An overview of Codex: Space Marines - HQ Choices

I have just recently started putting together a Space Marine army and have read up on numerous forums and blogs the pros and cons of the different units available. What follows is the culmination of my knowledge and experience concerning Codex: Space Marines. It is important to note that special characters will not be featuring in this overview as: A) The abilities that they bring can dramatically change the paradigm of certain units. B) I personally don't believe in the use of special characters as generally speaking they are either too good for their points or not good enough.

Suffice to say that if they were included Vulkan He'stan would easily be the top pick due to the fact that he twin-links the two weapon types that have diametrically opposite roles and which are the best at said roles within the Codex: Space Marines. To top it all off he also Mastercrafts the weapons of the most effective assault unit as well.

So on to the actual overview, I will be going through the entries in Codex: Space Marines in the order that it is printed and grading them in terms of overall competitiveness. Wargear and weapon options will be taken into consideration in relation to the to individual units rather than overall. I will be referring to the general special rules that apply to Codex: Space Marines but I don't feel I need to spell them out as they are reasonably ubiquitous themselves.

Headquarters
Space Marine Chapter Master
This guy comes with a high weapon and ballistic skill and a positively dizzying array of wargear and weapon options. However the big question you have to ask yourself is, what does he actually bring to your army that another HQ choice doesn't?
Realistically it comes down to Orbital Bombardment and access to the Honour Guard squad.

Orbital Bombardment isn't a particularly reliable ability as it always scatters if a direct hit isn't rolled and this scatter is not modified by the Chapter Master's superior ballistic skill. So on average 66% of the time it will scatter an average of 7", with such a large variance in reliability this is only going to be of particular use against horde armies. To further compound this it still requires LOS and that the Chapter Master doesn't move. All in all a pretty lacklustre ability, which can be duplicated with greater accuracy and efficiency elsewhere in the codex.

Honour Guard are an interesting unit as they can be made to be an extremely deadly close combat unit. Sure they all have 2+ saves, come with power weapons and can have numerous options to make them even more deadly in close combat. All of this close combat ability however comes at a very high cost. 115 points for a unit of three is incredibly pricey and this problem is only compounded by the fact that additional members and any of the unit upgrades are also. There is no doubt that you can make this unit capable of taking on anything in close combat and winning but in my eyes the cost is far too high especially when you consider that you have to take a Chapter Master in the first place and if you want the Honour Guard to perform in their designated role he just becomes an extremely expensive sergeant for the unit. The last thing that puts this HQ and squad combination well out of the realms of the competitive is that the only way such a unit will get into combat is via a transport, which realistically has to be a Land Raider to both try and protect the frankly ridiculous amount of points invested in the unit already and to actually allow the unit to deliver it's payload.

Overall the Chapter Master is pretty much a fluffy HQ choice that brings lacklustre unique abilities and the option to take a hideously overpriced "Deathstar" unit whose killing ability can be pretty closely matched by other units within the codex.

Grade: E

Space Marine Captain
What really highlights how utterly shit the Chapter Master is by comparing him to his little brother the Captain. The first kick in the balls is the fact that he has exactly the same stats and wargear options, so in terms of combat effectiveness they are equal except that the Chapter Master costs 25 points more for the privilege of the lacklustre Orbital Bombardment. The second is that the Captain grants access to a much more tactically flexible and most importantly reasonably priced retinue.

The Command Squad realistically is the only reason to take a Captain. While his ability to make Bike Squads troop choices is nice as you will see further in this overview I am far from overawed by Bike Squads in general.
Starting at 5 strong with an Apothecary is a nice starting point and in terms of upgrades they far outstrip the Honour Guard in terms of flexibility. The reason for this is simply the access to special weapons, where the Honour Guard are forced into the close combat role Command Squads can go do that, go shooty or a hybrid of the two. Due to not having access to Relic Blades they won't be quite as effective in the close combat regard, but from an efficiency standpoint it's the ability to stuff 4 special weapons into the squad that really makes them shine. The Command Squad is in the unique position of being able to handle plasma weaponry extremely effectively due to the fact that for 175 points you can have 4 plasma gunners with Feel No Pain. This would be an amazing choice by itself, unfortunately you have to take the very bland and uninteresting Captain in order to gain access to this unit. And like the Chapter Master the Captain fails to be a good choice due to the fact that in and of itself doesn't provide anything particularly stellar in terms of supporting or enhancing an army. Granting access to a squad with brilliant upgrade options does not pick up the slack that Captain brings unfortunately so again this is mostly a fluffy choice although it can be worked into a semi-competitive loadout.

Grade: D+

Space Marine Librarian
Finally we get to a HQ choice that really has some excellent tactical applications. In terms of combat ability the Librarian is nothing special with a higher than average Weapon Skill, average Marine initiative and comes with a Force Weapon that can give any character/monstrous creature without Eternal Warrior pause for thought.

The thing is this is only secondary to the huge slew of supportive and enhancing psychic powers that are available to him. To further drive the effectiveness of said powers as has been the case with most newer Codices the Librarian doesn't have to pay anything for these powers, he comes with two as standard. However that is not to say that these powers are the be all and end all as overall they are are balanced and useful as compared to some newer powers that are either extremely effective or have some questionable applications.

In terms of actual offensive powers there are 4 to choose from:
1. Smite would be good with strength 4, AP2, Assault 4 but the thing is that the Librarian only has an average Marine ballistic skill and so on average you are only going to wound 1.5 toughness 4 targets. Sure they won't get an armour save but with cover saves being so common in 5th edition it really takes the wind out of Smite's sails.
2. Machine Curse is pretty lacklustre as it's an inefficient way of inflicting a glancing hit on a vehicle. Pass a psychic test, then you need to hit with your average ballistic skill, then your opponent has to fail any cover save he might have. It's not that this power is bad in and of itself it's just that it's effects can be duplicated in a more effective manner elsewhere in the Codex.
3. The Avenger is a very nice offensive power. A strength 5, AP3 flamer is going to cause all sorts of problems for anything with a 3+ save or less. The main drawback is it's very short range so the Librarian will need to be accompanied by a unit that can keep him safe.
4. Vortex of Doom is an extremely powerful offensive power. Strength 10, AP1, small blast is going to cause real pain on vehicles and heavy infantry alike. The drawback of it targeting your Librarian if he fails his psychic test is not something to ignore but it should be said that under normal circumstances that this is not going to happen very often. The other drawback of this power that it is range 12" and Heavy 1, so realistically it will only be effective when used by a Librarian in terminator armour as it will give him Relentless so he can use the power on the move.

Then there are the 4 utility powers:
1. Force Dome is pretty straightforward, it grants a 5+ invulnerable save to the Librarian and any unit he is attached to. The thing is this power is only useful in close combat as it is not hard to gain the same or better cover save vs shooting. Add to the fact that most effective Space Marine close combat units have the same or better invulnerable save anyway and this power is really only for when you've been caught with your arse on the line out in the open.
2. Null Zone is a situational utility power that makes your opponent re roll successful invulnerable saves while with 24" of the Librarian. To be fair this is a situation that comes up quite often as most races HQ's and important elite units have an invulnerable save. Decreasing the effectiveness of said save can really put a spanner in the works for your opponent, and the quite frankly huge range of influence is what really makes this power shine.
3. Might of the Ancients is a pretty reasonable close combat buff, strength 6 and 2d6 armour penetration is not to be sneezed at. However the Librarian only has 2 attacks basic and so this power is relegated to being effective at hunting characters/monstrous creatures. Also in order for the Librarian to excel at this role he will need to take the expensive Epistolary upgrade so that he can use his Force Weapon to best effect.
4. Gate of Infinity is a very nice and sneaky power. Being able to teleport up to 24" away gives the Librarian and any attached unit a great amount of flexibility in responding to threats and repositioning for more advantageous fire lanes. As of writing as far as I'm aware this power can still be used extract yourself from close combat so it has that added utility as well. However this power does have the drawback of killing off someone if the Librarian teleports with a unit and a double is rolled for the subsequent deepstrike scatter. The reason why this is so problematic is that the Librarian is usually going to be teleporting an elite unit that has a high cost per model. The best way to avoid this is to use locator beacons so that the scatter roll is taken out of the equation, although that does limit the number of safe places to teleport.

In terms of equipment it really comes down to this. Are you going to be consistently using two psychic powers a turn? If so then take the Epistolary upgrade, it is expensive but increases the efficiency of the Librarian a great deal. The other consideration is whether to give the Librarian terminator armour. Generally speaking it is worth it unless he is being transported in a Rhino/Razorback as it is the only way to give him an effective invulnerable save. Quite often most of the time there's no point in giving him a ranged weapon with this option as his psychic shooting attacks are much better. However giving him a storm shield is as it gives him a very high degree of protection.

Last but not least is the fact that the Librarian comes with a psychic hood. This is a very useful piece of wargear that allows you nullify an enemy psychic power within 24" if you beat them in an opposed leadership roll. It not the best thing in the world as if the enemy psyker has an equal leadership to you which most do you will only nullify the power 33% of the time as you have to roll better than not equal to.

So as you can see the Librarian is a very flexible and tactically interesting HQ choice that can really lend support to an army. He's no combat monster, but then he isn't meant to be. It should be pointed out however that against certain armies like Eldar and Tyranids it will become very difficult for him to pull off his psychic powers.

Grade: B+

Space Marine Chaplain
If the Librarian is what could be considered the "Shooty" HQ choice then the Chaplain is the "Assault" orientated one. However for a character whose abilities lend themselves to supporting assault units the actual combat prowess of the Chaplain itself leaves something to be desired.

In terms of raw statistics he is identical to the Librarian, this means that on average he is only going to cause 1.5 wounds vs MEQ. Not exactly setting the world on fire with his awesome combat ability. The one thing that really hurts him is the fact that he is only initiative 4, I do find it somewhat odd that the living embodiment of faith and zeal for Space Marines is no swifter than a standard marine.

Granted that for the points he does come with reasonable equipment but when compared to the flexibility of the Librarian or the superior combat ability of the Captain/Chapter Master it really does highlight that the Chaplain is somewhat lacking. That isn't to say that the Chaplain is strictly a bad choice but it's effectiveness really does stem from what unit he is used to complement.

The two best roles for him to do are to either give him a jump pack and raise Assault Marines from strictly mediocre to reasonably effective. It should be noted however that even in this role it will not turn Assault Marines into a super deadly assault unit.

The other role is to run him "naked" and attached to a Terminator Assault Squad, re-rolling hits for thunder hammers and lightning claws is bound to ruin anyone's day. I say not to run him with terminator armour as it really doesn't give the Chaplain much, 30 points for a 2+ armour save and a storm bolter is not worth it in my eyes, particularly considering he has a 4+ invulnerable save as standard.

It should also be highlighted that the Chaplain also grants himself and any attached unit Fearless. Excellent for making sure your assault unit doesn't flee due to shooting casualties but it can sometimes be a disadvantage if you are in an unfavourable combat and have no recourse to extract your unit via Combat Tactics.

Overall the Chaplain is by no means a bad choice, he comes with a decent selection of equipment and the abilities he grants are useful. What really brings him down is his own combat prowess and the very narrow range of units that can actually make good use of his granted abilities.

Grade: C+

Master of the Forge
This last HQ choice is very interesting one. As standard he is reasonably effective in melee with two powerfist equivalent attacks and a twin-linked plasma pistol and flamer for shooting. However with a strictly average weapon skill of 4 he is no combat monster, and the guns provided are very short range. Really it's his equipment and abilities that make him shine.

Bolster Defences is a nice little ability that will make a squad hunkered down in the reinforced ruin very hard to extract, of particular note is putting Scouts with camo cloaks in said ruin as they will benefit from a 2+ cover save. The drawback to this ability is that you will need a ruin in your deployment zone, a common enough occurrence but not one that is 100% guaranteed.

Blessing of the Omnissiah is a situational ability that unfortunately takes a quite a few resources to pull off. Repairing an Immobilised or Weapon Destroyed is a nice thing to have access to. However in order to have a good chance of this happening you will need a servo-harness and some Servitors with Servo-arms. This pigeon holes him into a role of repairman which isn't really a particularly effective investment of points or a HQ choice.

Servitors are an interesting retinue to have as at base cost they are very cheap and effectively come with a powerfist as standard. However their statistics are woefully lacking and the options to upgrade them with heavy weapons are extremely expensive considering their mediocre ballistic skill. They are only particularly useful for assisting in repairs and providing cheap ablative wounds.

I seem to be bagging on the Master of the Forge quite a bit but I do think their is a role he can excel at. This is the role of supporting fire as there is the choice of replacing the servo-harness with a Conversion Beamer, a very odd weapon whose power increases the further away a target is. The fact that it is a blast weapon really plays to his superior ballistic skill and can provide either reasonably effective light infantry killing at "medium" range or very effective anti-tank fire at "long" range. The downsides to the Conversion Beamer are that the "long" range shot is very long indeed at 48" minimum to get the strength 10 AP1 blast, and that the weapon is also heavy. The solution to this is to mount the Master of the Forge on a Space Marine Bike, not only does this give him the mobility to try and get the range bracket that the wants, but also gives him Relentless so he can fire on the move.

There is also the ability to take Dreadnoughts as Heavy Support choices. This is quite an interesting ability. Fielding up to 6 Dreadnoughts is a fluff orientated choice that can actually be quite effective. However it should be noted that nearly any other HQ choice in other Codices that allow certain units to be taken in different force organisation slots do the substitution into Troops choices. The fact is that sacrificing Heavy Support slots is not something to take lightly as there is competition for those slots already.

Overall the Master of the Forge is a very interesting HQ choice that gives you a fair few unusual options and choices that can complement your army. However in order to make full use of all his abilities an army has to effectively be built around him.

Grade: C

Conclusion
The main overriding idea that should be considered with choosing a Space Marine HQ is that it is going to be a supportive element to your army as a whole. None of the choices are close combat monsters in and of themselves, but allow for other elements of your army to do their job more effectively.

It is for this reason that I consider to the Chapter Master to be extremely sub-par and that the Captain only has limited use. In my eyes the choice comes down to the Librarian and the Chaplain.

The Librarian is the most flexible choice giving numerous options for offensive and supportive utility. It should be noted however that for the most part these supportive abilities are over a wide area of effect.

If you want a more concentrated force multiplier then the Chaplain is a better choice as it makes one unit very effective at close combat, but then it also forces you into including said squad in your army.

The overall message I'm trying to convey is that in reality there is no "auto include" HQ choice for Codex: Space Marines, each choice has their pros and cons and while I personally think that some choices are objectively worse than others they each have a role that they can fulfil if equipped and use properly.

Except the Chapter Master, he really is utter shit except for access to an incredibly expensive and inefficient "Deathstar" unit.