Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Space Marines (section)

====Special Units====
*'''[[Vulkan He'Stan]]:''' Has a Captain's statline, with a 2+ save and a 3+ invuln. Comes with Heavy Flamer, and Relic Blade, and Storm Shield equivalent gear. He has the Captain Rites of Battle ability to let you re-roll hits of 1 for Salamanders units within 6", and his Forgefather ability lets all Salamanders models within 6" reroll any failed hits and wounds with flame or melta in the name, and with his own Gauntlet of the Forge (note that this affects vehicles and melta-bombs too now, but it doesn't affect the bolter part of combi-weapons). Great for tagging along with Sternguard or Company Vets in a Rhino or Drop Pod. Vulkan standing with a 5-man devastator squad, armed with 4 Multi-Meltas and a Combi-Flamer, is extremely productive, both for shooting hordes and high toughness targets. The forgefather rule made him a more support oriented HQ as his melee is mediocre compared to other named characters worth a similar amount of points (namely Shrike or Lysander). He got used to being an immovable object in 7th (2+,3++,5+++(FnP)) but in 8th all you need to do to is fail one 3+ invulnerable save and you take multiple wounds, or get saddled with Mortal Wounds he can't save against. Still, take him if you are a Salamanders player because his rules aren't by any means bad  - and his model is awesome.
**As long as he's your warlord, he also hits with a solid S8 thanks to his Warlord Trait.
**Alternate take: Vulkan He'Stan riding along with either a squad of Assault Centurions in a Land Raider Redeemer or a squad of Aggressors with Flamestorm Gauntlets can be quite effective. Proper positioning will allow re-rolls to hit and to wound on both Land Raider Flamestorm Cannons, the Land Raider's Multi-Melta and on all 6 of the flamers that you've definitely taken on your Assault Centurions, all preceding a devastating charge. The Aggressors will similarly benefit, whether it's from the 4d6 flamer shots they get if they stay still or the 2d6 they unleash as they move into melee range. 
** Primaris Eradicators!!!! They are tough infantry, can move and fire with assault weapons, very high shot volume for melta-weaponry, with He'Stan you should kill any T7 vehicle in one go, with only Land Raiders/baneblades surviving out of the T8 models. 
**He'stan is insanely good backing up Cyclonic Melta Leviathans, or, keeping it lighter, standard-issue multi-melta/heavy flamer dreads, where he will buff the guns all the way, and they can use Salamanders tactics if they need to in melee.
*'''Adrax Agatone''': A Primaris Captain with a hand flamer that acts more like a stronger flamer (12" range and AP-1) and a D4 Thunder Hammer. His cloak reduces all incoming damage by 1, and his Unto the Anvil aura adds 1 to all wound rolls for melee weapons when Shock Assault is triggered. Obviously, he works nicely with Flamestorm Aggressors, especially when he's Warlord so they can re-roll how many hits those Aggressors make. 
*'''Captain Pellas Mir'san (Forgeworld):''' He has the statline of a Captain in Terminator Armour, except with a 6" move instead of 5" and without the transport restrictions of being a terminator, but no Teleport Strike (dude, he's clearly in Artificer armour, not Terminator). He comes with a combi-flamer, Cinder Edge (functionally identical to a force sword), and Steelsilver, which lets you make an additional attack at S4 AP0 D1 against every model within 1". Those attacks are made after his Cinder Edge attacks are resolved and before you consolidate, so it can be a super chainsword or useless depending on what his regular attacks leave behind. He gets the normal Captain Iron Halo for a 4++ and Rites of battle to re-roll 1s to hit within 6". He also gets 2 more attacks when he's within 2" of any enemy Characters. All this for a few points less than a similarly equipped Terminator Captain.  He really wants to be in close combat chopping heads to maximize his usefulness. Probably plays best running with Vanguard or Company Vets kitted for close combat, but he'll likely need a transport to get to where you want him as he has no deep strike options on his own.
**As the Forgeworld characters do not have fixed warlord traits, there are a few options to choose from. 
***The Imperium’s Sword give Pellas more general melee ability by raising him to strength 5 and 6 attacks on the charge (8 if you get close to an enemy character) as well as a reroll for charge distances.
***Alternatively, Champion of Humanity makes him an even better character hunter. He keeps the 8 attacks on the charge but gains a +1 on wound rolls, which can be further combined with Crucible of Battle for a +2 to wound.
***The Salamander-specific Warlord Traits are, sadly, not quite as good as the base rulebook, but could have their uses. Anvil of Strength and Forge Master can both keep you alive longer and may be worth it depending on what you are fighting.
*'''[[Bray'arth Ashmantle]] (Forgeworld):''' He's now even more indestructible than before, being a Character with T9, W8, a 2+/5++, and a 4+ to ignore lost wounds, he's not going down easily. He's also dead killy up close. His two Dreadfire heavy flamers can put out some serious hurt with S6, AP-2 and 3 damage a pop at 8" range. In close combat, his claws have him swinging 4 times at S16, AP-4, and D6 damage, and if you are locked in with someone during the shooting phase, his Burning Wrath is now a 2D6 shot auto hitting S4 pistol with a 2" range. On the downsides: In an edition of HQs buffing your other units, he does nothing to improve nearby Salamanders. He can only be your Warlord if there are no other HQ units, so you'll limit yourself to a smaller number of command points if you want to use him to deny your opponent Slay the Warlord. He can't cause any harm until he gets within 8", so you either buy him a transport or have him be a walking 14" threat bubble. This all comes for the hefty price of <s>400 pts</s> '''325 points''' (more if you buy a Dreadnought Drop Pod or Stormraven for him to ride in).
**It's worth noting that he is a {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTER}} and hits almost as hard as a Volcano Cannon in close combat. The amount of panic he'll cause walking towards your opponent with a few cheap screening units in front of him (or even a few Rhinos) is well worth the price tag, as is the satisfaction when he finally hits the opponent's gunline and all hell breaks loose. On a side note if you can get your enemy to charge him on overwatch he is likely to butcher MEQ or even TEQs with his dreadfire flamers.
**The new Space Marine and Salamander's codices bring several tricks that can turn Ashmantle into a right nightmare. 
***The Salamander Chapter Tactic and the Duty Eternal stratagem make him even more durable than he once was. Using the Drakeskin and Fireshield Psychic power can add even more durability to him, though at this point, it may be approaching overkill.
***Hero of the Chapter can be used to grant him a Warlord Trait, thus getting around one of his main restrictions. Some possible standout options include Anvil of Strength for extra killing power (strength 20 Dreadfire claws), Forge Master to make him T11, or Lord of Fire to make his Dreadfire Heavy Flamers even more lethal.
***Only in Death Does Duty End will let him fight even if your opponent manages to take him down while Rise from the Ashes will let him potentially get back up and keep fighting. Just have a techmarine nearby to patch him up.
***Obviously, Ashmantle is a prime target for Flamecraft if you can get him close enough to use his Dreadfire Heavy Flamers, but that’s not all. Immolation Protocols pairs well with his Burning Wrath pistol attacks should any opponent be foolish enough to try and stick around in melee, and Born Protectors will discourage countercharges. Then there is The Crucible of Battle...
**Now a whopping 75 points cheaper, saving you enough to almost buy his Drop Pod outright.

*'''Harath Shen (Forgeworld):''' As a Master Apothecary, Harath deploys to the field armed with more than just a Narthecium. He has the same statline as a normal Apothecary, barring Leadership 9. He is armed with a Power Sabre, which is identical to a Master-Crafted Power Sword (Str: User, AP -3, 2 Damage) and Bloodfire, a Plasma Pistol with nothing special (except for causing a mortal wound rather than slaying the bearer). His Master of Chirurgery rule carries over from his 7th edition iteration, it's similar to the Apothecary's ability but the rolls are passed on a 3+ instead of a 4+, and Harath can heal D3+1 Wounds instead of D3. All of this will set you back 75 Points, as opposed to an Apothecary's 72 Points for the same loadout (although it's worth noting that an Apothecary doesn't have access to weapon options). Which means you pay 3 points for his increased medical abilities ''and the payment of an HQ tax'', if you were looking for that. Overall, he's a support Character who can increase the survivability of your Salamanders, but can also do some damage in combat if absolutely necessary; just keep him away from enemy Characters.