Tabletop Teacher

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, l...

We’re kicking off our look at the Space Marines by analysing their tactics first, before we get into speaking specific units. I’ve written way more than I intended to on this topic, so settle in! The tactics for the Space Marines fall into two general categories: general ones usable by anybody and model specific tied to a particular model. Whilst it might look like they have more Tactics than other factions on the surface, the majority are quite situational, and you’ll probably be looking to use the Basic Tactics first. General Tactics Tactic: Death to the Traitors Use when you select a model to fight in the Fight phase To hit rolls of 6+ result in an extra attack against that model Only useable against Heretic Astartes Cost: 1CP This is a similar, more restricted version of the Zealot tactic. I’ve gone over that one already in the Zealot specialisation post and the same criticism applies here. It’s not one I’d spend precious CP on, unless I had tooled u...

I was initially cool on the idea of the Veteran, blinded as I was by ogling the higher tier abilities. However, on further examination of the tactic I think it will be one of the most used Specialisations and is destined to get calls for a nerf bat. Zealot… well, it sounds cool? Here are some of the ground rules before we go into discussing the Specialists. I’ll only be talking about them in terms of Matched Play, which means the following: Tier 1 only, so only the first ability and level 1 Tactic Only 4 Specialists per team One must be a Leader Each specialist must be unique in the Kill Team (i.e. you can’t field 2 Combat specialists) Veterans The one specialisation I would go cowboy with, having supreme first turn mobility when paired with an assault flamer weapon. They’re also slightly more resistant to the fear caused by going solo. Grizzled: This model ignores penalties to is Leadership characteristic and Nerve tests Not as exciting as some of the other Sp...

I’m trying to stick to a lower but consistent blog schedule, usually taking Tuesday, Thursday and the weekend off. However, I’m always eager to respond to reader requests and Spoonlamp had this question: "I know you've been concentrating on Killteam lately,  but any thoughts on scalable anti-armour for Blood Angels? Hellblasters v Dev squad? Redemptor Dread v Pred?" It’s a good question, and the answer is largely the same for any Space Marine force. As of now Hellblasters are your best bet for anti-armour, but that comes with a few conditions. In general with Blood Angels your best options are going to be melta-gun Assault Marines or any close combat unit with a power fist. However, we'll look at the traditional anti-armour options with this post. Hellblaster Hellblasters with their plasma incinerators offer the best balance between offence and defence for a Blood Angel player. They’re twice as tough as Devastators (quite literally… double the Wounds), an...

Happy Monday everyone! Here we look at the Scout and Sniper, both of who evoke images of sneaky ninjas, spelling death from the shadows. However, one is better at being a big meaty wall and tackler, and the other is better as a machine gunner! Here are some of the ground rules before we go into discussing the Specialists. I’ll only be talking about them in terms of Matched Play, which means the following: Tier 1 only, so only the first ability and level 1 Tactic Only 4 Specialists per team One must be a Leader Each specialist must be unique in the Kill Team (i.e. you can’t field 2 Combat specialists) Scout Not a great specialisation at first glance but has its uses when you’re better at the game. This really comes into its own in campaign and higher tiers, so if you’re a new player and only sticking with Matched play it might be a good idea to skip. Swift: You can re-roll Advance rolls for this model Woo? Okay, not the best ability, but I’m hoping thi...

The Heavy is exactly what you’d expect; the juggernaut with the biggest gun they can find laying down a hail of bullet hell. The medic… well, less of a doctor and more of a Painboy. Here are some of the ground rules before we go into discussing the Specialists. I’ll only be talking about them in terms of Matched Play, which means the following: Tier 1 only, so only the first ability and level 1 Tactic Only 4 Specialists per team One must be a Leader Each specialist must be unique in the Kill Team (i.e. you can’t field 2 Combat specialists) Heavy Specialist I’m sure the designers had the Heavy from Team Fortress 2 in mind when they planned this! A straight up buff for any Heavy Weapon user, with some rather interesting uses for Special Weapons carriers with multi-shot Assault weapons. Relentless: This model does not suffer the -1 penalty for shooting with a Heavy Weapon after moving in the proceeding movement phase, or for Shooting in an Assault weapon after advan...

The Space Wolf “chapter tactic” has been revealed over at Warhammer Community , and it looks like I was right in my prediction! Well, sort of. Back in March I predicted the Space Wolf trait to be the same as the recently revealed Necron one for the Novokh dynasty. Everything I say there about how why this would be good for the Space Wolves is still true, so if you want to read a discussion about how this would work with the Vylka Frenryka have a quick look there first. Games Workshop were a little more careful with their buff on the Space Wolves in comparison to the Necrons, perhaps because of the Sons of Russ are more universally close combat themed. Whereas a Necron Warrior or Immortal is defensive and ranged first, an average Grey Hunter is likely to have two attacks thanks to the chainsword with some power weapons thrown into the squad. As such, adding 1 to Hit rolls makes them a lot better than base on the charge or receiving one, without making them too strong. ...