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

==Unit Analysis==
===HQ Units===
*'''Captain''' - A Captain is a versatile and useful HQ choice, but he's going to need more than just a power weapon or fist to do well. Storm Shield should be strongly considered, and a few of the Relics are worth taking to make him a strong combatant. You can tailor his wargear to fit him into a variety of units, such as Sternguard, Vanguards, Terminators, etc. A good build is giving him Artificer Armor, the Burning Blade and a Storm Shield - 180 points for a pretty cost-effective beat-stick, which can then be paired with support units like a Librarian or a Command Squad with an Apothecary. The Shield Eternal is a great upgrade, especially if you upgrade to a Chapter Master to get more out of Eternal Warrior. Keep in mind that the Shield Eternal's Adamantium Will also works great for a Librarian (covered in the Libby's entry below). Terminator Armor should only be considered if you need Deep Strike, otherwise Artificer Armor is cheaper for the same durability and a Bike gives you Relentless and other valuable benefits. Worth noting that Termie Captains can now grab Relic Blades like normal Captains. Also worth noting is that Terminator Armor comes with a power weapon and a storm bolter included, so if you were going to take those items anyway then it's actually cheaper than Artificer Armor plus those upgrades.
**The Biker Captain deserves special mention; Biker Marines are a very nasty build, so it is worth taking a Captain for allowing Bikers as Troops should you want to do so. For a cheap Biker Command Squad leader, give him a Relic Blade and a Bike; you might also consider gearing him for solo work with a Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Artificer Armour and other upgrades (amusingly, despite the rationale behind the Storm Shield and the two-handed Relic Blade seeming to interfere with each other, nothing in the rules prevents a model from using both at once).
**'''Terminator Captain (Angels of Death):''' Mostly the same as the Codex version, but he also has the option to become Cataphractii for free. Cataphractii has a rule allowing Captains to reroll 1s on invulnerable saves. RAW, it looks like this still holds up if you take a Storm Shield. This makes him more survivable, but a lot less reliable for assault. If you give him Cataphractii, he also gets Slow and Purposeful rather than Relentless. Since S&P affects the whole squad, you can toss him in with your Devastators, Thunderfire Cannons, or any of a bajillion allied units to give them move and shoot shenanigans. Apparently, though, Chapter Masters aren't allowed to wear Cataphractii armor, as the Terminator Captain [[derp|can't be upgraded to a Master]].
***'''[[Chapter Master Smashfucker|SMASHFUCKER PRIME]]''', Smashfucker in Caraphractii Armour, is even harder to kill than his Chapter Master version due to rerolling his 3++ being better than +1 T in most cases.
**'''Chapter Master:''' - Like [[Grey Knights]], the Chapter Master is now a purchased upgrade for a Captain. 40 points gets you the Orbital Strike, an extra wound and an extra attack. With Honor Guard and Command Squads moving to Elites, the only distinction between a Captain and CM is their statline, cost, and Orbital Strike. Due to the number of wargear options and Chapter Tactics, there are a few rather infamous builds for Chapter Masters:
***'''[[MURDERWINGS]]''': Raven Guard Chapter Master with Artificer Armour, Jump Pack, and ''Swiftstrike & Murder''. Consider using this variant of a Chapter Master if you ever need something to rape hordes with an ungodly number of attacks on the charge. Due to the current FAQ, just give MURDERWINGS a basic jump pack since Raven's Fury and a Jump Pack are the same price (and he can only take 1 relic).
***'''[[Chapter Master Smashfucker|SMASHFUCKER]]''': Iron Hands Chapter Master with Artificer Armour, Gorgon's Chain, weapons of your choice, and a Bike. He's the Adamantium Wall to MURDERWINGS's chainsaw-hands; consider using him if you want a warlord that is ''stupidly'' hard to kill. He's not invulnerable, of course; he still dies to the D and a few other things, so don't play recklessly.
*'''Librarian''' - A pretty good (if not the best) HQ choice, cheap and a capable force multiplier. Rolling for powers makes it difficult to build a gameplan around a specific ability, but certain disciplines are almost guaranteed to provide useful powers (i.e. Divination's Primaris power) - choose carefully. Unlike the Captain and the Chaplain, he does not come stock with an Invulnerable save - if you need him to be sturdier, Terminator armor gives 2+/5++ with the option of a storm shield. Of special note is The Shield Eternal, due to Adamantium Will combining with his Psychic Hood to let you Deny psychic attacks or Maledictions on 4+ rolls (or 3+ if it's your ML2 Librarian against an ML1 psyker's spell), including the ability to Deny for nearby friendly units. Suck on that, Eldar! Librarians can roll powers from Fulmination, Librarius, Geokinesis, Technomancy, Biomancy, Pyromancy, Daemonology, Divination, Telekinesis, and/or Telepathy.
**'''REMINDER''': If you feel daring enough to take a Daemonology power on a Librarian (yes, Librarians can use both [[Grey Knights|Sanctic]] and [[Heresy|Malefic]] powers), that they will roll Perils on any doubles, not just on double sixes.  If you really need Banishment/Sanctic, and consider Perils that bad, consider allying with a detachment of Grey Knights or Iron Hands (FNP will help you mitigate problems from Perils). If summoning Daemons is really your thing (and what kind of Chapter would?) (Hello? Yes, this is the Exorcists Chapter, for all your Loyalist daemon-summoning needs!), then consider just playing Chaos Space Marines because allying with Daemons is Come the Apocalypse, and that's not gonna roll well for you. 
*'''Chaplain''' - A wonderful companion for Assault Marines, Vanguard Veterans, or Bikers, his melee-boosting abilities are quite helpful, and he's pretty damned good himself. If you're not putting him on a Bike or a Jump Pack and don't mind locking into specific Chapter Tactics, consider taking Ortan Cassius instead if you can afford the extra 40 points, or Grimaldus for his particular set of toys. The Crozius Arcanum is just a Power Maul, so he's always S6 AP4. Chaplains ostensibly fit nice into the Black Templars, wherein they will boost a basic squad's fighting ability - and you should expect to get your Templars in close combat or something has gone horribly wrong.
*'''Techmarine''' - The Master of the Forge may be done away with, but the Techie now has his statline for a paltry 15-point increase just like the Dark Eldar Haemonculus (it's not even a real increase since the 15pt Power Axe is now folded into his default wargear). Unfortunately, he has a hard time keeping up with the vehicles he's supposed to repair, unless he's, you know, INSIDE of it (or on a bike, which helps his survivability too). Bolster Defenses boosts the cover save of any non-fortification terrain piece by one to a max of 3+ cover, combining nicely with Scout camo cloaks or anything that has Stealth. The conversion beamer upgrade lets you shit out pie-plate death that gets nastier at extreme range. The servo-harness upgrade gives an extra servo-arm (so 2 Specialist Weapons, yay), a flamer and a plasma cutter (12" twin-linked plasma pistol), improving his melee output, repair ability, and short-ranged shooting (if using the flamer and/or plasma cutter during the Shooting phase, you can shoot two different guns, although it remains to be seen if this stacks with Gunslinger, extra short-ranged AP 2 is a real possibility if you want it). Although either Servo option no longer grants extra attacks in of itself, it does make it easier to get extra attacks with other Specialist Weapons, without giving up Shooting the way other Fist 'n Claw builds do.
:*'''Servitors''' - Each Servitor taken alongside a Techmarine adds 1 to the Blessings roll for each one that has a servo-arm (which it comes with stock). They are 10 points each, to a maximum of 5 (you won't ever need more than 3 for repair purposes, though). You can trade the servo-arm for a heavy bolter (10 pts), multi-melta (10 pts) or plasma cannon (20 pts), but at BS3 and losing the bonus to repair rolls, it's kinda wasteful. If there's no Techmarine with them, they Mindlock on a roll of 3 or worse and stand there doing nothing, getting shot or punched in their pasty grey faces.
*'''Damocles Rhino (Forge World)''' Yes, an HQ vehicle! It doesn't take an HQ slot, but can't fill the mandatory one either. Although the most expensive in terms of real money, point-wise it's one of your cheapest HQs. Armed with nothing but a Storm Bolter and a Searchlight for defense, with no transport capacity, it may not seem like an obvious choice. In fact, the Damocles' true power lies in its incredible support abilities - it allows a single Orbital Bombardment in the same way as a Chapter Master, lets a teleporting unit deep-strike within 12" without scattering, and allows the owning player to modify reserve rolls by plus or minus one. In a Terminator-heavy army, the Damocles is one of the best choices you can make. Also, don't buy it. The Damocles is by far the easiest and cheapest Rhino variant to convert with whatever crap you might have lying around. Special mention to Anton Narvaez (see below) and this thing. Synergizes beautifully together both on the table and in the fluff.
*'''Space Marine Command Tanks (Warhammer World Exclusive)''' - The new Warhammer World tanks both take up 1 Force Org slot, so you can have an HQ AND both of these awesome tanks! Also, can be used with Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and Space Wolves due to the Designer's note in the White Dwarf containing their rules.  Their exclusivity is made up for by being able to give Marines some serious anti-whatever tools and other support. Compared to the stock equivalents, for 115 points you lose a little Transport capacity on the Rhinos, but gain an incredible laundry list of Special Rules, a better gun on the Raider to replace its Heavy Bolter, a better gun on the Rhino to make it a Razorback-Lite, and a fire magnet like no other. Your enemy WILL do everything in his power to blow your Rhino off the board before it gets to fire its Orbital Bombardment.
**'''Rhino Primaris''' - Gives access to another source for a one-use 7" Blast Orbital Strike, and has a fancy Servo-skull hub which can either grant a unit within 12" Snap-shots (including overwatch) at full Ballistic Skill (Giving that OP Invisibility the middle finger), restore a nearby vehicle's hull point on a 2+, or give said unit Fearless. Also, you can co-ordinate Reinforcements by selecting a unit held in reserves to automatically come on.
**'''Land Raider Excelsior''' - Comes with a Grav-cannon and Grav-amp for those re-rolls to wound and immobilize and lascannon sponsons. Also has a 6+ Invuln and ignores Crew Shaken/Stunned results. Also can grant a single unit in 12" (which can be boosted to 18" for 10 points) one of a huge selection of special rules for the turn (Counter-Attack, Fearless, Hit & Run, Interceptor, Preferred Enemy, Skyfire, Split Fire, or Tank Hunter), and gets +1 BS if a Rhino Primaris is within 24".

====Special Characters====
Space Marine players also have access to a variety of special characters, most of which change how the whole army works. They're all fairly expensive, and, as such, should be viewed as force multipliers to be taken with specific synergistic units, rather than stand-alone beatsticks.

====='''Ultramarines'''=====
*'''[[Cato Sicarius]]''' - A somewhat expensive "utility" Captain. He comes with Artificer Armour, a Power Sword with a special trick (see below), natural Feel no Pain 5+ and a Plasma Pistol; he gives to one Ultramarines ''Tactical'' squad (who doesn't need to be in his detachment, but does need to be friendly Ultramarines) either Counter-Attack, Infiltrate, Scout, or Tank Hunters. Also gives you a +1 to Reserve Rolls, and his Warlord Trait allows friendly Space Marine units from his detachment to use his Ld for Morale Tests if he is the Warlord. He now has Furious Charge as standard, which is an improvement and a setback, as now he can't give it to his unit, but has it for himself all game. Cato is pretty average in close combat, being a bit tougher than most Space Marine characters (2+ armor, Feel No Pain) and having the option to replace his normal number of attacks with a single Instant Death attack at +2 S. But, other than that, he's just got 4 power sword attacks. He's got a nice laundry list of utility, great durability, and fair combat prowess. He also has the benefit of being the Captain of the 2nd Company so 99% of Smurf players are already using his gold Company Heraldry on their models and therefore he could be taken in all Ultramarine armies, unless it's one of the 3 Ultramarine armies in the world that isn't painted as the 2nd Company. By the way, his loadout is the default loadout for 4th Edition Captains, so he is somewhat nostalgic. And he is a glory whore, really.
**'''Redemption Calls (Apocalypse)''' - Like Mac Daddy, Sicarius gets a boost to his finest hour when within 18" of necron big vehicles/monsters by jumping his WS/BS to [[Mary Sue|10]] and giving him a free Vortex Grenade. This is marginally better than the Herculean feat, mostly because it gives him a re-roll on his plasma pistol shot, but even against most Necron opponents, he was already hitting on 3s so the WS boost is essentially only getting -1 on hits against him. The Vortex Grenade is what makes it special, as it will make that superheavy go "poof".

*'''[[Varro Tigurius]]''' - Tigurius is a pretty expensive Librarian (costing 40 more pts than a level 2 Lib in Terminator Armour with Storm Shield) who only has Power Armor (though, unlike a generic Librarian, he has three wounds instead of two). What he lacks in durability, however, he makes up in sheer psychic might: he is a Mastery Level 3 psyker with access to all the BRB disciplines, and can also re-roll any roll on the dice when he generates powers, making him much more likely to get a set of powers that you want. Also, he allows his Detachment to re-roll any reserves roll, even successful ones. But his special equipment is what makes him really stand out: the '''Hood of Hellfire''' is a Psychic Hood that also allows him to re-roll any failed psychic test (which is amazing in 7th edition), and the Rod of Tigurius is a Master Crafted Psychic Staff with Soul Blaze (which is not as awesome, but still pretty useful, especially if you pick Biomancy). Finally, if you make him your Warlord then you get his fixed Warlord Trait, meaning that once in '''each''' shooting phase, he grants Rending on all shooting attacks to one unit within 12" taken from his Chapter, which is pretty darn sweet. It may be best to keep him behind the lines where he can place numerous blessings on your units (especially the Warlord Trait, which can be nasty when paired with Devastators or Centurion Devastators) and improve reserve rolls, as his baseline stats are relatively fragile - in this role, he is the perfect example of a Supporting HQ. However, Biomancy powers can turn him into a combat beast quite readily, ''potentially'' being S9 AP2 T7 A6 (7 on the charge) I7 Eternal Warrior and FNP 4+.

*'''[[Ortan Cassius]]''' -  Special character Chaplain with '''T6''' and '''Feel No Pain'''. He's also packing a combi-flamer with the boltgun being Master-Crafted and Poisoned (2+), while still carrying a bolt pistol and crozius for the +1 Attack. If you're planning on taking a Chaplain and don't mind taking Ultramarines Chapter Tactics, it might as well be this guy, as he's only 10 points more than a Chaplain in Terminator Armor and way tougher to kill. He and his unit now cause Fear thanks to his Warlord Trait.  Make a unit consisting of only him and Calgar or a vanilla Chapter Master for some majority toughness dickery.

*'''[[Torias Telion]]''' - Curiously now made into an HQ choice now and is one of the cheapest named HQs, though he can only be stuck in with Scouts (Sadly, it's unlikely we'll be seeing [[Naaman]] ever again). Telion gives you a 2 shot Sniper Rifle that always scores precision shots. He can also forfeit his shooting (aww) to allow one model in his squad to shoot at BS 6 (say, a scout with a missile launcher). Useful for putting pressure on your opponent and picking off specialists with sniper fire, which he will do least once in a game on average (problem, hidden Power Fists?). Also worth noting that he gives free Stealth to his unit. So combined with the Techmarine-ruin-camo cloak strategy (see Scouts), or even hidden in regular area terrain, his [[Troll|2+]] [[Tau|cover save]] makes him tough to flush out. Also gets "Storm of Fire" as his warlord trait, which allows him to give any Ultramarine withing 12" Rending. Combine with 3 Thunderfire cannons for maximum tears.

*'''[[Antaro Chronus]]''' -  Even though he's technically an upgrade to a tank, he's now another budget HQ for the Ultras to buy. He makes it BS 5, gives it IWND, and ignores shaken and stunned results. Great, for a shooty tank, and since he's now an HQ and an FA/HS (Because Rhinos/Razorbacks are Fast Attack now) slot all in one, you can now spend those points you'd have spent on another HQ on bolstering the tank or maybe more troops.  The new Codex gave him a free extra wound, so now he can't become insta-dead the moment his tank blows up.  But with a generally mediocre statline plus a bolt pistol, a servo-arm, and frag/krak grenades as his only weapons, he's pretty much worthless without his tank. Hilariously, one could heavily exploit RAW/RAI and not have Chronus "in his tank." The rules only state that when you add him, you have to buy a tank and give it the Special Rules in the book, but it does not say Chronus is [[Troll|actually in the tank]]. This will lead to him [[Just as Planned|teleporting]] the moment his tank blows up though.

*'''Captain Centos (100th Store Anniversary)''' - In celebration for opening 100 stores worldwide (or at least having 100 running), GeeDubs decided to re-build an old Space Marine captain sculpt. Though he has no points cost listed, he is essentially an Ultramarines Captain with a Fist. He also enables the use of the Tactical Doctrine once per game in an Ultras detachment/formation. Not that shabby, but at least he looks nice.

*'''Anton Narvaez (Forge World)''': Marines Errant commander, though new to his position, only recently promoted from the position of a ship captain, and his stats tell, spotting -1 WS compared to the regular cap. He comes with a power weapon, bolt pistol, MC plasma gun and 3+ invuln instead of 4+ (with 50% chance to lose it each time it fails). He also has Scout and Move Through Cover USR’s. Can select D3 units of Tacticals, Devastators, Sternguard, or himself and any Command Squad he has with him to Deep Strike via teleportation rolling 3 dice drop highest for scatter if they don't get a 'hit'. Overall a nice and cheap tactical HQ. Also insanely useful for a minimum chance of scatter deepstrike assassination squad using him and a command squad equipped with plasma/melta/grav death.

*'''Mordaci Blaylock (Forge World)''': Novamarines terminator-captain with master-crafted and shredding chainfist and storm bolter (WTF?). He can make his terminator squad choose to fail or pass any morale test and he and his squad are immune to pinning tests, makes terminators scoring and… that’s all, although he has a static Warlord Trait of Champion of Humanity. He cost 30 pts. more than vanilla captain with his wargear, so, take him only if you have a lot of termies, Though if you are, why aren't your playing Dark Angels?

*'''Tarnus Vale (Forge World)''': Fire Angels captain with… WHAT? Plasma pistol and chainsword? What the fuck? Why 165 points? He got nerfed in the update, But then you realize that he has Stubborn and Tank Hunters... as does any Transport he's in... which [[Antaro Chronus|can also use his Ballistic Skill]]. In addition all of your Razorbacks, Rhinos and Land Raiders get 5+ Invulnerable saves against Glancing Hits, nice but not broken.

*'''Chaplain-Dreadnought Titus (Forge World)''': [[Howling Griffons]] dreadnought with +1 attack, which can reroll failed to hit roll in CC, and make everyone within 12” fearless.

====='''Iron Hands'''=====
*'''Vaylund Cal (Forge World)''': Sons of Medusa Master of the Forge with iron halo, thunder hammer, servo-harness, and monstrous creature stat line. Being an Iron Hand he gets FnP 6+ and It Will Not Die and +1 to Repair rolls. While expensive as hell, he could put a lot of hurt in close combat and extremely hard to kill for his T6. For further expense, he can give Devastator squads in the army Toughness 5 for 50 points per squad (flat, not per model), but don't expect it to save you against plasma firepower.

====='''Imperial Fists'''=====
*'''[[Darnath Lysander]]''' - One of the toughest kids on the block. Lysander is a Space Marine Captain, but has Eternal Warrior, 4 wounds, Terminator armor, a Storm Shield and a S10 MC Thunder Hammer. His utility has mostly been lost from previous editions, but the destructive power of Lysander is undeniable as nobody else can deliver strength 10 close combat attacks and take the equivalent in return. It is worth noting that Lysander also allows all friendly Imperial Fists within 12" to reroll Morale, Fear [[Derp|(for that 0.0% chance you have to roll for fear as a Space Marine player...)]], and Pinning checks, including himself, which ensures your battle line remains intact and friendly units are always on hand to respond to any changes in the field. Seriously though, his unwieldy initiative and 3 attacks mean he won't be clearing tarpits very well, but in a challenge he has been proven one of the greatest character slayers in the game. He can go toe-to-toe with Calgar, Moloc, Ghazghkull, or Abaddon with a good chance of winning. Also now has Feel no Pain if he is the Warlord! Just to make sure he can't die EVER. Put him in an Assault Terminators squad and watch the carnage.
*'''[[Pedro Kantor]]''' - While Pedro boasts the same statline as a regular Chapter Master, his viability is assured not by smashfacing, but by the numerous support special rules he carries. First up is the ability to confer [[Awesome|Objective Secured to Sternguard Veterans]], which allows these flexible units a greater degree of use on the field, holding down any objectives they might have cleared rather than waiting on a troops choice to move in and pick it up. In addition, all friendly units in his detachment get the Preferred Enemy (Orks) special rule, and any same-detachment models within 12" gain +1 attack, amplifying the combat potential of all your specialists such as Vanguard Vets, Terminators, and Honor Guard, or simply making your gunline a much less juicy target for a charge. In terms of equipment and rules, Pedro suffers from the lack of Eternal Warrior, making him very vulnerable to S8+ weapons; this of course is evident in close combat, where his powerfist is more of a hindrance than a boon. In the 7th edition codex, though, he suddenly remembered that he's a Chapter Master with access to all his chapter's armoury, and so grabbed a suit of Artificer Armour for that delicious 2+ save that makes a world of difference. Also, he has Feel no Pain if he is the Warlord, meaning he can now tank "small" (up to Plasma Guns/Cannons) arms fire a bit. Alternatively, Pedro can sit just outside of close combat, as one of his main strengths is Dorn's Arrow, a unique 4-shot storm bolter with an AP of 4 which allows Pedro to suppress light units and deal quite a few casualties to any less-than-MEQ unit in the open (obviously working perfectly with a fusillade of Kraken bolts from a Sternguard unit). This is topped by the Chapter Master's standard Orbital Bombardment, allowing him to deliver a nasty payload on any unit you see fit. Interestingly enough, he is also extremely cheap: a Chapter Master with Power Fist and Artificer Armour is only 10 points less, and wouldn't have his multiple buffs nor Dorn's Arrow.
** Pedro can do something very, very unique in 7th edition. He allows you to run a unbound army list with all the OP/fluffy fun that entails while also giving you objective secured, namely on your Sternguard. Let me tell you, having seen it done, this may be one of the most rage inducing armies there are. Forget five riptides, an army of sternguard with combi-meltas or combi-gravs will eat it for lunch. With the right mix of combi-weapons and special ammo, you can kill nearly anything with high efficiency unless it's a 4+ or better unit hiding in cover (and even then...). The most bitter, bitter pill, is that the squads have Objective Secured so even trying to play to the objectives won't help all that much. 
**'''PS:''' As of the 7E Codex, Pedro's attack aura now ''stacks'' with other sources of bonus attacks. That means you can run Pedro in a unit of Honor Guard with the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant and give all units within 12" +2 attacks. Counter-charging Sternguard with 5A each? Now who's the [[Black Templars|punchy sons of Dorn]]? To double up on this cheese, the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant stacks with the Chapter Banner. If he, an Honour Guard unit with a Chapter Banner, and a Command Squad flying the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant are all near something, it gets +3A, including dreadnoughts. Coupled with the decreased cost of power swords on vanguard veterans, +3A means they each get a total of 7A on the charge (2A base, +1 for 2CCW, +1 for charging, +1 for Kantor, +1 for Chapter Banner, +1 for SotEA).. and their Heroic Intervention's boost to multi-charging might suddenly begin looking useful if two (or even three) enemy MEQ units are standing close enough to each other.

====='''Black Templars'''=====
*'''High Marshal [[Helbrecht]]''' - Helbrecht is the High Marshal (Chapter Master) of the Black Templars. He has the stats of a regular chapter master with artificer armor, a combi-melta, a master-crafted power sword that gives him d3 bonus attacks on the charge, and the Imperium's Sword Warlord trait, who significantly improved in the 7th edition codex, giving him and his squad Furious Charge, instead of a one-use only ability. Ignore his lack of an Orbital Bombardment; Helbrecht should never be standing still, so he wouldn't be able to use it anyway. His wargear isn't anything special, but he's pretty point efficient for what you get. With the bonus from his sword he can get an ungodly [[Eversor|seven attacks on a charge]], plus whatever rage bonus he might get, meaning he's likely to [[Rip and Tear|eat most of a squad]]. His special rule, Crusade of Wrath, grants him and all other Black Templars Hatred and Fleet for one assault phase, making for a [[WAAAGH|truly horrific army-wide charge]]. His sword is only AP3 so he'll still get bogged down by 2+ saves. Also, due to the rules for Hatred, units already locked in close combat will not get the bonus from it when he uses Crusade of Wrath, so don't expect it to break your units out of tarpits they're already stuck in.
**'''Note:''' Due to GW's 'unique' codex writing skills, Helbrechts charge bonus will RAW ignore his chapter tactics, however if RAI are to be applied and your opponent isn't a [[Powergamer| dick]] then you ''should'' get 1+d3 attacks on the charge as the sword of high marshals only takes 'the normal +1 bonus attack from charging' so he still gets another one for rage (that sounds RAW to me?).

*'''Chaplain [[Grimaldus]]''' - Another Black Templars character, he is basically a standard Chaplain with +1 W and A, a MC Plasma Pistol and IWND.  He also projects the Zealot Rule in a 6" area, giving it to any Black Templars unit in it, while his servitors also project the FnP special rule to any Black Templars unit within 6" of him.  He's not a frontline dueling character, but he works well if used with Helbrecht to make your Crusader Squads enter BEAST MODE.
**'''Note:''' FnP termies are incredible, and if your opponent allows you to play Grimaldus and his retinue as being able to join a squad (like the space wolves and their ability to join fenresian units to a squad that has the 'owner' in it), and makes termies survivable enough to need '''27''' marines to wound '''ONCE'''.

*'''Emperor's Champion''' - The third Black Templars character. For 140 points you get a Captain with reduced BS (meh), W and A and unique equipment and rules that make him one of the best Character hunters in the game. First things first, The Black Sword is a S+2 AP2 Master crafted melee weapon that '''is not''' Unwieldy/Specialist/Two-Handed, so he gets +1 Attack for two weapons and strikes at initiative. Secondly, he has a 2+/4++ armor, making him pretty sturdy. Lastly, he must always issue or accept challenges when possible...which is not as bad as it sounds, considering that during a challenge [[Sigismund|he re-rolls failed To Hit rolls and inflicts Instant Death on any roll of 6 to wound]]. Bring it on!
**As a side note, the Emperor's Champion can be taken in the GSF's Strike Force Command section, alongside another character. If you have a big assaulty unit in your list, it might just be worth it to add Helbrecht for Furious Charge/Hatred/Fleet, then throw in the Emperor's Champion to handle challenges. Remember, this is damned expensive.
***As a side, side note, If your Templars are [[heresy | okay]] with some Inquisition, then you can put a xenos inquisitor with all the grenades, making his ap2 initiative sword instant death to all Toughness 4 and below, making him able to take on [[cheese | every]] space marine character that does not have eternal warrior.

====='''Raven Guard'''=====
*'''[[Kayvaan Shrike]]''' - A Space Marine Captain (now Chapter Master as of Kauyon, but GW didn't bother giving him rules to reflect his new rank) with a Jump Pack and two master-crafted ''rending'' lightning claws. His special rule '''See, But Remain Unseen''' gives Infiltrate and Stealth, but only allows him to join Jump Infantry ''before'' deployment; thanks to a FAQ entry, he can legally join your Jump Infantry (which would otherwise be illegal, as Infiltrate would block him from joining them) and grants the unit Infiltrate when he does. Shrike is all about striking at the right time and place: he can infiltrate a Vanguard Vet squad near an opponent's weak point in their front line, or on a flank to wreak havoc in their back field. He is not designed to go toe-to-toe with Abaddon: he exploits weakness in the true Raven Guard way and he actually synergizes really well with the rest of his army and gets the most from their Chapter Tactics. Go hunt some skimmers, Long Fangs, or the like while your Scouts pick up other threats, and then cut back in and slaughter their front line from behind the moment your line connects.  
**'''Beacon of Hope (Apocalypse):''' A lesser version of the same rule that [[Azrael]] gets for his Finest Hour, but can be activated on the turn (or turn after) he arrives from reserve. Granting friendly Imperial Guard units within 24" Fearless & Counter-attack. While Fearless can be useful considering the huge amount of casualties involved in Apocalypse games, it requires you to be teamed up with Guard and so doesn't give any further benefit to Shrike's finest hour unfortunately.
*'''Shadow Captain Solaq (Strike Force Solaq)''' - A limited-edition Captain with a Power Sword and a Plasma Pistol. Adding onto that, he also has a unique relic (the ridiculous face-bird) that forces anyone firing at him to test Leadership or else they can only fire snap-shots at him.  This pretty much makes him a good match for Guard Tau as he manages to deny most of their shenanigans...until they begin throwing down Markerlights.
*'''Shadow Captain Korvydae (Forge World)''': One of the few non-Badab War Forgeworld characters, he is a Captain with Artificer Armour, Thunder Hammer, Jump Pack, and Melta Bombs. Costing 5 points '''LESS''' than a normal Captain with the same wargear, while giving his squad Hit and Run (only if the squad is equipped with jump packs, but why would you put him in a squad without them?) and makes assault squads a troop choice! He also forces you to take at least one scout squad in your force, but that's not a bad bargain, all things considered. In short, he allows you to build a fluffy RG army while being a lot cheaper, killier, and more survivable than Shrike (which is quite sad...). Not the strongest Special Character in existence, but an excellent one for the Raven Guard.
**Do note that he doesn't come with a Warlord Trait, so feel free to roll on any table you want. Like a true [[Reasonable Marine|Shadow Captain]], you should adapt your force to your opponent.
**Also of note is his lack of chapter tactics. That's only natural, since he is a relic of the past and his rules were never updated (Forge World seems intent on updating all the Imperial Armour Books, so it shouldn't be long) but don't let [[That Guy]] find this out, because he will exploit the absence of the rule and use it against you, and sadly you won't be able to do anything to argue against him.

====='''Salamanders'''=====
*'''[[Vulkan He'stan]]''' -  Vulkan has the same stat-line as a Captain (while not ''actually'' a Captain currently in the fluff, he was one before becoming Forgefather). Vulkan is tricked out for up-close-and-dirty face-bashing with essentially the best gear possible (Artificer armor, 3+ Invulnerable Save, Master-crafted Relic Blade, and a Heavy Flamer/Digital Weapon). Use him to kill any and all infantry short of TEQ. His Warlord Trait, Iron Resolve, gives him Feel no Pain, further enhancing his resilience. Also, if he is the Warlord, he adds onto the "Chapter Tactics (Salamanders)" rule by making '''ALL''' meltaguns, combi-meltas, and multi-meltas '''in his detachment''' Master-Crafted. Enemy vehicle crews will shit themselves at the very thought of drop podding melta squads. Taking him results in a chain reaction: you want a lot of melta to make the most out of his [[Awesome]] special rule, thus making your army even more focused on short range firepower. Not really a problem though, since you're Salamanders. You did take lot of flamers too, right??
**With his 2+/3++, Vulkan fits in nicely with a squad of Thunder Hammer Terminators, and since he strikes at initiative 5, he can take out those pesky power fists in the enemy squad before they mulch your expensive terminators.
**Since this applies to combi-meltas, you can get rerolls on the bolter portion, too.  If you take He'Stan and Sternguard and give them combi-meltas, then the boltgun and special ammo components also get master-crafted. As the new GW FAQ team on Facebook just confirmed that it makes the entire weapon master-crafted, this is definitely both RAW and RAI. 
**Don't forget to master-craft his pistol. It won't come up often, but it's one more advantage if you have to shoot something outside template range.
*'''Pellas Mir’San (Forge World)''': The Winter Blade, Captain of the Salamanders 2nd company and cheap for what he gives: he has the standard Captain profile, but with +1 WS, and comes with Artificer Armour, a Close Combat Weapon and a Combi-Flamer. He also has one special weapon (Cinder Edge) that's basically a Master Crafted Power Sword with '''AP 2'''. It still strike only at S4, sadly, but is one of the rare AP 2 weapons that isn't Unwieldy, and isn't Two-Handed or Specialist Weapon, so he gets the +1 attack for his extra sword! He was clearly designed for challenges, as his warlord trait give him 1 victory point for any character he slain in challenges, while his Master Duelist rule allows him to either give himself +1 attack or his opponent -1 while in a challenge. For his cost he is one of the best challengers in the game, but remember to keep him away from the real heavyweights: he wouldn't last 2 seconds. Lastly he can pick whether his squad auto-passes or auto-fails Morale checks, which gives you some extra tactical flexibility.
**All in all he is a good and cheap support/fighter HQ, although, sadly, he doesn't compare to the other special options you get, not giving anything to your army except for the squad he is in, while not being a close combat monster like a lot of other special characters.
*'''Harath Shen (Forge World)''': Master Apothecary with the profile of a Chaplain/Librarian, Artificer Armor, Plasma Pistol, Power Sword and Digital Weapons. He has Chapter Tactics (Salamanders) but, strangely enough, he doesn't have a master-crafted weapon (though you can still pick one to master-craft). But don't let that discourage you: for 135 pts, Shen allows you to put FNP 4+ in the squad you need it in, and, while he has no invuln, he gets to reroll Look Out Sir rolls '''AND''' gives his squad +1 to the score to determine the result of any assault. If you want 2+/3++/4+++ assault terminators (and who doesn’t?), this guy delivers. Also has a really unique Warlord Trait where you can get victory points back for destroyed friendly units within 6" on a 5+. Not really impressive, but you don't take him for that, you take him for the '''TROLL'''!
*'''Bray’Arth Ashmantle (Forgeworld)''': Dreadnought HQ, forged by Primarch [[Vulkan]] himself! Bray’Arth is a hell of a monster: with his front armor 13, 4 HP, venerable, extra armour, '''It Will Not Die''' and immune to '''ALL''' extra dice roll to armor penetration (melta, armourbane, Rending, Kharn, etc.) and to all effects that would reduce his armor, he is almost impossible to kill, without an [[Railgun|S10 weapon]] or some weird shit like haywire or gauss. He also has +1 WS and Attacks compared to a normal Venerable Dreadnought and is armed with two DCCWs with inbuilt Heavy Flamers, which also can count as single Twin-Linked Meltagun. He can also forgo one close combat attack to auto hit anything in base contact with him (Friend or Foe, so be careful and don't forget this) with an S5 AP4 hit at Initiative 1, for when that big unit thinks itself smart and tries to tarpit him for the rest of the game. Basically he can take on everything barring Titans and the like, but beware Swooping Hawks and... Fire Warriors in melee - sure, they only hit him on a 5+ and his Burning Wrath could kill a lot of them, but remember that it happens at initiative 1, which might be too late if he got haywired. Also, his warlord trait (he CAN be the warlord, but only if there are no other HQs) gives him one Victory point for each vehicle with at least one armour value of 12+ and/or Independent Character that he destroys in an assault, but only if there aren't other friendly models in the assault (not really a problem for this Beast). This is [[awesome]] since, unlike similar traits, it doesn't state that he needs to be in a challenge for this to work, and he can trash most vehicles like they're not even there. Of course, he is extremely expensive, in both points and pounds, but he totally worth every point and penny. Put him into a Lucius pattern drop pod. Drop him into the middle of the enemy gunline. Laugh maniacally. Field him against [[Bjorn]] and make compensating jokes.

====='''White Scars'''=====
*'''[[Kor'sarro Khan]]''' - This crazy Mongol adds onto "Chapter Tactics (White Scars)" by giving every '''Bike Squad''' and '''squad embarked in a Rhino or Razorback''' Scout, which in turn allows for outflanking, allowing them to come in from the side of the table. His Warlord Trait forces friendly Imperials within 12" to reroll failed Morale/Pinning/Fear checks, he has Furious Charge (but only for himself), and he gains d3 VP if he kills the opposing Warlord in a challenge. Other than that, he's an average Captain (who can be upgraded to ride a bike that inflicts d3 HoW attacks) whose power sword just so happens to cause Instant Death on a roll of 6. Since he's really cheap, he is an awesome character for a White Scars army, giving them the ability to strike hard and fast. Outflanking your Scout-ed up dudes might be dicier than with Space Wolves, but he is still well worth his already-low points cost. Thanks to his Warlord trait he works well allied to other Imperial armies, Though note his WT works with 'morale checks', not 'leadership tests', so you can't use him to get rerolls on Sister of Battle Acts of Faith.
**It's not just his Warlord Trait that makes him and his army ally-friendly; Scout, Skilled Rider, and Hit & Run all confer to the unit, so you can strap his dudes to almost any other Imperium faction for buffy goodness (the only SM chapters they can join without losing Chapter Tactics are Grey Knights and Deathwatch, so the exceptions are Space Wolves, Blood Angels, and Dark Angels).

====Forge World====
There are also a lot of special characters  from '''Forge World''' '''Badab War''' IA-s. '''NOTE:''' Forge World has released new Chapter Tactics for all the Chapters relevant to these characters. If you take a character with the Chapter Tactics of one of the Forge World Chapters, you have to take them in a detachment of that Chapter. However, some of the Forge World Chapters have the same Chapter Tactics as Chapters in Codex: Space Marines, and you can take those characters in those armies, i.e., Vaylund Cal in an Iron Hands detachment. Most of these characters also have updated rules not yet discussed here.
*'''Red Scorpions'''
** '''Lord High Commander [[Carab Culln]]''': Chapter master, with terminator armor, teleport homer, MC storm bolter and his AP3 MC Power Sword with good ol' 6E Smash, Eternal Warrior and any Red Scorpion in his detachment can use his leadership for Morale and Pinning. His warlord trait (his rules state that if you take him, he MUST be Warlord) gives any Red Scorpions within 12" locked in combat a +1 to combat resolution; +2 if he himself in is a challenge however he can never make a Look Out, Sir!.
** '''Commander Carab Culln''': Same guy, but back when he was 1st Captain. Most of the same wargear, except his sword is a Tear of the Scorpion, and he still packs Termie Armor and a homer. All Red Scorpions can still use his Ld for Morale and Pinning. Any squad he joins gets Stubborn, Counter-Attack, and can re-roll to-hit when outnumbered in assault. Also, when he's Warlord, all combat occurring within 12" of him gets +1 for his side's combat resolution, upped to +2 if he is in a Challenge. Biggest downside is his inability to take LoS!, but that shouldn't be an issue if you stack him with a Tac or Command Squad to get some FNP.
** '''Sevrin Loth''': Chief Librarian with ML3, 3A (1 more than vanilla Librarians), a force axe and bolt pistol. He can pick his powers from Biomancy, Telepathy or Telekinesis. Yes, '''pick''', not roll, but they all have to be from the same discipline, so take your choice of Invisibility or Biomancy's amazing spread of goodies. He still has access to the Space Marine psychic power included in the Angels of Death supplement as well. He has a 2+ armor save, so he can be extremely difficult to kill, moreso if Invisibility or Endurance is added in. 7E makes his ability to take Honour Guard an irrelevant relic from 6e, and he also has his own unique Warlord trait that gives 1 VP for any Psyker Character he kills - this can be great against Eldar/GK/Daemons. At 175 points, he is a ludicrous steal given his easy access to 2++ and '''PICKING HIS POWERS''', though only having 2 wounds stings - Endurance/Iron Arm will really help here.
***Also, since all his powers have to be taken from the same discipline, '''Psychic Focus''' applies and he can also throw in the Primaris. It doesn't say you have to generate them randomly, only that your powers all have to be from the same discipline.
*'''Astral Claws'''
**'''[[Lugft Huron]]''': Chapter master, with terminator armor, heavy flamer, and AP2 lightning claw which forces opponent to reroll successful invulns. His orbital bombardment is S10 AP1 ordnance 2, his “Living Legend” rule makes all your army Ld10. He can [[Commissar Yarrick|come back from the dead]]... but only once. But he is expensive as hell for 235 pts. Still better in combat than Draigo (who's more expensive), and could even take on Abbadon/Swarmlord. He still has orbital bombardment and his warlord trait (who gives counter attack to units that enters from reserve) for support, and can deep strike. Main problem is that he's Astral Claws, with one of the worst chapter tactics. If you take him for his combat ability, then go unbound and bring him by himself in a separate detachment.
**'''Corien Sumatris''': Captain, with +1WS, -1BS, MC power weapon, which gives him +1 additional attack on charge, storm shield, and some weird 12’’-range assault bolter. His main ability is to give Furious Charge to his squad (and himself) and +1WS to all your infantry within 12’’ of him. At 165 pts. he is a bit costly, so use his special powers properly (obviously, by putting him in dedicated CC squad).
**'''Armenneus Valthex''': Master of the Forge, also known as “Alchemancer” with conversion beamer and some weird techno-thing called “Indynabula” which counts as two power weapons, and give him 5+ invuln, counter-strike USR. He can also make one squad’s bolters poisoned 2+, turning them to cheap wannabe-sternguards. But why the heck would you do that when you can poison Terminator storm bolters or (with the new pdf update) a Bike Squads twin-linked bolters? Think synergy people!  Ever poisoned a Wraithknight to death? It is great fun!  And he's surprisingly cheap, assuming his shiny wargear - maybe, to compensate those schizophrenic combination of ranged-oriented and close-combat-oriented bits.
*'''Minotaurs'''
**'''[[Asterion Moloc]]''': Chapter Master with terminator armor, storm shield, and eternal warrior but with basically a Custodes halberd (S+2 AP2 two handed weapon), except it shoots a powerful laser beam once per game instead of bolts. He also gives assault grenades and Fearless to his squad and his "Sanctioned Fratricide" rule give his whole army the Preferred Enemy (Space Marines) at a cost of making all of them desperate allies. He is VERY expensive, but he has one of the few AP2 close combat weapons without unwieldy in a vanilla marine army, and [[Grey Knights|with]] [[Blood Angels|so]] [[Space Wolves|many]] [[Dark Angels|loyal]] [[Ultramarines|marine armies]] around, Preferred Enemy could work more often than not. Even when you're not facing Space Marines, Moloc is seriously worth considering for how much of a fucking beast he is in assault
**'''Ivanus Enkomi''': Chaplain with "Crozius Arkanos" ''(S:User Master Crafted, Concussive, AP3 with built-in twin linked grenade launcher)''  Power Fist, jump pack and with +1 initiative, +1 attack, and granting himself and the squad he's in Rage. He costs only '''25 pts''' more than a vanilla chaplain with fist and jump pack.
*'''Star Phantoms'''
**'''Zhurukhal Androcles''': Star Phantom captain with power fist and combi-melta. Makes Devastator Elites AND Heavy support and little else. Though not as devastating as Vale, he is cheaper and actually have some decent wargear.
*'''Mantis Warriors'''
**'''Ahazra Redth''': Mantis Warriors chief librarian. He is not a monster-psyker, like Tigurius or Loth, and is only ML2 but generates only one power due to the other one being "Mirage", but he'd still be able to use Psychic Focus and gain a free primaris power out of it. On the other hand he does have a built-in 5+ invuln and is able to re-roll his first failed psychic test. His special psy-power “Mirage” gives his unit Shrouded and, if they're charged, their attackers are forced to make a disordered charge. Also, if he is a Transport Vehicle, the power can even target that Vehicle, which is beyond Awesome. His Warlord trait also gives any squad he joins Night Vision and Interceptor, which is pretty cool, even though you will probably attach him to a pretty choppy squad, so it could be wasted. Finally, of note is that he got +1 W and I compared to a normal Librarian.
***Take Redth and Honour Guards in a Land Raider. Cast Mirage on LR and screen it with some tall, fast and cheap models (allied Rough Riders comes in mind). Look at your opponent face when he realize your über metal box has 3+ cover.
*'''Fire Hawks'''
**'''Elam Courbray''': Fire Hawks captain with jump pack and rending power sword, as well as I6. Like Culln, Elam can choose to do a SMASH attack instead but, strangely enough, his smash doesn't give him AP 2, only double strength and reroll for armour penetration. However his sword has rending (and soul blaze...woohoo.) so you still have a slim chance to pass through terminator armour. Very slim (Hint: don't go hunting terminators in melee). Though he isn't a combat monster (but far from a terrible one) he can really buff his squad, giving them Hit and Run and Counter Attack USRs. Also, his warlord trait is a [[Swooping Hawks|blast attack when he deep strikes which he doesn't need to scatter around]]. He is also the only space marine character (outside of the blood angels) that can have a command squad with jump packs, making him suddenly a lot more valuable: kit them with a lot of flamers and watch the unholy hell being unleashed against your opponent!
*'''Exorcists'''
**'''Silas Alberec''': Exorcists captain with a MC Thunder Hammer Hellslayer that always wounds Daemons and Psykers on a 2+ (if S10 isn't enough), bolt pistol, teleport homer, and Iron Halo. He gives FNP 5+ to himself and his unit against ANYTHING with psychic powers or Marks of Chaos or Daemons, and he can have one unit in the detachment reroll failed Deny the Witch rolls. His warlord trait lets you take morale checks on 3D6 and choosing the best and is reasonably priced for his wargear at 185 points. Don't expect to smash Greater Daemons or an Avatar of Kaine with this guy as he still only has a 3+ save and Hellslayer is Unwieldy.
***His real appeal comes from the fact he can have basically any Chapter Tactics in the game as per Exorcists Chapter Tactics. Iron Hands fits pretty well with him, giving him IWND and a 6+ FNP. Though Black Templars should be seriously considered, as Adamantium Will combined with Deny the Witch rerolls can make for a very potent anti-psyker unit, especially if said unit is Terminators or Honor Guard.
*'''Raptors'''
**'''[[Lias Issodon]]''': [[Reasonable Marines|Raptors]] chapter master. Ten fewer points than Shrike, without any of the downsides. He only has a power sword and pistol for close combat, and is -1WS and +1BS compared to a standard chapter master, but is armed with a monstrous 30" Salvo 2/4 bolter with Sternguard special ammunition (that must use the profiles described in C:SM), and can use the Raptor tactic to make his bolter Heavy 1, Rending, which stacks with his Sternguard ammo like it does for all Raptor Sternguard. In short, he is a shooty Chapter Master, which is rare. He has no Invulnerable save, but this is made up for with Artificer Armor and Shrouded. The main reason you would like to take him is his special abilities: he forces a -1 on enemy reserve rolls, can re-roll his own reserves (even successful ones), and he can cripple (or even kill) one enemy unit, MC, or vehicle before the game even starts. Sadly he has no orbital bombardment, but he is relatively cheap considering how he buffs you and nerfs the enemy army, so shut up. Camp his Raptors in cover and shoot people to death like [[Reasonable_Marines|reasonable marines]] should do.
***By cripple, we mean "If an army includes Lias Issodon, its controlling player may select a single enemy unit, Monstrous Creature, or vehicle that has been deployed onto the table. After any Scout redeployments have been made, but before the game begins, the chosen unit suffers D6+3 wounds with no AP value if a squad or Monstrous Creature, distributed as shooting hits (assume the attack has originated from the closest unit in Issodon’s force). If the target is a vehicle, it suffers D3 rolls on the Haywire table instead."
***Thanks to his updated default Warlord Trait in 7th edition, you can now Infiltrate him and up to three units and be able to build around this fact. How about 30 Assault Terminators w/ TH&SS starting 18" from your units for a start? Or how about a squad of Devastator Centurions halfway up the board? 2+ cover saves in ruins (Shrouded) on those bastards is just mean.
***If you want a fluffy Raptors Command Squad for him. Take a squad of 10 Sternguard and let the Dakka fly. Honor Guard also get to use Raptors chapter tactics if you bring them, but then lose some of their melee potency.
***As it turns out, Lias Issodon also has rock-solid synergy with a [[Callidus|Callidus Assassin]], as the two of them combined will force your opponent's first reserve to be done on a [[Rage|7+]], unless this is FAQ'd to a minimum of 6+. The Callidus' ability to re roll Seize The Initiative synergizes well with your infiltrating counter-deployers. And finally, Lias Issodon's "Infiltrate, Isolate, Destroy" ability can be used to greatly soften up enemy deathstars for the Callidus to have a higher chance of snagging Slay The Warlord on turn 1. These two are a perfect duo if you're running a competitive Raptors Army.
*'''Carcharodons'''
**'''[[Tyberos the Red Wake]]''': Carcharodons chapter master with terminator armor and two weapons, which can count as lightning claws or chainfists, and he can allocate hits with either as he wants with 5 base attacks. No iron halo, so his invuln is only 5+. Tyberos himself is a terrifying murderous machine in close combat, when subject to the RAGE USR, he '''AND''' ''every'' Carcharodon unit that is subject to Rage becomes +1 str for the rest of the battle. His warlord trait 'Savage Beyond Reason' gives him and his unit preferred enemy (infantry). He also allows you to take one LC-terminator unit as troops with the option of [[Awesome|Objective Secured Land Raiders]], something that only Black Templars Crusader Squads and Grey Knights Terminators can do. And he costs less than a vanilla chapter master with two chainfists.
*'''Executioners'''
**'''Thulsa Kane''': Executioners high chaplain with artificer armor, plasma pistol and S6 AP2 Unwieldy sword. With +1WS/BS/W/A, eternal warrior and big 12” aura of “reroll 1 on to-wound” he also gives friendly Executioners squads +1 to their assault results and +1 to their sweeping advance provided he is fighting in a challenge. The only thing, Kane don’t have, is jump pack to join assault squad, or terminator armor to join teleporting assault termies.
*'''Space Marine Legion Centurion with Early Crusade Honours''': Forge World made this guy available up until the end of September 2015 in honour of their website moving to the same form as GW's. While obviously intended to go with Forge World's 30k, the PDF they released with it had a special option for it for use in 40k, despite the character not having the "Chapter Tactics" special rule. If your fellows aren't too rules-lawyery you can equate 30k's "Legiones Astartes" with it. Barebones, he's a cheaper captain with one less BS and Wounds, but with the same initiative and number of attacks. In terms of wargear, he gets artificer armour standard, along with a master-crafted power fist, but loses out on the Iron Halo's valuable invulnerable save. The real stand-out feature of this guy is his option to take "The Panoply of the Crusader": a set of artificer armour from the days of 30k, which inspires the model and any unit he joins to be Stubborn and have Preferred Enemy against Chaos Space Marines, making this guy a good support HQ for a low points cost.

===Troops===
*'''Tactical Squad''' - Your bread-and-butter scoring units. These guys don't excel at anything but are decent at everything. Unfortunately, their balance tends to be their downfall as most other basic troops tend to be better at everything than they are (see: Grey Hunters), and they're a tad expensive when fully kitted out. Keep them at a distance if possible, but remember to make effective use of your Rapid Fire range. Great for camping objectives, as their durability is their best selling point. Always take Dedicated Transports with your Tacs, even if they're camping an objective. Metal Boxes make excellent walls and mobile shields for your troops, plus if Tacticals are inside and the Rhino gets charged they can Overwatch from the hatch. These fellas make up the bulk of almost every Space Marines Decurion, so you should get used to them and their capabilities.
**Important side note, if you plan to assault with these men remember they all have Bolt Pistols, meaning you can unleash 10 bolt shots (or 9 bolts and a krak grenade) before your charge. Generally, though, you shouldn't assault with Tacticals because even if the enemy unit is squishy, you could just Rapid Fire your boltguns instead (unless you want to tie up a squishy enemy that has good shooting but is terrible in close combat or if you want to hide your tacticals on a CC to avoid being shot up from other stuff or you want to deny an imminent Raging/Furious charge of a tough unit). So ''if'' you ''do'' charge, always remember your pistols/grenades/assault weapons.
**If you manage to run away and your enemy catches you, your Marines aren't auto-killed but continue the fight instead.  Remember this! Next thing to remember, if your enemy does not catch you and you break out in their close-combat phase, on your next turn which comes right up your Marines are auto-rallied. They also count as '''not having moved'''. In other words, rocket launcher (or 5 Grav-Cannon shots) in the face, or 6" move.
**Loadouts for Tacs usually consist of special weapon and matching combi-weapon (i.e. plasma gun and combi-plasma). If you have a 10-man squad, consider Combat Squadding, giving one 5-man group the combi-weapon and special weapon, and giving the other 5 men a heavy weapon to sit on an objective with. Your choice of Dedicated Transport, what your army needs (anti-tank, anti-horde, anti-heavy infantry/MC) and what you want the squad to do (sit on an objective, attack enemy objectives) should influence your Tactical Squads' loadouts.
**You should not take a CC weapon, grav or plasma pistol on the Sergeant. Ever. They lessen the squad's 24" range firepower and they scare nobody. Not Orks, not that nasty squad of Terminators, not the rampaging Khorne Berserkers. They're just too expensive and they take away points from your list. If you are nuts enough to take a plasma or grav pistol though, your opponent might give you respect knuckles when your Sergeant immobilizes or one-shots a rampaging Dreadnought.
**Also, this is the edition of MC's and hard-to-kill infantry, not vehicles. Meltaguns can make them too specific in a role is better given to a unit that can do AT and something else at the same time just as well (e.g. a Tri-Las Predator).
**Do not take Heavy weapons in a Tactical squad if you are planning on having that squad be mobile (such as in Mech lists or Drop pod lists). Only put them in units that you plan on having sit in one place for the entire game (combat squad on an objective). Grav-cannons, being Salvo rather than Heavy, are the possible exception to this, but they're expensive - avoid them unless you're also taking a grav-gun and combi-grav to go MC hunting.
**Carcharodon Tactical Marines can take CCWs for 1 point/model (or free if you trade in their bolters) and gain RAGE after destroying an infantry unit in close combat, probably the one situation where they become usable in CC.
**Probably the best Chapter Tactics for these guys are Imperial Fists. Re-rolling 1s for bolt pistols, bolters, heavy bolters, combi-weapons firing as bolters, and storm bolters is sweet. BS4 rerolling 1s is almost the same accuracy as BS5 (normal BS4 is 24/36 chance to hit, but with Imperial Fist Chapter Tactics BS4 is 28/36 chance to hit, which is almost normal BS5's 30/36 chance), and without needing to spend a Doctrine.
**Tacticals can be useful to finish off stragglers from enemy units that has been shot up by your heavy hitters, without sacrificing more important shooting power to finish off a couple of Fearless/Stubborn/ATSKNF models.

*'''Imperial Space Marine (30th Anniversary Release):''' This is a unique, limited-edition model you can add in place of any Space Marine at no extra cost (''and that's all we're going to say about that''). Though stat-wise, he's not any better than a basic marine, he does come with two dangerous weapons: a Disintegrator Combi-Gun (18" S5 AP2 Assault 2, Gets Hot, Instant Death) with INFINITE shots, a Disintegration Pistol (9" pistol version) and a CCW. He's the bane of MCs everywhere, provided he can get close enough to hit them. Keep in mind what the rest of the squad's there for; he's best suited in a Tactical or Devastator Squad, where he won't get screwed over so much for only having a bolter for long-range damage. The only other squad he can go into is an Assault Squad (the others don't have any Space Marines to replace, only Veterans, Centurions, Scouts, etc). He doesn't really fit in well, but RAW you can stick a jump pack on him in an Assault Squad if you really want to.
**The best Chapter Tactic to use with him are the Raptors. Replace a Tactical Marine except for the Sergent. Choose Grav-weapons for the special/heavy weapons and Combi-Bolter for reliable Salvo hits. Give them a Rhino or infiltrate his squad close to the objective and [[Troll|dare your opponent to try and take it from you]]. Two/Three Grav-weapons, the Disintegrator Combi-Gun and Heavy 1 for the rest of the squad makes charging them a bad idea. 

*'''Crusader Squad (Black Templars)''' - Black Templars only, essentially a beefed up Tactical Squad that is capable of taking neophytes as meatshields and a Sword Brother as a Veteran Sergeant for your initiates to survive longer and therefore be able to make the charge once they have gotten within range. The issue here is that you can't take more Neophytes than Templars, so their usefulness as meatshields takes a hit, especially in smaller squads.
**There are two ways to kit out your neophytes for close combat. Pistol/CCW allows a S4 AP5 pistol shot before combat, and 2 S4 attacks at I4 (3 on the charge, 4 if you get Rage). The Shotgun option allows for two S4 shots before combat and a single S4 attack at I4 (2 on the charge, 3 with Rage). The AP5 of the bolt pistol will rarely be more useful than the shotgun's extra shot before Overwatch is even fired, and if Overwatch fells any of your boys, the shotgun loadout's lack of +1A from having two CCW is further diluted by Rage from BT Chapter Tactics. Also keep in mind the shotguns' extra shooting attacks will always hit on a 3+ and "ignore" enemy Initiative, whereas the close combat attacks might only hit on a 4+ or even 5+ (depending on enemy WS) and I5 or higher enemies may slay some of your guys before they can swing.  However, another consideration is that you might accidentally gimp your charge distance if you kill too many models in the shooting phase - shotguns can do this if you run into Termagaunts or the like.
**Black Templars should be Running in the shooting phase to make use of their Crusaders special rule, unless you're close enough to charge (like if your squad used an LRC to get up close). Crusader Squads want lots of Bolt Pistols and CCWs if you are using anything other than 5 man las-plas squads because Crusader Squads should be focused on assaulting. Use tactical squads if you want to sit back and shoot.
***If you wish to switch between these options, assemble your scouts with close combat weapons and pistols, then trim the hands off the shotgun models and glue them to the scouts back as though holstered.
**You can buy power weapons for people other than the Sword Brother, which means that you can actually avoid having a Power Fist or Axe get challenged and murdered. Still not a terribly efficient use of points--Vanguard Vets are probably more worth the investment. Stick to Pistols and CCWs for assault-focused Crusader Squads, the weight of attacks is better for what you're engaging (read: hordes, light vehicles, tarpitting big guys). HQs and other characters can bring the AP 2.
**One overlooked competitive option for Crusaders is grav spam. While a normal tactical squad might take a combi-grav and a grav-cannon for their 5-man squad, you can get a multi-use grav gun and cannon. You could even get a combi, special, and heavy grav all in one 5 man squad with a minimal 10-point Sword Brother upgrade tax (vs. tactical squads needing a full extra 5 bolter goons to sit around and do nothing all day). Not a horrible option if you want a useful troops tax for a Black Templars CAD so you can have their special characters.
** Take note of the wording of the "Righteous Zeal" special rule Black Templars' Chapter Tactics, because your own Gets Hot wounds will also trigger it. So if your enemy is so antsy that they actually avoid firing Overwatch to deny your [[Rage]], this is pretty much the only way to get it. Like everyone else, your plasma pistol might hit and kill something, or your squad leader might die to Gets Hot (1/18 chance). But unlike everyone else, for a large Crusader Squad, you win ''either way''. (note that you still shouldn't buy pistol upgrades, ever.)
** These bad boys get to take a Land Raider Crusader as a dedicated transport. This is rather glorious, since it gives the Land Raider Objective Secured, means that your super assaulty squads can start the game in an Assault Transport, and means you can use the Land Raider for close quarters objective camping. Nice. Do keep in mind that in the age of grav and low-AP guns everywhere, your Land Raider could get immobilized turn one or two before it does anything. A big waste of 240 points. Weigh your options (and your local meta) carefully.  

*[[Scout|'''Scout Squad''']] - Scouts now have the exact same statline as standard Marines, except for a 4+ armor save rather than 3+, gaining Scout, Infiltrate and Move Through Cover in return. This makes Scouts generally a better choice of troops than Tactical Marines. If you run Scouts, you're likely best off running them naked. 11 points for a model in carapace with a BS4 bolter is actually fairly good as far as medium infantry goes, but upgrading them to snipers tends to be a waste of points. The five man scout sniper squad may look good on paper, but 5 BS4 shots is going to lead to about three hits, which will leave you with about a wound and a half before armor. Since Snipers don't have Pinning, this can be summed up as "useless". Don't bother trying to put the hurt on monstrous creatures with this either, since while you might wound on 4s, MCs generally have enough wounds not to care.
**Thanks to Scouting and Infiltrating, Scouts can put a Teleport Homer on the board rather fast and uncomfortably close to your enemy's forces, so keep that in mind if you run Terminators of either flavor.
**One role Scouts are alright at is manning the quad gun on an Aegis. Be sure to give them Camo Cloaks for a 3+ cover, but don't bother with Sniper Rifles. They'll mostly be shooting the quad gun at the nearest flyer, so those rifles will be points wasted.
**One of the classic Scout combos is to take a Techmarine (a Thunderfire Cannon's gunner also counts). Give your scouts Camo Cloaks, put them into a ruin that you "fortify" with the aforementioned Techmarine's special power, and [[Troll|enjoy]] a 2+ cover save.
**According to the wording in the rule book, models choose their weapons individually. Meaning you can take a squad of 5 w/ Bolters and 5 w/ Shotguns and a Land Speeder Storm, and at the beginning of the game, Combat Squad them and stick the melee squad in the Storm while the Bolters hang out in ruins with a Techmarine. The back-line camping Combat Squad is also the only place where Sniper Rifles may be okay.
**One final role a squad might be good at is turn-one tank removal. You take a Land Speeder Storm with a multi-melta and infiltrate it as close to the enemy's biggest, most valuable tank as possible. The speeder Scouts 12" closer to its target, then moves 6" and the squad disembarks 6" (hopefully into some cover). All this should put both the Scout Sarge's combi-melta and the Speeder's multi-melta in melta range, so hope for the best on your to-hit rolls. At only 5 points, you may also want to give the sergeant meltabombs, in case both he and the tank survive turn 1.
** A Veteran Scout Sergeant with a power weapon is a decent buy for melee Scouts in a LSS. Four power weapon attacks on the charge against backline shooty units is nice, or can draw fire away from other units trudging up the board. A Power Maul is a good choice, allowing you to wound most things on 2s and having a decent chance to score a penetrating hit on a vehicle without blowing it up (sparing your squishy marines a lot of S4 hits form the explosion and giving them some cover from the return fire).
**Scouts with Raptor tactics for all intents and purposes have Sniper Rifles sans Precision Shots and with -12" to range for free.
**If you are taking a formation and need a cheap Auxiliary choice, look no further than a 10th company Strike force. Take Sniper Rifles, Camo-Cloaks, and a Heavy Bolter (not necessarily required) on 3, 5 man scout squads. Infiltrate them where you want them and NEVER MOVE THEM. You now have a 36" harassment bubble against enemy infantry, which every once in a while will allow you to allocate a wound yourself or wound with AP2 (Or if you are lucky, both at the same time, perfect for getting rid of Special weapons or sergeants), that has a ''2+ cover save''. They will annoy your enemy AND tank most fire flung at them that isn't a template or Ignores Cover. Just be careful with such small squads because if you roll too many 1s at a time they may be forced to move, and loose their 2+ goodness. 
*** This problem is essentially solved if they are taken as an auxiliary for a Salamanders Flameblade, as they automatically gain Fearless if they don.t move in the movement phase. ''Now the enemy has to kill every model to get them off their perch''

===Dedicated Transports===
Note: All of these Dedicated Transports can be taken as Fast Attack Choices. Per the new Facebook draft FAQ, you can't stick Battle Brothers in a transport at deployment (so long Drop Pod taxi service). So if you want to give your Space Marine units (even in a different detachment/formation and even from a different chapter) without one a Drop Pod, or anything that can't take their own (i.e. Centurions), you can if you take the Combined Arms Detachment, without going unbound.
*'''[[METAL BOXES|Rhinos]]''' - Very cheap and good transport since space marines are KNOWN TO HIDE IN MEHTAL BAWKSES, DA KOWARDZ! TEH FEWLZ! There's not much to say about it beyond "use it!" Seriously, don't footslog your marines. A walking marine is a dead marine, and dead men hold no objectives. The only upgrade recommended is the Dozer Blade. Once the guys are out of it, you can basically throw it away in petty dick moves like preventing charges, blocking line of sight (tossing a dozer blade on the sucker will make this glorious bastard even longer, thus potentially blocking even more line of sight), and tank shocking people into tight formation to be hit with flamers, more useful for shielding your own guys as it's side armour is 11, as opposed to the 10 most transports have (*cough* Chimera *cough*) so str 4 weapons (standard infantry power) can't glance it. You can also use its speed to dick around with Necrons if you feel like trolling them and don't really care about winning.
**NOTE: look on the entry for the Rhino in your codex and you will notice a rule that no-one ever uses, which is a shame because it totally rocks: opt out of shooting for a 1/6 chance of repairing an immobilized result. Your opponent cries when he thinks he's immobilized your transport and then it starts moving again. I mean, what else are you going to do in that phase? You're not Chaos, you don't get decent guns on your Rhinos.
**Exploit 7th Edition rules: Did you take a Drop pod with your troops choice? No? Then take a rhino! Vehicles got harder to insta-slag without dedicated AP1/AP2 firepower pointed at them, and dedicated transports taken with troops count as troops. Now you can drive your squad to one objective, then rush your rhino over to hold down or contest another. Alternately: if they want to dislodge your hold on an objective, they now have to destroy both the squad on it AND the transport that took them there.
**Using Khan and White Scars Chapter Tactics a very nasty and potent trick can be pulled with Rhino squads. Start by deploying on 12'', then scout 12'' in your metal box before the game starts. In your first movement go 6'' and disembark your infantry a further 6''. Good at maths? You're now on their deployment line, and you can fire. Your opponent won't anticipate it and it gives you total board control by the end of turn 1 - you can dictate exactly where the fighting goes. That's invaluable.
**Don’t forget that the Rhino comes stock with a free storm bolter, so you can add a second one from the equipment list. A second set of storm bolter shots may not sound like much, but without access to the havoc launchers it’s pretty much the only way your metal box can give [[Your dudes|your dudes]] some quarter-decent fire support.
*'''Razorback''' - What's known in military terms as an Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), the Razorback is basically a Rhino that trades 4 of its transport capacity for a turret gun. It is one of the best choices for a SM army themed on firepower. Best configuration is a Tactical Squad of 10 with Lascannon, Melta gun/Plasma gun, matching combi-weapon, and a Razorback with a TLLC. The Space Marine codex FAQ lets a Tactical squad choose a Razorback as a dedicated transport even if it has more than 6 men. So at game start you combat squad them, one with the Sergeant and PG/MG, and the other with Lascannon. The former goes in your transport, the latter stays at the back of the board providing fire support and capturing your home objective. The TL lascannon is generally the best pick, since AV11 3HP is pretty frail in the modern meta, meaning that the otherwise-interesting lascannon/TL plasma gun weapon choice may expose you to too much S6/7 fire if you drive it into Rapid Fire range. Just remember to be careful with your deployment if you come up against a gunline. 
**Definitely avoid taking the Razorback stock, the TL Heavy Bolter is a terrible choice. Any of the other choices can be very useful, whether it's backline fire support from the lascannons or running up on enemy objective campers with the TL assault cannon/heavy flamer/plasma gun. The one time the Heavy Bolter might be decent is when you can get a pile of them for free from the Gladius Strike Force.
**See that note above about Objective Secured on Troop Rhinos? Applies here.
**Razorbacks pay 5 points more than anything else you can take for their lascannon or assault cannon loadout - everything else in the codex with a TL heavy bolter can replace it with a TL lascannon for less (a dreadnought needs to spend 10, a centurion devastator or stormtalon gunship 15), and everything with a heavy bolter can replace it with a lascannon for less (devastators pay 10), so you ARE paying quite a lot for TL lascannon spam; make sure to manage your spending before you blow it all on TL lascannons you can get cheaper elsewhere.
**'''Infernum Pattern Razorback (Forge World; IA2)''' - Basically the Razorback with a Multi-Melta turret, introduced by the Forge World. Unfortunately it cannot be taken for free as part of a Gladius. 
*'''Drop Pod''' - Also great, mainly because of its ability to deep strike into the most useful position. Inertial Guidance lets it avoid scattering onto impassible terrain and models, which prevents Deep Strike mishaps that don't involve the table edge. Excellent tool to hunt tanks with squads of melta, or drop down a Dreadnought where they least expect it. These transports suffer from the "Half on turn 1, half regular reserve" rule common to deep-striking forces nowadays (bring an odd number of them if you bring more than one, because the "half on turn one" is rounded up). However, even a single Drop Pod is a major psychological tool. A Deep-striking Sternguard squad or Dreadnought is almost guaranteed to change how your opponent deploys, so consider this carefully.
** Thanks to 7th, Drop Pods are now scoring. And if they delivered an ''Objective Secured'' squad to the battlefield, they're (typically) also denial units.
** Also note that the Drop Pod is one of two units able to take a Locator Beacon, good for Deep Striking reinforcements for whatever the Drop Pod was carrying.
** The Deathwind launcher is now cheaper. With the reduced price, you can pay a little more than a tac marine for the ability to lock down a 12" area around a drop pod with a S5 AP- pie plate.  You kill a MEQ, you basically pay off the cost of the launcher.  Put these on your offensive pods, otherwise it'll be a waste.  
** Note: Drop Pods, or their cargo, can be shot by Interceptor units, so beware quad guns and Hydras. Interceptor shots are fired at the end of the Drop-Pod-equipped player's movement phase, meaning AFTER it lands and the Spess Mehreens disembark, so you can at least get into position before being shot at. And yes, it still counts as open-topped against Interceptor.
** Units arriving by Drop Pod are allowed to disembark, and fire or run as normal, but they may not assault.  Also thanks to 7e disembark rules you get 6" of free movement to mitigate scatter. As well, Drop Pods don't Snap Fire anymore on entry, so their Deathwind Missile Launcher can strike fear into hordes of low Toughness infantry.
**Advanced tactics on the use of drop pods can be found in the common playing styles section towards the bottom of this tactica page.
*'''Lucius Pattern Dreadnought Drop Pod (Forgeworld; IA2):''' This is a special pattern of Drop Pod that gains Shrouded on the turn it comes in, and does not require its dreadnought to disembark immediately. It's also an Assault Vehicle, so if you're willing to let your dreadnought wait a turn, he can come out from safety and start handing out prostate exams to anyone stupid enough to stay close to the damn thing. 
*'''Land Speeder Storm''' - 7th edition may be where the Land Speeder Storm finally comes out of the back of the model enthusiast's closet and onto the table as a viable and fun model to incorporate into your army. AV10/open-topped/HP2 means that if anything looks at it funny, it might explode into a giant fireball that will eat your squad of scouts. On the other hand, being a skimmer means that it gets Jink and can flat out 30" in a turn. It's also an assault vehicle! If you keep this thing behind cover it becomes a decent skirmisher and lets you grab late game objectives with scoring Scouts. You can replace its standard heavy bolter it comes with stock for a heavy flamer for free, but remember that if you are jinking you can't shoot it, and when running scouts you really don't want to be running them at anything that is tougher than them anyway. Lastly, the Cerberus launcher is now S4 AP6 large blast with Blind, so it can give you an edge by blinding something that would otherwise scare your Scouts. Remember that since the LSS is open-topped, the Scouts inside can add significant firepower. The choice between bolters/shotguns/CCWs depends on what you are planning on fighting. Against 5+ and 6+ saves, the bolters are likely better as they will ignore the light armor, but for anything else, you are probably better served by the shotguns letting you charge after shooting. All of this and the Scouts will only run you about 100 points - even adding every upgrade you can think of, this unit won't even cost more than 150. That's savings that you can bank on.
**Remember that tanks no longer suffer from Blind, so this can only work against infantry. It's still fairly good against [[Orks|low]]-[[Tau|initiative]] [[Necron|armies]]
*'''Land Raider (various types)''': Several squads ''(Terminators, Crusaders)'' have access to Land Raiders as dedicated transports, which can make it change its battlefield role. See those unit entries for specific applications of rules and tactics.

===Elites===
*'''Command Squad''' - A squad of (exactly) five Veterans who can take basically anything they want, apart from jump packs, armour upgrades, and heavy weapons. A pretty nice, versatile squad, but they now suck up an Elites Choice in a CAD. They start at 18 points each, but you can make them really, really expensive. Try to keep in mind that they're still 1-wound models.
**They're one of just two units that can take Space Marine Standards (the other being the Honour Guard). They can grab either a Company Standard (reasonably cheap, re-rolls morale) or the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant (expensive as hell, but +1A within a 12" radius).
**One model can become an Apothecary for 15 points, giving the squad FNP (5+); that makes these guys a nice core for your deathstar. Mind that the 2017 FAQ clarified that Apothecaries cannot take any equipment as other veterans are allowed to do, which limits them to CCW/bolter+pistol.
**One model can become a Company Champion, who gets a power weapon, combat shield, and +1WS, and must accept and issue challenges. If you need a little melee he's not a bad deal, as the 15-point upgrade is the same price as a power weapon alone. 
***Company Champions are a strange unit, and whilst they pay less for their PW+CS combo, they are still 1W marines meant to challenge enemy HQs. The harsh truth is the poor bloke will inevitably die to any ap3 toting HQ before striking. Only useful against simple sergeants without power weapons, which cost less than half the Company Champion. They also can't take Storm Shields, just like Apothecaries.
**They can take storm shields for just 10 points; now they're rock-hard.
**They have 2 attacks base and can be kitted out to be deadly in melee, but you should take a hard look at the Honour Guard instead. Those guys aren't as versatile, but they get a limited selection of high-end gear for an amazing price.
**The whole squad can grab bikes for 7 points per model. Now they're a perfect entourage for Smashfucker. Alternatively, give them all grav guns and ride around Relentlessly killing everything you see: they've got their twin-linked bolters for the soft stuff, grav for the hard, and they can assault after firing either one if they need to do a little cleanup. In conjunction with Storm Shields and Apothecary to taste, you can get T5 with 3++ invuln and 4+ FnP if you go Iron Hands chapter tactics.
**In a Fist of Medusa Strike Force, these guys are terrifying. Have them ride with your mandatory Captain or Chaplain and they get an obnoxious 3+ FNP (5+ from an Apothecary, +1 from Chapter Tactics, +1 from being within 12" of any FoM IC), making them infernally hard to shift. Use plasma guns or grav guns to wreck anything that needs wrecking while using the IC's bubble to buff the whole force. Throw in the SotEA if you've got some assaulty guys mixed in, just for kicks. And gearing them for assault might be okay, as with Storm Shields they are harder than TEQs (except against S10 AP3) while having better mobility and grenades. Tank some wounds for them with your 2+/FnP/IWND Captain or Chapter Master and they will deliver.
**Make an anti-tank suicide squad by giving them all meltaguns or combi-meltas. No, they don't have access to the Sternguard's bag of tricks, but they're 20 points cheaper and easier to fit into a Gladius Strike Force or similar formation. They've got their own tricks, too: take four meltas and an apothecary and make your opponent use anti-tank guns to get rid of you.
*'''Honour Guard''' - The most devastating assault unit in the codex, point for point. To compare, footslogging Vanguard Veterans with power weapons are 24 points a model. For ONE POINT per model more, you get Artificer Armor and the ability to buy a Chapter Banner. Or, if you prefer, compared to assault terminators, Honor Guard are ten points cheaper, have a choice of Power Sword, Lance, Axe, or Maul, but don't have an invul or lightning claws. What Honour Guard have over both their competitors, however, is sheer number of attacks. Each model gets two base, plus a third for dual wielding, four on the charge, and five if you grab a Chapter Banner or Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, making Honour Guard excellent at killing an entire enemy unit in a single assault phase. Honour Guard have some major weaknesses: lack of Feel No Pain or an Invulnerable save, so keep them away from high str AP2 weapons or buff them with psychic powers. Also, they ''do'' take up an Elites slot now - no more freebie slot from taking a Chapter Master, so plan accordingly.
** If you're playing Crimson Fists, they can get even more terrifying: take the Chapter Banner, a Command Squad with the SotEA, then attach Pedro Kantor to either squad for a ridiculous number of attacks on the charge. Might as well put Pedro in with the Honour Guard to mash things to paste with his Power Fist.
** In 7th Edition Honour Guard can take Land Raiders as DTs like Terminators and Centurions, increasing their staying power and mobility while giving you an excuse to spam Land Raiders. Unlike Terminators and Centurions, Honour Guard don't take up as much space, allowing you to fit a full squad with enough room left over for an Artificer Armour Captain/Chapter Master/IC, and unleash a brakeless rape train upon whatever is unlucky/stupid enough to be in the way when that assault ramp opens.
**Whilst HG are a fantastically priced unit for what they do, they have a glaring weakness, and that's no way of getting invul saves outside of a captain with SS babysitting the plasma shots the unit will inevitably recieve. Add to this the need to take a Land Raider or a Stormraven to have them reliably assault whilst being protected from enemy fire, and you end up with a 400+ snowball of a unit that will still fold against other elite infantry. They have their uses, mainly in small units or as a defensive melee unit, but keep them in cover or they will die miserably. 
**Of special note is the issue the Chapter Champion suffers from, just as the Company Champion does: they are 1W, regular initiative goons with an obligation to fight one-on-one against HQs. At initiative 4 enemy characters will more often than not obliterate them before they have a chance to strike (and a 5++ flak board will not save the Company Champion from 3-4 ap3 attacks), and whilst equipping the Chapter Champion with a thunder hammer may seem good on paper, rolling a single 1 on any armour save will lose you 55 points before he contributes to the fight in any meaningful way. He still has the chance to get lucky and ID an enemy character at initiative step 1, if both are carrying TH/fists, but any savvy opponent will chuck you a unit sergeant into the duel, and let the fist-wielding character chew all of the Honour Guard in a single turn. For all this, Relic Blade seems the most reliable weapon to equip Chapter Champions with, or pairing a Power sword + CCW for more attacks and cheaper price. Keep him away from enemy HQs and try to focus onto some MEQs to make back their points, and use other units to hunt enemy HQs.
*'''The Legion of the Damned''' - Very usable Tank/TEQ hunters! At 3 points per model more than Sternguard, you get Fear, Fearless, Slow and Purposeful, 3++, and Ignores Cover. Yes, all of it, including any special or heavy weapons WHICH ARE NOW THE SAME PRICE AS EVERYONE ELSE'S (and they can shoot them on the move thanks to the SaP mentioned above). They are also one of the 3 units that can take Heavy Flamers. On the downside, they can only arrive through Deep Strike, can't be joined by Independent Characters, and they don't get any of the Chapter Tactics.  That said, however, they can re-roll all their scatter die, so their Deep Strike is more reliable. For tank hunting give them Meltagun, Multi-Melta and Combi-Melta (weirdly, they can't take melta bombs in 7th), for TEQ give them Plasma Cannon, Plasma gun and Combi-Plasma.
*'''Terminator Squad''' - Now 35 points per model, but still not too effective. The regular terminators are best teleported in, but it depends on your enemy's composition. If he has no AP2 or AP1 weaponry, footslogging them can be good, especially if you have an assault cannon or cyclone. In small point games, terminators are hard to kill without AP 1/2. If the enemy does have heavy weapons, it's best to deep strike them, and hope you can eliminate that weapon before that, or put them out of harm's way. Land Raiders can help, but are better suited for assault terminators. Sadly, storm bolters simply aren't killy enough, and a single assault cannon/heavy flamer/Cyclone per 5 men won't add much. Against the abundance of high strength AP1 and AP2 in many updated codices, you may find your toughness 4 terminators dying without doing much at all (except DISTRACTION CARNIFEX). They can be quite effective anti-vehicle troops: give them chainfists, load them into a Land Raider, then run up on vehicles and rip them open; that probably would be the best way to field them.
**Note:  These guys are fairly explicitly overcosted compared to Assault Terminators; the most obvious way this is true is that the Sergeant has a Power Sword instead of a Power Fist, but still costs the same as his compatriots, even though the codex normally charges you more points for a fist than a sword (ATs don't have this issue, as the sergeant takes the same loadout as the others).  If you assume Assault Terminators are "worth" 35 points and backsolve using the Terminator Weapons list, then the Sergeant is "worth" 20 (you've overpaid by 15 points) and the other Terminators are "worth" 30 (you've overpaid by 5 ''each'').  
***This comparison gets worse if you give the ATs Hammers and Shields, as they pay only 10 points for them, rather than the 5 points the TW Weapons List charges.
***It ''also'' gets worse if you take a Heavy Flamer (per the weapons lists, it should cost 5 to go from a Storm Bolter to an HF but you pay 10) or an Assault Cannon (every other model pays around 20 pts for an Assault Cannon, and you're giving up a 5 point gun, so it should cost 15).
***This means the only model in the squad paying a "fair" price for its weapons is the guy carrying a Cyclone Missile Launcher, as he pays 25 points for a gun "worth" 30 (it's two missile launchers in addition to his other loadout), bringing his cost back down to "fair" from being 5 over, and you can't spam his loadout.
**The above suggestion about chainfists is, due to the costs involved, deeply inferior to the same trick with Hammernators; 5 Hammernators cost 225 points, while 1 Swordnator + 4 Fistnators costs 235 (for 2 fewer S8 attacks and no Storm Shields).
*'''Assault Terminators:''' These go in Land Raiders, and are the gold standard of assault units. Seriously, nearly every other dedicated assault unit in the game is compared to these fuckers, and 9 times out of ten, they cannot compare (that last 1 of 10 would most likely be genestealers, Lychguard or Incubi). They should absolutely not be footslogged if possible. Always keep a majority of them with thunder hammers; 3 hammers to 2 lightning claw guys is a good ratio to get that 3+ Invulnerable save against anything big and nasty. These guys attract a LOT of firepower (i.e. all of it) so keeping them alive can be difficult, but they can chop up just about anything in the game once stuck in. Switching from default claws to TH/SS is now 10 points each, so unlike normal Terminators your points savings compared to previous editions is less, but you still pay less than a Captain does attempting the same loadout.
**Remember that they lack frag grenades, so without an LR Crusader/Redeemer or an attached IC to provide them, your LC guys will be swinging at I1 when they assault into cover.  
**As cool as they are, remember that they're expensive. Like, 5 in a Land Raider will cost you 450+ points. Is that the best use of 450+ points? Choose carefully... 
**Also remember that a single Land Raider is a '''massive''' bullet magnet. Bring something else deadly enough to help draw some fire so it can carry your Hammernators into range without blowing up first. Sadly, this might not be possible until you hit 1500+ points, probably more.
**A Land Raider is not 100% mandatory for delivering these guys. If you don't mind them spending a turn doing nothing, consider putting a teleport homer or two in your list. It allows them a reliable means of entering play that doesn't cost more points than the squad itself. Just be sure you have enough storm shields in the squad to cover your ass or you WILL be shot off the table!
**Another approach is to put your Assault Terminators in a Stormraven. Fly right on top of the enemy when you come in, switch to Hover mode the next turn, and parachute your assault termies in front of the enemy.
*'''Cataphractii Terminator Squad (Angels of Death):''' Similar to regular terminators, with the same price, but come with Combi-Bolters instead of Storm Bolters, trading their long range effectiveness for shorter range accuracy. They cannot get Thunder Hammers or Storm Shields, but this is okay, since Cataphractii armor gives them all 4++, so the loss of the shield is mitigated somewhat by the ability to actually shoot. Any model can swap their Fist for a Claw or Chainfist, but the only special weapon the squad can take is a Heavy Flamer. The Sergeant's Power Sword is Master-Crafted, making him way more worth it than a normal termi sergeant, ''and'' he doesn't have to keep it, as he can swap it for the same Claw/Fist options as the rest of the squad.  He can also take a grenade harness, which counts as assault grenades when charging and can be "fired" as an 8" S3/AP- Assault 2 Blast in addition to his combi-bolter. 
**You should never footslog Terminators as it is, but that goes double for your Slow and Purposeful Cataphractii. Unless you can deep strike them ''exactly'' where they need to be (preferably with a lot of cover), or plan to march them down the middle of the board as a [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]] and see just how much incoming fire those fancy 4+ shield generators can deflect, keep these guys in a Land Raider. [[Fail|They also don't get goodies like Cyclones or Assault Cannons like your regular Termis can]]. Take Custodes in a formation, they do the job much better.
*'''Tartaros Terminator Squad:''' Similar to regular terminators with the same price at 35 points/model, and have Combi-Bolters instead of Stormbolters like the Cataphractii. They also have the huge advantage of being the only terminators that can perform [[Rape|sweeping advances]]. Any model can swap their fist for a claw or chainfist, but now they come with 2 special weapon options: The Reaper Autocannon (stepping on the toes of CSM players even harder, are we?) and the Heavy Flamer as usual. The sergeant also has a Mastercrafted Power Sword, and can take either a Plasma Blaster or a '''[[Volkite|Volkite Charger]]'''. Stick with the Plasma Blaster, as ''Deflagrate'' is more likely to happen en masse and Chargers have a pitiful fifteen inch range. There are only 2 factors that determine whether you want to take Vanilla Terminators or Tartaros Terminators. The latter is better with mobility and close range fire support (Twin-linked bolters, Plasma Blaster is way better than a combi-plasma), but Vanilla Terminators can get better Heavy Weapon options. Despite their ability to sweep advance, you should weigh them carefully against your other options if you're expecting to encounter large amounts of AP2 melee weapons, as these guys lack both the Vanilla Assault Terminators's option for Storm Shields, and the Cataphractii's enhanced invuln save.
*'''[[Centurion_Squad|Centurion Assault Squad]]''' - While ~60% more expensive than Assault Terminators on a per-model basis, being T5 W2 offers them mostly superior durability (except against AP2) and less lost effectiveness per failed save (except against S10). They are armed with double S10 chainfists WITHOUT unwieldy, making them great against Dreadnoughts, Carnifexes, Imperial Knights, and so on. With only two attacks base (3 on a Veteran Sarge) and SAP, they aren't good at killing any infantry other than TEQs (and only if they have no invulnerable saves), though double flamers and the option of hurricane bolters help a bit, but any vehicle or building they successfully charge is already dead, just too stupid to realize it. In a CAD, you can stick them in a Drop Pod and TL melta or flamer something on Turn 1, then charge some poor tank or TEQ squad Turn 2. Outside of that (say, in a Gladius Strike Force), delivering them might get tricky, though a Stormraven can certainly help (and even leaves you 3 passenger spots, either for ICs or one more dude). With such poor mobility once disembarked, however, they might spend the rest of the game getting kited, so make sure that you deliver them properly and kill the shit out of their target to get your points back.
**The Centurion Sergeant/Veteran Sergeant is the only non-HQ/non-Techmarine character in the Space Marine codex with multiple wounds, and is thus the only non-HQ infantry to benefit from It Will Not Die from Iron Hands Chapter Tactics.
**Anti-Lord of War Assault unit. Most super heavy walkers are at equal or lower Initiative. Stock unit of 3 has 10 attacks on the charge, with almost every hit resulting in a penetration. Even if the Superheavy wipes the unit, it is very easy to get 5 HP of damage on a super-heavy without assistance. Chaplains really help, especially considering the low number of attacks per model.
**Stock Assault Centurions are 10 pts cheaper than stock Terminators and have 1 more total Wounds. If already planning to use a Land Raider, Storm Raven, or allied transport for Terminators, these make for an interesting alternative, especially since they only require 9 spaces (leaving room for an IC).
**'''Interesting combo'''
***A unit of three of these guys with a veteran serge and an omniscope plus Pedro Kantor synergize well, solving some of the drawbacks of both units. First, they fit perfectly in a drop pod. Second, they gain an extra attack, summing on the charge 13 S10 AP2 Armourbane attacks, plus another 6 S8 AP2 attacks. And third, Pedro Kantor can fire his orbital bombardment onto any enemy unit he wants (thanks to Split Fire from the scope) after moving as he inherits SAP from the Centurions, and he can tank AP2 shots with his 4++ and FNP.
*'''Sternguard Veterans''' - 110 base (down from 120 in 6th), 22 points per model. They get special issue bolter ammunition (including combi-weapons, but not storm bolters) that offer a variety of effects. On a given shooting phase, you may use Poisoned (2+), Ignores Cover, AP4/30" range, or AP3/Gets Hot/18" range shots in addition to standard bolter ammo, but the whole unit must use that special ammo. Thankfully, you can switch between the different types of special ammo each time you make a shooting attack, so this allows Sternguard to kill GEQs in cover, MEQs, MCs (using the Poisoned 2+ rounds) and anything in between quite effectively. Any model can take a storm bolter or combi-weapon, but storm bolters don't get special issue ammo, so don't bother. Up to two models can take special or heavy weapons, which includes Heavy Flamers (Sternguard are one of 3 units that get to take them), so you've got plenty of options. The combination of special issue ammo and combi-weapons means Sternguard can be geared to tackle almost any threat effectively, so pick accordingly. If you take Pedro Kantor, they gain Objective Secured (they do NOT become Troops, you still need Tacs/Scouts/Bikes if you want to stay Battle Forged).
**Oh, and don't forget: Sternies get base 2 attacks, so they have more CC punch than your typical shooty squad. Still, they are a shooty unit, so assault only as a tactical necessity.
**Remember to pick a combi-weapon that addresses a need your special issue ammo can't. Typically, this is TEQs or tanks, so if you're putting them in a Drop Pod (the most common use for Sternguard), take combi-plasmas or combi-meltas to maximize your alpha strike damage. If you want to use them in a gunline or defensive capacity, combi-gravs for the extra shots when standing still is typically the best choice, unless you badly need flamers against Green Tide or anything similar in enemy body count.
**Remember, you can bring up to two(!) Heavy Flamers in a 5-man Squad, and at only 10 Points each they're a steal. Perfect for hopping out of a Drop Pod or Rhino and barbecuing some poor bastards, especially with added combi-flamers and/or Librarian psychic shooting. In fact, if you want a squad no-one will dare charge, add combi-flamers to that mix for Xd3 auto-hits (X being # of combined heavy/combi-flamers) on the squad charging you. Ouch!
**One idea to consider is grav-guns or plasma guns, instead of their combi-weapon variants. Sure, you lose out on special ammo, but AP2 shooting for multiple turns helps beat the 2+ armor saves that might otherwise rain on the Sternguard parade. Plasma guns trade potential volume of fire for better mobile (aka post-Drop-Pod) shooting (2 plasma shots at 12" vs. 2 grav shots at 9" if you moved).
**Sternguard in a Drop Pod are a great suicide anti-tank squad. Give them combi-meltas and drop them right behind the heaviest enemy tank on turn 1. They pop out, disembark up to 6", and shoot that tank in the ass with 5 meltaguns at once, destroying or crippling it before it can even do anything. Granted, your 195 pt squad will probably be rage-killed by everything that your opponent can throw at it, which is actually great, because now they just spent a turn killing one squad and no longer has their precious Baneblade (or whatever you murdered). A Command Squad can do the same thing for 20 points less, but the flexibility of special issue ammo means if your Sternguard DON'T get shot to pieces after blasting a tank (or other high-value target), they are more versatile shooters afterwards.
** Whack a ten-man combi-melta squad into a Drop Pod but split into two combat squads, slam the Drop Pod down between two tanks - thanks Inertial Guidance Systems! - wrench the doors open, dump your Sternguard on the table with five pointing towards each tank (preferably rear armour thanks to 6" disembark move). Giving in to maniacal laughter from melting two tanks on turn one is not required, but ''is'' recommended. Similarly, you can run a half/half combi-melta/-flamer unit if infantry are near a tank, or ten combat-squadded combi-flamers if you want to either burn two different squads, or wreck ONE squad from two directions. Having done this several times - blowing up two Grey Knights Razorbacks one minute into the game - I can confirm it works and is fun as hell.
**If you're using Kantor to give Sternguards Objective Secured, remember that it does not affect their Drop Pods, as dedicated transports have the same classification as the unit they are taken for, and might not always receive command-related benefits their cargo do (in this case, Kantor's Objective Secured).
**They can be used as the central part of your gunline/front; put them barebones in a rhino and they can give anti-infantry fire support to a good chunk of your army with their 30" bolters. Weedy infantry beware.
**'''Sternguard Squad Amarex (Raven Guard) (Strike Force Solaq)''' - A Sarge gets a Power Sword and Plasma Pistol, one with a Heavy Flamer, one gets a Storm Bolter, and two Bolters with ammo.  So long as they don't move at all, they get Shrouded for their turn, making them pretty wicked.  The issue is that you only get two shots with ammo, which kinda hampers their usefulness, but the Flamer does help overwatch.
**'''Veteran Sergeant Haas (Red Scorpions)''' - An upgrade to a Sternguard squad sergeant, 45 points gives you an artificer armoured sergeant with a power sword and a pistol. His gear is meh, but he makes your squad Relentless. It's great if the squad is packing combi-gravs, and especially great for making Dual-purpose squads! Relentless Sternguard Veterans can, and absolutely should rapid fire the most pertinent ammo they have to thin out enemy ranks, then charge the survivors to use their MEQ-Veteran Statline. YOU'RE A SPACE MARINE, that means you shouldn't be scared of melee!
*'''Tyrannic War Veterans (Ultramarines)''' - They're basically the same as Sternguard but only able to use Hellfire rounds for their bolters, cheaper as a base unit though smaller and cost 1 point more per extra model, Preferred Enemy (Tyranids), and a special rule that grants them Zealot when facing Tyranids.  Needless to say, against any other army, they're practically better off as just plain Sternguard, but against Tyranids, they're a handy squad for hitting the inevitable gaunt hordes that will comprise the Nid player's army.
**'''Another take''' One of the few SM units which can be taken at the 4-man level. This can have value if you want to add an independent character in Terminator armor to ride around in one of the FW land raiders with a 6-man transport capacity (like the LR helios or achilles). 
*'''Vanguard Veterans''' Substantially cheaper than Sternguard, but the same cost if you give them jump packs. They are better ASM for only 5 points, gaining +1 A and Ld, pseudo-Fleet, and immunity to the penalty for Disordered Charges. They can each take a storm shield for 10 points and take various melee weapons at a greatly decreased cost, [[Awesome|especially Power Weapons and Lightning Claws, which are only 5 points each for them]]. Give a few the 3++ and stick them out front for saves against those pesky blastmasters and watch them survive. These are the guys you choose when you want elite jump infantry as opposed to just more ASMs by taking a few SS for all that low AP cover ignoring meta and some power weapons to cut down foes for less than the cost of two ASM units.
**'''Vanguard Squad Davros (Raven Guard) (Strike Force Solaq)''' - A pack of 5 Jump Pack vets, sarge with Hammer/Shield, the others with claws. They get Fear and...nothing else.
**'''Veteran Sergeant Culln (Red Scorpions)''' - Yes, this is the same guy who is the Red Scorpions Chapter Master. And First Captain. Yeah, it's weird. Anyways, the gist of it is that he is a 60 point upgrade to a sergeant, just like Haas, and he has two wounds, a jump pack and a relic blade, and gives the squad Stubborn and re-roll to hits in CC. A fantastic buff to the unit, much cheaper (and probably straight-up better) than a Chaplain with a Jump Pack.
**Reliably delivering these guys can be tricky - with only 3+ (or 3++) saves, enough shots at them can make things very hairy while they jump across a battlefield, and Deep Striking, even with the aid of a Locator Beacon, means you're stuck eating a turn of shooting before you can go to work. A Stormraven is a good solution, and you even have enough room inside it to add an IC with his own Jump Pack to the squad.
**Note they can each take a plasma or grav pistol. You can take two, one of each, or just replace the chainsword with one for a bolt and grav- or plasma-pistol combo, and you now have John Woo marines. This lets you keep the +1A from having two weapons and looks cool. Heck, you could run them all like this, without jump packs, and have an entire squad of goddamn Cypher-wannabes for giggles (though this is stupidly ineffective, so you shouldn't actually do this unless you magnetized everything, or just happened to rob a truck outside your local GW that turned out to be loaded with nothing but Cypher models).
***Though thanks to the Gunslinger rule, all models with two pistols may fire both in the shooting phase, so if you do take the Grammaton vanguards, they will at least fire off 10-20 shots with high power. Expensive both in money and points, but possible.
*'''Dreadnought''' - There are 3 ways you can field this beast. The first is by making it a gun platform, with either a pair of TL Autocannons on it, or a missile launcher/TL Lascannon combo. The second way to field it is for melee (has 4 attacks instead of 2 from 6th edition), though if you want that you should take a look at the Ironclad. The third, and best, way to field a Dreadnought is as a stock Multi Melta Dread in a drop pod. On the first turn, drop it near your opponent's prized tank (e.g a Land Raider filled with Grey Knights) and blast it. The better range of its MM, immunity to most small-arms fire, and four attacks with its S10 AP2 I4 power fist (five on the charge) are the advantages the Dreadnought has in the suicide tank-killer role over Sternguard or a Command Squad. If you happen to have ten extra points give it a Heavy Flamer to have a very versatile dread, plus it can Wall of Flames if it gets charged.  You can field them in groups of three if you want to save slots, at the cost of the option to take Drop Pods (which is a fine way to create a long-range gun squad). Finally, all Dreadnought variations can now benefit from Chapter Tactics, so if you're planning on using them, load them out so as to maximize their Chapter Tactics (Salamanders should change the built-in bolter for a heavy flamer, White Scars can Hit & Run, etc). Lastly, don't forget to resolve your Hammer of Wrath attack whenever you charge successfully; it's only S6 AP-, but hey, it's free.
**Note: A Purge-tastic Dreadnought rocking a twin-linked heavy flamer, and a heavy flamer under its power fist, mounted in a Drop-Pod, will harvest many tears.  This is also THE cheapest way to drop two heavy flamers in the codex... apart from those twin heavy flamer land speeders.
**Stock boxnaughts are fantastic for all they do, plus their price. You can hardly argue with a 100p. unit capable of easily making back double its points. One often overlooked situation is mirror matches with other walkers: keep your dread in cover and, unless the other dread is an Ironclad with launchers, witness as you win every single melee, provided they charge you and drop to Initiative 1. If they do not, keep shooting at them with your MM whilst squatting in your ruins. 
*'''Venerable Dreadnought''' - As above, but costs 25 points more and has +1 WS/BS along with the Venerable rule, which lets you force the enemy to re-roll Vehicle Damage table results against you - usually worth the 25 pts, but not always. They can be taken in squads of three as well.
*'''Ironclad Dreadnought''' - You won't be getting krak'd to death anymore, but you pay more. A bit more of a toss up on that front, though, with the Facebook FAQ nerfing grenades to one per SQUAD in assault, but at least that means you have less to fear from Tau haywire squads. Not bad as a suicide DP dread, though you have to wait until the next turn to really threaten unless your heavy flamer(s) or meltagun does work right away. The Hurricane Bolter sucks, you might as well just take a Tactical Squad for better effect. The seismic hammer and chain-fist can be switched for free, so you can decide whether to prioritize AP1 (better chance to wreck/explode vehicles) or Armorbane (much better chance to penetrate AV14). [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|Deepstrike it in a drop pod next to their AV14 tank and laugh as they spend a turn killing it with all their heavy weapons]] while a Sternguard Drop Pod or MM Land Speeder sneaks in. Also, with the Stormraven going vanilla, you can strap the Ironclad there with a squad inside to give it cover fire, and deliver it with a bit more precision than a Drop Pod (nice for going after tanks tucked into a table corner, where even Drop Pods can easily Mishap). For extra extra hilarity, put (insert deathstar here) in the Stormraven, [[Rip and tear|and vaporize everything the turn the Dread and the passengers disembark.]] Like the regular Dread, you can take them in squads of three, but their lack of long-range weapons makes it difficult to reach their desired targets. Also they are now 4A base, +1 for double CCW; [[Rape|six attacks at Strength 10 Initiative 4 on the charge]], plus melta/heavy flamer shots and whatever Chapter Tactics they get, enables them to mulch blobs, TEQs, or even Monstrous Creatures. Heck, they have a decent shot at suiciding a knight.  If you plan on charging though cover give it Ironclad Launchers, which also work as defensive grenades so fewer melee attacks against your dread. 
*'''Contemptor Dreadnought (Angels of Death)''' - A more advanced dreadnought, with greater base strength, 13 12 10 armour (so an Ironclad's front with standard side), WS and BS 5 like a Venerable, and a substantial points hike. Also comes with ''fleet'', and atomantic shielding (5+ inv. against shooting, 6+ inv. against close combat, and +1" to explosion if it suffers a 'vehicle explodes' result). For shooting options, it comes stock with a multi-melta, but you can swap this out for a Kheres pattern assault cannon, which is murderlicious (it's an assault cannon that's heavy fucking 6!).  It also comes stock with a power fist with built-in combi-bolter, which you can't swap out for anything in Angels of Death.  Notably, they don't come with a searchlight (not that that would have been helpful) or smoke launchers, or the ability to take a Drop Pod.
** (Forge World Only) However, the better loadout is two dread CCWs (one of which may be a chainfist), because contemptors get access to some nifty built-in guns to their hands: there's your standard storm bolter and heavy flamer, plus a plasma blaster (assault 2 plasma gun with an 18" range) and the freaky-deaky graviton gun. This gat shoots an AP3 small blast that forces a strength test or die and makes the terrain it hits difficult; vehicles are auto-glanced. Oh, and you can give the contemptor BS5 to go with its WS5 for a small upgrade, plus you can mount a typhoon missile launcher - on its back without giving up its arm guns!
**Going with ranged-specialization or a Mortis is now probably the better option with the Forge World Contemptor until Forge World releases a rules update for Imperial Armour V2 (the recent Horus Heresy FAQ doesn't count, as that's specifically for Horus Heresy-era Legion Contemptors, and flat out states that the profile is “intentionally not the same as their Warhammer 40,000 counterparts.”).
**If you go ranged, the choice between a Contemptor and a Contemptor Mortis largely depends on what your enemy is bringing to the table, as the two effectively become interchangeable. If you expect to be facing flyers, go with a Mortis for the Helical Targeting Array. If not, you should probably just stick with a regular Contemptor and keep Fleet, as well as the ability to mix and match your guns (assuming you’ve magnetized, and for a Contemptor, you should have).
**The Angels of Death supplement has its own updated Contemptor squadron, though with far fewer weapon options. So while you can get them in squadrons and a better stat-line using the AoD version, if you want anything other than a Multi-Meltas or Assault Cannons you'll still have to use the IA2 rules. Also, the AoD version takes up a Heavy Support slot instead of Elites, but this means you can take '''twelve''' Contemptors if you really wanted, with your Elite ones being better armed individually.
*'''Siege Dreadnought (Forge World):''' An interesting, somewhat cost effective alternative to the Ironclad, albeit not as heavily armoured. Has an flamestorm cannon with (which can be replaced with a multi-melta for free) and an assault drill with a built in heavy flamer. Can also mount two hunter-killer missiles just like an Ironclad, but the standout feature is that assault drill: +D6 for armour pen rolls on bunkers, fortifications, buildings and motionless vehicles. Then after you punch the drill through the hard chocolate shell, you get to take a free heavy flamer shot against anyone inside.
*'''Chaplain Dreadnought (Forge World)''' - Because why the hell not? The idea behind this thing is take everything you like about a Venerable Dreadnought, all of Forgeworld's dreadnoughts (except the Contemptor) and a Chaplain. You can take pretty much every gun, including an inferno cannon, plus you can double up on DCW's plus heavy flamer. This thing has the Venerable and Litany of Hate rules, plus a Venerable's stat-line.
*'''Mortis Dreadnought (Forge World)''' - Dreadnought with 2 Missile Launchers, which can be upgraded to two Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters, two Twin-Linked Autocannons or two Twin-Linked Lascannons. It also counts as Skyfire/Interceptor while stationary - take double autocannons, and think of it like your space marine hydra flak tank. Unfortunately, you only can take one per detachment. Or instead of being an idiot, take double lascannons. Double autocannons is actually meh against fliers, and lascannons provide more use against ground forces due to being able to kill most vehicles in the game. Don't believe me on the Lascannon thing? Okay, mathhammer time. Dual autocannons will give you 4 shots, averaging on 3.6 hits. Assuming AV12, you need 5s to glance or 6s to pen, so in other words, a 33% chance to do something. This averages as 1.188 glance/pen, with a 50/50 chance of it being either. Conversely, on lascannons you get 2 shots, averaging at 1.8 hits. However, you will glance on a 3+ or pen on a 4+. This averages as ALSO 1.188 Glance/pen, most likely being the pen (1 glance for every 3 pens). So here we have the same chance to do something- either a glance or a pen- but significantly better chances on the Lascannon of that something being a penetrate. Added to that, the Lascannon does more damage through it's penetrations. Therefore, in the pure anti air role, the Lascannon wins out. It's also useful against enemy heavy armour, and kinda-able to deal with enemy heavy infantry, whilst the autocannon is stuck in that awkward position of being kinda-able to target heavy infantry, or kinda-able to target light vehicles. Unless you don't have the points for it, take the dual lascannons every time. 
*'''Contemptor Mortis (Forge World):''' Probably the best Contemptor variant, this guy is exactly what it written on the can - a mixture of Contemptor and Moris, with the increased stats and relig wargear of the first one, and double-gun load-out and skyfire/interceptor ability of the second. Here's your loadout: ignore everything and take 2 Kheres pattern assault cannons and a cyclone missile launcher. There! You're done. If you find yourself not in range of the assault cannons, move forward and throw down with a couple of missiles. If you DO have something in assault cannon range, hold still and let the rape flow - your dread will loose a total of 12 S6 AP4 rending shots at 24" on a hapless unit and if you stood still, you can drop 2 more missiles on the poor fuckers. You will tear apart tanks, mow down infantry and blast aircraft out of the sky with this fucking thing.
*'''Hecaton Aiakos (Forge World)''' - A unique contemptor dreadnought character for the Minotaurs chapter, comes with a plasma cannon. Costs a fortune but he's much improved over a normal contemptor; first he's ''Venerable'', which is something other contemptors don't get, letting you force re-rolls on the damage chart. Second he's got [[Slaanesh|+1 to his Initiative]], Ballistic Skill AND a +1 bonus to his atomantic shielding, so his invulnerable save is 4+ against shooting, making him a good choice for a footslogging army. On the flip side his rear AV is 10 and his explosion radius in increased by 2".
*'''Dreadnought-Brother Halar (Forge World)''' - A slightly beefed-up Dread with +1 WS/A.  He also comes equipped like an Ironclad, but replacing his gun with a Flamestorm Cannon of fiery doomness.  He also has a special rule: If he loses his last HP in anything that isn't Explodes or the D, he stays on the board until the next turn.  On this last turn, he'll get Preferred Enemy (EVERYTHING) and will shrug off everything short of the D and explosions.  If you have the points for this kamikaze, he's here.
*'''Land Raider Prometheus (Forge World)''' An uber LRC. Four Twin-Linked heavy bolters (two on each sponson) is the same number of shots as hurricane bolters at <12", twice as many at 12-24, and can actually shoot up to 36, with the advantage of being S5. It's a HB dev squad, twin-linked.  Granted, it loses the assault cannon, but it gains dedicated transport status in siege assault lists, and fucks with cover saves by one, ignores night fighting, and boosts reserve rolls by one (2+ reserves ftw!). Don't put it near enemy heavy armour, but a solid tank overall.
**Despite four TL heavy bolters being functionally the same as the two quad linked heavy bolters it had previously while the tank remains stationary, The tank can keep firing at a reduced output from both sides until several weapon destroyed results are rolled on the tank rather than just losing whole sponsons. However, this does reduce its firepower output while the tank is on the move, since it will be forced to snapfire some of its heavy bolters and will make you less inclined to purchase pintle-mounted weaponry.
**This goes hand-in-hand with armies that use massive amounts of deep striking units for obvious reasons. Combine with a Siege Master in Siege Assault Vanguard armies for +1 re-rollable reserve rolls. Admittedly a SAV army can't take drop pods for Tactical Squads, but every other squad can still take them, as well as Terminators still being able to teleport and fliers to arrive by deep strike.

===Fast Attack===
====Infantry/Nonvehicles====
*'''Assault Squad:''' Melee troops that can work both for deep striking or flying across the map. Not too expensive for what they do, and with a special character and a decently-equipped sergeant they can handle most situations. They might not fare so well against super-melee squads, but their mobility helps them pick and choose, and dual flamers even the odds against foes that would normally be far too numerous for them to consider taking on. Also if you can, give 'em melta bombs and watch them rampage through enemy armor columns. Upgrade the Sergeant to give them at least one guy with a power weapon. 
***Whether you buy a transport or Jump Packs really depends on your playstyle and the mission; keeping your guys in a tank limits mobility slightly, but keeps them alive against small arms; a drop pod lets them go anywhere, but they can't assault when they come out; standard jump packs let them go anywhere.  
***Take a drop pod and two flamers. You now have a 115 point unit that can decimate most infantry. Happy burning.
***Use them as above, or take them as a cheap counter-attack unit. Keep them out of sight behind your lines. If your front lines get overwhelmed, send these guys in to deal with it. With 3 attacks a pop on the charge, with hammer of wrath if they have jump packs, it'll usually take down whatever is assaulting your guys a notch. Note this doesn't work against dedicated assault units and they will most likely be killed. Works wonders against hordes though, but don't fall into the trap of giving them flamers in this role: their purpose is to charge a unit once it is locked in CC, where you can't use your range weapons. Use those 10 points to upgrade the sergeant instead.
***They just got updated. Good news- their cost has dropped to 70 points and they can now take an Eviscerator for every five models in the squad (so 3 special melee weapons in total, including the serge's power weapon, although your return is greatest if you have the vet serge take the Eviscerator, due to his second attack and the costs and availabilities of his other weapons - you're functionally buying a chainfist for 5 points less than others pay for it, since you can't buy a second specialist weapon anyhow).
***Plasma pistols are generally a poor choice here, and largely unnecessary what with Eviscerators allowing the squad to engage beefier armored targets.
***Running an assault squad without jump packs is a choice that few opponents will expect, and can serve as a cheap surprise when they jump out of the rhino/drop pod your opponent was expecting to contain a tactical squad.
***If playing Salamanders and you didn't give the Sergeant a weapon upgrade, consider master-crafting his Krak grenades. It's his best shooting attack within 8", hits before you get to melee, and works well in a plodding double flamer squad.

*'''Bike Squad:''' Once hardly used except as the odd troop choice with a captain, these guys are now one of the most competitive parts of the new codex for three reasons:
**Grav-guns - these guys are relentless, so they can fire their Grav weapons at full range and volume while moving and can still charge afterwards.
**Points cost - 21 points a pop, and the many benefits of the Space Marine Bike are worth the 7 points over a Tactical Marine.
**White Scars Chapter Tactics - Skilled Rider, Hit and Run, and +1S on Hammer of Wrath, and you can also take Khan for everyone to have Scout. All this for still only 1 pt more than a CSM biker. DO NOT take them as Fast Attack; putting them in a Troops slot lets you bring your flyers and attack bike squads/speeders. It's a crowded FOC slot, so try to avoid taking them as FA.
**With the new Codex, ''any'' HQ on a Bike qualifies Bikers for the Troops slot. Can't use a Captain in your army? Take a Librarian, Tech Marine or Chaplain, instead! Also gone is the limitation that only units of 5+ Bikes count as Troops. Excellent!

*'''Attack Bikes:''' The Yang to Land Speeders' Ying, this is the Marines' other great FA unit. The debate on the relative merits of the Speeder and the Attack Bike is endless. Great for their two wounds, and heavy weapons. Can fit into variety of roles, from tank hunting to infantry harassing, but their low number of attacks means they should be kept out of all but the easiest of melee combats (e.g., Fire Warriors). Attack Bikes also benefit from a wider array of Chapter Tactics when compared to Land Speeders, although the advantages may not be very significant (White Scars obviously being an exception). Also 5 points cheaper than before.

*'''Scout Bike Squad:''' Pretty decent anti-infantry shooting unit, with Infiltrate, Scout and 6 Frag blasts, which means they can hurt light infantry from a safe distance (24") right on turn 1. Krak grenades can glance or penetrate a bawks, too, but you can only use 1 from the whole squad per Assault phase (apparently everyone was playing grenades wrong for years according to the FAQ. Good rules writing there GW). Still, keep them in mind. With their new BS 4 you can use them to bolster your bike army by making a turn 1 disruption on your enemy's deployment zone.  
** Locator Beacons. They're one of two units that can take them, and the only unit that can both start on the board and be mobile. 
** Infiltrate + Scout move. They can turbo-boost to within 12" of the enemy before the game actually starts. This, combined with a Locator Beacon, allows for tactical insertion of your drop pods and, if you should so fancy, a scout-missile.
** Cluster Mines. For 20 points per unit, you can booby-trap a single piece of terrain on the field before the battle starts. It becomes dangerous terrain to enemies; your troops (as well as battle brothers) don't have to worry though.

====Vehicles====

*'''Stormtalon Gunship:''' (Attack Flyer) The bastard child of a Thunderhawk and a Land Speeder, this fast flyer comes with AV 11 all around, TL assault cannons and heavy bolters, and can exchange the HBs for TL lascannons, a Typhoon ML, or a Skyhammer ML (which is basically a 3-shot autocannon), each of which became cheaper in the new codex (in particular, Skyhammer MLs are 5 points). While more expensive than Land Speeder, this little fucker is a lot more survivable, and has some interesting rules. For example, Zooming makes it go 6" further when going flat-out, while Hovering gives it +1 to Jink, making it a pain to remove. It also has Ceramite Shielding, but really, this is only for fluff. A Meltagun that can get a target lock on this thing's ass will blow it up regardless of how many dice it rolls.
**[[Rape|It has the strafing run special rule, meaning that it has BS5 against everything but skimmers and fliers]]. You know, in case Twin-Linked BS4 wasn't accurate enough for your tastes.
**With the new Stormwing Formation, you can now take one Stormraven, escorted by TWO Stormtalons. And as long as at least one Stormtalon is alive, EVERYONE HAS THE STRAFING RUN RULE. So with one Reserve roll, you bring on a Stormraven, two Stormtalons, an Ironclad Dreadnought and 10-man Honour Guard squad. Make your opponent cry. It's ok. You won't be able to hear them over your laughter.
**Thanks to the new Death from the Skies rules, the Stormtalon is now only good against ground targets. For a dedicated anti-flyer unit look down below. Also, you can run up to 4 in a single FA slot, without needing to keep coherency, unless of course you wanted to.

*'''Stormhawk Interceptor:''' (Fighter) With the Stormtalon losing skyfire, this is your dedicated flying anti-flyer. It has Front AV 12 and the same Ceramite Shielding as the Storm Talon. Lost strafing run and hover but got supersonic, making it more agile. It comes stock with TL Assault Cannons, a Las-Talon (which is basically a Lascannon with twice the shots at half the range) that can be exchanged for an Icarus Stormcannon, and TL Heavy Bolters that can be upgraded to Skyhammer/Typhoon Missile Lauchers (Typhoon negates a lot of drawbacks). It also comes with a new piece of equipment called Halo-Launcher to reroll failed jink-saves. It can be kitted out to either pump out a lot of shots at mediocre AP or fewer but stronger high AP shots. Unfortunately it is only BS3 against non flyer/skimmer units now, thanks to the new flyer rules. You can run up to 4 in a single FA slot, without needing to keep coherency, unless of course you wanted to.

*'''Land Speeders:''' One of the most awesome and potentially rage-inducing units in the Codex. These little buggers are very fragile, but also very underrated. They come very cheap with a multi-melta, and can bring a heavy flamer for infantry hunting. Deep striking, they are excellent tank or infantry hunters. Their only problem is that they may not last very long after they get their shots off, but if they do, they can deal some real damage to the enemy. Alternatively, try taking a Typhoon Missile Launcher and keeping it far out of harm's reach, raining missiles at shit; think of them as more mobile and cost-effective Predator Destructors. Very good at disabling light transports and as a last-turn objective contester.  When tackling enemy armour with multi-meltas, use the land speeder's maneuverability to your advantage: put the target between the speeder and the rest of his army, and pray you destroy the vehicle in one salvo, WITHOUT blowing it up. With any luck, the burning wreck will keep your flimsy aluminum speeder out of the kill zone. Obviously, this means you take on flank vehicles; charging this into the center of your opponent's army is a waste of a good land speeder, unless it's to kill a Leman Russ or something (an enemy's primary tank/threat) in a turn 1 suicide run. Do remember to BLOCK enemy transports and tanks, since they can't move through the Speeder. Great for delaying that big fat Land Raider from reaching your lines, for a 70 point sacrifice (and a decent chance to kill said Raider with your underslung multi-melta).
**The new codex added a rule, Anti-Grav upwash: so as long as you have 3 of them they flat out an additional 6".
**If taken in a Battle Demi-Company, land speeders gain objective secured.
**Unfortunately, Chapter Tactics do not apply to vehicles so you cannot use Salamanders for some twin-linked flamer shenanigans. But, on the other hand, they can be taken in squads of three, and doing so gives them a bonus 6" when moving Flat Out. 
***'''Iron Hands''' and '''Astral Claws''' chapter tactics ''do'' apply here, as well, because reasons.
**With '''Vulkan''', ''both'' multi-meltas ''will'' be master crafted, however.
**Because Land Speeders are ''Fast'', they can move 12" and let loose with both guns.
**'''Land Speeder Darkwind (Strike Force Solaq)''' - An AC and HB on a Speeder, pretending it's Raven'''WING''' instead of Raven '''GUARD''' with the ability to re-roll Jinks.  Neat.

=====Forge World=====

*'''Relic Javelin Attack Speeder (Forge World):''' An upgunned and uparmored Land Speeder that flies solo. AV11 means it is now invulnerable to bolter fire, but still melts under anti-tank (though jink saves help a bit). Costs as much as a naked Predator, packs much more firepower and mobility, and as a nice bonus it looks absolutely '''fabulous'''. The main downside is a real money price - almost THREE TIMES MORE than regular speeder - like it's silver-plated or something.

*'''Land Speeder Tempest (Forge World):''' The Stormtalon’s obscure older hipster step-brother. At 90 points, you get an up-armored Speeder with Armoured Cockpit (ignores crew shaken and crew stunned on a 4+); Extra Armour, Deep Strike, and Afterburner (can turn into a zooming flyer for one turn, but can’t shoot that turn either, so you’ll never use it outside of Apocalypse games on boards big enough to actually be worth wasting a turn just to get from point A to B.). You can get three in a squadron, and each one’s armed with a single assault cannon and a TL missile launcher loaded with frag, krak, and flakk missiles. No wargear options, WYSIWYG. The Tempest sits squarely in the middle ground between the Speeder and Stormtalon, being tougher than the former, weaker than the latter, and in certain respects less versatile than either. However, TL flakk missiles do make the Tempest one of the fastest non-flyer AA units in the game.
***If you’re gonna take any, take a full squadron and think of them as sort of a faster and more heavily armed and armored squad of deep striking missile devastators.

*'''Caestus Assault Ram (Forge World)''' Craziest vehicle in the game, designed to ram things (hence the name), and accomplishes this by having a 5+ inv. save against attacks on the front: (inc. rams, either from the enemy ramming you or you ramming them), re-rolling the armour penetration dice when ramming with +1 to the vehicle damage roll, and nigh-impenetrable for a flyer armour of 13 13 11. Comes with a twin-linked MAGNA-MELTA (WTF?), which is: range:18" str:8 AP:1 type:Heavy 1, large blast, melta. Sound fun, eh? Holds ten men, ideal for punching a hole in the enemy battle lines and disgorging troops, AND it's an assault vehicle, so they can get straight into close combat (and no restriction against carrying terminators, in fact, they only count as one man inside this, not two!). Now this means that the Caestus has to be fast, and it is! Its type is: Flyer (hover mode), and it STILL can ram/tank shock while zooming. Comes stock with extra armour and Ceramite shielding (immunity to 'melta' rule). Options are: Firefury missile battery (range: 36" str:6 AP:4 type:Heavy 4, blast, twin-linked, one-use), Teleport homer, and Frag assault launchers. One should use the Caestus to ram straight through the strongest point of your enemy's force, in most battles you'll be there on turn one, thanks to the 36" afterburner. Ram a tank with this (generally, given the colossal afterburner, you'll give them a S10 hit) and then deploy the men inside (preferably dedicated H2H troops), and charge straight in against the nearest infantry, or if you feel like it, shove a grenade up a nearby tank's tailpipe.

*'''Lucius Pattern Drop Pod (Forge World):''' Big dreadnought drop pod, which allow your dread to deep strike. With the newest update, you can no longer assault out of a deep strike. Instead it gets a rule where the transported dreadnought, the drop pod itself, and anything shot at through the drop pod get the shrouded special rule on the turn it drops down, which is pretty damn nice. Note that the drop pod assault rule DOES NOT require the dreadnought to actually EXIT the drop pod when it comes down, and as it is a transport, it can stay inside, safe from most shooting, and use the pod as ablative armor.As drop pod is open-topped, your dread could even shoot out of it. It also has the assault vehicle special rule, so if anyone is actually stupid enough to stay within charge range of the drop pod, it can then get out of it and start annihilating the nearest enemy unit.

*'''Hyperios Air Defense Battery (Forge World):''' One to four twin-linked missile turrets with Skyfiring, Intercepting, Heat-seeking krak missiles for only 35 points each. Perfect for trolling fliers. Unlike the other Space Marine Sentry Guns, they don't have firing modes thanks to Automated Artillery, allowing you to direct the shots at your leisure. This configuration does most jobs you ask it to without complaint. For 10 points you can replace one of the launchers with a Command Platform that gives the other platforms Split Fire, not that you need to.

*'''Xiphon Pattern Interceptor (Forgeworld):''' It's exactly what you'd expect an interceptor to be; light, fast and good against other vehicles. With two twin linked lascannons and a new rotary missile launcher. The launcher is two shot, S8 AP2 and forces jink and cover saves to be rerolled, plus when penetrating hits are rolled, it chooses the best of D3 results (adding one for AP2). It's light, only two hull points mean it'll go down against a stiff breeze, but with AV11 at least it's immune to small arms bolter fire just like a stormtalon. With Forgeworlds rules update it gets the new combat role Interceptor. It uses the same Attack Patterns as Fighters but has an additional special rule. At the beginning of the game you must select a single combat role the Xiphon can reroll all to-hit and penetration rolls of 1 against. The trade off ist that it always has to use skyfire now, so no more tank hunting. But at least it can still fire at normal BS against skimmers.

===Heavy Support===
====Infantry/Nonvehicles====
*'''[[Devastator Squad]]''' - If you take them, 1-2 ablative wounds are mandatory, and <b>never</b> mix weapons. Missile launchers are versatile, but lascannons are more effective against tanks and Monstrous/Gargantuan Creatures, especially ones with 2+ armor (Riptide...). For 5 points more Lascannons are a steal, AP2 and +1S than a ML. Heavy Bolters suck against anything tougher than MEQ unless you are Imperial Fists, which make them decent. Multi-meltas and grav-cannons are too short-ranged, and grav-cannons (which include a grav-amp) cost 35 points each - way too much on a T4/3+ model without Relentless. 7e gave Devastators another upgrade in the form of the Armorium Cherub, which allows one model to re-roll failed To Hits in one shooting phase per game for 5 points. This, coupled with the Devastator Doctrine and the Signum, provides multiple ways to enhance your accuracy over the course of the game.
**'''Vigilator Sergeant Hamath Kraatos (Minotaurs Special Character)''' - FUCKING EXCELLENT: a BS+1, 2-wound, Devastator Sergeant with a Heavy Bolter and Preferred Enemy Infantry/Bikes (this includes jump-pack, jetpack, and jetbikes, so anything not a Vehicle, Monstrous Creature or cavalry/beasts for some reason). Has the added bonus of being able to switch his normal shooting for a special "assassin shell" which is basically a S6 AP3 Sniper rifle.
**Don't forget the Sergeant's Signum! No one ever remembers to use it, which is a shame because BS5 to a single model in the squad can come in handy, especially if you get hit with a Malediction that lowers your BS.
**Four plasma cannons might seem risky, but if your scatter rolls go well, you can obliterate any heavy infantry squad from three feet away. They are the only infantry weapons that can kill multiple TEQs in one shot, and are useful against tightly-packed enemies in general (i.e. hordes). Firing only 1 shot each and having a 3+ armor save means that there's only a 1/18 chance to actually lose a man in a given turn of shooting. A Dev squad firing all 4 plasma cannons every single turn for six turns can expect to take 1.33 casualties from Gets Hot, but if you actually did, imagine the carnage that 20+ plasma cannon blasts would have caused. Ultramarines CT works great here, as you will reroll 1s during at least one turn, more depending on if you are in a Gladius or have Calgar. You can also put your Devs behing an Aegis Defense Line with an Ammo Dump upgrade to further improve their survivability and get them to reroll rolls of 1. That way the risk of suffering "Get's Hot" is very low.
**Devastators can take flak missiles now, but the cost is too much for their relative frailty. Unless you badly need AA in low points games where versatility is important, an Aegis Defense Line or a Stalker trio is far better for your AA needs.
**Take some red shirt boltgun marines if you don't want your fragile Devastator squad heavy weapons dying the instant your opponent glances at it (though this does increase the cost).
**You could do worse than a Heavy [[Bolter]]-wielding Dev squad if you're using the Imperial Fist chapter tactics, with re-rolling 1s To Hit and increased value against AV10 (a typical non-infantry HB target).
**Grav-cannons and multi-meltas are quite useful for Devastators that are part of a Skyhammer Annihilation Force, which gives them Relentless on the turn they exit their Drop Pods - there are few better ways to shred tanks/MCs/heavy infantry than 20 grav shots or 4 melta shots. That's pretty much the only situation where you should ever consider them, however. It's also one of the only times you should ever consider a combi-weapon on the Sarge.
**Mmm... actually a squad of devastarators with 4 grav cans deepstriking in a drop pod in the mid field could take down that riptide, wraith knight or deamon prince with 12 ap 2 shots, just make sure that you have some protection for them like psy powers or something because that unit cost around 240pts on its own! Very expensive for a suicidal squad.
** In Angels of Death, the new terminator captain can wear cataphractii armour. This gives him Slow and Purposeful which is a special rule that affects the whole unit. It's not Relentless, but it does let you move and shoot with your heavy weapons. Something to consider, especially for shorter ranged weapons like the multi-melta and grav cannon.
*'''[[Centurion Squad|Centurion Devastator Squad]]''' - The shooting versions of their punchy brethren. If you seek cheap dakka, go elsewhere, as those guys are expensive as hell, [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|tough as hell, menacing and attract a lot of firepower]]. To justify their cost, you will want to take advantage of their strengths over regular Devs, which are Slow & Purposeful, superior durability (T5 W2 2+), and their special rule that lets them shoot both of their weapons. The Omniscope gives Night Fighting and Split Fire for 10 points, so there's little reason to not grab it. Their biggest combat weakness is that they will get tarpitted by ANYTHING till the end of the game unless you're White Scars - at A1 with no melee weapons and no Overwatch because of S&P, they'll struggle to kill even Fire Warriors in CC. Their cost was reduced going from 6th to 7th - a trio of grav (or LC/ML) Centurions plus an Omniscope puts you at 250 points, a nice round number for those who play in escalating-points leagues or a variety of points values.
**As with Assault Centurions, the Centurion Sergeant/Veteran Sergeant is the only non-HQ character in the Space Marine codex with multiple wounds, and is thus the only non-HQ infantry to benefit from It Will Not Die from Iron Hands Chapter Tactics.
** The stock heavy + hurricane bolter combo is alright for killing hordes, but the ranges of the two guns synergize poorly. The two setups to consider are grav-cannon/hurricane bolter, and TL lascannon/missile launcher. 
***The best option is the former, giving you 5 grav shots per model ''with rerolls To Wound'' (or on your Immobilize roll against vehicles) at 24" range. This mixes well with the range of the hurricane bolter, letting Grav/HB Centurions shoot at any target effectively - even vehicles, as 15 grav shots averages to about 3 Immobilize results thanks to the grav-amp re-roll, killing any vehicle that lacks an invulnerable or cover save (and even then!), immunity to Immobilize, or plain old luck. Another point of note is the utility of these guns against gargantuan and monstrous creatures. With one squad I was able to kill Ta'unar in two turns of shooting. 
***The las/missile loadout has much better range, the opportunity for Instant Death against many non-tank/MC targets, and the chance for penetrating hits against non-AV14 vehicles, but less raw firepower and a bit of a waste of the Centurions' superior durability and Slow and Purposeful.
** The Devastator Doctrine applies to them as well as regular Devs - at least one of their weapons will be Twin-Linked, but re-rolling missile or grav misses is helpful, and it also makes them workable anti-air for that turn. LC/ML Cents are better as makeshift anti-air, as the mobility of fliers makes shooting at them with grav a shaky proposition.
**Drop Pods being Fast Attack in 7e gives you a way to put grav-cannon Centurions exactly where they can do the most damage - it's also a reason to consider using a standard CAD instead of the Gladius formation. There's even a spot for one more guy in the Pod, so you can pair them with a Librarian for buffs (Tigurius!), or an HQ with an invulnerable save to tank the AP2 shots the Centurions will doubtlessly attract.
** White Scars getting Hit & Run makes these guys very difficult to tarpit since Centurions are I4. Disengaging this way also puts you right into hurricane bolter Rapid Fire range, so 11 shots per model is a nice way to show your opponent they can't stop your Centurions so easily.
*** It's a nice idea and if you happened to be playing Scars and taking these guy already then, well, occasionally you'll get that benefit. But let's be real, you aren't picking your chapter tactic just to pull this one trick occasionally, nor are you adding these slowpokes to your awesome bike army just to make use of it. It's a fringe benefit but not much more. Seriously is it so hard to keep your fire support out of combat with guardsmen and gaunts?
*'''Thunderfire Cannon''' - A powerful, cost-efficient and versatile artillery piece. This is now a beast choice in 7th edition, very useful at putting pressure on scoring units, being able to choose 3 different shell types, one at strength 6, one which Ignores cover at strength 5 and the last causes models affected by the blast to move through difficult terrain at Strength 4. Keep this far away as possible with a good line of sight, if you're lucky you can end up with 20 wounds if all goes to plan. MEQ's can buckle hard under the pressure it can fire off. 7th edition buffed artillery staying power by giving it 2 wounds and 3+ save, so it won't die like a bitch to a single krak shot or turn of bolter fire. But it still completely stationary. This doesn't fare so well in small games as it attracts attention quicker, It is forgotten about most of the time in larger games which is great as it will harass your opponent's infantry. Most forget that it even exists in Apocalypse games where you'll have access to units with even more firepower and the sheer amount of dakka that will be tossed around will cause this gun to spontaneously explode. The Thunderfire Cannon ''does'' have one trick up its' sleeve, however: it comes with a free Techmarine with a servo-harness. If you plan on taking Techmarines anyway and have the slots open, you might as well get one cannon round out of it for 25 points. Against armies that are heavily mechanized and must bunch up all their transports, Thunderfire Cannons can cockblock the entire army with the earthquake shells, provided you actually have something else in the list for breaking those transports.
** Three of these in a squadron brings the whole group up to BS6.  Unfortunately, due to the new FAQ this won't grant you re-rolls on your scatter die, since the ability to re-roll 1s (which is how BS6+ is worded) no longer grants such.  
** 7th Edition has made all Thunderfire Cannon shells Barrage. Fun times ahead.  
** If there're no exposed infantry units to fire at, use the Strength 6 shells on the light AV vehicles/APCs that are definitely going to be around.  Remember that Barrage shots hit side armor, so you'll be getting up to four hits on AV10-12 most of the time.

====Vehicles====
All vehicles can now be taken as squadrons of three per slot; this can be pricey, but it grants powerful bonus abilities...at least until one of the tanks dies.  They also get buffs as a squad, so nearby diviners and the like can help the whole crew. 

*'''[[Predator]]''' - A decent dakka unit. They can serve two purposes, infantry killing, or tank/MC hunting. A three-tank squad gets Monster Hunter and Tank Hunter while all three are alive - this greatly improves Tri-Las Predators in particular.
**Infantry-killing Predators should stick with the default auto-cannon, and grab Heavy Bolter sponsons. It's fairly cheap (95pts) for 8 AP4 shots per tank. Upgrades are usually not necessary: Extra Armor doesn't help much since you will, in 99% of cases, be out of reach of any units with CC anti-tank, and your other guns will outrange a Storm Bolter. The only thing worth considering is the Hunter-Killer missile, but even then, it's only efficient in numbers (like, 7-8 HKMs). Dakka Preds are outclassed by Whirlwinds and Thunderfire Cannons for killing blobs, sadly, and they also waste the special rules mentioned above.
**Tri-Las is the best way to field the Predator(s). Compared to a 4-lascannon Devastator squad, you save 10 points and trade one cannon for superior durability (in particular, safety against small-arms fire), not losing firepower when you do get hit (unless the hit is a Penetrating one), and making one of the guns Twin-Linked. Remember, a three-tank squad gets Monster/Tank Hunter, so consider covering your anti-MC/tank needs with 420 points of tank lascannons that re-roll Wounds/Armor Pen.
***Remember, autocannons equal or exceed lascannons against any toughness in the game that is not 9 (although they don't inflict ID on T4) and AV 12 or less, which is exacerbated by Shred (which is what Monster Hunter and Tank Hunter grant against MCs and Vehicles, respectively), so consider an autocannon turret with lascannon sponsons if you are low on points and want your Predators to do well against light tanks and MCs as well as heavy ones, rather than taking different solutions for each.
**Unlike many other battle tanks in the game, the Predator's side AV is 11, which is glaringly lower than its frontal AV13, and makes its flanks attractive targets. Protect their sides with positioning terrain, Rhinos that have already delivered their passengers, or just staying the fuck away from everything and hide in the backfield like you should do.
*'''[[Vindicator]]''' - This guy has a big, scary gun. Hampered by its short range, this S10 AP2 pie-plate causes most people (especially other marine players) nightmares. It's bound to draw fire, ''lots and lots'' of fire. This is good because it keeps guns trained away from the rest of your army, but bad because it's easily shot down from the side (especially if your opponent deploys his anti-tank in opposite corners) and easily neutralized (glancing hits don't shake/stun anymore, but add up quickly, and EVERY damage result on a penetrating hit makes it useless for at least a turn, if not permanently). Thunderfire Cannons are better at killing blobs, but the Vindicator's niche as a pie-plate that can slag Terminators, bikes and Toughness 5 MCs is unique in this codex. In 7E, it no longer comes stock with a storm bolter, so if you want to try and save the main gun from Weapon Destroyed, you gotta pay 5 pts.
:*Putting 3 Vindicators in a squad lets them give up their individual pieplates for a single Apocalyptic Blast with Ignores Cover. It practically becomes an anti-everything weapon with that option available to it, and you can always choose to just fire three regular pieplates if the foe isn't clustered closely enough for the Apocalyptic Blast to mulch his entire squad at once. Just remember that the 10" Apocalyptic Blast shot is still only 24" range, plus the usual scattering. If anyone is closer than 24", it will probably fuck up your precious 360 point squadron. Besides, if anyone lets a god damn Vindicator squadron get into 24", they deserve an Apocalyptic Blast.
*'''[[Whirlwind]]''' - The Whirlwind is an artillery platform, pretty cheap at 65 points. It has two shooting profiles, both of them Ordnance/Large Blast/Barrage shots: an S5 AP4 shot for hunting troops in the open, or an S4 AP5 shot that Ignores Cover. The squad-buff for Whirlwind goes a long way towards making it relevant in 7E. There are two primary reasons to consider a Whirlwind squad over a Thunderfire Cannon. First, they can move and shoot, allowing you to adjust position or start in reserves (i.e. to dodge an alpha strike) without losing a turn of shooting. The second reason is that their shots have better AP, which is an army matchup-specific consideration.
**Three Whirlwinds in a squad grant all of its missiles Pinning and Shred. Congrats, you're now a better Wyvern.
*'''[[Hunter]]''' - One of the new Space Marine AA weapons. Comes with a massive missile launcher, which is S7 AP2 Armourbane, so rather than glancing enemy flyers to death, like the most flakk tanks, it is designed to blast it in one shot. Hunter's misses transform into missiles on the target's tail that hit REAR armor on 5+ next turn, which is kinda funny and overall useful, especially against IG and Tau flyers. But unlike the previous edition, the missile doesn't hang around forever, so you only get the second attempt once. You don't get the lock-on if shooting at a non-flyer, but remember, skyfire still allows full BS shooting at skimmers. Use one to pop eldar, tau, deldar and necron vehicles of all sorts.
**With three Hunters in a squad, you can re-roll the Savant Lock rule on each of their missiles, which makes up for the loss of being able to troll flyers with endlessly seeking missiles, since you're already throwing more missiles than most fliers could reasonably handle.
*'''[[Space Marine Stalker|Stalker]]''' - The other new Space Marine AA weapon, packing a pair of three-shot autocannons. Different from a Hydra Flakk tank, it has better side armor, Ballistic Skill and the ability to fire at two different targets. And yes, it is as cheap as a Hydra. The 7E codex changed how their weapon systems work; now they have Interceptor as well as Skyfire, so squadrons of Stalkers become the premier first-strike AA guns in the entire game! Furthermore, if they fire at a single target then the squad gets Twin-Linked. If you split your fire, you simply use the weapon profile - no more BS2 penalty.
**Three Stalkers as a vehicle squadron grants their guns Ignores Cover. That's right - fuck you, Jink. Also, remember Skyfire shoots at Skimmers full BS (looking at you, Eldar, Necrons and Tau).
*'''[[Land Raider]]''' - The biggest metal box of all. Can carry termies, and lets them assault after disembarking. Comes in eight flavors, three in the codex and five from Forgeworld:
** '''Classic''' (or '''Phobos-pattern''') Land Raider - 2 sets of twin-linked lascannons and a twin-linked heavy bolter. Carries 10 (it was 12 in 5th edition). You'd think it's good for tank hunting...on its own, no way. It's just too expensive for that. Land Raiders need to be transporting stuff, and running forward at great speeds. This Land Raider is a confused beast, best left alone. If you want a little bit more reasoning for why the classic Land Raider is comparatively useless, here's a bit more explanation: for the cost of having it on the table, this Land Raider needs to be able to do both of its roles effectively at the same time, but since transporting soldiers doesn't work well with standing up front and shooting too, there's no real way to make this one as effective as it needs to be. It's not ''completely'' useless thanks to Power of the Machine Spirit, which allows an additional weapon to be fired at a different target (even while shaken/stunned), theoretically allowing you to move 6" and destroy two enemy tanks (if you're lucky). This tactic works quite well with Antaro Chronus as his BS 5 makes this more likely. Overall, this Land Raider is not recommended except in a Land Raider Spearhead formation with two other Classic Land Raiders, good for super heavy/gargantuan monstrous creature hunting in high points games/Apocalypse.
** '''Crusader''' - 2 sets of "hurricane bolters" (3 twin-linked regular bolters) and 1 twin-linked Assault cannon. With a 16-model capacity, this is the standby transport for Terminators. The multi-melta is a nice addition for pot-shots at tanks. The Crusader WANTS to be up close, where its short-ranged, anti-infantry guns work wonders to support the squad it was escorting. Hurricane Bolters kinda suck, unfortunately, so consider moving forward 12", PotMS the Assault Cannon and snap fire those Bolters. Give it Extra Armor, nothing sucks more than a stunned Land Raider. This used to be the ultimate in Terminator delivery, but recently a challenger has appeared...
***It should also be that black templar crusader squads can take a land raider crusader as a dedicated transport, meaning if you're playing with a CAD then yes, indeed, your land raider has objective secured. My favorite thing to do with this is take a 15 man unit (10 initiates, 5 neophytes), give them all cc weapons, stick a Melta and 2 power fists in the unit, baby sit them with a chaplain and throw them in a land raider. Whilst not exactly the best unit, it is (in my opinion) the most fun to use in 40k, by itself.
** '''Redeemer''' - Keeps the twin-linked Assault Cannon of the Crusader, but replaces the side-mounted Hurricane Bolters with a pair of Flamestorm Cannons, nasty S6 AP3 flamers. Carries 12. The only other Land Raider you should even consider, even if it doesn't fit as many Terminators. Far nastier against infantry than the crusader, but it needs to be up closer to be effective... which means melta-range. Whoops. On the flip side, now that unit is also VERY close to that nasty CC unit that was inside the aforementioned Land Raider, and are bound to get their faces ripped off in revenge. Also, it doesn't help that Flamestorm Cannons being mounted on the side means that the Redeemer can have difficulty hitting things directly in front of it. Nice thing that 14/14/14 AV does not require specific facing. Multi-Melta optional, but nice. And the cherry on top: 10 points cheaper than the other two Land Raider varieties. Remember, you may not be allowed to snap shot templates, but power of the machine spirit means you can move 12" and still make someone extra crispy. One little advice when assembling the Redeemer is to mount the Flamestorm Cannons in the forward position. That way the templates gain additional reach.
** '''Terminus Ultra (Apocalypse)''' - Leman Russes and Baneblades got you down?  Are Hammerhead gunships making you throw fits?  Tyrannofexes slaughtering your tanks? Titans kicking your ass when you have none of your own? Do Predator Annihilators simply fail to cut it for you? Are your desperate, suicidal charges against a Monolith with only two tactical marines, two Predator Destructors, and three Land Speeders proving to be totally ineffective?  Then the Terminus Ultra is a tank for you!!! Coming equipped with three(!) twin-linked lascannons and two single lascannons, it's only a measly 50 points more expensive than the standard Land Raider and has no troop carrying capacity. It is extremely effective against enemy armour, the Land Raider's special rule allows the Terminus Ultra to easily take out 2 light vehicles in a single shooting phase or completely annihilate one heavy vehicle, I once managed to destroy a Warhound Titan with this thing. But some unlucky rolls can lead to the tank blowing up, through overheating of the lascannon batteries (like REALLY unlucky, about a .3343% chance or 13 in 3888 odds). Best used at long range, picking off the enemy vehicles one by one, or two by two. Pretty much, it causes enemy vehicles to suffer critical existence failure to an even greater degree than the Redeemer causes enemy infantry to spontaneously combust (probably because the Redeemer doesn't have an additional two weapon mounts.) If you could stick on a multi-melta or an additional Lascannon, all your anti-vehicle problems could be fixed but not even Matt Ward is willing to go that far. Antaro Chronus turns this into pretty much the final word in Imperial tank destroyers.  
** '''Achilles (Forge World)''' - Oh hell yes. For the same price as the Terminus Ultra, this beast sports a Thunderfire Cannon and twin-linked multi-melta sponsons, has immunity to the Melta and Lance special rules, puts a -1 penalty on most other attacks, can carry six models, and doesn't go 'splodey.  Put a scout squad and a techmarine in it, plonk it down on an objective, and watch your opponent throw a shit fit. Eldar and Dark Eldar will really [[Rage]] at it since that don't have much anti-tank outside of meltas and lances. Tthough, they have haywire/D-weapon, and you really should beware them, as hawks, wraithguards, witches and scourges would blow your "expensive but invincible" tank in eye blink, once they came in threat range. (Another option is to take a iron hand character, which gives the achilles IWND. Then ally in a cheap DA librarian with a bike and Powerfield generator for a 4++ (divination for rerollable inv save shenanigans). Just try and destroy that platform of death, I dare you...)--Make it worse? Put an Iron Hands Master of the Forge in it with the Relic that gives IWND on a 4+. So, get your repair shot (w/Iron Hands bonuses) + IWND as well. Unless they can take out the HP in one round, this thing isn't going down. 
** '''Ares (Apocalypse)''' - This is for when a Vindicator just won't cut it. Comes standard with a Demolisher cannon, twin linked Assault cannons, twin-linked heavy flamer sponsons, and a siege shield, can take extra armour for +15pts, and always do have extra armour on it, the whole point of this tank is to get to the enemy lines as quickly as possible, therefore as soon as it's stunned, it's losing an entire turn of blowing the enemy apart as you'll reach them a turn later. When it was released there were those who questioned the point of the Demolisher cannon (By 'those', I mean Idiots, who wouldn't want a demolisher cannon...), as it's an ordnance weapon, no other weapons can be fired. Remember PoTMS allow to fire one additional weapon, and you will snapshot with all guns if Ordance is fired, so ultimately it allows 1 Ordance + 1 full BS weapon firing per turn. Costs as much as two-and-a-half Vindicators, but a hell of a lot more survivable, and has more close-combat attack options into the bargain. This tank is the absolute final word in terminal close quarters battle, the demolisher cannon will annihilate half a unit, many more will be mown down by the Assault cannon, then move in to mop up with twin-linked heavy flamers (re-roll to wound), so... it's pretty good its Armour can stand up to the punishment it will no doubt sustain on it's way to the enemy front lines.
***Irritatingly, there is no way to buy a kit for this vehicle, Forgeworld or otherwise, so you have to build it from scratch.
** '''Helios (Forge World)''' - A Whirlwind on steroids, which comes stock with twin-linked lascannon sponsons.  More survivable and versatile than the Whirlwind, but is not worth the points cost. Also carries six models for some insane reason. If you ask us, it'd probably be better off not being able to transport infantry in exchange for two more gun mounts, probably autocannons. ''Mais c'est la vie''.  Not bad if you're only transporting six models anyways (i.e. command squad) since it's basically ten points to upgrade the heavy bolter to a whirlwind launcher, which can be PotMS fired at at infantry while you hit something with lascannon.  Not that a command squad needs a LR, but this could be an awesome choice for them if you do it anyways.
***Despite your uber metal box having AV14 all around and 4HP there are a lot of things that could kill it for like 1/4 of it's cost. Lances and S10 weapons should make you worry. Be afraid of melta and armourbane weapons. Haywire grenades are scary, but less so after the FAQ clarification that it's one per unit in assault. Necrons would eat your Land Raider alive without any problems, unless they go for full tesla and no scarabs (highly unlikely). If your opponent try to squeeze a Titan loaded with D-weapons into 40k game per new Escalation rules feel free to beat him to death with your old reliable metal dreadnought.
*'''[[Stormraven]] Gunship''' (Attack Flyer) - Basically, a flying Land Raider. It costs 200 points base, has AV12 all around and meltaguns don't get the extra D6 for AP when shooting at them. It's also bristling with guns; it has a twin-linked heavy bolter, a twin-linked assault cannon, and four Stormstrike missiles (72" S8 AP2, Concussive, one shot each), and that's only standard issue. It can replace the heavy bolters with a twin-linked multimelta for free or a Typhoon missile launcher for 25 points, and replace the assault cannon with a twin-linked plasma cannon or a twin-linked lascannon for free. And if ''that's'' not enough dakka for you, it can take hurricane bolters in side sponsons. It can't deep strike anymore, but it can take a locator beacon. The real gravy is its transport capacity; it can carry 12 guys (or 6 Jump Infantry/Terminators) ''AND'' one Dreadnought '''ANND''' it's an assault vehicle. Watch your opponent cry tears of bitter [[rage]] as your Vanguard Veterans with power weapons come out of fucking nowhere to ruin his day, along with a rampaging Ironclad dreadnought. It'll cost you an arm and a leg, but you certainly get what you pay for. And speaking of 7th edition it's a flyer. You need it.
** If you're going Iron Hands, take a Techmarine with a servo harness and stick him in there to regain your hullpoints. You will be targeted so it's always important to bring these guys to make sure your Stormraven stays up in the air. In the end you will have a IWND Storm Raven with a 3+ (4+ if not Iron Hands) Blessing of the Omnissiah rolls. Trust me, nothing can easily take it down with all those dice rolls that keeps it up. Take both if you got the points to spare. 
** Take one of these full of power weapon VV's (Or any CC deathstar. Honor Guard work well if your HQ can't take a jump pack)/dread and a Stormtalon escort. Drink your opponent's tears. Bonus points for being Raven Guard.
**'''Alternative take''' It's a 200 point unit that can swap its stock weapons out for twin-linked lascannons and multimeltas for free. In other words, use it as an anti-flyer with the transport capacity coming in as a bonus. However, unless you're expecting to see mostly AV12 flyers, the assault cannon might actually work better. Death by hull point depletion is still death, after all.

====Supplemental or Forgeworld====
* '''Deimos Predator''' - Stock, a Deimos Predator is identical to a vanilla predator. Same stats, same weapons, same points cost. The difference is in the toys the Deimos has as options. Along with the regular heavy bolters and lascannon sponsons, the Deimos can bring heavy flamers. For the turret, you get to choose between replacing the autocannon with a flamestorm cannon, a magna-melta, a plasma destroyer, or a heavy conversion-beamer (though the tank becomes a relic of the armoury if either of the latter two are taken). All in all, the Deimos can be equipped to deal with a wider variety of targets and situations than the vanilla pred, though the Deimos can’t be squadroned.
**Predator Executioner - With the 3-shot plasma destroyer (THAT DOES NOT GET HOT) this thing would blast MEQ and TEQ from the table next turn they come in range. The heavy conversion beamer would only work on high distances, and force you to move or shoot, but a 48-72" S10 AP1 big blast would retake the price of tank in a single shot - think of it like a long range Vindicator.
**Predator Infernus – While the flamestorm cannon is highly devastating at close range it's just too slow. Slow flamer tanks sucks. If you want one that bad, just take allied Blood Angels with a Baal Pred. If this thing come close to any non-TEQ infantry, it would ruin their day, and then die to a single melta shot, or hail of krak grenades. But most commonly it would just die, [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|because a big scary flamer approaching your lines attracts a LOT of fire]]. The MAGNA-MELTA (R18 S8 AP1 Heavy1, Large Blast, Melta), transforms it into a wannabe-Vindicator.
* '''[[Vindicator]] Laser Destroyer''' - The ultimate tank killer, this beast spots a souped-up Laser Destroyer, found on Rapiers, except better. Now this twin-linked ordnance lascannon have a proper 48" range (so it's no longer outranged by things it's supposed to kill) and AP1 (so thing would go boom on 5+). But there's more. If it doesn't move, it can shoot up to THREE times (two normally, and one more with a slight risk of overheating). As a reminder, Ordnance allows you to roll two dice for Armor Penetration, and pick the better one to add to the weapon's Strength. This tank arguably packs more anti-armor punch than Terminus Ultra and Spartan, while being cheaper than Predator Annihilator, with the only three downsides of being more vulnerable to weapon destroyed, being less mobile, and the aforementioned slight chance of overheating. Frankly, unless it's on its last Hull Point, it's probably a good choice to just fire off that third overcharge shot if you reckon you need it to finish off the target, because it's far more likely to put a way bigger hole in the enemy tank, than the risk of losing one Hull Point on yours.
*'''[[Spartan Assault Tank]]''' - Forgeworld takes the old multiple personality disorder Land Raider, and pumps it up with steroids. Fucking '''five''' hull points, two twin-linked two-shot lascannons (it almost gets off as many lascannon shots as a terminus ultra while still being able to carry troops, doesn't go boom when you roll badly, and gets way more goodies), TL heavy bolters, transport capacity of '''25''', in-built extra armor, good-old 14/14/14, PotMS and Assault Vehicle. You even can take frag launchers (which got far more awesome with the new grenade rules) and ceramite shielding (bubble you, meltaguns) for a marginal increase in points. Meaning it can do the roles of the Terminus Ultra, the Achilles, and the Ares all at the same time, all it really needs are some burny weapons. But what are the drawbacks you ask? This uber metal box can not be taken as a dedicated transport at all. Also, as a Forgeworld model, it will cost you a unicorn's soul.
**At only 45 points more, there is no reason to take the Godhammer landraider over this beast ever again.
**Your opponent might hate your guts if you field this.
**Want to make your opponent cry or perhaps even strangle you? Take this beast, the Armoured Ceramite upgrade (when you're 14 AV all round, people WILL try to melta your ass), the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics, a Master of the Forge and with a few Servitors (One should do), and if you have the points add a techmarine with a servoharness as well. If you do all that you will end with HP 5, It Will Not Die and Melta Immune Spartan Assault Tank (That's AV 14 all around no less) and a MotF with a 2+ Blessing of the Omnissiah Rolls with a 3+ roll of insurance from the Techmarine. Make sure those guys are in the vehicle as of the recent faq, Techs can repair while in the vehicle.  This will only cost you 440 points. 
** Fully kitted out Spartan is a textbook definition of Cheese - if your opponent has no answer to it, it'll going to run around wreak havoc unopposed, but if he has - it's you who's screwed, as you pretty much sunk more than a quarter of your points into a giant metal box, that just got blown up in a single turn by a cheap haywire-equipped unit, or a Railgun, or anything Necron, or just fucking Nurglings. At least with this tank-light edition you may hope your opponent had left his anti-vehicle guns at home in favor of moar plasma (because, God knows, you need all the plasma in the world against all these MCs roaming around).
* '''Relic Sicaran''' - A high speed assault tank that is a halfway between a Land Raider and a Predator. For 135 points you get A MURDER MACHINE with 13/12/12, Fast, and the Herakles pattern Accelerator Autocannon, which is R48", S7, AP4, Heavy 6, Rending, and Twin-linked....and no jink saves allowed. This tank makes the Eldar cry. Even Wave Serpents will fall before this (sadly you can only have one (unless you've got a Techmarine HQ) while the Eldar player will spam Wave Serpents.) The Sicaran can also take ceramite plating, making it very durable. This tank absolutely eats light-to-medium armored vehicles and walkers. You will kill a chimera or dreadnought every time your fire its main gun, and with Twin-linked and Space Marine BS, you'll be connecting with almost every shot.
*'''Whirlwind Hyperios''' - This thing is supposed to be your main ground based anti-air, but it sucks. One skyfire/interceptor krak shot per turn, even twin-linked is just don't cut it, and you can not squadron this thing, like IG player squadron their Hydras.
**With the introduction of the Stalker and Hunter, and then now Stalker and Hunter SQUADRONS with squadron bonuses, and the anti-air formation, there is zero reason to even give the Hyperios a sideways glance anymore.
*'''Relic Whirlwind Scorpius''' - Unlike the standard Whirlwind, the Scorpius fires a small blast, but at S8 and AP3 it eats MEQs for breakfast. And if it stands still it can fire D3+1 templates (allowing it to have them for lunch and dinner too).
*'''Space Marine Sentry Gun Battery''' - From IA:12 you get a battery of up to three immobile twin-linked Heavy Bolters for the bargain cost of 15 points each and swap them for a Multi-melta for five or pay ten for TL Lascannons. Being automated, you have very little control over what they actually do in the battle, they select their own targets based on pre-set criteria, you basically just get to choose at deployment what their arcs are: 360 degrees but at 18" range, or 90 degrees at 36" range, so you're rarely going to be blasting things across the table with these things. You DO get the ability to deep strike them for a laugh or give them camo netting for stealth if you can set them up in a good spot to make them invulnerable to most shooting. (while you can pay the cost for both, just don't because it you deep strike into cover you are waiting for a mishap.)
**DON'T EVER mix and match guns or targeting criteria, nowhere in the rules do they say they deploy separately or behave any differently from any other artillery battery, meaning they should all be firing at the same target, which is still the one they select for themselves...
**As a added bonus though, you can instead swap the guns for a '''Hyperios Missile Launcher''' (see Fast Attack section).
*'''Space Marine Rapier Carrier Battery''' - Almost identical to its Imperial Guard counterpart, with the same cheap price and the same awesome weapon, except with Space Marine ballistic skill, toughness, Chapter Tactics and And They Shall Know No Fear.
*'''[[Storm Eagle]]''' - Your transport Flyer. ''(IA12 moved it to heavy)'' Occupies the middle-ground between the [[Stormraven]] and the [[Thunderhawk]]. Transport capacity of 20, with terminators and jump infantry counting as 2 models each. Impressive arsenal of weaponry, standard armament: Hull-mounted twin-linked Heavy Bolter, Hull-mounted Vengeance Launcher (Range:48"|Str:5|AP:4|Heavy 2, Large Blast). Optional armament includes: Switching Heavy bolters for Multi-meltas or a Typhoon missile launcher, and adding 4 Hellstrike Missiles or 2 Twin-linked Lascannon under the wings. Also get ceramite shielding, and the 'Power of the Machine Spirit' special rule, along with 12|12|12 armour. Can also deep strike, and disembarking infantry can assault in the same turn.
** Same with the Stormraven. Motf/Tech with a servo Harness put them inside and stay up.
*'''Fire Raptor Gunship (Forge World)''' - Official rules in IA2:2nd. Comes naked with a TL Avenger Bolt Cannon ''(being a proper [[Fist of the North Star|manly]] S6 AP3 7 shots'', 4 '''Stormtrike Missiles''' ''(S8 Concussive, NOT Ordnance, YAY)'' and two Independent-Turret Quad Heavy Bolters ''(which can be replaced with TL Autocannon for free)''; the latter which aside from firing at their own targets as rumored, don't count towards the number of weapons fired! With all the twin-linked goodness, Strafing Run and PotMS/Independent-turrets; this bastard can dump its entire payload on [[Cheese|FOUR SEPARATE TARGETS]] in a single turn and hit almost every time. It is a relic vehicle, so if you want to take more than one ''(or any other relic vehicle)'' remember to grab a Techmarine as one of your HQ choices.
*'''Deathstorm Drop Pod (Forgeworld)''' - Expecting the drop pod that just landed to contain troops or a heavy weapons platform you don't have to worry about until next turn?  SURPRISE! Whirlwind missiles!  For you!  In the face!  When this modified drop pod lands, it immediately attacks every unit (friend or foe) in 12" and in line of sight d3 times, then attacks normally every subsequent turn. It can also be upgraded to assault cannons for an extra 20 points, but this should only be done if you expect it to survive more than one turn (and you really shouldn't). ''Very'' situational, but if your opponent fields lots of small units relatively close together, dropping this in the middle of them is almost guaranteed to ruin his day. Can't take a locator beacon, though.
*'''Contemptor Dreadnought (Angels of Death)''' - The Angels of Death supplement's take on the Contemptor is a bit of a different beast from its Forge World cousin. It's taken in Heavy Support instead of Elites, has BS 5, 4 attacks, is 5 points cheaper, has Atomantic shielding as wargear instead of as a special rule, has a power fist with a '''combi-bolter''' instead of a dreadnought close combat weapon with a storm bolter, has Chapter Tactics, and can be squadroned. AoD Contemptor Dreadnoughts can also be taken in any Formation in place of normal, Ironclad or Venerable Dreadnoughts. This makes them far easier to take in normal games (unlike FW units which are harder to fit anywhere other than a CAD). 
**The trade-off for the squadrons, better stats, lower cost, and Chapter Tactics, however, is far fewer weapon options than the Forge World version ''(see Elites)''. As in, if you want more options than simply replacing the Multi-Melta with an Assault Cannon, you'll still have to use the IA2 rules, because that's the '''only''' option you got with Angels of Death. The AoD Contemptor also inexplicably lacks the built-in searchlight and smoke launcher of the Forge World Contemptor.
*'''Relic Deredeo Pattern Dreadnought (Experimental Rules online)''' - This is the great-great-great(20x) Grandfather of the Rifleman Dreadnought. At 185 points base, you get a weapon platform with WS4, '''BS5''', S6, AV:13/12/11, [[Lolwut|A1]], and a 5++ save. It's equipped with an Arm-mounted Twin-Linked Anvillus Autocannon Array, which has 4 shots at S8 AP4 Sunder('''Reroll to Penetrate'''), and a Sarcophagus mounted Twin-linked Heavy Bolter (or Heavy Flamer for free). For 35 points more, you can also get the Aiolos Missile Launcher, which is essentially a 3-shot Javelin Missile that ignores Line Of Sight, Intervening Terrain, always hits the top of a tank(Side Armour), and can splitfire at a different target. For same cost as the Aiolos the Deredeo can exchange the Autocannons for a Twin-linked Hellfire Plasma Cannonade. This reduces range to 36", STR to 7, and it loses Sunder. However, it has AP2 with two firing modes: Heavy 4 for Plasma Cannon hits without Gets Hots or Heavy 1 Large Blast (5") & Gets Hot. Take the Plasma Cannonade if there is a heavily armored vehicle or TEQ squad you want to give the metaphorical middle finger. Otherwise stick with the Anvillus.
**Make no mistake, BS 5 TL is the same as BS10. With its extreme accuracy and sunder, it can pretty much [[Rape|eat a light or medium tank for breakfast '''each and every turn''']]. And while it's slamming the medium tanks with the Anvillus Cannons to statistically strip 3 hull points a turn, it's also stripping 2 hull points a turn off another light tank, or threatening a MEQ squad. If its ability to remove tanks like a serbian removes kebabs isn't enough, it's also the ultimate anti-air unit, with the ability to remove a flyer from the board on the turn it comes in with a 95% chance of success. 
**Overall, it's expensive as hell when given the Aiolos, but you get exactly what you pay for. Always take the Aiolos Missile Launcher, because it helps to strip hull points off of your opponent's transports to make them easier to kill. And be sure to park this thing near some LOS Blocking terrain to ensure it can pick its targets with impunity.
*'''Relic Leviathan Dreadnought (Forge World)''' - For about double the price of an Ironclad, you get a rounder Dread with S8, AV 13/13/12 with a 4+ Invul that adds d3 to both the range and strength of its death-explosion, two heavy flamers on his body, total immunity to Maledictions powers, and two claws with meltas, Wrecker, and the odds to inflict d3 extra wounds. When this dads to the fact that it adds +1 to its initiative and 2 HoW attacks on the charge as well as a mandatory sweeping advance, you see that the goal of this thing is to touch anything that runs near it. For it's cost, it might have been better off with AV14 or some better tools. The claws can become drills so you get Armourbane for pennies. You could also make it shooty by replacing a claw with a Leviathan Storm Cannon, that is Heavy 6 S7 AP3 hits with Sunder or a Cyclonic melta lance (not actually a lance weapon), which is a Heavy 3 S9 AP1 18" Meltagun. You could give it Ceramite to cure it of its fear of Melta and three HKs to help pop tanks, but you've already got so much for that goal.  To add to that, this thing counts as a Relic of the Armoury, but can't take a Legacy of Glory, nor can it ever score or benefit from a detachment or formation, so taking this requires extra care. However, with the right loadout it can be an annoyance to any player fielding a Lord of War.

===Lords of War===
*'''[[Roboute Guilliman|Roboute Guilliman]]''' - HE'S HERE. For the cost of 2 Cato Sicarii you have a Monstrous Creature with a 2+/3++/5+++, Eternal Warrior, and pretty much a straight 6 statline, excluding a WS of 9 and LD of 10. If you somehow fuck up and walk him towards something you shouldn't, or bad luck befalls you and he dies, fear not! On a roll of 4+ on the turn he got murdered, HE FUCKING COMES BACK TO LIFE WITH D3 WOUNDS. 
**All friendly armies of the Imperium re-roll failed Morale, Fear and Pinning tests while he is on the battlefield, and he is NEVER subject to Ld malus modifiers. Re-rolls failed Deny the Witch, along with his Adamantium Will, those Psychic Shrieks don't look as scary. He grants Ultramarines another copy of each Doctrine.
**He has a 24" Assault 3 S6 AP2 bolter which is good for raping Abaddon at long range, but in combat is where he really shines. With fleet to get him there faster, he can go toe-to-toe with an Imperial Knight and win just about every time. Why? BECAUSE HIS ATTACKS ARE FUCKING S10 AP1 and any 6s to hit are Strength D, AT INITIATIVE 6. As if he wasn't good enough by himself, he also has EVERY Command Trait as his Warlord trait. So not only a beast in his own right, he's a great force multiplier for the smurfs. 
**If you double team Guilliman with a librarius conclave, your opponent will probably have the right to kill you. 
*'''[[Marneus Calgar|Marneus Augustus Calgar]]''' -  Papa Smurf is the most expensive character in the codex and rightfully a Lord of War! He is also the most powerful in hand-to-hand, even more so than Lysander. He's a Chapter Master with double NOT UNWIELDY power-fists, an ''AP 2'' storm bolter, Eternal Warrior, and two special rules: Master Tactician allows an extra use of the Combat Doctrine of your choice if he's the Warlord, while "God of War" lets you pick your Warlord Trait if you use the Space Marines trait table (now greatly improved and so totally worth it). He can also swap-out his artificer armour for a special Terminator armor (allowing him to deep-strike and giving him Relentless, not that he has any weapons that care about moving) that doesn't prevent Sweeping Advances, and even gets a free teleport homer. He also has a power sword, you know, in case you don't want to kill your opponent in only one turn. If you've noticed, pretty much his entire arsenal makes a mockery out of armor saves, even his ranged weapons.  Also he lost the ability to make all Ultramarines in his army choose to fail or pass any Morale test they had to take.
**'''Alternate Take:'''  Calgar should be seriously considered for any Ultramarine player out there.  Using a combat doctrine twice allows for you to deal with threats you army may not have the best tools to deal with.  Flying circus?  Devastator doctrine twice.  Fighting Tau?  Assault doctrine twice.  General firefight?  Pop tactical doctrine again.  You don't have to choose which you need until you use it the second time.  Calgar relies on clever usage to be effective, just like he should be.  Yes, he's expensive, don't forget that, but he is costed right for all the buffs he gives your army, unlike other special characters.  (Looking at you, Khan...)
**With an escort and pimpwagon, he's going to attract every gun your opponent has and he's not overly tough for his cost. You're also more-or-less locked into making his unit a deathstar as a retinue and transport is going to bring him to around 700+ points.
**'''Herculean Feat (Apocalypse)''' - If Papa Smurf is within 18" of a Necron Super-heavy or Transcendent C'Tan when he calls his finest hour he gets fleet and also bumps his base strength up to 5, which gets doubled to 10 due to his mighty fists. This is so he can play frisbee with necron pylons, but is unlikely to ever happen considering the relative scarcity of Necron players in Apocalypse level games. Also, the difference between S8 and S10 is largely academic in most situations against infantry. But if you are specifically punching vehicles then it can make all the difference due to the loss of his Titanic Might.
*'''Thunderhawk Gunship''' - There is only one reason why you don't already have one, it costs a shitload of cash(£399), apart from this... small price... the Thunderhawk has virtually no downsides, at 700 points it's certainly expensive, and it doesn't have much armour (12,12,10) but it does have 9 HP and is immune to the 'melta' special rule. It's title of gunship is well deserved, it has a turbo laser (yes a fucking strength D weapon with a 5" blast!!!), four twin-linked heavy Bolters, two Lascannons and 6 weapon pylons, which can contain bombs or Hellstrike missiles. It also has a "modest" transport capacity of 30, so you can hold an entire 10 man squad of Terminators in this thing AND a techmarine and servitors to keep the thing running (they ARE allowed to repair vehicles they're embarked on, awesome). As the only super heavy vehicle in the space marines armoury, you will almost never field more than one of these, fortunately, you only need one. The best way to use this vehicle is to get close combat Terminators right into the middle of the enemies most dangerous shooting formation, then use the fearsome weapons on the gunship to destroy enemy vehicles that can insta-kill your guys, allowing your Terminators to destroy the shooty infantry and keep your grunts alive. Used properly this vehicle WILL make your opponent shit bricks, used improperly, it will do nothing but die uselessly as it gets pummeled by 700 points worth of enemy lascannons, rockets, missiles, battle cannon and lances, then it will explode and take the most of the rest of your army with it, because of this NEVER EVER keep it static, it's tempting to just hang back and pummel the enemies vehicles with the turbo laser, but don't.
** Now you can now use this bad boy in normal games, why?  Not a good idea seeing how it's 700 points....
**Aside from access to a D weapon, the T-Hawk is generally inferior to three Storm Chickens, having the same armour and hull points but fewer guns and a lower transport capacity.  Also, it's more expensive in both terms of points and dollars.
*'''Fellblade''' - This is your THIRTEEN BARRELS OF HELL: Quad-lascannon or laser destroyer sponsons, twin-linked heavy bolters/flamers and a demolisher cannon on the hull, and a fuck-huge [[Railgun|Accelerator Cannon]] (also known as a rape cannon) mounted on top. On top of that, you can take a pintle-mounted storm bolter, heavy bolter, heavy flamer or multi-melta, pushing it up to a mighty FIFTEEN BARRELS OF HELL. Take it with Armoured Ceramite to protect it from IG Melta-Vet squads, and make sure to protect the relatively vulnerable rear, and you have a tank that will put any of your former friend's Baneblade variants to shame.
**For pointless fluff, the Accelerator Cannon is not a railgun, but instead is an autocannon that incorporates plasma-ignited electrothermal-chemical propellants, which is actually a real thing. You ''could'' look up "electrothermal-chemical technology" on The Other Wiki, but if you do, you're admitting you're a fuckhueg nerd. Neeeerd.
*'''[[Thunderhawk|Thunderhawk Transporter]]''' - Get this if you if you have a burning desire to kneel down and sacrifice your money to the [[Chaos|gods of Games Workshop]]. It costs the same amount of cash as the regular Thunderhawk, and you'll probably end up wishing you had one of those instead. It's not that the transporter is awful, the ability to fly in a [[Blood Angels|loaded up land raider and place it where you want]] is [[Awesome|cool]], you can even scoop up other vehicles while in hover mode without having to cease your movement. But unless you are playing on REALLY big gaming tables ''(we're talking the same size of games where Earthshaker guns run out of range)'', there's no real need to do this, and your Thunderhawk itself doesn't have much else to do with only a few heavy bolters for its defense. Just get the regular Thunderhawk for now and you'll feel less guilty.
**Alternate Take:  Well, as stated in the paragraph above if you do get this there are other uses than running it on a ridiculously large map (even by apocalypse standard); load a squad of terminators (whichever flavor you fancy, but I'd go for a SS and TH unit) and drop'em in a land raider right next to the most valuable unit you can find.  Then, laugh manically while your land raider shoots everything in range and you terminator pound the poor sods back to the warp. But admittedly another flyer (actual cough, thunderhawk, cough) could do this better, so if you feel like spending a few hundred then take it instead.
**Note:  As of writing, the transporter isn't for sale.  Anywhere.  So at least that temptation is removed from the universe.
*'''[[Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer]]''' - An odd superheavy tank. Its weapon is S10 AP1, but has no blast, so if you miss there's no consolation prize by accidentally wiping out a nearby unit ''(it is twin linked, so you're unlikely to miss)''. However, whatever it hits is [[rape|raped]]. It fires D3 shots every time it fires and anything that somehow survives a penetrating hit from it can only snap-fire next turn (including other superheavies... neutering that poor [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|emperor class titan]].) but if it fails a penetrate ROLL ''(glances are fine)'' or to-wound its target ''(remember it's a primary weapon, so already gets re-rolls)'', it instead damages itself by an automatic hull point on a further roll of 1. It can be given the standard predator sponsons or pintle mounted heavy weapons, but you're probably going to want to load up on anti-tank and leave anti infantry to your other units.
*'''[[Typhon Heavy Siege Tank]]''' - It's a giant vindicator. Cheaper and better armoured than the Fellblade and more reliable than the Cerberus. It fires off a 7" Blast S10 AP1 weapon, which ignores cover, and so will erase entire units on 2s unless they have invulnerable saves. Can also be equipped with sponsons like a predator and pintlemounted options including heavy bolters, or a multi-melta. And unlike the Cerberus, since your main gun doesn't fill an uber specialised role you can choose what you want and split your fire to shoot in all directions and pick your targets by relevance. Also give it armoured ceramite so it can never be killed by melta & lances.
*'''[[Warlord Battle Titan]]''' - Hoo boy, just when you thought you were safe. This destroyer of wallets is also a destroyer of friendships, as it's rules are as ridiculous as you think. Making an appearance in HH:5, it brings the pain in oh-so many ways. Coming in at a whopping 2750 points it sports 6 void shields and '''30 GOD-EMPEROR-DAMNED HULL POINTS'''. Should you reach said hull points it has a 5++ save against hits to those hull points. It has a variety of go-fuck-yourself weapons (most of which are blasts) and rules, such as; the ability to fire Overwatch with some of its built-in weapons, immunity to being locked in combat as well as the Haywire rule and all non-Witchfire psychic attacks (and ceramite plating, fuck melta weapons), can only be hit in assault on a roll of 6 by infantry and MCs (or a 5+ by other superheavies and GCs), and all of its stomps use a Large Blast template. Oh, and should anyone actually manage to destroy it it explodes in a 12"/24"/36" blast with its own table, 1 is S D/8/4 AP 2/3/5, 2-3 is S D/10/6 AP 2/3/4, and 4-6 is S D all round and AP 1/2/2... Good luck finding someone who will play you with this, asshole. (fairly easy to kill with Grav however; Drop Pod enough grav next to anything and it nearly always dies; this gamer had fun taking a third of its Hull Points in Turn 1 having watched the void shields drop under weight of fire).