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Out of curiosity, if you took a barebones 10 man Assault Marines squad, would they be worth it as an easy distraction? I know they don't do that great in terms of killing things, but as a general harassment or objective taker in a Maelstrom game, they seem like a cheap use. Also, whats the worth in taking them in a Drop pod? They lose their jump packs, don't they?
I’ve never had good experiences with a full 10 man squad. I do get a lot of milage out of 5 man squads though. If you are at the point where you need 10 guys to “harass” something, you might want to consider dedicating a more killy and/or tougher unit to the job.
5 men with a pair of flamers is good either in a pod or with the packs. Different styles of mobility, both with merits. Paired specials, and a low cost makes the unit. Add a HQ for extra fun. If you are podding, running your HQ with the AMs lets you keep your other squads at full 10 men so they can combat squad.
As the pod is a free swap, it’s a better value for the 5 man squad. And a nice way of boosting your count.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
jreilly89 wrote: So, what makes Assault Marines better than Tac Marines in a Drop Pod?
Duel specials at 5 men
Free pod
Those are the big ones.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/01/12 21:53:19
Nevelon wrote: I’ve never had good experiences with a full 10 man squad. I do get a lot of milage out of 5 man squads though. If you are at the point where you need 10 guys to “harass” something, you might want to consider dedicating a more killy and/or tougher unit to the job.
5 men with a pair of flamers is good either in a pod or with the packs. Different styles of mobility, both with merits. Paired specials, and a low cost makes the unit. Add a HQ for extra fun. If you are podding, running your HQ with the AMs lets you keep your other squads at full 10 men so they can combat squad.
As the pod is a free swap, it’s a better value for the 5 man squad. And a nice way of boosting your count.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
jreilly89 wrote: So, what makes Assault Marines better than Tac Marines in a Drop Pod?
Duel specials at 5 men
Free pod
Those are the big ones.
I don't need em, but I got a 10 man squad of em basically for free and am considering trying them out for fun.
UNLESS they are with Shrike, then you can get some use out of them, but other than that I just cant see the point. Don't count as troops, there are much better fast options, and.. yeah I have never had any success with them, and the same goes with VVs as well.
Which is a fething shame, because they look absolutely splendid.
We are arming Syrian rebels who support ISIS, who is fighting Iran, who is fighting Iraq who we also support against ISIS, while fighting Kurds who we support while they are fighting Syrian rebels.
Dual flamers are fine. BA get dual melta. Not sure about them being better in a droppod. Yep, special weapons but obsec droppods are quite powerful.
If you want to run a unit you're not sure about, try to msu it. Want them with jumppacks? Take 5. Get a meltabomb and a flamer and they're good to go. They have their advantages over bikes. For instance, moving over terrain, are a bit easier to hide and can deepstrike. Are more killy in mellee.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/01/13 10:05:47
jreilly89 wrote: So, what makes Assault Marines better than Tac Marines in a Drop Pod?
For one, tac squads that close to the enemy will get shot to bits. Assault Marines on the other hand, can get into h2h if you use their movement wisely to hop from LoS blocking cover to cover.
And in cc you have 3 advantages:
- you strike 6 times per turn (1 boltpistol shot + 1 bonus attack for charging + 2 attacks per guy in your turn, 2 during the enemy's cc phase; after that you strike 4 times in total per game turn) instead of just twice per turn in rapid-fire range with bolters
- you cant get shot at except overwatch and the odd chance of you sweeping the enemy during your turn and sitting ducks during the enemy's shooting phase
- you have the chance of sweeping an enemy unit, while with bolter fire you can only hope they fail their ld and never regroup.
This message was edited 7 times. Last update was at 2015/01/13 10:24:33
Ravenous D wrote: 40K is like a beloved grandparent that is slowly falling into dementia and the rest of the family is in denial about how bad it is.
squidhills wrote: GW is scared of girls. Why do you think they have so much trouble sculpting attractive female models? Because girls have cooties and the staff at GW don't like looking at them for too long because it makes them feel funny in their naughty place.
You take drop pods because you're less likely to get a deepstrike mishap (due to the drop pod rules). The idea is to deepstrike, then shoot your special weapons. You can also drop on turn one.
I have played in two games with assault marines and I haven't even seen them do well even against things such as Ork Boys (T4 6+ save)
If I ever ran them I would take them in min squad size and give them either flamers or meltas. I wouldn't expect much from combat
"We are the Red Sorcerers of Prospero, damned in the eyes of our fellows, and this is to be how our story ends, in betrayal and bloodshed. No...you may find it nobler to suffer your fate, but I will take arms against it." -Ahzek Ahriman
1250 Points of The Prodigal Sons
I have this idea to drop 10 men sternguard with combi weapons from pod with locator beacon, then have 2x5man assault marines with 2 meltas and combi melta sargeant deepstrike and blow something else up(still have to playtest it, but seems like potent "steel rain"
AFTER A THOUSAND EXAMS ONE ONLY SEES FAILURE!
2000
The value of an Assault Marine is directly proportional to the amount of LoS blocking terrain on the board.
On planet cue-ball bikes are better than them in almost every single way. On a board with lots of ruins or *gasp* impassible terrain?! When was the last time you saw that, right? It makes jump packs look pretty useful.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/01/14 13:50:44
jreilly89 wrote: Thats too bad, because I really like their look.
If you like them, field them! Unless you are playing at the top end competitive level, there is some room for fun in your lists. Assault marines are not useless, they are just not as good as other options (bikes). They are a bully unit. Find someone weaker then you and take their lunch money. Backfield campers, Dev squads, vehicles, lots of targets to choose from in most lists. Try to keep out of LOS or behind cover on the way over. You can use your own rhinos for this, it the table lacks terrain.
th3maninblak wrote: Well, if you play BA, then your assault marines are str5 init5 on the the charge, and can kill almost any other infantry unit in the game.
th3maninblak wrote: Well, if you play BA, then your assault marines are str5 init5 on the the charge, and can kill almost any other infantry unit in the game.
I wouldn't go that far.
I could list off to you all the units ive managed to take down with standard assault marines, but im posting from my phone, and it would take a very long time.
Dont mind Martel, anyone. He's just the negativity that follows my unrelenting optimism =)
Ravenous D wrote: 40K is like a beloved grandparent that is slowly falling into dementia and the rest of the family is in denial about how bad it is.
squidhills wrote: GW is scared of girls. Why do you think they have so much trouble sculpting attractive female models? Because girls have cooties and the staff at GW don't like looking at them for too long because it makes them feel funny in their naughty place.
There's no reason to ever take jump pack Assault Marines instead of Bikes.
"'players must agree how they are going to select their armies, and if any restrictions apply to the number and type of models they can use."
This is an actual rule in the actual rulebook. Quit whining about how you can imagine someone's army touching you in a bad place and play by the actual rules.
Freelance Ontologist
When people ask, "What's the point in understanding everything?" they've just disqualified themselves from using questions and should disappear in a puff of paradox. But they don't understand and just continue existing, which are also their only two strategies for life.
th3maninblak wrote: Well, if you play BA, then your assault marines are str5 init5 on the the charge, and can kill almost any other infantry unit in the game.
I wouldn't go that far.
I could list off to you all the units ive managed to take down with standard assault marines, but im posting from my phone, and it would take a very long time.
Dont mind Martel, anyone. He's just the negativity that follows my unrelenting optimism =)
I've killed a lot of units too, but I'd say at least 35% were tac squads. ANY infantry includes a lot of stuff that ASM can't handle.
~1.5k
Ultramarines, 3rd Co. and friends, 16k+ 
4k 
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Competition Index
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1000 l 
Blood Ravens (using Ravenguard CT) 1500 l 
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1250 Points of The Prodigal Sons 
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Wraithsight Corsairs - 2000pts
Void Angels - 500pts 