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

==Counter-Tactics==
This section has both generic and specific info on countering (killing, destroying, locking down, making useless) enemy units.  Add whatever has worked for you!

===Generic===
Tactics for countering generic classes of units, light infantry, medium vehicles, etc.

*Light Infantry - This means anything weaker than your tacticals.  So less than 4S or T, 5+ or worse armor save.  
**Melee - Anything this weak attacking you in melee should not even be a problem.  Just shoot the shit out of them until they all die or fail a moral check and flee.  Your standard bolters should wound them easily and pierce their armor before they even get into melee range.  If they do, your average marine should be able to handle them easily, unless they are heavily outnumbered or have power weapons. Melee glass cannons are increasingly popular, though - if you see Ruststalkers or Harlequins, watch the heck out and don't assume you can soak their charge.  
**Ranged - Unless they have heavy ranged weapons, the damage your tacticals can do will outweigh the damage they can do.  If you can, try to get in melee with them, to deny their ranged weapons from firing. Again, watch out for glass cannons, especially Eldar - use melee to save yourself from their surprisingly scary guns. Thunderfire Cannons and Whirlwinds make weedy infantry evaporate in seconds.

*Medium Infantry - This means anything about equal to your tacticals. 
** You have two options: break out the Ap2 shooting (grav and plasma guns) or break out a lot of shots and let them roll that one or two eventually.
** If they don't have ATSKNF you can try to charge them with some AP3 or less weapons (say, vanguard vets or an Assault squad with a captain) and sweep them.

*Heavy Infantry - Terminators and equivalent. 
**Typically, these squads are small, so you only have to cause relatively few wounds to eliminate them.  However, causing those wounds is difficult and you have two options. First you can force as many saves as you can, since some will statistically fail and you will eventually win.  Just lay on the firepower and they will go down eventually. Your second option is to engage them with dedicated ap2 weapons such as thunder hammer Termies or mass plas/grav guns if you brought them. Although they usually have higher-than-usual Ld you can try Psychic Shrieking them, denying their armor save. 

*Superheavy Infantry - Independent characters or Monstrous Creatures decked out with lots of wounds, high T, high S, low armor and invuln saves. 
**Use [[Chapter_Master_Smashfucker|Chapter Master Smashfucker]] or grav-spam. Plasma or melta can work, if you have enough of it, and if all the tanks are gone, these are the perfect targets for your lascannons. If they doesn't have EW or T over 5 you can try instagibbing them with a Vindicator.

*Light vehicles - AV10/11 tops.  Your Tacticals can take out AV10 at range or they can attack with a grenade in assault for a little more hurt.  No need to waste your heavy anti-vehicle shots, unless you already destroyed the heavier vehicles.  Plasma, autocannons and Krak missiles are enough most of the time. 

*Medium Vehicles - AV12/13.  Use heavier weaponry, like Terminators or lascannons.  Plasma can help, but melta at close range can be very effective.  Ironclad dreadnoughts with chainfists will rip these vehicles to shreds. You can try Podding something in their rear armor, usually weaker. 

*Heavy Vehicles - AV14.  Now you are in for a shitfest.  High strength weapons, like lascannons or powerfists can have serious difficulties trying to glance these bad boys.  A well placed shot from an orbital strike or a vindicator shot may do some damage, but Chainfists should [[Rip and Tear]] through any kind of armor. Ironclad dreadnoughts can do some damage, but a squad of Terminators with Chainfists in a Land Raider Redeemer WILL ruin any vehicles day. Eviscerators on Assault Marines are an interesting secondary option.
Meltaguns or meltabombs in melta range should do some damage.

*Flyers - Use anti-flyer units and defences or bring your own flyers. Talons are cheap and are strong against medium infantry, alternatively an aegis or bastion wih a quad gun provides good cover and a quad gun for half the price. Anything else gets a massive penalty to hit, so keep ground forces fighting ground forces. Unless it is something that ignores power armor (Heldrakes, anything (Dark) Eldar) you can also get away with ignoring them. Autocannon dreads and AssCan razorbacks can do in a pinch.

===Specific Units===
Tactics for countering specific enemy units that can be major problems (Terminators, tyranid swarms, Monoliths, etc)

*Terminators - Force as many saves as you can.  If you have weapons that can ignore their 2+ armor save, all the better.  Even if you do, it may be worth it to fire high shot count weapons at them anyway.  Devastators with 4 HB can kill 1 or 2 a turn if you roll well, which is enough to force a moral check most of the time, equip them with Plasma Cannons and can kill the whole squad. Take them against anything spouting a save of 3+ or better.  Your own terminators (or other heavy infantry) can then move in for the kill.

*Hordes - Tarpit hordes, ie. 'Nids, Guard, Orks, can be dealt with in a number of ways. Flamers (In the form of Sternguard, Dread squads, Land Raider redeemers, kitted out command squads), Blast weapons (Thunderfire cannons, Vindicators, Whirlwinds) or lots of [[dakka]]/<b>MURDER</b>. Try to inflict as many wounds as possible to force Ld checks and send the bastards running, but be warned, many hordes can negate Ld checks in some way or another (Synapse, Commissars, Boss pole) in that case, if you have Scouts with Snipers, it may be worth it to shoot for Precision shots. Nobs and Commissars at best get a 50% chance to dodge a hit which more than likely will kill them. Usually these mobs are T3, so you can try to toss a frag at them too.

*Monstrous Creatures - Plasma Guns or Grav-guns. Quite a few Monstrous Creatures like Wraithlords, Bloodthirsters, Riptides, and Carnifexes have 3+ or 2+ armor saves, and Plasma and Grav guns are adept at dealing with this in a way like Terminators. At worst, fire as many boltguns at them and hope for the best. Don't try to tie them up in Close Combat unless you can throw Thunderhammer/Storm Shield Terminators or Ironclads at them; Monstrous Creatures ignore armor saves thanks to smash, even a Riptide can easily squish a marine should he manage to hit. However, in 7th Edition most Monstrous creatures lack easy and cheap Anti-vehicle options (Smashing at S10 drops them to 1 attack, which means they can easily miss) so if you can, a Dreadnought (or even better, an Ironclad Dreadnought) will work wonders against an MC. Snipers still wounds them on 4+, so it might be worth it to point a scout squad in their direction too.

*Gargantuan Creatures (Wraithknight) - Grav-cannon spam out the ass. The Wraithknight is a particularly troublesome target since it is lightning fast and more often than not something you cannot afford to ignore. If you can, see which weapon loadout it took. A Wraithknight with dual heavy Wraith Cannons may be able to '''destroy''' 2 targets it chooses, but at most, it removes 2 models. Meanwhile it's decidedly lacking defensively with only a 5+ Feel No Pain. This combined with natural 3+ means a single shooting phase from a Grav-gun or Grav-cannon toting squad will bring it down. Or a squad of three las-preds.  The Sun Cannon and Ghost Glaive loadouts make it much more survivable due to the Invulnerable save, but still, try and force as many saves if you can. To put it bluntly, it may cost you the game ultimately, but target the squishier units in an Eldar army if you can; don't let [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] tactics like this get a hold of you. Try and keep calm and play to the game mode, ignore the WK or sacrifice a unit or 2 to hold it in place, and if Lady Luck and Admiral Awesome are on your side, you just may be able to snatch victory.