Space Marine Troops and their uses
- Benjamin Chia
- Aug 15, 2017
- 4 min read
In this article, I'll be covering the Space Marines Troop choices and their pros and cons from the new Codex.
Before the release of the Space Marines Codex, there was not much reason to bring units from the "Troop" Battlefield Role in many of the factions' Indexes. Other roles could out-shoot them (Heavy role) or respond faster (Fast Attack role). The Troop role was mostly relegated to providing cheap screens (Conscripts & basic Termagants) or as a tax to get more Command Points via the Battalion Detachment. With the release of the first codex, Space Marines Troops taken in Space Marines Detachments of Battle-forged armies gain the Defenders of Humanity (DoH) ability. This allows the unit to control an objective marker even if there are more enemy models (without a similar ability) within the mission's specified range of that marker. As most missions feature 2 or more objectives to control, you can imagine the importance of being able to "out-control" other units when it comes to important objectives.
The Adeptus Astartes have access to the Tactical Squad, Scout Squad, Intercessor Squad and Crusader Squad (Black Templars only) for the Troops Battlefield Role and they each have benefits and drawbacks that set them apart from each other.
The Tactical Squad
The backbone of the Space Marines in lore, they are able to bring up to a single special and/or heavy weapon and are the most versatile unit in this particular Role. Unfortunately, their versatility is also a weakness as they don't perform as well in any given role as many of the other units that are available to the Space Marines player.
Pros:
- Able to be outfit for any role
- More resilient than Scouts without Camo cloaks
- Sergeant has access to various specialist melee weapons and combi-weapons, effectively giving the squad another special weapon.
- Salamanders Chapter Tactics give a single re-roll to hit and/or wound each time the squad shoots or fights, providing more value to the Tactical Squad's limited heavy or special weapon.
Cons:
- More expensive than Scouts without camo cloaks
- More fragile than Intercessors in a holding troop role
The Scout Squad
Made up of newly initiated Adeptus Astartes who have yet to finish their indoctrination and implantation process, these neophytes are more lightly armoured and are more suited for reconnaissance than their full-fledged battle brothers. In the game, they provide the only means of deploying beyond the main battle line (deployment zone) for non-Ravenguard Chapters.
Pros:
- Able to deploy in a more advanced position.
- Access to sniper rifles that can take out important enemy targets. (i.e. fragile characters that can't be targeted easily with shooting like Commissars or the Changeling)
- Camo cloaks make them as tough to dig out as a Tactical Marine when both are in cover.
- Provide useful interdiction against enemy deep strikes.
- Cheaper than tactical marines if you need to fill up a cheap, Troops role.
Cons:
- More fragile than Tactical Marines unless given Camo cloaks which then make them more expensive points-wise.
- Heavy weapon access limited to the Heavy Bolter and Missile Launcher.
The Intercessor Squad
The new kids on the block and the "grunts" in a Primaris force, Intercessors are tougher marines (2 wounds each) and come stock with Bolt Rifles, longer ranged cousins of the ubiquitous Boltgun that have more punching power. Unfortunately, they have limited access to anti-tank weapons (assuming you count the krak grenade an anti-tank weapon) and all have to be kitted out for the same role compared to Tactical Marines.
Pros:
- Cheapest cost per wound out of all the available Troop role choices.
- Basic weapon has -1 AP
- Longer ranged basic weapons allow engagement at safer distances against other Troop roles.
- 2 attacks in close combat compared to 1 for other Troops
Cons:
- Expensive minimum unit size cost compared to other choices.
- Unable to use any sort of transport other than the Repulsor.
The Crusader Squad
Limited to the Black Templars Chapter, the Crusader Squad attaches Neophytes to full-fledged battle brothers (called Initiates by the Black Templars) in a form of tutelage to learn the ropes rather than place the responsibility solely on a single sergeant the way other Chapters do.
Pros:
- Can be kitted out for close combat with access to 2 specialist melee weapons compared to other types of Troops. Initiates can also swap their boltgun for a chainsword.
- Most efficient min-max choice as Neophytes can take wounds for their more expensive powered armour models in the unit.
- Able to take up to 1 heavy and 1 special weapon giving the versatility of Tactical Squads.
Cons:
- Only available to the Black Templars Chapter (so no other Chapter Tactics)
That concludes our analysis of the various Troop role choices available in Codex: Space Marines. If there is anything that I might have missed out or if you have any ideas for how to use Tactical Squads, Scouts, Intercessors or Crusader squads, feel free to leave a note in the comments below!
Till next time,
the BenCH
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