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

====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.