Other 8th ed Marine armies

So, I've run through most of my army lists but there are a few still outstanding, pal of which are space marine armies. Now, for quite awhile I have been thinking about slimming down my forces, afterall, 2 pure guard, 1 guard/tempestus and 5 marine armies is quite a few. In reality this equates to 5 2000 point armies and 2 1000 point armies and a 500 point army, which is probably a little excessive. I have often thought about selling off a few models and reducing down my collection but I've never got around to it. Anyway, that's really for a another post, right now lets look at the last few army lists.

We'll start with the Stone Dragons. These are the space wolves derived chapter and are quickly growing in size. Starting out as a 500 point force, there now up to 1000 points. The original force was made of awolf priest, a squad of Grey hunters and a small unit of 3 long fangs. Now with the rule changes and the changes to some of the squads, namely the long fangs, the force has grown to include a wolf lord and rune priest, a second Grey hunter squad and a wolf guard squad, in addition to extra long fangs and a couple of rhinos. Now, even with these extra units, the idea of the force remains, as a multipurpose force, tooled up for combat and ranged combat, with every one wielding bolter, pistol and swords (of various types). They are not going to be combat monsters, or even ranged killers, but a general force to support other, more specific forces.

The end list may change again, when the wolves codex drops, and they will probably not see masses of table time, as I don't envisage me buying the wolves codex, unless its quite a bit cheaper then the main marine codex, which I don't see happening. I do however, see this force growing over time, as I like the wolves and their character.

Next up are the Emperors Disciples. These were actually the first force that I decided on, as a companion to my guard infantry force, something to add some "weight" behind the guardsmen. They have however been relegated somewhat to one of the lesser forces over time and also have become one of the more specialized forces. When this force originated it was in the form of a demi-company, with all the requirements that entailed, then with the release of the ssternhammer detachment its various formations, the force changed in a more dedicated force, something it retains now.

The main part of the force is still made up of sternguard squads, but with the increase in the cost of transports, there are now just two squads with rhinos, supported by missile Dev's and two honor guard squads and company champion for close support. Add in the obligatory captain and apothecary and the force is complete. Now, with the inclusion of a lieutenant in the codex, there is a good chance that one will find its way in to the force, giving some extra re-rolls and meaning that atleast one ofthe sternguard squads will be re-rolling 1's to hit and wound. There are also some additional transports, in the shape of another rhino and a razorback. This means that the force is a highly mobile force, with everyone being able to get into a transportfor rapid mobility, which is the main point of this force.

The last force to talk about are the Brazen Hawks. Now here is the biggest change, as I will be dropping these guys from my build schedule or rather my paint schedule as most of them are already build. The reason is that I was never really happy with the force in the first place. I think that I have mentioned this in the past, I wanted a black templars force and I created a story around that, but I could never get the force to where I wanted it. In terms of fluff, I like the back story, but the actual force always seemed a bit of a compromise.

In reality I would have liked to have included neophytes in to the squads, to have the proper feel to the units. Ideally I would have had land raiders as well, probably two land raider crusaders with a big squads of crusaders each and a couple of characters for good measure, all in a 1000 point force. But the reality is that I don't own the models and I'm sticking to my no buying new models rule (except for the chimera I need for the Hrossey yeomanry). As such, the models from this force have been distributed to the other forces.