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Space Marine tanks are going through a rough patch lately, it seems. The transport vehicles are less necessary in Warhammer 40k 9th Edition than they used to be, and if you play competitively, odds are you’re going to be seeing fewer and fewer tanks on the table–they’ll mostly be replaced by Space Marine Dreadnoughts. Why is this? And which Space Marine tanks are still worth the points?

In this article we’re going to be talking about how Space Marine tanks are best used, which three Space Marines tanks are the best, and which three are not worth the points.

Why Are Space Marine Tanks Not As Common As They Used to Be?

#1. Dreadnoughts

The first big reason that Space Marine tanks aren’t being used as often as they once were is because dreadnoughts are filling the role of Big Guns, Tough Armor. Dreadnoughts have the “Core” keyword, which means that they are eligible for re-rolls from captains and lieutenants, while tanks don’t have this keyword. They also lack the “Duty Eternal” ability, which reduces damage by 1 for dreadnoughts–but not for tanks.

#2. Close Combat Danger

The second big reason that tanks aren’t as commonly used is because they are in more danger of close combat. It may seem that recent changes that allow a tank to fire during close combat are a benefit, and that’s kind of true, but the real problem is that the recent changes to the standard board sizes mean that any real long-range shooting tank has the potential to wind up pinned in close combat and forced into that fight instead of doing its long-range shooting.

Plus, even if you are engaged in close combat with your tank, in the majority of cases on your turn you would want to withdraw during your movement rather than remain engaged, as close combat will typically favor the infantry unit that is locking you up. The number of shots that you can get off during a close combat attack, typically, is not comparable to the number of shots the infantry assaulting you can do.

What Is the Best Way to Use Space Marine Tanks?

First and foremost, get thee a Techmarine. Having the additional +1 to hit and the benefit of repairing is crucial to a tank-heavy army. Yes, a Techmarine can cost 80 points, which is steep in a small game, but if you’re taking two or more tanks and expecting those valuable big-damage shots to go off, then it’s well worth it.

Also, if you’re starting a new Space Marine chapter and you want to make it tank-heavy (as opposed to having an existing Space Marine army and wanting to add a few tanks), then it’s probably in your best interest to pick a chapter that gives you tank buffs: most notably, the Iron Hands. Psyker abilities from the Iron Hands like Blessing of the Machine God or Reforge are great ways to buff up a tank army, plus Strategems like Machine Empathy will double the effectiveness of your Techmarine, and Wrathful Machine Spirit lets you re-roll to hit.

Of course, there are other good ways to use tanks in non-tank-heavy armies, such as using the Baal Predator by the Blood Angels. These tanks are made for close range, so while they may still suffer the problems of not being “Core” and not having “Duty Eternal”, they’re still great in close combat.

For more information how to play the Space Marines, read What Is Each Warhammer 40k Faction’s Playstyle?

Which Are The Best Three Space Marine Tanks?

#1. The Vindicator

Our pick for the best Space Marine tank is the Vindicator. The Vindicator is one tough tank, with a toughness of 8 and a 3+ save–but, if you spend 10 extra points to add the Vindicator Siege Shield, you gain an additional +1 to ranged attacks, turning this into a +2 save. (It’s hard to imagine why you wouldn’t want to spend that extra 10 points.)

The Demolisher Cannon is nothing to laugh at, either, doing D6 strength 10 hits at -3 AP, D6 wounds, and Blast. Granted, there is the danger that this is an all-or-nothing kind of tank–you could roll one shot or six shots, and one damage or six damage, meaning that this cannon can either dole out a total of 1 damage to the enemy or 36 damage to the enemy. It’s definitely worth saving up your Command Points when using the Vindicator.

Granted, the Vindicator is vulnerable to getting locked up in close combat, and it can’t shoot in melee at all.

#2. The Gladiators

We’re going to lump two of the Gladiators together here, the Gladiator Reaper and the Gladiator Valiant. (The Gladiator Lancer is a third option, but does not qualify for our #2 spot as it has major issues which we’ll talk about later.)

The Gladiator Reaper is your choice if you’re going to need to chew through hordes: With an Ironhail Heavy Stubber (Heavy 4, S 4, AP -1), Icarus Rocket Pod (Heavy D3, S7, AP -1, Blast), Tempest Bolter (Rapid Fire 4, S 1, AP -1), and Twin Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon (Heavy 24, S6, AP -1). Yes, you read that right: that Gatling Cannon does 24 shots. If you’re facing down a load of Orks or a swarm of Tyranids, the Reaper can be a real lifesaver.

The Gladiator Valiant is the opposite of the Reaper: this is the anti-tank weapon, not the anti-horde weapon. It can also come with the Ironhail Heavy Stubber and Icarus Rocket Pod, as mentioned above, but also comes with a Multi-Melta (Heavy 2, S 8, AP -4, D D6), and Twin Las-Talon (Heavy 4, S 9, AP -3, D D6). A perfect choice if you’re going up against something with some large, tough units, including Chaos Space Marines, Knights, and Space Marines.

The Gladiator Lancer is a third option, but not one that ranks highly in our book (in fact, you’ll see it in our Worst Three list below). It’s main benefit is that it carries one weapon in particular–the Lancer Laser Destroyer (Heavy 2, S 10, AP -3, D D3+3). The benefit of this weapon is its range of 72″, which makes it much more long range than the Gladiator Valiant when it comes to anti-tank shooting, but on the new standard size of game boards a 72″ range will hardly ever be necessary.

The biggest downside to all of the Gladiators is their points cost, which is nearly double that of the Vindicator. They are also very specialized making them great options if you know what sort of army you’ll be playing against, but not as good if you’re playing a random opponent in a tournament.

#3. The Whirlwind

The Whirlwind comes in at number three, but that comes with some caveats: it’s not amazing, but it is pretty cheap, and it does ignore line of sight as an artillery vehicle. It has the Hunter Killer Missile, and a Storm Bolter. Then you can either choose the Whirlwind Castellan Launcher, which is Heavy 2D6 S 6, AP 0, Blast, or you can take the Whirlwind Vengeance Launcher, which is Heavy 2D3, S 7, AP -1, D 2, Blast. So it’s kind of one meant for weak hordes and one meant for slightly stronger hordes. (Neither is meant for anything particularly strong.

This might sound like faint praise, but bear in mind that this thing is only 125 points, while the Gladiators are 230 (Reaper) and 250 (Valiant). So you’re not getting a big punch, but you’re not spending a lot on it either.

But, this is why we’ve put the Vindicator in the #1 spot: because it is extremely tough, with a good gun, and only costs 130 points. It’s far better than the Whirlwind, and comparable with the Gladiators at half the points.

RELATED: The 20 Most Powerful Weapons in the Warhammer 40k Universe

 

What Are the Worst Three Space Marine Tanks?

#1. The Land Raider

As much as it pains us to say it, because these were THE hottest thing around when we were playing 20 years ago, the Land Raider comes in as our #1 worst tank.

Land Raiders are very strong, Toughness 8 and AP +2, which makes them good transports. And they can be armed with Twin Lascannons, which are Heavy 2, S 9, AP -3, D D6. (You can also upgrade them to Multi-meltas for an additional 25 points).

The problem is that, first, they can only transport Firstborn Marines, not Primaris Marines; second, transports are less important in 9th Edition, especially for Space Marines; third, they’re just so darn expensive: 285 points. If you really needed to transport a squad of Terminators armed with Lightning Claws, or Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields, it MIGHT make sense to load them into a Land Raider to get them across the board. But in any other situation, you’re close enough to the enemy anyway given the new table size, and you might as well shoot at them before coming into close combat.

There’s a reason that you don’t see Land Raiders on tournament tables anymore.

#2.  The Gladiator Lancer

The second worst is the tank that we’ve already talked about: the Gladiator Lancer. It’s not as expensive as the Land Raider, and it has a better weapon (though it is not a transport), but it is easily unseated in its usefulness by the Gladiator Valiant that can deal out more high-strength wounds, though at shorter range.

#3. The Hunter

The third worst Space Marine tank is the Hunter. This is an anti-aircraft tank, and it’s a very good weapon in shooting down aircraft, but the question is: how often do you face aircraft? Even in 8th Edition you didn’t face them very much, and in 9th they’re not as good as they even used to be.

When it is at its most useful, facing aircraft, the Hunter’s Skyspear Missile Launcher is a Heavy 1, S 9, AP -3, D D6+6 weapon, plus it gets +2 to hit. When it is not shooting at an aircraft it loses the hit bonus and its damage drops to D6.

So it is effectively a one-shot-per-turn weapon. Granted, it’s the cheapest tank that we’ve talked about so far, at only 110 points, but you have to think that those points could be spent somewhere more effective.

Is the Repulsor a Good Space Marine Tank?

Not really. It has a few things going for it, in that it can transport Primaris Marines (that’s the main benefit of the Repulsor). And it can be loaded with some pretty good weapons (like Twin Lascannons or the Onslaught Gatling Cannon — Heavy 8, S 5, AP -1). But, like the Land Raider, it is expensive: with the Onslaught Gatling Cannon it costs a whopping 330 points.

The Repulsor Executioner is an upgrade that can transport fewer Primaris Marines (6 instead of 10) and comes with some really big guns (Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon: Heavy 12, S 6, AP -1; Macro Plasma Incinerator: Heavy D6, S 8, AP -4, D 2). But it comes in at 355 points. (You can further add a massive anti-tank gun, the Heavy Laser Destroyer–Heavy 2, S 12, AP -4, D D3+3–for an additional 10 points.) But for that price you could get an entire 10-man Veteran Intercessor Squad PLUS a Vindicator.

Given how middling the whole value of transporting Primaris Marines is (especially in 9th Edition), you can see why the Repulsor tanks just don’t get a ton of love.

What’s Better: A Space Marine Tank or a Dreadnought?

In the current meta (take it for what it’s worth; meta changes all the time), Dreadnoughts are a better choice than Space Marine Tanks. Redemptor Dreadnoughts are good all-around weapons, with Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannons to deal with the hordes and Macro Plasma Incinerators to deal with the armor, the are good and versatile if you don’t know what kind of opponent you’re going to be playing against. On top of that they get, as mentioned above, the “Core” keyword and the “Duty Eternal” ability that Space Marine tanks don’t get.

And the kicker is that a dreadnought doesn’t have to avoid close combat–in fact, they excel in close combat (WS +3, S 7, A 4) especially when armed with a Redemptor Fist, which gives them S 14, AP -3, D D3+3.

And the Dreadnought comes in at only 175 points.

Conclusion

So when it comes down to it, if you’re picking an armored unit for your Space Marines, you’ll probably want to choose a Dreadnought. But if you want a tank, then the best bet is the Vindicator.