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Played a game against someone who had an Ultramarines allied detachment with his Imperial Fists in order to get some Thunderfire Cannons in with his Gladius.

I said that the allied detachment specified that they needed to be from a different codex and he argued that the different chapter tactics make them another faction.

Now I realize this is a super minor technicality but I hate the SM attitude that because they're the only ones special enough to get free Special Snowflake Subfaction rules they don't have to obey rules every other faction has to follow Because Fluff. If I can't have Allied Bad Moons with my Evil Sunz army, I don't care if it "makes sense" that you can have an ultra allied detachment with IF.

So, is there a rule somewhere in the SM codex that allows this?

*****

I don't have the codex in front of me to quote chapter and verse, but yes, under Chapter Tactics, Space Marines do indeed have a rule that permits this.

Might not be *fair*, but it's there.

Also, for the record, you can sidestep the whole dang issue by taking one more Troops choice and just making that second detachment a CAD (since two CADs are not restricted to being from different factions).

Last codex it specifically stated that you treated space marines with different chapter tactics as separate factions counted as battle brothers on the allies table. Unless this changed then yes what he did was legal.

Yes, 7e marine codex says they can ally a different chapter tactic.

Double-checked: Codex: Adeptus Astartes SPACE MARINES (US, English), Page 189, bottom left, in a grey inset box.

Specifically authorizes taking an Allied Detachment from the same codex, if and only if it uses different Chapter Tactics from your Primary Detachment. So yes, what your opponent did is definitely copasetic.

does it matter you can take a full CAD of each if you feel like it

Yes. This is a thing. I think you are right though - all factions should have this option. Also good point above about CAD - just costs a bit extra.

Yeah, I know, it's a minor complaint I just hate all the SM "special snowflakism". They already get several codexes, supplements, free special rules for the whole army, broken formations, and five dozen named characters while my book lost the only named character for the faction I play and if I want a special rule that says my vehicle gets to move 1" farther during flat out I have to pay for it.

This is coming on the heels of him having this whole elaborate argument for why the new rule that says you lose your chapter tactics if you group up marines only applies to "unit specific bonuses and not model specific bonuses" because it would make no sense for iron hands to just stop being bionic and IF to stop knowing how to shoot a bolter better because fluff reasons.

And then I looked and absolutely none of that was in the codex. It just says "the unit is neither chapter"