Let's Talk Tactics: Assault Marines vs Vanguard Veterans

In the last post, I discussed a few ways that Assault Marines might stack up against a SM player's regular troop options. In this post, we will explore the FAQ: "Assault Squad or Vanguard Veterans?"

First, let's check the stat line. At first glance, the Vanguard Squad looks exactly the same as the standard Assault Squad's stat line. However, you will notice that a Vanguard Veteran gains an additional attack, as well as a point in Leadership. This isn't in the stat line, but I thought it might be relevant: Vanguard also benefit from the "Heroic Intervention" special rule. Furthermore, Vanguard have a wider choice of weapons and wargear. Both are considered Fast Attack options, and thus neither edges an advantage from organizational choice.

Now the points. Some may argue this is the disqualifying point for including the Vanguard, and I'm inclined to agree. A Vanguard Squad costs 25 points more than a regular Assault Squad right off the bat. Now consider that a Vanguard squad does not even have Jump Packs included in those points; you have to pay for them separately. A whopping 10 points extra per veteran is what those will cost you. It would be cheaper to put them in a Razorback or a Rhino, but then you lose the Deep Strike ability and the independent mobility the jump packs bring. Although the Veterans get better weapon options, those cost extra too.

So, it boils down to this: Is it really worth the points for the extra attack and the weapon options? I think no. Tell me what you think!

DSL finally up! Let's Talk Tactics: Assault Marines

Well, I'm now settled in and we finally got our DSL running. I haven't had time for a Sunday Terrain piece, but I have been painting a few miniatures in order to get a jump on June's goals! This assault marine is the first I have been working on this month.

I really love the visual quality of Assault Marines. Their poses are pretty dynamic and look great, but thinking tactically in a non-Blood Angel list, are they even worth taking? Many competitive lists I have seen do not include Assault Squads. Why is this?

At first glance, they do not seem to be significantly better than a tactical squad. Their only visible difference is their wargear, which includes jump packs and the combination of a pistol and ccw. While the pack gives them better mobility, and the weapon combination gives them 3 attacks on the charge, this still does not seem significantly better than their tactical brethren. However, when you compare the two in points, the Assault squad is only 10 points more expensive. That comes out to 2 points more per marine, which is not too bad for the addition of jump packs. If you feel so inclined, you could also switch out all their jump packs for a rhino, giving you a cheap trade for the transport (20 points really). The main advantage of Tactical squads over the Assault squads seems to be that only the tactical squads are scoring units. Assault marines do not seem that bad.

But how to incorporate them into my force? How to use them during a game? Assault Marines typically stand out on the battlefield, due to their larger-sized jump packs, and so I find they draw a lot of fire as they hop on up to charge. On terrain-dense boards this may not be such a problem, but on open fields they can get picked apart. A tactic I have found to be useful is to use other unit's transports as a screen while they advance. The transports are likely to get blown up, but as long as they block LOS to the squad long enough for them to position for a charge it can be worth it. If they don't get blown up, they can do all sorts of fun stuff like tank shock infantry out of the way, ram intervening vehicles, etc.

What other ideas do you have for Assault Marines? Next article we will compare the standard Assault Marine vs. the Vanguard Veteran