Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I don't know when to start buying my vehicles. I have only 1 squad. On my next purchase, should I get a new squad or a tank/vehicle

It sort of depends o n a few different things. We need more information before we can give you an answer. Take a look at the following questions. This should get you started:

1. What kind of over-all plan do you have for your army and what else is currently in it (besides the one squad you mentioned)
2. What type and size of games are you currently playing?
3. Which would you have more fun with?

I would probably lean towards getting another squad myself, but then again if you're going for more of an unbound feel it might not matter so much. So either way I would spend some time planning your army out a little more before making a new purchase.

It's up to what you want to play.

If you plan on starting low points values, you're likely going to want an HQ unit and 2 units of troops. A squad of 10 can count as two units, if you'd like, but you'll use tac squads a lot throughout your time with space marines. Having two tac squads and an HQ (any HQ is good, but captains/librarians are what I prefer) is really going to help out as you start your collection.

Space marines have really nice troop transports, which, though not the best in the game, are essentially a necessity for marines.

It's a really good idea to pick up, eventually, some drop pods (however many you get, aim for an odd number of pods, so if you use all of them, you get the drop pod assault benefit).

It's also a good idea to get some rhinos. Word of Warning! get a razorback kit instead of a rhino kit. The Razorback kit comes with all the material necessary to make a rhino, as well as the materials to make a razorback. This way you can choose razorback or rhino instead of being shoehorned to only using a rhino.

Marines really need transports outside of very low points games. Marines in the open are easy to kill, and even losing a couple can severely limit there firepower. What they excel at is holding objectives. And the best way to get them there is with either drop pods or rhinos/razors.

Rhinos!

When I started playing again I was still in the mind frame of 3rd edition, foot slogging marines walking up the table wiping out everything they found.

Soon found out in 6th and now 7th that didn't work!

Every tac squad you have needs a rhino, to my mind every scout squad (less snipers) needs a land speeder storm, stern guards etc need a drop pod and even my devs if poss will have a razorback with las cannons to help them move if need be or just lay down more anti tank shots if they can stay still.

Transports are boring but save yourself having to go out and drop a load of cash like I did on a mass transport buy!
Agree with the above as well, the razorback kit makes both just don't glue the hatch and the circle hatch with the storm bolter and you can swap them at will, some people magnetise but I find you don't really need to they stay on well enough.

If you really want a tank, can't go wrong with a predator and in this era of flyers and anti air being needed for most metas a storm talon won't hurt either.

I would run it depending on how many points you have and what units you use. Usually one vehicle per unit is decent and I'd say one vehicle for below 800 points, 2 for 1000 points, 3 for 1500. If you want to run more vehicles, go for it, but this will do you well, especially if you run other things like bikes, land speeders, or drop pods.

Atleast one transport should be bought per tier of your army. 1 transport for 500pts, another for 750pts, again in 1000 and by then you should enough basic transport to shift around, even if your list doesn't use them all or the one you bought for Squad Octavian is now used for Devestator Squad Bloomax because Octavian has been cut to a five man squad to hide on an objective that game. After 1000pts, that gives you three rhinos for your army and you can then focus on upping the vehicles. Air support, Land Raiders, drop pods, buy as needed at that point.

RHINOS! YOU MUST HIDE YOUR TROOPS IN METAL BAWKSES

I knew that would happen sooner or later.

You don’t need them, but they are nice to have. As others have said, pick them up when you feel like it, and think about your army as a whole to decide what to grab.

One other thing to consider is don’t get disheartened when it explodes in your first game. Most armies pack some sort of AV fire, and if you’ve only got one vehicle on the table, it’s going to be the target of all of it. Once you get some armor saturation going, survivability will go up. This is in addition to the curse of new paint, where new units alway fail the first time on the table.

If your budget allows it, look into some of the bundle deals that GW offers. While there are not a whole lot, the battle and strikeforces are good deals, particularly for newer players starting out. While as a lump sum they are expensive, from a cost per model POV, they are cheap.

Well, in small pt games you need numbers.
I'd start including vehicles like Pods or Rhinos at the 1000 pt level, not earlier.

Pods are an amazing transport. Unlike the Rhino it's a threat, it gives more mobility, and it doesn't matter if they get shot at by all the AT the turn they arrive, which also means they are better at lower points than Rhinos.

Space Marine drop pods are IMO the best transport in the game. And they definitely make your TAC marine mandatory troop tax a lot less gak, Rhino only somewhat.

Drop pods give more initial mobility, I would say, but fall behind quickly the longer the rhinos are allowed to live.

How so?

A rhino can move! After a drop pod drops its done its barely even a los blocker since you can see through it. If the rhino can live for 2+ turns its already surpassed your drop pad in versitility, mobility. Dont get me wrong as a chaos player I dream of the day we get to take drop pods, DREAM!!! But you cant cross the rhino of just because it takes a bit more effort to use effectively.

But to answer.your qiestion I would invest in more bodies for your "army" since as youve described you can barely call it that. Possible get a HQ and some sternguard, assault marines or terminators. You really cant go wrong with more.bodies but you might regret a vehicle this early on.

Pods are very nice for getting your unit exactly where it needs to be, often of the first turn. Even pods in the second wave might show up on turn 2-3, which is probably about when a rhino would be dropping off their cargo. Pod mobility, however, is front loaded and fixed. Once you put you unit down, if you want to redeploy, you get to footslog it.

Rhinos are constant mobility. You can change direction, you can get back in. You can also eat a lascannon while still in your deployment zone, or get immobilized on a random shrub. But can also block LOS, tank shock, and a few other tricks.

Both vehicles can work. Either individually or together in a hybrid list. Although spamming one or the other probably make for the stronger builds. Heavy pods make for a deadly alpha strike, rhino spam gives armor saturation and synergies better with non-pod parts of the list.

Just reiterating what was mentioned above: people are right about the Rhino, but you should buy a Razorback kit instead. Just don't glue in the top rear plate and you can switch freely depending on whether you need to transport a full squad or a demi-squad with fire support.

I'd say your next three purchases should be, in order:

Razorback
an HQ of some sort (a Librarian is a good choice)
a second Tactical squad

I like pods more than Rhinos but they are both good. With Pod you get good Alpha Strike but no late game mobility. With Rhinos its the opposite.

 SHUPPET wrote:
How so?

Basically what jackflash said. Pods are good for getting a squad where they're going to be for the whole game. Rhinos are good for giving a squad options throughout the game. Both have their merits - like how pods can't be targeted before their payload is delivered, and rhinos can support elsewhere once they've delivered. Both become better when used en masse, but the choice of which to take largely depends on the army pilot. Preferred engagement tactics, etc.

Do Ultramarines work well with Steel Rehn tactics? Is it a tactic to draw all your rhinos into a circle and place your marines in the center?

SirSertile wrote:
Do Ultramarines work well with Steel Rehn tactics? Is it a tactic to draw all your rhinos into a circle and place your marines in the center?

Ultras do drop pods fairly well. Pop the tactical doctrine first turn to re-roll ones (and TL any tac squads in the first wave) and you have a reasonably reliable alpha strike. We might not be the best pod army, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it.

Rhinos blocking LOS is not for a circle wall, but mostly to limit who can return fire. You roll up, get out in the shadow on the tank, so you only have LOS against one part of your opponent’s army, which you then blow away. If your enemy want to kill the squad, he first needs to blow up the tank, not simply wreck it, which take AV fire that they might want to use elsewhere.

There are also tricks where you use one or more LOS blockers to make it so you can only see part of the squad you want to kill, particularly with a character or heavy weapon. Then you take advantage of the “can only kill what you can see” rule to “snipe” them out, as all wounds would have to be allocated to them.

BrianDavion wrote:
RHINOS! YOU MUST HIDE YOUR TROOPS IN METAL BAWKSES

SIIIIIINDRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!