Armies in Encounter are almost infinitely configurable, allowing you to test out a huge variety of strategies (not all will work!), play with the miniatures you happen to have lying around, or roleplay with forces that fit whatever sci-fi universe you like the most. There are very few restrictions on unit selection but the golden rule is you must always include one, and only one Supreme Commander!
Each unit costs a number of points depending on its capability, and you will add units to your roster until you reach a number of points agreed by both players. We suggest you start with 100pts as this gives you a good amount of tactical flexibility in a quick and fun game. Units are grouped into formations, and these are also happily free of restrictions. You can field formations of one or more types of infantry, infantry with armour, or anything else you can think of.
At Gigaton, we have created a useful Army Builder tool to aid you in your discovery. This allows you to play around with units and formations and share them with friends or export them to a print-friendly list for future reference.
Choosing A 100 point Star Marines Army
In Part 001 we will focus on those exo-armoured shock troops, the mighty Star Marines. Star Marines all have the ‘Resolute’ trait, meaning it is very hard to place Blast Markers on their formations from shooting alone. Since it is the accumulation of Blast Markers that will eventually break a formation (make them flee!), they can be successfully fielded in smaller formations of 2-3 units, and will stand firm even when troops from other factions would be running for the hills.
The Backbone
It’s best to start off with well-rounded armies. Aside from the Supreme Commander, you will want a few basic troops to claim objectives and give you a reasonable number of formations for the overall points cost. Basic troops for the Star Marines are, you guessed it, Marines. These units are relatively cheap when compared with other options in the roster, and have good tactical flexibility. Their shooting attack is good enough to take down lesser armoured units including light vehicles, and their superhuman strength gives them the edge in close combat (CC). They also have an impressive Defence rating, meaning they are more likely to survive incoming fire. A solid strategy is to include 2-3 of these units in one formation.
Fast Attack
The next thing to consider is whether you want to put your opponent on the back-foot as soon as the game starts, and the answer is often a resounding “yes”! The Star Marines have several options, including CQ Marines, Bikes and Land Skimmers. Each of these either have good CC attacks to guard against being swamped after thrusting forward, or in the case of the Land Skimmer, cannot be tied up in CC due to having the ‘Skimmer’ trait. This is important because any troops attacking ahead of their comrades will naturally be harder to support during any counter-attack.
A safe albeit expensive bet is to go with the CQ Marines because being infantry, they can attack units in buildings, or take refuge in buildings when the going gets too tough. CQ Marines should usually be fielded in formations of at least 2 units and ideally more, since they’ll be in the thick of the action. If you want a cheaper option, a single Land Skimmer can cause a lot of trouble for your opponent with it’s impressive versatility and powerful weapon.
Heavy Support
Ok, so we have some basic troops and some shock units, how does one deal with enemy armour? Well, if you plumped for the Land Skimmer at the previous step, you already have some. However, Land Skimmers are not the most resilient of units, and it’s best to have something with more staying power. Star Marines have plenty of options to choose from, including Support Marines, Heavy Marines, Assault Mechs and Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).
Support Marines are useful because they can camp in buildings and rain down fire from a place of relative safety. They won’t fare too well in CC however, as their massive guns preclude them from fighting effectively in close quarters, and their armour, while good for infantry, is still infantry armour.
Heavy Marines are very expensive, but they shoot well and will rip apart armour in CC with their Power Melee Weapons. Also; they can teleport in! This means you can place Heavy Marines where they are most needed e.g. near that pesky enemy tank that’s sitting on the back line.
Assault Mechs have some of the strongest weapons in Encounter: Phase One, in their Power Melee Weapons. However, they only move as fast as infantry so you had better plan to weather a fair amount of fire while getting them into position.
Finally, the MBTs have an advantage in being able to sit on your back-line and pick off targets from a safe distance. They also have good movement values, which means they can follow up a shooting attack by supporting your other formations in engagements. Attack twice in a single phase – what’s not to like! I’ll tell you; they suck in CC. They can be tied up and prevented from using their shooting attacks easily, and have very little to fight back with. At best they will be nullified by enemies attacking in CC, and at worst they will die without inflicting any casualties in return.
On balance, a good place to start is to include one MBT. That could leave a few points left over to spend on more toys. Here’s a sample Star Marines army that uses the suggested options above:
My First Star Marine Army
Formation 1 (30 pts)
- Supreme Commander: 1 × 30 pts (Hero Tokens: 5)
Formation 2 (21 pts)
- Marines: 3 × 7 pts
Formation 3 (18 pts)
- CQ Marines: 2 × 9 pts
Formation 4 (13 pts)
- Land Skimmer: 1 × 13 pts
Formation 5 (18 pts)
- Dominator MBT: 1 × 18 pts
Hero Token Summary
- Hero Tokens from Units: 5
- Additional Hero Tokens: 0 (0 pts)
- Total Hero Tokens: 5
Total Army Points: 100
Have you noticed the Supreme Commander (SC) is placed in a formation on his own? There’s a good reason for that. The SC has the ‘Fearless’ trait, meaning he won’t break and flee after accumulating Blast Markers. If you were to put him in the formation of Marines and the formation accumulated more Blast Markers than the number of remaining units in the formation, the formation would break, pulling the SC with them. You could counter this by simply making the formation as big and resilient as possible, or you could use the Battlefield Tactics card ‘Marshall’ to remove Blast Markers, or you could use Hero Tokens to automatically pass rally tests. But that’s all for another guide…