Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Unit Guide- Veteran Warriors – PRIME
Today let’s continue our in-depth look at the massive roster of Space Marine units and how to use them. Today we talk ELITES.
If you haven’t heard, Space Marines have a brand new Codex with a truly staggering amount of units. Such a massive roster (and that’s just the units in the main codex) can be overwhelming. Luckily Marines are overall a fairly forgiving army. Still, skill is required to make an excellent list. We looked at Marine HQs and Troops, and some elites today let’s continue our deep dive into the army and its datasheets, taking a look at the massive roster and how to best use them.
Bladeguard Veterans 
Bladeguard Veterans are one of the new Marine units this edition and fill a similar role among the Primaris ranks as Assault Terminators do for Classic Marines. While the Bladeguard have some minor shooting with their heavy bolt pistols and upgrade options on their Sergeant, they won’t really accomplish much that way.
Bladeguard are at heart a heavy infantry assault unit. They have a fairly standard Primaris stat line with the notable exception of having both three wounds and three attacks (four attacks on the Sergeant). Though they operate in small 3-6 man squads, this stat line lets them put out a lot of attacks with 4 per model on the charge and some Chapters able to bump that up to 5. Armed with Master-crafted power swords they can put out a large number of S5 AP -3 D2 attacks. As they are core they can benefit from most auras, getting easy re-rolls and should you have a Bladeguard Ancient nearby they can easily hit on 2+s with re-rolls of ones.
As they are only strength five they are not best suited for taking down heavy walkers or vehicles, though they can hurt them. They are better used for chewing through elite infantry, such as other Marines. Deployed in an Impulsor they can rush downfield and get into the fray and onto an objective.
Once there they are hard to move. Thanks to their storm shields they are rocking a 2+/4++ save and with three wounds a piece they can shrug off a lot of attacks, with lighter infantry, in particular, have a lot of issues dealing damage to them. Though a newer unit they are making their mark on the table and are a great assault unit to consider for any Marine army, though you will need a plan for how to get them into combat.
Company Veterans 
Company Veterans are a bit of a holdover unit from the days when characters were part of or joined squads. They are in essence the non-character portion of a Marine Command Squad, and without their attached heroes exist in a vestigial state.
They are taken in small 2-5 man units, and have standard classic Marine Veteran states, including 2 wounds and 2 attacks. They come armed with a standard boltgun, but have a massive amount of options to swamp those weapons outs as every member can take specials, combi, or melee weapons and they even have an option for heavy weapons. This does allow them to pack a relative strong punch for a small squad, but also makes them a real target as they aren’t particularly durable. This means it’s easy to lose a fairly expensive unit and allow the enemy to possibly score points from killing one of your units.
They do have two special rules. The first is Bodyguard which prevents nearby characters from being shot at. This in effect is a better version of Look Out Sir, but is also only useful in a few situations that look out sir wouldn’t cover. Their second rule is Command Squad which allows them to not take up any force org slots if you have a captain in your detachment. This in addition triggers off several classic Marine Command Squad units, such as the Ancient, Apothecary and Company Champion to not take up slot either.
Overall on their own there isn’t much to recommend Company Veteran as anything they do is done better by another Marine unit and for Marines the Elite slot is already really crowded. On the other hand if you happen to be taking the other Command Squad units it might be worth including Company Veterans, possible just a 2 man unit, for the sole purpose of freeing up more elite slots.
Vanguard Veterans 
Speaking of units who do what Company Veterans do better, we’ve got Vanguard Veterans. These are the classic Marine elite assault Veterans and they pack a major punch. Of the many Marine units that have been buffed in the last year, Vanguard have arguably gained the most from the buff. These guys have the new Classic Marine Veteran stat line, which includes a base of two attacks and two wounds. Their basic equipment is an impressive chainsword and bolt pistol.
However, like other Veteran units Vanguard are massively customizable with every model having access to melee weapons, storm shields, and pistol upgrade lists. Deathwatch Vanguard in addition have access to the amazing D4 heavy thunder hammers. In addition the whole squad can be equipped with jump packs. This all combines to make them a fast and deadly unit, indeed Vanguard are one of the deadliest combat units in the core Marine codex, able to throw out 30+ Thunder hammer or Power fist attacks if kitted out that way. Alternatively, they can be geared to blow through infantry units or a mix. Taking Jumppacks is highly recommended as this really lets the unit go where it wants and do anything. As a core unit they also benefit from must buff auras.
While not quite a glass cannon, especially since gaining a second wound, you do want to be careful with your Vanguard as they are an expensive unit and not particularly hard to kill by Marine standards. One way around this is of course giving some of all of the models Storm shields, a better investment than pistol upgrades, which significantly increases their durability. Using their speed and ability to deep strike to avoid getting shot out also helps.
Overall Vanguard are one of if not the best all around assault units in the Marine army combining speed, offensive power, customization and just enough durability. They are particularly useful in White Scars and Blood Angels army but any Marine list would do well to look at them as an offensive choice and they are possibly the best of the Classic Marine units around.
Sternguard Veteran Squad
Sternguard are the shooty version of classic Marine Veterans. They start with the same statline as Vanguard, but quickly diverge. Sternguard come base equipped with the special issue boltgun. This is a 30″ rapid fire 1, S4, Ap -2 D1 weapon. While this is significantly better than a basic boltgun, you might notice that is very similar to a bolt rifle, only with an extra point of AP. Indeed with an identical cost to Intercessors, Sternguard beat them by having an extra point of AP on their guns and better LD, at the cost of not being Troops or obsec. That’s not really a great trade-off in my book, but of course, neither unit is really going to be run at its base load out.
Sternguard also have the option for any model to take a weapon from the combi-weapon list. In addition, the Sergeant can take a limited selection melee weapons and up to two models can take either a heavy flamer, a heavy weapon or a special weapon (I’m not sure why you’d want to take a special weapon as it cost the same and is worse than the combi weapon). This allows the squad to have a very powerful shooting loadout, with for instance it having 10 combi-plasma or melta weapons and putting out a blistering amount of firepower.
One of the classic uses for Sterngaurd is to load a 10 man squad into a Droppod and then deploy a ton of melta or flamer attacks into the enemy, with a single squad having the potential to throw out between 30-80 shots a turn. This can make them a very deadly ranged unit and somewhat tricky if used right.
The flip side to this is that Marines aren’t really hurting for deadly ranged units and even with their kit they aren’t going to do anything that a unit or Eradicators or Hellblasters won’t also do. Like Vanguard they are also a pricy unit that is not particularly hard to kill, and unlike Vanguard they can’t take storm shields or use speed to hide. Yes, you can spend 400 pts on a unit with a drop pod and have a pretty solid chance of killing or crippling a Knight (thought statistics say killing is a long shot) but the units almost certainly going to die right after that. Overall they are a decent unit but not one of the best and you can probably find a unit that does what you want them to do better.
Judiciar
The Judiciar is a new Primaris character added this edition and he’s a bit of a tricky boi. Stat and equipment-wise he is kitted for combat, with a fairly standard stat line, including WS 2+, 5 wounds and 4 attacks. His Absolver bolt pistol is good but only has the one-shot. For combat, he uses the Executioner relic blade which makes him S7 Ap-3 and D2, in addition, he has a small chance of throwing out some mortal wounds.
This combined with a 4++ save in melee makes him a decent combat character and quite able to hold his own. While not quite able to smash tanks with ease, he can put the hurt on enemy infantry and characters pretty well and has enough attacks to be relevant.
His real use comes in his one special rule Tempormortis which allows him to pick an enemy within 3″ and make them fight last that round. This rule, when used correctly, is very powerful. While it’s not amazing on the charge, since most of your units should be fighting first anyway, it’s great in all other situations, allowing you to attack, and wear down, an enemy unit before it can strike. In particular this rule makes him a strong defense character and great when dealing with glass cannon units. Since pretty much every Marine unit, and especially Primaris units are at least decent in combat it allows you the chance to destroy enemy chargers, or at least significantly weaken them, before they can harm you, turning a clutch enemy assault into a useless suicide mission for the other player.
The rule does have a short range and takes work to pull off so this isn’t a unit or tactic that easy to use and an experienced player who can position his units correctly will get the most out of it. While the the Judiciar isn’t a must take he’s a strong unit that opens up some possibilities.
Reiver Squad
Revers are an elite Phobos unit and without beating around the bush they are one of the worst units in the current Marine lineup. They have the same stats as other basic Primaris troops, making them unexceptional in that regard, and much else.
For weapons, they have two options. Their default loadout is a combat knife and special issue bolt pistol. The combat knife gives them an extra attack, but is worse than an Astartes chainsword as it has no AP. The SI bolt pistol is an AP -2 bolt pistol, which is of limited use with only one short-ranged shot. They can choose to swap their combat knives for a bolt carbine which is just an auto bolt rifle with one less shot. In either configuration, they are worse offensively than most other Primaris units and outshone by Intercessors.
They do also have the option to take both grav-chutes and grapnel launches which allow them to deep strike and out flank (and ignore vertical move distances) respectively. In addition they have the Terror Troops rule which makes nearby foes have -2 LD, though given how mostly irrelevant morale is this isn’t a huge buff.
Reivers suffer from not really having a good role in the army. Their combat potential is less than most other units, with no significant weapon upgrades, they are mediocre at best at either combat or shooting and there are just better options for those roles. While they get some interesting deployment options with deep striking and outflanking these normally aren’t as good as Infiltrators and Incursors ability to infiltrate. On top of that even if they manage to get into a good position they have trouble capitalizing on it as they can’t easily kill enemy units and don’t have objective secured. In a highly competitive elite slot there really isn’t much to recommend this lost unit.
Aggressor Squad 
Aggressors are a heavy Primaris infantry unit, able to deal significant damage at both range and in close combat. They have the standard Mk X Gravis stat line, shared with the likes of the Heavy Intercessors. This means they trade a point of movement to gain T5 and 3 wounds. This combines to make them a very tough, but somewhat slow unit, made worse by limited transport options.
For weapons, they have two ranged options. Flamestorm gauntlets give them effectively 2 flames and 2d6 auto hitting attacks is nothing to sneer out. Alternatively they can be armed with auto bolt storm gauntlets and a fragstorm grenade launcher giving them 6 + d6 (blast) S4 AP 0 D1 attacks. Either option allows the unit to put out up to 12 shots a model, which is significant, even if they are relatively low power shots. The two options aren’t all that different, the flamestorm gauntlets are better targeting smaller units (and a good overwatch choice) while the auto boltstorm are better with large target units where blast comes into effect and have slightly longer range. For combat, they are armed with what are effectively power fists, and with 3 attacks base they can make good use of them.
Aggressors suffered a major nerf in this book by losing their ability to shoot twice. They also suffer from being a short-ranged unit that is both slow and lacking in transport options. That being said they are decently tough and put out a lot of shots and can do well in close combat. Parked on an objective they can be hard to move and Chapters like Raven Guard, which can use deployment tricks on them, and Salamanders, which can buff their flame storm gauntlets can get real use out of them. They have however dropped from a must-take to a potentially useful choice and arguably units like Eradicators with much better shooting attacks, or Heavy Intercessors with obsec are better options that fill a similar role.
That’s all for this time folks, tune in next time as we go over more units.
