Space Marines are back and hitting the competitive scene hard. Here are some of the Top 40k Space Marine combos to watch out for now!
Astartes are definitely better than before. And while we aren’t going into each faction or every single combo (which we are sure are good), here are some of our top picks collected up from last week.
We’re going to list all of the key components and then breakdown why it’s all good. Sit back, buckle up, and praise the Emperor.
Imperial Fists- Siegebreaker Cohort Spice
Do you like mortal wounds? Because this combo is one spicy way to dish them out in 40k. The Imperial Fists have the lock on dropping vehicles!
Remember that nothing that goes against your army will have a cover save. However, the real moneymaker is that bolt weapons get exploding 6’s to hit. -Just keep that in mind.
With the Legacy of Dorn rule, they get a bonus effect for heavy weapons while the Devastator Doctrine is active. If you shoot at a vehicle, you can add 1 to the damage for the attack. (That brings Heavy Bolters up to two damage a pop).
- Take a Chapter Master with Eye of Hypnoth relic.
- As many Heavy Bolter Centurions as your little heart desires.
- 1CP to make the detachment including these a Siegebreaker Cohort.
- A Handful of CP for these next Strats:
Bolter Drills (2CP): 6’s to hit with bolt weapons explode for another hit.
Tank Hunters (2CP): You can pick an enemy Vehicle and a friendly Imperial Fist unit. Add 1 to the wound roll for any attacks (shooting or melee) that target the Vehicle from that unit.
Seismic Devastation (1CP): 6’s to wound for weapons made by a Siegebreaker Cohort Formation cause a mortal wound in addition to other damage.
Ultimately, you’ll take six Heavy Bolter Centurions with a Chapter master holding the Eye of Hypnoth for rerolls of ALL hits and wounds of one. Pop Bolter Drills and combined with your Chapter Tactic, your bolt weapons will be exploding for three hits on each 6+. Next, pop the Tank Hunters strat to get +1 to wound enemy vehicles. Finally, pop Seismic Devastation for mortal wounds to proc on a 5+ against vehicles and buildings.
Just on Heavy Bolters alone, six Centurions will give you3 36 two-damage shots that proc mortal wounds on a 5+. In addition, each hit of a 6+ explodes for three hits. We’re talking about an unreal amount of damage for the points. The only downside is that it’s CP heavy but there’s not much-if anything, that can stand against that kind of firepower in a 2k pt game.
Raven Guard- Infiltrating Centurion Stealth Squads
Not only are Raven Guard expert marksmen, but they can run down most enemies now in their own deployment zone even. Check out this spicy assault combo!
Raven Guard has a bunch of rules that can really make them annoying in-game. Having half of your army at a flat -1 to hit is pretty brutal, especially when going against lists like Guard or Tau. However, the Chapter tactic and Doctrine don’t apply a whole lot for this next combo.
- Take units of Assault Centurions (which are cheap and wreck in melee).
- Bring a Chaplain (preferably with Jump Pack) as the Warlord with the Master of Ambush Warlord Trait.
- Chaplain Needs to take the Canticle of Hate that gives +2″ to charge and +3″ for consolidating.
- Pop 1 CP on the Raven’s Blade Stratagem for a re-roll charge bonus.
In the end, before the game starts, you can pick up a unit of Centurions along with your Warlord and bring them 9″ away from the enemy. This is before the game so your Chaplain still gets to make his Litany go off giving +2″ to charge. You can move 4″ with the Centurion’s base move (Effectively making it an auto charge). However, if you need some extra push, you can pop The Raven’s Blade and have these guys re-roll both dice for the charge.
You can mix it up and bring multiple units of Centurions putting them in Deepstrike with the Infiltrators Stratagem that lets a unit come down 9″ away to keep your opponents guessing where the Centurions will show up. Regardless of how you like to run this combo, it’s definitely aggressive and will force your opponent to react to what’s already in their frontlines vs. your gunline of Eliminators.
Salamanders- Hootin’ Tootin’ Flamer Shootin’ BBQ!
If you need to drop two high priority targets in one turn, the Salamanders can bring the heat no problem! Watch out for this cool 40k combo!
Remember that Salamanders can reroll a single hit and wound roll. Plus, they ignore -1 AP firepower which is nice. However, this Chapter Tactic doesn’t tie in too much with the crazy combo.
However, with the Promethian Cult, you can add 1 to the wound rolls for flamers and melta weapons. This is nasty, specifically for flamers here.
- Take a fatty unit of six Aggressors with Flamers.
- Take a Chapter Master/Vulkan for rerolls.
- You’ll also need CP stored away for these Strats:
Flamecraft (2CP): An entire unit’s flamers get the max auto hits. You don’t have to rolls. (D6 becomes 6 hits).
The Fires of Battle (1CP): Use only in your shooting phase or Opponent’s charge phase. Wounds of a 4+ for flamer weapons do 1 mortal wound in addition to normal damage.
Crucible of Battle (1CP): Add 1 to the wounds for a unit when selected to shoot or fight.
If you didn’t know it, Aggressors can pump out a max of 12 hits per model with their flamers AND fire twice if they don’t move. Popping Flamecraft on a unit of six will get 72 auto-hits on the first volley of shots. From there, pop Fires of Battle and Crucible of Battle before you shoot. This will make any 50% of the wounds (unmodified rolls of a 4+) proc a mortal…But you’re also +2 to wound combined with Crucible of Battle and your Promethian Cult Doctrine. You can see where the hilarity ensues on this one.
While the range may be shorter on flamer Aggressors than the Imperial Fist Centurion trick, anything within a close radius of these guys will surely be burnt to ash. The trick is to keep these guys from getting shot at and kited. Luckily, Salamanders have a stratagem that can let another unit soak up wounds for them.
Self Sacrifice (2CP): You can select one infantry unit to jump in front of all other shots of friendly units within 6″. The opponent can not shoot at any other infantry unit within 6″ of the selected unit. (They basically have to wipe that one selected unit off the table before they kill anything else nearby). Just bring a unit of Vets with Storm Shields and let them soak every shot that comes their way.
Of course, there are other combos out there that turn flamers into Pistols letting you unload everything into whatever you’re in melee with. It just comes down to your personal situation. Regardless, Aggressors with flamers are a toolbox unit and you can rest assured. If you bring these guys with some CP, something’s getting torched.
Check out the full breakdown from Kenny, Rob, and Wyatt in their own review of Space Marine combos.
With these three combos covered, what do you think is the strongest? Do you already have the units needed to run these? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and sign up to get your free hobby updates newsletter (with discount coupon codes) each morning as well!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
