Crimson Fists have always been a fan favourite Space Marine Chapter dating all the way back to Rogue Trader. Now thanks to some new rules in White Dwarf they’re getting updated for 8th edition with their own Chapter Tactics. Lets see what they can do!
Chapter Tactic:
The Chapter Tactic they receive is No Matter the Odds. A fitting ability for an army renowned for fighting Orks but also very useful in the current meta. Hordes are very prevalent in the game at the moment and an MSU army like Space Marines will often find itself outnumbered. In these cases +1 to hit could be just what you need to thin those numbers down.
Warlord Traits:
Tenacious Opponent and Refuse to Die both have their uses. You can either make your warlord better against hordes in combat or give him a revive after death effect. However the winner here has to be Stoic Defender. Games are won and lost based on objectives and being able to grant Defenders of Humanity to units that don’t normally have it as well as doubling the effect for those that do is too good to pass up.
Stratagems:
Stratagems can make or break armies in 8th edition and Crimson Fists definitely got some good ones!
A Hated Foe: Orks have just received an excellent codex and they’re already having a big impact on the game. 1CP to allow one of your units to re-roll wounds against them is a great ability to have.
Slay the Tyrant: From Imperial Knights to Primarchs there are a lot of big characters in the game and being able to give a unit +1 to hit against them is always going to be useful.
Bolter Drill: The big winner! 1CP for extra shots on 6+ may not seem like a big deal but when you combine this with the other Crimson Fist abilities you can pull off some powerful combos!
Relics:
Fist of Vengeance: Essentially a Thunder Hammer but with no negatives to hit. This is perfect if you’re building a Smash Captain and when combined with the Might of Heroes psychic power he’ll even be punching Knights to death.
Duty’s Burden: A powered up Storm Bolter. While it is flavourful there are always going to be better choices to spend your relic slots on.
Combos to watch out for:
For the ultimate horde busting unit grab yourself 10 Veteran Intercessors from an Indomitus Crusaders Detachment and use the following stratagems:
Rapid Fire (1CP): Bolt Rifles become Rapid Fire 2
Bolter Drill (1CP): 6+ to hit allows additional rolls to hit.
Combined with the Crimson Fists natural +1 to hit against big units you’re putting out 40 shots, hitting on 2+, with any rolls of 5+ generating additional shots. Next to a captain for re-roll 1s you’ll be averaging around 50 s4 AP-1 hits and with the new beta bolter rules you’ll be doing this from 30″ away.
If you happen to be against Orks and can combo this further with A Hated Foe your opponent may wish to just pick the unit up as that’s only going one way.
Final Verdict:
So will Crimson Fists knock Ultramarines off the top spot for competitive Space Marine Chapters? Sadly not but what they do bring to the table is some thematic rules with just enough teeth that you won’t feel too hamstrung if you choose to use them.
Competitive rating: 3/5
Fluffy rating: 5/5
What do you think of the Crimson Fists rules? Have you come up with any good combos yourself? Let us know in the comments.
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