Space Marines - the bio-engineered shock troops of the Imperium of Mankind. Tough, well armoured and highly skilled, their disciplined lines stand as the foremost guardians of the immortal Emperor's domains. To the civilian populace, they are superhuman, almost gods made flesh. To the enemies of the Imperium, they are fear and death incarnate.
As befits elite troops, the Space Marines have access to a wide ranging and high-tech arsenal. Weapons which to Imperial Guardsmen are only available on tanks or on gun carriages are man-portable to a Space Marine. Part of this is due to the physical improvements that the implants give to a Space Marine, while part is due to the artificial muscle fibre included in the power armour each Marine wears. For example, Space Marine Devastator squads have the ability to field four Plasma Cannon in one squad, whereas it would require 2 Leman Russ Demolishers to field the same number of plasma cannon in an Imperial Guard army.
The Space Marines also have access to certain equipment designed to enhance their mobility, such as jump packs, bikes and land speeders. This helps emphasise the fact that Space Marines are meant to be the surgical strike element of the Imperial army, as opposed to the Imperial Guard sledgehammer.
Weapon | Opinion |
| Assault Cannon | A monster of a weapon in 2nd Edition, the Assault Cannon suffered a severe reduction in potency in the transition between editions. Previously able to eliminate entire units in one salvo, or destroy a tank with a burst of fire, not to mention having the highest rate of fire of any weapon in the game with a potential nine shots in a salvo. These days it is a shorter ranged, slightly higher in strength heavy bolter that can be carried by Terminators and Dreadnoughts. I feel it may have been slightly over-reduced in power, and when the Space Marine codex is rewritten I'd quite like to see it gain a shot to restore its place as the highest-firing weapon in the game (with the exception of a good roll on the scatter laser). AS for uses, it's good against medium infantry, and the sides and rears of most vehicles, as well as the front armour of some transports. Just try not to roll triple 1, as the "click, click, click.....BOOM!" sound you will hear is a Terminator exploding. |
| Autocannon | Unfortunately limited in distribution, the autocannon is one of my favourite weapons in the game. Only available to Scouts, Predator Destructors and Dreadnoughts (though on a Dreadnought it is twin-linked), the autocannon has a long range, good rate of fire and a high strength. Very useful at eliminating enemy transprts, and even medium tank - failing that, it can be used to kill any vehicle without AV14. A really useful weapon, I just wish tactical squads or Devastator squds could take them |
| Bolt Pistol | Your average Space Marine sidearm. The same S and AP as the boltgun, but in a pistol format. Generally all you'll be taking a pistol for is the extra attack, so why waste points - stick with the bolt pistol. |
| Boltgun | The standard weapon for Space Marines, the boltgun fires what is essentially a small, mass-reactive, self-propelled missile, designed to explode inside its target after penetrating armour, rather than detonating on impact with the armour. In game terms, the basic Marine weapon ignores the save of most Imperial Guard, Eldar, Tyranid and Ork troops. Unfortunately, as the most common armies in Warhammer 40,000 tend to be wearing power armour, or are doing bad Arnie impersonations, this factor is not often able to be used. It's sterngth of 4 means that the boltun is also capable of destroying light vehicles, such as Sentinels, Land Speeders and Ork Wartrukks.
The boltgun - second best basic weapon in the game, after the Tau Pulse Rifle. |
| Cyclone Missile Launcher | Essentially a standard missile launcher adapted to be fitted to Terminator armour. Due to the inherent stability of the Terminator armour, the Cyclone is able to be fired on the move. The Terminator loses his power fist when upgraded to carry this weapon system, but in its place he gains a sophisticated targetting system, allowing him to fire both the Cyclone and his storm bolter at the same time. The use I like the best for these weapons is to take two in a five or six man Terminator squad, deep strikeing if the mission allows. By landing to the side or rear of enemy vehicles, the storm bolters have a chance of glancing them, increasing the chance of killing their target. Against horde armies, two small squads of Terminators with two Cyclones each would make a mess - five storm bolters plus two frag missiles tend to make a dent in most units. |
| Flamer | The ever popular flamethrower. Not much use against power armour, but the ability to cover multiple targets with a S4 weapon does mean that you should cause multiple wounds, increasing the chance of a failed save. The cheapest special weapon upgrade available to Marines, prior to the introduction of the Trial Assault Rules it was a useful choice for assault Tactical squads. Nowadays, with the TAR becoming standard, the humble flamer seems to be being relegating to the less useful end of the spectrum. |
| Heavy Bolter | The second best anything-not-in-power-armour killer available to Space Marines, after the Whirlwind missile system. The heavy bolter packs a good strength, range and rate of fire with an AP of 4, meaning that most armies not in power armour, and even those who are, are going to have a bad day when hit by a multitude of these. Good choice for Razorbacks (twin-linked as the default weapons mount), Scouts, Tactical squads and Devastator squads equipped with four of them. The amount of firepower for the cost is worthwhile. Not only is the heavy bolter highly efective against medium infantry, it can also be of use against light vehicles, where its rate of fire can make up for its lack of penetrative ability. |
| Heavy Flamer | Though limited in availability, the heavy flamer is lethal to all non-power armoured troops. Very handy in Terminator squads against horde armies, where the combination of heavy flamers and storm bolters can massacre entire units. It also makes sense you equip a Dreadnought with one in place of his storm bolter if you expect to get up-close and personal with the Dreadnought - the template can reduce large numbers quickly, and there is no chance of missing with it. |
| Lascannon | Probably the best all-round anti-tank weapon in the Space Marine armoury, the lascannon is available to a number of units in the list, allowing for the anti-tank weaponry in an army to be spread amongst its various elements. The Razorback, Predator Annihilator, Land Raider and Dreadnought get special mentions, due to fielding twin-linked versions, allowing for much greater accuracy than normal. Quite a good weapon for tactical squads, as one or two with lascannon in them can then allow you to spread your anti-tank fire across a numbe of targets. |
| Meltagun | In my opinion, Space Marines are one of a small number of armies that can make meltaguns work for them. The additional protection provided by power armour means that troops armed with them are going to be able to get close enough to their target to hit it and survive the firepower aiming at them. Works quite well in a small squad mounted in a multi-melta armed Razorback, allowing the possible elimination of two tanks in one turns worth of fire. While the meltagun would be an effective weapon for Scouts, they unfortunately cannot take it. |
| Missile Launcher | The closest the Space Marines have to a flexible weapon, the missile launcher is a common sight in most Space Marine armies. The krak round is useful for a number of targets, be they tanks, Death Company or Crisis Suits. The frag round is useful against enemies like Imperial Guard, Tyranid Gaunt genus creatures and Orks or Gretchin. THis sort of flexibility means that the missile launcher will never really be short of a task it can complete. |
| Multi-Melta | A very nice anti-tank weapon, which suffers from some odd decisions about where it can be carried. The multi-melta is at its most effective within 12" of a targe, as it gets to add another d6 to its armour penetration roll. Having such a short range for a heavy weapon at 24", and a tiny key area of 12", the idea of sticking a multi-melta in a devastator squad is laughable. After all, they're unlikely to get to use them to their best effect. It is only slightly better to mount them on a Dreadnought, but only becuase its a stable weapons platform and the weapon has an effective range of 30". It makes more sense to use a multi-melta on a Razorback, especially if the squad inside has a meltagun - you then have a dedicated tank-hunting unit which is highly effective at short range. Multi-meltas can also be given to Attack Bikes and Land speeders. These fast units will be able to maximise the effectiveness of the weapon by getting into position early. |
| Plasma Cannon | The ultimate power armoured loon killer, regardless of who they fight for. The main downside is the one which afflicts all plasma weapons, the "Gets Hot" rule, meaning that one in six shots result in the gun overheating and ventin on the gunner. Fortunately, this isn't the same S7 AP2 that the cannon fires at the enemy, so most of the time you'll be OK. Only available to Devastators and Dreadnoughts, the Plasma CAnnon is quite expensive. However, the look on your opponents face when four blast templates land is generally worth it. However, I'm not that big a fan of weapons that can kill their own side, so tend to take it on Dreadnoughts, where overheating doesn;t matter. |
| Plasma Gun | A good complement to the bolter in firepower squads, having the same range, but much better strength and armour-penetration. Unfortunately, I feel it has the same problem as the plasma cannon in that it can kill your own side as well as the enemy. Possibly the best special weapon for tactical squads, mind you. |
| Plasma Pistol | Not seen so often since the advent of the Trial Assault rules, as a bolt pistol gives you the +1 attack bonus, while not having a chance of killing yourself when fired at range. As pistols are often not fired in the TAR, it's probably best to stick with the bolt pistol, or even a second close combat weapon. |
| Shotgun | Only available to Scouts and Scout Bikers, and generally reviled for both. I'd be tempted by a full Scout squad with them for Guardsmen blattin, or a Scout Biker unit with them for drive-by shootings, but that's about the limit of its usefulness, in my opinion. |
| Sniper Rifle | Only available to Scout squads, and one of only two pinning weapons available to the Marines. As I feel pinning weapons are under-rated, I quite like them. The set to-wound roll means that they're a good weapon for dealing with big gribblies, such as Wraithlords, C'Tan and Hive Tyrants - even though some of them have high armour saves, a decent sized sniper Scout unit will be putting the hurt on them regardless. Definately a weapon to consider when assembling a Space Marine army. |
| Storm Bolter | The standard side-arm for Terminators, the storm bolter provides a fair amount of firepower whilst on the move, though with the S and AP of a bolter. Very effective at cutting down hordes of basic infantry, such as Gardsmen, Guardians, Gaunts and Orks. Quite handy on VEteran Scout Sergeants if they're in a firepower unit, or even in a unit where the rest of the squad have shotguns - it's all assault firepower, which is never a bad thing. |
| Typhoon Missile Launcher | Only found on the lesser-spotted Land Speeder Typhoon, the Typhoon Missile Launcher provides long-range, medium strength firepower on a highly mobile platform. The fact that it's also twin-linked at BS4 is a minor bonus, as well. Handy against clumped together groups with low armour save, and worth a potshot at AV10 open-topped vehices, just in case. However, this weapon is generally disapproved of, as it isn't believed to be terribly effective in either role. |
While generally seen as a rapid strike force, the Space Marines do have limited Ordinance capabilities of their own, designed to either support the main advance or crack heavily armoured targets wide open.
Weapon | Opinion |
| Demolisher Cannon | The Demolisher is the Space Marines premiere bunker-buster, and on the battlefields of the 41st Millennium it acts well as an area denial weapon - your opponent knows that if he ventures into the 24" range of the gun, he's in for a world of hurt. Mounted on the equivalent of a Predator chassis, the Vindicator does not provide the same level of protection for the weapon as the Leman Russ Demolisher does, but what it does provide is generally sufficient. However, watch out for units flanking you with firepower. |
| Whirlwind Multiple Missile Launcher | The only indirectly firing weapon Space Marines have access to, the Whirlwind works well providing support for a Space MArine advance, especially on mid or low armoured enemies. In fact, the Whirlwind multiple missile launcher is possibly the best weapon to take against non-power armoured enemies, due to a S and AP sufficient to see you killing most of said enemies on a 2+. The pinning check at -1 is always a bonus, as well, giving you a good chance of removing multiple units as threats for a turn with a good shot. Can also be useful against AV10 open-topped transports like the Dark Eldar Raider and the Ork Wartrukk if you get first turn - eliminating your enemies HQ with an Ordinance Annihilation is always a good way to start the game. Just watch out for enemies with the capacity to fire back at your Whirlwind indirectly. |
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