Recon squads?

[Grim Dog Studios]

In collected visions, there is artwork on these space marine squads called recon squads, they basically look like normal marines but they carry lasguns, did marines use lasguns in the Horus Heresy?

[jamsight]

Collected vissions needs to be takern with a pinch of salt there are a few errors in it. But fluff wise during the heresy space marine armarment was abit more flexable so ye I don't see why not except for the hitting power a marine would use as lasgun if he had no other weopen

[Tutteman]

I expect the artist thought it made sense given lasguns are apparently really easy to re charge. No need for bulkly ammo so good for extended behind lines stuff...Kind of makes sense :P

[EPK]

I expect the artist thought it made sense given lasguns are apparently really easy to re charge. No need for bulkly ammo so good for extended behind lines stuff...Kind of makes sense :P

 

Good point. Perhaps also quieter.

[Brother Subtle]

i can see the advantages of lasguns vs bolters for recon marines:

*enough power to kill most things non-space marine

*lighter

*quieter

*ammo easy to scavange so dont need to carry as much

 

makes sense. unless your doing recon on chaos marines or nids (although i dare say the nids would sense you first).

[Calgar 2.0]

However, if you use hot-shot ammo, you can kill CSM.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

the Thousand Sons Assault Marines also are shown with lasguns...

 

WLK

[Sons of Horus]

maybe a different pattern of lasgun just like the guard have their own smaller pattern bolter the Astartes might have had their own pattern lasgun which was better than that of the Imperial army.

[Grim Dog Studios]

Was going to do a wolf pre-heresy force, could maybe model a few lighter looking marines with lasguns and class them as wolf scouts or something.

[Walter Payton]

Remember, the guard have their AP3-damn 'em-hotshot lasguns. They are probably what SMs used for assasination work-quieter, lighter, rechargable.

 

For the Warmaster. For Horus. LUPERCAL!

[BrianBlessed]

I thought they were lascannons/sniper rifles.

[Pacific81]

Collected vissions needs to be takern with a pinch of salt there are a few errors in it. But fluff wise during the heresy space marine armarment was abit more flexable so ye I don't see why not except for the hitting power a marine would use as lasgun if he had no other weopen

 

This seems an insightful comment with context to 40k, but doesn't really take on board all the different scenarios of a 30k era legion which was quite different.

 

Consider how a 40k-era chapter operates - they are commonly referred to as the 'surgical blade' of the Imperium's war machine to the sledge hammer of the Imperial Guard. Though they are massively effective, they simply don't have the manpower to be fighting on all fronts and fulfilling all of the aspects of war.

 

However, consider the role of one of the 20 Legions - they were armies in their own right, sometimes numbering over 100,000 marines (depending on which source you choose to believe). As such, they took on all the vital roles of the battlefield which 10,000 years later would be no doubt fulfilled by Imperial Guard units - garrison, artillery and also recon units amongst other things. Brother Subtle has already pointed out the benefits of a lasgun over a bolter - while a bolter is preferable 99% of the time, there are instances where the characteristics of a lasgun would advantageous.

 

I'm sure they would be far more effective than a standard lasgun, as Brother-Captain Alecto points out maybe a hot-shot lasgun might be closer to the mark than those wielded by standard IG.