Warhammer 40K: Space Marine Unit Guide – Rapid Assault – 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 Fast Attack!
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, 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.
Assault Squad 
The Assault Squad is one of the oldest Marine units and a truly classic close combat unit. Sadly, the game has mostly passed it by. For stats, the Assault Marine shares the normal Firstborn statline, used by Tactical Marines. They however swap bolters to be armed with an Astartes Chainsword and bolt pistol. In addition they have limited access to special weapons, in the form of flamers, plasmas pistols and some eviscerators. The sergeant has access to better weapons as well. While they come on foot as a basic option, they can, and should, be given jumppacks letting them deep strike, fly, and move 12 inches.
The issue with the Assault Squad is a simple lack of real damage output. With only one attack base they just don’t do enough damage being only slightly better than an Intercessor Squad in close combat, and significantly worse at range. While the unit is fast, and can get into combat, it normally can’t do a whole lot once there, and will be outfought by pretty much any dedicated close combat unit. Unless you have some real trick to make them work, you are better off paying the points to upgrade them to Vanguard Veterans.
Outrider Squad
Outriders are one of the newest Marine units, and they pack a nice punch. The unit has very good stats, with toughness 5 and 4 wounds, and a whopping 14″ move. The combination of their chainswords, and the Devastating Charge rule gives them each 6 attacks on the charge (7 for the sergeant) and a pair of bolt rifles each means they have some ranged firepower. Their only real drawbacks are being limited to 3 model units and no access to special close combat weapons.
Outriders are the fastest assault unit available to an all Primaris army, and if you are running one of those then you really want to look at them, though they have a spot in any Marine army. With a lot of OK attacks, they are a great unit for taking on chaff and poor quality units. In addition, their durability means they can tie up units well. They lack high strength/damage attacks and so won’t be a good option for taking down heavy enemy units. Both Blood Angels and White Scars can get a lot out of them. This is really great unit to use to put pressure on the enemy and pin them on their side of the table with.
Invader ATV Squad
While its appearance may be goofy, the rules for the Invaders are solid. Invaders are a heavier ranged focused version of the Outrider, with similar stats, but a massive 8 wounds and 4 attacks. For weapons they have a pair for auto bolt riles, and can either be armed with a multi-melta, or an Onslaught Gatling Cannon. They come in squads of 1-3.
While Onslaught armed Invaders are good anti horde units, with 14 shots a model, that’s not really a role Marine struggle with. In my mind, they are better armed with multi-meltas, which can take advantage of the 14″ move to get into half range with ease. A unit of two of these can act as fast tank hunters, while also contributing to anti-infantry fights. While they aren’t combat-oriented, the 4 attacks per model mean they can do some damage in a pinch. This is another strong unit to consider taking.
Bike Squad
The classic Marine Bike Squad shares most stats with the newer Outriders, though they have only 3 wounds a model and 1 attack base. They are armed with a bolt pistol and a pair of bolters, though they can swap the pistol for an Astartes Chainsword. Two models can take special weapons and the Sergeant has access to weapons as well. The unit can have between 3-8 models and has the additional option to take an Attack Bike.
Like Assault Marines the bike squad is an assault unit that the game has mostly passed by. While they are fast and can get into combat, they lack the attacks to do much there. Even if you give them chainswords, which you should, they are at best getting 3 attacks, which won’t do a ton. Access to special weapons and a heavy weapon with an attack bike gives them some decent firepower and they can be fielded as a fast annoying ranged unit that can charge in to finish off wounded units. However, unless you’re playing an army that can really buff them, such as White Scars, you are best off spending your points elsewhere.
Scout Bike Squad 
Scouts on Bikes! These guys are similar to a regular Bike Squad, though they trade a wound and a point of save (having only a 4+) to get 16″ of movement. For weapons, they come with the twin-bolt gun, an Astartes Shotgun, and combat knives and bolt pistols. They can outflank and the sergeant can take a weapon upgrade. In addition any model can swap his twin bolt gun for a grenade launcher, though it’s normally not worth it.
As a fast ranged unit, they are arguably better than the regular Bike Squad, with each model getting 6 shots, though their lack of real special or heavy weapons hurts them. In combat however, they are even worse, and their reduced durability means that despite being on bikes they really aren’t much harder to kill than say a basic Intercessor. Heavy Bolters will eat them up. They’ve got good anti horde firepower, but that’s not in short supply for Marine. This is likely a unit you can skip.
Attack Bike Squad 
The Attack Bike is the Firstborn version of the Invader ATV, it has similar stats but is reduced to 4 wounds and 2 attacks. It is armed with a pair of bolters. In addition, it must take either a heavy bolter or a multi-melta.
The Attack Bike has been something of a joke for a long time, but the newest codex has given it a new lease on life. Armed with the Multi-melta an Attack Bike is only 55 pts, 10 pts more than an Erdicator, and much cheaper than an Invader ATV. With the same Primary weapon, this is a very efficient way of getting multi-meltas into half range. The Bikes low profile makes them easy to hide and a 14″ move lets you get them into the enemy zone quickly. Pay attention to this unit as it’s an up and comer.
Suppressor Squad
Suppressors are a unit that GW seems to have forgotten. They’ve gone through two codex revisions without getting any love, got left out of Deathwatch Kill Teams, and still don’t have a box of their own. Their rules are also a mess. Stat’s wise they share the basic Primaris profile, with the addition of jumppacks giving them a 12″ move and deep strike. For weapons, they have the Accelerator Autocannon, which is a 3 shot version of the gun carried by the Invictor Warsuit. They can be fielded only as a three-man unit.
The problem here is that they are a heavy weapon unit, given jump packs. This means either they are using the mobility they paid for, at the cost of missing shots, or standing still to use their long range, and not getting any use out of their mobility. Even worse as a three-man squad they aren’t durable and any losses will cost you a heavy weapon. They do have the ability to turn off enemy infantry’s overwatch, but given the changes to overwatch it’s a marginally useful option at best. This is a unit you can skip.
Inceptor Squad
Inceptor’s are flying Gravis troops. As such they share a statline with Heavy Intercessors, with the exception of gaining 10″ move, fly, and deep strike. For weapons, they can take either of pair of Assault Bolters, which at Assault 3, S5 AP -1, give them 6 strong anti-infantry shots, or a pair of Plasma Exterminators, which are Assault d3 S7 AP -3 D1 Blast, and can overcharge. Both weapons have an 18″ range. The unit can take 3-6 models.
Inceptors are a very strong, if somewhat glass cannon-y unit. Armed with Plasma Exterminators they can put out a ton of really deadly firepower, and with blast, each model will get 6 Marine killing shots vs a squad of 6 of more models. Though they are short-ranged, the option to deep strike means you can keep them off the table and then drop them into range to unleash a staggering amount of firepower. This is a deadly, points efficient unit, that you can do a lot with and is well worth considering.
Storm Speeder Hailstrike
The Hailstrike is the first of 3 versions of the Storm Speeder. It has standard Marine stats, but is a vehicle with movement 16, 10 wounds and T6. It degrades as it takes damage. For weapons, it is armed with a pair of frag storm launchers, an Onslaught Gatling Cannon, and a twin Ironhail Heavy Stubber. It can fly.
While the Hailstrike can put out a lot of shots, up to 28, these are all anti-infantry shots, and mainly anti-light infantry shots. Its mix of heavy and assault weapons means it also won’t get Doctrine mods for all its weapons at once. While it’s great at clearing out hordes, this is, as I’ve said, not something the army struggles with, and it has almost no use beyond that. As such it’s a bit of a one-trick pony, and not very durable to boot. I think this is a unit you can skip.
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike 
The secound Storm Speeder variant, the Thunderstrike has the same stats as the Hailstrike, with the exception of having a base BS of 2+. For weapons its has Stormfury Missiles, a Thunderstike las-talon, and a twin Icarus rocket pod.
The Thunderstrike is overall the best of the Storm Speeders. It’s BS of 2+ makes it a very reliable unit. While it’s billed as an anti-aircraft unit, its weapons are good against ground tanks and even infantry. With three high S and D weapons, it can put the hurt on enemy tanks. The twin Icarus pod gives you up to 6 D2 shots, which can be used for either clearing out MEQs or adding extra hurt to enemy tanks. That being said 175 pts is a lot for a model that’s not very durable. While this unit might not be bad, you can likely find better options for your points.
Strom Speeder Hammerstrike
The Hammerstrike is the final Storm Speeder variant. It has the same stats as the Hailstrike. For weapons, it has a Melta destroyer (a 3 shot multi-melta) a pair of krakstorm grenade launchers, and a Hammerstike missile launcher.
While the Hammerstirke is billed as the anti-tank variant the truth is it lags behind the Thunderstrike. It has a max damage output of 33 vs 30 for the Thunderstrike, but the higher strength and better BS of the Thunderstike makes it more likely to get wounds in. The Hammerstrike does have more reliable damage once wounds are done, but its at best a pretty even match and the Thunderstrike can at least double as an anti-MEQ unit. Worse the Thunderstrike doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. For the same points you can take a pair of Invader ATVs that have even more reliable damage output and are harder to kill. So just do that.
Land Speeders
The Land Speeder is the Classic Marine version of the Storm Speeder. They move 18″, have T6 and 6W wounds. They can have either a Heavy Bolter or a Multi-melta and come in units of 1-3. They fly and can buff Whirlwinds.
These guys aren’t very durable, but they are fast. While the heavy bolter did get buffed, a single one is still a bit underwhelming. However armed with a multi-melta these are an even faster tank hunting unit than the ones we’ve looked at. For 70 pts they are pretty fragile, but a pair is still likely a better choice than a Storm Speeder. You do however have better options.
Land Speeder Tornadoes
An upgraded version of the Land Speeder, they are slower, at 16″, and lose the rule to buff Whirlwinds. In exchange for that they can take either an Assault Cannon or Heavy Flamer in addition to their other weapon. Giving them an assault cannon and heavy bolter makes them a pretty real threat to medium infantry and light infantry and a pair of them is still cheaper and better than the Storm Speeders. The only real downside for them is that neither the assault cannon nor heavy flamer pair well with the multi-melta.
Land Speeder Typhoon
A third variant of the Land Speeder; this one share stats with the Tornado. In addition to the milti-melta or heavy bolter it comes with a Typhoon Missile Launcher. This is in effect a two shot normal Missile Launcher, and its dual modes of fire give the Typhoon some good options as either anti-infantry or anti-tank.
While the Typhoon is a little fragile for its cost, it can pack a punch. With a single one putting out up to 30 D a turn, that’s about the same output as a Strom Speeder, for 50-60 pts less. This is a great glass cannon unit, but can be useful for getting damage on targets wherever they are.
