Space Marine Assualt Squad... The good, The bad & The ugly

[blastboy113]

Hello fellow Bols bloggers

I am here today to discuss the tactics that can help me around the use of an Assault Squad for regular Space Marines

I do admit I am somewhat lost for their use besides actually getting in combat and having a decent amount of dice rolls due to the extra charge bonus, two handed weapons.

But without the deepstrike and charge use from the Vanguards, I am stuck on the way on how to actually use a Assualt Squad sucessfully

Any tips or hints out there?

Cheers
Blastboy113

[DarkLink]

Alas, but they're just overpriced and underpowered for what you get. Their best use is for BA Razorback spam, and that's not even that special now.

[Wolfshade]

The thing to remember with them is that while they are the dedicated assault units compared with every other armies dedicated assault unit they are not good. If you want to increase their chances of survival then it is taking a full 10 man squad and hunt shooting troops.

[energongoodie]

I like them :)
I've had some luck with them with certain deployments.
I like to scoot them up the least protected side of the board trying to keep them in cover as best I can and not really get them in to trouble until turn 4.
I find them great for mopping up after shooting or contesting. I've tried using them as an iron fist to the face but with not much success, but a cheeky left hook when they're not looking has been quite good.

[Garradh]

Rush 'em up the flank with the most cover, get an assault in on one of the later game turns. I only use jump pack marines for DoA BA, and that's a completely different playstyle from Raptors or regular Assault Marines.

[Tynskel]

They are counter assault units, not Seek and Destroy.
You use them to support your tacticals, and they will always bring you a smile.

Seek and Destroy belongs to Sternguard, Vanguard, and Terminators.

[Angelofblades]

They are counter assault units, not Seek and Destroy.
You use them to support your tacticals, and they will always bring you a smile.

Seek and Destroy belongs to Sternguard, Vanguard, and Terminators.

So what do you do counter assault when your opponent has no intention of assaulting you.

[rusty84]

I've had mixed results with my assault squad, using them full on up the middle or as more of a pincer unit. Recently I converted a character with lightning claws and jump pack to use with the Kayvaan Shrike rules, thus giving my assault sqaud who he is attached to the infiltrate special rule!
Unfortunateley I still havent had chance to try this out and not sure what will change in the new codex!

[Tynskel]

So what do you do counter assault when your opponent has no intention of assaulting you.

Well, space marines are supposed to be in your face. Dakka with tacticals, mop up with the assault marines.

[DarkLink]

Doesn't make assault Marines any less terrible.

[Tynskel]

Terrible is complete overkill. Assault Marines are fine.
You just need to use them as a support unit. Because, that's what they are.

[DarkLink]

I've never seen a single assault squad in an even remotely competitive list, except for MSU BA Razorback spam, and unless the new codex does something, then I never will. A tactical squad provides a counter assault unit that isn't utterly useless at anything else, for cheaper, and its scoring. If you want a unit that can actually kill anything tougher than a Fire Warriors, take THSS Terminators.
Assault Marines fill no role that is either not relevant, not filled by a far superior unit elsewhere, or that they suck at whatever role it happens to be.

That they are theoretically useful is far from an argument that they are good. That's not to say that they aren't fun, but don't dilude yourself into thinking that makes them even remotely competitive. Even for BAs, who get them as troops and come with a bunch of extra rules to buff them, they're still stunningly mediocre at best.

[Tynskel]

I still disagree. The Assault Marines cost about the same as Tacticals with a transport. It really comes down to how you use them.

Taking advantage of their strengths is important. Armies like Ravenguard make assault marines terrifying.

[Garradh]

Assault Marines are never "terrible" . . . they aren't overcosted, they still beat non-assault troops of all makes in melee, and they have a continued maneuverability that transported assault infantry do not get. The most difficult thing to master with Assault Marines is how to take advantage of their 12" movement and follow-up charge to quickly bounce around an opponent's backfield. Don't go after the unit they expect you to go after unless it is to your advantage - go after a unit they weren't expecting because you have speed.

I would recommend never playing a full 10-man assault squad in a regular SM army, nor would I say 5 is enough. 7-8 is a solid mix of survivability, hitting power, and maneuverability. Flamers are great on them (or is this only a BA option?) but I prefer plasma pistols for the small boost to hitting power. Anything that flamers can tear up, chainswords can tear up.

Would Assault Marines be my first choice for a competitive Vanilla list? No. Do I play Raptors in my CSMs? No. Did I build an army around Assault Marines because they pay off so well when used right? Yes.

[Clymer]

I think they're pretty good, but shooting in 6th ed. is so good that for most situations where I might have wanted assault marines in the past, I find it's just better to use tacticals. Bikers are also a much superior choice. They have a lot more firepower, more toughness, and comparable manouverability. Plus they can be made into scoring troop choices. I tend towards a more fluid and generalized army, and I find that assault marines are too expensive, too specialized and too fragile. Yep, they're about the same cost as tacticals with a transport, but that rhino makes a big difference in the survivability of the tacticals over the assault marines.

That being said, assault marines have some fun combos if they work out right: take a squad of ten with a power fist and two flamers. Combat squad the flamers off to go hose stuff down with fire, and then send the sgt. off with a power fist or power axe chaplain. A squad of 10 with three plasma pistols can be a decent rear transport armor popper. Back it up with melta bombs or a power fist in case the pistols don't work. I guess you could also add a plasma pistol chaplain for more reliability. If the pistols do work, you should be in a good position to charge into whatever the transport was carrying.

In any case, I do agree that these are supporting characters, not the main event. Definitely an end game unit. I'd recommend putting them in reserve and whether I did deep strike or walked them on the board edge would depend on terrain, the enemy, etc.

Anyway, they can be fun, but unless I can make them scoring units and they get a lot cheaper in the new codex, then I'll only be bringing them out in bigger games, or in games that I'm not so serious about.

[ElectricPaladin]

IMHO, they are best as fast harassers. Pistols ain't bolters, but they ain't bad either. With their speed and ability to leap over terrain and other dudes, they can easily screen things you don't want assaulted, like important vehicles or dudes who do score.

Additionally, with some better AP weapons, they can actually just be ablative wounds for three 7/2 shots (or 8/1 melta, or whatever) that you can deliver to any spot on the board that you want.

[MisterCyto]

Raven Guard Assault Marines with Shadow Captain Korvydae (Take AM as troops) and Shrike. You can now start to think of a hoarde-like AM force with Infiltrate and Stealth. I like this army, very fluffy and a pain in the *** to play against if you rely on shooty units.

[Anggul]

I think they're mainly for tying up enemy shooting units. The issue is that in the time it takes them to get there and do that, a shooty unit could have killed most of that squad they were trying to tie up.

They should only be one point more than Tactical Marines, not three. I really don't understand why GW continue to believe that losing Bolters and scoring and gaining a CCW and Jump Pack is worth three points. It just isn't. One at most, seeing as unless they're Blood Angels or it's The Scouring they can't take objectives, and aren't actually that good in close combat. Most of the time you would rather just have Tactical Marines shooting at things.