In the words of Blade Runner's Roy Batty "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe". Here are a short list of things I've seen regarding the upcoming Marine codex:
Marines: 16pts a pop. ~Goodbye 15 pts, it was great knowing you for all these years!
Vanguard Veterans may not assault the turn they deepstrike if an IC is attached. If they decide to do the charge they also cannot run or shoot. ~You better work on your hoping skills, or have a locator beacon close by!
Sternguard Veterans are going to be popular. Their ammo is pretty much custom designed to take out Orks (Dragonfire), Monstrous creatures (Hellfire), Tau/Aspect Warriors (Kraken) and MEQs (Vengeance). ~They are pricy, but a single squad in good cover could really achieve great things.
The Terminator Cyclone missile launcher is indeed a 2-shot weapon in either its krak or frag mode ~Expect to see some of these reappearing from dusty shelves onto the tabletop.
The Ironclad dreadnought is a nasty piece of work. AV:13/13/10, deadly in assault, can run and mount not one but two hunter-killer missiles (and the potential for two heavy flamers). ~Add a drop-pod and you have an instant party!
Scouts + Techmarines = Poorman's Eldar pathfinders. ~Its possible to get 2+ cover saves with this combo!
Scout Bike Squads are one the true standouts of the codex. These go from zero to hero. Three Astartes Grenade launchers combined with outflanking will be a real problem for enemy vehicles. ~Everyone will want a squad. Can you put a price on 1001 tricks up your sleeve?
Razorbacks: Four words... "twin-linked assault cannon" ~I can't believe it but its in there.
Land Raiders: Its true... Power of the Machine Spirit fires at full BS:4! ~Expect to see lots of Land Raiders forging ahead at full speed popping off single sponsons in your face.
~So much more to talk about, but the codex is just beautiful. Thick, really thick and full of lavish color plates. It almost feels like 2 codices. I am impressed! First Impressions are that Marines will finally live up to their fluff. Aggressive, lethal, mobile, but woefully outnumbered. As the horde armies continue to drop in per-man cost, marine players should get used to operating in a heavily outnumbered way against almost any enemy army.
