Ciaphas Cain's Blog of Doom

Okay, sorry, quick interruption. That is the coolest picture of an Ultramarine ever. Damn I love those helmets. But to the list!

Codex: Space Marines

Point Total: 2000 pts

-Marneus Calgar, Lord Macragge - 265 pts

-Armor of Antilochus

-5x Terminator Assault Squad - 450 pts

-2x Thunder Hammer and Storm Shields

-3x Pairs of Lightning Claws

-Land Raider Redeemer

-Multi-Melta

-10x Sternguard Veterans - 310 pts

-Power Fist

-Rhino

-10x Tactical Squad - 230 pts

-Power Sword

-Plasma Gun

-Missile Launcher

-Rhino

-5x Scout Squad - 85 pts

-4x Snipers

-Heavy Bolter

-Devastator Squad - 190 pts

-4x Missile Launchers

-Razorback

-Predator - 90 pts

-Heavy Bolter Sponsons

-Dozer Blade

-Predator - 150 pts

-Lascannon

-Lascannon Sponsons

Analysis:

-Marneus Calgar - Ah, the Lord of Macragge. Master of Ultramar and all around MASTER OF BLUE. Heh. Anyway, Marneus' statline alone makes him one deadly son of a gun. On top of his ridiculous statline, he brings to the table Orbital Bombardment, Titanic Might (Rerolls to wound with shooting AND close combat? Throne yeah) and God of War which allows ALL units that you field with Combat Tactics to choose whether or not to pass or fail ANY morale test. Finally, the Gauntlets of Ultramar. Twin Power Fists with built in bolters? Awesome. With a proper escort unit, Marneus is one of the deadliest marines around.

-Terminator Assault Squad - The virtue of a Terminator Assault Squad should never be underestimated. With proper equipment issuing and the right transport (In this case, the Land Raider Redeemer with a Multi-Melta), they can bulldoze into the center of an enemy formation, tear open a vehicle, and tear apart its contents. With Storm Shields to protect Marneus and the deadly ability to retreat on command thanks to God of War, you have a near perfect hammer unit that can respond to changes on the battlefield.

-Sternguard Veterans - Sternguard embody the Ultramarine mentality, able to respond to nearly any circumstance thanks to their Special Issue Ammunition. Sternguard are a unit I will endorse in any circumstance, and form the spearhead of this list who which your other units will follow. Thanks to the Power Fist, they can also serve the purpose of taking down a Monstrous Creature or vehicular threat should Calgar's unit not be able to respond to it.

-Tactical Squads - This Tactical Squad is meant to be the backbone of this list. I equipped them with strong but generalist gear to allow them to respond to any situation, missiles can take down any vehicles you might encounter, the Plasma Gun allows for response to Elite units or for you to take down that annoying Wolf Guard Pack Leader (looking at you, Wolf players) and a Power Sword allows for counters to an assault launched against this unit.

-Scouts - These scouts will follow along the back of your advance, using Snipers to shoot at priority targets. They also carry a Heavy Bolter with Hellfire Rounds to deal with an oncoming horde threat that might decide to overwhelm your Tactical Squads. Keep in mind though, that the squad is flimsy, and it exists to act as support for your Tactical Squads, not as a main line unit.

-Devastator Squad - An array of Missile Launchers allow the Devastators to hammer large unit groups or any annoying vehicles who might be attacking you from afar. Again, I chose the generalist approach for the Devastators to allow the unit to respond to any attacks against your army core, no matter where its coming from. The Heavy Bolter on the Razorback can also deter any units from getting to close to the Devastators, countering a problem that such a static unit often has.

-Predators - Before I get the comment, "But Ciaphas, your Predators aren't using the Autocannon-Lascannon Sponson combo and that's the best one!" I know. I get that that's the most used Predator Pattern, and as well it should be, it allows for a good all around vehicle. However, the appeal of using the classic Destructor and Annihilator patterns for the iconic Marines of the Codex Astartes was too great to pass up. Besides, I think people tend to underestimate the value of dedicated units in lists, especially one that has most of its units dedicated to a more general style, like this one. The Destructor can deliver a punishing hail of fire upon any enemy squads that would venture into it's hail of fire, and the Annihilator will make any vehicle sad that it decided to dare show its chassis on the field of battle.

-Closing Thoughts - I.. Feel slightly dirty having made this list. Ugh.. Blue Marines.. I need a shower. Hahaha, just kidding. This one was for you Maldus, you and your Ultra-Vulkans! Lets see you use a real UM list, Blue Man! Stay tuned for Day Eight, The Salamanders!

And yet AGAIN, thanks to Starminer, who's proven himself to be not only a good friend, but an invaluable resource for my list making ventures. Check out his blog, you lazy bums!