RE: [Epic] RE: Space Marine Units.

From: Miller, Chris <CMiller_at_...>
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 09:21:22 -0600

>>While getting bikes to support your land speeders is good advice I
>>disagree
>>with the rest. (Bikes are included int he 'Space Marine Battle Group' >
>box
>>only 1 stand though! )
>
>To support land speeders I adviced to use attack bikes (assault bikes?
>Well, those sold in a blister) as they only cost 10 points (vs 20 for a
>land speeder) and move quite fast.
><snip>
-------> You're probably going to want some of each type of bike. The
normal bikes come in the various boxes anyway, so I'd buy one blister of
attack bikes. One detachment I made is nothing but normal Bikes (9
stands, but I have a lot of bikes leftover from the last version of the
game) including a psyker and a captain, and 3 Landspeeders. These guys
have the maximum speed available, which is nice for getting where you
need to be in a hurry. Once you get your set, you'll want to check out
something called reserve movement, which is basically that the slowest
unit in your detatchment determines how quickly it can get on the
battlefield. The highest category is 35cm+. This whole detach is 35+, so
I can count on them to get on pretty quickly. Get some Landspeeders.
>
>Also all the infantry you need in in that box, but in order to get
>>enough
>>bikes or special troops like terminators, you need to a buy a lot of
>>boxes,

-------> You will need some infantry boxes, so I'd buy at least one. You
get a fair amount in the game itself , so I wouldn't buy more than this
until you decide what exactly you want to build.
>
>>Dreadnoughts, they are just too slow and make nice Anti-tank targets,
>>I>have some but after many games dropped them from my amry...they were
>>never>effective.. you need to get them close... but the enemy will target
>>them>when they see them approaching and they will die.
>
>Dreadnoughts are very difficult to use as they are two slow. You can
>deploy them in a detachment you know that it won't move too much. The
>figs are very nice, it's another advantage. :)

----------> Dreadnoughts are an essential part of a marine army. Get one
blister and see how they do. If you like them, get another later.
"They're too slow etc" : They are DEFENSIVE units! They are best used
(works for me anyway) in a detachment with Termies and Devastators to
HOLD a position. Your bikes and Tanks are there to get places in a hurry
 - use these guys to hold things where you start.
>
>>Now you need an armoured detachment!!! LAND RAIDERS ROCK!
>
>I agree, they ROCK, but they are also the main targets of your
>enemies... Beware, use bike stands to cover them!

---------> Really, now. You criticize Dreads as expensive targets for AT
shots. Is you opponent honestly going to use AT shots on a dread vs a
Land Raider? Get real. You do need Land Raiders, but you get some in
the game itself, and one more box + a command unit and you'll probably
be fine to start.

>It is very, very, very, ..., very important to transport all your units
>: a SM army can't be as fast as an Eldar one but it can move quickly,
>use this advantage! This is one of the reasons that make a dreadnought
>very difficult to use in this kind of army.

--------> You get rhinos in the box, so that's a start. Predators are
nice, but I'd start with one blister and see how they fit in with what
you want to do. You get Whirlwinds in the box, so I wouldn't
neccessarily go nuts there either. Here's what I'd start with, within
reason:

Dreads
Attack Bikes or Speeders (you may want both eventually)
Predators
Thunderhawk

One box of Marine Infantry.

This would set you back approx $50 US (say, just under the cost of the
game itself, roughly) and give you a nice mix of the forces available. I
can tell you you will probably want to add another T-hawk, more
speeders/bikes, and another pred detach pretty quickly. The Plastic
tanks box will start to look good real too, but play some games first,
and you will start to see some specific things you want to do with
different detachments, and can get what you need.
Oh, and the previous mention of the guard: It's true. Once you run into
an opponent with decent quantities of fliers and/or massed infantry, you
may want the IG artillery and flyers real quick.

Finally, you MUST GET A TITAN! Preferably more. If you don't feel like
dropping big bucks on the current one, look/ask around for some older
ones. In fact, do that for all units and you may be surprised. If you
can find someone who's getting out of the game, you can strike a gold
mine...

Chris Miller
Received on Wed Dec 24 1997 - 15:21:22 UTC