[Grand Master Raziel]

Originally Posted by Icarus Athrasuriel

I won't bother with the pile of fluff, but here ya go.

Well, I happen to consider myself something of a Space Marine guru, so let me see if I can help you out here.

HQ

Icarus, Master of the Storm Marines
Artificer Armour
Pair of Lightning Claws (Master Crafted)
Purity Seals
Acute Senses
Jump Pack
168

Let's start with this guy here. As previously observed, there's not much point in giving him a jump pack if you also give him a Command Squad, since he can't leave the squad. Also, articifer armor is a major waste of points. Anything your opponent is likely to throw at this guy is going to ignore armor saves anyway. Also, he doesn't have an invulnerable save, and I rarely find master-crafting worth the points. About the only thing I consider worth master-crafting is a Librarian's force weapon. So, if you want to keep the Command squad, you should ditch the jump pack. Also, you should ditch the arty armor, and at least seriously consider consigning the master-crafting to the dust bin as well. That will save you some serious points. With them, you can pick up an Iron Halo for a good Invulnerable save, or if you want to be clever and save even more points, give him a single L-claw and a storm shield. With that kit, you could give him the Adamantine Mantle, which would ratchet his price right back up, but it would protect him against insta-kills.

Icarus’ Command Squad (5-Man)
Apothecary
Standard Bearer with Chapter Banner
Company Champion
Infiltrate
Acute Senses
200

I gather Icky's Command Squad has a couple ordinary squaddies. Let's start with the basics: this squad is too small. Assault-oriented squads need to be fairly large. That gives you more attacks and more staying power. I'd bulk this squad up so you've got 10 men+Icky. I'm not a big fan of taking all the specialists. I find that one is generally sufficient. As you're going with a heavily assault-oriented force, you're probably best off with the company champion. Also, you should give the squad a Veteran Sergeant with a power fist, and slap in a couple meltaguns or flamers. Don't forget frags. Finally, I don't see much point to shelling out points for Acute Senses. None of your squads have a weapon with greater than a 12" range, and Infiltrators have to be set up at least 18" away from an unfriendly unit.

Alternately, if Icky's jump pack is a must-have for some reason, you could ditch the Command Squad entirely and have Icky operate with the Assault Squad, using the points saved from the ditched squad to bulk up the Assault Squad.

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ELITE

Veteran Squad (5-man)
Melta-Gun
Pair of Lightning-Claws
Veteran Sergeant with Master-Crafted Power Sword
Furious Assault
Infiltrate
Acute Senses
195

The See But Don't Be Seen advantage doesn't let you buy Infiltrate for a Veteran squad, only for Tactical and Devestator squads. Vet Squads can have Infiltrate, but as a squad option, which would preclude also taking Furious Assault. This is not the end of the world. Just ditch the sergeant's master crafted power weapon in favor of a power fist (non-MCed), and swap the L-claws for another power fist. Bulk up the squad so you have more meatshields for the power fists. Don't forget frags.

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TROOPS

Tactical Squad A (6-man)
Melta-gun
Infiltrate
Acute Senses
Take the Fight to Them
124

Tactical Squad B (6-man)
Melta-gun
Infiltrate
Acute Senses
Take the Fight to Them
124

Tactical Squad C (6-man)
Flamer
Infiltrate
Acute Senses
Take the Fight to Them
124

Tactical Squad D (6-man)
Flamer
Infiltrate
Acute Senses
Take the Fight to Them
124

Mush these four squads into two squads of 10, or three squads of 8. Give each squad a Veteran Sergeant with a power fist. Ditch Acute Senses, give frags.

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FAST ATTACK

Assault Squad (6-man)
Veteran Sergeant with Power Sword
Flamer
168

Make the squad bigger. Give the sergeant a power fist. Add a second flamer.

Tornado Squadron (3 Land Speeder Tornados)
3 Multi-meltas
2 Heavy Flamers
275

This is a fine squadon. Just a quick point on nomenclature: if one of the Speeders doesn't have the underslung weapon, it isn't a Tornado, just a regular speeder. However, if you can squeeze in an extra 10 points, I highly recommend the third heavy flamer.

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TOTAL pts: 1500
TRAITS
Advantages: See, but don’t be seen.
Take the Fight to Them (Noted when used)

Drawbacks: Eye to Eye
Die Standing


Comments would be immensly appreciated within reason. This army is designed to be fluff compatible, so I'll only change it if the suggestion makes it more effective but abides by the same philosophy. Thanks in advance

Well, hopefully you find my comments helpful. In addition to what I've stated previously, as I see it this list's main weakness is a total lack of any kind of long-range firepower. A good Devestator Squad with 4 missile launchers would go a long way toward covering that base. As it currently stands, if you play against an opponent that can keep your forces at arm's length (or if you don't get Infiltrate), you're going to be in for a frustrating game. Remember, See But Don't Be Seen can be used to give Infiltrate to Devvies as well.

One more thing to consider: instead of all those Takeing The Fight To Them Tactical squads, you could use Scout squads. Scouts have pistol-ccw as their default weapon combo, have Infiltrate as part of their base cost, cost 5 points per figure less than your Tac squads, and have Move Through Cover as part of the bargain. If you use Scouts as your Troops choices, you wouldn't need the Traits you've selected, so you could play vanilla (and not have to take disadvantages at all), or take different Traits.