Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Space Marines (section)

====About running naked tacticals in a Gladius====

I'd like to offer a counter-point against the use of naked minimum Tac squads. In my opinion, the single greatest part of fielding a Tac squad isn't 3+, a hail of bolter fire or a well placed special weapon. It's the humble 35 point metal box to haul them around in and keep them safe. 35 points gives your line troops protection from most anti-infantry weapons, and puts your opponent's anti-tank weapons into overload as they try to deal with all the tough SM units on the board like T5 3++/4+++ Bikers, Stormtalons/ravens, Ironclad Dreads, Predators, Vindicators, and that Typhoon Speeder sitting out at 48 inches in the fast slot from the Demi-Co. 
 
35 points for a transport that can fill threads with all the tricks it can pull.  
 
What I mean to say is that CAD and Demi-Co Tacticals shouldn't be looked at in terms of their effectiveness as five dudes on the ground, as that passes up on what I think is point for point the best transport in the game. They should be instead looked at in regards to their performance from a Rhino (or Pod for that matter). Rhinos act as something of a force multiplier for their squad, letting you get into range quicker and get better use out of your special weapon, this goes double for when backed up by a Tac or Dev doctrine. The two fire points also encourage the use of specials, as a much larger percentage of your fire is based around that special firing out of the hatch, so fewer bolters are "wasted". Yet another great synergy between specials and Rhinos comes from the basic knowledge that, generally, when your Tacs are outside the Rhino and take fire, it's because that unit didn't have a clear shot at something better, ie, they aren't being focused and you'll likely have survivors. One of those will almost surely be your special weapon caddie, who is now free to hop back in the Rhino and enjoy the protection of AV11 and keep shooting.
 
It's been a long day for me, and I'm sure I could have written that out better, but that's my two cents worth on the subject.
 
Bonus: Here's a tier list of sorts when buying upgrades for Tacs.
 
'''Tier 1''': Rhino, Special Weapon (usually Plasma) or a Grav-Cannon <br />
'''Tier 2''': Melta Bombs, Dozer Blade, Razorback <br />
'''Tier fluffy''': Veteran Sergeant, Combi-Weapon or Chainsword <br />
'''Tier lulz''': +5 Marines, Heavy Weapon (other than Grav-Cannon), Power Weapon, Hunter Killer Missile, Auspex, Teleport Homer <br />
'''Tier By the Emperor, what are you doing?''': Extra Armor, Storm Bolter on Rhino, Power Fist, Digital Weapons  <br />