Box Contents

The Semper Fidelis – US Marines Starter Army is a mix of plastic and metal models containing:

• 7 USMC Infantry sprues (42 Infantry) – Plastic
• 1 M3A1 Half-track – Plastic
• 1 Corpsman (Medic) – Metal
• Flamethrower Ream – Metal
• 1 Medium Mortar Team – Metal
• 1 Light Anti-Tank Gun – Metal
• 2 MMG Teams – Metal
• 2 US weapon sprues – Plastic

The Stubborn Vets List

Standard Reinforced Platoon
Officer
2nd Lt (Rifle or SMG) – Veteran – 65 x1 Buddy (Rifle or SMG) – 13	78pts
Infantry
Veteran Marine Squad (Mid/Late) – 9 men – Veteran – 117 x3 BAR – 15 x3 Pistols w/ Rifles Stubborn – 9	144pts
Veteran Marine Squad (Mid/Late) – 9 men – Veteran – 117 x3 BAR – 15 x2 Pistols w/ Rifles Stubborn – 9	143pts
Veteran Marine Squad (Mid/Late) – 9 men – Veteran – 117 x3 BAR – 15 x2 Pistols w/ Rifles Stubborn – 9	143pts
Veteran Engineer Squad – 8 men – Veteran – 104 NCO SMG – 3 x1 SMG – 3 x1 Flamethrower – 20	130pts
Medium Mortar Team – Veteran – 65 Spotter – 10	75pts
Bazooka Team – Veteran	78pts
Medic – Veteran	30pts
Artillery
37mm Light AT Gun – Veteran	60pts
Transport
M3 Half-track – Veteran	119pts
Total – 10 Order Dice	1000pts

Breakdown

(x) denotes a vehicle-mounted weapons.

Notes and Analysis

The objective of this list is two part – 1) use as many of the components from the Starter Army as possible and 2) make a List that work at a competitive level. Please in mind, this List was written using only the content of the Starter Army.

What I love about this List is the Infantry core. Three squad of triple BAR Stubborn Vets and a Vet Engineer squad with a Flamethrower. Your Infantry will be able to go toe-to-toe with pretty much any infantry your opponent can throw at them. Not having to worry about the -1 To Hit on the Advance means these squads can put out a hail of punishingly accurate fire as your move onto the Objectives. And once you are there? Well, good luck getting Morale 10 Stubborn units to break.

Now, for a good as the heart of this list is, it has a glaring gap in the HE department. Having only a Medium Mortar for HE support is less than I would like, but it’s workable. The real problem comes with only having a Light AT gun and a Bazooka for AT. Fixed AT is well, not great. The Bazooka I love. The Light AT gun is not going to do much for you.

The M3 is also a slight problem. It’s just so dang expensive. It’s 119pts! A truck would be a much, much better option. I’d tack a truck with a pintle MMG over an armored half-track any day. But, it does give you some much needed speed and it’ll work just fine as an Outflanking Flamethrower delivery system.

This list does have a couple of weaknesses. It will struggle against hordes and heavy armor. The AT assets are not great and even though you have three squad with three BARs, there is simply not enough fire to stop a horde. You’ll need to play to your strengths (rock solid Infantry) and hold. Just hold and wear down your opponent. This army will be able to soak up way more punishment than you realize.

You need to be aware that you only have 10 Order Dice. This is right on the cusp of where I am comfortable at – 1 Order Die per 100pts. With the exceptions of the Medic and Half-track, your Order Dice are hard targets and you should be able to protect them without too much trouble. You will need to focus on a couple quick hits on your opponent to bring the Order Die ratio in your favor.

Overall, I think this is a solid, solid list. I would happily take this army to an event.

What’s Next?

If you are looking to enhance your Marines, consider these changes and additions:

• Drop the Light AT Gun, add a Howitzer – Fixed AT is often ineffective. Swapping out the Light AT Gun for a Light or Medium (depending on the rest of your list) Howitzer will immediately give your army some much needed HE support.
• Drop the M3 Half-track, add a Light or Medium Tank – It pains me to say it – armored Transports in Bolt Action are over costed and ineffective. Trust me, I wish it were otherwise.
• Drop the M3 Half-track, add a Truck – Need a way to get those Engineers into the fight fast? Way waste points on a half-track, just get a truck!
• Add another Flamethrower – It’s both thematic and effective. A Marines list gives you the option to run a standalone Flamethrower Team as well as a squad of Engineers with a Flamethrower embedded in the unit.
• Add a Sniper Team (maybe) – I go back and forth on Sniper Teams. Alone they are typically not super effective, espeically when firing against Vet targets. But they sure are fun and the threat alone is often enough to justify the inclusion in a list. If you have multiple small weapons teams, having a Sniper to provide Anti-Sniper fire is a great idea.

– Andrew