Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4.5/5 stars, rounded down. The rules are great. Could have given it 5/5 almost.
Background.
They are space marines. They are the mainstay of many armies. The humble tactical squad is where many of them see deployment and action. They have been responsible for the prosecution of the Great Crusade. And now they are at the forefront of the civil war.
Everyone (well, almost everyone) likes the tactical squad, including me. Players should be seeing them used in many, many armies after all!
Strengths.
Firstly, I want to focus on the price tag in terms of points cost. These marines are cheap. Ten points each. This is astounding if you compare the points cost from previous editions of 40k (not quite directly comparable as they have "And They Shall Know No Fear", admittedly, but also contrast against chaos space marines from earlier editions as well), but it is still amazing for what they provide in terms of the standard 3+ save and the trans-human 4's across the board for the stat line.
Fury of the Legion grants them an additional shot for not moving or running with their bolt guns - this is perfect.
Heart of the Legion grants feel no pain and stubborn when within striking distance of an objective - this is also fabulous. More than this, they are also Line troops.
Weaknesses.
For what they are and what they do, I have no complaints here. Yes, we could talk about having 1 wound and Ld=7 (or 8 with the sergeant still alive), but that's what you get for the points cost. Take some upgrades like the vexilla. Add in a character. Put inside a rhino. Be happy. Honestly these troops are superb compared to other armies.
Difference to First Edition.
Improved. We could talk about the differences between Fury of the Legion here, but it is roughly equivalent, arguably, and with the introduction of reactions in the second edition, people will be on edge about the fire power of the tactical squad reacting to their approach.
Rather, I want to highlight one main thing here and that is the addition of bayonets and chain bayonets as an optional upgrade for the unit. Both give S+1 to the marines for an impressive S=5 close combat attack, and the chain variant adds shredding on top of this which enables re-rolling of failed to wound dice. Both are recommended by me if you are thinking about close combat for your tactical squads.
Builds.
Despite there being a limited number of upgrades, players are likely to encounter all manner of different uses for tactical squads, and here I hope I give a reasonable selection.
10 Legionaries, 1 vexilla, Sergeant with Power Fist (125 points).
This is my "go to" squad configuration. Yes, we could take other things such as artificer armour for the sergeant (135 points total) if we are worried, but this is the squad that many people see and many people prefer -- it is not just me that uses this configuration!
10 Legionaries, 1 vexilla, 1 nuncio-vox, 1 augury scanner, Sergeant with Power Fist, Artificer Armour, and Plasma Pistol (165 points).
The swiss army knife of the above. Beware the points cost increase though. You may not make use of some of the kit.
20 Legionaries, all with chain swords, 1 vexilla, Sergeant with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (335 points).
Drop into position and be able to choose which set of weapons (bolt pistol plus chainsword, or bolt gun) you want to use in the situation before you. You will notice by now that each of my builds has a vexilla contained within it. Take one every time. Take melta bombs to taste.
10 Legionaries, chain bayonets, 1 vexilla, Sergeant with Power Fist and Artificer Armour (155 points).
This build is rapidly becoming my favourite. It is just like the first one, but with chain bayonets. Add in 10 more members for a total cost of 275 points.
20 Legionaries, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with combi-melta, power fist, melta bombs (245 points).
A lot of bodies to carry forth the melta to where it might be needed. Expendable in the extreme?
20 Legionaries, 1 Vexilla, 1 Nuncio-Vox, 1 Augury Scanner, Sergeant with hand flamer and artificer armour (242 points).
Sit at the back and camp on an objective. Add an apothecary for fun.
2 comments:
They're good in that you can't go wrong with taking them, no matter the legion, but one of the main problems I've been observing with the current edition is that Line units are not that important. All missions encourage more killy units, but surprisingly few of them encourage capturing objectives, which is quite disappointing...
Agreed entirely. It is a pity there are not more objective missions. But given the tournament scene (or friendly matches), having Line is almost always going to be nice.
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