For the last few years, Space Marines have been singling out targets for destruction with their Oath of Moment ability, but the new Codex brings a new army rule. Oath is dead, long live Combat Doctrines.
Veterans among you may remember Combat Doctrines from Codexes past (including the popular Gladius Task Force detachment from 10th edition), and like Mk VII helmets and back banners, they’ve been updated for a new age of warfare. This army rule reflects the ability of the Adeptus Astartes to rapidly shift their tactics in the face of evolving threats, adopting Tactical, Assault, and Devastator doctrines to grant their entire strike force a useful ability once per game.
ARMY RULES
COMBAT DOCTRINES
ASSAULT DOCTRINE
When this unit is selected to make an advance move, that advance move does not prevent this unit from being eligible to declare a charge.
DEVASTATOR DOCTRINE
This unit’s ranged attacks have [ASSAULT].
TACTICAL DOCTRINE
When this unit is selected to make a fall-back move, that fall-back move does not prevent this unit from being eligible to shoot and eligible to declare a charge.
Unless otherwise stated:
You can only select each combat doctrine once per battle.
Only one combat doctrine can be active for each unit. If a rule makes a combat doctrine active for a unit, any combat doctrine previously active for that unit is no longer active for that unit.
Once per game might not seem like a lot, but Space Marines specialise in the application of overwhelming force at decisive moments, and one turn of shooting or charging after Advance moves can be the difference between bowling over your opponent’s gun line and sitting stranded in no-man’s-land.
Certain detachments also grant the ability to use doctrines more than once. Assault Brethren, Tactical Brethren, and Devastator Brethren all give you an extra use of their respective doctrine as their detachment ability – though the Unique: Doctrines tag means you’ll need to work out which is your favourite.
Space Marine Captains are a true force multiplier with their new ability to activate a doctrine of their choice for their unit, even if it’s different from the one everyone else is using. Coupled with their Transhuman Strategist ability, which gives you an extra Command Point in every battle round, you’ll want to make sure the boss is coming along whenever his Astartes deploy.
Despite Captains being able to activate doctrines at will, you can normally only have one active at a time, but some experienced units supersede that. Captains in the Tactical Brethren detachment can take an enhancement that puts them in Tactical doctrine at all times, in addition to any others, while Roboute Guilliman – who literally wrote the book on Space Marine warfare – has all three active. Always.
CODEX ADEPT
The assault doctrine, devastator doctrine and tactical doctrine are active for this unit.
Some Characters even have their abilities enhanced under specific doctrines. Salamanders Captain Adrax Agatone, for example, gives his unit the ability to re-roll wound rolls of 1 with Unto the Anvil, but these convert into full wound re-rolls while in the Assault doctrine. Likewise, Caanok Var normally has to choose if he gives his unit Sustained Hits 1: non-Monster/Vehicle or Lethal Hits: Monster/Vehicle, but in the Tactical doctrine he can just do both.
These new rules give Space Marines of all stripes far more agility than before, and helps to get them into the perfect position to launch powerful attacks with their newfound strength. Come back tomorrow to hear more about those detachments!
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