Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Unit Guide – Fire Support- 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 Heavy Support!
If you haven’t heard, Space Marines have a brand new (well OK, newish at this point) 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 and more elites and, Throne, even more elites, and fast attack, 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.
Hellblaster Squad
Hellblasters are an infantry heavy fire support unit. As Primaris Marines they have the standard Primaris stat line, identical to Intercessors. They do not have any native special rules, but are Core. Hellblasters are armed with one of three Plasma weapons, each member of the squad gets one, but the squad must all be armed identically. These weapons somewhat mirror the three versions of bolt rifles Intercessors get. The Assault Plasma Incinerator has a high rate of fire, being assault 3 with a 24″ range. At s6 Ap -4 D1 it’s a powerful weapon. The Heavy Plasma Incinerator trades rate of fire for punch, being Heavy 1 with a 36″ range. At S8 AP -4 D4 it will make a dent. Lastly, the Plasma Incinerator splits the difference, being rapid fire 1, with a 30″ range and S7 AP-4 D1. All three versions can overcharge, granting +1S and +1D but causing natural to hit rolls of 1s to kill their bearers.
While Hellblasters can put out a lot of firepower, they are hampered by being an expensive unit. This unit will end up being rather costly, while at the same time no more durable than any of your other infantry. This will make them a very high-value target for the enemy. If you can find a way to protect them they can do a lot of damage, but are at risk of simply wasting points on corpses. Of their weapon options, the Assault Plasma Incinerator is my favorite. When overcharged it cut through swarms of enemy infantry, even becoming a major threat to MEQ. The Heavy version on the other hand makes for a decent anti-tank or heavy infantry weapon, but there remain better options for that. This isn’t a unit to discount, but it’s not a must take.
Eliminator Squad
Eliminators are a Primaris Core sniper unit. While this unit was extremely powerful in the past, recent nerfs have toned them down. Eliminators come as a three-man squad, with no option to take more models. They have the standard Primaris stat line, with the exception of a boost to BS 2+. They can be armed either with a Bolt Sniper Rifle or a Las Fusil. The Bolt Sniper Rifle has three fire modes, one that is super accurate, one that makes multiple light attacks, and a heavy shot at S5, AP – 2 D2. In all cases, the weapon is heavy and can ignore Look Out Sir. The Las Fusil is a light anti-tank weapon, with heavy 1, 36″ and s8 Ap -3 D3. The Sergeant has the option of taking an Instigator Bolt Carbine, a weaker weapon, but one that allows the unit to move after shooting. The unit has concealed positions and camo cloaks.
While they’ve been toned down, Eliminators remain a powerful option and are some of the best Snipers in the game. If you can set them up in cover with a good LOS they will be hard to move and can slowly wear down enemy characters. In particular, armies that rely on a lot of weaker support characters, such as Astra Militarium and GSC have a lot to fear from them. The Bolt Sniper Rifle is almost always the best option as it brings something new to the table. The Las Fusil is simply not your best anti-tank option. This is another good unit to consider taking if you have spare points or can make extra use of it.
Centurion Devastator Squad
Devastators Centurions are the heaviest infantry that Space Marines have, sharing a stat line with the Assault Centurions discussed earlier. With 4 wounds and a 2+ they are very durable. For weapons, they have an array of dangerous options. As a Primary option, they can either take a Grav-Cannon or a pair of heavy bolters or lascannons. In addition, they must either take a hurricane bolter or a Centurion Missile Launcher, a powerful weapon with Assult D3 S8 Ap -2 D3D blast. The unit is not core, but does ignore the -1 to move and shoot heavy weapons and in addition, enemy units do not gain cover against any attacks that include the sergeant.
This is a unit that can really pack a punch. With heavy and hurricane bolters a model can put out 18 shots each, or armed with Missiles they can chew through both heavy infantry or become a major threat to tanks. They are best equipped and used as anti-heavy infantry unit, able to throw out a lot of strong D2 (on average) shots. With between 3-6 in a squad they can cut through MEQ with ease. While deadly they are also incredibly expensive, running you as much as a 110 pts per model. At this cost, they struggle to get real return on your investment, with 2 of them running the same as a whole 10 man unit of Intercessors. For now, these guys are likely too much of a points sink to be really useful.
Eradicator Squad 
Erdicators are a new heavy anti-tank Marine infantry unit. They are Primaris Marines In Gravis armor and share a stat line with the likes of Heavy Intercessors and Aggressors. For weapons they come stock with a melta-rifle. This weapon is Assault 1 24″ range, S8 Ap -4 D D6. At half range the weapon changes to D D6+2. The unit can swap its melta rifles for Heavy Melta Rifles, which have identical stats, but change from Assault to Heavy and gain +2d. The unit comes in 3-6 man size and one out of every three models can replace their weapon with a multi-melta. If the unit does not advance each model may fire twice, but if they do so all attacks must target the same unit.
Overall this is a very powerful anti-tank unit with a ton of firepower. A full size unit can unleash 16 powerful melta shots and if you can get them within half range there isn’t much that that will enjoy being shot by that much firepower. This is the best way to get concentrated anti-tank firepower in a Marine army, and well supported they can kick butt. They are likely best armed with the basic Melta Rifle, with Multi-meltas taken as needed. This is unit you’ll need to work to get into range so save your tricks for them. If you don’t have a way to get them close and keep them alive however they can run into issues and you might be better off taking the faster Attack Bikes.
Devastator Squad
Devastator’s are the most classic of all Marine fire support options. This infantry unit is made up of First Born Marines and shares a basic stat line with Tactical Marines. It comes in 5-10 man units, and they are base armed identical to Tactical Marines. Up to 4 members of the squad may replace their bolters with a heavy weapon choosing from the Marine list. The Sergeant can take a combi-weapon or melee weapon. The unit can take a Cherub which once per game allows a model to fire twice. Each turn if the unit has an active sergeant it can give one model BS 2+ for the turn.
Devastators are a very flexible unit and can be built to do any role, from anti-infantry to anti-tank. As a trade-off they tend to get less heavy weapons than other support units, maxing out at 4 in an up to 10 man squad. This does allow them to have some mooks to take shots without losing important weapons, but ends up meaning you don’t get a very high concentration of firepower. In the modern Marine army there are better options for general fire support. The most useful way to use Devastators is by placing two five man squads into a droppod and landing a high concentration of heavy weapons in the enemy’s face on turn one.
Thunderfire Cannon
The Thunderfire Cannon is a Marine support artillery piece. It consists of the Thunderfire Cannon itself as well as the classic Marine Techpriest that crews it. It is a crewed artillery piece and the Techmarine must remain nearby, but retains his rules and ability to heal things. With Bs 2+ T6 4 wounds and a 2+ save the Thunderfire cannon is accurate and won’t be killed by stray fire. At the same time, it’s not particularly hard to kill if you can target it. It’s main weapon, also called the Thunderfire Cannon is Heavy 4d3, Range 60″ S4 Ap – D1 blast. It can target units out of line of sight, allowing you to hide the somewhat vulnerable cannon.
The Thunderfire Cannon is primarily set up as an anti-light infantry weapon and firing at hordes it can do some significant damage from out of line of sight. However, it lacks the damage output to make it really good. The best use of the Cannon is paired with the 1CP stratagem Tremor Shells. While this makes it harder for you to wound an enemy if you can hit a non-flying, non-Titanic unit they will suffer half movement on their next turn and a -2 to advance and charge rolls. This ability to disrupt enemy plans and slow their units may make taking a single Thunderfire cannon worthwhile.
Firestrike Servo-Turrets
The Firestrike Servo Turret is a Primaris heavy weapon emplacement. At BS 2+ T5, 5 wounds and a 2+ save, it’s reminiscent of the Thunderfire cannon. It’s accurate and can take some fire, but isn’t all that hard to kill for dedicated enemy fire. With a 3″ move it can shift around, but won’t get far. It can either be armed with a twin Accelerator Autocannon (Heavy 6 48″ Range, S7 Ap -1 D2) or a twin Lastalon. It comes in units of 1-3.
The Firestrike is a decent way to get some very accurate firepower in a small area. While slow, placed to guard an objective or in an area with good line of sight they can put out a lot of damage. Given their slow speed the Lastalon, with its 24″ range is a bit of a risky option. As a major drawback, the unit is rather expensive, 90 pts base and 130 pts with Lastalons. It can easily be taken out by a single lascannon or melta attack, and is next to useless in combat. A pair of Attack Bikes with Multi-meltas will put out more damage, if slightly less accurate, be more durable and get to be mobile at the same time. This is probably a unit to skip.
Hunter
The Hunter is a Space Marine dedicated anti-air vehicle. It has Bs 3+ and is relatively hard to kill at T8 with 11 wounds and a 3+ save. It degrades as it takes damage. It is armed with a Skyspear missile launcher. This weapon is Heavy 1, range 60″ S9 AP- 3 D D6. Against Aircraft it gains a +2 to hit and its attack goes to 6+D6. The Hunter can be armed with both a storm bolter and a hunter-killer missile.
Currently aircraft are simply not a large enough threat to need dedicated anti-air units to take them down. Even when targeting enemy aircraft the Hunter will still on average take around 3 turns to bring one down with its single shot weapon. When not targeting enemy aircraft it’s effectively a single lascannon that runs you 110 pts. Overall the unit just isn’t worth the points as Marines already have high BS and lots of re-rolls they don’t have a major issue dealing with Aircraft. Just take a pair of Attack Bikes and you’ll likely be better off all around.
Stalker
Like the Hunter, the Stalker is a Marine anti-air unit. It has identical stats to the Hunter with the only difference being its primary weapon. Rather than the Skyppear it is armed with a pair Icarus Storm Cannons. These are Heavy 3, 48″ Ragne, S7 AP-1 D2. When targeting aircraft they double their shots and add +1 to hit. The Stalker can take both a storm bolter and hunter-killer missile.
Overall the Stalker is a better option than the Hunter. With 12 shots vs aircraft it maxes out at 24 damage, vs the Stalkers 12. While it has lower strength and is slightly less accurate the high number of shots makes up for it. It’s also a more versatile unit, as it still gets 6 useful shots versus non-aircraft targets. It’s still overall not a great choice, and you don’t really need dedicated anti-air units, but if you must take one, this is the better option.
Whirlwind
The Whirlwind is a classic Marine artillery vehicle. It is based on the Rhino chassis, and has a 12″ move, BS 3+, T7 11 wounds and a 3+ save. It degrades as it takes damage. It comes armed with a Whirlwind Vengeance Launcher which is Heavy 2d3 range 60″, S7 Ap -1 D2. It can alternatively take a Whirlwind Castellan Launcher which is heavy 2d6, range 60″ S6 AP 0 D1. Both weapons are blast and can target units outside of line of sight. In addition the Whirlwind can take a storm bolter and hunter-killer missile.
The Whirlwind is a bit pricy for its damage output, but the combination of blast and not needing LoS make it a useful tool. It’s mainly useful targeting enemy infantry, and a couple hidden away can cause some real damage. While it doesn’t have the raw damage output of other options its flexibility can come in handy. If you happen to find yourself playing on very dense tables and having trouble with being able to target enemies it’s a good option. It can also make use of the Suppression Fire Stratagem which prevents enemies from firing overwatch and makes them fight last. This isn’t a unit you always want to take, but it’s one to consider if you have a specific need.
