So, to conclude my first look at the new codex. This section was always the hardest to chose from, with so many good options and a limit of three... So this is always interesting.
Havocs
With the new rules in 6:th edition these guys all ready got an upswing since they can take Autocannons. A very cheap option to deal with Light Vehicles and simply glance them to death. In this codex they got another buff. Now, as they're the same price as normal Marines without CCW's they are pretty damn cheap. Not only that, but their options got cheaper as well. Personally I've never felt the urge to use them since they compete with so many other good options in this slot. But now you can get a unit of 4 Lascannons for 155 points. Not bad at all. If you prefer Missile Launchers you get them for 135 points. They however doesn't include Flakk Missiles, that's another 10 points for each should you want them. I'm not sure that for the points it's worth it to take a full squad of Flakk Missiles, but however to take 1 or two in a squad wouldn't be too bad. It's not amazing against flyers since it's only S7 but pretty decent at least.
This is one of those units that gets a Champion as well, where he definitely isn't needed. I'd just ignore that he exists.
Obliterators
My favourite swiss army knives! I always loved these guys, and now they're better than ever! One thing that they used to lack was some crowd control weapons with longer range than flamers, the one hole in their array of weapons. But no more, as they now also have access to the Assault Cannon! However, they can no longer fire the same weapon two turns in a row - the way I use them that's not really a problem though. I know people liked to sit them back and zap Lascannon shots with these guys - but that was never my style. I like to Deep Strike one or two behind enemy lines to utilize their twin-linked meltas, and now after they've popped a tank they can turn at any target no problem. However, what this new rule does is making their deployment more important than ever. If you misplace them so they are far away from any enemies they'll start getting problems since they have to change weapons every turn. So make sure you place them correctly from the start, and not too far away from the action.
Another huge boost is the ability to take Marks on these guys! There is only one mark that makes sense in my eyes, and that's the Mark of Nurgle. T5 Obliterators! Yes please! You thought they were durable before...
They have also lost Fearless, but I don't see that as a bog problem either. For one thing it means you can now Go to Ground if you need to. If you sit inside a ruin or forest this might really help you actually. The big problem is when you get assaulted though, as they'll no longer stick around forever if they lose combat. So if possible you should try to have something close by to help them out should they get in a sticky situation. This shouldn't be too hard since you need to keep them at midrange to be effective - so having a squad of Marines nearby shouldn't limit you much.
Defiler
This is one of the few Large Blast weapons you have access to in your army, perhaps that's why they're now much more expensive than they used to be. This is also a unit you need to deploy right to get it's full potential. You can be a bit more daring with it in this codex as it now has a 5++ save as well as a chance to regenerate lost HP's, but generally you won't get that many shots off him since he'll quickly become the prime target of your enemy. Good thing then that it also has gotten the Daemonforge rule, letting you re-roll all to-wound rolls for a turn - you should probably use it as soon as you get a good shot of lest you forget about it or lose the Defiler beforehand.
In this edition you actually have to think some about how you arm him as you can still fire snapshots after you've fired your Ordnance. I don't feel he has any amazing options for shooting though, since you still have to shoot at the same target as your Large Blast. The three Powerfists+Flamer seems to be the most solid build to me. As a Walker you can use the flamer for Overwatch to protect you some when Powerfists are getting close. And as a Walker he's pretty decent in combat as well, with Fleet you actually get the option to charge in as a last desperate effort.
Forgefiend
Two Hades Autocannons or two Ectoplasma Cannons. It's a though choice really. Whatever you go for though, it's pretty clear what to do with this guy. It's really lacking in options... So your choice is do you go for anti-infantry and Light Vehicles or AP2? The choice should depend on what the rest of your army is good at dealing with of course!
Maulerfiend
This thing seems even easier to use. Just charge it at the biggest thing you see. It's very fast and it has few but very strong attacks. Your only option is between Magma Cutters (super anti-vehicle) or tendrils (helps you survive when your opponent sends light infantry against you to stop you from reaching what you want to reach). Remember this guy has Move Through Cover, so you should really try to use that if possible. It might catch your opponent off guard, or at least keep enemies from charging you.
Vindicator
Your other option for Large Blasts, even stronger than the Defilers. However they only have a range of 24" which means you'll usually have some troubles to get more than one shot of before you're dead. But if you know that you're playing against someone who likes to take many vehicles and clumps them up this might be nice... with the S10 AP2 Large Blast you can probably catch two vehicles per turn. That's going to hurt pretty bad! It's also, weirdly, a lot cheaper than the Defiler. So this might be your first choice if you really need a Large Blast in your army.
Predator
This is without a doubt my favourite tank in the game! The thing is, it's not really dangerous enough for your opponent to focus on it in the beginning of the game but it's not weak either. So you'll most likely get a chance to snipe some stuff with either it's Autocannon or the Twin-Linked Lascannon before he has to turn his attention towards it. And it's also really cheap for what it does (even more so in this codex than the last one!). Generally I'd take the same kind of sponsons guns as the main turret, since you can't split targets. And in this codex you get three Lascannons for 115 points on a AV13 vehicle. Not bad at all! I would also consider taking an extra Combi-Bolter as well, not that it'll be good for killing anything - but it gives your main weapons some extra protection in case you suffer a Weapon Destroyed result. As a matter of fact, in this codex it seems you can actually take a Combi-Bolter, a Combi-weapon AND a Havoc Launcher as well. That's 6 guns on your Tank, meaning you'll always have something to shoot with...
If you go for the Autocannon/Heavy Bolters option I would also definitely consider getting the Warpflame gargoyles. Granting your infantry killing weapons Soul Blaze for 5 points is pretty sweet.
Also, since they're not super-dangerous by themselves you should really consider running at least two of them in the same list. This way they can help each other out a lot.
A funny tactic I came up with is also to simply ignore their shooting options and take Destroyer Blades and Dirge Casters as well as Dozer Blades. You take two or three for 100 points each, line them up and make them the spearhead of your assault. So you get a moving AV13 wall in front of your assault troops, you tank shock everything in their way and once you're up there the Dirge Casters will prevent Overwatch on your assault troops. Will it be effective? I have no idea, but it sure sounds like something I should try at least!
Havocs
With the new rules in 6:th edition these guys all ready got an upswing since they can take Autocannons. A very cheap option to deal with Light Vehicles and simply glance them to death. In this codex they got another buff. Now, as they're the same price as normal Marines without CCW's they are pretty damn cheap. Not only that, but their options got cheaper as well. Personally I've never felt the urge to use them since they compete with so many other good options in this slot. But now you can get a unit of 4 Lascannons for 155 points. Not bad at all. If you prefer Missile Launchers you get them for 135 points. They however doesn't include Flakk Missiles, that's another 10 points for each should you want them. I'm not sure that for the points it's worth it to take a full squad of Flakk Missiles, but however to take 1 or two in a squad wouldn't be too bad. It's not amazing against flyers since it's only S7 but pretty decent at least.
This is one of those units that gets a Champion as well, where he definitely isn't needed. I'd just ignore that he exists.
Obliterators
My favourite swiss army knives! I always loved these guys, and now they're better than ever! One thing that they used to lack was some crowd control weapons with longer range than flamers, the one hole in their array of weapons. But no more, as they now also have access to the Assault Cannon! However, they can no longer fire the same weapon two turns in a row - the way I use them that's not really a problem though. I know people liked to sit them back and zap Lascannon shots with these guys - but that was never my style. I like to Deep Strike one or two behind enemy lines to utilize their twin-linked meltas, and now after they've popped a tank they can turn at any target no problem. However, what this new rule does is making their deployment more important than ever. If you misplace them so they are far away from any enemies they'll start getting problems since they have to change weapons every turn. So make sure you place them correctly from the start, and not too far away from the action.
Another huge boost is the ability to take Marks on these guys! There is only one mark that makes sense in my eyes, and that's the Mark of Nurgle. T5 Obliterators! Yes please! You thought they were durable before...
They have also lost Fearless, but I don't see that as a bog problem either. For one thing it means you can now Go to Ground if you need to. If you sit inside a ruin or forest this might really help you actually. The big problem is when you get assaulted though, as they'll no longer stick around forever if they lose combat. So if possible you should try to have something close by to help them out should they get in a sticky situation. This shouldn't be too hard since you need to keep them at midrange to be effective - so having a squad of Marines nearby shouldn't limit you much.
Defiler
This is one of the few Large Blast weapons you have access to in your army, perhaps that's why they're now much more expensive than they used to be. This is also a unit you need to deploy right to get it's full potential. You can be a bit more daring with it in this codex as it now has a 5++ save as well as a chance to regenerate lost HP's, but generally you won't get that many shots off him since he'll quickly become the prime target of your enemy. Good thing then that it also has gotten the Daemonforge rule, letting you re-roll all to-wound rolls for a turn - you should probably use it as soon as you get a good shot of lest you forget about it or lose the Defiler beforehand.
In this edition you actually have to think some about how you arm him as you can still fire snapshots after you've fired your Ordnance. I don't feel he has any amazing options for shooting though, since you still have to shoot at the same target as your Large Blast. The three Powerfists+Flamer seems to be the most solid build to me. As a Walker you can use the flamer for Overwatch to protect you some when Powerfists are getting close. And as a Walker he's pretty decent in combat as well, with Fleet you actually get the option to charge in as a last desperate effort.
Forgefiend
Two Hades Autocannons or two Ectoplasma Cannons. It's a though choice really. Whatever you go for though, it's pretty clear what to do with this guy. It's really lacking in options... So your choice is do you go for anti-infantry and Light Vehicles or AP2? The choice should depend on what the rest of your army is good at dealing with of course!
Maulerfiend
This thing seems even easier to use. Just charge it at the biggest thing you see. It's very fast and it has few but very strong attacks. Your only option is between Magma Cutters (super anti-vehicle) or tendrils (helps you survive when your opponent sends light infantry against you to stop you from reaching what you want to reach). Remember this guy has Move Through Cover, so you should really try to use that if possible. It might catch your opponent off guard, or at least keep enemies from charging you.
Vindicator
Your other option for Large Blasts, even stronger than the Defilers. However they only have a range of 24" which means you'll usually have some troubles to get more than one shot of before you're dead. But if you know that you're playing against someone who likes to take many vehicles and clumps them up this might be nice... with the S10 AP2 Large Blast you can probably catch two vehicles per turn. That's going to hurt pretty bad! It's also, weirdly, a lot cheaper than the Defiler. So this might be your first choice if you really need a Large Blast in your army.
Predator
This is without a doubt my favourite tank in the game! The thing is, it's not really dangerous enough for your opponent to focus on it in the beginning of the game but it's not weak either. So you'll most likely get a chance to snipe some stuff with either it's Autocannon or the Twin-Linked Lascannon before he has to turn his attention towards it. And it's also really cheap for what it does (even more so in this codex than the last one!). Generally I'd take the same kind of sponsons guns as the main turret, since you can't split targets. And in this codex you get three Lascannons for 115 points on a AV13 vehicle. Not bad at all! I would also consider taking an extra Combi-Bolter as well, not that it'll be good for killing anything - but it gives your main weapons some extra protection in case you suffer a Weapon Destroyed result. As a matter of fact, in this codex it seems you can actually take a Combi-Bolter, a Combi-weapon AND a Havoc Launcher as well. That's 6 guns on your Tank, meaning you'll always have something to shoot with...
If you go for the Autocannon/Heavy Bolters option I would also definitely consider getting the Warpflame gargoyles. Granting your infantry killing weapons Soul Blaze for 5 points is pretty sweet.
Also, since they're not super-dangerous by themselves you should really consider running at least two of them in the same list. This way they can help each other out a lot.
A funny tactic I came up with is also to simply ignore their shooting options and take Destroyer Blades and Dirge Casters as well as Dozer Blades. You take two or three for 100 points each, line them up and make them the spearhead of your assault. So you get a moving AV13 wall in front of your assault troops, you tank shock everything in their way and once you're up there the Dirge Casters will prevent Overwatch on your assault troops. Will it be effective? I have no idea, but it sure sounds like something I should try at least!
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