{"id":1380,"date":"2013-11-06T21:20:52","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T02:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2013-11-06T21:20:52","modified_gmt":"2013-11-07T02:20:52","slug":"40k-6e-space-marines-supports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/2013\/11\/40k-6e-space-marines-supports\/","title":{"rendered":"40k 6e Space Marines: Supports"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"spacemarines-6e-codex\"<\/a>Having played a few more games and studied the book a bit more, I have a couple more thoughts on the new 40k 6e Space Marines codex. \u00a0Previously I had some notes on Core Dudes<\/a>, Librarians<\/a>, and Vulkan<\/a>. \u00a0Up now are some supporting units, specifically Vindicators, Whirlwinds, Thunderfire Cannons,\u00a0and Landspeeders.<\/p>\n

Vindicators<\/h2>\n

These have not changed except for dropping 10 points. \u00a0The Vindicator is obviously useful when it gets good shooting opportunities, but it’s always seemed handicapped to me by the low position and fixed mount of its cannon. \u00a0Combine that with the short range and it just spends too much time blocked by terrain. \u00a0I always get the feeling that it was a more commanding unit in earlier ages of 40k when there was generally a lot less terrain, universally less mobility, and a lot more of two gunlines just shooting at each other and slowly advancing forward. \u00a0Vindicators might be attractive again with how much faster vehicles got in 6e, but I’m not super sold on that yet. \u00a0Between the range and fixed angle there’s still too much need to be right up in your enemy’s face.<\/p>\n

Whirlwind<\/h2>\n

I love the Whirlwind model and have always wanted to get and field some, but could never justify the cash or points. \u00a0The single-shot blast template made it not particularly reliable at hitting anything, the weaponry isn’t particularly killy to counter that unreliability, and its not particularly survivable at a standard Rhino chassis AV 11\/11\/10. \u00a0Sixth edition Marines though makes it pretty attractive to my eyes though. \u00a0The big change is a switch to large blast templates, which means it could really deliver some death to weaker infantry and is much more likely to at least hit MEQs. \u00a0It also dropped from 85 to 65 points, making it much more attractive for how likely it is to get popped. \u00a0Now I can definitely see putting a Whirlwind or two in the backfield pinging away, and look forward to acquiring some over time.<\/p>\n

Thunderfire Cannon<\/h2>\n

First off, it has to be said that the Thunderfire is a really really terrible model. \u00a0It looks ok, but it’s not cheap and every piece is really warped, impossible to fix as it’s a metal model. \u00a0It’s shockingly difficult for such a simple model to get it to all stick together. \u00a0It would be really nice if it were redone in plastic.<\/p>\n

That aside, I liked the Thunderfire in 5e as a game unit and found it pretty useful. \u00a0You set it up on top of a piece of terrain with a clear line of fire and just shoot away. \u00a0It wasn’t terribly survivable if anything got a shot at it with 5e’s AV 10\/one-shot-kill artillery rules, but with 60″ range you could set it far enough back that it could last for a while provided you could keep outflankers at bay. \u00a0The Techmarine himself is also useful even after the gun dies, with the Servo Harness and Artificier Armour giving him reasonable street creed at both near-range shooting and close combat. \u00a0The ability to buff cover saves from any piece of terrain can also be a big boost against some opponents.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Thunderfire correctly realizes it would be more useful shelling the boardgamers in the corner than the oncoming IG horde…<\/p><\/div>\n

Sixth edition makes the Thunderfire even better. \u00a0Same points and shots but the new codex gave it barrage—awesome! \u00a0Now you can really set it out of the way and\/or hit anything on the table, even dudes cowering behind high terrain. \u00a0With four shots a lucky series of hits can really land a lot of hits on a target, and stands a good chance to hit something even with reasonable scatter on the first shot. \u00a0Perhaps more importantly, the revised 6e artillery rules make it a T7 W2 3+ model. \u00a0That’s actually really survivable and a huge buff to the unit even before the new codex hit. \u00a0I’ve been rolling this a fair bit in recent games, and it’s been doing really well.<\/p>\n

The one thing I would have liked to see from this unit is the ability to field squadrons of them. \u00a0It just seems like it’d be a natural for that kind of deployment, and it’d be really handy to be able to organize three into a single FOC slot for larger games. \u00a0Personally I would work it so that a single Techmarine could shoot or move any or all of them provided they were each in standard unit coherency—he’s controlling them all as networked slaves or something like that. \u00a0Multiple Techmarines would make it fairly expensive points-wise.<\/p>\n

Landspeeders<\/h2>\n

I love me some Landspeeders and almost always field two or three in every size of game. \u00a0In 5e these were immensely valuable for flaming infantry, melta-gunning vehicles, and swooping in to deny objectives. \u00a0It’s worth noting though that they’re better at lower point value games. \u00a0The more points in play the more bad guys there are standing around with nothing better to do but take a potshot or two at a ‘Speeder, and even a Bolter can take it down. \u00a0At lower points there are fewer enemy units just standing around with no higher priority target, and the tactical flexibility of high mobility, Flamer, and Multi-Melta is very valuable with fewer units in your own force. \u00a0They are also much stronger at objectives-based missions than kill points.<\/p>\n

The new codex changes their basic stats just slightly, namely that Typhoon Missile Launchers and Assault Cannon options got quite a bit cheaper. \u00a0That’s interesting as it’s definitely a valid, popular, standoffish way to run them. \u00a0I always roll the Heavy Flamer and Multi-Melta though to capitalize on the buffs from Vulkan and the Salamanders’ traits.<\/p>\n

The 6e core rules however change the ‘Speeder in significant and complex ways.<\/p>\n

First off, Jink for Fast Skimmers is a substantial buff to the survivability of the unit. \u00a0You just need to remember to always move; sometimes I’ve forgotten as I had spent a fair amount of time trying to coach myself to sit back and use the full range of the Multi-Melta, and thus didn’t have to always move. \u00a0The new Fast rules are also helpful, really letting the thing fly all over the board. \u00a0More shooting with a 12″ move, and the ability to cover a ridiculous 30″. \u00a0The latter is actually a notable improvement beyond just the raw movement. \u00a0The increased speed makes it even easier to fly on from Reserves rather than Deep Striking into an unfortunate, exposed position, or deploying on the table and risking first turn shooting.<\/p>\n

\"Oooh<\/a>

Oooh yeah.<\/p><\/div>\n

In a basically neutral but slightly positive point, ‘Speeders didn’t really change much in survivability. \u00a0While other vehicles became more predictably killable with the introduction of hull points, Landspeeders were dead easy to kill to begin with. \u00a0If anything they became more survivable because glancing hits can’t do the same kinds of damage as before, it’s guaranteed to still be a useful unit after the first glance.<\/p>\n

On a related but somewhat neutral to negative change though, squadrons now simply break off and leave behind immobilized vehicles rather than destroying them. \u00a0That sounds maybe kind-of sort-of useful as the damaged model can in theory now still shoot at stuff, particularly if you’re rolling the longer range Typhoon or Assault Cannon. \u00a0In reality though, that model then becomes a separate unit and yields up an easy kill point to your opponent when it is finally destroyed. \u00a0I would probably rather just have it destroyed if I choose to leave it behind and not give up the point. \u00a0This new rule is really only beneficial for vehicles with turret-mounted, barrage, and other weapons with more targeting flexibility that remain useful when immobilized.<\/p>\n

A more negative change in 6e is that movement doesn’t give vehicles nearly as much help in close combat as it used to. \u00a0The protection from movement is minimal with the new WS 1 rule, and high speed literally doesn’t improve that at all. \u00a0Once an enemy assault unit finally catches up to the ‘Speeder, something that’s almost certain to happen with the shorter range loadouts I use as it gets mixed into the thick of things, it’s pretty much done for.<\/p>\n

Much more troubling is that vehicles are no longer denial units in any of the missions, they can’t contest objectives. \u00a0That’s a major tactical role of the fast moving Landspeeder that’s been completely eliminated. \u00a0There really isn’t anything more to say about that, it’s just a critical thing they used to be able to do that they just can’t do directly anymore. \u00a0The one upside is that other enemy vehicles won’t be able to claim either, so overall there just isn’t the same kind of 5th turn race to the nearest objectives, but it’s still a major net-negative change.<\/p>\n

All in all, Landspeeders probably got decreased in value because of that one change. \u00a0They’re probably slightly better for the bulk of a game, so certainly still worth using, but their utility in the endgame has declined dramatically as their typical largest impact role has been eliminated.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Except for the Landspeeder, all of the supporting units above became slightly to much more valuable with the new codex and 6e rules. \u00a0Certainly none of them are overpowered, but all more efficient, and in several cases much more effective. \u00a0The Landspeeder is no longer the game changer it frequently was in 5e, but it’s still a worthwhile unit if it matches your style and you’re prepared to risk the kill point(s). \u00a0For my part I’m pretty excited to have a couple of the neglected and so-so units refreshed into newly viable options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having played a few more games and studied the book a bit more, I have a couple more thoughts on the new 40k 6e Space Marines codex. \u00a0Previously I had some notes on Core Dudes, Librarians, and Vulkan. \u00a0Up now are some supporting units, specifically Vindicators, Whirlwinds, Thunderfire Cannons,\u00a0and Landspeeders. Vindicators These have not changed … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[419],"tags":[272,17,274,24,36],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rules-and-tactics","tag-40k","tag-kingbreakers","tag-miniatures","tag-space-marines","tag-tactics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1380"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1386,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions\/1386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipgames.com\/blogs\/tjkopena\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}