders are second-tier. Mastercraft is a weak buff. Flamecraft is good, but only if you build your list around it. Vulkan's melta buff synergizes well with flamecraft. I'm probably overrating this because they're my army of choice

Imperial Fists are sort of meh. Tank Hunter is good, but Bolter Drill is pretty crappy. Lysander is overpriced. Pedro is cool, but for some bizarre reason Sternguard don't synergize well with Bolter Drill (Y NO WORK WITH SPECIAL AMMO?!). By far the most boring CT.

Black Templars are pretty bad. You can exploit the challenge rules, but that's about it.

I haven't played Raven Guard, so I don't have a feel for how good those scout moves and jump pack bonuses are. They seem cool (I certainly don't think they're worse than Black Templar)