Editing Rubric Marines (section)

==On The Tabletop==
[[File:99120102063_RubicMarines02.jpg|400px|right|thumb|During the ten millennia, [[Magnus|Rudolph]] had been trying to tinker and unfuck the disaster that was [[Ahriman|Ahriman's Rubric.]] Finally he had succeeded in making them somewhat useful again. Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to Rubric 2.4, a vast upgrade to previous installation of Rubric 1.1]]
Rubric Marines aren't quite as good at ignoring the sustained fire of 40 Shoota Boyz as their counterparts, the Plague Marines are, but unlike them they can ignore a direct Battle Cannon shot, since Rubrics possess a phenomenally-dickish 4++ invulnerable save. Even better, Rubric Marines pack Inferno Bolts, which means their [[Inferno Bolter]]s are AP2. Suffice to say, they can carve through a squad of [[MEQ]] effortlessly, and, prior to their massive Tomb Kings in Space update, fielding one squad of intelligently-managed Rubric Marines essentially guaranteed victory against a typical [[Necron]] player (or current-gen [[Tyranid]] player; [[Skub|thanks a fucking ''bunch'']], [[Robin Cruddace|Cruddace]]). They're also led by a Sorcerer, who gives them access to one psy power (typically something like Bolt of Change, so the squad can pop transports). The Sorcerer's [[Inferno Bolt Pistol]] also has Inferno Bolts.

Rubrics are cursed with Slow and Purposeful, and unlike the other aligned Chaos Marines, do not have close combat weapons or bolt pistols. At a glance, this makes them a very easy-to-target melee weak-spot, but in practice, this isn't quite true; they still have their beefy-as-shit 3+/4++ saves, and the Sorcerer's Force Weapon means that no MC worth their shit will get anywhere near them. What they ''are'' vulnerable to is being [[Tarpit]]ted, due to their relatively lackluster number of attacks and immense focus on shooting to take advantage of their juicy AP 3 Bolter shots. Note that while they lack grenades and thus hit last if they (counter)charge into cover, they still have a marine statline for close-combat and a 4+ invuln save besides, so seeing these guys win a fight with a squad of Banshees isn't as absurd as you might think.

They also don't have grenades, so charging through a cover or blowing tanks with krak-grenades might be a problem, and even more so if they got caught in melee with AV11+ walker, since they're fearless and cannot choose to run away.

Rubrics benefit heavily from having a [[Rhino Transport]]. Not because they need the survivability (they're tougher than the vehicle they're in, to be frank), but because the mobility they get is such an enormous boon. Take full advantage of their ability to shoot out of their transport, and use it in glorified [[50 Copper and Ludi'drizz't|Tzeentchian drive-by shooting]], before disembarking in rapid fire range and warpfire-blasting a bitch.

=== Mainstream opinion === 
Sweet [[Emperor|Jesus]], the edition update from 5th to 6th and 7th was ''not'' kind to these guys.

While Rubrics were always a finicky option, one that had to be balanced carefully to be used to maximum effect, 6th and 7th wound up indirectly killing their potential on the battlefield by giving them way more competitive options and relegating them to a much more limited tactical control. Their AP3 Bolters and 3+/4++ saves, while once rather impressive, no longer have anywhere near the threat level they used to have, and with other armies getting major edition updates, the Rubrics were facing an uphill fight - especially since changes to the rules made Feel No Pain considerably stronger (ergo pushing [[Nurgle|Plague Marines]] even further ahead of their old Tzeentchian rivals. The changes to Sorcerer rules and Force weapons were even worse - taking a unit that was legitimately a threat to one that struggles hard for a place in a meta with dozens of options. Even within chaos a player could grab a baseline squad with two plasma guns and have better numbers (though none of the backup save) as part of the bargain!

But the cruelest cut - came with 6th edition's addition of the ability to go to ground. This meant absolutely any unit could gain a cover save, basically anywhere, and cover is one of the few things that, Psy Powers aside, the unit just has no ability to deal with, and since the Sorcerer was usually angling for Bolt of Change to kill transports, that's a pretty glaring vulnerability for a unit with a very specific tactical role.

Worse, errata made it so Sorcerers had to take powers randomly with rolls as opposed to choosing them, which seriously cut down on the strategic elements of using this unit, since you no longer had the utility of that lone bit of choice giving you the option to use the squad more tactically based on said choice. Their weapons were also given Soul Blaze, a sub-par ability that really struggled in earlier editions, further weakening their role on the battlefield.

So no more instant kills from the force weapon, mediocre-at-best weapon ability in sorcerer, can't choose psy powers anymore and has to randomize, squad still same drawbacks, in a world that gives everyone cover saves and pushes vehicles harder than ever before. They were also [[Finecast]], because ''fuck you.''

This combination of factors took what was previously a fairly effective unit against MEQs, holding terrain, and terrorizing medium infantry - and completely demolished its tactical role, turning it into an inefficient unit that struggled for any relevance against a backdrop of other chaos units doing the same thing better. With factions that were previously terrified of this unit no longer really having to even worry about it, Rubrics fell into a steep decline, and within a year and a half of the edition update, even players who lived and breathed Thousand Sons stopped using them, and the unit essentially tapered off, unused by even its most ardent fans.

===So Then "Wrath Of Magnus" Came Along...===
Rubric Marines got a rules update along with the general Tzeentchian overhaul in the new Chaos supplement that was part of the War Zone Fenris pack. While not too much has changed about the roles and rules for the Sons, they are a somewhat better unit than before. Rubric Marines now have weapons options, which is a refreshing change. They have access to AP4 flamers with Soul Blaze (and contrary to popular opinion, Soul Blaze isn't bad, it's just not great), so they have something to counter cover but at the cost of range (and still no Overwatch). They also have access to a S5 AP3 Assault Cannon, which is actually pretty cool. Also the new Discipline of Tzeentch makes the Sorcerer less likely to be unuseful, although the new discipline can be prone to random rolls and [[Chaos Daemons|'''FUN''']]. Where they really shine is their their new formations, which gives bonuses to manifesting and casting powers or rerolling saves. On top of all that, they have slick new models.

This all rounds out to a unit that's okay-ish, on paper. Rubric Marines are still an expensive unit that fills out a considerably specific role in the army, and while they've been given a degree of flexibility, they still more or less have the same strengths and weaknesses. The key to using them is still managing them intelligently (even knowing when to leave them at home), keeping them to their strong points, and synergizing them with the rest of the army.

=== 8th Edition===
Once unusable, these guys have become pretty good (but overcosted). They have their usual loadout of [[Inferno Bolter|Inferno Boltguns]], which they can replace with [[Warpflamer]]s for maximum hurt in overwatch, and the Aspiring Sorcerer can take any force weapon and a [[Warpflame Pistol]] to help them if they get in melee. For every 10 models, one Rubric can take a [[Soulreaper Cannon]] or a [[Heavy Warpflamer]]. The Sorcerer now knows one power from the Change Discipline and Smite, which does 1 or d3 mortal wounds rather than the normal d3/d6. However, the best part is their "All is Dust" rule, which gives them +1 to saves (including invulnerable saves) if the attack does 1 damage, giving them a 2+ save against small arms fire. Thousand Sons and Grey Knights are the only armies who can still spam smite, but you should be very careful doing it with regular Rubric squads because if you peril their sorcerer may explode, killing himself and taking along with some unlucky mooks from any nearby units, friend or foe so you might start a chain reaction (as well as preventing the squad from casting any more powers if they survive).
{{Thousand Sons}}
{{Chaos Space Marines}}