40K: Winners & Losers: Marine Units Character, Transports & Troops
Codex Space Marines is out so lets take look at more of the biggest Winners & Losers!
You can read part one which covered HQ (Generic) Flyers and Heavy Support HERE.
The Space Marines got a TON of units to choose from in there latest codex. With over 80 units to build an army from, we thought it would be helpful to filter through some of those options. Because there were so many we decided to break the down by Battlefield Role (Force Org Slot for you old vets out there) and go over them. Instead of ranking them, we thought we would just pick one “winner” and “loser” for each category. Some of the slots had pretty clear options. Others were a little tougher. Also we had a couple of criteria we used when judging them:
- We’re taking a look at these from a tournament mindset – That means we’re tossing lore out the background and judging them based on things like points efficiency and effectiveness. But…
- We’re also NOT adding in Chapter Tactics, Stratagems or taking into account “Buff” auras from Characters – we’re trying to take a look at these units from a general standpoint and not based on all the “crazy combos lists” you can come-up with.
- We are also taking into account how much the unit change from 7th to 8th edition – this one is kind of a big deal for some categories and was used as a tie-breaker in others.
Now, Special Characters are techincally in the HQ slot, but we decided to split them out so we could talk about them individually as well. Let’s get started!
Battlefield Role HQ (Special Characters)
There are LOTS of powerful character options for the Space Marines. Lysander, Calgar, Tigurius, Sicarius – really the list goes on and on. All of them do bring something “special” to the table. This was a tough one to narrow down, but we did the deed and picked two that we thought were the biggest winner and loser in the codex. We really had to factor in their change from the last edition to this one to break a lot of the ties.
Winner: Pedro Kantor
Pedro Kantor got a big boost this edition – probably the biggest from the previous edition and that’s what pushed him over the top. He’s a Chapter Master now which means he now gives one of the best Aura buffs in the game out. He no longer just applies to Sternguard which is a bonus. His plus 1 attack ability is also back with a smaller radius, but a wider range of units (all friendly Crimson Fists models, not just the ones in his detachment – this is great for armies that run multiple detachments.) Pedro is a great option for the Marines and I’m glad to toss my vote behind him.
Loser: Sergeant Telion
Sorry Telion…You’re just not that impressive, ESPECIALLY compared with everyone else. The Voice of Experience ability only applies to ONE Ultramarine Scout unit within 3″ – and it’s only for shooting. If this ability was just a cool aura for all scout units, or 6″ or…something, then maybe it would be better. I guess if you’re just looking to sit back and snipe he’s okay with scouts – but you can’t just be “okay” when your competition in the HQ/Special Characters slot is that strong.
Battlefield Role: Troops
This slot only had *three options. That means it was tough to choose for a different reason – each unit was slightly better than the others for different reasons. But that also left means that each troop had to be able to perform a wide array of roles. This one really just came down to personal preference. (*Note: We’re skipping over Crusaders Squads because while they can be used by any Adeptus Astartes list, they are clearly designed for use with Black Templars. While they are in the codex we didn’t feel like they fit within the structure of this article.)
Winner: Tactical Marines
Tactical Marines are cheap, tough and have access to a much larger tool box than the other two choices in the troops section. Couple that with their “Objective Secured” Space Marine ability Defenders of Humanity and they are a really good choice. When your troops have to do a little bit of everything, you need a good generalist unit and the Tactical Marines are just that – they are the swiss army knife a Space Marine Troop needs to be. They do suffer from the “jack of all trades, master of none” syndrome but they are still Space Marines. 10 of these guys will always do what they do, no matter the edition.
Loser: Scouts Squad
I’ve been biased against scouts for a long time. Not for any reason in particular. I just find scouts to be terrible boring. And sense I got picked to write this article, guess what – I’m calling scouts the biggest losers in the Troops section. Go park them on an objective in your backfield with their camo cloaks and sniper rifles. Give them a missile launcher. Let the “yawn-fest” that is scouts continue ad nausem. Maybe add in Telion so they can chat about how exciting it is to go camping all game. If these guys were in Overwatch, they would be called out for being Hanzo mains – No one likes you! Go play with someone else!
Battlefield Role: Transports
This was a really important category for Space Marines. They are the Kings of the Drop Pod and they have some of the most tactically useful transports in the game. We all know how good vehicles are now and Rhinos and Razorbacks – heck even the Land Speeder Storm – are all good options to bring. This one really came down to who changed the most in 8th.
Winner: Razorbacks
I bet you were thinking we’d go with Rhinos – well, guess again! Razorbacks are our pick because, while they don’t have the same troop capacity, they bring the fire power. Now that units can split fire and you can fire all your guns on the move, Razorbacks are going to be back in a BIG way. Get ready to see Assault Cannon Razorbacks plowing forward unleashing lead-death. Or perhaps the Twin Lascannon option for that extra vehicle punch. Razorbacks can also help you block off your troops from getting shot at or you can use them to charge to take the overwatch hits first! The Razorbacks are…back!
Loser: Drop Pod
Wait, what? Drop Pods are the biggest loser? Yes. How can that be? Well, they are not longer Objective Secured – suck it Drop Pods. They also can’t move besides deployment and mobility is HUGE is 8th. They are somewhat tough and will still require some dedication to deal with – but you can take your sweet time as long as you can deal with a storm bolter taking pop-shots at you all game. Do they still get to deploy a unit where you need them, with pin-point accuracy? Absolutely. As long as the unit is more than 9″ away from any enemy models – you know, outside of Flamer range… You can’t even get into “fun range” with your Meltaguns now! All the things you used to be able to do with Drop Pods, you can still do…only worse. That’s why Drop Pods are our biggest loser in the Transport category.
Well that’s our second list of the Space Marine Biggest Winners & Losers! Agree or Disagree? Let us know in the **comments below!
**Editor’s note:Unless it’s about Scouts. AdamHarry doesn’t care about why you think Scouts are amazing. He just doesn’t like them or care. He agrees to disagree.
