Mechatalk - Warhammer 40k Glory in Death: Space Marine Faction Unit Review

 Warhammer 40k Glory in Death is quite an underrated gem of 40k series which had its fate doomed to obscurity being the last game of Nokia N-gage. Therefore in order to raise some awareness for this game, I will be doing Unit review for Factions available in this game starting with Space Marine factions based on my Campaign experience, keep in mind the review will be subjective based on my experience with these units during the Space Marine Campaign. 

In Warhammer 40k Glory in Death you got 4 Sub-Factions for each Chaos, Eldar, Ork and Space Marine. For Space Marine you get Space Wolves starring the Campaign Story and Blood Angels, Dark Angels and Ultramarines for Skirmish and Multiplayer. While not exactly 100% accurate compared to the Tabletop version, these units are pretty good indicator of what their physical counterpart represent.

Overall in Glory in Death, Space Marine faction is well rounded faction that boast decent survivability and had advantage in ranged combat. While they can hold their ground in melee, they will be outclassed by the dedicated Melee units from other factions, therefore it is preferable to pepper your enemies in ranged Combat with their powerful bolters and deny Melee engagements by creating attritions damage from Ranged Support.

I used Mechatalk to feature this article since Warhammer 40k Glory in Death do qualify for one due to having significant amount of Mechanical units and it is easier for navigating purposes by future visitor of this blog.

HQ

 Space Marine Force Commander

 All rounded unit that provide stat boost for Tactical Space Marine but nothing more than that, so best always stick him with the squad otherwise he won't likely survive 1-2 round barrage from MEQ units. Due to superior wargear he can survive melee combat but don't expect him to stand toe to toe against the assault of Warboss or Howling Banshee.

Librarian

Psyker HQ option for Space Marine Faction. Has pretty good ability to kill High Value Infantry unit with Psyker power but kinda vulnerable due to short range of his Psyker ability. Can stand the ground in Melee due to having Space Marine statline but don't expect him to survive long when assaulted by Melee Units.
 

Command Squad

  Escort choice for Space Marine HQ units, provide some utility support due to having Techmarine and Apothecary but the mileage in the campaign is rather poor. For its Point Cost, Command Squad value is rather gimmicky. As the potential buffs will be gone when the specific unit that provide the Buff is killed off which is a frequent occurence even if you upgrade the Squad into 10 Units. Value wise, Command Squad doesn't offer much despite being 150% more expensive compared to Tactical Squad. So better stick with Tactical Space Marine.

Elite
 
Terminator Squad

 Hands down the best unit for Space Marine faction in Glory in Death. Very costly and one of the last unlockable units appearing late in the Space Marine campaign, but It immediately proves its worth. Literally a walking tank that boast superior defensive capability and will shrug off most enemy ranged attacks save for Anti Vehicle ones. One of the more superior all rounder Infantry unit that can perform well both in Melee and Ranged combat but just don't expect them to win against Bloodthirster in Melee.

Dreadnought

 Walking Space Marine Sarophagus that are supposedly very powerful on Paper and quite a headache when faced as enemy. Never have a good luck with mine in Campaign mode but apparently it is very tough unit and deadly in Melee that will easily dispatch MEQs. You never want to get charged by one of these when facing Space Marine as enemy and their ranged attacks are decent at dispatching light infantry units. Howling Banshees will have a bad time if they try to charge at one of these unit. The glaring weakness of Dreadnought are just being very vulnerable in the open field against Heavy ranged unit due to their slow movement.

Infantry

Tactical Space Marine

  Bread and butter unit for Space Marine factions which is one of the most well rounded variant from all 4 factions. Always rely this unit to fire their Bolters and nothing else, you will see enemy infantry units will drop like flies and performed poorly by the time they reach assault range. Got Flamer as additional weapon option for 1 Space Marine unit but due to short range, are rarely used as defensive weapon that can contribute extra kill. Always employ in Squad of 10 for maximum use.

Rhino

 Basic Transport option for Space Marine faction and nothing else. While more Durable than Ork Trukk, The Metal Bawks won't simply survive a few salvos of bolter fire and even can get destroyed by stray fire from Artilery unit. Just use it to close distance to the frontline and drop the cargo. Even the bolter weapon are rather unreliable in killing light infantry units despite falling in Bolter weapon category.

Space Marine Scout

 Light infantry option for Space Marine. Due to low statline, only good at seizing objective or harassing enemy units when upgraded with Sniper Rifle. Never deploy these scouts in the Squad of 10 and don't expect them capable of killing units tougher than MEQs.

Fast Attack

Land Speeder

 On Paper, Land Speeder supposed to be a very good Light Vehicle unit that excels at harassment attacks against Medium Vehicle and MEQs with its Armor Ignore Melta Weapon. But due to very low unit count, this vehicle unit will not likely survive the engagement or successful at taking down its targer after firing its first salvo. These unit will go down fast even against Bolter Salvos like Rhinos and don't expect them fare any better when got fired by Lascannons.

Assault Marine Squad

  One of the better Melee units for Space Marine faction which didn't say much considering Space Marine is the worst faction when it comes to Melee in Glory in Death. Very fast unit which is good at taking down basic light infantry unit but requires Numerical superiority when pitted against MEQ. Only deploy them if you need Deep Strike unit to take out poorly defended enemy flanks.

Heavy Support

Predator Tank

 

 

 

 Space Marine default option for Anti Vehicle unit. Good at taking down Vehicle and Heavy Infantry units but requires proper positioning and Field of Vision to put its armament into good use. Doesn't perform well when facing enemies using covers. Didn't use much Predator tank in Campaign since Heavy Support slot for Space Marine are quite competitive.

 

Devastator Squad

 

 Probably one of the best Specialist Space Marine unit in Glory in Death since their heavy armaments can lay waste upon any Infantry or Vehicle units. Due to low movement range, best employed in defensive position because they are unable to fire after moving. Just make sure the enemy that the Devastator squad firing at are in range for the Krak missiles for Maximum damage. Unfortunately the Unit upgrade doesn't give too much ROI so Squad of 5 usually works out.

 

Whirlwind Tank

 Hands down the best Heavy Support unit for Space Marine Campaign due to its AOE damage that can lay waste many enemies. Being a dedicated Artilery unit that target 5 Grids in + Shape, Whirlwind tank will give a bad day to any enemy target unfortunate enough to be the receiving end. While Whirlwind tank focused on taking down Light Infantry which is the best one in this category, It can take down Space Marines and Most vehicles with a good RNG. Most enemy infantry blobs won't survive 2-3 Salvos from this tank and Ork Faction will have a bad day when pitted against one. Despite Whirlwind tank bombardment can stray off the target grid due to the RNG mechanics, If you savescum in the campaign, this Tank will get promoted very fast due to the kill count. Just don't get this tank into enemy firing range because it is a glasscannon unit.

 

Land Raider

 The last unlockable unit in Space Marine Campaign and supposedly an excellent Offensive and Transport vehicle unit. A nightmare to fight against without proper Anti-vehicle weapons but didn't have much luck with mind during the campaign. Due to its large size, you rarely have maps that can properly field Land Raider and make full use of it and mine got taken down from a single salvo of Predator Lascannon.

 

Hopefully this sort of Mechatalk article could get people interested to look back at Warhammer 40k Glory in Death and the next Unit review are most likely Eldar Faction and I will try to have them make it by next month.