First want to say I don’t use Guilliman and if you do it’s just another Bobby G gun line. Sure the Imperial Primarch is absolutely amazing but as it turns out there are other top notch HQs to choose from for Ultramarines. The points you save can go towards fully fleshing out your army list to keep it competitive in the ever changing meta. I like to build anti meta lists that rely upon synergy between various units and well developed sound tactics. It takes more time and practice to craft an Ultramarine army that does not rely upon Roboute but it can be done. One of the major drawbacks I see inherent to the gun line archetype is its fairly static and if you play in large tournaments such as those run by ITC your army needs to be mobile for optimization to score the maximum amount of points possible. While Maelstrom style missions can be a lot of fun if you like to draw for completely random objectives the missions you’ll see at major events are more in line with Eternal War style - you have a clear set of options to choose from to score objectives.
- Plasma
Plasma is to 8th edition for Space Marines what graviton was to 7th edition. S8/S9 AP4 straight 2 damage with excellent range makes things go away real quick. You’ll notice as review this article I use a lot of ranged plasma weapons for these very reasons.
- HQ and Support Character Selection
My go-to HQ (Warlord) for Ultramarines is Marneus Calgar, their old school original Chapter Master. Marneus has some great buffs and auras plus he’s a real beat stick in melee serving a dual role just like Roboute, providing a stiff deterrent to enemy units that venture too close to your battle lines. Another good choice is the Primaris Captain in Gravis Armor with a boltstorm gauntlet and master-crafted power sword from the Dark Imperium box set. If you have the command points to spare the Primaris Captain can be upgraded to Chapter Master saving a considerable amount of points plus he has the same number of wounds (6) as Calgar and is T5 as well. It’s worth mentioning the master-crafted power sword inflicts a straight damage of two wounds. Marneus has the BIG advantage that he hits on 2+ in melee with the rerolls since his Gauntlets of Ultramar aren’t unwieldy and can swing combat in your favor when he’s slugging away at high toughness enemy units. Calgar also provide two additional command points for battle-forged armies which is a big deal - that’s inherent additional 5 command points! Finally Marneus benefits from the new style Eternal Warrior only ever suffering half damage due to his awesome suit of armor shrugging off wounds like a true champ from enemy lascannons and what not.
Next you need some support characters for additional buffs and my first choice is always Tigurius, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines. One of his special rules, Master of Prescience, grants an Ultramarines unit within 6" -1 to hit at the start of the enemy shooting phase. If you combine this with the Librarius psychic power Might of Heroes for +1T then suddenly your Redemptor dreadnaught, Repulsor or Agressors are a whole heck of a lot harder to kill. Tigurius can also reroll failed psychic tests and deny twice which gives him a big leg up over any other Librarian. Tigurius is still one of the best psykers in the game and you really need a Librarian to deny enemy psychic powers and reliably cast Smite when you really need to finish off an enemy unit. My other two favorite psychic powers are Null Zone and Veil of Time - Chaos hates on both of these for obvious reasons... heh !
I also regularly field an Apothecary - Primaris Space Marine units have two wounds per model - he helps keep those deadly units like Hellblasters pumping out shots. Another excellent choice is an Ancient which again synergizes very well with Hellblasters... even in death they can still serve for one last fleeting moment. I always take the Standard of the Emperor Ascendent for the greater reliability, it’s well worth it.
See Vindicare Assassin below (via auxiliary support detachment).
- Troops
I am a big of the new Primaris Space Marines and they always serve me well. Chapter Approved was very kind to Primaris Space Marines in general making them even more viable now ! My go-to troop choice is a five to six man squad of Intercessors with the stock bolt rifles (30" range rapid-fire AP1), auxiliary grenade launcher and a power sword for the sergeant. I have come to find that this particular build has made tactical Marines irrelevant to the competitive game - Intercessors are both robust and versatile as are all Primaris Space Marine units in general due to their inherent characteristics. A five man squad is very easy to hide and camp on objectives. They can also dish out the pain in melee versus enemy troops. The grenade launcher is your special weapon with 30" range and a nice selection of ammo such as the krak grenade - S6, AP1 and straight 2 damage.
Next is the tried and true scout squad. You need scouts to serve as a screen to effectively deny the enemy alpha strike. My favorite build is five scouts with camo cloaks for the 2+ armor save in cover, four sniper rifles and a heavy bolter. The heavy bolter is a reliable means to inflict mortal wounds when needed using the Hellfire stratagem while the sniper rifles occasionally score mortal wounds. This squad also synergizes well with the Vindicare Assassin and serves as a fairly resilient meat shield. Scouts are very flexible with more options as compared to tactical Marines and cost less points. Vindicares hit and wound on 2+ inflicting d3 wounds, ignoring invulnerable saves and cover plus AP3 coupled with 60" range. A tandem can take out an enemy character easily in one shooting phase.
Finally it’s important to note that since Intercessors are more robust (i.e., 2 wounds per model) they don’t need to castle up with your core and can serve as a vanguard if necessary. This makes your army more mobile and in turn versatile.
- Heavy Support
To me this slot is the most important and vital when designing a truly competitive army list. My first choice is a six man squad of Hellblasters with the stock plasma incinerator - 30" range rapid-fire, S8 AP4 straight 2 damage when overcharging. Hellblasters make enemy units disappear real fast - to me they are the best heavy support unit for Space Marines. Hellblasters can move and shoot as opposed to a unit such as Devastators giving them another very distinct advantage.
Another great choice is the Predator tank with the Predator cannon turret and lascannon sponsons. It’s fairly cheap points-wise for what it has to offer giving your army the much needed high X long range fire power.
Finally I’ll mention the Repulsor - sure it’s a lot of points but it can lay down the most devastating rounds of fire power when fully loaded and is very survivable - T8 and 16 wounds - it’s the Primaris version of the land raider and is superior in every way. The Repulsor is a grav tank and has the keyword Fly so your opponent can’t easily box it in unlike other tanks on treads. It is a lot of points but every point is worth it due to all its amazing fire power. The grav tank also has the repulsor field which causes a penalty of -2" to enemy units attempting to charge it. Mine has more than once killed multiple enemy units attempting to charge it during one assault phase on overwatch - hilarious !!!
- Elites
Elites are another important slot. My two favorites are the Redemptor dreadnaught fully loaded including the macro plasma incinerator and Agressors. The Redemptor is a true heavy hitter with base 13 wounds. The macro plasma incinerator is S9 AP4 straight two damage when super charging and 36" range plus the 8" move. Aggressors are the Primaris TEQ unit with superior fire power. Aggressors along with Marneus Calgar protect your core and thus serve a vital role.
- Fast Attack
Fast attack is required to make your army more mobile. My go-to choice is a five man squad of Inceptors armed with plasma exterminators. Each gun is d3 shots (2 per Inceptor) for an average of ten shots at 18" range with the sweet 10" move. I feel five are necessary to make them robust and survivable - they are actually superior to Ravenwing Dark Knights if you do the math hammer and can deep strike. Both units are T5 with 2 wounds per model. It’s best to keep this unit out of melee so they can keep shooting, which is what they do best... that said the have the keyword Fly and have the Ultramarines chapter tactic (redundant in this case) so if they are charged by enemy unit they can fall back and keep pulling the triggers.
- Flyers
My go-to flyer is the Stormhawk Interceptor armed with missile launcher, las-talons and assault cannons. This is another highly mobile unit that can lay down lots of suppressing fire power, able to reach a bunkered enemy fire base and annihilate them. This flyer is +1 to versus enemy units with the keyword Fly, which is just evil in and of itself.
- Chapter Tactics
This is why Ultramarines are simply the best now... they can fall back and still shoot. Eighth edition is the most shooty version of the game yet so the more you can shoot the better your odds of winning... shrug off an enemy charge, fall back and pull the trigger again. Raven Guard and Salamanders have solid chapter Tactics as well but Ultramarines are simply the best for these very reasons given.
- Conclusion
So there you have it. Space Marines are still a very competitive army and I’ve provided a detailed list of my most tried and true units, the right Primaris Space Marines units combined with as much ranged plasma you can cram into your army list. My list is not wholly Primaris though and I think that approach is a road to pure folly. There are still plenty of the pre existing Space Marine units such as those I’ve listed above you can draw from to buff your army.... Ultramarines for days !!!
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