I am just getting back in after not playing for a long time....here is my list and I welcome thoughts and input. Specifically I need something pretty tactical as my main opponents will be eldar (of course )......so in short, it has to be pretty killer as far as space marine lists go.....oh yeah, of course the list is 3000. I would also like to know what other successful lists people are running for space marines...those of you who dont win much, please refrain....

Tactical with supreme commander
Devastator
Devastator
Land Speeder detachment
Land Speeder detachment
Bike Detachment with Chaplain
Scout detachment with Chaplain and sniper
Scout detachment
Thunderhawk (for both scout detachments)
Whirlewind detachment with one hunter
Two warhounds
Basiclally I can count of facing two night spinner detachments, two scout titans, lots of flyers, guardian troupe to hold theobjective with support weapons, aspect warrior detachment, (I forget the name of the super heavy tank that can warp in a detachment as a gate>.....you know the one I mean)...bascially a kick arse eldar list meant to evaporate people.

cheers mates and happy to be apart of this forum. fyi, I live in calgary canada if you like to play.

Welcome to Epic

Against Eldar you need to ensure that you hit first, and that you dictate the engagements. Eldar armies frequently have several formations offboard in reserve, arriving via webway or air assault. An Eldar deployment zone is typically thinly defended in turn 1 - you can use that to get in and cripple a large part of the enemy army before it starts to activate.

Here's a possible Alpha Strike list, with annotations:

Alpha Strike , 3000 POINTS
Codex Astartes (NetEA Army Compendium v20120208)
==================================================

TACTICAL DETACHMENT [375]
6 Tacticals, Supreme Commander, Rhinos

Stays as mobile reserve, to guard Blitz and to ensure the SC (with his reroll) is on table from start

TACTICAL DETACHMENT [375]
6 Tacticals, Drop Pods, 2 Dreadnought

Follows a bombardment down. If possible, position to support the T'hawk assault, then consolidate the devastators such that the devastators can support the tacticals in a follow-up assault. This is a favorite Eldar tactic, also, and Eldar have a much easier time of time due to Hit'n'Run. However, if the enemy is still deployed close together in the deployment zone, it can be executed by Marines as well.

TERMINATOR DETACHMENT [400]
4 Terminators, Chaplain

Teleport in to clear the way for the THawk assault. If the enemy carelessly left a guardian host exposed, they can also take on those, if they hit them from the soft side.

LAND SPEEDERS [200]
5 Landspeeder

LAND SPEEDERS [200]
5 Landspeeder

Excellent to set up support in preparation for engagements.

THUNDERHAWK [200]

Planetfall if the opponent has heavy AA. Otherwise, use a normal air assault to set the devastators up just right to eradicate one or more enemy formations.

DEVASTATOR DETACHMENT [300]
4 Devastators, Librarian

DEVASTATOR DETACHMENT [300]
4 Devastators, Librarian

8 Devs + Librarians puts out enough firepower to wipe most eldar formations (if not in pure FF, then in combat res). Use after any scout screens are cleared to kill a high-priority target - eg a Storm Serpent, or a guardian host.

STRIKE CRUISER [200]

Provides an initial bombardment, allows drop pods, and allows the thunderhawk to planetfall in.

WARHOUND TITAN [275]

All-round great unit that provide mobility and good MW shooting.

THUNDERBOLT FIGHTERS [175]
2 Thunderbolts

AA, and to chase broken formations

A successful (and lucky - Alpha strikes always rely on good fortune) Alpha strike would see a turn 1 bombardment and drop pod deployment, followed by a retain and a terminator assault, which should break one formation. The second activation would then see a T'Hawk depositing 8 devastators, who (with support from tacs and/or terminators) eliminate an enemy formation. A retain & engage with the tacticals, with support from devs and/or terminators should then see a third formation broken or destroyed. At this point, you have about a third of your army in the middle of the smoking remains of his deployment zone, threatening his blitz, and having crippled at least part of his strategy. Extra bonus points for trapping enemy formations in the webway, if he carelessly relied on the Storm Serpent to survive... Retaliation from Revenants can be expected to be bloody, but should ultimately be survivable for Marines. In turn 2, try to catch them in crossfires (speeders are useful, here), the Holofields is a lot less scary then.

Wow, awesome tactics! Thanks alot StM!

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wow, I really appreciate this.....

I am a bit confused though, primarily around the points costs you are referencing as they are different than what is in the rulebook (including the updated one on line)...

examples
terms plus chaplain is 400 instead of 375
tactical + SC is 375 instead of 400
warhound 275 instead of 250


am I missing something? errata for instance that fix costs?

You're welcome; I also play Eldar, and this is about as scary an opposing force as I could quickly think of...

It is mildly tailored to face Eldar; To convert it to a more general all-comers list, I'd just swap out one of the devastator detachments for assault marines + chaplain. It's hard to catch Eldar in CC, but against most other armies the assault marines speed (and the chaplains Inspiring) are very useful.

Of course, some armies are less susceptibel to alpha strikes; Be especially wary of shooty formations on overwatch. There are some armies that can set up hedgehogs that make an alpha strike like this reckless; Against such armies, be prepared to adjust tactics on the fly - you can hold off the strike until turn three and attempt to go for objective grabs after the enemy has spread out. This is not my preferred strategy, though - it means that during turns 1 and 2 you'd play with a large numerical disadvantage.

There is also the matter of preferred playstyle - do you like to play aggressively, win big or lose big, or do you prefer a cautious approach? This list is definitely the former kind...


There's an updated compendium with all the army lists here:
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=23686

and an updated rulebook (with inlined FAQ!) here:
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=23685

Both are really good.

The list was constructed with this online army creator:
http://traitor-legion.appspot.com/
which is also an excellent resource - quick and easy to use.

yeah if you're using the rulebook lists, you're going to have an uphill struggle as swordwind eldar are horrendously overpowered..... space marines should make the most of cheap warhounds and terminators though, they're way too good for their points in the rulebook

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I know (regarding the overpowered eldar)....but I think this is what my immediate community is really adhering too. I think that I will try and design a similar list (as I do like win big, lose big idea) that relies on simply siezing initiative (which is why I had so many landspeeders, bikes and scout deploying from the TH in the first list) and post it here. I guess the terms are in...


cheers guys.

And you can also get some 'inspiration' from the E-UK lists.

Much depends on your play style and preferences, but you will see that a general theme is to use a list with good air-assault capabilities, Terminators, Titans and air-power. In a 3k game there are usually 1-2 of each type of these formations to a total of 6-7 such formations.

As for the remainder, Assault bikes and Assault Marines form the second strike and Tacticals, Devastators and Land Speeders provide reserves and support. You also need mobile forces to gain and contest objectives in the third turn which is where Bikes and Land Speeders excel (WarHounds have the knack of being bullet magnets and dying earlier on, while Air transports have to stay on the ground a full turn to control an objective)

Strike Cruiser is used more often than not, general as an anti-titan weapon as much as for planetfall, but these are 'tournament' lists that are geared towards multiple opponents rather than a single opponent or race.

You will also note that Supreme commander is not always used, as the re-roll is not absolutely vital (due to the Marines initiative and resilience), though he is general included as are Chaplains, Razorbacks and Hunters.

StM makes some excellent points on tactics and strategy, to which I can only suggest that Marines need to be very focussed, so try to use the bulk of your formations to concentrate on a sector of the battlefield while laying 1-2 BMs on as many key Eldar formations as possible.
If you intend to fly in, you need to shoot Falcon and Fire Prism formations to suppress or destroy ground AA, and if your opponent is prone to using NightWings (which are really excellent against THawks) you can consider flying under an AA umbrella of 2x Hunters as an alternative to planetfalling - though it can be a gamble

I am a bit worried about his reliance on night spinners.

LoL - my recent Eldar armies have *majored* on activations - 17 activations in a 3K list including 4x Night Spinners. The list is geared towards keeping the enemy at arms length and pounding away. But the vast number of activations means that it is also relatively weak throughout; so you have to get stuck in and kill enemy formations "with extreme prejudice"; aim at a flank while using other formations to 'nibble away at the edges and lay BMs. Remember, WarHounds (and even TBolts) are excellent at supressing - or killing - enemy AV formations, and one or two Terminator formations teleported nearby - say in turn 2, can cause mayhem by shooting etc. Night Spinners are awesome for their price, but horribly fragile (one hit and they break)

And, you should always make good use of cover - according to the E:A tournament scenario, you should have ~25% - 33% table coverage (most people end up with less). Also, Marines TSKNF goes a long way to helping them weather enemy firepower.

Finally, if you want to go big Win / Loss as a strategy, consider air-assaulting with most or all of your forces. Use a Landing craft to planetfall 3-4 formations, possibly even use a THawk as well (and Pods etc) to drop the entire lot in close proximity to enemy formations - retain to kill something. If you get it right and kill key formations you will win big. If you fail, the counterattack will be swift and brutal - and either way you are likely to have enough time to repeat the game