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

====Warhammer Legends Units====
This section covers HQ units that were included in the 8th Edition Index but did not receive a new entry in the 2019 codex, and an honorable mention from years long past.  These units have gained the Angels of Death special rule through FAQ. Both of them have now been moved into Warhammer Legends.

*'''Rhino Primaris:''' One half of the Command Tank duo, the Rhino Primaris distinguishes itself from the basic Rhino by 3 things: its twin Plasma Gun, the ability to call an orbital bombardment (a 72" range monster with S10 AP-4 Heavy D3 D6 damage that becomes Heavy D6 when used on a unit with 10 or more models and doesn't need line of sight, but can only be fired once per game), and its servo-skull hub. The hub allows the Rhino Primaris to buff allies within 12" with either a +1 to hit, a -1 to morale tests,  or healing a wound (for vehicles only). It only has room to transport 6 units, though that's just enough for a Captain and his Veteran Squad.
**Never fire the plasma gun on overcharged mode; the risk of destroying the Rhino Primaris isn't worth the extra damage. Unless you use the Servo-skull hubs +1 to hit on the Rhino, in which case you can overheat without risk. Probably better spent on those Hellblasters or Plasma Cannon devastators though. 
**Positioning is important, but it's even more important with the Rhino Primaris. Rhinos are tougher now, but you don't want your light APC in harm's way. But if you camp it behind a ruin that's somewhat central, flying units and other assets fighting in the vicinity all become viable options for the servo-skull hub. Imagine an overhead Caestus flying in, getting tagged by the Rhino, and then vomiting its weapons onto an enemy. Hitting enemy targets with BS 2+ anti-tank weaponry from nowhere? That's the value of positioning.
**Worst case, have the Rhino Primaris pick itself on Turn 1 with its servo-skull hub, and fire the orbital relay (which can now be fired on turn one, a significant boost from 7th). Hitting on 2+ with a weapon this powerful is amazing, whether it's D3 or D6 shots. Add some way to reroll ones/hits and you can really lay a beating on something. A footslogging Captain may be better here than the Excelsior, but each scenario is different. If the Rhino is far enough back, a Primaris Captain (with a Stalker-pattern Bolter) babysitting some Hellblasters anyway could help.
**Dropped by almost 100 points with it's final Datasheet in warhammer legends, it's now a fairly cheap and sturdy HQ for it's cost and the utility it's buffs provide.
**If you're looking for a good base for a conversion, the Damocles Rhino from Forge World is a good start.
*'''Land Raider Excelsior:''' The other half of the Command Tank duo, which comes with a 5+ invulnerable save, the Captain's ability to grant re-rolls for hit results of 1 for units within 6" of it, a pair of twin lascannons, a combi-plasma, and a grav-cannon/grav-amp combo. If you take it, take the Rhino Primaris too - it'll gain a +1 to hit for all shooting attacks if it stays within 24" of the Rhino Primaris. Apart from that, it's fairly similar to the vanilla LR, albeit better able to take on heavy infantry thanks to the grav-cannon. 
**As is the case for the Rhino Primaris, do ''not'' overcharge the plasma gun part of the combi-plasma. Your lascannons do everything that an overcharged plasma gun shot can do, without the risk of killing yourself in the process! Unless you're close to the Rhino Primaris, in which case, you might as well, since your rolls of 1 will become 2.
**As of the release of Warhammer Legends, the Land Raider Excelsior has undergone an interesting transformation, losing some of its flavour (read: cheese) while somehow simultaneously becoming a more viable pick for regular games. The 100 pt. drop in base cost, mixed with an updated combi-plasma that doesn't cause the LR to go nuclear on an off-day, means that this platform is a lot easier to justify fielding. Unfortunately, this does come at the cost of losing its status as a character, which means no relics/WT/stratagems for the poor old Excelsior anymore (sad face). Still, for only a handful more of points, you can now bring a vanilla LR with a 5++, a grav-cannon and grav-amp, and reroll 1s for itself and everyone around it. Not too shabby.
*'''Techmarine on Bike:''' 70 points for a faster Techmarine to get your repairs where you need them quicker. May trade his servo arm for a [[Old school roleplaying|Conversion Beamer]] for 20 points -- D3 shots at S6, or S8 AP-1 D2 if you're further than 21" away.
** The Premier Shooty guy HQ for codex Space marines and in particular Imperial Fists (See Chaplain Dreadnought for Forgeworld Bullshittery). Bike, Storm bolter, a Melee weapon and a conversion beamer (Min 94 pts) allows for 8 Bolter shots at 24" and heavy d3 multilaser or an ap-1 safe overcharged plasma cannon. Factor in imp fist tactics (ignore cover and exploding 6s for bolt weapons), and imp fist devastator doctrine (ap-1 and +1D for heavy weapons) and you have a cheap mobile weapons platform. But there's more... Factoring into account that this is a character you can also make him a warlord and give him a relic. Imp fist warlord trait Siege Master gives +1 to wound vs vehicles and buildings and you can also make his conversion beamer master crafted. 8 bolter shots with ignore cover and exploding shots on 6s, and a heavy d3 master crafted conversion beamer at S8 ap-2 D4 and all shots have ignore cover and +1 to wound vehicles and buildings making even the bolter shots decent vs T7 or lower vehicles.