E-Mail In : Shrike Marines Help

E-Mail In :

Hey,
this is a list im working on for GT, i just wanted to run it past you for any improvements or comment.
I have inculded a pair of extra land speeders but i dont think they would be best for the list.

Reply :

The problem with Shrike is that he's not really very good considering his massive price tag unless your taking advantage of his abilities in some way. As you haven't asked me to write you a list but merely to comment on the existing one and suggest improvements then that's what I'll do though the temptation to write you a new list may be too much for me ;-)

1750 Pts - Codex: Space Marines Roster - Louis's Marines

HQ: Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike (1#, 195 pts)
   1 Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike @ 195 pts

I don't like Shrike but if your basing a list around using Shrike then he's essential I suppose. I presume he's going with the unit of Assault Marines and that your planning on a first turn assault by virtue of the 'Infiltrate, Jump, Fleet then charge' combo. This is fine I suppose unless your opponent knows how to bubble-wrap, goes first or seizes the initiative. 

Elite: Dreadnought (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 150 pts (Heavy Flamer; Drop Pod)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Elite: Dreadnought (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 150 pts (Heavy Flamer; Drop Pod)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Presumably you'll be dropping these as your first wave and hoping for a triple threat when combined with Shrikes (presumably) Assault Squad. As you have no choice but to drop two of the three 'Drop Pod' units in your army, any force that is capable of utilising full reserve against you (combined with some armies reserve manipulation abilities) could leave you sitting on the battlefield with nothing to do till the opposing army turns up next turn and blows you to fucking pieces. Heavy Flamers are fine on a 'Drop Dread' but are a bit of a waste otherwise.

Troops: Scout Squad (10#, 190 pts)
   9 Scout Squad @ 190 pts (Sergeant Telion)
      1 Sergeant Telion

Troops: Scout Squad (10#, 165 pts)
   9 Scout Squad @ 165 pts
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1)

You didn't tell me what these were armed with but I'm guessing you'll be using them to assault with as (other than Telion) they have no effective ranged weapons at all which usually means they'll be given Combat Blades. If your using Telions unit for objective holding then you might as well give them Sniper Rifles and a Missile Launcher and if your planning on assaulting with them then Telion is a waste of points. Of course you could arm Telions unit as two separately equipped halves but I wouldn't recommend it as a combat squad of scouts will die to a strong breeze (or even a weak one come to that).

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 245 pts)
   9 Tactical Squad @ 245 pts (Meltagun; Multi-melta; Drop Pod)
      1 Sergeant (Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

They'll land, kill a tank (probably) then die to all the units not killing the two Dreadnoughts or Shrikes unit though there are enough other priority targets so they might be safe. Also I'd prefer to see five Drop Pods across the army so you can support Shrike with a three Pod first wave rather than a two pod one. Doing that might be tricky without rewriting your whole army however.

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 140 pts)
   2 Land Speeder Squadron @ 140 pts (Multi-melta x2; Heavy Flamer x2)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 140 pts)
   2 Land Speeder Squadron @ 140 pts (Multi-melta x2; Heavy Flamer x2)

These are fine in the right list. I'm not sure that this is the right list for them however. If deployed then they're a soft target, if reserved then they might not turn up in time to be really helpful, additionally two Landspeeders have quite a big footprint if your dropping them onto a crowded board.

Fast Attack: Assault Squad (10#, 225 pts)
   9 Assault Squad @ 225 pts (Flamer)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1)

Shrike needs a unit to go with so I suppose it might as well be these guys though a unit that can have two special weapons should really have two special weapons.

Heavy Support: Devastator Squad (5#, 150 pts)
   4 Devastator Squad @ 150 pts (Missile Launcher x4)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)

Reasonably priced light anti-tank unit in the right army. Do they compliment this list though? You sometimes need some ranged anti-tank and these are fine for that purpose as long as you have enough other threats to stop them being torrented away.

Total Roster Cost: 1750

I'm guessing your plan is to sit Telions unit on an objective, then Assault with Shrikes unit, two Drop Pod units and then charge in with everything else as a 2nd wave or via outflanking with your minimal fire support popping tanks. This is fine in theory as long as,

a) your opponent doesn't 'bubble-wrap' or
b) is actually on the table ;-) or
c) your three units are enough to do the job.....

So as long as your going first then you should do just fine, however if your not I can see you having a few problems with the list in it's current incarnation. It's worth remembering though that you don't have to put anything in the Drop Pods as you can drop them empty if you like and deploy the units that were in them as normal  (should you so wish).

without throwing your theme out all together then you might consider this,

1750 Pts - Codex: Space Marines Roster - Louis Snazle's Marines ver 2.0

HQ: Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike (1#, 195 pts)
   1 Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike @ 195 pts

Elite: Dreadnought (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 150 pts (Heavy Flamer; Drop Pod)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Elite: Dreadnought (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 150 pts (Heavy Flamer; Drop Pod)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Elite: Dreadnought (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 150 pts (Heavy Flamer; Drop Pod)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Troops: Scout Squad (10#, 200 pts)
   9 Scout Squad @ 200 pts (Sniper Rifle x8; Missile Launcher; Sergeant Telion)
      1 Sergeant Telion

Troops: Scout Squad (10#, 180 pts)
   9 Scout Squad @ 180 pts (Combat Blade x9)
      1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1)

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 245 pts)
   9 Tactical Squad @ 245 pts (Meltagun; Multi-melta; Drop Pod)
      1 Sergeant (Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 245 pts)
   9 Tactical Squad @ 245 pts (Meltagun; Multi-melta; Drop Pod)
      1 Sergeant (Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Fast Attack: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   9 Assault Squad @ 235 pts (Flamer; Flamer)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1)

Total Roster Cost: 1750

Your first wave threat is now three drop units and Shrikes unit and you have a greater variety of tactical options (imo) should you be going 2nd.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.