40K Chapter Tactics: Salamanders
Hey guys, I am Learn2Eel and we will be diving deep into chapter tactics available to us in Codex: Space Marine. Today – the sons of Vulkan – The Salamanders
The Salamanders
From adversity, comes glory. From sacrifice, comes honour. From loyalty, comes faith.
It is these principles that define the Salamanders, and have led to them being among the most revered of all Space Marine Chapters. It is their forebears that led a suicidal charge into the depths of a planet to safeguard the advance of their fellow Legions before the Heresy, even without the leadership of their progenitor, Vulkan. This has ever been their duty; no matter what odds they face, they will gladly sacrifice themselves if it means the safety of others. They are esteemed and revered above all other Chapters for their heroism and protection of humanity; unlike most other Space Marines, a Salamander will throw themselves into the fires of war if such an act would save even one human. They are the glory of Vulkan resplendent, clad in ornate armour and wielding sublime weapons of war. They are the artists among the Space Marines, craftsmen without equal that sacrifice the raw efficiency of the Iron Hands’ construction for more elaborate and beautiful works. They are strong even among the Space Marines, but not just in physical form, but in heart. Their terrible fate at Istvaan left them gutted like no other Chapter, and yet still they refused to yield in their duty or seek vengeance for their lost kin. They live among those they protect, and it has given them an unshakeable dedication to the preservation of humanity. The glory of the Imperium, the worship of the God-Emperor; these are secondary to safeguarding those they guide. Depleted as they have always been, they continue to fight beyond their means and engage in countless conflicts, their faith in their own arm and in that of their battle brothers a deep bond that cannot be shattered. The taint of Chaos and the filth of Xenos will never shake them from their goal, for they are born of Nocturne, and as the fires there moulded them into giants of great strength, so too will they leave nothing but ash in their wake.
Chapter Tactics
Flamecraft – This provides unit with re-rolls to wound and on armour penetration rolls, as well as re-rolling their failed saves against weapons defined as flamers. So first off, re-rolling 3+ armour saves against a big chunk of template weapons out there is very nice, though obviously it won’t save your infantry from their worst predators; Heldrakes, Riptides and so on. Re-rolling failed armour penetration rolls with them is decent, but as the strongest flamer your infantry can get is only Strength 5, it isn’t really that much to crow about. Where this ability really gets interesting is against infantry; heavy flamers killing Fire Warriors and Dire Avengers on 2s with re-rolls? Flamers killing Hormagaunts on 3s with re-rolls? Sign me up please! This is of best use on five-man Assault Squads with two flamers in a unit, as not only do they get their Drop Pod for free, but they aren’t restricted to just one flamer and a combi-flamer. They are cheap, simple and very effective against any light infantry your opponent has. For other applications, it works well for Bikers equipped with flamers especially, as well as other deep-striking elements, such as Command Squads built for defence with several template weapons.
Master Artisans – This provides characters, from Sergeants to Chapter Masters, with a free master-crafting on one of their weapons for free. This isn’t as significant an ability as Flamecraft or Vulkan’s Forgefather special rule, but it is nonetheless a handly little extra, especially for Sergeants with combi-weapons. Getting a free re-roll to hit on their combi-weapons makes them absolutely invaluable, particularly for Tactical Squads and Sternguard Veteran Squads being employed in a Drop Pod Assault list. Additionally, taking a weapon such as a thunder hammer or the Burning Blade on a Chapter Master with the Shield Eternal gives him a re-roll to hit in combat with their preferred weapon, and one that hits very hard. This is a very nice little bonus that should encourage you to not only take more combi-weapons on your Sergeants, but to give your Independent Characters nasty melee or ranged weapons. How does master-crafting on a Master of the Forges’ conversion beamer sound?
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 Salamanders, 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 Salamanders or the ones that receive the most benefits from their Chapter Tactics, but some of the most common that I have seen.
Vulkan He’stan – In the 5th Edition Space Marine codex, Vulkan was usually thrown up as the best value character in the codex because of his crazy ability to master-craft all melta and flame weapons in the army – plus thunder hammers – in addition to being very well equipped himself. Nowadays, with Khan and Tigurius being so darn good, Vulkan has quietly shuffled out of the spotlight as one would expect. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t still a great character. He is equipped about as well as a Space Marine Captain could be short of having the Shield Eternal, and not only that, but he again master-crafts all melta weapons in the army. His Warlord Trait is nice, on the side. Basically, with Legion of the Damned getting much better, Assault Squads opening up as suicidal flamer-delivery squads on the cheap, and most regular elements of Drop lists getting points reductions in some form, adding Vulkan to make a Drop list is always a smart move. They are still just as brutal, and running dual melta Land Speeders is still just as fluff-breaking. He fights well, he buffs your army immensely for a specific build type, and he is pretty darn hard to kill. Oh, and the fluff perfectly justifies him popping up pretty much anywhere. What’s not to like?
Tactical Squads – While Biker Squads are (justifiably) the most commonly seen Troops choices for other Chapters, Salamanders do get a lot of extras out of Tactical Squads, but only if they use them in transports. With their Chapter Tactics and Vulkan in the mix, Tactical Squads become cheap, reliable, scoring weapon teams that can put the hurt on whatever you kit them out for. Give them a combi-weapon, a special weapon, a transport of some form and go to town. They are a cost effective unit as it is, but especially in Drop Pods, they become very dangerous in their own right as well and make for the perfect Troops choice.
Legion of the Damned – The Legion of the Damned got a pretty significant boost in the new codex, what with Ignores Cover on all their shooting attacks and a pretty hefty points drop. They are a decent unit by themselves, but when paired up with Vulkan, they become seriously good Devastator equivalents. Having Relentless shooting with multi meltas that get a re-roll to hit from Vulkan and also Ignore Cover is just brutal. They make for the perfect foil for Tactical Squads and Assault Squads in a Salamanders Drop Pod list, replacing Devastators quite handily.
Themed Army Lists
When I think of themed Salamanders armies, I look first at the Chapter Tactics and then at the nature of Nocturne, their main recruiting world. Salamanders receive most of their benefits at short range, while fluff-wise they should be restricted in their use of Land Speeders and Bike-mounted models. Considering that the Vulkan also provides a serious buff to short-ranged weapons, albeit across the entire army and not just Salamanders infantry, a pattern starts to form about what kind of army list tends to be most effective for them. To give you an example of why many gravitate towards this kind of list, just think of all those Skyrays, Wave Serpents and Pathfinders you see nowadays, and think of what devastation this list can do those units.
HQ
Vulkan He’stan (Warlord)
Command Squad (5) w/ five flamers, drop pod
Troops
Tactical Squad (10) w/ combi-melta, meltagun, drop pod
Tactical Squad (10) w/ combi-melta, meltagun, drop pod
Tactical Squad (10) w/ combi-melta, meltagun, drop pod
Tactical Squad (10) w/ combi-melta, meltagun, drop pod
Elites
Legion of the Damned (5) w/ meltagun, multi melta
Legion of the Damned (5) w/ meltagun, multi melta
Legion of the Damned (5) w/ meltagun, multi melta
Fast Attack
Assault Squad (5) w/ two flamers, drop pod
Assault Squad (5) w/ two flamers, drop pod
Assault Squad (5) w/ two flamers, drop pod
Total = 1850
That this is a Drop Pod Assault list really shouldn’t be surprising to any veterans of the army from the 5th Edition codex. It is, after all, the simplest and most effective use of both Vulkan and their Chapter Tactics. Drop Pods provide the quickest and safest means of deploying near enemy forces to make full use of the re-rolls to hit for both flame and melta weapons. This does make the army list mostly one note, but it is undeniably brutal. There are eight Drop Pods, half of which are dedicated to clearing infantry, and the other half of which will destroy any tank that gets within range. Two to five flamers in a single unit with re-rolls to wound will easily clear out entire hordes, light infantry units such as Fire Warriors, and even big chunks of Space Marine squads on the drop if they get a good range going. Similarly, having two melta shots with re-rolls to hit that get Armourbane at 6″ should reliably lead to many slagged tanks. The heaviest hitters there though are the Elites’ analogy to Devastators; Legion of the Damned. Packing a meltagun and multi melta at five men is really good, especially as they are Relentless unlike Devastators and thus fit perfectly into a Drop list. Best of all, they don’t even have to purchase a Drop Pod and have semi-reliable deep strike scatter! Due to the wording of Vulkan’s special rule, the Legion of the Damned gain the benefit of master crafting on their melta weapons. This gives them the biggest threat range of all the units with the Relentless multi meltas. And with forty scoring bodies and Combat Squads, the army is flexible, can capture objectives easily, and has possibly the best alpha strike in the game. Having eight Drop Pods as opposed to nine or seven is a bit of a bummer, but remember, this is just the basis for a good, themed Salamanders army. Space Marines often deploy in massed Drop Pods to the surface as a rapid counter-assault force – which is what they are designed to be, after all – so anyone saying this list isn’t themed is kidding themselves.
But another army list I would like to cover is one you don’t see very often; a ground-based force. Yes, both Vulkan and the Salamanders’ abilities directly benefit Drop Pod lists the most as it provides you with one of the most devastating alpha strikes in 6th Edition. But the Salamanders were not renowned for these kinds of attacks, nor for their use of vehicles; they relied, much like the Death Guard, on an impenetrable wall of infantry backed by courage and determination. As they would grind their foes against an anvil of steel, so too would they smash them with a hammer of justice.
HQ
Chapter Master Tu’shan w/ terminator armour, thunder hammer, the shield eternal
Troops
Tactical Squad (10) w/ plasma gun, plasma cannon
Tactical Squad (10) w/ plasma gun, plasma cannon
Tactical Squad (10) w/ missile launcher
Tactical Squad (10) w/ missile launcher
Elites
Dreadnought w/ two twin-linked autocannons
Dreadnought w/ two twin-linked autocannons
Assault Terminators (5) w/ thunder hammers and storm shields
Fast Attack
Assault Squad (5) w/ two flamers, drop pod w/ locator beacon
Heavy Support
Devastators (7) w/ four lascannons
Thunderfire Cannon
Thunderfire Cannon
Fortifications
Aegis Defence Line w/ quad gun
Total = 1848
When designing this list, I wanted to make something that made sense for Salamanders, rather than the most competitive list possible. Due to the conditions of their home-world Nocturne, skimmers, bikes and other such machinations are rarely employed by the Children of Vulkan. What this list represents is a desperate defensive effort from a ground-based force of Salamanders that is re-enforced first by a rapid strike from an Assault Squad, and then by the legendary Chapter Master himself – Tu’shan, with his personal Terminator entourage. Tu’shan regularly fights in Terminator Armour, and he usually carries either a thunder hammer or a blade gouged in fire – a relic that would make perfect sense as the Burning Blade, no? Still, I favour defence for my Chapter Masters above all else, hence why the Shield Eternal is in – and also because Tu’shan is commonly clad in a cloak of drake scales, an item that grants Eternal Warrior in the Horus Heresy rules. These two units provide the aggressive counter-punch to cause the enemy a lot of grief; the Assault Squad is more of a distraction than anything else designed to hunt Pathfinders and Guardians, but the Terminators and Tu’shan cannot be discounted by any means. The locator beacon on the Drop Pod serves to guide them in, though deep striking them elsewhere as necessary is acceptable.
For the defensive line itself, I (of course) went for the Aegis Line and quad gun to be manned by one of the four Tactical Squads or the Devastator Squad. The two missile launcher-armed Tactical Squads are quite bare, but to fit points around, I had to drop some extras from them that would have given them a nice defensive boost – namely flamers! The Tacticals provide nice, albeit uninspiring, long ranged fire, with their true damage potential becoming evident as an opponent closes in. The Devastators and Dreadnoughts are at home from afar though, especially as each will benefit from the 4+ cover saves provided by the defence lines. The Dreadnoughts will hunt light to medium vehicles, while the Devastators aim for the medium and heavy vehicles in the opposing army. The pair of Thunderfire Cannons bolster any other terrain pieces in the Salamanders’ deployment zone so that the infantry don’t all have to bunch up behind the Aegis Line. Of course, that is a secondary benefit to these high rate-of-fire barrage weapons, blasting infantry of all kinds apart from across the board! This is a nice balanced list that presents a lot of options for dealing with vehicles, infantry and monsters, and even though sacrifices are made to keep the list themed, it is nonetheless one I would get a kick out of playing.
In Closing
I hope you enjoyed the fifth in a series of seven articles covering each of the distinct Space Marine Chapters represented in the 6th Edition Codex: Space Marines! The Salamanders are the truest defenders of humanity, their purity of intention and heart born from their close bonds with the people of Nocturne. Following in the footsteps of their mighty Primarch, those sired of Vulkan are artisans without equal, and match their tempered steel with a fiery devotion to their people. They are true heroes of the Imperium, going so far as to strike against their fellow Adeptus Astartes if it would mean the preservation of but a hundred human lives. Even though many fear them for their abnormal appearance, the Salamanders will stand resplendent before humanity against any threat – to them, humanity, not the Imperium or the God-Emperor, is worth any sacrifice.
Thanks for reading everybody and by all means chime in down in the comments. Tell us how you have running your Sons of Vulkan and what works for you on the tabletop.
