Snazzgunz: Counter-Charge, Feel No Pain, and Fleet

Welcome back to Snazzgunz! Today I’m going to tackle 3 more Universal Special Rules. Each of these rules today is well-known for their massive power to affect the game. One of these rules is a little obscure, another can be found in almost every army, and another has gained more and more popularity since its redux into the 3^rd Edition rulebook, where it has gone nigh unchanged in the way that it works.

The first I’m going to tell you about is the mainstay of the Space Wolves Space Marine Chapter. This Universal Special Rule has recently been somewhat downgraded in the most recent edition of the rules, with one of its biggest strengths now being relegated to the entirety of the game – Counter-Charge.

Counter-Charge used to be everything you wanted out of the Space Wolves. The Space pups were feared and respected for it. The Space Wolves were a close combat army with no real weaknesses against other close combat armies. It didn’t matter whether you charged them, or they charged you, they always had max-attacks. In fact, if anything, it was scarier to charge them, as squad-coherency rules meant that they would almost always get everyone into combat.

Before 5^th Edition, when you charged an enemy squad, they were stuck like they last moved. So if the squad was spread-out and you charged them on their side, you’d face a hugely reduced number of attacks back against you than if you charged head-on. Not so with the Space Wolves, who’d get to charge you back.

However, now that every army does this, the only benefit you get from Counter-Charge is the “mere” +1 Attacks for charging. This is still very powerful, but now is less threatening than it used to be.

Counter-Charge currently is only available to scant smattering of units in the game, most-notably Space Wolves. However, since becoming a Universal Special Rule, you’ll start noticing this ability creeping its way into other armies as well (having already gotten into the Tyranid Codex, and I believe Blood Angels codex, but I might be mistaken).

When playing with units that have Counter-Charge, carefully determine where the unit will receive maximum benefit. Remember, it’s an ability that’s dependant on your opponent charging you. The best place to be with a unit with counter-charge is in cover, as to maximize the attacks back. Set up situations where your opponent is in a bad position either way. If they go to charge you, they’re charging through cover and you get to attack first with your whole squad. If they decide not to charge you, they’ll leave themselves open to being hit where they’re weakest.

When playing against units with Counter-Charge, remember the impact that charging through cover will have. Charging a counter-charge unit with 2 units is a good way to minimize the impact of counter-charge. Counter-Charge is at its best when it gets used to maximum effect every time, so throwing in your units piece-meal means that they’ll get to maximize how much damage they do.

Also, try whittling down their squad’s numbers. The larger the squad is, the greater the bonus from the counter-charge. If you can reduce a squad by 3 models before charging, that’s at least 6 attacks you don’t have to deal with (possibly 9 attacks).

The next special rule I’ll be covering today has been gaining lots of popularity, to the point that most armies in Warhammer 40,000 now have access to at least 1 unit that grants this most powerful of special rules; Feel No Pain.

Feel No Pain grants any infantry model a half-chance to survive most attacks. Although it can’t stave off the strongest attacks like an Invulnerable save can, it works like how many people feel Invulnerable saves should work. First you get to save, then you get to Feel No Pain – in effect, giving you a second save. What’s even better is that this second save can be taken against most attacks, even ones with a High-AP value.

Effectively, Feel No Pain turns any Warhammer model into James Bond's arch-henchman, Jaws - they can ignore wounds that would often be fatal to most mortals. This means the answer to “Jimbo! You’ve just been shot three times in the heart! Are you alright?” could be “Just dandy, thank you very much!” (or, continuing with Jaws, "Urgh").

Often Feel No Pain is granted upon a unit due to the presence of a special model in the unit, like a Mad Dok or an Apothecary. However, due to the way shooting and close combat works, you will rarely be able to assign damage to those individuals.

In most cases, if you can give a unit Feel No Pain, it will be beneficial to do so. If they have this special rule, they can wade into massive firefights against basic troops and come out the other side no worse for wear. Remember, if you have Feel No Pain because of an additional model to the unit, maximize on the number of models in the squad. The more models you have, the cheaper the per-model cost of the Feel No Pain! (50 points spread amongst 5 models is 10 points per model, 50 points spread amongst 10 models is 5 points per model – a massive discount!)

Both for when using Feel No Pain or when fighting against it, you MUST remember how to get around it! Effectively, it works just like the Necron’s We’ll Be Back special rule. If you wound the model with an attack that instant-kills (strength double toughness) or that ignores armour saves (no from AP value, but from being something like a Power Weapon), then they won’t receive the bonus roll. That means if your unit has Feel No Pain, avoid opponents with power weapons, and use the squad to sweep through enemy Troops.

If, however, you’re fighting against this unit, the best weapons to use are high-powered ranged attacks. Chances are the Feel No Pain unit is a close-combat beast anyways, and you’d need your own close combat beast to fight them off. No where is this more apparent than when dealing with a squad of Nobz. Nobz, having 2 wound each, get double-duty out of Feel No Pain! Getting into close combat with them is already a bad idea. You almost must deal with Nobz by shooting them with high-powered weapons. A nice big fat piece of Ordnance is probably the best way to go, but throwing Missiles and Lascannons at them wouldn’t hurt either.

Finally, this brings us to the last Universal Special Rule I want to cover today. This one is massively popular with Games Workshop right now – and for good reason! It’s something that’s very flavourful that really fits the logic of the game – Run’s older brother, Fleet.

Run is a great type of special movement, and is wholly based off of Fleet. Instead of shooting, an infantry unit (including Walker vehicles) can “run” an additional D6”, ignoring cover along the way. I think one day I’ll need to cover Run all by itself to give it the attention it deserves, but for now I’ll stick with Fleet.

I have a theory as to how Run was created, and it goes like this:

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Andy Chambers writes to Gav Thorpe:

“Hey Gavy,

I was just winging my way along piloting the creative for Starcraft 2, when I felt I should take pity on you and throw you a bone. Remember that whole “Fleet” rule we started to give to everything back in 3^rd and 4^th edition? Well, next time you make a new edition, why not give Fleet to every unit?

Wishing you well,

- Andy “Coolio” Chambers”

Gav, his face painted red from being upset (and envious) at Andy, couldn’t help but feel that Andy was right. Fleet was a great special rule that allowed close combat units to get in faster with the enemy, and didn’t break the game. It also allowed shooters to move quickly to better set up. Giving every unit Fleet started to seem like a natural thing to do.

Gav walked in to Games Workshop Head Office in Nottingham and pitched the idea. 4^th Edition was starting to get a little dry again anyways. Some folks said they should go ahead first and get the new Dark Eldar Codex out of the way, but once Gav pitched the idea to everyone, a light when on. Everyone realized the potential that this opened up. Instead of bogging the game down in endless special rules, why not simplify things and speed up the game by allowing practically everything to simply move faster?

5^th Edition had its start, and that was Fleet. But a problem was starting to show up.

Fickle as he is, Andy Chambers had laced the amazing suggestion with a double-edged poisoned sword. If Fleet were to be given to every unit, it would destroy two things that players held dear.

First, it would allow every close combat army to get into close combat way too fast. It was okay for some units to get in that fast, but not all of them. But if they didn’t allow for such an all-encompassing rule, a massive overhauling and editing of unit-entries would have to occur to either give every sane unit Fleet, or give every insane unit something that prevented Fleet. Neither seemed the best option.

Secondly, giving almost every unit Fleet would take away the specialness of every unit that already had Fleet. The flavour of Fleet was something that was entrenched in the Eldar, and had also starting making some deep roots in the Tyranids as well. Giving everything Fleet meant that Eldar and Tyranids would need something that made them even faster than other armies – and that kind of speed would be too difficult to balance.

Gav was about ready to throw the whole thing out the door. Dark Eldar would get their new codex, and the Inquisitional forces would again get an overhaul. So many armies could get updated again that they could stretch out 4^th edition like they did 3^rd, and any new bright ideas could again be implemented with a “4.5 edition” article in White Dwarf, despite the confusion that brought upon those without a subscription.

Just then, Jervis Johnson broke through the door like a mighty Dwarf swinging a battle axe. He cried from the top of his lungs, “AND SO IT WAS SAID – MOST CAN RUN, BUT ONLY FEW CAN FLEET!”

This great announcement nearly broke the building in two, and seismologists halfway around the world in Australia noticed a small ripple appear on their instruments.

Now it was clear. Every infantry model could Run, but units that had Fleet would still have something over the models with run. It was instantly apparent what it had to be. Gav said allowed, “Units that Run can’t assault, unless they’re Fleet”. In this way, units with Fleet stayed exactly as they were. Other benefits could be given later if it was deemed necessary, but the core was there. If a unit were to Run, then that would be all it did. They wouldn’t be fast enough to still charge afterwards, but they didn’t just stand around doing nothing either. A unit with Fleet though, just like before, was faster. They could Run, but they could still charge after that run!

And so 5^th edition was back on track! Gav Thorpe had shown up Andy Chambers by taking his poisoned suggestion, and then turning it into aqua vitae!

The end.

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Fleet is a great rule to have, and when you can reach an opponent 18” away from you in 1 turn, it can have a huge impact on the game. When using it, just remember to not rely on it. Fleet is a random roll, so you could move 6” or you could move 1”. Just remember not to use it in a way that leaves you out in the open. On average you’ll make it 3.5”, so only assume it will work if all you need is an extra 3 inches out of it.

When working against Fleet, just remember how it modifies the way movement works. Your opponents may look far away now, but that distance can be closed extremely quickly. Keep the distance in mind. If they would need 6” to get to you, then you’re likely safe, but still probably too close. Let you opponent forget how far away their fleeted units are from the rest of their army, and let them chase you a bit, stretching themselves out. It’s far easier to deal with units piece-meal than it is to deal with them all at once.

That’s it for today! Next week I’ll FINALLY cover some of those Dirty Tactics you’ve been waiting for!

In-Focus: Eversor Assassin

Have you ever faced an Assassin? Warhammer 40,000 armies that are Imperial will often have the option of fielding an Assassin – a rare, and deadly, unit with a lot to fear. The first Assassin I ever faced off against was a Vindicare Assassin. Armed with his massive Sniper Rifle that could kill practically anything, this guy, to me, was more effective than a Lascannon.

Not only that, but he could pick off specific models within squads, forcing out all your sergeants, special weapons, and anything fancy.

But I didn’t lose that game – definitely not to the Assassin. At the end of the day, he still hit on 2+, and still wounded on 4+, just like any other snipers in the game (with the benefit of no armour saves allowed against him).

Now I use my own Assassin regularly as part of my Space Marine army – the Nighthawks. Assassins fit their theme very well. The Nighthawks are a stealthy Space Marine army, placing secrecy, and well-timed surgical strikes above such silly notions of honour or glory. Assassins seemed to fit the bill perfectly. My Assassin of choice? The Eversor Assassin (not in any small part because it was also the least expensive Assassin).

Through repeated uses, though, I’ve discovered that Assassins are NOT Spearhead units. They can’t just go gallivanting into enemy territory expecting to slash apart their enemies and then win the day – no matter how deadly they may at first appear.

In a way, Assassins are microcosms of Warhammer 40,000 as a whole. The Vindicare Assassin is about target priority with your shooting. The Culexus Assassin is about weird special rules that give you an edge against some opponents, but cost you against others. The Callidus Assassin is about taking out one key unit, no matter the cost. The Eversor is about brute strength of close combat.

This article will discuss the Eversor.

In many ways, the Eversor is the simplest and easiest Assassin to operate, aptly fitting its description as a human bomb. Release, and watch the carnage. This is very simple. But, as mentioned, the Eversor is a microcosm of the close combat aspect of Warhammer 40,000. In a sense, every dedicated close combat unit can be operated exactly as just mentioned – start with a squad of them, then release them at your opponent. If they get there, boom! You deal huge amounts of damage.

However, to best operate the Eversor Assassin, you must be more careful. Eversors have many strengths, and can be assigned many rolls:

- Anti-Heavy Vehicle

- Anti-Light Vehicle

- Anti-Heavy Infantry

- Anti-Light Infantry

- Character/Monstrous Creature Assassination

- Flanking

That’s a lot of options for a single unit – usually enough to classify it as a Spearhead unit. But, for as much as the Eversor represents the power of close combat units, it also represents their weaknesses. To further examine the Eversor, I think it’s prudent that we look at its unit entry a little more closely:

WS 5 (hits anything on either 3’s or 4’s)

BS 5 (S4 pistol, or Poison 4+ pistol)

S 4 (power weapon, or Poison 4+, or always glance on a 6)

T 4

W 2 (explodes when he dies)

I 5 (Infiltrate, Meltabombs)

A 3 (+1 for 2 CCWs, +1d6 instead of +1 when charging, 12” charge range)

Ld 10 (Fearless)

Sv 4+ (Invulnerable)

As you can see… a WACK-load of special abilities. Actually, he has another special ability (Fast Shot), but as of 5^th Edition it’s useless (Pistols being Assault 1 now – before, he always counted as stationary for purposes of shooting, which meant he could shoot his pistol twice, now that means absolutely nothing). Like all Imperial armies, the Eversor is more defined by his equipment rather than his stats. His stats, really, aren’t that impressive.

If you’re aiming to shoot with him, you’re probably doing something really wrong. Admittedly, there’s probably nothing wrong WITH shooting with him – but chances are that the shooting will be less than effective, and is really just an icing on the cake more than it is something worthwhile. If anything, being too tempted into using his Pistol can leave you more often in a bad spot (pulling you out of assault range if he kills with it) than it will help. Yes it can wound anything on a 4+, but if it’ so tough that it necessitates you using that aspect of it, then what you’re really hoping for is to get it in assault anyways.

The greatest asset of the Eversor Assassin is his charge range and bonus attacks. Whenever the Eversor Assassin could charge, take the range he could charge, and then double it. That means that, even when going through difficult terrain, he will still bound ahead of your opponent. Keep in mind, as an Independent Character, he also can move through cover more easily than most units. A 12” charge always catches people by surprise. Just when they think they’re safe at 18”, BAM, you’re in! Combined with his Infiltration ability, and you can be assaulting on turn 1 provided he’s out of Line of Sight of ANY units.

However, for as much as the Eversor Assassin is lethal, it is also very vulnerable. With only 2 wounds, a toughness of 4, and a 4+ (albeit invulnerable) armour save, the Eversor Assassin cannot spend any time out in the open, and dies pretty quickly in close combat too. A single squad shooting at it will most likely take it out. Not only that, but if your enemy fails to break, or there’s too many of them, the Eversor will get hit by so many retaliation attacks that he’ll likely blow up.

When fighting an Eversor, keep this fragility in mind. If you don’t get the chance to shoot at it as its darting through cover, watch what happens when it charges. Any squad it touches on the charge will likely be annihilated (though, since it does NOT have offensive grenades, it will strike last if it’s assaulting into cover). If the squad it charges is annihilated, you have a prime opportunity to take it out with shooting. If the squad miraculously survives and doesn’t kill it back, counter-charge. After that initial charge, the Eversor is MUCH weaker. Yes it explodes on death, but that’s nothing to the carnage it can do if it survives the next combat round and is allowed to charge again on the subsequent turn.

For those controlling the Eversor that go the slow and steady route (waiting to charge later rather than charge right away), be very careful not to get caught in the “grand melee” that can sometimes occur, with tons of units entering into a massive multi-unit combat. The Eversor does NOT thrive in this area! Your opponents will more often get hits back on the Eversor, and if you lose due to your side taking more casualties, the Eversor’s Fearlessness will keep him there, and he’ll probably die from having to take armour saves as a result of this.

Finally, when using the Eversor, always be mindful of what you’re attacking. If the vehicle didn’t move last turn, a melta-bomb is the way to go. If it did move, getting tons of attacks with the Neuro-Gauntlet (auto-glance on a 6) will more likely damage and shake the vehicle, allowing a melta-bomb on the next turn. If your opponent is T3, turn off that gauntlet (the Eversor still has a regular power weapon that ALSO ignores armour) so that you can wound on 3’s rather than 4’s. If you’re against a Monstrous Creature (Carnifexes are great targets), turn that Neuro-gauntlet on, as it TOO ignores armour saves.

Choose your targets carefully ahead of time. The Eversor is the checkers of the Assassins. If your opponent is poorly placed, 1 Eversor assassin can chew his way through as many as 3 units in relatively short time. If you poorly place your assassin, be prepared for him to go pop turn 1.

Snazzgunz: Relentless, Eternal Warrior, Furious Charge

Universal Special Rules. They simply sound terrifying. They’re Universal (big), they’re Special (awesome), and they’re a Rule (ticketable offense).

In Snazzgunz, I’ll be looking over the special rules that are ever-present throughout Warhammer 40,000. From the Universal Special Rules, to the Eldar Jetbikes special rules, to Tyranid special rules (wow there’s a lot there).

It’s interesting to look at the framework of Warhammer 40,000. Everywhere in the game we are presented with rules. Really, though, the game just has a few basics:

Infantry move 6”, assault 6”, you roll twice to see if you might deal damage to your opponent, and they roll once to see if they’re okay. That’s it. So in many ways, Warhammer 40,000 is a game about BREAKING the rules. Yes Infantry move 6”… but Infantry with Jump Packs move 12”! Yes you roll twice to see if you deal damage… but if you’re twin-linked you get to reroll some dice! Yes they get to roll to see if they’re okay… but NOT if you dealt the wound with a Power Weapon.

Universal Special Rules are rules that are likely to be found in multiple armies. The most common is the Invulnerable Save. It breaks the rule that, even when you don’t get a save, you still get a save (Boss Klopz: “Da metal skelliez don’t count!”).

Presented here are 3 other Special Rules that you’ll often run into. Maybe not all the time (these rules are usually found on Elite, HQ, or Heavy Support units), but you’ll still run into them quite often.

Relentless

The first is the Relentless Rule. This easy-to-learn rule allows a model to move, fire any weapons, and still assault. Most commonly you will encounter this rule when fighting Space Marines (all Terminator models gain this rule), or Tyranids (their Monstrous Creatures have this rule).

Relentless units are often all-round good Spearhead units. A Hive Tyrant is a powerful foe, but it remains deadly throughout the game largely due to the fact that every turn it’s on the table, it can cause some serious damage. In close combat, the Tyrant is a beast of Epic Proportions that even few Assault units can stand up to. At a range, the Tyrant can also be a menace, killing scores of light infantry, or punishing light vehicles. And every single turn, the Tyrant is moving towards its objective or enemy.

In this way, Relentless is a special Movement rule, since that is where it has its greatest impact. It allows units to keep moving, even if they would normally have to stand still. When using a Relentless unit, keep it on the move – either moving to a more advantageous position, moving to cover, moving to assault, or moving to the objective.

When facing a Relentless unit, try to control where the unit will move. The best direction is probably AWAY from you. As a Spearhead unit, if you break the spear’s tip, the rest can be blunted. Relentless units are often slow – so if they spend 1 turn going the opposite direction, they’ll need a whole 2^nd turn just to end back where they started… and since a game will likely only last 6 turns, you’ve just dealt with a deadly unit for 1/3^rd of the game.

Eternal Warrior

This uncommon special rule is most often found on HQ units, but also entirely throughout the Daemons codex. This rule makes you immune to the dreaded Instant Death clause. You may not see many Eternal Warriors out there, but it’s important to remember this rule when you do. The greatest players, sports stars, and chess champions in the world do as well as they do because they can exploit an opponent’s mistake.

Don’t be one of those people that make this mistake!

When you go into combat against an enemy, and you plan to take them out with a decisive Power Fist, Force Weapon, or similar attack – remember to consider Eternal Warrior. Instant Death does not come up often, but there are many armies that focus on using their Instant-Death causing characters/units to take out opposing characters. If that character turns out to have Eternal Warrior, then the attack falls flat.

By the same token, you can use your Eternal Warriors offensively in this matter, by pitting them against some of the deadliest enemies in the game and still expect to see them walk out of the fight alive.

Furious Charge

This is the real meat and potatoes I wanted to get at. This Universal Special Rule has been getting more spotlights recently from Games Workshop, mostly because every single Ork boy has it – and it is nothing to laugh at! At +1S and +1 Initiative, Furious Charge can make any assault-orientated unit doubly, or triply effective on the charge.

Nothing pisses off an Eldar Wraithlord more than when it gets charged by a Blood Angel Librarian with Furious Charge and a Force Weapon. They think they have it made, but then they realize that the Librarian only needs to do 1 wound to completely annihilate their Wraithlord. This would not be possible without Furious Charge.

It’s important to remember that Furious Charge takes effect after all other modifiers. So Ork Nobz with Power Klawz that charge are S9, not S10.

It’s often easy to forget the impact of Furious Charge. In Warhammer 40,000 we tend to think of Attacks and AP as the two biggest influencers of a weapon/model’s ability. However, Strength is probably the most important attribute after Toughness to a model. Toughness 4 is barely touched by S3 attacks (5+), able to shrug off S4 attacks (4+), vulnerable to S5 (3+) and akin to tissue paper at S6 (2+). No matter where you stand along the S3 to S5 curve, receiving +1 to your strength increases your unit’s deadliness.

That means a unit that hits on 4’s experiences a 33% increase in the number of wounds it would likely score if its attacks have the bonus from Furious Charge.

(Units that hit on 3’s experience only a 25% increase… still very sizable)

That’s like adding 3 extra models to a 9-man squad.

But you also have to remember the Initiative difference. That +1I can give you a further edge. Striking first in combat is a huge advantage, as you get to strike at full power, and your opponent will only strike back with whatever’s left (if there is even anything left).

When using Furious Charge, try to take advantage of it as often as possible. ALWAYS remember to use Hit & Run units where possible to regain the attack, initiative, and strength advantages of charging.

When fighting against units with Furious Charge, try to minimize its effects. Orks are most dangerous on the charge – so if they’re going to get to you the turn after they leave close combat, charge them instead! Deny them that advantage. Being stuck in the same combat turn after turn is the last thing units with Furious Charge want.

Always remember the impact that this can make on other rules as well. An Ork Warboss with a Big Choppa already receives a +2 bonus to Strength on top of S5. When that Furious Charge is added in, this brings the Boss up to S8 – often enough to deal Instant-Killing blows to HQs, and ruination to vehicles.

In-Focus: Space Marine Tactical Squad

Space Marines are undoubtedly one of the most common armies played in Warhammer 40,000. I would say that, on average, 1/3^rd of all armies you play against will be some form of Space Marine army. However, with the new full-sized codexes for Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and Black Templars, you could find yourself against a myriad of different types of Space Marines.

Described here though is the regular bread & butter Space Marine Tactical Squad. Every Space Marine army will be fielding at least 1 of these squads (with the exception of Scout armies, but that is truly the exception, and I have never seen one fielded). Even though some armies will have special rules that may modify how this squad functions, there are basic changes that will require that you shift your strategy marginally.

For example, Space Wolf squads will benefit from the Counter-Assault special rule, which take away many of the advantages of assaulting – specifically, the bonus attacks. This means that you cannot count on as many of your troops surviving an assault. Plan accordingly, and this should not be too much of an issue. It’s still better to charge rather than be charged, but it may not be worth it to throw low-initiative troops at them (like a stray, low-model count squad of Orks).

To sum up the Tactical Squad I need only 2 words – “great” and “flexible”. This can describe the Space Marines as a whole, but it’s because their basic troop is the template for almost every model in their army (each one being a minor change from this basic template).

Tactical Marines have a high save (3+), a good toughness (4), and the “They Shall Know No Fear” special rule. These stats alone account for most of their points cost. It means that, no matter what, a Tactical Squad is going to be a threat down to the very last man, and that it’s not going to be any small task getting there. This unit’s survivability means that it can contest objectives even when gravely injured, and can resist the Massacre! result better than most other armies.

Tactical Squads now, under the new 5^th edition codex, are better than ever thanks to the new “Combat Squads” special rule, allowing Space Marines to split up a maxed-out Tactical Squad into 2 squads. When they do so, it’s important to remember that although the squad takes up 1 slot in the Force Organization chart, they will function effectively as two distinct squads.

***Combat Squads, being only 5 models large, can sneakily grab an objective. Even these 3 models can claim and/or contest this objective.***

Tactical Squads (or their Combat Squad) will be designed for a purpose before the game begins. Space Marine players have to choose their special weapons in advance, and this will lock that squad in to a certain role. If they’re armed with a flamer and a Sergeant with a power weapon/fist, then you can be pretty sure that the squad is assigned to move around and engage in assault moves. If they’re armed with a Lascannon, they’re almost certainly anti-tank/monstrous creature.

You’re likely to run into many that carry Missile Launchers. They’re cheap, and can support the army in an anti-tank or anti-infantry manner. They’re not quite as good as the Heavy Bolter for fighting infantry (actually, they’re almost as good if not better in some circumstances), and not quite as good as the Lascannon for tanks, but their flexibility and low-cost really makes them shine.

Of special note is the Squad Sergeant. I like to think of the Sergeant as a special weapon model more than a support model when it comes to Space Marines. Since the Sergeant comes automatically with any squad, the only real difference is how he's armed. Most commonly you'll catch Sergeants with a Pistol and Power Fist, but don't let that fool you into thinking that's all you'll see. Many players will sacrifice the extra attack for a combi-weapon (plasma or flamer). These potent weapons can give the squad a small pump to handle a variety of opponents. Keep your eyes peeled for these combi-weapons, as they often come as a surprised to the unprepared.

The Tactical Squad’s basic armament, the Bolter, is also an incredible weapon – one that well-respected by many players. It has a good strength compared to most other small-arms, good range, rapid fire for close-range, and an AP that means a lot of non-Space Marine armies are going to lose their saves to your basic weapon. That’s quite a punch. Not only that, but Tactical Squads come equipped with Bolt Pistols too! Even though they are not carrying a close combat weapon (CCW), the Pistol is incredibly handy. It allows a Space Marine squad to effectively obtain a 3^rd attack each when charging (1 + 1 for charging + 1 for the pistol shot).

However, Tactical Squads must be cautious when using the pistol. If an enemy is just within reach of a charge, a few pistol shots and a flamer could allow their opponent to remove the first line of troops, preventing the assault. Use this information wisely.

Finally, Tactical Squads also are able to take a myriad of transport options. I’ll cover transports again in the future – but to sum it up quickly, they are allowed a Drop Pod, a light transport, and a heavy transport.

With Combat Squads, the most logical option for me would be to take the heavy transport option – the Razorback. The Razorback is everything the Rhino is, and more, and while carrying a combat-squad, the 6-model maximum restriction is easily overlookable. Remember, having an extra weapon makes the Razorback harder to kill and neutralize as a threat.

The Rhino is the classic Space Marine transport. Rhinos can carry a full Tactical Squad. This is most useful for assault-oriented armies, so if you see a Rhino, you can bet that the Space Marines will try to use this to bring in a large squad of ready Space Marines.

Finally, the Drop Pod is useful, and allows incredible tactical options at the beginning of the game, and does it all for a real bargain in points. However, it is stationary (auto-hit in close combat), and the Tactical Squad will not be able to re-embark to go somewhere else. Drop Pod forces are likely to land right where you don’t want them. If their entire force is embarked in Drop Pods, then prepare for a Drop Pod Assault Force (more on that in another article as well), otherwise, try to keep an eye on where would be a good spot for them to land. Plan your strategy accordingly. One of the biggest mistakes to make is to allow a single Drop-Pod to completely destabilize your army’s momentum. A Drop-Pod and the Tactical Marines within are expensive (close or over 200 points). If you can deal with it without letting it disrupt much of your army, you’re golden.