How do you build an army, say for instance, one at 1500 points? A simple question that can have a myriad of answers and one that has no right answer. It's all down to personal preference. For me, however, I like to start in the middle and work my way out. 40k battles are generally won in close combat and that means you have to beef up your assault squads, especially with the new Space Wolves and Blood Angels codices.
What choice as a vanilla marine player is going to give these guys something to think about? Terminator Assault Squads.
Taking this as a starting point, what's going to improve their performance to the point that they become the unit to avoid? Adding a Chaplain in Terminator Armour. That's you at 330 pts. Equip the assault squad with twin-lightning claws and do the math. On the assault that's 23 rolls to hit. 4 for each assault terminator and 3 for the chaplain who allows to re-roll misses. The lightning claws give the terminators the chance to re-roll non-armour save wounds, giving the possibility of 20 wounds. There is a choice of Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields here; however, I personally like the idea of a squad capable of taking out ten space marines in one assault.
HQ - 130 pts
Chaplain: Terminator Armour, Stormbolter
Elite - 200 pts
5 x Terminator Assault Squad: 5 x Twin Lightning Claws
So what's next, it has to be something to take out that pesky armour your opponent is going to put out against you. As I said in my previous post, for me it has to be a lascannon or two somewhere, and, building from the middle, leaves you plenty of points to spend elsewhere. Again, I'm going to hit the Elite choices here and take 2 dreadnoughts with Twin Linked Lascannons, CCW and Heavy Flamer. At 145 pts each, that's a steal.
HQ - 130 pts
Chaplain: Terminator Armour, Stormbolter
Elite - 490 pts
5 x Terminator Assault Squad: 5 x Twin Lightning Claws
2 x Dreadnought: Twin Linked Lascannon, CCW, Heavy Flamer
So far we've got a hard ass assault squad, and a pair of armour killing platforms walking about the board. Next choice has to be the Troop, and given that you've already got the core of your army, this can be relatively simple. Personally, for all their attributes, it would be suicide to rely on the dreadnoughts for taking armour out. The next best option here is in the form of Razorbacks, again with lascannons at 75 pts each.
Taking two 10 man tactical squads with two Razorbacks and powerfists on the sgts is going to cost you 540 pts.
HQ - 130 pts
Chaplain: Terminator Armour, Stormbolter
Troop - 540 pts
10 Man SM Squad: ML, flamer. Sgt with PF. Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
10 Man SM Squad: ML, flamer. Sgt with PF. Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Elite - 490 pts
5 x Terminator Assault Squad: 5 x Twin Lightning Claws
2 x Dreadnought: Twin Linked Lascannon, CCW, Heavy Flamer
That's leaving 340 pts to play with. So what's the army lacking? I'm happy that I've got enough anti-armour, 4 twin-linked lascannons and 2 missile launchers. Could possibly do with more guys on the ground, but how to get them there. Another tactical squad is going to give me 30 troops, but I'm a bit concerned that there's going to be too much pressure on the Terminators. I've used up my maximum Elite choices, so I simply buy the maximum allowed and another chaplain in terminator armour. Combat squad the assault terminator squad, attach the other chaplain, and there's an army that your opponent will really have to work to bring down.
HQ - 270 pts
Chaplain: Terminator Armour, Stormbolter, Meltabombs
Chaplain: Terminator Armour, Stormbolter, Meltabombs
Troop - 540 pts
10 Man SM Squad: ML, flamer. Sgt with PF. Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
10 Man SM Squad: ML, flamer. Sgt with PF. Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Elite - 690 pts
10 x Terminator Assault Squad: 10 x Twin Lightning Claws
2 x Dreadnought: Twin Linked Lascannon, CCW, Heavy Flamer
Is it perfect, either the army or the method? Far from it, adding the terminators and another HQ with the left over points could easily have turned into Fast Attack, Tactical Troops or Heavy Support options and, on another list, may well have ended up being just that. How do you build your armies?
1 comments:
Nice list, man, scary for both you and your opponent. It's very elite, so once your troops are done, you'll struggle to hold objectives.
However, those 10 Terminators are going to hit hard!
Would you consider some TH/SS? That way your Terminators can have much more flexibility. Hammers can reliably pop armor and claws will much infantry. No matter where they land, they'll hurt your enemy.
Post a Comment