Raven Guard

"Victorus aut Mortis."

Battlecry of the Raven Guard

The Raven Guard are one of the original Space Marines Legions.  They are known for their hit and run tactics and their ability to strike unseen from the shadows.  Stealth and infiltration is their forte and their attacks are precise and focused.  By striking at their opponents weak points, they leave their opponents disorganized and confused; making them susceptible to the fury of the Space Marines.

My second thematic army from the C:SM Codex was the Raven Guard.  After playing Crimson Fists for a bit, I decided to needed to spice it up a bit.  After looking through the codex for some inspiration, I came along a Special Character named Kayvaan Shrike, Captain of the Raven Guard 3rd Company.  Being one of the more familiar names in Space Marine lore, I quickly looked over his special rules and noted what he can offer to the table.  The first thing I noticed about Shrike is that he trades Chapter Tactics for Fleet.  This makes the assault elements of your army even more deadly as they can close the distance and engage in battle much quicker.  The other thing to note about Shrike is that he can give him and the squad that he's in Infiltrate.  This means that regardless of where your opponents deploy, Shrike's squad can start 18" away from them (or 12" if they're out of LoS).  The ideas quickly started to pour into my head.  I needed an army that can have enormous first strike potential at the weaker points of my opponents' army.  The army needed to be precise like a surgeon's knife and hit hard like a hammer.  This is how I came up with my army list:

1750

Raven Guard

HQ:

Shrike = 195

TROOP:

10x Tacticals (Rhino, PF, Meltagun, PC) = 240

10x Tacticals (Rhino, PF, Meltagun, MM) = 235

10x Tacticals (DP, PF, Meltagun, MM) = 235

FA:

3x Scout Bikes (Beacon, MB) = 100

5x Vanguard Veterans (JP, 2x MB, 2x LC, PF) = 225

ELITE:

10x Sternguard (DP, 8x CbM) = 325

Ironclad Dreadnought (DP, HF, IAL) = 195

At first, I was tempted to take Assault Terminators as my infiltration unit, but they were unfluffy and couldn't guarantee I'll get into assault first turn.  My next option was 10-strong Assault Space Marines.. but I couldn't get the weapons layout I wanted in them.  My last option was the Vanguard Veterans.  Now if you guys ever seen me post on Warseer, you would know how much I hate VV.  They're completely overpriced in the C:SM Codex (not in BA) and are hardly worth the points most of the time.  They do, however, function perfectly as Shrike's elite, personally trained warriors known as Shrike's Wing.  The weapon layout consists of Jump Packs, 2x Meltabombs, the Sergeant carrying a Raven's Claw (regular Lightning Claw), another claw and a Power Fist.  Because they start out 18" away from the enemy (12" if deployment's in my favor), I can fly 12" first turn, Fleet and then charge my target.  This attack combined with my Scout Bike's Infiltration, Scout Move and Locator Beacon, puts 2 Drop Pods on top of my enemy's forces at the start of my turn.  Once the first wave sets down, my Bikes will turbo-boost to the next major objective:  Be it my opponent's exposed flank or a worthy objective, their locator beacon will be ready to guide my last pod of Tacticals.  During this mayhem, my Tacticals in Rhinos move into the firing lanes and prepare to assist their brothers.

It's to no surprise that I chose a Ironclad and Sternguard to go in the first wave with Shrike.  They represent amazing first strike potential and can follow up next turn with devastating results.  The layout for my Sternguard are 8x Combi-Meltas; designed to target and destroy the heaviest armor that my opponents can offer.  Keep in mind that though they replace Combat Tactics for Fleet, they can still combat squad into 2 squads of 5x Sternguard with 4 meltas a piece.  With the correct positioning, they will be able to melt armor and expose the inner troops to the rest of my army.  With that said, the Ironclad is equipped with Ironclad Assault Launchers (giving me offensive and defensive grenades), a meltagun of his own and a Heavy Flamer.  Let's just say he'll be following up the Sternguard's work with great enthusiasm.

The rest of my list is pretty standard.  Three Tactical squads; 2 in Rhinos and 1 in a Pod to contest and conquer objectives.  They will provide MM and PC fire from their locations and assist in whatever task Captain Shrike commands them.  The first turn will no doubt be the most brutal for my opponents. I've had players fold by turn 2 because the situational looked so grim for them.  First turn charge from Shrike and his Wing, an Ironclad Dreadnought on his flanks and Sternguard Veterans melting his transports puts my opponents in a rather.. uncomfortable position.  Keep in mind that Shrike doesn't always have to assault nearby the SG and the Ironclad.  They can comfortably assault enemy heavy weapon emplacements elsewhere, further splitting up my opponents retaliation fire and possibly exposing their rear armor.

A lot of fun can be had with this list.  I think by employing Scout Bikes, Drop Pods and the Vanguard Veterans, I was able to replicate the fighting ideals of the Raven Guard quite handsomely.  Their first strike potential is amazing and they break the traditional method of playing as Space Marines (moving as one).  A list like this is great every now and then to off people's game since everyone's used to playing vs. Vulkan Mech.  Speaking of which.. my next Chapter will be Salamanders.

Crimson Fists

"There is only the Emperor!"

"He is our shield and our protector!"
Warcry of the Crimson Fists

The first army that I started with in the C:SM codex was the Crimson Fists.  Being a Seconding Founding Chapter of the Imperial Fists, the Crimson Fists received its unyielding tenacity from the Primarch Rogal Dorn.  Lately, tragedy has befallen the Chapter and their Fortress Monastery on Rynn's World has been destroyed the Orks.  Though injured and severely outnumbered, Pedro Kantor, Chapter Master of the Crimson Fists rallied the remnants of his Chapter and fought courageously to purge the Ork invaders from Rynn's World.

Ingame, Pedro Kantor is actually one of the most price effective choices in the entire book.  He's a Chapter Master so he automatically has access to Honor Guard and Orbital Bombardment.  His special rules replaces the entire army's Chapter Tactics with Stubborn and Hold The Line!  Stubborn makes it so you always take morale checks at max leadership when you lose combat and Hold The Line! makes all your Sternguard Veterans count as scoring units.  Probably the biggest bonus that he offers is an amazing 12" aura of +1 attack to all friendly units within 12" called Inspiring Presence.  This is huge!  It makes your basic Marines fight like Veterans and your Veterans fight like gods.  This also effects Dreadnoughts so your Ironclads get 5 attacks on the charge.  Aside from that, he comes with a S4 AP4 Assault 4 Storm Bolter at BS5 and a Power Fist at WS6 and 3 attacks base.

The way I envisioned my Crimson Fists army was to be a list with Pedro Kantor leading a small but elite army capable of shattering the fiercest opponents.  Since most of the Chapter was wiped out when the Fortress Monastery was destroyed, they only have limited resources to play with.  This however, does not mean they can't be competitive.  With veteran squads carrying mankind's greatest weapons and one of the most courageous Chapter Masters to lead them, traitors and xenos alike will learn to fear the wrath of the Crimson Fists!

1750
Crimson Fists

HQ:
Pedro Kantor = 175
Librarian (TDA/SS) = 140

TROOP:
10x Tacticals (Rhino, PF, Meltagun, LC) = 245
10x Tacticals (Rhino, PF, Meltagun, PC) = 240

ELITE:
5x TH/SS Terminators (LR w/ MM) = 460
6x Sternguard (RB TLLC, 2x PC) = 245
6x Sternguard (RB TLLC, 2x PC) = 245

The first thing you'll notice here is the single Land Raider Godhammer pattern (to symbolize Rynn's Might) and the 2 squads of Sternguard Veterans.  Because the Crimson Fists cannot afford further losses to their already diminished Chapter, the army is designed to play defensively and take advantage of their expert weaponry, Stubborn and Pedro's 12" Inspiring Presence.

The Sternguard and their Razorbacks with TLLC will deploy close enough together to allow the rest of the army to assist them if needed.  Depending on player turn and board layout, Pedro will either deploy with them or inside the Land Raider.  On my opening volley, I should be able to shoot out 4 TLLC shots from the Land Raider and two Razorbacks, and a single Lascannon shot from the Tactical squad inside the Rhino.  If Pedro is allowed to deploy with the Sternguard, he will use his Orbital Barrage and hopefully bust open the heaviest transport available.  This will hopefully damage enemy transports and make them exposed to my next round of fire which will consist of 5 Plasma Cannon shots from the Sternguard and Tactical squads.  The Librarian with Terminator Armor and Storm Shield will probably have Avenger (S5 AP3 Template) and Vortex of Doom (12" S10 AP1 Blast) and he'll be assisting the counter-charge with the 5x TH/SS Terminators.  In the presence of Pedro's heroic presence, they will get 20x Thunderhammer attacks on the charge.  Easily capable of destroying most squads in one turn of combat.

I personally think I captured the theme of the Crimson Fists pretty well with this list.  I take advantage of Pedro's Hold the Line! rule that makes Sternguard scoring and at the same time I keep the list small and elite.  Once I am satisfied that I have done enough damage to my opponent's army, I will pack up my Sternguard squads in their dedicated RBs and make way to the closet objective.  They will camp there while the rest of my army assists with contesting or point control.

Three days, three Chapters

Over the next couple of days, I'll be revisiting the army lists that I've used for 5th Ed. Space Marines.  Space Marines was the first army that I started with 8 years ago and they're still my favorite.  When the new codex came out, I chose three thematic yet competitive ways to play the new book and I will cover one each day in the next three days.  Each list has a distinctive playstyle, true to the theme of the chapter they represent.  Those glorious heroes are the Crimson Fists, Raven Guard and Salamander Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.  Enemies of the Imperium beware.

List synergy

A lot of the time I see people making lists that lack the synergy needed to carry out their battleplan.  You see lists that's supposed to be fast take slow units that slow the rest of the army down; or an army that takes too many reserves and it gets dissected on the field turn by turn.  This post will hopefully help people realize these issues and how to improve upon it.

Let's look at some example lists that preform well in battle and analyze why they work.

Eldar Castle list (Defensive):

Avatar

Eldrad

2x large units of Wraithguard

3x Wraithlords

A squad of counter-attacking Harlequins + Shadowseer

The entire army moves slow but the units here are incredibly resistant to damage.  The big to note about this list is that the army's movement speed is the same.  Everything moves as one, the tempo remains constant, and nothing is left stranded or out of reach of immediate assistance.  The Wraithguard, Avatar and Wraithlords are all really tough with their T6+ and 3+ saves.  Eldrad offers great protection to the army via zone wide psychic protection and Fortune on your units so you get that armor re-roll.  Your shooting is primarily short-ranged but with guide  your Wraithguards' no armor save instant death shots become really intimidating.  The main weakness of this army is CC, but that's why you have Harlequins with a Shadowseer hiding behind your Wraithguard as the ultimate counter-charging element.  Overall, this list favors a more defensive player's playstyle but has all the right tools to make it work.  It moves as one, shoots at one and reacts as one.

Blood Angels list (Offensive):

Chapter Master Seth

Honor Guard in RB

Librarian w/ JP in a squad of 10x flying ASM

2 more squads of ASM in a Rhino and Razorback

Corbulo with the ASM in the RB

Furioso Dreadnought in a Drop Pod

3x Baal Preds

This list functions in a mindset completely opposite to the Eldar castle list listed above.  This list is fast, completely geared towards assault and concentrated pressure.  Seth and his HG bodyguard turbos forward with the rest of the army while the Baal Preds lay down suppressing fire.  The Librarian and his squad of ASM flies behind the rest of the mechanized army, providing them with 4+ cover.  Everything moves at 12"+ and above; most elements moving at 18" and popping smoke because they want to reach combat ASAP.  Blood Angels excel at speed, close combat and extreme early game pressure.  You force the tempo of the game to change because of your speed and your opponents must react accordingly or be destroyed.  That's the entire purpose of a fast, hard-hitting army.  And that's exactly why stationary elements such as Devastators don't really work in a list like this.

Space Wolves list (Balanced):

Rune Priest

Arjac Rockfist

4x squads of Grey Hunters, 3 in Rhinos, 1 in LRC

2x squads of 6x Long Fangs with 5x ML

The advantage of Wolves is that they're a very balanced army.  At the same time, they're a very powerful army because they can do almost everything really well.  Space Wolves have strong elements of shooting, CC and psychic abilities; thus, they can build balanced lists better than most armies.  In short, they're basically C:SM who can shoot better and assault better.  The Long Fangs provide long range firepower and the 4x solid squads of Grey Hunters excel at close-range engagements.  The Rune Priest can support the field with long range attacks or medium range denial and Arjac Rockfist destroys most things in close combat.  Because of the army wide counter-attack special rule, Space Wolves can receive a charge just as well as charging into combat themselves.  This makes them an extremely flexible and powerful army.  Unlike most armies, Space Wolves don't need to force the tempo of the game to remain effective.

With these examples in mind, I hope it's easier to see what a good list should look like.  You need a list that can move together and take advantage of the strengths of your army.  If you have a fast list, don't take slow units that will slow the rest of it down.  Concentrate on the strengths of your book and play with units that'll take advantage of that.  Your strongest list will always be one that fits your playstyle.  That's simply because instinctively, you already played out the battle in your head before it even begun.  Yet another reason why copying winning tourney lists off the internet doesn't guarantee victory.

My Blood Angels unit bucket

So with the release of every new codex, I look through the book and find the best stuff and the worst stuff.  I erase all the garbage units (Chaos Spawn) in my head and concentrate on two sets of units; my competitive units and my fun units.  The competitive units are normally the best units in the codex; whether its because they're cost effective or just really good.  The fun units are the units that are fluffy, fun to take and mess around with, but I wouldn't take them in a serious game.  I completely understand that by dismissing the "garbage" units I throw out half of the units that I can possibly play.. but this is a money game in every sense of the word.  Maybe it's the RTS gamer in me that makes my use of resources so overly-critical, but I think anything with limited expenditure should be taken seriously.  It's all about being cost effective ingame, and in real life because you should only purchase models you know you'll use.

Before we continue, understand that these are my opinions on what the best choices are.  You don't have to agree, in fact, I encourage you don't.  That way, we can all engage in a wider spectrum of gameplay and playtest diversity.

Here is my competitive units bucket:

• Librarian w/ Jump pack or without.
• Reclusiarch w/ Jump pack or without; but I'd rather see him without to save points.
• Mephiston and Corbulo as the only worthwhile SCs.
• Honor Guard w/ either 2-3 PW or Special Weapons.  In a Razorback is best, but JP isn't too bad.
• 10x ASM w/ PF/Infernus, 2x Meltaguns or Flamers
• 10x ASM w/ PF, 2x Meltaguns or Flamers in a Rhino
• 5x ASM w/ a Meltagun, PF or PW in a Razorback w/ purposeful shooting.
• Sanguinary Priests; naked if possible, JP if you must, or TDA with Assault Terminators in an LRC.
• 5x Assault Terminators geared towards Furious Charge; 4x LC/1x TH/SS.  This obviously means you must take a LRC.
• Furioso Dreadnought in a Drop Pod with either Blood Talons, Fists, Librarian or Frag Cannon.  It's all good as long as he's in a pod.
• Vanguard Vets w/ Jump Packs, naked or with 1 more PW.
• Baal Predators w/ HB Sponsons
• Attack Bikes w/ MM
• Vindicators w/ Dozer Blades
• Predators w/ LC Sponsons

My fun bucket basically includes everything else.  Death Company has changed from a staple in our army to something more on the lines of fun.  You can't really expect a non-scoring unit that can't be controlled to be played competitively.  With that in mind, this basically sets Astorath, LeMartes, DC Dreads and other crazies in the same direction.  I guess Astorath not so much because he can still act as a army buffer.. but he's an army buffer based on chance.  Sanguinor costs a lot more but at least his sergeant buff and the +1A 6" bubble is constant.  But if you're really looking some SC fun, you might as well go with Seth and go with a Flesh Tearers army with the full DC crazy package.

Blood Angels are a fast moving, assault-based army that takes advantage of getting the charge (Furious Charge) and preventing return melee damage (FNP).  That is their hallmark in the new book and that's how I'm going to play them.  Tactical Squads and Devastators do not fit this mandate.  They are too stationary to carry out the needs of my army and thus they do not belong.  Keep in mind that this doesn't mean they are bad units.  The Tacticals have always been the same and the Devastator weapons are cheaper now so you have more options.  They just don't fit in with my particular playstyle.

Let's face it, a lot to this game is based on fun, but not always.  Take whatever units that floats your boat, but realize that some units out there are better choices than others.  I have my go-to unit bucket whenever I'm making a list and you probably have yours.  It makes list constructing a hell of a lot easier because you know all these units by cost, function and capability.  You will understand that a fast list requires fast units and you'll know which units to pick.  You will be able to envision the battleplan in your head with the units that you've chosen, thus improving the clarity of the lists' true purpose.  Making a resource list for yourself not only improves your organization but gives you focus when constructing your army.

Preferred Enemy

This post actually has nothing to do with the USR in the rule book, but rather what armies I prefer playing against.  I would consider myself the type of player that falls at the half way line between WAAC and fluffy.  The army lists that I write often contain a central theme and the units I pick have to fit that theme.  I'm also one of those players that enjoy fighting against enemies of the Imperium more so than other Marine Chapters.  I think it's more thematic when my Space Marines fight against treacherous Chaos Space Marines or the foul xenos scum that is Tyranids rather than fighting against Space Marines.  For this particular case, I would say that aesthetics of the game certainly outweighs how competitive the lists should be.  I don't think anyone I've encountered actually enjoys mirror matches on the table-top. I absolutely hate fighting SW vs. SW or BA vs. BA.  I mean, what's the point?  And it's incredibly frustrating when I see two of the same SCs on the field.  I would rather field a different army than face that.


Let me go through the armies available for us to fight and I'll blurb a short segment on why I enjoy fighting these armies over others.

Traitors and Heretics:

Chaos Space Marines

Chaos Daemons

I will never turn down a game against the forces of Chaos.  Not only do they need constant spanking since after the Horus Heresy but the fluff behind SM vs. CSMs is what got me started in 40K.  I believe the First Battle of Armageddon is the most epic battle ever fought and every game I have with Chaos is a minor reenactment of it.  I also love this matchup because I remember the absolute misery of fighting against dual lash lists back in 4th when all I had was footslogging Grey Knights.  Even though every game I played was pretty epic, it pained me horribly to see so many Marines die.  Chaos is, and always will be, mankind's greatest enemy.

Xenos Scum:

Tyranids

Orks

Necrons

Tau Empire

Dark Eldar

Eldar

This is pretty much in order right here.  Tyranids are the pinnacle of xenos scum and everyone else foreign or green goes under this list.  Orks are all over the place and they need to be weeded (literally), Necrons reminds me of wack-a-mole and the Tau Empire needs to stay on their side of the galaxy.  Eldar don't bother me that much because they're the "good" guys in the galaxy and I used to play them, but they're not manly enough compared to my Marines and needs to be sterilized.  Dark Eldar falls under the same category but they're even worse in terms of manliness.

Crazy People:

Witch Hunters

Black Templars

Even though Witch Hunters are part of the Inquisition, they need to be put in their place.  I just don't understand why everyone has to follow the same religious beliefs as they do.  The same applies to the Black Templar Chapter of Space Marines.  You can go around the universe on your silly crusades all you want, but stay out of my way when you do so.  Believe in whatever you want, but don't try to force your beliefs onto others.  If you have any questions, my bolter will be happy to answer.

Imperium:

Dark Angels

Blood Angels

Space Marines

Space Wolves

Imperial Guard

Daemonhunters

Aside from some fluffy battles such as Space Wolves vs. Dark Angels (Wolf and the Lion) or Blood Angels vs. Space Wolves (reenactment of Honor's End), I don't see a serious need to fight these armies.  Space Marines often get along fine with Imperial Guard.. unless they fall under the sway of Chaos or something.  Although a few grudge-matches are fun once in a while, the other Chapters can keep to themselves.

What about you guys?  Do you have a preferred matchup?  If so, which one?

Fear of the Darkness

Summoning the indescribable malice of the Warp, the Librarian unleashes a mighty wave of sheer terror, piercing every creature's soul with the horror of death and revealing their utter insignificance in the face of an uncaring universe.

- 4th Edition Space Marine Codex

One of the funniest psychic abilities I have seen in a long time is Fear of the Darkness in the upcoming BA Codex.  It's a psychic shooting attack at 24" that forces the enemy unit to make a morale check at -2 leadership.  If you fail the morale check, you immediately flee 2D6" towards your closest table edge.

While it might not look so hot at first compared to some of the other abilities, let's look at all the dirty things we can do with it.  That way, when you do it to your opponents, you can kindly guide them to the rulebook while they nerd rage.

The units is below half strength.

So you've just killed a bunch of units in the shooting phase with the rest of your army, setting them below the 50% mark in unit strength.  You decide to shoot them again with Fear of the Darkness.  Oh, you're not Fearless?  Have a nice jog to the edge of the table.  They are now broken and cannot rally for the rest of the game.

There are enemies within 6".

This one is huge.. especially since Blood Angels have Fast vehicles, Jump Infantry, Decent of Angels and Drop Pods up the wazoo.  You see a unit that's able to be feared and you don't want them coming back anytime soon.  You move your vehicles ahead of them (the average roll to flee on 2D6 is a 7") enough so next turn they can't rally next turn.  With your units being so fast, you can literally chase a healthy unit off the field if you wanted to.  This is sometimes better than fighting them.. especially when the odds are unfavorable.  What's even a greater pisser is when they flee within 6" of one of your Drop Pods and they can't rally because of it.  Yes, there is a monster lurking inside the shadowy depths of that empty drop pod.  Keep in mind that with Decent of Angels, you can reliably force your opponents to constantly fail his morale checks by dropping within 6" of him too.

Trapped!

This one is harder to pull off.. but I assure you, the results are well worth it.  Imagine this scenario:  You have a few tanks left on the field, your Librarian and his squad, and a ASM squad with Jump Packs.  He has a uber unit of killy CC death that you can't possibly kill in melee combat.  So what do you do?  You box him in with a Rhino on each side (Fast means 18" of vroom vroom) and fly behind his units with your ASM; spreading out as much as you can so you form that nice 2" of coherency, making sure his models can never touch 1" of yours.  Your Librarian's unit is in front and you close the box around him.  You force his morale check at -2 and if he fails, his entire unit is destroyed because he's completely surrounded.  Really?  Is this even legal?  Pg. 45 of the small rulebook says it is.  You would think this scenario is hard to accomplish, but every half decent BA list is going to have Fast vehicles, hopefully some Jump troops (normal troops work too.. but you might need a Run move) and a Librarian.  You can even pull this off with fewer units if the opportunity presents itself.  Fearless units just got that much better.

If you guys have any cool ideas, or if I made a mistake somewhere, please make a comment and let me know.