Current 11th Edition points for every datasheet, updated with the latest Munitorum Field Manual. Open any unit for its complete stats, weapons and abilities.
Iron Hands are the vehicle and durability chapter — a Space Marine force built around armoured units that keep functioning after they should have stopped. Where most armies degrade as they take damage, Iron Hands rules push back against that, which changes the arithmetic of every trade your opponent makes.
The army plays as an attrition grind. You are rarely the faster or more numerous force, but you are frequently the one still standing on turn four with a vehicle that should have died on turn two. Opponents who commit resources to killing an Iron Hands vehicle and fail to finish it have usually lost the exchange.
It is the most methodical Marine chapter, and it rewards patience over aggression more than almost any other Imperium force.
Building a Iron Hands army list
A vehicle-heavy list still needs bodies. Vehicles hold objectives poorly compared to infantry, and an all-armour Iron Hands list can win every fight and lose the primary.
Techmarine-style support that repairs and sustains vehicles compounds the chapter's rules and is usually worth the points.
If you are new to Iron Hands: Count how many of your units can physically stand on an objective and hold it. If the answer is under four, add infantry before adding another tank.
Iron Hands FAQ
What is the Iron Hands playstyle?
Durable, vehicle-focused attrition. The army is built to keep functioning under damage and to win long exchanges rather than fast ones.
Are Iron Hands a vehicle-only army?
No, and building them that way is a common mistake. Vehicles are the identity, but infantry are needed to actually hold objectives.
What beats an Iron Hands army?
Speed and mission play. Opponents who avoid the grind, take objectives elsewhere and score on primaries beat an army built to win fights it never gets to have.
Weaknesses
Slow, and poor at contesting distant objectives
Vehicle-heavy lists are vulnerable to dedicated anti-tank
Low model count if the list leans hard into armour
