And now for the third and final installment of my analysis of every unit in Codex: Space Marines.  The first part contains the overview and my grades for HQ, Troops and Transports.  The second part contains my grades for Elites and Fast Attack.  This final part contains my grades for Heavy Support and Ultramarines Special Units and Special Characters.

I have also included a summary at the end, which lists the complete report card, but without the details.

Heavy Support

Devastator Squad: B

The weapons upgrades seem like they are overpriced, and other armies’ heavy weapons units seem like they are better (e.g. Chaos Havocs), but I just can’t seem to make a shooty army without this unit.  Maybe its because they are one of the best firepower units in the space marine codex.  They are more durable than a predator: more models = more enemy firepower necessary to take them out AND you have to kill 2-6 models (depending on unit size) before there is any loss of firepower.  Unlike a predator, which can be destroyed in one hit, or even if not destroyed, will be unable to fire for a complete turn if even damaged (which is almost as bad!).  Not to mention that this unit typically has cover saves, whereas the predator might have cover, which might grant it hull down…you see what I mean.  Devastators are simply more durable than other heavy firepower units.  Plus you can transport them, or, in a pinch, assault with them.  And finally, this unit is good because of the excellent variety of weapons configurations.  Players will argue all day as to the best way to arm them.  The reason is because there are many different weapon configurations that work well.

Vindicator: B

This is a fairly one-dimensional unit, but boy does it strike terror into the heart of your opponent!  Power of the Machine Spirit is highly recommended for this unit, even though you have a good chance of never firing a shot with this thing.  That’s because this unit tends to attract a disproportionate amount of fire, which, fortunately, insulates the rest of the army from harm.  I see that as an advantage.  Alternatively, you can hide the unit behind cover and pop out to shoot something (with power of machine spirit) or just shut down one of the approaches to your lines.  All of this makes the Vindicator a great unit for a shooty army.  And when you do shoot you will almost certainly kill something, even if it is a regular grunt that was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Predator Annihilator: C

This is an average, shooty tank.  Nothing especially good, nothing especially bad.  In an all mechanized force, these will probably be preferable to Devastators, if only because you are trying to have as many armored units as possible.  Otherwise, I feel that Devastators are better because they are more durable, have more guns and have a greater variety of guns.  The Predator Annihilator can’t move and shoot well if you take lascannon sponsons (again, better to use Devastators), and if you take heavy bolter sponsons then your weapons will not work well together as you will mix anti-infantry with anti-vehicle.  At least they are pretty cheap.

Predator Destructor: C

First of all, let me say that there is no reason this should be a separate unit from the Annihilator.  They should be the same unit, with an option to upgrade to twin-linked lascannons for + 20 points.  Having said that, this unit falls into the same boat as its brother – decent, but there are other units in the codex that are better at doing what this unit does (land speeders, in this case).  I do like that the autocannon and the heavy bolter sponsons work well together, and work well while moving.  Still, there are plenty of other units in the codex that have long-range anti-infantry weapons, and this is not the best of them.

Whirlwind: C-

If you are playing escalation, this unit is useless.  If you are not playing escalation, but are facing a power-armor equivalent enemy, this unit is bad.  If you are not playing escalation, and are facing a hoard army, this unit is very good.  That about sums it up for this unit.  Too bad, really, because in 3rd edition Whirlwinds were my favorite unit.  Unfortunately, the increased chance of scattering (thanks to the change in the indirect fire rules), the advent of escalation missions, and the increased point cost made me all but retire this unit to the shelf.  Castellan mines aren’t that good because they have no AP value, and anyone who tries to fire with this unit directly, as in, NOT using indirect fire, is a fool.  So that leaves us with a unit that is very limited in its usefulness, albeit extremely useful in those situations where it is actually useful.

Land Raider: A-

It has armor 14 all around, packs great firepower, and can even transport units.  What else do you want?  Yes, it does come with a hefty price tag, but people underestimate just how good AV 14 all around is.  This is the only vehicle (plus the Crusader variant, obviously) in the entire codex that I am fairly confident will survive to the end of the battle in most of the games I play with it.  Even if your opponent concentrates his fire against it for the whole game, it still stands a good chance of surviving.  In fact, many players will simply ignore a Land Raider and never fire anything at it unless they have nothing else to shoot – they just don’t think its worth the effort of trying to kill it.  That’s how good AV 14 all around is.  If it were just a beefed up Rhino, the price tag would be too much, but since it comes with three good weapons, and the Power of the Machine Spirit (which has good synergy with all of the twin-linked weapons, by the way), I’d say the price is a fair deal.  Throw in the fact that this unit has a special, unique ability (not written in the codex, but instead in the basic book) that allows units to assault after disembarking (despite it being closed-top), and I’d say we have a pretty special unit here.  The only thing keeping it from being an A is that it is expensive in conjunction with it being vulnerable to a lucky shot from your opponent.

Land Raider Crusader: A-

A more specialized version of the regular Land Raider, this unit shares many of the advantages and disadvantages of its brother.  It is better at delivering a close combat unit, and better against light infantry, but much worse at long range.  Also, since you are always carrying an assault unit in one of these, you are basically shoe-horned into the ‘strategy’ of charging straight at the enemy, whereas with the normal Land Raider you are more free to adapt to the situation.  Still, the Crusader is noticeably better in the areas where it has an advantage.  In the end, I’d say it’s about even.

Ultramarines Special Characters and Units

Tyrannic War Veterans: C

While they are usable against all enemies, they are really only good against Tyranids.  And even against tyranids, they aren’t as good as they seem (especially if you are facing a Monstrous Creature Tyranid army).  This is because their special krak grenade attack doesn’t benefit from preferred enemy against monstrous creatures (preferred enemy doesn’t work against monstrous creatures…I know, its ridiculous, but that’s what the rule is).  They also lack the options and customizability that makes units like Veteran Squads so good.  In the end, this is a unit that performs well enough, but there are better units to take – even against Tyranids.

Honor Guard (as a Squad): C

This is the classic example of a unit that is very powerful, but very expensive.  Able to dish out large amounts of damage, but unable to take a comparable amount of damage.  Such is the definition of a balanced unit.  Hence the grade.  The uniqueness of the unit is also tempered by the lack of any options.

Honor Guard (as a unit upgrade): D

This unit is simply too expensive for what it does.  A veteran sergeant with a power fist is much better, yet costs the same.  Alternatively, a veteran sergeant with a power weapon is about the same, yet costs less.  Aside from the coolness factor, you would only take one if you wanted to use an honor guard in addition to a veteran sergeant within a unit.  While there are situations where you would want to do that, they are few and far between.  It also doesn’t help that they can only be added to command squads, tactical squads, and devastator squads.  Would be much better if they could have been added to, say, an assault squad.

Chaplain Cassius: C

Cassius is overpriced.  He costs 75 points more than a Reclusiarch (his stat line matches the Reclusiarch), has minimal equipment, and two so-so special abilities to show for it.  It’s not that he’s bad, its just that you can construct your own Chaplain that will probably be better, especially since Cassius is on foot and most chaplains are equipped with jump packs or are mounted on a bike.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot that one of his abilities is only useful against Tyranids.

Chief Librarian Tigrius: A+

Tigrius is so good, it’s not even funny.  He’s just 50 points more than a regular Epistolary, but doesn’t pay extra for psychic powers.  While he lacks some things that appear to be no-brainers for most space marine characters (terminator honors, any form of invulnerable save), he more than makes up for it with his special abilities.  For one, he can choose any two psychic powers, after both armies have been selected, after you see your opponent’s army, and after deployment.  That, alone, is enough to make him the best special character in the codex, Ultramarine or otherwise.  But then, on top of that, he DOUBLES the range of all of his psychic powers.  This, in conjunction with the power Fear of the Darkness, is incredibly effective against most armies, and absolutely devastating against low leadership armies.  Plus, he still retains the advantages of normal librarians – negates enemy psychic powers, has a weapon that ignores armor saves and can auto-kill an enemy, etc.  He is easily the best character in the entire codex.

Marneus Calgar, Ultramarines Chapter Master: B+

Marneus is unique in that he is the only special character in the codex who can be equipped in two different ways – either in artificer armor with an Iron Halo, or in Terminator armor.  Unless you plan to deep strike him, the artificer armor variant is superior.  Marneus is a very good special character – lots of power-fist attacks, good armor save, good invulnerable save, 4 wounds, confers leadership 10 on the entire army, and can choose to pass or fail any morale check.  Disadvantages include a high price tag, inability to be accompanied by normal command squads or terminator command squads, and the basic problem of being an independent character armed with a power-fist instead of a power weapon.  In other words, he is vulnerable to hidden fists and to Dreadnought close combat weapon attacks, which can instantly kill him, sometimes before he attacks.  Still, if you want a close combat machine, Marneus is your guy.

Conclusion:

Space Marines have fairly good, but not great, heavy support.  Land Raiders and Land Raider Crusaders are definitely good, and Vindicators are fairly good too, but everything else is average compared to what other armies can field.  I’d much rather have the heavy support options from Imperial Guard or Chaos.  Or even Eldar or Tau.  Still, there is enough to get the job done.

As for Special Characters, I find the squads to be really lacking, but the characters on the whole are good.  It would have been better had they made Cassius more powerful and Tigrius less powerful, but you don’t always get what you want.  At least Marneus Calgar is a good character in this edition.  We’ll see if he stays good in 5th edition.

Summary:

Commander: B+

Chaplain: B+

Librarian: B-

Command Squad (power armor): B+

Command Squad (terminator): B

Tactical Squad: B

Scout Squad: B-

Rhino: D-

Razorback: C-

Drop Pod: A

Terminator Squad: B+

Terminator Assault Squad: C-

Veteran Squad: B

Dreadnought: B+

Techmarine: D

Assault Squad: C

Land Speeder Squad: A

Bike Squad: C

Attack Bike Squad: C+

Scout Bike Squad: D+

Devastator Squad: B

Vindicator: B

Predator Annihilator: C

Predator Destructor: C

Whirlwind: C-

Land Raider: A-

Land Raider Crusader: A-

Tyranid War Veterans: C-

Honor Guard (squad): C

Honor Guard (unit upgrade): D

Cassius: C

Tigrius: A+

Marneus Calgar: B+

And that’s everything.  Feel free to comment, critique, etc.  I hope you enjoyed it!

To the right you see Dr. Manhattan from the trailer, but honestly you just have to watch it to see everything for yourself.  Needless to say, I’m excited.  I think that all of the characters look pretty much spot on and though the feel definitely reminds me a bit too much of 300 (and I loved 300), I’d rather this not ride on the coatails of another movie and stand as fantastic all on its own.  We’ll just have to wait until March and see!

Some highlights from the errata:

PHB:

• A lot of the class specific powers (hunter’s quarry, backstab, etc.) were clarified so that if they are used in a round they cannot be used again until your next turn. [ stop breaking the rules, please ]
• Ranger Attack - Blade Cascade was given a maximum number of 5 attacks  [ Less awesome, more balance ]
• Several skill DC’s were brought into line with the rest of the game’s numbers, no longer based on straight level but now 1/2 levels [ the best min-maxing is to miss every other level ]
• You can now buy oil for your lanterns [ thank. god. ]

MM:

• Angel of Battle’s HP dropped (halved), tons of monster attack damages have been increased, many of them doubling. [ Yeeouch! ]

DMG:

• Difficult Class by level - all reduced, now 1st-3rd level easy = DC 5, moderate = DC 10, and hard = DC 15, all higher level numbers were equally reduced  [ time to go back and re-negotiate with the king ]
• Every complexity level of Skill Challenges now end with 3 failures  [ buh? ]

It seems like most of the PHB and MM changes are corrections, whereas the Skill Challenge changes in the DMG feel like a major overhaul in reaction to people’s complaints that they are simply too hard.  I haven’t had time to fully ponder how the lower DC’s but easier failure translates into different skill challenges, but I’m very curious to see how it works out.  This does kind of invalidate much of Keith Baker’s famous blog post though, because his whole claim was that the numbers did in fact work and now Wizards has gone in and torn all of the numbers down.  Thoughts?

Now, the primary conflict that’s been in my face lately is what I’ve alluded to above: 3.xe D&D for 4e D&D. For my gaming groups and I, the change was more than welcome, but that’s because of our playstyle. I’ve been running D&D with a battlemap since 3e came out (with a few mini-campaigns in there where I tried otherwise, but found that my awful spacial sense prevented me from taking advantage of all the rules that were intended to be there.) Our group likes it when there’s some semblance of balance between the classes. We like to kick some butt when playing D&D (though not necessarily in every RPG we play.) We have a healthy mix of min-maxers and those who don’t care to optimize as much. (I also strongly believe in the Stormwind Fallacy, since I play with plenty of people who can min-max with the best of them and have had incredibly deep character story arcs.)

There’s also been some other side-conflicts that have erupted independent of the edition wars. For instance, as alluded to above, there’s lots of complaints about “min-maxers” and “munchkins.” You also hear plenty of the old cliche of “that’s not role-playing, that’s roll-playing!” I could certainly argue the specific points that have been raised, but I’m going to go broader: why is “roll-playing” bad? If you have a group that really enjoys nothing but combat, rolling dice, and blowing stuff up, who are we to step and say “you’re doing it wrong!” Yes, I’m sure we all have “bad gamer” stories, but I find that many of those more stem from an anti-social PLAYER that an inherently worse PLAYSTYLE.

But it’s not just limited to D&D by any means. In fact, I’ve been somewhat shocked to find that players of different editions come together to gang up on LARPers! LARPing is a pretty close cousin to tabletop roleplaying games, probably even closer than boardgames of the same genre. Again, yes, there are plenty of stories of LARPing making others look bad (and some things that draw the derision of the mainstream and cause bad associations), but again, I’m not going to say that what they’re doing is worse than what I enjoy, and to go onto LARP message boards and tell them to stop having fun.

We can even move out of this field and find similar conflicts: Fallout 1/2 versus Fallout 3. Some people really enjoy turn-based games, whereas others don’t. Some people DO just want Oblivion with Guns. Is that wrong? Arguments can be made that it’s far from the original spirit of the game, but I don’t believe that makes it any worse. (I’ve heard the same argument for Fallout as I’ve heard with D&D: “they should have just called it something else.” That goes back to “what is the essence of a game.”)

Even the humble boardgame is not safe from this type of rhetoric. A ways back on Boardgamegeek, there was a huge conflict over Eurogames vs. Ameritrash, two styles of boardgames with very different design philosophies. There have been huge, long threads hashing out what is better. My design philosophies tend to lean heavily towards the Euro end of things for a variety of reasons (even if my game falls somewhere in the middle), but I can’t fault anyone for wanting to pick up a handful of dice and trying to blast each other. There are design philosophies that I would argue for any game (and as a critic and a designer, I am going to be opinionated about any game you put in front of me) but I’m not going to tell anyone not to enjoy a game, unless the game designer is a real dick or something.

Now, lest I be branded a hypocrite, I’m sure I’ve fallen prey to some of the same accusations at some point during my long gaming career and my almost-three year career here. But I will say that I’ve tried very hard not to go out of my way to drop into an online discussion about a product I’m not fond of and complain that it’s not like another product I like. I find it’s much more useful to look at a game in terms of its design goals and audience, and assess it from there. And if I’m not part of that audience… I let it pass on by.

To close, I’d like to quote from the seminar run by Mike Mearls at Origins:

Whenever there’s a new edition of D&D, there are some people who buy all new stuff, some people who wait to decide, and some people who like the way it is now so won’t change. Pathfinder is good for people who don’t want to move. It’s good for everyone since it keeps people playing games.

Getting more people to play games is essential to the survival of game companies, to game conventions, and to the hobby in general. Telling people not to have fun only damages our hobby as a whole.

This is part 2 of my examination into the units in the 4th edition Codex Space Marines.  This part features the Elites and Fast Attack sections of the force organization chart.  For the overview of what all of this means, see the original article.  Therein you will find my analysis of the HQ, Troops and Transports.  For Heavy Support and Special Characters, stay tuned for Part 3.

Elites

Terminator Squad: B+

Great armor, great firepower, good in close combat, the ability to deep strike or drop pod, and take veteran skills.  Make no bones about it, terminators are very good.  Sure they cost a good bit.  But there’s a reason that your opponent tries as best as he can to aim every low AP weapon at them or to avoid them like the plague.  The trick with Terminators is that you have to deploy them and move them very carefully.  If you go with the strategy of advancing them down the center, in the open, then they will die very quickly.  But if you use terrain to your advantage and bring them into sight of one or two enemy units at a time, you can wreak havoc on those units and expect to survive any return fire.  This unit, like the dreadnought, is best used (in my experience) as a counter-attack unit – hiding behind cover and poking out to eradicate an enemy unit that gets too close.  Of course, you must take 2 assault cannons if you use this unit.  If you don’t, they are much less effective, maybe only average considering their point cost.

Terminator Assault Squad: C-

This unit is the best close combat unit in the codex…and utterly useless outside of close combat.  They need to be in close combat to be effective (and to be safe from enemy shooting), but they move too slow to get there easily.  Unlike veteran squads, which can ride in transports, or assault squads, which have jump packs, this unit must lumber around the battlefield, waiting for some enemy unit too stupid to stay away from them.  The only really effective way to use them is to mount them in a land raider crusader and charge at the enemy…but I usually prefer not to place all of my eggs in one basket, as they say.  The lack of any shooting hurts this unit in more ways than one; not only can they not damage anything with ranged attacks, but there is no incentive for enemy close combat specialists to assault them.  At least with the regular terminators, an enemy might wish to engage them to silence those assault cannons.  No such incentive for these guys.

Veteran Squad: B

Believe it or not, I like veterans.  This unit reminds me of the power armored command squad in that it is very flexible, and if you avoid the terminator honors they are actually pretty cheap.  A 6-man squad armed with a lascannon and a plasma gun makes an excellent anti-vehicle unit once you factor in the tank hunter veteran skill (that would be a Str. 8 plasma gun and a Str. 10 lascannon!).  Alternatively, arm them with 2 powerfists (one on the veteran sarge) and a special weapon and infiltrate them, as they will have much more punch and staying power than scouts.  And if you want to smash something, give them furious charge and put them in a land raider – more bodies than a terminator squad yet comparable damage output.  This unit has something for every type of space marine army.

Dreadnought: B+

It seems like I take one of these in every army.   They are not particularly durable (except for the Venerable ones), but they pack decent firepower at an affordable price.  The best weapon configurations, in my opinion, are 1) twin-linked lascannon & missile launcher + venerable, and 2) assault cannon & dreadnought close combat weapon.  The first gives you good long range anti-vehicle firepower, and the other gives you another assault cannon at a cheap price.  Both will serve you well.  Just don’t get too attached to your dreads, because your opponent will destroy them, over and over again.

Techmarine: D

This unit is bad.  Really bad.  Ok, ok, fine, a techmarine without any servitors is all right, like, a C.  But a techmarine with a servitor retinue is horrible, the only ‘F’ in the whole codex.  By himself, the techmarine is a decent, but not great, support character.  I would rather have a chaplain or a commander.  The problem is that he can’t be built or utilized to make use of all of his abilities in the same game.  If you make him good at close combat, he won’t be able to repair vehicles or help shooty units with his signum.  Alternatively, if you make him stay back and provide support, he won’t be able to use the extra attacks from his servo arms, nor will he make much use of his flamer or plasma pistol.  He’s just not as good as the HQ units, and he takes up an Elites slot – which I always seem to have a greater need for than HQ slots.  And servitors are just terrible.  They are weak, not well-armored, and carry expensive guns, and there are no ablative wounds with this unit – unlike Devastators.  I can hardly conceive of a build using a servitor squad that I would prefer to one using a devastator squad.  In the end, the Techmarine averages out to a D.

Fast Attack

Assault Squad: C

Assault Squads are below-average compared to assault specialists from other armies, but they are better at assaulting than most other space marine units and do an adequate job in that role.  Their greatest asset is their maneuverability, as jump packs not only increase the amount they can move, they also can move over difficult terrain.  A veteran sergeant with a power-fist is a must, and it is wise to take plasma pistols and/or flamers depending on the enemy.  The frags and melta-bombs are a nice touch, and help to mitigate the measly one attack (base) per model.

Land Speeder Squad: A

One of the best units in the space marine codex, land speeders combine good firepower with excellent maneuverability, and come at a reasonably cheap point cost.  Just to compare, a land speeder with a heavy bolter costs 50 points, while a razorback with twin-linked heavy bolters (about the same firepower) costs 70 points – and the land speeder is far more maneuverable and survivable.  Yes, yes, they have an armor of 10.  But they are skimmers, which insulates them from most close combat attacks, and when properly utilized can hug terrain so that only one or two enemy units are exposed at one time – minimizing any return fire.  Land speeders are also great at claiming objectives, particularly at the end of the game.  While the standard land speeder is a pretty good unit in its own right, it is the Land Speeder Tornado that really shines.  Tornadoes, if rated individually, would get an A+.  The Tornado adds another gun over the standard land speeder armament, doubling the firepower for less than double the price.  Even though the heavy bolter & assault cannon variant is the most popular, the other variant of the Tornado (multi-melta & heavy flamer) is also very good, as it works well against both light armored troops and heavily armored vehicles.  In fact, using both variants of land speeder Tornado (in separate units, obviously) will ensure that you have all of your bases covered.  The land speeder Typhoon, on the other hand, is not as good, as the typhoon missile launcher is just not that great of a weapon.  Plus, who would ever want to take a Typhoon over a Tornado?  At least with the standard land speeder you save some points.

Bike Squad: C

I’ve never really liked bikes.  It seems like they are ok at a lot of things, but not good at anything.  I prefer assault squads when I want to get in hand-to-hand, as the assault squad can move over cover and will have more models.  In terms of mobile shooting, land speeders are clearly better, although the bikes can assault something if you want them to.  And don’t let the toughness 5 fool you; this unit is not that durable.  Still, they are not bad as far as bike units go, particularly since they can include an attack bike within the squad – an ability that most other bike units from other armies cannot mimic with their own equivalent unit.  I suppose they are average when it is all said and done.

Attack Bike Squad: C+

The problem with attack bikes is that they fill the same sort of role as land speeders, and are much worse at it.  They can’t move over terrain and don’t get any sort of defensive bonus for moving unless they move so fast that they can’t shoot.  Unlike land speeders, which get both.  Additionally, there are so few options with attack bikes.  Unlike land speeders, which have many.  Absent the comparison to land speeders though, they seem fine.  Too bad that comparison is hard to ignore.

Scout Bike Squad: D+

They are like regular bike squads, but with worse armor, no special weapons, and no attack bike.  Yay!  At least they are cheaper than regular bikes.  The fact that they have the Scouts special rule doesn’t make up for the difference, even considering the reduced point cost.  Why pay premium points for a unit that can deploy in escalation when it isn’t a good unit?  I’d rather have more infantry.  Some players use them as expensive cannon fodder, using the scout move and charging them straight into the enemy’s lines to tie them up for a turn or two.  But isn’t “expensive cannon-fodder” an oxymoron?

Conclusion

Space Marines have a good selection of Elites to choose from, both in terms of the number of units and the various uses of those units.  Terminators, Veterans and Dreadnoughts are all very good units, and each will fulfill a different role on the battlefield.  In fact, the elites section may be one of the strongest in the codex.  The Fast Attack section, by contrast, leaves something to be desired - with the notable exception of the land speeder.  On many occasions, I have found that I have so many extra Fast Attack slots that I can take three land speeders as separate units instead of one larger unit.  Nevertheless, there are enough fast attack choices to get the job done, even if they aren’t the best units in the codex.

• Xbox 360 will be able to stream Netflix movies if you have a subscription. I’ve never gotten the streaming video to work on ANY computer I’ve tried it on, but this will finally mean I can take advantage of that feature I’m already paying for.
• Final Fantasy 13 will be coming to the 360. This might get me to play it: I gave up on 7, skipped 8, liked 9 (but it was nothing compared to 2 or 3), and skipped every one since.
• Fable 2 is pretty good.
• Fallout 3 is pretty good.
• Guitar Hero 4 will be able to use Rock Band peripherals after all.
• There’s going to be a Ghostbusters game on the big 3 platforms (but hopefully the Wii one will, aha, let us cross the streams.)
• You can make a Weighted Companion Cube in Spore.
• Portal is Still Alive (can you say Sequel Song?)
• New Rock Band drums look badass (and, as previously mentioned, the track list is insane.)

Not as much a fan of:

• Any of Nintendo’s or Sony’s presentations. I’m used to being disappointed by Sony, but Nintendo really dropped the ball. Nothing new for the big franchises, no new big franchises, and the new peripheral just makes the Wiimote do what it already does better.

Two videos featuring some unlikely zombie killers. The first, the trailer for the movie Chanbara Beauty, sent to me by the Chatty DM who claims to have seen the movie and still has his eyes intact. The second, a music video featuring Gorbachev as Conan fighting zombies, which was first featured by Amber Night.

With Warhammer 40k entering its 5th edition as of this past Friday, one chapter of the game’s history comes to an end, while another begins. As I thought about the past edition I decided it would be good to take one last look at all of the units in the Space Marine Codex. There are always numerous assessments of a unit’s abilities during the course of an edition, but it is rare that a unit is examined and assessed after an edition ends. And yet the end of an edition seems to be the best time to make an assessment, because that is the time when all of the other codexes have been released, all of the games have been played, and all of the ‘data’ has been collected.

The following article, therefore, is an assessment of every unit in the Space Marine Codex, as they operated under the 4th edition rules. Mind you, this is no hard-tested, quantitatively analyzed assessment; rather, it is my personal opinion of each unit, based on my experiences – and the experiences of many others – in countless battles with and against these units. You may agree with my opinions; you may not. If you don’t agree, feel free to comment with your own opinions.

I have decided to ‘rate’ each unit in the form of a letter grade, ranging from A (high) to F (low), with a C being about average. About 50% of the grade is how the unit compares to other units within the Space Marine Codex, particularly with those that fulfill the same role on the battlefield or those that occupy the same place on the force organization chart. The other 50% of the grade is how the unit compares to units from other codexes, again, particularly with those that fulfill the same role or that occupy the same place on the force organization chart. In the end, though, the grade represents my gut feeling about how good the unit is.

My review is too long to put into one article, so I decided to break it up into three parts.  The first part covers HQ, Troops and Transports, the second part covers Elites and Fast Attack, and the third part covers Heavy Support and Special Characters.

One more caveat: I play Ultramarines, and my experiences are necessarily adapted from that perspective. Therefore, all ratings will be from the perspective of an Ultramarine player, or (if you prefer) from a straight codex chapter without any of the traits. The ratings might be different if playing with a traited chapter. And without further ado…

HQ

Commander: B+

This unit’s effectiveness really depends on whether you field a shooty army or a choppy army. I find this unit to be a must-take in any shooty army. Since I field primarily shooty armies, this is the HQ unit that I usually field. Having leadership 10 for your whole army is very good, and the relatively low point cost – especially compared to the other HQ choices – is another big advantage. Close combat armies would do well, however, to take a Chaplain or Librarian instead. In the end, this is a good unit, but it lacks any special abilities that would make it an excellent unit.

Chaplain: B+

For close combat armies, I find this to be the must-take unit. The Reclusiarch is actually better than the Master of Sanctity – one less wound for 15 fewer points – but you still get the Fearless ability & Litanies of Hate, and the free Crozius Arcanum & Rosarius. The ‘free’ equipment is a big advantage, assuming you don’t replace the Crozius with some other weapon, and making a unit fearless is quite good. While this unit is very good, I don’t think it stacks up with some of the really great HQ units available to some other armies, so I can’t justify giving it an A.

Librarian: B-

Librarians are customizable thanks to the psychic power choices, and they also come with ‘free’ equipment. They are also the best hand-to-hand fighters, if you are willing to pay the points for a bunch of upgrades. In my experience, though, space marine characters are better at performing supporting roles instead of front-line slaughtering roles, so the Librarian seemed like a unit trying to fulfill a role that was somewhat out-of-place in the army. The other major disadvantage with Librarians is their point cost – they cost a minimum of 100 points for the 2-wound variant, whereas a 2-wound commander costs only 60 points. I think the Chaplain and the Commander are better choices, but the Librarian is still a bit above the average 40k HQ unit.

Command Squad (power armor): B+

An extremely customizable unit, the Command Squad was one of the most improved from 3rd edition to 4th edition. They are a below average long-range fire support squad, and are too expensive if you give all of them terminator honors. But if you are willing to limit them to just special weapons, a veteran skill, and a few specialists, this unit can be very good. Apothecaries are a must-take, as even 2 ignored failed saves for the entire game is enough to justify the points cost, and anything extra is just gravy. It is worth remembering that if you want your independent character to be able to drop-pod in or ride in a transport, you have to take a Command Squad for them. As the power-armored version is cheaper (or more numerous) and more flexible than the terminator version, I find that it is usually the better choice.

Command Squad (Terminator armor): B

This unit shares the same advantages and disadvantages as a regular Terminator Squad [see part 2 for my analysis], but with less flexibility (must stay with independent character) and less survivability (bigger target). As compared to a normal terminator squad, this unit takes up no spot on the force org chart, so if you were strapped for elites choices you could field a Terminator Command squad and squeeze in an ‘extra’ elites choice. Alternatively, if you were strapped for heavy support choices, you could field one of these, give them a Land Raider transport, and squeeze in an ‘extra’ heavy support choice – though this option is expensive! While the squeezing in of an extra heavy support choice is nice, I usually prefer the power armored command squad because I can buy more models for the same points, and thus have more ablative wounds to soak incoming fire. Still, assault cannons are assault cannons, and you can never go wrong with them. Good, but not great.

Troops

Tactical Squad: B

Tactical squads are better than most other troops in the game. They are not the best basic troops, but they are certainly above average. They are much more flexible than most basic troops. Consider, for example, that while fire warriors are better shooters, tactical marines are decent shooters but also fare much better in close combat. Or consider hormaguants and genestealers, which are much better in close combat, but have no shooting and much less durability. Tactical marines epitomize the unit that is not the best at any one thing, but makes up for it by being above average at almost everything. Large drop-pod units, small las-plas or fire support squads, veteran sergeant-led assault units, this unit can do it all, and forms the perfect backbone for the space marine army.

Scout Squad: B-

This unit seems like it might be even better than the tactical squad, but it is not. The lack of a special weapon or AP 2 heavy weapons limit this unit’s effectiveness as a fire support unit. Sure you can get sniper rifles for the whole unit, but that makes them expensive and a tasty target for enemy shooting, especially considering the lower armor save. I also find that sniper rifles, in general, are only effective against poorly armored opponents – further limiting this unit’s flexibility. The greatest asset this unit possesses is its ability to infiltrate, and its dirt-cheap cost if taken without upgrades. A small un-upgraded unit of scouts makes for an excellent harassment unit, counter-attack unit, or cannon fodder unit. And you can greatly increase their punch by buying a veteran sergeant with a powerfist. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good unit, but not quite as useful as a tactical squad.

Transport Vehicles

Rhino: D-

Rhinos were really good in 3rd edition, and got totally nerfed in 4th. Compared to the transport units other armies have access to, this is probably the worst in the game (Wave Serpents, Dark Eldar Raiders, Ork Trukks, Chimeras, and Devilfish APCs are all better). Even Chaos Rhinos are better thanks to having access to better upgrades. Comparisons aside, this unit just isn’t worth 50 points. You can’t assault when you get out of it, and it is so easy to blow up / penetrate that it is laughable. It’s no coincidence that all Space Marine players take both extra armor and smoke launchers whenever they take Rhinos. The reason is because the unit just doesn’t have the necessary protection to get the job done without them. The much more effective way to transport your units across the battlefield is by using a drop pod, which can’t get shot on the way to its destination and costs 60% of the points that a Rhino does.

Razorback: C-

This unit is still a bad transport unit. It is no better at surviving than the Rhino, and is probably worse considering it makes a more attractive target, thanks to the shiny gun on top and the greater points value. Still, at least this unit has its uses. By putting a gun on top, you add a little more firepower to your army, and more importantly you add one more target to the list that your opponent must deal with. On its own this is not a big deal, but if you take several razorbacks, in conjunction with lots of other small units, you can create a real target selection problem for your opponent. It doesn’t work with every army build, and even when it does, the Razorbacks are usually some of the first to go because they are easy to kill. Still, at least it’s a viable strategy. Heck, in a pinch you can even use this unit to transport something!

Drop Pod: A

An outstanding unit. One of the best transports in the game. Never gets shot before delivering its cargo. Can drop units off anywhere on the board, even behind enemy lines. Unlike every other deep striking unit in the game, it is NOT destroyed when it scatters into enemy units. And it comes with a gun. For 30 points. That alone warrants a high grade, but the fact that you can also transport Terminators (which are generally non-transportable), and Dreadnoughts (which can’t be transported by anything else at all) makes drop pods even better. Additionally, a skilled player can use the line-of-sight blocking feature of the drop pods to his advantage, covering the dropped unit from enemy fire while isolating a portion of the enemy force. You can use just one or two pods, or you can put your whole army in them – either way works fine. The only disadvantage with drop pods is that they are considered immobilized as soon as they touch down, which gives your opponent 15 points per pod right off the bat. Oh well, I suppose you can’t have everything.

Conclusion

Space Marines have a very good, but not great, selection of HQ choices and Troops choices.  Aside from Drop Pods, the Transports leave something to be desired, but all in all, Space Marine players should be pleased that they have a good backbone to build off of given the above average Troops and HQ choices.

Last week Dave was hot off the heels of his coverage at Origins and was curious about the popularity of Podcasting and how frequently all of you listen to them.  The poll was one of our closest in a while, with the slight majority of you (30%) saying you never listen to podcasts at all, with 25% of you saying you rarely listen to them (myself included), but close behind was 24% who listen to them regularly.  The smallest group was still 20% of the votes that listens to podcasts occasionally.  The way I qualify the poll is grouping them into a positive category and a negative, resulting in 44% who like podcasts and 55% that don’t caring about them with a 1% remainder.

This week we’re asking you about Batman, because it just makes sense.  We’re also very curious to know in the comments when you’re planning on seeing The Dark Knight, so stop by and let us know if you’re seeing it at a midnight showing, opening night, opening weekend, waiting a few weeks, or not bothering to see it in theaters at all.