Hey all
something i often wonder about...
Space Marine squads currently have the ability to swap one of their Bolters for a Plasma Gun, Melta Gun or Flamer as their "special" weapon - but why cant they take Storm Bolters?
Grenade Launchers i can understand - despite being an Imperial weapon, no-one in C:
SM can take them, so it seems like they are trying to keep them something special for the
IG. which is fair enough.
but Marines
do use Storm Bolters: their
ICs, Termines, Veteran Sergeants, Dreads and Tanks can already have them. the very squads limited to Plasma/Melta/Flamer can have Storm Bolters carried by their Vet Sgts.
i dont think its for looks, either: SOB have them, as do
SM Vet Sgts/
ICs, and they look great - not at all out of place on Marines or other models in Power Armour.
could it be for fluff reasons? is there something written that only Plasma Guns, Melta Guns or Flamers are allowed as special squad weapons? if there is, could this only apply to strictly "Codex" chapters (could it be overturned by use of a Trait, for example)? and when a Vet Sgt takes such a weapon, could this be seen as violating the spirit of the "rule" (in the fluff)?
its certainly not for logistical reasons: the Storm Bolter uses the same ammo as the squad's normal Bolters, so if anything it makes
more sense to use them as special weapons in this regard as they can share ammo with their squadmates (no need for replacement fuel cells/promethium tanks etc just for the specialist).
could it be an artificial constraint for the purposes of game balance? i dont see how it would be unbalancing to allow Storm Bolters instead of the other Special weapons, especially considering (1) they would be competing alongside the Plasma Gun (considered to be the "powergamers" weapon of choice) and (2) they can already be taken in such squads anyway by giving them to a Vet Sgt (for 10 pts more than a Plasma/Melta gun, you can upgrade a model to a Vet Sgt
and give them a Storm Bolter).
so why cant they have Storm Bolters? is there some designers note or piece of fluff that i have missed? and do you think they
should have the option?
it would allow players to take a long range Special Weapon without defaulting to the Plasma Gun, for a start - acting as a sort of middle ground between Bolter and Plasma. they also look good IMO and it would add the possibility of more variation in Marine armies.
from the Marine players perspective, this is what they offer:
- more shots at long range than any other special weapon
- better range when moving than any other special weapon
- longer max range than Flamer & Melta
- more shots at close range than Melta
- can be fired before charging, unlike Plasma Gun
- dont "Get Hot", unlike Plasma Gun
- same range, Str &
AP as the squad's Bolters (less redundancy than when a Melta Gun shoots a tank, for example)
they also encourage mobility too (and less reliance on Rapid Fire weapons at long range = less "stand and shoot" tactics).
as for points cost, i think the price listed in the Armoury would be fine (should stop Plasma Guns from being a "no-brainer").
a counter argument for their inclusion could be that special weapons are supposed to aid their squads by doing something that they cant do with their normal weapons (tank hunting, penetrating heavy infantry armour, clearing enemies out of cover etc) - which is a fair point. but IMO the Storm Bolter
does do this, as it allows the squad to move and fire whilst still keeping the enemy at arm's reach - something none of their other weapons (Heavy, Special or normal) can do.
i think they would definately have a place in balanced armies (alongside all the other special weapons) - do you agree?
do you think that Tac Squads w/Storm Bolter and Heavy Bolter (with maybe a 2nd Storm Bolter on a Vet Sgt) would become the new "Las/Plas"? and if so, would this necessarily be a
bad thing?
cheers in advance
~ Tim