Today we’ve got a guest post from Pathfinder Chris, who’s going to tell us all about Marauders in games of Deadzone. Take it away, Chris!

Troops, I’m here today to brief you all on what to expect when you come face to face with a Marauder Strike Team.

Lesson one: don’t think these are some stupid brainless Orx. If you think like that, you’re going to get your team killed! These guys are educated and have well thought-out plans.

Take the standard Commando, the mainstay of the Marauder force. His all-round decent stat line comes with a better than average command stat for a regular trooper.

They work well in teams of two, using fire and manoeuvre tactics. This is best used in combination with their Mawbeasts – whilse the Commando keeps your head down these foul creatures sprint up to your location, diving in and out of cover. Known as the “Mawbeast missile”, this tactic is devastating. Watch your spacing; if these guys get you in combat they will tear you apart.  They are known for putting on sudden bursts of speed so be wary.

So what do you do to stop them? Well first, if you see these critters coming at you, don’t run. They’re probably faster than you are, so they’ll catch you and kill you. Your only hope is to Blaze Away and saturate the area with suppressing fire. As they are unarmoured this can kill them if you get lucky, but otherwise they will be left hugging cover for all they’re worth.

Don’t get caught up on the Mawbeasts, though. If your attention is purely on them, you’ll miss the Pyro who is most likely sneaking up on your location. Again, this guy will be using any and all available cover. Just make sure you take him out, because if he gets to within two squares of you, you’re toast. Don’t think you can rely on your armour, either! You might not see Hulks very often, but even Enforcer Peacekeepers struggle to survive a direct hit from their cannons. 

Now for the real brains behind the Marauders: the Commando Captain. Unlike your standard Marauder chiefs this guy likes to lead from the back, which is no surprise as he is usually poorly armed and not very skilled in combat. Wise Captains will keep a bodyguard of commandos with them to provide cover and help them out if the enemy gets too close, so be ready to face superior numbers. 

Marauders are at their best when they’re advancing, and they have the perfect covering units to help them do this. Goblin Snipers are a real thorn in your side – they are small in size and have difficulty seeing over obstructions, but they can make some surprisingly effective pot-shots, especially if they’re up high. I advise you all to be vigilant and use suppressing fire and overwatch to deal with these pesky critters.

That’s all for now. Remember your training and you will come back alive!

Just a few clarifications on the above brief. If you’re a Marauder player, a lot of your hard hitting ranged attacks (mainly the Sniper and Hulk) are long actions, so they take up their entire activation. It is really important for you to hold onto some cards that will allow you to take a free movement action as these will let you suprise your opponent by stepping out from behind cover and firing. You will also want a few of these cards to move your Mawbeasts up the board.

One big benefit you’ve got over the other factions is that losing your captain is not so bad, thanks to the decent Command stat of the standard Commandos. Don’t feel you need to spend too much time looking after him.

Finally, most of your missions will have you moving up the board to secure locations and items, so get a Pyro or two into your force.  They need to close with the enemy anyway!