GlynG wrote:
I plan to post up some background stuff from the FW and BFG background here, making clear quite how independent SM armies are in their operations and how rarely they have titan support, even for large scale epic size engagements (it's a lot rarer than some people here seem to think and way rarer than the amount allied titans are seen with SM lists). That'll take a while of reading through stuff though and I have loads of overdue stuff to do. Maybe in a day or two.
Fluff is fun to read but it's unfortunately not very relevant when it comes to balancing lists. We (as the Epic Community) want the lists to be balanced both internally and externally so that a player can defeat ony one army with any other using sound tactics.
The lists people take aren't reflective of the "fluff" or the state of tactics and deployments taking place in the 40K universe in general. If that was the case, Eldar are the biggest threat to the Imperium and Orks don't do much of anything. Yes, Marines aren't always supported by Titans but then again, Avatars aren't summoned every time there is a battle with a Farseer present, etc.
The Titans fulfill a role that nothing else in the list (as it stands) can, long range MW fire coupled with durability at a price that makes it worth taking. If you want to counter that, make Land Raiders worth considering. Don't make Land Raiders a no brainer (300 pts), make it something to seriously consider (325) you may then see some change in what has taken.
I'd also like to point out that no one has bothered to take a look and compare these SM lists to the metagame happening in the UK Tournament scene. Yes, a mojority of the Marine lists include titans. But guess what, virtually all the IG and Eldar lists include Titans or at least some sort of War Engine, the natural counter is to take your own.
