Potential Space Marine 1850

[nidzy]

So I am trying to make an 1850 list that I may finish out to 2k for a tournament. 1850 for now because that is what my friends and I play regularly.

I wanted brutal shooting output so this is what I came up with:

100 librarian: axe, bolt pistol

125 dreadnought: 2 tl autocannons
185 7 stern guard: 2 missile launchers, 5 bolters

205 10 man tac squad: missile launcher, flamer, rhino
205 10 man tac squad: missile launcher, flamer, rhino
100 5 man scout squad: cammo cloaks, 4x sniper rifle, missile launcher

155 stormtalon gunship: cyclone ml
155 stormtalon gunship: cyclone ml
180 2 landspeeders: typhoon ml, heavy bolter

120 predator: las sponson, autocannon
120 predator: las spons, autocannon
100 thunderfire cannon
100 aegis defense line: quad gun

Libby hangs out with a tac squad or sternguard and maybe mans the quad gun. Ideally I will set up a gunline behind the ADL. In a pinch, I can hop in the rhinos and push up on objectives. Otherwise the rhinos can hide from being first blood and then work to impede enemy movement or to block line of sight.

What is this list lacking? Any suggestions on how to move some points around for more efficiency? I don't think sterguard are the best missile platform that I have. Going up to 2000 I may take more missile launcher speeders (potential 2k tournament allows double FOC) but the sternguard add a nice bonus with the special ammo.

[nidzy]

Hah! Hive says "bor-ing"


jerks:p

[infornography]

Sorry, this forum doesn't get a lot of attention.

Lets see what we can do here.

A few notes right off the bat, with codex: Space Marines you really should be taking one of the named characters.

Most lists either utilize Vulkan for his twin linking of all of your army's flamers and meltas and master crafting of thunderhammers, or Pedro Kantor for his making Sternguard troops.

Shrike is also a good choice.

Any way that you go will dramatically alter your list's character. The reason it is recommended you pick one of them is that they hand out powerful buffs for your list that can be synergized with. When I tried running with only generic HQs I always ended up regretting it.

Another note, drop some of those missile launchers. Sternguard are mostly infantry hunters and the MLs will be wasted with them. Their specialized ammo is what makes them great so leave them all with bolters or combi weapons. The ML in your scouts squad is directly counter to the profile of sniper rifles since they do nothing significant to vehicles. On the other hand the scout heavy bolter has really nasty poisoned ammo that works very well with the profile of sniper rifles.

Also Sergeant Tellion is really good with the scout squad and manning the quad gun. What I usually do is have the tech marine that comes with the thunderfire cannon buff a large ruin and put the ADL next to or in front of that ruin so that the scouts with their camo cloaks get a 2+ cover save from the ruin and tellion mans the quad gun and snipes out problem characters in enemy units when flyers aren't needing to be swatted with his BS6. Also with the interceptor trait on the quad gun he can fire on the enemy's turn when something comes in from reserve and snipe with his custom bolter on his turn. This synergy works very well. The FAQ added a camo cloak to Tellion so no worries there.

On the land speeders, with the way that 6th edition changed rules for fast speeders, they can drop in and fire both weapons so it is generally a good idea to double up with guns sharing a target profile. I run my speeders with either double multimeltas or double heavy flamers. Also if you take Vulkan both of those get twin linked for free making them devestating. Typhoons and heavy bolters want different targets ideally so they make a poor combination.

One last note, you don't have any bad units in your list there but you have a couple you could do without. A predator and the dread for instance. There is one unit that the Space Marine codex has that is one of the best in the game. Thunderhammer/Storm Shield Terminators. They are the high watermark that all other codecies compare their heavy infantry to. Easily one of the scariest units to have to face. I highly recommend fielding at least 5 of them and consider taking a land raider to put them in.

Feel free to message me directly if you have any questions. It took me a while to get the hang of Codex:Space Marines but I now have a solid track record with them and have learned a lot about what works and what doesn't. I don't frequently check this nook of the forum so I can't promise I will respond quickly unless you message me.

[jahatch42878]

I second a lot of infornography's statements.. I'm currently in a fixed list campaign with a generic captain and having a hard time with my mostly tactical squad and sternguard force...

The only nice thing about the sternguard heavies is they are cheap... you can make a mini-devastator squad with 2 lascannons for cheap, but then you are not using their custom ammo to fire at infantry, so it isn't the best use of points... a 10 man sternguard unit that you can break into 2 combat squads (one with 2 lascannons, the other with any combi-meltas or what not isn't bad though...)...

Missile Launchers (to me) are great in theory but just don't cut it unless you refuse to fire them at vehicles and just use them to bolster your bolters if any are in range.. turn 1, fire off those krak missiles at enemy rhinos, chimeras, whatever, but after that, you should be targetting infantry cuz otherwise you are wasting 80% of that combat squad...

also, other than a few sponsoons on your predators, I don't see any AP1 or 2 weapons... terminators, obliterators, and any AV13 or 14 vehicles are going to give you are really hard time... so, as inforno said, consider multimeltas on the landspeeders or change one predator over to TL lascannon turret.

You do have a lot of shots from your gun line, but you don't have anything to deal with deep striking terminators in your own deployment zone (other than interceptor fire)... maybe it is kinda too easy to get on the bandwagon, but some plasma guns mixed into your list or some AP2 melee weapons would at least give you some more armor penetration and anti-elite enemy options that I think you are lacking...

against a horde army, orks, 'nids, or in a shoot out against Tau or IG you probably will do okay, but against an elite MEQ army I think you might have trouble as it stands now (or at least I know I do with my list that is similar to yours @ 1000 and 1500 pts)

[NidsAndMarines]

When I play my marines I also like a libbie as Warlord but with 3+ sv and no invul he goes squish too easily - giving up easy StW vp. So I've started putting him in termie armour, making him carry a SS and then deciding between stave and axe. Then he's 2+/3++ and either S6 AP4 I4, or S5 AP2 I1 - really depends on play style and what you think he might have to face. And either hide him backfield, or in with a squad of TH/SS termies (poss in a LR/SR) and you'll be surprised how well he survives.
Last tourney I played, libbie won me my first match by smashing in the back door of an IG chimera bottom of turn5 with his staff
As for SG, every time I see them take a weapon that's not a bolter/combi weapon so they lose their special ammo I cry a little. Special ammo is great and for 5 pts the combi weapons are a real must buy. 10 men in a drop pod, combat squad as they disembark, 5 meltas into the nearest Leman Russ, Ghost Ark or whatever - BOOM! and goodnight - then 5 flamers/plasmas into backfield mush and jobs a good 'un!