Sternguard size and loadout

[Freakiq]

I'm thinking of fielding a Sternguard Veteran squad with an attached libaraian in my Kantor-led Crimson Fists army.

 

Their main use will be teleporting around taking out high priority targets such as Nob bikers, jump-troops and other threats hard to catch up with.

 

I'm having trouble though trying to come up with the uptimal configuration though, right now I'm thinking 7 man strong, 2 combimeltas and a sergeant with powerfist and combimelta.

 

 

Any thoughts?

[waaanial00]

Hi there,

 

I am going for a sized plasma toting unit to deal with Plague Marines. Epistolary + 7 Stern with 1 Fist, 2 Combi Plasma and 1 Normal Plasma all transported in a dual Storm bolter Rhino. First game is Tuesday (no plague marines this week but there are Thousand Sons).

 

Was planning on riding around in the Rhino the first turn and popping smoke for extra durability then GOI out of the Rhino closer to the enemy to get into Rapid Fire range then popping my Null Zone before throwing down the round of choice (either Hellfire and normal Plasma against Sons and probably Hellfire and all plasma against normal marines or Demon Princes). The Rhino will then hopefully rumble towards the enemy providing some covering fire.

 

I dont expect the Sternguard to survive very long as I suspect after this an entire army's load of gunfire will be turned towards them.

 

Wan

[Freakiq]

I'll be staying away from plasma weapons as they already have ap3 weapons, the only thing their bolters can't handle is armour which I'll use the 3x Combi Meltas and the Power Fist to deal with.

 

The rest of the army has Rhino mounted units with flamers and Heavy Bolters and a large Assault squad with 2x flamers so that will take care of any horde problem so I don't think my Sternguard need any Flamers either.

 

They'll mostly be used to take down scary things with armour or meq's and the like, or just fill up holes in my ranks.

If my lines are assaulted they can always gate back there, take down any major threat with bolter/melta fire and if assaulted may even be close enough to Kantor to be able to make a difference in combat.

[Paulochromis]

If the squad's big enough give a couple regular meltaguns. That way you don't shoot your bolt (baaaad pun intended) on the first vehicle you encounter. Who knows, you might not destroy it straightaway.

 

I have found Sternguard to be surprisingly durable. I dropped a pod+6 in next to a 9-strong genestealer squad. Managed to kill just none, one or two (they were in cover) before they charged me. Opponent thought they were lunch. Four full turns (8 assault phases!) later, I had 2 marines left standing, and his genestealers had all returned (in pieces) to the hive! The two attacks helped.

 

Fist is a questionable use of points.

 

Cheers, Paul.

[Freakiq]

The problem with taking regular meltas is that it'll make them worse against regular troops plus shorten their reach.

 

The Powerfist, though expensive makes sure that I don't get locked in combat with something I can't kill (Dreads and Wraithlords are common here) and lets me charge vehicles and take them out that way (If I haven't teleported that round that is).

 

The biggest question for me though Is size, I have ordered a box of five plus a second combi-weapon Veteran which gives me six of them plus a Librarian, I could buy some more from a friend if I feel the need though.

 

 

Btw, why didn't you use the Dragonfire Round to ignore cover, did they have Extended Carapace?

[waaanial00]

I have put the plasmas in there to keep my focus on killing hard troop choices. I am aware that melta do this as well but they are not rapid fire so lose out on killing potential. I just dont want these guys facing down tanks because that part of my army is being covered by other units.

 

The annoying thing with their weapons being AP3 is that your opponent will still get Feel No Pain and having more shots which ignore this is much better than making them more tactical. Horses for courses is my call and tailoring your unit to serve your purpose has got to be the name of the game.

 

I believe that 7 should be fine

[Paulochromis]

Btw, why didn't you use the Dragonfire Round to ignore cover, did they have Extended Carapace?

Yep.

[white radish]

A power fist seems like a waste on a static/rapid firing unit. Is it even a deterrent? The Sternguard are more valuable to you/more of a threat to your opponent if they are free to shoot.

 

If you're getting locked in by a Dread, your guys are getting pulped anyway. So even Meltabombs might be wasteful IMO. Even on paper, I'm not sure I see the point of cc-based tank hunter gear.

 

Cheap and cheery (a couple Combi-Meltas at most), with a Rhino or Razorback, and give the cc cleaning duties to someone else (A nearby Dread of you own, a pack of Assault Marines, or a Tactical or Scout Squad speedbump).

 

Let the Sternguard do what they're best at. They like to say Space Marines can't specialize like other armies, but you don't have to oblige them and generalize even more.

[Lord Sinaris]

I am really not that much into the combi-weapons. Face it: Including the Librarian (or any high-speed transport option), you already have a pretty mobile unit. Hence, you can decide on where to use them. And this "where" will almost always be within 12'' range.

 

These guys aren't a shooty unit as in "shoot stuff from as far away as possible". These aren't Tau. They are designed, and you seem to use them like that, to be the ultimate Tactical Marine, from my perspective: Get in close, shoot things to death, and survive every wave of onslaught they send into you (of course, this is a fluff-perspective, obviously the Tactical Marine actually performs loads better in assaulting himself, rather than staying out of it).

 

Hence, using full Meltas doesn't really hurt you at doing this. They are quite cheap, and they can shoot as often as you want. They give you high anti-tank-potential, gaining you an advantage over the plasmas. And they still help killing really heavy units (not to mention that S8 is REAL fun against targets with multiple wounds and T4), without the risk of getting hot (and only slightly worse).

 

If you are really out of range of anything, you can probably handle to lose two shots out of six/seven - you are already not using the unit to its full potential, hence this loss will hopefully not be one that decides over loss or victory. If you are facing something that has an armour of 5 or worse, you can still use your pistol (don't forget they have one!). The one time this really hurts is against an armour of 4+, since the AP4-rounds are so admirably powerful (oh, how I hate these damn Eldar...) without adding any risk. But hell, meltas kill everything!

 

Also, stick with the PF. If you add an Librarian, this makes your "shooty" Squad a really fearsome CC-unit, with a large number of attacks, some Power Weapons and a high-strength CC. I once got a Squad of Sternguard stuck in CC with some BA-Assault Marines, and quickly wished I had taken one. Main use for me is to un-stalemate assaults from similarly strengthed foes. Things that have T and armour to match yours, but lack the weaponry to kill you quickly (think: Marine Assault Squad without gear, Tactical Marines of any sort charging into you). I had a game where my Sternguard got assaulted in Turn 3 and didn't get out of combat until the game ended, simply because, with 5 Marines and 10 Attacks on each side (the assault from my enemy went.. badly), hardly anything ever dies with equal foes (do the math: 5 Attacks hit, 2.5 wound... not to hard to make the saves on these). Having a reliable kill or two every round can really brighten up your day.

The PF won't make a difference against swarms of enemies engaging. Your best weapon against them already is the 2 attacks from being veterans, and if that isn't enough, you probably placed your unit badly, since they really don't like being locked in combat.

The PF will also not win you combat against vastly superior foes. Any assault designated CC-Unit (preferably with power weapons) WILL win against your squad. The Dread assaulting will kill enough marines to render the unit nearly useless from thereon. The thing is - this is a situation you might find yourself in more often, even by design. You might attack a powerful unit, kill some of it, and then face the onslaught of the remains. You might smash half of an assaulting flank with your shooting, but stay to face the other half. Having the PF then might seem like a waste of points, since the unit is dead anyway. But given the toughness of marines, and hence the likelyness that you will be able to strike with the fist at least once, against most opponents, it might still be worth its points. A PF killing of an assaulting dread has BY FAR gained its points. A PF killing even just one attacking enemy CC-monster at least came close to it. It makes your enemy think twice about charging the unit, and makes sure that, even within dying, they deliver a last, hopefully fatal, blow to your foes.

[tedwin183]

I have played with Sternguard Since the first day the codex came out and have almost never made a list without them. I have found the best recipe for success with them is to just buy 10 and make them all stock boltguns. I don't put anything else in my Sternguard squads. They're 250 points as is, completely stock. If you load it up with a bunch of combi-stuff and power fists, etc., your opponent is going to zero in on them just as much...except now you'll be out close to 300 points when your opponent inevitably kills the entire squad. I normally ride them up in a rhino, but I've been toying with the idea of deploying a single drop pod with them inside. Rest assured, your opponent WILL put all their effort into killing them as soon as they ask: "What are the white helmet guys?" and you say: "Sternguard." Almost everyone gives an uneasy sigh and begins dumping fire into them until they're gone.

 

 

Simply put: Keep them cheap and effective. Use the rest of your army to deal with vehicles. Sternguard have rounds for anything but vehicles.

[Lord Sinaris]

But they can really take so many cute little Meltas... and really, the beauty of a single drop-podding Sternguard crushing not one, but TWO enemy tanks if they are positioned unwisely.. that is something you don't get each day. Sure, the tanks might have just cost 250 points total vs. your own 300, but its just to FUN not to do it.