# Best SM HQ choice?



## Spot The Grot (Jul 15, 2008)

My lil bro keeps pestering me about how my daemon prines always do well and how his commanders never do anything.

Commander/captains are really just expensive sergeants and are best in CC which marines don't really have a true CC unit save assault squads who use jumps packs.

Chaplains , they just buff the units these days as they've only got basic stats. Also they are CC again with no real tricks.

Libririan , these guys maybe the best , but i dunno most of there powers are short range.

What is the best commander and the best equipment/unit to give him?


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## Lash Machine (Nov 28, 2008)

I would go for either Vulkan or pedro cantor depending how you want to taylor your army. Vulkan is pretty handy in close combat and on his own, if he charges will bring down a deamon prince in two to three rounds of combat. If supported with another unit then it will be happy days but two deamon princes would be a bridge too far.

Standard Space marine characters have always been sub standard when compared with other characters or monstorous creatures. Always best to shoot these things or plough in with terminators armed with thunderhammer and storm sheilds.

VUlkan gives these guys one re roll each on to hit rolls, which against a daemon prince, assuming he has turned one termie into red mist, will give you 9 strenght 8 hits, which is thankyou and goodnight from the daemon prince.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Lysander with Assault Terminators is good. 4W Eternal Warrior with a Str 10 TH. Can't get much better than that for an assault unit.

Captains with Jump Packs work well as Assault Squads, but Captains on bike with SS and Apothecary Command Squad on Bikes (while expensive) becomes quite tasty.

Libarian are excellent secondary commanders though. Chaplains work well in Terminator Assault squads though if you can spare the points - the 2+ Save helps versus Fearless outnumbering, and re-rolling hits is a goodun on Terminators against MC's.


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## Captain Galus (Jan 2, 2008)

Like most of the "good" armies, the characters aren't really all that powerful. Space Marine leaders are support units, best used in conjunction with something else. I find that a Captain in a command squad armed for close combat is an absolute powerhouse. Take the following load-out, for example:

Captain (1 Dude)
-SM Bike
-Storm Shield
-Power Fist

Command Squad (4 Dudes and an Apothecary)
-SM Bikes x5
-Storm Shields x4
-Power Fists x4

So you get 5 T5 models with 3+/3++, S8 and FNP (thanks to the Apothecary). To top it all off, they move 12", which gives you an effective charge range of 18". That particular set up is nigh-unkillable, as it requires your enemy's heaviest of weapons to deal with.

The only downside is that it costs 540 points, so it's only feasible in 1500pts and over. If you really wanna piss someone off, try using it in a 1000pt game. Few armies can put something on the board that is so hard to kill and so lethal at the same time. You will be striking last, but even against other SPESS MEHRINES you won't be wounded very often, let alone actually die.


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## Champion Auzias (Apr 30, 2009)

I personally dig Vulkan. Twin-Linking flamers and Meltas? Yes please. Also, he master crafts all Thunder Hammers, which can make some mean assault termy squads. To top it off, he might not be immune to instant death, but he has decent saves and stats.


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## Someguy (Nov 19, 2007)

I've had good and bad experiences with Lysander. He sometimes just fluffs his attacks and/or saves, and fails. Other times he murders all that he meets. Either way he doesn't need anyone much with him.

A friend of mine runs Pedro in an infantry force with a lot of termies in it. He makes everything much harder to assault, with +1 attack for everyone within 12", and getting counter-charged by termies is no fun at all.

Biker captains are nice. You can either send them with their command squads or with bike troops. The command squads are obviously more powerful, but not very numerous and can't claim objectives. Depending on what you're up against, the troops may be about as useful - based on getting 3 times as many of them.


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## skate4life (Jul 14, 2009)

termie chap kicks ass


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## Strange Dude (Jul 15, 2008)

Space marine HQ are not the best stand alone units and they are not meant to be. They are designed to support your army give it special abilities it wouldn't normally have or alter the rules of an entire army. So while not as hard as say demon princes they provide synergy to your force that allows them to deal with problems.

As a classic comparison lets take a Lash DP with Wings 155pts vs a librarian 100pts with Null Zone. Now that uber demon prince has his 5++ save wrecked if he is within 24" of the librarian and gets ap3,2,1'd to death in short order not to mention everytime he tries to lash it is no longer as certain (psychic hood) and this forces your opponent to play more conservativley.


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## Underground Heretic (Aug 9, 2008)

A friend of mine runs Pedro and a chapter master with relic blade. They start the game behind a LRC with assault termies (3th, 2lc) and join the unit turn two after they drop their orbital bombs turn one. The rest of his army is just a few tactical squads and devastators. That squad, expensive though it is, successfully pull fire off the rest of the army and can kill a lot. The orbital bombs are nothing to be laughed at either, and for roughly fifty points for both shots, a good deal.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Focus fire on Tactical Squads, Tanks, and Devastators, move away from Ground Pounding Terminators.

Korsarro Khan is rapidly turning into one of my favourite characters, purely due to his Hit and Run. 600pt Command Squad (shush), but strong enough to take out even multiple Hive Tyrants, Carnifexes, even Abaddon and Terminators.


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## Crimson_Chin (Feb 20, 2009)

I am fond of Cassius. Termie Librarian w/SS has done good things for me too.

The thing about both of these characters is they are inexpensive, and durable. Cassius is there to buff the assault termies he rolls with, and having him charge in first means he'll draw attacks away that very rarely wound him cause of T6. And the Termie Librarian is good anti-lash, and for bouncing units around. Better with a shooty list, but survivable enough (with the 2+/3++) to hold his own in CC. For a little while at least.


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## Devinstater (Dec 9, 2008)

The only HQ I've never rolled with is a Librarian. I've always thought they were really cool, I just can't find the right set-up that makes me think he's good. I am considering taking him no matter what next game just to try him out.

My Tac squads usualy have a flamer as the special. I like Dreads, and they have a MM. I like TH termies. I like LS:Storm's with a Flamer. These and more actually. It just seems that all the units I use are helped by Vulkan. Even at 1500, I find it a good buy. 

Cassius is a good buy for the price as well.

I just find that since we need to take full 10 man tac squads to get special weapons, HQ's can't ride in Rhino's anymore. That means the HQ goes in the Land Raider.

If you aren't using a Land Raider, Master of the Forge is my fave solo HQ because of the conversion beemer.

(Unless you have bike squads they can ride with - strictly talking foot HQ's).


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## Audun54 (Jul 24, 2009)

do not underestimate the Chapter Master in cc, mine put two wounds on a wraithlord with a power weapon before being ripped in half back on sunday
seriously on the charge they can be quite beastly just dont expect him to win unsupported


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

Captain w/ Relic blade and SS.

Nice and fun, millions of modelling ideas.

Un-boring and un-samey.

I know you Smurfs are in love with Pedro and Vulkan, but the rest of us get bored out of our minds fighting the same army builds again and again and again.


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## primeministersinsiter (May 31, 2009)

I run a Chapter Master with a TH and SS with a group of regular termites. It's mostly for the fluff, although it is nice to see a group of Tyranids Warriors be pasted to the floor by a LUCKY orbital bombardment shot.


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

Tyranid Warriors cannot be insta-killed.

They'd all take 1 wound.


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## BloodANgels89 (Jun 16, 2008)

Want hero synergy? Take Vulkan and a captain with terminator armor, and 2 thunder hammers  modelling mine was SO much fun! And he single handedly took out an entire plague marine squad in one game =D


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## primeministersinsiter (May 31, 2009)

I should have mentioned that the majority of them had one wound left. Sorry.


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## BloodANgels89 (Jun 16, 2008)

Impossible for a multi wound squad to have models in the unit with 1 wound. You must remove units where fit. So he cheesed you.


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## Sqwerlpunk (Mar 1, 2009)

He can abuse Wound Allocation with Warriors, it's very possible.


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## primeministersinsiter (May 31, 2009)

Each one was armed differently so he kept spreading them out. I thought that's how it worked for models with different equipment. Also, I was winning so it was a bit moot.


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

Orochi said:


> Captain w/ Relic blade and SS...


Yea this would be my take on it too, combined with a jumppack and perhaps artificier armour. A non-posterboy-name character that kicks ass:victory:


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