However, before we dig into the options for building a Space Marine army, let's evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Warhammer 40,000 faction.

Despite being a human faction - which are often considered one of the less interesting groups in the Warhammer 40,000 universe - most players have no issues playing with Space Marines, thereby making them an evergreen option within the grimdark miniatures game. Given the amount of support from Games Workshop over the years, there are dozens of units, chapters, and characters to curate your Space Marine army with. Having this amount of choice is fantastic, but it can also leave you feeling intimidated or overwhelmed when building a Space Marine army. Best Space Marine Units in Warhammer 40,000: Ninth Edition In the ever-shifting meta of 40K, armies rise and fall. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about armies that are hot or not, but a lot less time looking at units that are running the show. Today let’s start by taking a look at a one of the hottest units currently running (err driving) around the tabletop. The Unit Librarian ( Epistolary • Codicier • Lexicanium • Primaris Librarian • Vanguard Librarian) • Chaplain ( Reclusiarch • Primaris Chaplain • Judiciar) • Apothecary ( Primaris Apothecary • Apothecary Biologis • Helix Adept) • TechmarineFrom a competitive standpoint, the Iron Hands and Imperial Fists are the best Space Marine Chapters to play, followed by the Dark Angels, Deathwatch and Space Wolves. However, don't let this discourage you from playing a Space Marine Chapter you like based on the models, lore and history. Alternatively, you can create your own Space Marine chapter if you have a narrative and design in mind, but it's best to hold off until you are confident with the game system and Space Marine faction first. Bike Squad Sergeants, and sometimes regular Battle-Brothers from very well-equipped Chapters may also possess Hand Flamers, Infernus Pistols, Plasma Pistols, Grav-Pistols, Power Swords, Powerfists, Lightning Claws, Combi-Weapons, and Melta Bombs.

The Assault Bike has been in use by the Adeptus Astartes since the Great Crusade, and the Traitor Legions took theirs with them after the Horus Heresy. In the 41st Millennium most, if not all, Space Marine Chapters make use of the Assault Bike in some fashion or another. Below are some of the more notable users of the Assault Bike: They are also pretty durable. With T5, two wounds and a 3+ armour save, it will take some decent firepower to take down a unit of Bikers. While the loss of Jink has hurt their durability a little, they still get to make use of cover for a bonus to their save and no longer need to worry about killing themselves with dangerous terrain tests. I have found that my Space Marine Bikers actually soak up a lot of enemy firepower, given the twin threats of their speed and firepower.Tougher than the Avenger and with the same lascannons and missile options, swapping the bolt cannon for four autocannons, the Thunderbolt looks like fun. The S7 autocannons aren’t defensive but you’ll hit one target harder. All the guns are centreline-mounted though, meaning you have to point the Thunderbolt directly at whatever it’s trying to kill. You’ll have no problem doing this on the turn it arrives but aiming a plane directly at things isn’t always going to easy after that. Despite the small unit size, the Bladeguard Veteran has plenty of potential, especially when it comes to melee combat. Given the emphasis on holding down objectives in Ninth Edition, Bladeguard Veterans’ excellent survivability helps to keep these objectives under your control. While they aren't anything fancy, Bladeguard Veterans are tough, compact units that can hold their own or outright obliterate most units who are looking to swoop in to seize objectives. The Assault Bike, also known as the Space Marine Bike, is a light vehicle that is used throughout the Imperium by most Adeptus Astartes Chapters, and even by Renegade and Chaos Space Marines. Predator ( Annihilator • Destructor • Baal) • Land Raider ( Phobos • Crusader • Redeemer • Achilles • Prometheus • Terminus Ultra • Ares • Excelsior • Wrath of Mjalnar • Angel Infernus • Solemnus Aggressor • Anvilarum) • Vindicator Laser Destroyer • Repulsor • Repulsor Executioner • Gladiator • Astraeus

The sheer amount of Bolter shells that can be brought to bear at whatever target that might stand in the way is often enough to make the enemy break and run before a Bike has even reached them. Salamanders Bike Squads will also benefit from their Chapter Tactics, allowing you to get a bit more damage with each shooting phase. Getting a re-roll to hit and to wound on one of your Special Weapons each turn can be a big boost, helping to ensure you get that crucial Meltagun hit and wound with your Bike Squad. As these units are the most likely to get into Melta range, this greatly increases their chance of having a big impact on the game.Chapter Master • Master of the Keep • Master of Sanctity • Chief Librarian • Master of the Apothecarion • Master of the Forge • Master of the Watch • Master of the Fleet • Master of the Arsenal • Master of the Marches • Master of the Rites • Master of Relics • Chief Victualler • Lord Executioner • Master of Recruits • Master of Reconnaissance • Master of the Signal • Chapter Ancient • Primaris Ancient • Chapter Champion • Honour Guard Dreadnoughts have remained a fixture of the Space Marine roster from its very beginning. There are a variety of Dreadnoughts available in Ninth Edition, with every variation offering a unique stat line and ability set to choose from. At present, the Redemptor Dreadnought is one of the best Dreadnought units you can incorporate into your Space Marine list. A Space Marine Bike Squad is a close support tactical formation utilised by the Adeptus Astartes to serve a wide variety of strategic uses. You can give a Seeker Sergeant a combi-disintegrator if you’ve had the old “Imperial Space Marine” in your pile of shame, which I did. Yay!

Our goal is to build upon and consolidate the great work already being done by other community members across various forums, reddit threads, and hobby blogs, and bring together a comprehensive library of all these useful Build Instruction booklets. Here’s a unit of 3-10 speedy Marines who can Scout, armed with combi-bolters, pistols, chainswords and no grenades. Options include swapping the twin bolters for twin special weapons, swapping chainswords for expensive power weapons or free shotguns and getting hand flamers or volkite serpentas, both pretty cheaply. They’ve got Hit and Run, though it’ll probably be quite rare for them to live long enough to use it. Iron Hands Bike squads obviously get a durability boost in the form of an additional 6+ save. Given that each Biker has 2 wounds now, this can help save a few wounds during the course of the game if you have a large enough squad. Reliability: Space Marines offer high strength and toughness stat lines that extend to their base units. They’re an ideal starting army for new players as they're incredibly resilient, which is more forgiving when learning the rules. Space Marine Bike Squads are definitely a unit that have benefited from the change to twin-linked weapons. A unit of 5 Bikers will now put out 20 Bolters shots at rapid fire range, a great increase in their firepower and damage output. This makes the unit great at taking on hordes of enemy infantry or for putting a few wounds on tougher units. The change to the wounding rules also means you are wounding most vehicles on a 5+, meaning you can even put a few wounds on them at a pinch when you need to. Given the hefty firepower they have, they really do benefit from a nearby Captain or Chapter Master for the re-rolls to increase their damage output. Given the increased speed of the Bike Squad, you can now get into rapid fire range in the first turn if your opponent does not deploy too deep in their deployment zone.

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The big news here is the Talons of the Legion rule which lets it enter a special “Combat Air Patrol” reserves. There it waits for an enemy plane to arrive, sets up straight after it and sprays fire in its general direction. This all happens in the enemy movement phase before the plane can shoot and they can’t use reactions against you because it’s their turn. Sounds cool, right?