Kill Team Guide: What you need to know about Space Marine Scouts and Tacticals

Space Marines have a frighteningly broad range of strategies available to them, as you would expect from a Faction which needs to contain quite a few Chapter themes and identities (close combat Blood Angels and sneaky shooty Raptors as opposite combat styles come to mind). I’ve written way more than I wanted to on this post, so settle in… this is going to be a long one. And we’re only covering Scouts and Tactical Marines!

In talking about the units in detail I run the risk of reproducing the Core manual, which then skirts dangerously close to copy write infringement. As such I will try to include as many details as needs to be clear, but if you want more you will need to buy the book. What will be included is:

• Name of the unit
• Different models in that unit (maximum number in brackets)
• Wargear options (but keep in mind they can’t carry everything at once!)
• Abilities
• Specialisations

Any other important pieces will be included in the analysis itself. Right, let’s get started.

Space Marine General Abilities

Unless stated otherwise, all Space Marine models have these.

• And they shall know no fear: You can re-roll failed Nerve tests for this model
• Transhuman Physiology: Ignore the penalties to Hit rolls from one flesh wound it has suffered

The message should be clear from this; Space Marines are tough, both in body and soul. Your Kill Team is less likely to break or become Shaken with this ability on top of their already good Leadership, which is a minimum of 7.

Transhuman Physiology also means that your Marines will still be at full fighting capacity even after suffering a flesh wound, which is effectively an extra half wound for your models. I’m reminded of an Inquisitor role-playing game I had, where a Space Marine character literally had half his lower body melted off but kept going. That’s what is being represented here.

Frankly you’ll need these though. Space Marines will usually be outnumbered, and these are some of the few tricks available to you to stay in the game after losing one or two models.

Moving on to specific models.

Scout

• Models: Scout, Scout Gunner (2), Scout Sergeant (1)
• Wargear: Boltgun, Bolt pistol, Frag and Krak grenades, Combat knife, Astartes Shotgun, Sniper Rifle and Camo cloak, Heavy Bolter (Gunner only), Missile Launcher (Gunner only), Missile Launcher and camo-cloak (Gunner only), Chainsword (Sergeant only)
• Specialisations: Leader (Sergeant only), Heavy (Gunner only), Comms, Demolitions, Scout (duh), Sniper

Abilities

• Camo cloak: If the target of a shooting attack, and obscured, then the Hit roll suffers an additional -1 (for a total of -2)

Scouts became popular in 40K in 7^th Edition, where they became normal Space Marines with a slightly worse save but far better abilities and special rules. They don’t have the special weapons of the Tactical Marines but have their own unique weapons in the shotgun and sniper rifle. As medium infantry they’re more than capable of standing up to other faction equivalents and can be kitted out for close combat.

Scouts in Kill Team carry on this legacy of usefulness. Armed with boltguns or combat knives they fulfil the role of all-round combatant, with frag and krak grenades able to augment their combat abilities. Shotguns are decent enough, but they are drastically short ranged in Kill Team having a half-range of just 6-inches. They will hurt more than the average bolter, but perhaps not worth the smaller threat circle.

Interestingly the camo cloak must come with a sniper rifle now, a move by Games Workshop to avoid calls for cloaks in the bolter armed scout kit. That’s just fine though. If you’re using a sniper rifle you’re going to be camping the back-field cover anyway, and the camo cloak adds a lot to survivability.

The missile launcher and heavy bolter add some real punch to the model. I would always recommend the Heavy specialisation for the heavy bolter, to move and fire Hellfire shells. You can also use the Heavy Specialisation tactic to fire more shots if you don’t have the Command Points for Hellfire. The missile launcher and camo-cloak combo can work well with a Sniper spec, as you’ll just need to sit near the back.

By Ready-ing your model all the time, and with a krak missile that’s not likely to miss, you threaten every model in Kill Team with instant death. This means you can effectively block off every bit of open ground within view of the missile launcher. You’ll also get a cool interaction between Demolition Spec and using Frag missiles, firing off d6 shots at 48 inches and wounding nearly every model in Kill Team in cover on a 2+. A Comms buddy with a sniper rifle just rounds off the combo, helping you get that hit.

A scout Sergeant Leader with a sniper rifle and camo cloak is a defensive choice, keeping your source of Command Points safely near the back. The camo cloak keeps him safe from shooting attacks, and the Sniper rifle allows him to contribute to combat from the rear.

One final word on Sniper rifles; the special mortal wound mechanic activates on 6+ wound rolls, not to Hit, meaning that DemolitionSpecialists interact better with them.

You won’t be able to field a classic 5-man Scout squad as a single force in Kill-team. At best you get up to 66 points, so you’ll need to bulk out with some other models. However, a cool combination is as below:

• Scout Sergeant leader with sniper rifle and camo cloak
• Scout Gunner Heavy with Heavy Bolter
• Scout Gunner Demolitions with Missile launcher and camo cloak
• Scout Comms Specialist wit sniper rifle and camo cloak

That chunky firebase and backfield command point generator comes to just 56 points, giving you plenty spend on front line meat shields. Replacing the Scout Sergeant with an Intercessor Sergeant means you can bulk out with an Intercessor front line from one of the cheapy easy build packs. A scary thought since these guys are utter bullet sponges in Kill Team, and the scouts will be hitting very hard from the back!

Tactical Marines

• Models: Tactical Marine, Tactical Marine Gunner (2), Tactical Marine Sergeant (1)
• Wargear: Boltgun, Bolt pistol, Frag and Krak grenades, Heavy Bolter or Missile Launcher (1 Gunner only), flamer or meltagun or plasma gun or grav-gun (1 Gunner only), Combi-flamer or -plasma or -melta or -grav (Sergeant only), grav-pistol or plasma pistol or bolt pistol and chainsword or powerfist or auspex (Sergeant only)
• Specialisations: Leader (Sergeant only), Heavy (Gunner only), Comms, Demolitions, Sniper, Veteran

Abilities

• Auspex: At the start of the shooting phase, choose an un-Shaken model within 3-inches. This model does not have any negative modifiers to Hit or Injury due to being obscured.

I feel like Tactical Marines seem rather questionable in Kill Team compared to other options available to you. It’s much the same in regular 40K but I think Games Workshop have exacerbated the problem, mostly due to the strange restrictions on picking wargear. However, there are some really powerful combos here.

The advantage of Tactical Marines over Scouts is the 3+ armour save and more mobile special weapons. Weirdly enough Scouts can be better pocket Devastator equivalents thanks to being able to take 2 heavy weapons, with the Tacs only being able to take one heavy and one special for their gunners.

That’s not to say they’re rubbish compared to Scouts, since special weapons are sometimes far better than heavy, but you need to be aware of what you’re doing with them.

Flamers work great with Demolitions specialists, since you’ll be auto-hitting models in cover and getting a +1 to Wound on them. This makes them a highly aggressive model, Advancing every turn and incinerating any model they cover (flamers being Assault weapons and not caring about the -1 to Hit for Advancing). They also be a pain to deal with due to their 3+ Save and great Overwatch ability. Flamers also work niftily with Veterans for 1^st turn burning, and you can see why on my article on Veteran specialisations.

Plasma weapons work extremely well with the Sniper specialisation, the re-roll of 1s on to Hit rolls meaning you can overcharge every turn more safely. Nothing more needs to be said about that, beyond pairing up with a Comms specialist to avoid negate negative modifiers to Hit due to cover. Transhuman physiology also ensures you can keep overcharging with a Flesh wound, which sustains the model’s threat potential.

There’s not much use for meltaguns in Kill Team, as I can’t think of anything with a wound value of more than 2. Meltaguns with their high damage values are better against big targets in the main 40K game, and are overkill against the regular Troopers you’ll find in Kill Team. That said, a Heavy Specialist advancing around with a meltagun can be a nasty and mobile surprise for someone not expecting it.

Grav-guns used to be the defining feature of the Space Marine codex, but with the change from wounding on the model’s Save value to a standard strength of 5 it lost a lot of its potency in 40K. It’s not bad in Kill Team, as it’s safer to use than the plasma and has better range than the meltagun. Whether it’s worth taking over the Demolitions/Flamer or Plasma Sniper combo is debateable but is certainly something to consider if you have no specialisations left to spend on the carrying model.

In terms of Heavy weapons, what I’ve mentioned with Scouts applies here too. The difference is that with a 3+ save you don’t have to hide in cover so much (although you really should!).

The Sergeant is where things go a bit wrong for the Tac Marines, as it needs to make compromises which seem a bit strange. But on further inspection, the restrictions do seem necessary for reducing what would otherwise be an overpowered model.

To take a combi-weapon, the Sergeant must lose its bolt pistol. That’s not much of a problem, but it is an awkward and easy-to-forget restriction. Combi-plasma might be the most effective in 40K (since you can gain a re-roll 1 buff for a whole unit instead of 1 model from nearby Captains), but in Kill Team you can make a strong case for any combi weapon.

Flamers will make your Serg more aggressive and pairs up nicely with a Demo Flamer as a buddy group. The Leader Tactic would also make for an interesting forward fighting pair, if you were happy in risking your Command Point generator.

Combi-plasma hits hard, but not worth the risk of overheat. Grav is actually quite useful on this model, allowing him to blaze away safely and still hit quite hard. Combined with a Comms specialist this translates to 4 shots at 9-inch range, two of which are quite damaging to armour.

The grav pistol is also a good choice for a melee-oriented Sergeant. Safer than the plasma, it provides a decent level of punch for a single point. The chainsword is a free extra attack, and the power weapons are both viable for the sergeant (but the most optimal will require some research).

The auspex is an interesting bit of kit, and it would have to be since you forgo both combi- and close combat weapon for it. Paired with a plasma-sniper or Heavy it can be a good alternative to the Comms Specialist against models in cover. This would free up a Specialist slot or allow two firebase pairs (Comms/Sniper, Sergeant/Heavy). Give the Sergeant a grav-pistol and it will somewhat make up for the loss of range and double-tap.

Suggestions

Quite a few ideas are sprinkled in there, and you can pick out the ones that appeal to you. However, there are some combinations which are fairly safe bets:

• Plasma sniper Tactical Marine: There shouldn’t be anything in Kill team this can’t deal with. Be warned, it does paint a target on your back.
• Demolitions Flamer: Aggressive and a nightmare. A real diamond, but as expensive as the plasma sniper.
• Heavy Bolter Heavy: A match made in heaven, which can move and fire more shots or Mortal Wounds.
• Grav-pistol/Auspex pseudo Comms Sergeant: A neat way of freeing up a specialist slot or making another firebase pair.
• Combi-flamer Sergeant: An extra aggressive flamer unit is always helpful, and pairs up neatly with the Demolitions flamer.

I would like to recommend Scouts more, but after some thought Tactical Marines really do shine with their Special weapons and lack of reliance on cover. Close combat scouts are also a good idea, since it’s a niche the Tactical Marines lose out on.

Right, that’s four times what I wanted to write… and we haven’t even gotten to the Primaris Marines yet! Hopefully we’ll get to them by Wednesday. Let me know in the comments if there's any cool tricks I missed, as I'm sure there are some.

If you're looking to pick up some Scouts you can grab them for cheaper from Element Games. There isn't a cheaper way to get them apart from eBay as of yet. You can also pick up Tactical Marines there, and the Start Collecting kit will give a dreadnought and Captain on top of the Tactical Squad. Keep in mind that these rules also apply to Space Wolves and Blood Angels, each with their own unique kits.

If you use the links above I get a small percentage of the sales, which keeps the blog running and my club in extra paint and brushes.

Until next time!

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