Clan Tactica: Allies

So right now i've been over the main units in my force and a few additional units I plan on adding. Today i'm going to talk about allies. It's a somewhat controversial change 6th edition has brought (well, brought back. Daemonhunters and Witch Hunters used to be able to do it as part of their special rules) as some people view it as just there for power gamers to abuse. Power gamers will abuse it, lets face it they'll abuse anything rules wise if it suits them, but I see it more for adding variety to a list... ok they're handy tactically as well :) Lets crack on with allies I have used and plan on using.

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/B/badabupdate-v2.pdf
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Downloads/Product/PDF/B/FWchaptertactics-v2.pdf
(some of the stuff i'll mention is in one of these)

Other Marines
Sounds daft, but allying with other marines isn't a bad idea so long as they can do something you can't. Imperial Fists are the best example of this because they can add some serious extra firepower to a list. Initially I was considering them for allies but there are a lot of Fists players locally. So who have I chosen? The Deathwatch. These guys do not have their own chapter tactics but in fluff they choose wargear and train against a specific enemy on a mission-to-mission basis and are made up of members from all sorts of chapters. This means I can easily and fluffily (is that a word?) change which chapter tactics i'm using as and when I need to. The main ones i'm considering are the following:

Raptors: These guys give me a couple of bonuses. Firstly they get the Raven Guard's stealth on turn 1 and scouts rule, never a bad thing. Secondly they have the option of using their boltguns and pistols as Heavy 1 instead of Rapid Fire or Pistol type weapons. In exchange the weapons gain rending. It's one of those rules that might come in handy might not but god damn big things aren't going to like it. Then there is their chapter master, Lias Issodon. For the cost of a decent captain you get a guy with a funky Bolter that can use Sternguard ammo, a Locator Beacon, the ability to re-roll reserves and potentially get first blood before turn 1 begins. He lacks eternal warrior, orbital bombardment and an invulnerable save but the potential positives are enough i think. What i'd do with these guys is infiltrate into a Bastion that is part way up the board/on an objective and use it as a forward base to bring my Pods on accurately. During the Relic this lets me get around the relic and form a wall of marines/pods on turn 1. The only thing I have to do then is keep it away from the enemy.

Red Hunters: That one turn ability can potentially be a game changer. A Devastator squad with Missiles or Lascannons getting a turn of Skyfire or Heavy Bolters/Plasma Cannons and Interceptor could turn the tide of a battle. These guys would also go into a Bastion/Defense Line.

Imperial Fists: They're really good at blowing stuff up so a Devastator unit for anti-tank would be essential.

White Scars: A biker detachment to run up the board contesting objectives wouldn't be a bad idea, i'm not a huge fan of bikes though.

The Inquisition
Not Grey Knights, the actual Inquisition. These guys are for a simple purpose. The Inquisitor can take Divination (still doesn't benefit my damned sniper scouts) and my Hands can make use of their Servo Skulls. The only downside is the Inquisitor can't go into his allies transports. I've also found a unit of several Stormtroopers (acolyte, carapace, hot shot lasgun) with a Weaponsmith is a handy unit to have around.