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

====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.