The Scouring - Part 4 - Presence

Plato lead his party up to the first peak of the mountain ridge. A dense cloud bank loomed ahead blocking off the view of the twisting path they followed. Thunder rumbled as lightning bolts struck down from above. The air was frigid and tiny specks of icy snow shimmered coating the broken rock with a thick coat of hoar frost. Carefully they stepped over the frozen debris as the top of the alien sun broke above the far horizon.

Suddenly a high pitched whistle cut the rarified air. "Look down now." Plato ordered over their encrypted vox link. Radiation runes began to chime inside their helmets. "An electromagnetic pulse has just been detonated at high altitude. The purpose is to disrupt enemy communications and their vox netscape. We are at a high enough altitude now not to be affected and our armor was perfectly tuned to a resonant frequency with the primary pulse. Our grounding straps shield us from the lower frequency content."

"How long will the interference last?" asked the Victrix Honor Guard named Sid.

"It could be more than seven Terran days before they can rein back in their networks. That should be all the time we need." Plato replied.

"Do you think we can find the child?" asked Sid.

"It’s why we are here brother." said Plato. "I pray to our Emperor every hour that she still lives and if she does then yes we will."

"Look." Sid replied. "There just ahead is a Chaos wishing well."

The search party crept up as the unholy noise from the burst filled the air. The well was so deep they could not see the bottom, loose brick littered the ground.

"It is said theses rare artefacts can grant any desire." said the first Victrix Honor Guard. "Anything."

Psychic Tactics for Ultramarines

I come to you with solutions this morning providing you with some hot Psychic Tactics for Ultramarines. Currently I use Tigurius and a standard Librarian. While they are not Ahriman and company they can still be quite potent forming up to create an extremely effective Smitebomb.

I run Tigurius with the old school Librarius psychic powers typically - Might of Heroes, Null Zone and Psychic Scourge. The other Librarian typically has Empiric Channeling (EC) and Scryer’s Gaze. First cast EC on Tiggy for the psychic buffs... Tigurius now has +3 to cast and deny plus with his ability to reroll them he should be able to pull off super smites quite often. You can then follow up with a smite from the Librarian and then Psychic Scourge from Tigurius taking advantage of our native +1 leadership. Scryer’s Gaze (warp Charge 7) gets you that sweet sweet CP and is not all that difficult to cast. Seven being the average on 2d6. Your opponents won’t be denying them when you're slinging tonnes of filthy smites, melting them alive.

Pro Tip #1 - Null Zone is very reliable and quite scary for opponents... Never charge Tigurius into combat if he successfully manifests this psychic power - your opponent can interrupt combat and then destroy him since he doesn’t have an invulnerable save.

Pro Tip #2 - Psychic Fortress is a go to psychic power versus smitey factions such as Thousand Sons, granting you the ability to shrug off mortal wounds on a 4+. While we don’t have nice things like Doom or Guide I have found our psychic staples like Might of Heroes coupled with Tiggy’s Prescience ability can go a long way when you really that hard resilience for a critical unit such as Centurions.


So there you have it, Ultramarines have access to some excellent psychic prowess if you follow my advice given above. It will definitely catch some opponents off guard.

The Scouring - Part 3 - Trek

"The third Legion was excised from the annals of Imperial history but right there stands the very image of their Primarch." said Plato as they lifted ammo belts and ranged weapons from the innards of their drop pod. He looked up at the square chin and wild eyes chiseled deep into the hard granite. Tantric tattooed runes were etched all over the facsimile of a bare face and a three pronged bolt of jagged lightning split the brooding eyes.

"It is whispered they were actually the very first to fall to the ruinous Powers. Our mission is to ensure he is truly dead. These lands crawl with filth... Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzneetch - their followers have flocked here in search as well."

The Champion had sheathed his swords and gripped the combi melta testing the rack as he chambered a fresh magazine. ‘We shall follow that ridge into the far valley. There lies the enemy camp. Be on guard for any of their outliers. Our insertion was perfect as planned. We must not fail now."

"Will there be any reinforcements?" asked one of the two Honor Guard as he hoisted up a heavy plasma rifle.

"Don’t count on it brother and the glory shall be ours alone should we succeed." Plato answered.

"You’ve always been the optimist." replied the Honor Guard.

Plato’s smile was hidden behind the golden grill of his helmet. "Let’s move out." The Champion set a boot upon the beginning of the rocky outcrop. The slope was quite steep. Raw jewels twinkled under the softening moonlight.

The Scouring - Part 2 - Execution and Discovery

Sisyphus slashed at the trio of Ultramarines with his long sharp talons floating above them as his wings unfurled beating against the umber night sky. Twisting right then left Plato parried the deadly strikes with his blades catching the extended tips of the claws. "You should not have come here." hissed the Daemon Prince.

"It is but your destiny." The Champion speared the Word Bearer through its throat with the Mirror Blade. Black ichor poured from the sudden wound spilling upon the volcanic sand below. Sisyphus disengaged falling back from the fight. Its warp infused blood smoked as it scorched the earth below. Plato leapt up driving his other blade into the daemon’s torso and savagely twisted. The fractal edge severed internal organs and split the vertebrae.

Falling to the hard ground Sisyphus righted himself but it was too late. The enemy fell upon him hacking through the daemon armor. Pure hate flowed through their veins as they finished him. The trio stood back catching their breath. They felt something alien and ancient towering above them. In perfect unison they turned to see a gigantic statue of a Space Marine carved into the mountainside.

"The third Primarch." whispered Plato.

The Scouring - Part 1

All along the Slaaneshi line the Noise Marines boisterously posed brandishing their deadly ranged weapons. Sisyphus, their exalted Daemon Prince, postured pointing up towards the red dawn. His wings unfurled as leapt into the crimson sky. "Fire upon my mark. We are the Bearers of the Truthful Word." They all saluted the unholy beast in their deeply saturated red armor.

A crescendo of sound split the sky as a lone blue drop pod crashed down imploding into the barren earth. Before they could react the doors exploded outwards showering molten shrapnel upon the filth. Stepping down from the forward most ramp descended a Champion with a Victrix Honour Guardian on either side. He stood taller than Primaris drawing a pair of long paired blades. Upon his chest hexagrammic wards deeply etched into the hardened armor blazed in the forgotten language of Colchis screamed in their minds as they all looked upon the glyph "Kneel".

Sisyphus snarled drawing his long forked tongue over the fangs jutting from his twisted malformed mouth. Charging into the masses blaster fire the trio of Ultramarines crashed into the Word Bearers. The Champion struck right and left striking them down, limbs were sundered and foul visceral split from the rent crimson plates. Sensors built into his armor guided each stroke.

Swooping down into the trio the Prince tore at the Victrix with its steely talons. Their shields held repelling the Fallen’s attack as the Chapter Champion continued his rampant killing. Time seemed to stop as the last of the Word Bearers fell, cleaved apart in the clinical rampage. Turning to face Sisyphus Plato pointed his bloodied swords toward the Daemon Prince taunting him. "Kneel".

Tiggy Conversion

Not this Time ...

Ultramarines Tactica Part 2

Hi everyone my last article on Ultramarines tactics delved into specifics regarding my go to units and how I play them. I am really enjoying playing a mono faction army. Space Marines in general with the exception of Blood Angels excel at shooting and therein lie their major buffs. A couple of beat stick HQs to guard the gun line is all that is needed for melee. Ultramarines are blessed in many ways this edition such as arguably the best Chapter Tactic and the best suite of special characters to choose from for your army.

One important aspect of fielding a competitive Space Marine army is protecting your HQ and Ultramarines have access to one of the best means means of doing so in Vitrix Guard. Vitrix Guard work much like drones for Tau but are much more resilient and have the ability to completely shut down enemy snipers and foil filthy Genestealer Cult psykers casting the much hated psychic power Mental Onslaught. Crippling these enemy units completely takes them out of the game. Vitrix Guard are also an excellent defense versus other enemy sniping psychic powers such as those cast by Thousand Sons.

Tigirius is hands down one of the best psykers in the game and can reliably cast Null Zone which can be a real game changer. There are two mistakes I often see made when it comes to psykers. First most psykers are quite fragile in melee and can die quickly. Sure Daemon Princes and the Lord of Death are proverbial beat sticks but they are both the exception to the rule. Psychic buffs are clutch and once you lose them they are gone forever. Most psykers should never be in melee. Second don’t get greedy casting psychic powers - one Perils of the Warp can be quite the buzz kill. The three choice psychic powers from the Librarius lore are Might of Heroes, Null Zone and Psychic Scourge.

Now I would like to touch on troop choices. The two go to choices for Space Marines are Intercessors and Infiltrators. I like to always have four troop choices and these are your work horse units plus they can do some serious work. Vigilus grants access to Veteran Intercessors - Ultramarine Veteran Intercessors have leadership 10 and access to a Rapid Fire 2 stratagem - yes they can shred and the Sergeant has four base attacks, as such I always arm mine with a power fist. Most characters have four base attacks... think about it. If you cast Might of Heroes on a Veteran Intercessor Sergeant rocking a power fist he has five attacks at S10 - wind him and watch him go. Ultramarines don’t need a Lone Wolf.

Infiltrators shutdown any enemy units using reinforcements and can infiltrate just like Scouts... they are the new Scouts and totally worth every point they cost. They are great for board control and can act as meat shields to protect your vital characters from being targeted.

Next week I will have some more tactics for you. I hope you enjoy using these.

PriMarneus Calgar complete

Marneus Calgar work in progress

Ultramarines Tactica

Hi everyone Black Blow Fly here to discuss some list building tips for Ultramarines which I have been playing in-between seasons for the city league where I live. No ITC Missions, just playing Eternal War Missions from Chapter Approved 2018 so far.

Devastator Centurions
My current build is a squad of three Centurion Devastators (DevCents) armed with lascannons and Hurricane Bolters... it’s been great so far supporting them with Calgar and the Phobos Lieutenant for casual games and Guilliman for more competitive games. I also just started fielding a Primaris Ancient with the relic standard... wow they do some work. I’d like to work in an Apothecary but would rather use those points for typically a Vindicare Assassin which synergizes well with Guilliman (i.e. , 12" re-roll 1s to hit buff aura). I also am bringing Tiggy and his Prescience buff really helps to keep the DevCents around for another turn.

I recently saw a battle report using Grav Cannons for the DevCents along with Guilliman versus Necrons - lots and lots of damage inflicted over the course of the game including taking down the Necron heavy construct by turn 2. I know heavy bolters and Hurricane Bolters is a popular configuration now with the new Bolter Discipline rule and for good reason but I prefer the long range anti armor configurations. There is also the option for the Missile Launcher but then the squad becomes a crazy amount of points. I’m not claiming there is one best build for DevCents but this one has been doing some real work for me.

Hellblasters and Inceptors
My other two go to ranged anti armor units are Hellblasters with the standard Exterminators and five plasma Inceptors. Hellblasters are self explanatory and a very popular choice for Space Marine armies. Rarely do you see the assault or heavy versions used for good reason.

I love the plasma variant for Inceptors as each Primaris Marine basically has two short range plasma cannons. They can deep strike which really helps get them into the optimal position for priority target selection and since they have the Infantry keyword they can land pretty much anywhere they want. An excellent stratagem for Inceptors is Scions of Guilliman which lets them reroll 1s to hit and really helps keep them alive longer when they supercharge plus they don’t need a Captain to escort them. You need five to ensure they do some serious damage plus it’s still a fairly small footprint as well. I know lots of players love the assault Bolter variant for Inceptors and they are great versus cheap chaff but plasma is king.

So that’s all for now. If there’s enough interest in the comments I’ll write some more Tactica articles for Ultramarines.

Guilliman with his Vitrix Guard

Primaris Ancient finished

Primaris Ancient work in progress

Primaris Ancient with battle damage

Marneus Calgar work in progress Part 1

Energizer Bunny

Infiltrator Sergeant

Ultramarines 2000 points Army List

++ Battalion Detachment + (Imperium - Space Marines) ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

**Chapter Selection**: Ultramarines

Battle-forged CP [3 CP]

Detachment CP [5 CP]

Gametype: Matched

Use Beta Rules

+ HQ +

Chief Librarian Tigurius

Techmarine: Chainsword, Combi-Plasma, Servo-Arm, Teeth of Terra

+ Troops +

Infiltrator Squad: 4x Infiltrator, Infiltrator Sergeant

Infiltrator Squad: 5x Infiltrator, Infiltrator Sergeant

Intercessor Squad: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt Rifle
. 4x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant: Power Fist

Intercessor Squad: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt Rifle
. 4x Intercessor
. Intercessor Sergeant: Power Sword

+ Elites +

Apothecary

Victrix Honour Guard
. Victrix Honour Guard: Power Sword, Storm Shield
. Victrix Honour Guard: Power Sword, Storm Shield

+ Fast Attack +

Inceptor Squad: 4x Inceptor, Inceptor Sergeant
Plasma Exterminator x2

+ Heavy Support +

Centurion Devastator Squad
. Centurion: Hurricane Bolter, Two Lascannons
. Centurion: Hurricane Bolter, Two Lascannons
. Centurion Sergeant: Hurricane Bolter, Two Lascannons

Hellblaster Squad: Plasma incinerator
. 5x Hellblaster
. Hellblaster Sergeant: Plasma Pistol

++ Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment (Imperium - Space Marines) ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

**Chapter Selection**: Ultramarines

+ Lord of War +

Roboute Guilliman (+3 CP)


Vindicare Assassin (-2 CP)

1st Vitrix Guard complete