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

===Troops===
With the new FOCs it is possible to make a Battle Forged list without any Troops at all...but you do need them for CP. Troops are usually where one turns for numbers, as in 8E the player with the most models within 3" of an objective can claim it. You have a lot of options for troops, and they're actually decent this edition.

*'''[[Tactical Squad]]:''' The same jack-of-all-trades as always. Due to how armour modifiers work in this edition they now benefit from cover, more so than most infantry in fact, but there are drastically more weapons capable of making them take a 4+ or worse save. They can fill in any gaps in your army that might need to be addressed. The best way to look at them is as a good middle ground option to your other troops choices. They don't have the early game mobility and good special rules of Scouts, the same durability and damage output as Intercessors/Infiltrators, or the same cover ignoring tricks as the Incursors, but they can be relied on to get the job done more often than not. Just don't expect them to perform miracles. Heavy weapons are easier to use now as they get less penalties for moving and unlimited split fire exists. This edition also encourages you to <u>take them as MSU</u>: less morale vulnerability and many units can fit in the same transport. That way you can put two 5-man units inside a Rhino and have two Sarges with Combis plus 2 Specia/Heavy weapon guys. Four total, as opposed to the three a regular 10-man squad would. Second Codex has reduced their cost significantly to the point where they cost only one more point than Scouts. 
** Tacticals make great pocket lascannon units, or, can take a hint of plasma/grav weaponry. let them sit on objectives or hitch a ride in a transport and they can really help other more expensive units. 
** Also consider the Missile Launcher in light of early AP-1 doctrines on heavy weapons. Unless you're against T8 (where a Lascannon will be the better choice), ML lets you take shots on tanks and monsters, then bolsters your bolters against hordes into the later stages of the game.
** Seriously consider taking Tactical Marines in a Rhino over Assault marines with jump packs, the assault marines are less encumbered, faster and cheaper but the rhino gives the marines a 9" movement before combat and for grabbing objectives (because of the +3" deployment move or you could keep them in the rhino for the same movement if you don't want to take advantage of obsec) and considerably more survivability. As for offence the Rhino soaks up overwatch and if the marines get the chance to shoot they get the same number of S4 attacks as a chainsword Assault Marine (2 bolter +2 melee with shock assault vs 1 bolt pistol and 3 melee with shock assault) but they also benefit from both the tactical and assault doctrines. In addition the Tactical Sergeant can take an actually good ranged weapon and a melee weapon while the Assault Sergeant can take only 2 melee weapons or a pistol and melee weapon, a TS with a storm bolter and chainsword (+2pts) has 8 S4 attacks if it can shoot and charge while the AS has only 5 S4 attacks if it has 2 chain swords or 3 power weapon attacks and 1 S4 chainsword attack (+4/5pts)

*'''[[Scout Squad]]:''' Cheaper than marines, with the same damage output but a 4+ save. The Scout special rule '''Concealed Positions''' may be the best troop rule space marines have, allowing them to cut off huge swathes of the board from enemy deep strikes early in the game. But Scouts are more than a mere speed bump. Flexible as the space marines in training they are, they can be used with either ranged or close combat loadouts (the close combat loadout is terrible unless you have very specific chapter tactics—typically, anything a pistol and chainsword scout can do, a shotgun scout can do better), but lacking power armour, you'll want to have a plan. Furthermore, don't give them shotguns unless you put them in a Land Speeder Storm—bolters are usually the better free gun, especially if you can keep them stationary and benefit from Bolter Discipline at the full 24". Camo Cloaks let them make better use of cover—it gives them the same resilience as Tacticals in cover (or from 12" away, if they're Raven Guard or Stealthy), but at a higher model cost. And Missile Launchers can combine with the Devastator Doctrine to effectively give them either a Lascannon shot or a Heavy Bolter burst on turn 1.
**Scouts with Sniper Rifles are your army's cheapest source of, well, sniping. Just like in Rynn's World, a scout with a sniper rifle is not going to kill an Ork Warboss, but they might take down the Pain Boy that supports him. They also help to create Character denial area during deployment. With good range and a chance for mortal wounds, they're useful for harassing not only characters but also targets of opportunity, like armoured infantry and even tanks.
**A sniper can be viewed as a source of 1/9 of a mortal wound.  Two battalions each with 15 sniper scouts (in 5 man teams) are a good example - it'll run you 390 points base before camo cloaks (another 90 for all of them) or monkeying around with the sergeant's loadout. If all 30 are all in range you're looking at about 3.33 mortal wounds a turn on any unit (including Characters, of course) in range, plus D3 more on a non-Character if you throw in a Heavy Bolter for Hellfire Shells. Each of those mortal wounds is de facto also a nonmortal wound (since you had to hit and roll high enough for the shot to have wounded anything in the game), so it's 3.33 mortal wounds plus ''at least'' 3.33 saveable wounds, which may be enough to kill a W4 target or less (which many characters are).
** Sniper scouts or even shotgun scouts make fantastic distractions and will bait your opponent into killing a unit that isn't really all that dangerous. Scouts are relatively cheap and force your opponent's hand, lest they start piling on mortal wounds or getting into shotgun or charge range. It tempts other players to waste their effort on them. In reality, all of your far more deadly units are moving into position with a turn less damage... which can make all the difference in situations where you didn't go first or become outmaneuvered, etc.  

*'''[[Intercessor]] Squad:''' The big boys. Had become the go-to for a high damage output Troop choice with their buffs and Stratagems. Has a 2W and A model for 17pts as opposed to the mini marine's 1W and A for 12pts; meaning 35% cheaper wounds. Before upgrades or considering squad sizes, that means you can bring 12 Intercessors (24 W) for the same price as 17 Marines. Their Bolt Rifles give them a 25"-36" threat range, where ''most enemies will need to move to even engage them'', leaving their cover behind. Stalker Bolt Rifles aren't as cost-effective and are only Heavy 1, but do let them further abuse the range difference while adding armour penetration and an extra point of damage, allowing them to contribute to the fight and pick off heavy infantry even when securing the backfield objectives. While they aren't as starved for mobility as other marines due to their range, Auto Bolt Rifles allow them to advance without sacrificing all their shooting, and have now been bumped up to Assault 3, making them the go-to choice for facing horde armies. And with 2 attacks each, plus a 3A sarge who can be equipped with a power sword, chainsword, power fist, or thunder hammer, they aren't defenseless in a melee. Even basic Intercessors come with a bolt pistol sidearm, so they actually get 3x S4 attacks each if they're locked in melee. That being said, they're countered by heavier vehicles, as their only special weapon is a 30" grenade launcher (with grenades themselves being meh, even under Devastator Doctrine). They're also a prime target for multi-damage weapons, like autocannons, and they are practically custom-tailored to be mulched by Dark Reapers. 
**Stalker Bolt Rifles are now D2, and with AP-2, these are clearly meant to be the rifles to be used against enemy Primaris. With the Devastator Doctrine the rifle is AP-3, which makes even light vehicles a viable target. Fists, both Imperial and Crimson, will get good mileage out of this since they can proc even more hits, and Iron Hands can take them while still retaining their mobility. 
**Intercessors are usually more durable on the tabletop than they appear on paper. Unlike tactical squads, Intercessors don't have heavy weapons which tend to draw fire from the enemy. This means your opponent will generally only fire at intercessors with anti-chaff weapons, especially if you have vehicles or other multi-wound models about. As long as the intercessors have cover, they're rolling 2+ saves on T4, with two wounds per model, which is much better than you really need to survive most anti-infantry firepower. This means your Intercessors are much better at holding objectives than an equal value of Tactical marines unless faced with heavy firepower. When brawling in CC over an objective with other skirmishers, they are easily underestimated—2W and 2A each means that they are effectively two tacs rolled into one model while not looking much more threatening. This leads to some mop-up charges getting stuck and worn down, or even being wiped out entirely thanks to Shock Assault. 
**Intercessors are a good choice for a {{W40kKeyword|Raven Guard}} force, as they are one of the few units able to Rapid Fire from outside 12" even when on the move, allowing them to keep their cover bonus. Prime objective cover campers, as at 2W, 2+ save and -1 to hit, there are more appealing targets to be found elsewhere.
**As of the second Codex, Intercessor Sergeants can now take a few relics with the right Stratagem. Not the best option for a relic, but it's there if you want it and a D4 Thunder Hammer is capable of ruining someone's day no matter who's using it. 

*'''[[Infiltrator]] Squad:''' Scout Intercessors, but with +1Ld and '''Marksman bolt carbines''', which are essentially boltguns whose unmodified hit rolls of 6 automatically hit and wound. They can be set up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" from an enemy unit or your opponent’s own deployment zone, and their '''Omni-scramblers''' prevents deepstrikes within 12" of them (and <u>nullifying deepstrike charges</u>), making them excellent at area denial. With Primaris resilience they become better speedbumps than Scouts...though at twice their cost, no sniper guns, special/heavy weapons or even good bolter AP like Intercessors they can struggle to be more than heavy keepaway units. To operate usupported away from your lines, they can replace an infiltrator with either one of two specialists:
**The defensive option is an Apothecary-Cadet that can only heal a model from this unit, or revive one on a ''5+''. Along with their smoke grenades, which work exactly like vehicle smoke launchers, Infiltrators in cover can survive moderate fire while your actual Apothecary is busy elsewhere.
**The offensive option is a Comms specialist who will let your whole unit benefit from Rites of Battle and Tactical Precision auras of any Phobos Captains or Lieutenants currently in play ''no matter where they are on the board''. Only those two auras; apparently Chapter Masters throw away their vox set upon promotion. Getting those re-rolls simultaneously makes their marksman bolt carbines more reliable without sacrificing the auras for the rest of your army. Intercessors still beat them on AP, but Infiltrators get better positioning from the start.

*'''[[Incursor]] Squad:''' Cheaper, close support infiltrators. Useful in offense and defense. At range, their '''Occulus Bolt Carbines''' and tacticool sensors lets them ignore both cover and hit penalties, making them the bane of enemy stealth users and such. Yet they also have the best melee among your troops, with their paired knives inflicting an extra hit on natural 6s. They can infiltrate, and while they don't have the infiltrator's deepstrike-denying auras or specialists, they can defend a position with a '''Haywire mine''' and blow up people and vehicles that go where you don't want them to go.
**Intercessor Vets with a Thunder Hammer hit harder than them, but sending them against GEQ is overkill. Reivers hit harder in melee, but they're Elites, and sacrifice their dakka for choppa. Incursors are good front line brawlers, killy enough to deal with hordes and heavy enough to be hard to tackle without dedicated melee squads or MEQ-killers. Capturing that objective all the while, because they're troops. You can even tie up vehicles; set the mine up before the charge, and when they try to fall back from the Incursors, they'll trigger it.