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Hello Dakka,

I have a 10 man unit of assault marines for my codex marines, consisting of a power fist storm shield wielding sarge, and two flamers. I currently use them as objective contesting and additional support to my tac squads. I have not got my hands on 6th ed yet so I just have a question, are they better?

I do know most people will say if I want to field assault marines go BA, so please do not suggest that.

Accidentally tapped the exalted button, sorry if that excited anyone...

Anyways, I think that your unit has gotten slightly better, but nothing major. Powerfists got a little harder to get into combat I think, but your Shield should help that out, and flamers are awesome now with their d3 overwatch hits. Jump Packs are a bit more interesting now as well. You get the big move, or the better assault with them, I do like that new option about them.

All in all, I'd say their better then they were before, but I wouldn't say it's a hugely measurable increase.

Ok so is the one 10 man squad a good option to include in a serious list?

 DiRTWaL wrote:
Ok so is the one 10 man squad a good option to include in a serious list?

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a serious C:SM list anymore, but yeah I think it's a solid option to bring. You have a fast moving, pretty resilient unit that can hit most things pretty damn hard.

Alright I just need to playtest some list for a tourney in October.

Am I mistaken that its not a storm shield.

 Deathshead420 wrote:
Am I mistaken that its not a storm shield.

I have a storm shield on it and its an option in the codex so completely legal too.

Hard against what ? IG or tau fire warriors maybe? 10 assaults are not better then GH , chaos dudes or a BA troop Assault space marine . They dont kill warrior or immortals fast enough , unless immortals or warriors were minimal squads . They get tar pited in nid or orc stuff , if they charge and cant deal with MC. They are not vanguard bad , but bad enough not to take them . In BA armies they at least get good rules support and better gear .

ah and assault units in a shoting editions are in general worse then other options.

Well I look at them as a tarpit unit too. I basically use them as a distraction from my tac squads.

Makumba wrote:
Hard against what ? IG or tau fire warriors maybe? 10 assaults are not better then GH , chaos dudes or a BA troop Assault space marine . They dont kill warrior or immortals fast enough , unless immortals or warriors were minimal squads . They get tar pited in nid or orc stuff , if they charge and cant deal with MC. They are not vanguard bad , but bad enough not to take them . In BA armies they at least get good rules support and better gear .

ah and assault units in a shoting editions are in general worse then other options.

I doubt they'd get tarpitted in big hordes of things. They jump up, double flamer the mod, then assault, there isn't going to be much left of even a 30 boy mob after that.

I have a storm shield on it and its an option in the codex

i'm pretty sure there is a difference between a combat shield and a stormshield. Nm.

 Deathshead420 wrote:

I have a storm shield on it and its an option in the codex

i'm pretty sure there is a difference between a combat shield and a stormshield. Nm.

I believe your right. The regular squad can only have a combat shield, which is a 5+ save. The SS is only on the Vangaurd.

What are you guys talking about?

OP states that the Assault Squad Sergeant has a Storm Shield and a Power Fist....which are completely legal options.

I doubt they'd get tarpitted in big hordes of things. They jump up, double flamer the mod, then assault, there isn't going to be much left of even a 30 boy mob after that.

because regular marines use 2+ assault sm squads and orcs or nids run max 2 big mobs. And even the flame thing doesnt work well anymore , because everyone can check range and reform in a such a way that a flamer hits max 3-4 dudes.

I've never tried to use them as a tarpit. I do like using them as a harassment unit, but advocate a 5 man squad. Scoot around the board, sticking to behind cover, and mug longfang squads and the like.

Adding a chaplain will give them a lot more punch.

I prefer flamers over plasma. You have the mobility to get the template where you need it.

Are they hyper-competitive? No, sadly. Do they work and look cool? Yup.

they got way worse didnt they? same as every assault unit because of random assault range.

kb305 wrote:
they got way worse didnt they? same as every assault unit because of random assault range.

They got a tiny bit better because of Hammer of Wrath, but yeah they're still gonna get overwatch shot up. Random assault range averages out between 7 and 9 inches so it's not the problem. Assault Marines are still by no means terribly good though.

 Brother SRM wrote:
Assault Marines are still by no means terribly good though.

They're also not terribly bad. They are benchmark unit that are good at what they are good at (humiliating vehicles and bullying things bad at assault), ok at somethings (moving or getting somewhere fast, charge denial), and mediocre to bad at everything else.

They're not awesome, they're not bad, they're just a thing. You need to use them right. If you do, they're good.

No, they're by no stretch awful or anything. Blood Angels ones are made worthwhile by their ability to take meltas and the fact they're Troops choices; two things that vanilla ASMs don't have going for them. I use them with some frequency in my Crimson Fists, and while they seldom do anything but die horrifically, when they can get a charge it's often clutch. I think the boost to krak grenades has also made them a bit more worthwhile.

E: Also, if you read my battle reports, there's an assault sergeant named Mendoza who kicks all kinds of ass. In one game he wrecked a Valkyrie, two Leman Russes, and some Guardsmen along the way