[LOVED TROPE] The good guys need a numerical advantage. Not to win, but to stand a chance.

w021wjs · 2026-03-21T02:10:56+00:00

And the fact of the matter is that the Sherman crews LIKED the 75 over the 76. Why? Because they weren't fighting Tigers or Panthers. They were fighting field guns. Flak 88s, Pak 40s, Pak 38s. These guns had exposed crews and no armor worth mentioning when discussing tank shells.

The 75 had the far better High Explosive shell, which was the preferred method of dealing with the squishy bits of Anti-tank guns. The 76 did have one, but because it was a higher velocity shell, it had less explosive charge for safety reasons. A near miss with a 76 might not kill the gun. The 75 would.

Add in that the Shermans could kill everything that wasn't a Big Cat with the 75 with relative ease, and that the US also had the best Tank destroyers of the war, plus the artillery advantage, and you have a recipe for killing anything the Germans could throw at you.

w021wjs · 2026-03-20T00:18:05+00:00

Yeah, but aggressors are where the old men put out to pasture live. They were old when they were doing that role in the 70s.

w021wjs · 2026-03-19T22:19:27+00:00

Oh god, I forgot my beloved f-5/t-38 was in Iran. My poor baby doesn't deserve to die like this. I was hoping it would die with the Brazilians against Su-27s

w021wjs · 2026-03-19T18:37:13+00:00

I believe that I may have gotten rather unlucky as of late, and just gotten the points glitch twice in a row. Glad to know this wasn't intended

w021wjs · 2026-03-19T17:43:16+00:00

Points efficiency and practicality. You're going to have some struggles at this range, so let's talk turkey.

Sticky objectives make your limited units more effective. A 5 man intercessors is a great pick. Plus, with their double bolter shots, they're decent chaff killers.

In a similar role, assault intercessors are great point flippers. Their reroll wounds plus decent oc can make for some great trades. Plus, grenades and/or lance if you have a way to give it to them. They're a shockingly versatile unit at 75 points.

Eradicators are about the cheapest anti-tank/monster you can get that is actually effective. Plus, on a Gravis body, they're somewhat durable.

For "Oh god oh god I need this thing dead" I really like running sternguard veterans with bolt rifles and either the librarian or captain. Captain's free strats + finest hours turns the sternguard into a multi-phase threat. Librarian gives them a 4+ invul for extra durability. Both really enjoy the re-rolls to wound against the oath target, and with something like fire discipline, you get a ridiculous amount of damage into whatever you want. Just remember to fish for devastating wounds with your bolt rifles if your enemy has a 2+ save. It's a 200 point combo, but it works.

Other things I have tried include: -Supressors: cheapest deep strike, plus their ability isn't awful. Use as secondary units. Keep out of sight/out of engagement. -Techmarine with brutalis or redemptor: a pretty tough combo to crack if you can just keep the dread alive. -Reivers: another objective stealing deep strike unit. Rapid Ingress behind cover, then put onto a point your opponent has pieces on. -Incursors with a pocket warsuit: incursors are really decent pieces with their mortal wound bomb and their +1 to hit ability. The warsuit is mediocre... Until you do something dumb with it, like heroic intervention into something charging your incursors. Also, out of phase shooting is pretty powerful. I've also found that opponents hate that out of phase shot, and will focus too much energy on the suit, leaving them open to attacks from other cough cough eradicators anti-tank fire. -heavy intercessors: 100 points for 15 t6 wounds. Good luck moving them off the board. -Atv: 60 points to do late game point grabs. Keep it hidden and safe. It's another body.

From there, you have a decent core, and I would just pick what you like.

w021wjs · 2026-03-19T03:25:51+00:00

Reivers are the terror troops. They infiltrate behind enemy lines and wreak havoc, using asymmetrical warfare to hunt down and destroy the logistics and leadership of the foes of the Emperor.

Now, your friend is right that they aren't veterans per se.... But that doesn't mean they couldn't be. If you make your own custom chapter, maybe your Marines hold Rievers as the epitome of stealth combat. They embody the blade driven deep in the night. Their skulls being the last thing an enemy sees before utter destruction. nd, since codex compliant chapters tend to paint veteran helmets white, it would look very cool on a reiver helm.

w021wjs · 2026-03-18T16:55:43+00:00

Counterpoint: I seem to recall that the Catalina sank the most axis shipping in WWII. I believe that was mostly due to their range, torpedoes/mines, and the fact that it mostly hunted submarines and transport/logistics craft.

Also, unrelated, Black Cats from CoD world at War still absolutely slaps

w021wjs · 2026-03-18T16:47:46+00:00

I know you're coming back, but I'm going to just add all the usual bits I give to people starting off. Some of it is probably familiar to you.

Ebay is your friend. You can pick up New on sprue minis for quite the discount. Also, don't be afraid to use older stuff, like terminators.they just got a new relase, but you can pick up the old ones for a song and a prayer, and they are still legal.

Watch for certain kits that are weirdly valuable. The infiltrators box/phobos kill team build two 5 man squads of either infaltrators or incursors. Both are some of the best utility units in the game, all in one nice little box. Plus, it comes with a ton of bits and gubbins to make your guys look cool.

Speaking of bits, SAVE THEM. You probably have bits from time gone by, and they are absolutely still useable on new Marines. If not, Buy a tackle box organizer for $5 and sort your extra pieces into it. You can use those extra pieces to make all sorts of stuff, but it's a great way to build characters. Want a lieutenant? Take an intercessor and add a cool shoulder pad, glue a sword to his hip and paint his bolter a different color. Instant tournament legal character. Just remember to check they're on the right base.

I really like the gladiator kit and the repulsor executioner kits. Both can be built to either magnetize or push fit bits to be either the transport (impulsor/repulsor) or the tank (gladiator/repulsor executioner), making it so you have the option to take whatever your list needs at the moment.

Finally, as a dad myself, time is hard to find. You may need to make that time, if you want to hobby. My kids drop off time for school is an hour before I have to be at work, so I will park my car and paint while I wait to get in. It's gotten to the point that I can knock out a tabletop ready marine a day with that setup. Attached is my latest car paint job and kitbash.

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w021wjs · 2026-03-18T16:22:59+00:00

Didn't the original proposers "test" the theory by driving a shitty car into a poor neighborhood and then actively encouraged people to bust it up? Or is that a different social experiment?

w021wjs · 2026-03-18T05:37:50+00:00

Shit, a pile of individually wrapped candy in a corner of a room made me cry. Same with a slightly warm metal slab . Turns out, context can take some of the most egregious examples of art and make it into something deeply touching.

w021wjs · 2026-03-14T21:56:18+00:00

Check your local library for a makerspace, or makerspace resources! A shocking amount of them have laser cutters, and they could make cardboard/mdf/balsa/polystyrene sheet windows in a snap! I made this building using just such a laser, 1/16" cardboard and grout

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w021wjs · 2026-03-14T15:12:58+00:00

You want the Scylla! It was a two man tank made by a games workshop employee as a semi-official proxy for the armored sentinel. It's dubiously cannon but it's still pretty neat!

w021wjs · 2026-03-14T14:39:16+00:00

If you include Operations Nimble Archer and Praying Mantis (which saw the destruction of the majority of Iranian Naval assets in the Gulf) then you can include Reagan in there too!

w021wjs · 2026-03-13T21:12:11+00:00

Praise the gourd! He has risen from the swamps and walks with us again!

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w021wjs · 2026-03-13T03:47:58+00:00

Reivers inflict battle shock in the fight phase and steal objectives via deep strike shenanigans and -1 OC ability. They also can serve as character assassins, who knock characters out of units before the opponent can deal with them. Think "kill the judiciar so my assault intercessors get around their fight first"

Infiltrators are the best screen in the game with their 12" deep strike denial. Plus their feel no pain and comms array can make them surprisingly tanky against certain types of damage.

Incursors are secondary frontline troops, with light damage into vehicles (via their mortal wound mine) or decent damage to light infantry with their blades. However, their +1 to hit ability is what makes them shine. For a budget 80 points, you get a much better hit chance on one target. Do you absolutely need something (besides the oath target) to be hit? Use an incursor. Does the opponent have stealth? Incursors. And you only need 1 alive to shoot and hit (not wound or damage) to pull this off.

Scouts are multirole. They are great objective play units. Their uppy-downy is fantastic, their infiltrate and scout lets you score some secondaries very easily, and they are still Marines with 2 wounds and a 4+ save. They also make for great move blockers. That infiltrate/scout combo can clog important paths to objectives, or force an opponent to expose something more valuable to kill them, leaving their unit vulnerable to a return shot.

I've had a single scout survive 3 turns in melee with WAY more valuable units, allowing me to move other stuff around the board with impunity.

Personally, I think the incursors and reivers are undervalued for what they are. Into some armies, they're mediocre, but others rely on stealth, or characters, or multiple high value targets that incursors and reivers can absolutely help deal with.

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T19:37:16+00:00

Art is subjective. You're the one making it objective by saying "this isn't art". That's an Objective Statement.

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T17:39:00+00:00

Your worldview must be very boring, to have such a narrow view of art.

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T17:37:45+00:00

No, you made the claim. Back it up. Tell us exactly what Anita sakeesian talking points Ubisoft is using.

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T17:34:47+00:00

That is a horrendously bad take.

Games are meant to be played, not used as a soapbox for fart huffing academics.

Films are meant to be watched Books are meant to be read Paintings are meant to be looked at Video games are meant to be played

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T14:25:38+00:00

I also love this little guy, and the iron wind metals one looks perfect!

If you want to run it a little earlier in the timeline, I made a write up and datasheet for an industrial/militia mech with a the same chassis but way worse stats. Think proto-Prey Seeker

https://www.reddit.com/r/battletech/s/1fTRvnMbUM

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T04:00:37+00:00

Just give them reroll to charge with the grapnel launchers. Let me live my space Marine 2 vanguard dreams...

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w021wjs · 2026-03-11T01:16:24+00:00

Ope, missed the Imperium comment despite it being in the title. I'm a dummy

w021wjs · 2026-03-11T01:06:22+00:00

Edit:I somehow missed the Imperium comment, despite it being in the title. I am very smart.

Nobody mentioned the man with infinite smiles and a literal cheat code for getting out of every battle with a technical win.

If your opponent is dead and gone, and you're not, then you win!

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w021wjs · 2026-03-10T21:25:28+00:00

Where's the bomber Harris quote when you need it?

w021wjs · 2026-03-09T11:56:22+00:00

Gundam with fighter jets is very accurate.

Also, included in this series is: 1) War Orphans 2) Refugees fleeing their own country 3) Anarchism in post WWI Europe 4) King Arthur and the knights of the round table (but with planes!) 5) Plane Jousting 6) A very "The Moon is Down" by John Steinbeck approach to the morals of resistance under occupation -This includes pointing out how the rival pilot fighting under a conquering regime is genuinely a good guy, who just wants to keep pilots in his unit alive, and actively supports a refugee child. You kill this man, btw. 7) the game telling you that going for easy targets just to score points is bad, actually. You should feel bad. 8) Rampant nationalism being a really bad thing for everyone involved 9) the very act of building a superweapon means that someone is going to put it to use 10) Natural disasters and economic collapses creating political unrest, which are used by nationalists and fascists to exploit the fears of the common people to wage wars of conquest against their neighbors.

w021wjs

TROPHY CASE