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Author Topic: Assault Marines without Jetpacks?  (Read 1277 times)

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Offline Quantum

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Assault Marines without Jetpacks?
« on: February 14, 2008, 04:19:41 AM »
Hi all,

My small but growing SM army has a particular feel to it. I like to put lots of men on the ground (no tanks) and keep them quite close together so that my generous sprinkling of Apothecaries can keep them running.

I do have a front line of Termies that plod forwards, guns crackling but they could do with a unit of Assault troops as a backup.

Now, I aint to keen on the Jump Packs as they are costly to buy and costly to field. Also, I plan on keeping my Assault marines at the same pace as my Termies.

That said, if I strip off the Jump packs, are they any good?!  :-\
Obviously, they wont be useless but am I severely hamstringing them?

Cheers

Quantum


Offline Squirrelloid

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Re: Assault Marines without Jetpacks?
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2008, 05:01:38 AM »
It really depends on your army and what you plan on doing with it.  The *only* time i've ever considered stripping jump packs off assault marines was while i was in theory-land designing an army intended to put loads and loads of marines on the field.  The goal was basically 100 power-armored models in 1750 points.  At which point assault marines without jump packs made sense, but not just from a 'more 15pt/model power armor' perspective.

In order to get the most out of jpackless assault marines, you need to consider historical infantry tactics and military theory, notably pre-napoleonic.  The hardest part in waging warfare historically was getting your opponent to fight you.  Running away was easier than pursuing, because ultimately the enemy had more to lose than you had to gain, and could (and probably did) drop extraneous mass like weapons and shields if necessary.  This applied on a larger scale as well, because withdrawing was faster than having to relay orders to fight and arrange yourself into battle lines.  Similarly, jpackless assault marines have a problem getting enemies to stand and fight.  The solution was to bring enough force into the area of engagement to make retreat dangerous and likely to become trapped.  So the solution to jpackless marines is to put enough bodies on the table that you can walk your opponent into a corner.  This ultimately requires a large force of marines *all intent on moving forward*.  (You can have some units standing back for long-range fire support, but most of your army needs to be applying pressure by attempting to surround the opponent, not just the assault marines).  Of course, if your opponent doesn't try to run, you get to charge into him.

I'll note i advocate a line of tacticals in front of the assault marines to intercept any charges so the assault marines can counter-charge.

I believe the theory-list i made is indexed by Aerovyper as a DIY.  (The Legionaires iirc, but i don't know if Aerovyper put names in his list.  Check the stickies for Aerovyper's index).  It may give you some ideas.
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Offline Quantum

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Re: Assault Marines without Jetpacks?
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2008, 06:15:46 AM »
Nice post and re-assuring for my plans.

My Assault Marines will not be the focus of the army. rather they will be a backup measure, a reactionary squad.

My main battleline is a large squad of Termies, steadily advancing. The AM would sit behind them - just as you suggest - providing assistence if the termies are assaulted by a superior force. At all times they'd keep track with the Termies.

The Termies are the main focus of the army, they will have the most points invested in them. Some small tactical Squds will provide some Heavy Weapon covering fire.

I think I'll give it a go and see what happens!

Cheers

Quantum

Offline The Spaceman

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Re: Assault Marines without Jetpacks?
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2008, 06:42:52 PM »
Quote
This ultimately requires a large force of marines *all intent on moving forward*.  (You can have some units standing back for long-range fire support, but most of your army needs to be applying pressure by attempting to surround the opponent, not just the assault marines).  Of course, if your opponent doesn't try to run, you get to charge into him.

This is exactly the strategy I use for my Black Templar Army. They are all on foot armed with BP + CC weapons or Terminators / Assault cannons. The key to it is to be able to take casualties and keep rolling forward. Things like Chaplains that make troops fearless and the righteous zeal move are extra beneficial.

There's no reason why this wouldn't work for vanilla marines. Just remember that the first few turns walking across the board can be very painful as the enemy will just stand and shoot most of the time. Effectively by choosing slow units you let the enemy pick the terms of battle. This can be a big disadvantage.
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Offline Quantum

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Re: Assault Marines without Jetpacks?
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2008, 03:20:22 AM »
Yes, that would be nasty. I suppose my army has evolved to suit my local gaming crowd. We have lots of scenery and most of the opponents are melee orientated anyway - they're dieing to reach me (hopefully literally dieing if my shooting works!)

Quantum

 


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