Countdown to Counter Offensive 2: Space Marines
On this page is where you'll find detailed lists--with explanations of why each unit was chosen--for Space Marine armies played by participants at Counter Offensive 2. Let me start off the discussion with a list for my own Fighting Tigers of Veda. 

“Traveller of Both Time and Space”: 2000 points by Kenton Kilgore
If you've been playing for a while, you may have been told that army lists should be "fluffy." What do people mean by "fluffy?" Usually, they mean that when the army is placed on the table, it includes units picked more to represent that army's established character or personality rather than for game effectiveness. A "fluffy" Salamanders army, for example, should have lots of flame weapons and few bikes or Land Speeders. A "fluffy" Dark Eldar army should have lots of Raiders and Wyches, a "fluffy" Ulthwe army should have lots of Warlocks and Black Guardians, a "fluffy" Ork army should have heaps of Boyz. I think you get my drift.

(Gad! Does anyone still say "get my drift" anymore? Cripes, I'm showing my age)

One of the lists I'm bringing to CO2 is, in my opinion, an excellent example of a "fluffy" army. It's built to do little more than represent the detachment that Raja Shamshir Talatra commands in the fiction series Traveller of Both Time and Space. It has:

• Raja Shamshir Talatra.  Commander (Master) w/ power weapon, Space Marine bike, Iron Halo, and Terminator honors (160 points) 
• Chandramatie Bahl, Tiger of Brihaspati.  Librarian (Codicier) w/ force weapon, bolt pistol, jump pack, psychic hood, meltabombs (126 points) 
• Chitra, Tiger of Tvashtri.  Techmarine w/ bolter, power weapon, signum, auspex, and servo arm (65 points) 
• Tigers of Rudra, Squad 1.  Sergeant and seven Tactical Marines w/ bolters; one w/ flamer; one w/ melta gun; all w/ Cleanse and Purify Trait (166 points)
• "Man-eater." Rhino w/ storm bolter, dozer blade, extra armor, and smoke launchers (63 points)
• Tigers of Rudra, Squad 2.  Sergeant and seven Tactical Marines w/ bolters; one w/ flamer; one w/ melta gun; all w/ Cleanse and Purify Trait (166 points)
• "Man-eater." Rhino w/ storm bolter, extra armor, and smoke launchers (58 points)
• Tigers of Puchan, Squad 1.  Veteran Scout Sergeant w/ bolter-flamer; nine Scouts w/ bolt pistols and close combat weapons (148 points)
• Tigers of Puchan, Squad 2.  Scout Sergeant and eight Scouts w/ bolters; one Scout w/ missile launcher (140 points)
• Tigers of Kali, Squad 1.  Sergeant, four Bikers, and one Attack Bike. One Biker has a flamer; one Biker has a melta gun; Attack Bike has heavy bolter; all have frag grenades (226 points)
• Tigers of Kali, Squad 2.  Veteran Sergeant w/ power weapon and bolt pistol; seven Assault Marines w/ bolt pistols and close combat weapons; two Assault Marines w/ flamers; all have frag grenades and jump packs (257 points)
• "Flying Tigers."  Squadron of three Land Speeders w/ multi-meltas (195 points)
• Tigers of Agni.  Sergeant and five Devastator Marines w/ bolters; four Devastator Marines w/ missile launchers (230 points) 

Raja Shamshir Talatra (left) and Librarian Chandramatie Bahl (right) lead the army

Here's why I took what I did. The army is comprised of units mentioned in the series, notably Episodes 1, 3, and 6. If I were building an army strictly to match the story, it would be larger than 2,000 points, but I don't feel like spending all day playing one game. 

Raja Shamshir Talatra is the protagonist of the series, so he has to be included; leaving him out would be like leaving Luke Skywalker out of SW Episode 4, A New Hope. As leader of half the Chapter, he has impressive stats and equipment: thus, he's a Master with lots of cool toys.

Chandramatie Bahl, while portrayed as a powerful psyker in the story, is still learning, so she's just a Codicier. I'm a big fan of the Smite power (which she uses in Episode 8), so she gets that in addition to the melta bombs that she uses in Episode 6 to down a Tau Hammerhead. Ordinarily, I don't spend so many points on HQ when I build an army, but I'm obligated to include these two because of the story.

Also mentioned in Episode 8 is a Techmarine, so he's included in the army and provided minimal gear (I'm happy with the items that Codex: Space Marines gives to Techs automatically). No other Elite choices are mentioned, so I leave them out. 

An army has to have Troops, so I bring two squads of Tactical Marines mounted in Rhinos, as mentioned in Episode 1. That installment also mentions Scouts, so I include two units of them. When assembling his forces, Raja Shamshir chose to engage the enemy close-up, so I nominate one Scout unit as "assault" Scouts with bolt pistols and close combat weapons, and one unit as "tactical" Scouts with bolters and a missile launcher. The "assault" Scouts need a little help, so I always upgrade their Sergeant to a Vet and give her a bolter-flamer.

Following the story, Raja Shamshir needs a Bike Squad to attend him and Chandramatie Bahl needs accompanying Assault Marines. In Episode 6, the leader of the Assault Marines loans Chandramatie Bahl the melta bombs, so she must be a Veteran Sergeant. To the best of my knowledge, Land Speeders aren't mentioned anywhere in the series, but I needed some tank-hunting capability. So, deferring this time to practicality over story, I included a Speeder squadron and armed them with multi-meltas. 

Heavy tanks aren't mentioned in the series, but Devastators are, so I bring along a squad of them, armed with missile launchers for flexibility. They can take on troops or tanks. 

So, how will this army fare on the tabletop? I predict it might do well against a few armies, but most (especially hordes and Shooty-Armies-From-Hell) will probably rip it to shreds. However, success in this army's case is measured by style, not wins: I set out to build a "fluffy" army, and I succeeded in representing the army from the story. From my perspective, this army has already "won." 

(How did this army do at Counter Offensive 2? Find out here and here)

Related Pages 
Counter Offensive
Counter Offensive 2
 

© Copyright Kenton Kilgore, June 2005
 

Top