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

===Armoury of the Adeptus Astartes===

====Ranged Weapons====
*'''Boltgun''' - Classic S4 AP5 24" Rapid Fire weapon which all other standard issue small-arms in the Dark Millennium are judged by. Tried and true, whether it's shredding simple infantry or taking potshots at more heavily armored foes. Imperial Fists love these.
*'''Combi-Weapon''' - An interesting item that is a Bolter with a one-use special weapon (Plasma, Melta, Flamer, Grav) built in. Great choice, if you know when and how to use it. Sternguard love these things since they can Drop Pod in and take out specific targets (usually vehicles with 4-5 combi meltas or Monstrous Creatures with 4-5 Combi-plasmas) while still being able to use specialist rounds.
*'''Storm Bolter''' - Assault 2 and 24" range. Compared to the standard boltgun, the storm bolter gets its full number of shots out to max range, plus you get to charge after shooting. Typically seen on Terminators, decent on an Assault-based Character with a Specialist Weapon (you weren't getting the two-weapon bonus attack anyway), not too useful otherwise, especially since Sternguard special ammo STILL doesn't affect them.
*'''Bolt Pistol''' - Standard pistol version of the boltgun, with same S and AP. Combined with a non-specialist melee weapon, it grants an additional attack.
*'''Plasma Pistol''' - Beats any Armor save, but on a roll of a 1, it Gets Hot! and the wielder takes a Wound (that you get saves against, but still). However, most Space Marines that can take it have at least a 3+ Sv, which somewhat reduces the risk. Inefficient points-wise, but very fluffy if you're not min-maxing (depending on how many terminators you see and if you can use it to chip off hull points, of course). Like the Bolt Pistol, it grants an additional attack if you're using a non-specialist melee weapon.
*'''Grav Pistol''' - Safer than the Plasma Pistol, it can surprise some heavily armored foe when you're wounding them on threes or twos and dropping them to I1 thanks to Concussive. Give it to a Thunder Hammer wielding Captain to have an extra edge before charging in. Bonus points if you immobilize a Dreadnought about to charge you. Again, kinda costly, and again, grants an additional attack with a non-specialist weapon.

====Special Weapons====
*'''Flamer''' - An S4 AP5 Assault 1 template weapon. A classic anti-horde option, most useful when up against Tyranids, Orks, and blob Imperial Guard. Makes Overwatch painful. Better served with Salamanders in a pod. Remember you can roast two units if they are close together and they fit under the template. 
*'''Grav-gun''' Salvo 2/3 AP2, concussive, and wounds targets based upon their Armour Save. So, stand still for 3 shots, or move for 2 shots at half range. Nigh-useless against Orks, Dark Eldar, or Guardsmen, but absolute hell against Grey Knights, other MEQ armies, and anything relying on armor saves to stay safe. Usually seen on Bikes rather than Tacticals because of Relentless. In a pinch, it can be used as anti-tank since it immobilizes vehicles on 6s, though only a few units can carry enough grav-guns to reliably roll at least one 6.  Taking a grav-amp in your squad lets you re-roll wounds with these, though, and that helps. 
*'''Meltagun''' - S8 AP1 Assault 1 with 12" range, best used with Drop Pods to get in range. If within half its range (so 6" or closer) and shooting at a vehicle, it rolls 2D6 for penetration, so near-guaranteed pen + higher chance to wreck/explode = perfect anti-tank. Being Assault 1 with short range makes it very specialized, so ditch it if you can against an army without heavy tanks (i.e. Tyranids). Worth noting that S8 makes it Instant Death against T4-or-lower models such as Tyranid Warriors and infantry HQs without Eternal Warrior. Vulkan He'stan of the Salamanders makes them all Master-Crafted, meaning free re-rolls to hit!
*'''Plasma gun''' - This is another anti-heavy infantry/MC tool much like the grav-gun, but Gets Hot! means there is always a (small) risk of killing the model firing the weapon. The grav-gun is safer, but this is Rapid Fire instead, making it better for non-Relentless models (i.e. Drop Pod squads). It can also still hurt lightly armored targets, most notably Daemons (who rarely have armor saves and can be hard to kill with bolters), and is also good against light or medium vehicles such as Chimeras, Rhinos, and almost anything Dark Eldar. All Space Marines that can take it have at least a 3+ armor save, which mitigates the Gets Hot! risk. Its range is the same as the Boltgun, so it synergizes well with them.

====Heavy Weapons====
*'''Grav-Cannon'''
**A bigger grav-gun with Salvo 3/5 and 24" range.  These come with a Grav-Amp by default, which gives re-rolls on To Wound or Armor Pen against a vehicle. As a Salvo weapon, they're the only heavy weapon a Devastator squad can fire at full BS after moving or disembarking from a transport (albeit with half range and the lower number of shots). Extra rage-inducing on Devastators taken with the Skyhammer Annihilation formation, due to Devastators being able to Relentlessly disembark Drop Pods and fire full range/shots. They're also ''comically'' undercosted at 35 points a pop for Tacs and Devs, and 25 pts each for Centurions. Bad against light infantry (Guard blobs, Dark Eldar, Orks), and weak against Superheavies due to their immunity to Immobilize results, and by extension Hull-point stripping from Immobilize spam.
***Seriously though, Grav-Cannons+Gravamps are CRIMINALLY underpriced. According to [[User:Evilexecutive#Fast_Approximate_Intrinsic_Value|FAXIV]], which admittedly does not handle the nature of Grav weapons well, the value of a 5-shot AP2 gun that has a 97% chance to wound per hit (89% vs 3+, 75% vs 4+) is a ''monstrously huge'' '''75 points''' per gun. On average, 3 Grav-Cannons with Grav-Amps at BS4 at full firing rate (i.e. 3 Dev Centurions) will kill 6.48 Terminators or Immobilize any non-Superheavy vehicle three times (resulting in the removal of 5 HP) per turn of shooting. Cackle manically as you wipe a riptide out in one turn of shooting.
****FAXIV is a gross oversimplification, of course, but you get the general idea.  One of the harder to analyze attributes of these things is that better armour saves normally raise the cost of a model, so Grav weapons have a tendency to have a net effect of your opponent paying more points to reduce their models' survivability - used intelligently, you will quickly recoup their cost.
***This is the best weapon to equip minimal-sized Tactical Squads with. The squad provides some anti-infantry firepower in the form of Boltguns (and maybe a combi-flamer on the Sergeant), while the gun enjoys being surrounded by expendable mooks and covers anti-heavy infantry, anti-MC and anti-tank roles splendidly.
*'''Heavy Bolter'''
**At 3 shots, S5, and AP4, it's a heavier, meaner boltgun. Good against hordes since it chucks out reasonable dakka, and not horrible against AV10 (Sentinels, Land Speeders, War Walkers, rear armor, etc.), but any of the other options below are preferred. However, Imperial Fists get more out of Heavy Bolters thanks to their Chapter Tactics (re-roll 1s for Bolter Drill, and Tank Hunters thanks to Siege Masters.)
*'''Heavy Flamer'''
**An Assault 1 S5 AP4 template (but listed in the Heavy Weapons list, for some reason). Much more effective at horde-crunching than the Heavy Bolter, but much shorter range. Overwatch "Wall of Death" with this can be VERY painful. Though it's listed as a "heavy weapon" wargear option, its rules are Assault 1 (''not'' Heavy) so you can move, flame, and charge. However, only Terminators, Sternguard, or Legion of the Damned can grab heavy flamers, so low distribution hurts an otherwise great weapon.
*'''Lascannon'''
**An S9 AP2 weapon, good against vehicles up to AV 13 and TEQ. It's an anti-tank and anti-MC weapon, so you still have to bring something else for horde control. Usually seen on backfield Devastators and Predators, since its range is very good you can stay back and pop vehicles all day long.
*'''Missile Launcher'''
**With two different payloads - S4 AP6 Small Blast for massed light infantry, and S8 AP3 for vehicles/MCs - this thing trades effectiveness on specific targets for versatility. However, in larger armies, it's better to take several squads each equipped with more specialized weapons instead. Note, however, in very specific circumstances, Krak Missiles give it a perfect mix of low cost, decent range, and just enough S and AP to deal Instant Death to multi-wound T4 models with 3+ or worse, and is thus the cheapest weapon to splatter a Tyranid Warrior/Nob (or MEQ HQ) from half the table while letting you later put out Frag Missiles for their weenie hordes. Can also pack Flakk Missiles to deal with Flyers, but again, unless it's a low points army that needs versatility in every unit, you should never do this - not when you could take the specialized anti-air ability of the now-excellent Stalker tank (besides, "anti-air" weapons can shoot at Skimmers at full BS, which makes some of them workable against Eldar/DEldar/Necron armies). Overall: good in low points games due versatility, bad in high points games where you should take specialized weapons instead.
*'''Multi-Melta'''
**A Meltagun with twice the range, which means that its 2D6 Melta-effect range is now 12". Same S and AP, though. Good in Skyhammer Annihilation Devastators since they are relentless for a turn. 
*'''Plasma Cannon'''
**An S7 AP2 blast, good for taking out freshly deep-struck units (like enemy Terminators) that are still tightly clustered, or just wreaking havoc on all kinds of infantry. Like its little brothers, the Plasma Gun and Plasma Pistol, it also has Gets Hot! Unfortunately it is a very mediocre choice, because Small Blast kinda sucks (begging the question of why it's so different from its siblings - presumably it should either be Heavy 3 without blast, or the Gun should be blast and the Cannon should be Large Blast).
***The haemotrope reactor can fix the small blast problem if you need to explode everything.
***If you're running a 10-man tactical squad, the cannon isn't a terrible choice as it adds anti-infantry punch to your shooting (what else is your tactical squad doing?).
***Veteran players will space out units, but that's usually because, at some point, a plasma cannon raped their horse and ate their parents.  These things can be incredibly punishing against unprepared foes (much moreso than other weapons).

====Melee Weapons====
[[Dakka|When the enemy just won't budge in the shooting phase]], [[Rip_and_tear|you need to budge them through Close Combat]]. Here are the tools of the trade.
*'''Chainsword''' - The only real use is for Salamanders characters who can make it Master-Crafted for one melee re-roll - otherwise, just a stat-less CCW.
*'''Power Weapons''' - Come in 4 different flavors: Axe, Maul, Sword, Lance...but only the former 3 actually have official models from GW. The Power Sword is the most reliable but relatively weak, striking at AP3, base S and base I. The Axe drops you to I1 but you are now S5 and AP2 - good, but only if you can't get, or can't justify the cost of, a Power Fist. The Maul is great against Imperial Guard and Xenos scum, since the +2S gets you to S6, which is Instant Death for T3 enemy characters. It even has Concussive, which, along with the +2S, helps against big, tough gribblies. It's also perfect if you want to slam open a vehicle without it blowing in your face. The Lance is only S+1 AP3 on the charge, then in subsequent rounds is only AP4, AND you'd have to convert your own from Fantasy or other armies. Just...no. LOOKS fantastic (and are actually almost decent) on White Scars bikers, though. Use the mythical 'Counts as' rule to just make them standard Power Swords, Power Axes, or Chainswords if you just want them for their Rule of Cool looks. If somebody complains point out how halberds and glaives are pretty much axes or swords on sticks. Grey Knight Nemesis Force Glaives work great!
*'''Lightning Claws''' - Specialist Weapon, so not so good on Sergeants since an extra attack with a Power Sword is better against most targets. AP3 with Shred is still nothing to sneer at, and a model that can take a pair of Claws is a whole different story (i.e. Assault Terminators or Vanguard Veterans). Note that since both are Specialist Weapons, you can take a Lightning Claw and a Power Fist to get +1 attack and be able to choose between either profile before each Fight phase starts. Versatility - but at cost! Note that if you are taking a lightning claw or a power fist you don't lose an attack as you normally do by taking a combi-weapon. 
**Biker Sarges wanting CC weapons (not recommended if you're min-maxing) should take a Lightning Claw or Power Fist over a Power Sword since they only have one weapon to exchange, and thus can't get the two-weapon bonus anyways.
*'''Power Fist''' - A Specialist weapon, so you won't get the 2-weapon bonus unless you grab a Lightning Claw. But, at S8 AP2, you shit on most other characters, and are a great surprise for overconfident vehicle commanders. Unwieldy, sadly, so these will work best on something tough enough to shrug off hits and strike back (i.e. 2+ armor, an invulnerable save, Feel No Pain, etc) and things that are quick enough that it won't matter anyway (lash whip warriors, yes please)
*'''Thunder Hammer''' - 5 extra points for a stylized Power Fist with Concussive. It usually is seen with units that have something else going for it (Storm Shield Terminators). It's rare that a fight goes on long enough for it to matter, but Concussing an enemy down to the same I1 for latter turns can mean the difference between killing it or getting killed without striking (most likely MCs or models with Eternal Warrior). A rare situation, though, so you can just take the slightly cheaper Power Fist instead.
*'''Eviscerator''' - Unlike his baby brother, this heavy chainsaw sword is a two-handed chainfist: Sx2 (so S8 for Marines) AP2 Unwieldy with Armorbane (rolls 2D6 when determining vehicle penetration). Great for tank-hunting, and it's not like Assault Marines can take any other melee weapons. But do note that it still has very poor cost-efficiency, since the only place you can see it is in a T4 3+ 2A model.. while you can use careful play and tricks (even Formations) to deliver that ASM safely into combat to tear up vehicles, having only 2A unavoidably means that you get off very few attacks in return for the hefty cost of the Eviscerator. Alternatively, since the option states that any one in five models may equip it, you can give it to the Veteran Sergeant who has 2A (to better use the expensive weapon).. but of course, as with all Unwieldy weapons on squad leaders, that leads to forcing you to avoid Challenges at all costs.
*'''Force Weapons''' - Librarians come with these. Power Weapons with Force, essentially. The Force Sword is the most reliable choice. Axes make you S5 AP2, but drop you to I1 (bad for Librarians without 2+ or invulnerable saves), while the Staff gives +2S and Concussive but drops to AP4 - good for Librarians with Iron Arm, perhaps, but without that you're not getting through MEQ armor. Still, if Force goes off the Maul becomes a lot more dangerous since every To Wound roll has Instant Death, but also less relatively dangerous, as its competitors now ALSO cause Instant Death on T3.
*'''Relic Blade''' - Available to Honour Guard, Vanguard Veteran Sergeants and Captains. A S+2 AP3 Two-handed sword that hits at normal Initiative, near perfect for MEQ shredding and decent against some MCs. Just like the Power Maul, always remember that S6 means Instant Death for T3 HQs, ''plus'' the Relic Blade can also cut through 3+ to boot. The only real downside is, that you never get the +1A for 2CCW due to them being Two-Handed.  Well, that and [[terminator]] armour. Note that relic blades can be used with storm shields for great effect since storm shields prevent the use of two weapons at the same time, but not two-handed weapons.

====Special-Issue Wargear====
*'''Auspex''' - Sacrifice shooting to reduce the cover of an enemy within 12" by 1. Good on an assaulty HQ with abysmal shooting (say, a Captain with a bolt pistol, or a Librarian).
*'''Melta Bombs''' - When assaulting a vehicle, building, gun emplacement or Monstrous Creature, you can replace your attacks with one S8 AP1 Armorbane Unwieldy attack. The chance to one-shot a tank or building is a pretty good way to spend 5 spare points laying around.
*'''Teleport Homer''' - Termies that Deep Strike within 6" of the Homer don't scatter. Only terminators benefits from this so unless you are running a full deep strike terminator army (I don't see a single logical reason why would you do that) the locator beacon from drop pods or scout bike squads is a better option.
*'''Digital Weapons''' - Re-roll one failed to-wound roll in Assault.  Pretty much crap.
*'''Jump Pack''' - A bit expensive at 15 points, it gives the Jump unit type. Grab it if you want your HQ to jump around like House of Pain, whether to chase and smash things or hop to a good vantage point and hand out buffs/mind bullets. Techmarines and Terminator Armor characters can't take one.
*'''Space Marine Bike''' - This changes your HQ to a Bike unit type. You also get a twin-linked bolter and, most importantly, +1 Toughness. Great for any HQ, really, but of special note is a conversion beamer-toting Techmarine. Note that if you have an HQ with a bike, you can take Bike Squads as troops for a CAD - they even got rid of that dumb model count restriction from 6e! Taking Terminator Armor sadly disqualifies a character from riding a bike. If you go bike HQs, consider going White Scars for their bike-specific rules, or Iron Hands to indirectly benefit from the Toughness boost giving you FNP back against S8/9 weapons.
*'''Standards''' - Come in two flavors (three if you count the relic).
**'''Company Standard''' - Available to the Command Squad.  This allows marines of the same Chapter within 12" to re-roll Morale, Fear, and Pinning.
**'''Chapter Banner''' - Available to the Honour Guard.  As above, but Marines within range also gain +1 Attack. The entry ''no longer specifies'' that it doesn't stack with the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, or even Kantor's +1 Attack, in case you want the killiest/most expensive deathstar possible.