Centurion Squad
Hey, you! Tired of just one Heavy Bolter? Wish to crush your foes with their own armour? Want to wear armour while you wear armour? Crave GIANT FUCKING DRILLS? Then the new Centurion Warsuit is for you!
A Centurion Squad is a new type of Space Marines Squad available with the release of 6th edition. A Centurion is a warsuit whose STC printout was discovered after the Age of Apostasy. After getting the "not heresy" stamp from the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Imperium of Man began supplying Space Marine Chapters with the suits, who dubbed them "Centurion" after the former officers of the Legiones Astartes. The Centurion is a specialist piece of equipment used for sieges or line-breaking. Despite not interfacing with the Space Marines Black Carapace, it gives the Marine durability that is rivaled by that of a Dreadnought, without the requirement of losing their spine and three out of four limbs in a heroic, but probably avoidable last stand. Instead of recruiting out of the Chapter's First Company Veterans, Centurion pilots are recruited from the Assault or Devastator Squads, as Centurions are only useful in specific roles of Assault and heavy weapons, and their pilots need to be immersed in a specific type of warfare (so why don't they recruit from the vanguard veterans?)
While you won't be blam'd for calling them "Reasonable Dreadnaughts", it should be noted that their current status makes them inferior to true dreadnaughts in both loadout and points price DUE TO LACK OF HEROIC SACRIFICE.
They are also commonly referred to as "Space Marine inside a Space Marine" or "baby Dreadknights" by fa/tg/uys. Sometimes "tubinators" by less fatguys.
Why they suck
All jokes aside these things suck. And not even the funny kind of suck that you get with Pyrovores, just the mediocre, almost-usable kind. Their kit and stats seems good on the surface however in practice glaring weaknesses arise.
Good:
- They have grav-cannons and grav-amps. Which is the stuff that rapes the living hell out of your Riptides, Broadsides, Terminators and everything else with suitably high armor save (2+ or 3+). And they re-roll, too.
- S5 T5 W2 and 2+ each!
- Relentless, they can move, shoot, and assault!
- They can each fire two weapons!
- Twin-linked everywhere!
Bad:
- No invuln save. They lack a built in defense against the type of high S low AP weapons that are gonna get thrown at them most, so you'll wanna keep them in cover anyway.
- Dev-Cens suck in assault and will likely be tar pitted by anything.
- They cant run, overwatch, or sweeping advance
- Ass-cens take forever to get into assault
- If either squad is charged all those guns of theirs are useless since they cant overwatch.
- Both units are very pricey points wise.
- There's virtually nothing these guys do that another squad can't do for cheaper(with the exception of having 2Ws each).
The squad(s) also fail to synergize with most chapter tactics in the vanilla marines codex (Not really their fault though since they already have what ever bonus they would normally get).
- Ultramarines:
- Tactical Doctrine: With the exception of missile launchers, all the squad's ranged weapons are twin-linked making Tac Doc unneeded.
- Assault Doctrine: Only benefits the assault centurions, is completely useless to Devastator Centurions.
- Devastator Doctrine: Completely useless since neither squad can overwatch.
- White Scars: All the non-bike focused bonuses do not apply to these units(along with Terminators) specifically.
- Imperial Fists: The Devy-cens get Tank Hunters and +1 to building damage. Ass-cens get nothing. Bolter drill is useless since all their weapons are twin-linked
- Black Templars: Challenge support only really helps Ass-Cen Sarge since its the only version you'll want to get in CC. Crusaders is useless since the squad can't run or sweeping advance.
- Salamanders: Flamecraft is nice but the Ass-Cens would already get the re-rolls to wound from their flamers being twin-linked. Since all their weapons are twin-linked already you'll only ever master craft a missile launcher or siege drill.
- Raven Guard: Stealth and Scouts only apply to none bulky units/models. The second half only affects units with HoR and Jump Packs.
The only chapter tactic that isn't wasted on them is Iron Hands, since the 6+ gives them a small band-aid for their lack of invulns, and IWND can benefit their 2W sarges.
The main reason they fail is that they just don't fill any gaps in the marine army that weren't already filled, other then giving them a squad of 2W models. And it's not like Space Marines lack durability anyway.
TL;DR The squad has its uses but they can be very situational. Dev-Cents are the ultimate anti-everything-with-2+-save unit. If you get them close enough. Ass-Cents, sadly, are useless. Build them with grav-cannons. Trade all those lascannon, heavy bolter and melta bits to your friendly Guard player.
External Links
Gallery
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Devastator Centurions
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Assault Centurions
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Daaaaaaawwwww.....
