40K Chapter Tactics: Iron Hands
Hey guys, I am Learn2Eel and we will be diving deep into chapter tactics available to us in Codex: Space Marine. Today – the Scions of Medusa – The Iron Hands
The Iron Hands
For many decades, the concept of augmentation to the human body through the use of cybernetics and machinery has long been a source of conflict for varying reasons. There are the moral dilemmas of enhancing ones-self through such means, as well as the risks of permanent nerve damage and other serious disabilities. But regardless of this, it has indeed made humans stronger; from replacing lost limbs to artificial appendages, there are so many applications of this amazing technology that many will tirelessly argue they are well worth any cost. However, in the 41st millenium, there are those that have gone far beyond merely fixing themselves. These are the Iron Hands, a bitter Chapter of the Space Marines that perceives even their own flesh as a sign of weakness, opting to replace and augment their bodies until they are as cold as the machines they worship. They are a bleak Chapter filled with self-loathing, guilty not only that their Primarch fell to his own hubris, but they too were weak and unfit to defeat the scions of Chaos. Since the fateful climax of the Heresy, the Iron Hands have used their mastery of machinations to forge their rage and self-hatred into themselves, devolving into emotionless warriors forever seeking their penance. Like a self-aware machine, they purge any weakness and unnecessary tool, even if it means severing their arms or ripping their eyes from their sockets. As gruesome as their self-mutilation is, the results are undeniable; they are among the most accomplished of Chapters, and their steely brutality has given them a dark reputation as the merciless deliverers of the Emperor’s Judgement. They do not accept any imperfection, whether it be the taint of Xenos or the very humans they were created to defend. They have perfected their arts, and count themselves among the greatest of the Adeptus Astartes for it, even if the cost could mean their souls.
Chapter Tactics
The Flesh is Weak – This provides units with Feel No Pain on a 6+, though it unfortunately does not stack with other inclusions of the special rule such as narthecium, instead being replaced entirely. While there is often a stigma associated with 6+ saves in codices and army books penned by Robin Cruddace, from the Shield of Faith on Sisters of Battle to the bubble aura of the Luminark of Hysh in the Empire forces, it is nonetheless a hefty defensive boost. Heldrakes and plasma fire are often the bane of all Space Marines, from Scouts to Terminators, and having an extra save – or any save at all – against them really is invaluable, even if it is only a one in six chance of saving a model. Think of it like this; if a Heldrake lucks out and causes ten wounds on a full Tactical Squad, statistically you will save at least one of them and have a decent chance of saving a second. Now isn’t that much better than having no squad at all to potentially contest an objective or take pot shots at an opponents’ depleted scoring unit? The same logic can be applied to high-value Terminators who get to take their 5+ invulnerable save, and then a 6+ Feel No Pain save against anything that doesn’t cause Instant Death or is Strength 8 or higher. While Ion Accelerators are their bane, plasma weaponry is more common, and saving even one Terminator is well worth using the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics. Remember not to rely on it, but don’t forget it – you won’t believe how often it can save your units. To increase the effectiveness of it generally means taking more bodies, but this can come in conflict with the next part of the Chapter Tactics.
Machine Empathy – This provides characters and vehicles with It Will Not Die, as well as giving an extra +1 bonus to repair attempts in the army. While having Feel No Pain on a 6+ across the force is certainly nice, this is the real kicker of the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics. It Will Not Die on the characters gives them a 33% chance on each of their own turns to regain a wound which, in an edition where extra victory points are scored for killing Warlords, can give you an extra turn – or the rest of a game – for a character, especially your Warlord, to survive and do some damage. That it also applies to any vehicle in the army is pretty crazy, giving everything from Rhinos to Predators the ability to regenerate hull points. Now, this ability becomes more valuable the tougher a given unit is, simply because they will have more chances of actually getting to make an It Will Not Die roll. Two-wound Chaplains and Librarians die a bit too quickly to really benefit, but a four-wound Chapter Master with a Shield Eternal will be laughing at anyone trying to best him. Rhinos and Land Speeders can fall over to a stiff breeze nowadays, but Land Raiders have almost impenetrable defences and four hull points to cover them. This naturally favours mechanized lists with lots of tough vehicles, such as Predators, Vindicators and Land Raiders, and with the Feel No Pain buff on the infantry, lots of scoring Troops in transports. Obviously, this makes points a bit of an issue, and besides, the vehicles aren’t exactly impregnable; massed Strength 8 shooting can still down a Predator in record time, for example. This is where that repair bonus really gets valuable, and it just buffs up vehicular lists even more. Iron Hands have some really strong Chapter Tactics that allow for the “immortal” Chapter Master to Ironclad spam builds, and this is definitely an example of great codex design where multiple competitive builds are possible even from a single army tree!
Favoured Units
Experience and many trials have led to competitive army lists for each of the Chapters, and they usually revolve around a strong core of units unique to each list. This is the beauty of the Space Marine codex; so many units are affected in a staggering number of ways by the different Chapter Tactics, improving their viability exponentially based on the choice of army. For Iron Hands, I have listed three units that pop up in many of their builds in some form. Please be aware that these aren’t necessarily the strongest units available to Iron Hands or the ones that receive the most benefits from their Chapter Tactics, but some of the most common that I have seen.
Chapter Masters – When the Space Marine codex was released, everyone jumped up and down about the Chapter Master, and with good reason. With a crazy stat-line and access to some great wargear, the Chapter Master is one of the most cost effective and potentially brutal generic characters in the game. The discussion about them quickly turned to which Chapter benefited them most, and most have come to the conclusion that Iron Hands are the winner here. With It Will Not Die and Feel No Pain (6+), the Iron Hands Chapter Master with a Shield Eternal, Artificer Armour, a Bike and a Thunder Hammer is quite possibly the toughest unit in the game below the 250 point mark. Not only is he a Toughness 5 Eternal Warrior with 4 wounds, but he has a 3+ invulnerable save, 2+ armour, hits like a truck and is mobile as heck. And he can regrow wounds. This guy is just brutal!
Biker Squads – Adding on the incredible strengths of the Iron Hands Chapter Master are Bike Squads which are unlocked as Troops by the typical Chapter Master build on a Bike with the Shield Eternal. Considering Bikers are the most cost effective, tough, mobile and damaging Troops choice you can get in the codex, not only does it increase the value of the Iron Hands Chapter Master by a huge margin, but it just makes the already great Bike squads even better with guaranteed scoring.
Ironclad Dreadnoughts – Oh yes! Ironclad Dreadnoughts are probably the best value walker in the codex, what with better armour on all facings than the other Dreadnought types, and much improved melee capabilities. It is an assault walker that is actually good at its’ job, and quite tough for the cost. Now, add in the benefits of the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics, and these things start to get a little bit ridiculous. Load them up in Drop Pods, shoot some stuff with their meltaguns on the drop, wait a turn, soak up some damage, then charge in. Sounds like any other Ironclad right? Hold your horses, the Iron Hands Ironclads get It Will Not Die and thus regenerate lost hull points! Part of the reason Heldrakes are so darn ridiculous is that they can regrow their lost hull points, and while this isn’t always great for an AV12 Defiler, on an AV13 Ironclad that can guarantee short-ranged arrival in a meta filled mostly with S7 AP4 or AP2 spam, this is really darn good. It’s not like Ironclads weren’t already scary enough!
Themed Army Lists
There are actually quite a few very distinct competitive Iron Hands army lists going around, each with a different focus based on the amazing ability to give It Will Not Die to any vehicle in the detachment for free. There are numerous Land Raider spam forces that deny the opposition any chance at getting to the scoring units, while more traditional mechanized lists filled with Predators, Razorbacks, Rhinos and other tanks are also common. However, one build I would like to highlight just for its sheer ridiculousness is the Ironclad spam list. Now, I know this probably isn’t strictly a fluffy list, but I look at it this way; Dreadnoughts generally aren’t that competitive these days, right? Walkers are just generally inferior to monstrous creatures in most codices, with some exceptions such as War Walkers and Soul Grinders. Despite that, every Space Marine player I’ve ever met loves Dreadnoughts; they have awesome models and can be used to represent a Chapter’s greatest heroes, even if their lives have long been forgotten. So, in the interest of showing what this particular build is capable of, and because while not necessarily themed we all want a way to make Dreadnoughts work, let’s have a closer look at such a list.
HQ
Master of the Forge
Troops
Tactical Squad (9) w/ flamer, drop pod
Tactical Squad (10) w/ flamer, drop pod
Tactical Squad (10) w/ flamer, drop pod
Elites
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ drop pod, locator beacon
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ drop pod, locator beacon
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ drop pod
Fast Attack
Assault Squad (5) w/ two flamers, drop pod
Assault Squad (5) w/ two flamers, drop pod
Heavy Support
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ drop pod
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ drop pod
Ironclad Dreadnought w/ drop pod
Total = 1846
So the list is pretty darn straightforward. There are eleven Drop Pods, meaning that six can arrive on the first turn via Drop Pod Assault. There are six Ironclads. Now, I admit to not being the best at maths but….that is a lot of first-turn carnage, and it is all but guaranteed you will get First Blood. After that, provided you took out a lot of vehicles or valuable anti-tank units such as Crisis Teams – with some luck of course – your six Ironclads with It Will Not Die should be pretty safe. Expect to lose two, perhaps three, though really most armies will struggle to deal with so many AV13 assault walkers and are likely to make mistakes such as splitting their fire. If this happens, you may not even lose a single Ironclad, though I wouldn’t count on it. Unless you lose half or more of them and do some pretty decent damage, the Drop will be a success. From there, your flamer-equipped infantry can come in to mop up light and medium infantry units with bolt and template fire, while the Ironclads proceed to charge into any nearby unit to either tarpit them or annihilate them. Any vehicle you don’t destroy on the Drop Pod Assault will be a prime target for a charge. The Master of the Forge is pretty much only there to give you Ironclads in both Elites and Heavy Support, but his boosted repair abilities will no doubt come in very handy for preserving your Ironclads. Is it a spam list? Yes. Is it a themed list? In a sense, it could be, yes. Is it a fun list? Oh yes! Your opponent may not enjoy it and get locked up in an asylum muttering “Ironclads” for the rest of their lives, but that is, after all, how the Iron Hands are – cold, merciless and calculating. Their inhumanity is what makes them great, so don’t be afraid to show your opponent the depths of their failure when they behold the sight of the glorious children of Medusa!
Now while that list is certainly fun, it is rather….shall we say, diluted. I personally wouldn’t use such a lift that often other than for the sheer novelty factor. So how about a balanced Iron Hands list that makes better use of the Chapter Tactics?
HQ
Chapter Master w/ thunder hammer, bike, artificer armour, the shield eternal
Honour Guard (6)
Troops
Tactical Squad (10) w/ combi-plasma, plasma gun, rhino
Tactical Squad (10) w/ combi-flamer, flamer, rhino
Biker Squad (8) w/ two grav guns, attack bike w/ multi melta
Scouts (5) w/ two sniper rifles
Fast Attack
Stormtalon Gunship w/ skyhammer missile launcher
Stormtalon Gunship w/ skyhammer missile launcher
Heavy Support
Predator w/ lascannon sponsons
Predator w/ lascannon sponsons
Land Raider Crusader w/ multi-melta
Total = 1848
I’ve always loved the flexibility of Space Marines, particularly the common Ultramarine builds, and this Iron Hands list is no different. There are thirty-three scoring bodies, twenty of which are in transports, eight of which are protected by an Eternal Warrior Chapter Master, and five of which are happy to sit on a home objective out of sight. While the Sniper Scouts will mostly hide and maybe try to pick off a plasma gunner or other special weapon carrier, the other units are downright nasty; the flamer unit aims for the medium to light infantry of other armies, while the plasma gun unit is more of a generalist that can handle light vehicles and elite infantry. The Bikes use their multi-melta, grav guns and large squad size to combat squad as necessary, or stay together to bring maximum damage to vehicles and monstrous creatures alike. The attached Chapter Master is insane, with It Will Not Die, Toughness 5, a 3+ invulnerable save, a 2+ armour save and four wounds. He tanks all the hits the Bikers don’t want to take, such as those nasty cover-ignoring Strength 8 pie-plates Riptides can dish out with Ignores Cover.
The scoring bodies are mobile and durable enough, with the exception of the dirt cheap Scouts, while the rest of the force puts out some really good damage output. The two Predators gun for tanks of all types and with It Will Not Die thrown into the mix they should be relatively safe from hull point attrition, hiding behind their front AV 13. The Land Raider Crusader brings the rain with an Honour Guard unit of six models, just enough to frighten the pants off of nearly any unit they run into. With a mix of power weapons to taste and four attacks each on the charge, they can take on anyone and hide behind their 2+ armour save. The Crusader itself provides fire support with the multi-melta, aiming to gun down a vehicle or take a wound off a particularly nasty monster each turn. And hey, if you aren’t too fussed for the Crusader, you can easily swap it out for a standard Land Raider and move 6″ a turn to fire both its sponson lascannons – just be aware that each turn not in combat is another turn the Honour Guard aren’t plying their trade! The outliers in the army are the pair of Stormtalons; while It Will Not Die won’t benefit them much with only two hull points, they should still prove effective at dealing with enemy fliers provided they come on second.
In Closing
I hope you enjoyed the fourth in a series of seven articles covering each of the distinct Space Marine Chapters represented in the 6th Edition Codex: Space Marines! The Iron Hands are the vengeful children of Ferrus Manus, determined to wipe away the shame of their Primarch’s foolish death. With their close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus and fusion with the machinations of technology, the Iron Hands bring righteous fury to any enemy of the Imperium. They will never relent so long as the stain of Ferrus’ suicidal mistake haunts them, and as they toil in the forges of war, their disdain of flesh and traitors burns ever brighter. I hope this article helped you to better understand how to make the most of the technological advancements of the Iron Hands in the name of the Emperor!
Thanks for reading everybody and by all means chime in down in the comments. Tell us how you have running your Sons of Ferrus and what works for you on the tabletop.
