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Which is the best HQ for a low point Space Marine list? I always see people sing the praises of the Librarian as the best of the cheap Space Marine HQs, but I'm not so convinced. I'm currently putting together a fluffy 500 points Salamanders list using the CAD, and I'm on the fence about which HQ is a better value at 65 points: the Librarian or the Techmarine. I'm leaning towards the Techmarine at the moment because of his reliability, and because I can stick him in the Razorback with my tactical squad where Blessing of the Omnissiah might actually keep them alive a bit longer. He could also potentially repair my Dreadnought or Landspeeder Storm if they survive long enough. Bolster Defences is also always useful. I can't really see anything too useful about a non-upgraded Librarian at this point level. He might do something that wins me the game, but he's just as likely to do nothing or do something that's outright bad. I'm a new player though, and most of my list building is based on theory rather than experience. Is there a situation where taking a Librarian in a low point game is better than the Techmarine?

Welcome to dakka!

I don't think techmarines are very good,

I just find that the blessing of the omnisiah doesn't do enough to really make him useful, however a space marine library taking off of librarius or even biomancy can be amazing.

Just my $0.02,
~Mikey

at low points the techmarine is a great value. you basically get free artificer armor and a powerfist with a really situational rule in blessing of the omnisiah. More often then not you're not going to get to use that particular rule on anything that you are not embarked on. techmarines lack the mobility to be everywhere fixing things. you could put him on a bike, but then you up his points and you will want an escort to keep him alive which is even more points.

On the other hand yes the librarian might do nothing but at the very least he give you a couple of extra points to deny your opponent if they bring a psyker as well. Librarians are much better potential force multipliers than techmarines. giving a unit ignores cover, invisibility, or rerolls for shooting can be much more damaging than an extra powerfist attack. Techmarines are a hammer, you can always find a nail. Librarians are a screwdriver, they can be much more useful but only if you brought along the right one for the job.

really though, at low points levels neither choice is going to hamper or your army or provide a game breaking advantage. i'd say for your choice, field which one feels more fun to you and let your own personal headcannon or fluff about your dudes inform your decision.

Librarians are better as a whole, assuming you got enough of them. They require redundancy.

A Tech Marine standing in the back with a Beamer (was that large blast) doesn't require maintenance.

The librarian is a lot more flexible. You have a number of psychic tables to roll on, and can choose the one best suited to your opponent. They are also a better force multiplier. It’s not just how many guys he can personally kill, but making the rest of your army tougher/stronger/faster then they were before. They are also high risk/high reward. So there is a chance that they will melt their own brains out trying to get that power off. But most of the time you will be OK, and get the job done. In fact, they are probably more moderate risk/high reward.

Techmarines are more pedestrian. They have a number of nice advantages, but nothing truly flashy. They do bring a nice army wide advantage (boosting cover). The ability to fix vehicles is not quite a trap, but close. You need to be close to the thing that needs to be patched up, and give up your shooting. And you might not even fix it. If you are part of a formation that requires your tech to be babysitting your tanks anyway for a buff bubble, it can work. But you probably have squads to hang out with and heretics to kill. That said, they start with a very nice package of gear, and have some nice options they can take.

As a new player, I’d think about where you want your army to be at higher points. What do you envision your army being like? And does that army include either one of these HQs? At low points, the force multiplication aspect of the librarian is not as relevant. But stick him in a pod with a squad of sternguard or some centurions, and he’s no longer just buffing 5 tactical marines. You might have your eye set on a mechanized list, where the techmarine would be more of an asset, or required. But you might want him on a bike there, so picking up a tech on foot for your 500 point list might seem a waste. If you are going to work towards one of the demi-co formations, you will need a captain or chaplain. So while they might not be an optimal fit in your list now, you will need them later. Hobby time and funds are rarely in the supply we would like. You want to get the most out of your collection, and would rather not have things warming the shelf.

To be honest, I don't think either are great at 65 points.. you'll want to either give the librarian another mastery level, or the tech marine a servo harness... putting them up around 90. You'll also maybe want to give them a bike, small relic, etc... so at that point they are an investment.

Stick to the libby and get used to picking a psychic power table on-the-fly as you can hone this skill over the course of many games... it scales well too because as you acquire more librarians, you can use a Librarius Conclave formation (really good, basically 3-5 librarians), etc.

I struggle to think of a good use for a Techmarine as you scale up, and also even just at 500 points... maybe if he's on a bike, he'd be a nice wound-tanker at T5 and 2+?

Hope that helps.

 xTHExCLINCHERx wrote:

I struggle to think of a good use for a Techmarine as you scale up, and also even just at 500 points... maybe if he's on a bike, he'd be a nice wound-tanker at T5 and 2+?

In larger games:
He’s a BS5 character for 65 points. If you are taking fortifications, he’s a good guy to man the gun.
If you are taking a super heavy transport, he makes a fun passenger to keep the HPs topped off.
Required for Armored TF. If you are going with more static tanks (preds, WWs) being on foot is fine here.
He is a low cost way of getting a 2+ save. While there might be better guys to tank for a squad, he can take some heat to protect his brothers.

 Nevelon wrote:
The librarian is a lot more flexible. You have a number of psychic tables to roll on, and can choose the one best suited to your opponent. They are also a better force multiplier. It’s not just how many guys he can personally kill, but making the rest of your army tougher/stronger/faster then they were before. They are also high risk/high reward. So there is a chance that they will melt their own brains out trying to get that power off. But most of the time you will be OK, and get the job done. In fact, they are probably more moderate risk/high reward.

Techmarines are more pedestrian. They have a number of nice advantages, but nothing truly flashy. They do bring a nice army wide advantage (boosting cover). The ability to fix vehicles is not quite a trap, but close. You need to be close to the thing that needs to be patched up, and give up your shooting. And you might not even fix it. If you are part of a formation that requires your tech to be babysitting your tanks anyway for a buff bubble, it can work. But you probably have squads to hang out with and heretics to kill. That said, they start with a very nice package of gear, and have some nice options they can take.

As a new player, I’d think about where you want your army to be at higher points. What do you envision your army being like? And does that army include either one of these HQs? At low points, the force multiplication aspect of the librarian is not as relevant. But stick him in a pod with a squad of sternguard or some centurions, and he’s no longer just buffing 5 tactical marines. You might have your eye set on a mechanized list, where the techmarine would be more of an asset, or required. But you might want him on a bike there, so picking up a tech on foot for your 500 point list might seem a waste. If you are going to work towards one of the demi-co formations, you will need a captain or chaplain. So while they might not be an optimal fit in your list now, you will need them later. Hobby time and funds are rarely in the supply we would like. You want to get the most out of your collection, and would rather not have things warming the shelf.

Since I'm running Salamanders, I'm probably going to run Vulkan He'stan as my main HQ in higher point games (assuming I get there anytime soon). But at the moment I have an old metal Librarian with a force axe, and an old metal techmarine with a servo arm that I'm trying to figure out how to use in a low point list with what I have. There's a Combat Patrol campaign going on at my local store, and looking at those rules, nothing with higher than a 3+ save is allowed so that automatically disqualifies the Techmarine. I'll just run a Librarian with Master Level 2 and see how that goes.

khan. It's usually khan. Whether you want it to be or not...

Toss in another vote for the Librarian all day.

I really like Techmarines with Harnesses as a fun unit to pop in a just about any squad. They're really a nice jack-of-all-trades character that can do anything.

However, they just don't have the efficiency a Librarian does. One good Psychic Shriek can kill more than a Techmarine might all game. Psychic powers are just too strong to pass up.