Howdy guys, this is going to be the collective thread for my Space Marine articles, including the stuff regarding the Badab War books. Cheers! Just a note that I'm still going with the Space Marine Tactica; progress is much slower than I had hoped due to really bad writers block at the moment. I am also not going to include my usual Initial Impressions article here as it has already been covered on the BoLS front page; instead, you can view it [URL="http://imperatorguides.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/tactica-space-marines-initial-overview.html"]here[/URL] if you haven't seen it yet :)
A big FYI to anyone wondering about Black Templars; I am covering each of their unique units in a separate article after I have reviewed the rest of the codex!
To minimize on post numbers, I have put more than one article in this post, and will clearly mark the separate articles.
GENERIC CHARACTERS
Hey guys, I am Learn2Eel and this is my Codex: Space Marines Tactica! Today, I will be looking at the lesser known but certainly no less zealous or worthy heroes of the Space Marines; the commanders, purifiers and psykers that lead the many thousands of Chapters into glorious conflict. I hope you enjoy this article!
The Space Marines have a large array of generic characters to choose from, with characters that have distinct roles in an army list and fulfill them admirably. The Captain and Chapter Master are combat-oriented heroes that can allow army list manipulation when certain wargear options are chosen, while Librarians, Chaplains and Masters of the Forge are primarily geared to varying forms of support. The addition of Chapter Relics and the streamlining of wargear costs leads to tougher choices than previously for which character to lead your army; gone are the days when a Librarian was a default choice due to Null Zone and the like. Now, there are intrinsic benefits to employing a Chapter Master in place of a Captain, and so on, rewarding your choices in a considered fashion. As well, the differing Chapter Tactics certainly boost the viability of individual choices by considerable margins!
Part One of the Generic Characters section covers the Chapter Master, Honour Guard, Captain, Terminator Captain and Command Squads. Part Two will cover the remaining generic HQ choices.
Chapter Master
Overview - Chapter Masters are the most expensive generic commander choice for a Space Marine army, and with good reason; they are the toughest, most deadly and have the most potential as a true Warlord. For a rather hefty price increase over a regular Captain, the Chapter Master gains an extra wound, an extra attack as well as the option to take the much improved Honour Guard squads as opposed to the somewhat less cost effective (in a melee role) Command Squads. Additionally, the Chapter Master has access to an Orbital Bombardment, allowing for an imprecise but deadly Ordnance Barrage large blast weapon with Strength 10 and AP1 with an infinite range. The lack of scatter-reduction means that using an Orbital Bombardment is hardly guaranteed to work, especially considering it also disallows the Chapter Masters' movement, though it must be said that when it hits something, that thing dies almost without fail. For such reasons, many prefer a Bike or Terminator armour to gain the Relentless special rule and not disallow movement with the Orbital Bombardment.
The Chapter Master is your ideal combat character, and now that he also unlocks Bike squads of five or more as Troops choices much like a Captain or Khan, you can employ him in a White Scars or mostly bike-mounted force with little penalty. If you want a Warlord that doesn't sacrifice secondary objectives easily, and puts out the most damage by far, then a Chapter Master with equipment to taste should be your first choice for a Warlord. However, the cost difference between one and a Captain is significant, so I would typically reserve their use until you reach games of at least 1500 points or more.
How to Equip Them - There is no "best" way to equip a Chapter Master due to the limitless permutations of wargear and how each choice works into a given army list. In this sense, you should always model a character's equipment to best benefit both themselves and any unit they will join or work with. For example, a Chapter Master in a bike-heavy detachment will likely want to join his comrades in the "saddle", particularly due to the efficient mobility and durability bonuses it grants as well. Overall, if you have the points spare, I would usually give the Shield Eternal to your Chapter Master - particularly if they are both your Warlord and are expected to get into the thick of things. The bonus to Deny the Witch and granting Eternal Warrior are well worth the significant increase in points over a regular Storm Shield.
The choice of melee weapon for any character is largely dependent on what you expect to face, but for a character preparing to face any foe - and this goes double for one with the Shield Eternal - I would recommend a thunder hammer. The Chapter Master should be tough enough already to tank the wounds, and the thunder hammer combines sure hitting power from four or more attacks with the Concussive special rule to even the playing field with high Initiative characters such as Phoenix Lords. Artificer Armour is always a worthwhile upgrade given the potential of a "wound tank" when combined with units such as Devastator Centurions or Vanguard Veterans. For ranged weapons, I would recommend a combi-grav weapon or similar to make use of Relentless if he is on a Bike or in Terminator Armour; otherwise, the Primarch's Wrath is actually a cheap and useful weapon.
Where to Put Them - As you are already paying for an expensive combat character - and have likely upgraded them to maximise those abilities - it is probably best to put them with a unit that is itself a decent combat threat. Depending on wargear choices, Assault Terminators, Vanguard Veterans and Bikers all make apt choices for the more "elite" forces out there. However, an Honour Guard squad is almost the perfect unit for a Chapter Master to accompany; they are very cheap considering they each have Artificer Armour and power weapons stock. Combined with a cheap or expensive means of delivery - such as Drop Pods, Rhinos or Land Raiders - and you have yourself one nasty melee unit for a reasonable price.
Honour Guard are effectively discount Assault Terminators; though they are more vulnerable to AP2 weaponry due to the lack of an invulnerable save, the Chapter Master himself - if equipped with the Shield Eternal - should make a more than acceptable 'wound tank'. If you want to save yourself points on both models and their transport though, I feel Bikers make the best choice for a Chapter Master, due to their versatility, mobility and innate durability. Provided the Chapter Master has Artificer Armour, they can laugh off some of their deadliest foes - such as Heldrakes - and they add an extra, cost effective Troops choice to boot.
Best Uses - Because a Chapter Master pays quite a few points for boosted stats not only over a Captain, but over the other generic HQ choices, it goes without saying that you should invest in their melee abilities. Any other use of a Chapter Master can usually be better performed by a Librarian, a Master of the Forge or even a Chaplain for less. As well, they are not as suited to smaller games as a Captain; while the price increase is certainly justified, 6th Edition is very much about "boys before toys", and thus you should focus on getting as many properly equipped units into battle as possible early on.
I would reserve going all out on a major combat character build for very large games due to the insane cost of building one up to the levels possible with the acquisition of chapter relics; it must be noted though that these characters are insane when kitted out for bear. Personally, I would keep their cost low with gear such as a bike, a power weapon or thunder hammer, perhaps the Shield Eternal, and maybe Artificer Armour, and leave it at that. Anything more becomes a colossal investment over a large one, and the returns start to diminish long before that. Keep them as cost efficient as possible by not going overboard with the wargear, but give them enough so that they can be a combat beat-stick that doesn't give up Slay the Warlord so easily.
Chapter Tactics - Chapter Masters benefit most from which Chapter Tactics meshes best with their wargear. If you went all out on a crazy combat character with the Shield Eternal and preferably mounted on a bike, take Iron Hands and enjoy having a nigh immortal Warlord that crushes anything in his path. Otherwise, Black Templars and Salamanders should prove very useful, with the addition of re-rolls to hit in challenges and Rending, or master-crafting a free weapon, respectively.
Honour Guard
Overview - The Honour Guard are elite soldiers handpicked to be the Chapter Masters' personal bodyguard, and have received a major points reduction since 5th Edition that has announced them as a strong contender for the top melee unit in the codex. Compared to a Veteran from a Command Squad, the Honour Guard pay only minimally more per model to gain a power weapon of their choice as well as Artificer Armour; never mind the boost to the Leadership or the downright scary Chapter Champion!
When put next to Assault Terminators, Honour Guard dish out either the same number or more attacks, have the same armour save, lack an invulnerable save, can perform Sweeping Advances - which is incredibly important against Necrons and securing subsequent assaults in your own turn - and have access to two different Standards. And they end up being a wealth of points cheaper per model than Terminators of either variety to boot! This has led to many referring to Honour Guard as 'discount Assault Terminators', which is certainly true to an extent; unfortunately, you cannot take an Honour Guard unit without employing a Chapter Master, nor you can take more than you have Chapter Masters themselves. This limits the uses of the unit, while the lack of any ranged weapons of note means that a wrecked transport early in the game - excluding a Drop Pod - can ruin their otherwise bloody day. Unlike Terminators, they have little real defence against cover-ignoring over-charged Ion Accelerators, but they do make up for it with more ablative wounds for less points that effectively pay for a Chapter Master himself. They are a devastating unit if you can get them into combat with almost anything.
How to Equip Them - Unlike most Space Marine units, particularly regular Command Squads, the Honour Guard have very little variation with their equipment; they can all take relic blades, while the Chapter Champion can take a thunder hammer. These come at the cost of their regular power weapons, and are expensive upgrades to boot; I wouldn't bother with the relic blades aside from one or two, as similar roles can be filled through having free power axes. Besides, a regular power sword with four or more attacks on the charge per model is nothing to sneeze at. The thunder hammer on the Chapter Champion is a handy choice, but you need to weigh up whether striking last for a character that will likely be in a challenge - they must issue and accept challenges after all! - is worth the increase in damage potential against vehicles and higher Toughness models. Honour Guard come stock with boltguns in addition to their bolt pistols and power weapons, allowing them to at least contribute some anti-infantry shooting in case they are left out in the open and away from an assault.
The two Standard choices are interesting, but will ultimately come down to spare points and personal preference; the Chapter Banner is very useful with the re-rolls on Leadership-based tests it provides, as well as the extra attack it gives to the Honour Guard - five power weapon attacks per model on the charge? Yes please! As for the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, it provides the re-rolls for morale and pinning tests much like the Chapter Banner, but loses out on the attack bonus to instead give friendly Space Marine units within 6" the Hatred special rule and a +1 bonus to combat resolution in an assault. While this can be quite useful, it really promotes a slew of assaults resolved in the same phase; the 6" range doesn't really cover too much ground, and given Space Marines new-found vulnerability to template and blast weapons in 6th Edition, I question whether this will be utilized much at all. Additionally, the bearer's unit causes Fear, though this is a very situational special rule - as Chaos Space Marine players have learned - and probably won't be that useful against the units you actually need it against.
Where to Put Them - Generally speaking, you purchase Honour Guard to provide a Chapter Master with a fluffy and quite powerful bodyguard unit; for such reasons, you can probably guess where I recommend sticking them. Where exactly this leads to on the battlefield is probably a choice of army list; a drop pod assault list would probably allow the Honour Guard to pop in without stirring up as much of a fuss as they would if they were in a Land Raider. It is also the cheapest and most reliable method of getting them into the enemy battle line, though you need to make sure other priority targets - such as Ironclad Dreadnoughts and Sternguard Veterans - are dropped in simultaneously to strengthen the chances the Honour Guard will survive return fire. Alternatively, you may want to reserve them for the second wave to promote your alpha strike as much as possible; that is, of course, the whole point of a drop pod assault. In a mechanized army list, a Rhino would probably be your best bet simply because it is cheap and, combined with various Chapter Tactics, able to get close to the enemy very quickly.
I would avoid a Razorback as it is expensive and will likely be sacrificing moving as far as possible each turn to fire its expensive turreted gun. While fire support is nice for a unit lacking in ranged options, it ultimately will just slow down the unit and be too expensive compared to a cheap and reliable Rhino. The final and most expensive option is to put them in a Land Raider, and Honour Guard are one of the few units that I would definitely put in a Land Raider if I was employing one. Whether you are employing Land Raiders or not will likely depend on your Chapter Tactics - Iron Hands are best suited to this sort of army by far - as they are too expensive too simply "throw in" to an army list. Remember always that you can get a Rhino for the Honour Guard and a tooled up secondary unit such as Sternguard Veterans for the points the armoured behemoth would eat up.
Best Uses - Honour Guard have two purposes; the first is to act as ablative wounds to a Chapter Master and any other attached character, and the second is to be a very nasty and cost-efficient melee unit that can eat almost anything it touches. Provided you are performing one or both of these roles, you really can't go wrong with Honour Guard; the question then becomes which transport to put them in, as running an expensive melee unit without an invulnerable save or natural cover save up the field is tantamount to suicide. For squad sizes, you can get away with ten of them and beam with pride that they cost only slightly more than a bare-bones six-man Terminator unit of either variety. The damage increase and general durability boost against anything that isn't AP2 is simply astounding for the cost, and so if you want to make the most of Honour Guard, I would encourage taking larger squads if you are expecting some truly nasty melee units to put up resistance against them. Otherwise, a stock standard five man unit should handle most enemy units well enough in combat with the sheer amount of power weapon attacks they bring. Trying not to kill an entire unit on the charge is key to keeping your assault units alive, particularly in a shooting-oriented edition, and so keeping the unit smaller will probably lead to them living longer.
Chapter Tactics - Honour Guard receive hefty benefits from all but two of the Chapter Tactics, and they are a good enough unit to make up for any lack of free benefit besides. A once-per-game pseudo fleet bonus from Ultramarines is very handy if your transport didn't get you into the perfect position for an assault, while White Scars provide the useful Hit and Run ability to make sure you get out of combat when you need it. Overall, I think it depends on the Honour Guards' transport choice; in a Rhino, Honour Guard benefit hugely from Raven Guard Chapter Tactics due to Scout. Otherwise, the other Chapter Tactics all provide decent advantages.
Captain/Terminator Captain
Overview - Though split into two different units, to save space and time I combined the two entries with specific references to terminator-armoured characters. Anyway, Captains are the midpoint between a Chapter Master and one of the support characters; they are designed to be a less points-intensive combat character that also provides some potential force organization manipulation with the right wargear choice. Given the significant cost difference between a Captain and a Chapter Master, the adage is very much true that the smaller investment works better in the smaller game, while the larger investment conversely functions more effectively in the larger game. While this may not strictly always be true - a Chapter Master does get a lot of bang for their buck, though saving so many points may allow for an extra unit to be included in the army - it is nonetheless a good principle to model your characters after.
The Captain is designed with smaller games in mind due to their cost, though at games of about 1500 points or more, the Chapter Master gradually becomes a more intriguing option due to the lesser likelihood of them conceding Slay the Warlord due to the extra stat boosts. Aside from this comparison, the Captain is very much as you would expect; decently hard to kill for a stock commander, can be made quite killy with some rather cheap upgrades, and generally does the job they are expected to do. Just don't expect them to do much outside of tanking wounds for more vulnerable and possibly valuable models, or performing strongly in melee, otherwise.
How to Equip Them - Considering that Captains are probably best used as a "Chapter Master on the cheap", I would probably be careful with the gear you equip them with; for example, a Captain does not gain nearly as much benefit from the Shield Eternal or the Burning Blade due to the loss of a wound and attack compared to a Chapter Master. On the other hand, cheap upgrades such as a Storm Shield or a power weapon will seem much more valuable if you want to make a nasty melee character without breaking the bank. In that sense, I would typically shy away from the Chapter Relics and more towards standard wargear that still allows them to best other melee characters of a similar cost in combat. There is no denying that a Captain in Artificer Armour with a storm shield is seriously hard to put down outside of massed Strength eight or higher attacks, and the addition of a power axe or thunder hammer can lead to the induction of a junior combat monster.
As with a Chapter Master, a Bike is always a very smart choice provided he has Bikers to accompany him, whether in the form of a very useful Command Squad - massed Relentless grav rifles! - or the regular guys, particularly considering the Captain also makes them Troops. As Bikers are arguably the most cost effective Troops option Space Marines have access to, this is an option you should really consider, particularly in a White Scars force. A Jump Pack may fit better in a Raven Guard themed force, but generally doesn't provide as many benefits as a Bike does for a similar cost. The choice of ranged weapon isn't as important, as the point of a Captain is usually to wallop enemies up close; however, a Ballistic Skill 5 combi-weapon is never a bad thing, nor is the rather cheap Primarch's Wrath Chapter Relic. On the other hand, an upgraded melee weapon is almost necessary; a power weapon works well with any configuration, while a power fist or thunder hammer is a more risky option that won't be able to hide behind four wounds like a Chapter Master, or the Shield Eternal in smaller games.
For a Terminator-armoured Captain, I would probably maximise their defence and offence simultaneously by taking the vaunted thunder hammer and storm shield option; not to mention, you can make a Lysander equivalent for less (though probably not as good, of course). A pair of lightning claws will shred through most infantry, but can be trumped easily by 2+ armoured enemies or most kinds of monstrous creatures and vehicles. Be aware of what his bodyguard - whether it be either kind of Terminator or a Command Squad - is equipped with when you are picking his loadout, as a pair of lightning claws can work fine in a unit already packing storm shields as stand-in guardians.I feel that for either the Terminator Captain or the regular Captain, the thunder hammer and storm shield combined with other equipment to taste - such as a Bike, a Jump Pack, Artificer Armour, and so on - keeps them cheap and provides a nice balance between offence and defence that is unlikely to even break the 160 point mark.
Where to Put Them - Captains are ideally placed either in a melee unit to boost their total damage potential and provide him with a nice escort, or in elite ranged units to ward off potential aggressors in melee. Much as Lysander was often used as a defender for Sternguard Veterans in the 5th Edition codex, so too can the Captain be employed to scare off those pesky, mobile melee units you don't want to deal with. He can sit with Devastators, Sternguard Veterans, or even Tactical Marines in such a role. However, you are probably best suited getting them to where they can do the most damage, which will usually be either with Bikers, Assault Terminators, Vanguard Veterans or Command Squads. In fact, one of the nastiest places to put one is with a bike-mounted Command Squad; give them all grav guns, and the Captain a combi-grav weapon, and watch the carnage as you slaughter hapless Riptides and Wraithknights within the first two turns and scoot away through your Jink saves and boosted Toughness. Employ a storm shield so that Heldrakes can't hit you back, and you have yourself arguably the best unit with which to employ a Captain.
Best Uses - Given the expansion of Chapter Masters into their own defined role, Captains are now effectively your budget combat characters; this means that you typically want them either in smaller games or in an army where you want to maximise the points spent on regular units rather than characters. Captains thus find their own niche while still being a melee-oriented character; you want them to fight enemies up close, because outside of a combi-weapon, they can't really help out much in shooting. However, unless you take the Shield Eternal, you typically don't want them fighting against enemies which a Chapter Master might otherwise be able to handle, such as nasty monstrous creature characters or abusive melee units like Death Cult Assassins. You should be able to handle most enemies in close combat, but it isn't a bad option to take a Captain alongside a mixed or mostly ranged unit to keep themselves safe; they concede Slay the Warlord more easily than a Chapter Master, importantly. While drop-podding them in with Sternguard to dissuade charges or another such unit is a viable use of them, I think the afore-mentioned Command Squad kitted with special weapons on bikes will likely be the Captain's safest and best destination overall; that he also makes the cost-effective regular Bikers Troops is just the icing on the cake.
Chapter Tactics - Similar to the Chapter Master, a Captain is best served by the Chapter Tactics that benefit melee characters specifically, such as Black Templars, Ultramarines or Salamanders. For an assault unit, White Scars and Raven Guard provide nice overall benefits - particularly the latter when embarked on a Rhino - and so there is no real clear cut winner here for the Chapter Tactics best suited to a Captain. Be mindful that while you can pull off the godlike Iron Hands build with the Shield Eternal, you are probably best served maximising its durability with a Chapter Master. After all, you must pay for greatness!
Command Squad
Overview - Much like the Honour Guard of a Chapter, Command Squads are only available in an army featuring a Captain, Librarian or Chaplain; as with Chapter Masters, the potential inclusion of this awesome unit is often an important decision when choosing your HQ units. Priced similarly to Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans, each model in a Command Squad is an elite model with two attacks base, two combat weapons - with the option of a bolter - and Leadership 9. Though they don't come stock with power weapons or Artificer Armour for the only slightly more expensive Honour Guard, they instead have access to a greater slew of options; with bikes, storm shields, melta bombs and even special weapons (per the most recent codex FAQ) to choose from. Though they might not jump out as much as Honour Guard do in terms of outright melee capabilities, it bears mentioning that Command Squads can be so much nastier overall when given some particular wargear combinations.
How to Equip Them - This is entirely dependent on what transport you are putting them in, or if you are taking Bikes; I think it bears mentioning that running five expensive Space Marine models up the field, even with expensive storm shields, is a bad idea, so I won't go into that. You don't have to worry about squad size as it will always consist of five models, though the permutations available in the squad can be rather staggering. With each model able to make their own individual wargear selections, you can have schizophrenic combinations of storm shields, bolters, combi-plasmas, power mauls and pairs of lightning claws. Of course, if you want a unit that either makes its points back or at least actually fulfills a particular purpose in your army list, I would avoid mixing and matching like that and instead keep them focused on the one particular role. Space Marines tend not to do very well if they aren't specialized to destroying a specific type of enemy, and the same is no different for Command Squads.
First up, if you are taking them in a Drop Pod, give them all guns dependent on their Chapter Tactics; a squad led by Vulkan or with Salamanders in general would be best served by taking meltaguns or flamers for a brutal alpha strike, while any other special weapon would work for the different Chapters. A unit in a Rhino or Razorback will probably want either plasma guns to fire out of fire points in the midfield, or melee weapons to take advantage of the fire support a Razorback provides. A Land Raider is best suited to a squad equipped for combat, but at this point, you may want to think about investing in Honour Guard instead if your HQ choices allow it. If you take Bikes, you needn't worry about the Chapter Tactics - though White Scars are probably preferable - as you can deliver five grav guns straight into an enemy formation on a relatively cheap unit that is also quite decent in combat. Paired up with a wound-tanking character of some form, and you will regularly enjoy the sweet scent of terror exuding from your opponents. Riptides, Wraithknights, Terminators, Dreadknights, and so on; beware!
For general use, the character and standard upgrades for a Command Squad should be taken mostly based on personal taste, as though they generally provide strong returns, they can be expensive for an already costly unit. The Company Champion is actually quite cheap and very much worthwhile for any melee-oriented Command Squad; if you want to provide massed special weapons though, I would probably avoid the upgrade. An Apothecary is very cheap for what he brings, and is definitely a good inclusion if you have the points spare; unfortunately, he still can't take the weapons Veterans can. Melta Bombs are cheap and allow the Veterans to engage monstrous creatures and vehicles with varying degrees of an effectiveness; obviously, a Trygon or a Wraithlord is likely to eviscerate most of the unit in return. I probably wouldn't bother with more than one or two Storm Shields in a Command Squad due to their high cost; generally speaking, you probably only need the two 3+ invulnerable saves to tank the AP3 or AP2 wounds you will encounter. As for the holy standards, the Standard of the Emperor Ascendent is probably not worth it in so much as the Company Standard will prove to be more useful for so much less points. Both provide re-rolls to units of the same Chapter Tactics for Pinning and Morale tests within 12", while the former provides a mini-bubble of Hatred, as well as conferring Fear on the bearers' unit. If you want to take one of the standards, concern yourself only with the Company Standard; the small unit size and lack of great durability for Command Squads really limits the use of such an expensive relic.
Where to Put Them - I honestly think that there is no "right answer" if you want to use them as a "special weapons team", and so where you put them largely depends on their special weapon. Grav rfifles are best suited to bike-mounted Command Squads, while meltaguns and flamers work better in drop pods - particularly with Salamanders and even Vulkan thrown in. On the flip side, you probably want massed plasma guns either in a drop pod or a rhino, with Raven Guard particularly favouring the latter due to Scout.
Best Uses - Command Squads actually aren't cut out to be a dedicated assault unit as they aren't the most cost effective unit you can bring for the role; instead, you want them to deliver high strength firepower on elite models, all with surprisingly high efficiency. Arm them with flamers or meltaguns, combine them with Vulkan and you have a phenomenally destructive alpha strike unit that embodies the term "overkill"; obliterating any single tank or one or more - depending on their placement - infantry unis in one deadly salvo. I think the best overall build for a Command Squad is on Bikes and armed with grav rifles to make full use of their Relentless; plus, the Bike upgrade averages out to less than ten points per model, which is actually quite cheap given their Veteran status.The unit will slaughter Riptides, Wraithknights and other really nasty monsters and high armour units, while dealing quite well with Wave Serpents due to to the wording of the graviton rule. They can then rely on their high Toughness, mobility and Jink saves to save themselves the return fire; White Scars benefit this build the most due to the pseudo Skilled Rider they provide.
Chapter Tactics - I don't think any of the Chapter Tactics in particular stand out for most kinds of Command Squads, though certain types definitely get stronger advantages from certain Tactics; White Scars hugely benefit bikers, while Salamanders work very well with "drop and pop" units.
Did you find this an entertaining and insightful read? Cheers! If you have any feedback for me, feel free to post a comment here or speak to me over on Bell of Lost Souls. Happy hunting!
"They will be bright stars in the firmament of battle, Angels of Death whose shining wings bring swift annihilation to the enemies of Man."
- Roboute Guilliman
ARTICLE 2
Hey guys, I am Learn2Eel and this is my Codex: Space Marines Tactica! Today, I will be looking at the lesser known but certainly no less zealous or worthy heroes of the Space Marines; the commanders, purifiers and psykers that lead the many thousands of Chapters into glorious conflict. I hope you enjoy this article!
The Space Marines have a large array of generic characters to choose from, with characters that have distinct roles in an army list and fulfill them admirably. The Captain and Chapter Master are combat-oriented heroes that can allow army list manipulation when certain wargear options are chosen, while Librarians, Chaplains and Masters of the Forge are primarily geared to varying forms of support. The addition of Chapter Relics and the streamlining of wargear costs leads to tougher choices than previously for which character to lead your army; gone are the days when a Librarian was a default choice due to Null Zone and the like. Now, there are intrinsic benefits to employing a Chapter Master in place of a Captain, and so on, rewarding your choices in a considered fashion. As well, the differing Chapter Tactics certainly boost the viability of individual choices by considerable margins!
Part Two of the Generic Characters section covers the Librarian, Chaplain, Master of the Forge, Techmarine and Servitors. You can view Part One here.
Librarian
Overview - Librarians are the cheapest HQ choice a Space Marine player has access to, and it is rare indeed that one would say they don't justify their comparatively minimal investment. Each is a psyker that can be upraded to Mastery Level two, with access to four of the main rulebook psychic disciplines; the only exception, sadly, being Divination. This limits the Librarian to comparatively mediocre primaris powers, while disallowing Space Marines from gaining ease of access to a reliable and incredibly useful form of twin-linking. It goes without saying though that the other disciplines can be quite strong as well; Biomancy and Telepathy can provide some strong blessings or maledictions each, for example.
Each Librarian comes stock with a force weapon of your choice - all of which have their various uses, to be discussed later - though they lack the number of attacks, Initiative or Weapon Skill to truly worry most monstrous creatures and characters. You should never rely on a Librarian to provide a strong melee presence, though some builds can be quite cost effective and durable in combat - notably a Terminator-armoured Librarian with a storm shield that runs just on the triple-digit mark. They are otherwise rather fragile with a mere two wounds and no access to an invulnerable save outside of terminator armour and subsequent upgrades, or an expensive Shield Eternal that is most definitely wasted on a two wound model. The Librarian is your cheapest means of unlocking the devastating Command Squads filled with special weapons; massed flamers or meltaguns in a drop pod with Salamanders Chapter Tactics, or massed grav rifles on bikes with White Scars Chapter Tactics? That cheap Librarian on a Bike gives you some good love here.
How to Equip Them - Unless you plan on running them in a Rhino, or you want to save points and aren't too concerned for their safety - running them bare to get a Command Squad is not unheard of - I would generally recommend either the Terminator armour or Bike upgrades to give them extra potential mobility and durability at a low cost. Taking the former also allows the Librarian to take a storm shield, which is laughably cheap for a model with a mere 5+ invulnerable save or lack thereof otherwise. Adding a combi-weapon of your choice bumps the Librarian up to a respectable low triple digit cost, but makes them a versatile, decently tough, and even quite nasty HQ choice that also provides extra random effects in the form of psychic powers. Remember that even Terminator-armoured Librarians can fit in Drop Pods provided there are two spots free for him; factor this into taking units such as Sternguard or Command Squads and the like.
Where to Put Them - The best aspect of a Librarian is their versatility; they provide any unit with a decent force weapon, a probable good armour save and thus a miniature wound tank, as well as one or two powers from differing disciplines. That a Librarian can choose from one of four different tables when determining their powers allows you quite a deal of freedom to adapt to enemy armies and tactics. Terrify, Invisibility and Hallucination are always great powers from Telepathy, but Fire Shield or Enfeeble can change the game in a pinch by either providing a unit with a strong, reflective cover save or reducing the instant death threshold of pesky monsters and infantry. For these reasons, there are very few "bad" places to put a Librarian, particularly if you gave them either a bike or Terminator armour. Generally speaking, they work well for drop-podding units by providing some extra alpha strike potential in the form of either a combi-weapon or a nasty power such as Psychic Shriek. Similarly, you can use them on foot to provide bonuses such as Endurance or Invisibility to ground units that require it.
Best Uses - Generally speaking, with the lack of access to Divination and thus having less reliance on a great Primaris power, I would keep the Librarian cheap and don't focus on a particular strategy with them specifically. Instead, think of how they can provide either a nasty Command Squad toting some special weapons on Bikes or in Drop Pods, or whatever you fancy, and of how cheaply you can fill up your Warlord slot. Of course, a two-wound character is unlikely to survive any real punishment, so this is a risk you must consider when determining whether a single Librarian fills out your HQ choice acceptably. I would usually either mount a Librarian on a Bike or put them in Terminator armour, and attach them to a unit of your choice to match the wargear selection. Librarians aren't amazing and it is unlikely they will do anything ground-breaking, but they provide some potentially great psychic support powers, some extra melee punch with two or more force weapon attacks at Weapon Skill five, and even a clear target for enemies afraid of a psykers' potential. For an army that wants a cheap support commander and isn't too afraid of the big bad monsters inflicting instant death on him, I think a Librarian is the HQ of choice - particularly in smaller games where their abilities are more pronounced.
Chapter Tactics - Unlike say the Captain or a Chapter Master, Librarians don't really benefit as much from any specific set of Chapter Tactics. They don't have enough wounds to capitalize on It Will Not Die from Iron Hands, nor are they truly suited for challenges where Black Templars ply their trade - not that you will ever see one in those colours, Abhor the Witch and all. Salamanders give them a free master-crafting which can be certainly helpful for a combi-weapon or their force weapon, while a Bike-mounted Librarian obviously gets a bit of a kick from the White Scars detachment rules.
Chaplain
Overview - Billed as the intermediary between the combat-oriented Captains and support-oriented Librarians, Chaplains combine some watered-down elements of both choices into an affordable but generally less than spectacular package. A Chaplain has slightly boosted durability compared to a stock Librarian as he has a 4+ invulnerable save, though he still has a mere two wounds and a 3+ armour save. His higher base cost than the Librarian means that this bonus evens out, as the Librarian can get a 2+ armour save and 3+ invulnerable save for quite a bit less than a Chaplain. Instead of a force weapon, a Chaplain has an inferior power weapon, and though some might complain that it is specifically a power maul, these are statistically the best power weapons overall. The Chaplain is intended as more of a combat support character than the Librarian; though his damage output will usually be similar or less than a Librarian, the Chaplain actually buffs his unit in combat with the Zealot special rule. Fearless isn't that big of a boon on Space Marines who already have And They Shall Know No Fear, as there are always some units you do not want to engage, or combats you want to get out of on specific turns.
However, re-rolls to hit on the first round of combat due to Hatred can be quite helpful for a dedicated melee unit. Of course, this presents an obvious issue with the Chaplain that the Librarian does not share; a Chaplain needs to be attached to a dedicated melee unit to really make the most of his Zealot special rule. This is then compounded by the fact that Space Marines lack great dedicated melee units aside from Honour Guard; Assault Terminators aren't so great in 6th Edition due to mini-Rending Eldar shooting, massed high Strength firepower from every army, and more AP2 than has even been seen before. Even with storm shields, there is simply too much rate of fire to put them down quite quickly; besides, getting them near an opponent without investing in an expensive Land Raider can be difficult enough as it is due to deep strike scatter. Vanguard Veterans and Assault Marines certainly aren't bad choices, but probably not the kind of unit you would really want a Chaplain joining. The two jump units really aren't cut out to compete with units such as Screamers, Flesh Hounds or the flying monsters that popularize the 6th Edition meta. This leaves the much improved Honour Guard, though you have to sacrifice a HQ slot anyway through a Chapter Master to access them in the first place. This leaves Chaplains without a great unit to really benefit, and the Chaplain doesn't even provide such stellar benefits as a Librarian potentially would anyway; their sole advantage is that their abilities are guaranteed, not random, and thus far more predictable in the army list creation stage.
How to Equip Them - Seeing as Chaplains already come stock with a 4+ invulnerable save, Terminator armour isn't as worthwhile an upgrade on them as it is for a Librarian; that they pay more for this upgrade is rather silly, indeed, as they make less benefit of it overall. Like any other HQ choice though, a Bike is always a great upgrade - particularly in a White Scars army - this gives any commander a welcome boost to their survivability, as the extra point of Toughness can function more or less as an extra wound against most enemies. Besides, the mobility alone allows your melee-support Chaplain to get into combat that much quicker, and while Bikers may not defeat "hard" melee units in combat, the addition of Zealot should let them overpower typical enemy forces in Troops and so on. You can add a cheap combi-weapon on to the Chaplain to give him a one-shot chance at crippling a key enemy formation, though I feel this is an inefficient use of a dedicated melee HQ - or at least one that wants to make you believe it is one. Much like Librarians, they have access to the Chapter Relics, but I would advise against them as they are still two wound models without great saves unless you pay through the nose for it. This will merely leave you with a points inefficient character that would simply make you wish you had invested a similar amount of points in a pair of cheap Librarians or a kitted our Captain. Either keep the Chaplain stock, or put him on a Bike to make the most of his rather mediocre abilities.
Where to Put Them - A Chaplain suffers from its focus on boosting melee units; he wants to be with your best melee unit, or with a unit that could really use the boost. While it is fair to say Tactical Marines sure would like to be better in combat, taking a rather expensive and comparatively fragile HQ choice to fulfill this purpose for such a unit is not conducive to building an effective overall army list. You need to maximise the effectiveness of each unit as much as possible, and this means attaching the Chaplain to a strong assault unit. With the changes to the meta in 6th Edition, players are moving away from Terminators and the like simply because torrent of fire and massed AP2 weaponry dissuade even storm-shield wielding Terminators from taking the field of battle. For dedicated melee units, this leaves you with Command Squads, Honour Guard, Vanguard Veterans and Assault Marines. Assault Centurions are too expensive, slow and reliant on an expensive transport to make an effective melee unit in any sense, particularly with a costly character add-on factored in. Bikers can't really be classed as a dedicated melee unit, but are ironically one of the best units for a Chaplain to join overall because they provide the Chaplain with a tough and deadly bodyguard - Relentless grav rifles! - while he gives them an added melee boost and Fearless to reduce the risks with their close assault tactics.
Vanguard Veterans can be deadly, but incredibly expensive, and either require a transport or jump packs which boost the price of a unit up quite quickly. Even then, they don't compare favourably to some of the alternatives. Assault Marines are one of the cheapest options, but lack the real punch to deal with opposing dedicated assault units. Realistically, a Command Squad is best served in shooting due to the recent FAQ changes, particularly as Honour Guard are quite simply the most points-efficient melee unit in the codex that doesn't really shoot either. This leads you with some pretty tough choices to make, though they really aren't the good kind; the fact of the matter is that the Chaplain simply doesn't provide the kind of bonuses an army such as Space Marines would like to have. Though assault is hardly dead, Space Marines aren't an army that does it particularly well in any sense; though they are utilitarians, they are far more apt at shooting and more likely to do great damage there. Besides, a Librarian offers more potent direct combat support, particularly in protracted combats; the option to still flee as necessary from enemies such as Wraithlords, and random albeit stronger potential abilities through their psychic powers.
Best Uses - Chaplains are yet another method of getting a Command Squad into the fray, and it can be argued that the advantage Chaplains have over Captains is that they don't need any more wargear aside from maybe a Bike. They are there to give a unit Fearless and Hatred, while providing some additional power weapon attacks. There is very little to change from that generic mould, and thus this limits the uses of Chaplains quite severely; they cannot do much except be decent combat support characters. Compounding the issue is the lack of units that really benefit from a Chaplain's ability; if they were in an army that included assault units of similar offensive capabilities to, for example, Flesh Hounds or Wraithblades, this wouldn't be such an issue. While Assault Terminators and the like are hardly bad units, there uses in game are limited by the very nature of 6th Edition; it punishes elite armies, particularly elite assault units, like few others. For this reason, you are best attaching a Chaplain to a Biker unit or a 'hard' assault unit of your choice; I feel the former is a more effective use of the Chaplain to ensure the Biker units can destroy their chosen targets. The latter, however, will still work in themed lists and will at least provide those melee units with some potential boosts to even the playing field.
Chapter Tactics - Like the Librarian, the Chaplain isn't really geared to get a lot of personal benefit from any of the Chapter Tactics, though when combined with his power maul, the Accept Any Challenge special rule for Black Templars can be quite handy, if uninspiring. It won't elevate them to higher levels of combat prowess, but it helps; much as Salamanders will help them out with a free re-roll to hit. As it is, you can comfortably take any of the Chapter Tactics and not feel like you are wasting the benefits of any particular choice.
Master of the Forge
Overview - One of the hidden stars in a codex filled with glorious heroes, a Master of the Forge is far more than a simple lord-styled Techmarine. Rather than charging head-first into combat or casting psychic powers to prove his worth, the Master of the Forge is truly a ranged character that, helpfully, doesn't compromise on melee capabilities either. He provides your army with a welcome defensive boost by upgrading a single piece of terrain to provide a bonus +1 cover to its regular cover save. For these reasons alone, a Master of the Forge is well suited as the Warlord or supporting commander to a gunline-oriented force. He boosts cover for Devastators and the like to ply their deadly trade in safety, or even your scoring Tactical Marines and Scouts. Additionally, as you would expect of any form of Techmarine, he can repair vehicles of any kind with his servo-arms; restoring one of a lost hull point, a destroyed weapon or an immobilized result. Obviously, this is an invaluable asset in any army featuring a handful or more of vehicles, particularly for Iron Hands who both provide the Master of the Forge with bonuses to Repair rolls, and the vehicles themselves with It Will Not Die.
The Master of Forge, while primarily a support character that is already useful enough, can be quite damaging as well in the right circumstances; probably in a well protected bodyguard unit and out of base contact with enemy models. With three power fist attacks base at Weapon Skill four, as well as the ability to fire two weapons if he doesn't try to repair a vehicle, the Master of the Forge is as likely to do some decent damage as a Librarian or Chaplain. Their servo-harness affords them with a twin-linked plasma pistol, effectively, and a flamer. Add a standard boltgun, combi-weapon or even a Conversion Beamer to the mix, and you have a character that can really worry light vehicles, light infantry and even heavier units at range, depending on wargear choices. That the mechanical genius himself has a 2+ armour save and two wound stock is pretty handy, especially considering his price, as he can be used to soak up troubling AP3 wounds for power-armoured units as necessary. Additionally, he can tank power swords and the like quite well in challenges, though the lack of an invulnerable save can be irritating against enemies such as monsters or plasma weaponry; not that you should ever willingly engage these, of course.
To add to the Master of the Forge's already rather extensive list of traits, he allows you to take Dreadnoughts and Ironclad Dreadnoughts as both Heavy Support and Elite choices, significantly freeing up the Elites slot to allow you to take strong units such as Sternguard. This works best for a drop-pod assault based army, due to most of the Heavy Support units either being invalid or not really conducive to the effective use of such a force. Otherwise, you may find your Heavy Support choices more contested than your Elites, due to the sheer strength of the units available there. Regardless, that the Master of the Forge allows you to change up the army list in such a way, while already being a very cost effective commander, seals him as one of the best HQ choices that you have access to.
How to Equip Them - Though you would logically think that a lord of the armoury would be one of the best equipped models in the force, you really don't need to upgrade a Master of the Forge that much to make them more effective. A conversion beamer is very much a preferential choice depending on whether you want a static Master of the Forge, though I would think it relies a bit heavily on deployment type and the size of a game board to make the most out of its evolving profile based on range. I would avoid the power axe as the Master of the Forge already has a free power fist in the form of the servo arm, unless it is for model purposes. Putting him on a bike is about the limit I would push the Master of the Forge to, as he really doesn't need anything else to be a great choice that supports your army in an ideal fashion. If you have the points spare, giving him the Primarch's Wrath while mounted on a bike is a smart and fluffy choice to add to his decent assortment of ranged weapons. Of course, a smarter choice would be to take a conversion beamer on a bike to make the most out of being mobile and Relentless! This makes the Master of the Forge so much nastier at range and removes the restriction on being forced to fire or move. Keep him as cheap as you can, as he already gives you some sizable boosts just through his inclusion in an army.
Where to Put Them - There are a few primary methods to utilize a Master of the Forge, and each works well in their own associated army list variant. The most commonly seen is to mount them in a vehicle or on a bike riding just behind a vehicle, using them to repair it as necessary. Land Raiders are ideal for this, particularly in an Iron Hands army list due to boosted repair rolls and It Will Not Die. You can even put them in a Drop Pod as a means of getting an extra combi-weapon into the alpha strike, and to repair your already rather tough Ironclad Dreadnoughts. Another is to simply put them in a squad on foot or on bikes and provide either static or mobile ranged fire support as well as making full use of Bolster Defences.
Best Uses - I think that a Master of the Forge is ideally used in a vehicle-heavy Iron Hands army list led by a trio of Land Raiders of some variety, or any other kind of list featuring more than five or six tanks. The sheer utility and damage control provided by the Master of the Forge is simply priceless. In an edition where stripping hull points remains the primary method of dealing with vehicles of all kinds, safeguarding them from such damage by giving those units two chances to recover hull points in the same turn can be utterly ridiculous if exploited. Maximising its potential is best served by employing as many high-armoured vehicles as possible whom massed strength seven attacks would struggle to put down in one salvo, such as Ironclads in Drop Pod lists, or Predators, Vindicators and Land Raiders in mechanized lists.
Chapter Tactics - Though there may be a clear winner here, it is pertinent to point out the advantages of the various other beneficiary Chapter Tactics. White Scars help out any Bike-mounted Master of the Forge - even allowing him to grant Scout to allied units! - while Salamanders give him free master-crafting and re-rollable saves against template weapons, making them an awesome wound tank against Heldrakes. Still, it needs to be said; Iron Hands are tailor made to make a Master of the Forge into an incredible commander at dirt cheap prices. They give him a bonus to repair rolls, the ability to grow back wounds, a slight Feel No Pain save, and, most important of all, they provide immense benefits to the same vehicles a Master of the Forge is best suited to supporting. They really are the master artisans amongst the Loyalist Astartes.
Techmarine
Overview - The cheaper, more generic equivalent of a Master of the Forge, a Techmarine doesn't provide the same bang for your buck potential Warlord choice, but makes up for it by not taking up an HQ slot. You can take one for each other independent character - excluding Techmarines - HQ choice you take, and as independent characters, they can be joined to a wide variety of units. The differences between them and a Master of the Forge are quite significant, as the Techmarine has but a single wound, only a servo arm and not a full servo harness, and reduced access to wargear such as conversion beamers and the Primarch's Wrath. That the Techmarine is also Leadership 8 as opposed to 10 lessens the benefits they provide to a typical Space Marine squad, as even despite And They Shall Know No Fear, sticking in a particular combat or passing a given Pinning test is still very important and can change the game. Basically, you take a Techmarine(s) either as the cheapest Repair option you have, or because you don't have a spare HQ slot to fit in a Master of the Forge. Generally speaking, they are also a cheap method of adding Bolster Defences to an army, which can be quite useful in limited numbers; you don't want to spend too many points on abilities that may not see use on terrain-light game boards, after all. They become far more effective in a mechanized army list so as to spread out the repair rolls that receive the handy +1 bonus in an Iron Hands list - the favourite of mech Space Marine armies.
How to Equip Them - You are probably off leaving a Techmarine bare if you want them to support vehicles, as they can stick inside transports until their servo arms are needed; otherwise, you can put them on a bike to give them some much needed extra durability. With only one wound and a 2+ armour save, they are very easy to kill and as such you shouldn't invest any more points in them than absolutely necessary. You can replace their servo arm with a servo harness, but it leaves them only marginally cheaper than a Master of the Forge that has a wide range of advantages, so I would leave such gear for them unless you are playing in a list that requires multiple 'mechanics'.
Where to Put Them - Techmarines are, like Masters of the Forge, best placed either in a transport or on a bike to support vehicles and make the most out of their Blessing of the Omnissiah special rule. Unlike the Master of the Forge, you can't really get away with using them in a bunker unit as effectively as they lack a servo harness, and are too close in price to a Master of the Forge when upgraded with one.
Best Uses - I would keep Techmarines reserved solely for a mechanized list, as unlike a Master of the Forge, the Techmarine doesn't really have much utility outside of reparing vehicles, particularly as he doesn't potentially eat up your mandatory HQ slot. A Master of the Forge does this and more, including moving Dreadnoughts of all kinds to Heavy Support and being quite a bit tougher to kill. When paired up with Iron Hands Chapter Tactics and moving around with Predators, Vindicators, Land Raiders and the like galore, there aren't too many better investments than a Techmarine.
Chapter Tactics - Though I feel like I am beating a dead horse, having the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics really benefits Techmarines - and by extension, Masters of the Forge, vehicles and so on - the most given their role in a typical Space Marine force. Making full use of those abilities really demands the use of Iron Hands, and so that would be my stock recommendation. Other handy choices are Salamanders to master-craft a combi-weapon, or, indirectly, Imperial Fists to give tank-hunting Devastators a nice 3+ or 4+ cover save in your deployment zone.
Servitors
Overview - The cheap companions to Techmarines and Masters of the Forge, Servitors are a unit specifically designed with Blessing of the Omnissiah in mind; each has a servo arm, providing large bonuses to repair rolls and, hilariously, providing cheap ablative power fist attacks and wounds. With a 4+ armour save and stats befitting a typical Imperial Guardsmen, Servitors are cheap for what they do and useful to maximise your repair rolls. They can even be used to add heavy weapons at low prices to your force, though these are unreliable and pale in comparison to only slightly more expensive Devastator Marines. Where Servitors start to shine is an Iron Hands army, or more loosely, a mechanized force; the sole purpose to take them is to make sure your repair rolls are successful, as any other use of them is inefficient compared to regular Space Marines or even Scouts.
Unfortunately, the unit proves to be rather less useful than initially thought as they preclude the Techmarine or Master of the Forge from joining another unit. Though they are cheap, with their middling Toughness (that extends to the character if two or more are taken due to majority toughness rules), mediocre stats and 4+ armour save, they do not protect already comparatively (to Captains and Chapter Masters) fragile characters all that well. That their squad size is a mere five means that you can't even provide that many ablative wounds for the characters, and outside of some power fist attacks at Weapon Skill three, they really can't do much else. Additionally, if you want to make your repairs on the fly, taking Servitors precludes your character from being mounted on a bike. As an unlocked unit available to Techmarines and Masters of the Forge, Servitors aren't anywhere near as impressive as Command Squads or Honour Guard. This is not just because they can't do as much damage or protect them well enough, but because those characters already have a high enough success rate with repair rolls to not really need the help of Servitors. When Iron Hands - best pals to the Omnissiah's servants - are thrown in as the chosen Chapter Tactics, the need for Servitors is almost completely eliminated due to the +1 bonus to repair rolls already gained, and the vehicles all gaining It Will Not Die for free.
How to Equip Them - If you are taking Servitors, do yourself a favour and leave them bare, and take them in maximum sized squads. As they cannot repair vehicles themselves, may potentially do nothing if left alone, and are generally taken just to boost repair rolls, you should always take four or five and always leave them with the Techmarine or Master of the Forge. Any other use of them is simply a waste of points; if you want heavy weapons, you are far better off paying less than five points per model more for better damage output, survivability and adaptability from Devastators.
Where to Put Them - Given that they cannot take any kind of mount wargear, and are quite fragile themselves, I would always place them in a transport, preferably the one you most want a character with Blessing of the Omnissiah to keep in the battle. Land Raiders are good uses for such tactics, though it does bring into question the viability of using a Land Raider to ferry a unit of Servitors and their master.
Best Uses - Ignore the heavy weapons, and use them in transports, or hide them behind cover, so as to best repair either mobile or static vehicles. These are the sole reasons you take Servitors; even despite their power fist attacks, you can't even really use them as a counter-assault unit in the backfield due to how mediocre their profile is.
Chapter Tactics - Ironically, you probably don't want to see Servitors in an Iron Hands army list simply because a Master of the Forge with those Chapter Tactics already fixes vehicles on a 3+, and that is even before mentioning the It Will Not Die rolls those vehicles obtain. This leaves them best suited to bodyguard duties for Techmarines in other Chapters, as you can have four plus the Techmarine himself for the price of a Master of the Forge and have a guaranteed repair roll.
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"They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war I shall forge them."
- The Emperor
