Marauders Box Set

Recently someone shared pictures of the new Marauder Box Set in the Ariadna Facebook group. Remember those Marauders we have converted earlier this years? Soon we'll be able to put them to good use! Marauders, the 5307th Ranger Unit, are one of my favourite troops in USARF. In my opinion they are very reasonably priced and have lots of utility, especially in the American sectorial. I thought I'd share some ideas about the Fireteams I am thinking about using.

First though, let briefly look at the new models and the current Marauder profile.

In the new box set we'll get Boarding Shotgun, Heavy Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle and Molotok. No basic Rifle option though, so still worth converting those. First thing I noticed, and little disappointed by, is that there are no female Marauders. Don't know if its a fluff thing or something but in most box sets they give you a mix. Maybe they will do a blister of female Marauder with a Rifle at some point.

At least two of the minis are in action poses, which is cool but I prefer my converted version of Boarding Shotgun. The other three I like though.

The stat line for Marauder is what you would expect from a Medium Infantry unit. Everything beside MOV and ARM is one higher from a Grunt Line Trooper. What makes them very good though, are the special Skills. Marauders get Forward Deployment, Stealth, Dogged, Fireteam: Core and also Fireteam: Haris. Plus quite few weapon options and Specialist option, so there are plenty of different ways to utilize them.

Forward Deployment is very self-explanatory, lets you deploy outside of your Deployment Zone which can always be helpful. Especially for Missions where the objectives are just outside of your DZ.

Stealth I think is something people underestimate but I would highly recommend to always keep it in mind. It can help you get around enemy units as they can't react to your movements outside of their LoF and inside of the Zone of Control. Nothing says surprise like a Heavy Flamer to the back!

Dogged is also a good tool to have. If you really need to hold the line or keep advancing, it will keep them alive for a bit longer, either making your opponent spend more Orders or giving you more time to use them in Active Turn. But it can be hard to decide if you want to active Dogged or not, if you have Doctor or Paramedic nearby, since they will die at the end of that Turn and can't be healed from that.

The 4-2 MOV I used to think is a downside, and I did write about 4-2 vs 4-4 before, but it isn't as bad when you plan for it. If you focus Marauders on objectives in your half of the board and use faster units for anything over the middle line, it shouldn't be much of a downside. It can certainly be worked around and in Ariadna, you shouldn't struggle for Orders.

Fireteam: Core

If you are thinking about going for a Core Fireteam, its worth to decide if you want attack or defense. Marauder AVA is only 5 so if you are going for a full Fireteam of 5 (which you always should in my opinion), you won't get any more Marauders.

For defense I would definitely put in the Sniper and Heavy Rocket Launcher, at least one of each. It gives you decent long range AROs and the have MSV Lv1, which is not as good as Lv2 but it does make it easier to take care of Camouflaged units. Personally I would probably put in two Paramedics and a Boarding Shotgun. You will have a chance to bring people back to the fight and Heavy Flamers plus Mines will make it hard for your opponent to take out your Link from close range.

When it comes to attack, I personally really like Molotok because of the high Burst. In Caledonia it worked well for me in most games. In full Fireteam you should be on BS15 most of the time and with Burst 5 and AP ammo, even TAGs can be taken out. I would also put in the Heavy Rocket Launcher. Since its good range is 16" to 32", so you don't have to keep distance too much. Then I'd probably throw in two Medics and Shotgun again, I think its a good combo to cover your flanks.

If you have the Points to spare, having a Haris unit could be a good idea if you have other units in your army that have Fireteam: Core, like Grunts. Once you have only three Marauders left, you can change them to Haris and link a different unit as Core. This tends to burn your Command Tokens quick but it can surprise your opponent and give you advantage where needed.

Fireteam: Haris

This Fireteam option is great if you want something else to be your five-man Fireteam Core, or simply just activating three troops as one. It still gives you +1 Burst so it can be used for a small defense squad, like having a Haris unit, Paramedic and Sniper or Heavy Rocket Launcher. They can sit back, get the extra Burst in ARO and advance when needed.

Three-man combo like that is not a bad attack squad either, you will have at least one Heavy Flamers plus either Special Weapons and/or Specialist. I would recommend to have Paramedic in all Fireteams. Not only because of the healing option but because Specialist
s that can move while you are advancing with Special Weapons are always useful.

Before this box came out I used to run Haris, Paramedic and Boarding Shotgun. Make it a more close range unit, which I think is better for defense or sweeping enemy units that got to close to your DZ.

In either case, going for Haris lets you have two more Marauders which you can use on different parts of the board, like a Lieutenant in safe area or a lone Sniper covering a flank. 

Also do not underestimate the power of three Heavy Flamers in ARO. That is six templates, let that sink in. If you need to hold a building or some other close quarter area (hello Objective Room missions), your opponent will not want to run into that. Even Heavy Infantry and TAGs can't just risk it, few bad ARM saves and they burn to crisp. If you want to go really crazy, you can even go five Heavy Flamers (ten ARO templates!!) as a Core Fireteam!