Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote: Insectum7 wrote:Haha, and I'm the opposite. Why would you spend points on tanks when you could get MOAR MARINES instead?
Because
tanks.
More relevantly, some tanks can be called "good". It would be incredibly generous to call tactical marines so. "Adequate" is probably a better term for them. They're not so bad that my army would be better off without their presence, but they're not exactly winning any MVP awards.
I prefer Devastators for my fire support, easier to get in cover, can alpha strike using pods, get access to more interesting heavy weapons, and come with their own chaff. I also prefer the Chapter Tactics access, which tanks do not get. I don't like that a charged tank is a not-firing tank, while my UM marines can get out of it and keep shooting.
Tacticals are obviously in a very different role than a tank, but like I've said before I prefer to use them aggressively. To each their own. Tanks but no tanks.
Edit: Worth noting for the
OP that the Salamanders Chapter Tactics are really great for fire support squads, and don't work on tanks.