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

===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.