Fast Melta... Necessary or Over-rated?

[Titan87]

So I have been building army lists again, and I have been going over the numerous forms of anti-tank available to any loaylist marine, from the humble missile launcher to the Multi-melta platforms, and I have been wondering is fast melta (i.e. land speeder/attack bike) necessary in a list? I see it in almost every list I look at, yet at the same time I see melta guns all over the place, melta bombs, pintle mounted multimeltas, etc.

 

So I began to wonder, do you really need all this melta? If each of my tac squads has a melta gun, my Land raiders have Multi-Meltas, Drop podding dreads with melta weaponry, etc do you really need that "fast melta" that I hear about so often?

 

p.s.

 

I recognize the importance of AT maneuverability (i.e. the ability to get side and rear armor shots) that these fast platforms give. I have just been wondering when enough is enough with the melta weaponry, it feels like list building has become how many melta weapons can I shoe-horn in at point level x.

[Meatman]

Melta is a must, it's the most effective way to kill armour of any kind, strength 8 + 2D6 and AP1? Yes please. Only other way to take out AV14 is with lucky lascannon shots or glancing to death.

 

Melta is also great at killing anything else, it ignores feel no pain (AP1), so vesy effective against plauge marines should your melta need to be turned on them, whereas a missile launcher would not.

 

I use melta because I use a very aggresive list, so melta or flamers are very helpful.

[Fatuous]

I wouldn't go as far as saying you HAVE to have melta, altho that certainly is the most popular. You do HAVE to have some form of anti tank, capable of tackling AR14. As an example (an extreme one I guess) but my mates Ork army doesn't have a single melta style weapon in the entire list ([EDIT, bad example, i doubt they could even if they wanted to] or any real guns to speak of), and gets all his anti tank thru with power claws, but of course he has fast moving, open topped truks to get them where they need to be.

 

But there are options over and above melta.

 

Lascannon, while not my fav due to cover saves and being a little pricey (as a dreadnaught upgrade it is a bit costly considering you are upgrading a MM, and landraiders aren't exactly cheap), you can take them on razor backs and include a fair number of them. On troops, they are obviously a bit static, but worth considering for a tac squad. Preds can take stupid amounts for over saturation. Stern guard are actaully a pretty cheap source of lascannon, but ideally I feel they should be targeting troops with special ammo and generally getting in the way and being a nusance, so not sure I would want to side line some to be anti tank, they can do it, but it does not fit to their strengths (and a couple of combi meltas for just in cases are actaully cheaper)

 

Vindicators will pretty much crack open anything it needs to, and while a shorter range than you'd like, you can get them in position ok if you deploy them centre table, but they wont be able to react from flank to flank as easily.

 

Orbital bombardment. Not accurate enough to be relied on, but can and does work (1/3 of the time.....).

 

The main point is having them mobile so you can get in to position and take out that armour.

 

Pretty much any unit of marines can take a power fist, and all come with krak grenades. These are plenty for taking down IG tanks, but if they are moving, you'll need a lot to get the 6's to hit (any kind of rerolls are well worth it for this). An assualt squad with power fist is reletively cheap, or add in the thunder hammer instead for the added stun fun, and is a multi purpose unit.

 

Conversion beamers on a MOF can work prety well, but again are likely to be either static, give cover saves, or require some form of escort and a bike (if you can stay at max range, not much will be able to touch you, but anything that can [like say a battle cannon] can easily instant kill your reletively expensive MOF).

 

I'm a big fan of a podded MM dread, but it is a bit of a suicide unit.

 

My unsung hero atm is a scout sarge with power fist (I do also give him a combi melta truth be told) in a storm for fast moving, open topped assualting, tank popping power. He's got a melta, but as a one shot thing, it is the power fist that usually does the deed, and if you've going first, you can usually get a 1st turn charge on a non moved vechile, so a fist is usually enough, but the kraks from the rest of the squad are also useful. This is obviously more expensive than a MM attack bike or speeder, but is also a scoring unit, so can be used for other things too, has the same mobility in the speeder, but is actually 2 units (great in objective missions, not so useful in KPs).

 

At the end of the day tho, for the price, you really cannot fault a melta gun. And that is why they are so popluar.

 

But there are other options rather than just sticking a melta gun on every other unit. And some time the unexpected is more useful than the treid and tested......... no one sees it coming.

[Giga]

Fast melta is needed, yeah. The way I see it, every all-comers list should have at least two ways of delivering fast melta, be it mm/hf speeders, mm attack bikes, biker units with mm attack bike and 2x meltagun, mech sternguard units with 2x meltagun + a bunch of combimeltas, etc.

 

That being said, having a ton of melta isn't exactly the way to go in many situations. One needs to have a combination of good long-range anti-tank (predators, godhammer land raiders, typhoon speeders, and rifleman dreadnoughts) and fast-moving melta. This way you have a chance of popping enemy transports and the like from turn 1, and using the melta to destroy the real hard vehicles (such as land raiders, leman russes, etc.).

 

Also, I don't think it's such a great idea to put melta on every unit. If your tac squads, command squads, sternguard squads, etc. all have meltas, that means you're taking away from your anti-infantry.

Melta is also great at killing anything else, it ignores feel no pain (AP1), so vesy effective against plauge marines should your melta need to be turned on them, whereas a missile launcher would not.

Missile launcher also ignores feel no pain because it inflicts instant death on the plague marines. Weapons that inflict instant death ignore FNP. The toughness gained from having mark of nurgle/riding a bike/etc. doesn't count when calculating instant death.

[Meatman]

Fast melta is needed, yeah. The way I see it, every all-comers list should have at least two ways of delivering fast melta, be it mm/hf speeders, mm attack bikes, biker units with mm attack bike and 2x meltagun, mech sternguard units with 2x meltagun + a bunch of combimeltas, etc.

 

That being said, having a ton of melta isn't exactly the way to go in many situations. One needs to have a combination of good long-range anti-tank (predators, godhammer land raiders, typhoon speeders, and rifleman dreadnoughts) and fast-moving melta. This way you have a chance of popping enemy transports and the like from turn 1, and using the melta to destroy the real hard vehicles (such as land raiders, leman russes, etc.).

 

Also, I don't think it's such a great idea to put melta on every unit. If your tac squads, command squads, sternguard squads, etc. all have meltas, that means you're taking away from your anti-infantry.

Melta is also great at killing anything else, it ignores feel no pain (AP1), so vesy effective against plauge marines should your melta need to be turned on them, whereas a missile launcher would not.

Missile launcher also ignores feel no pain because it inflicts instant death on the plague marines. Weapons that inflict instant death ignore FNP. The toughness gained from having mark of nurgle/riding a bike/etc. doesn't count when calculating instant death.

 

 

Plague marines are T5 if you remember

 

Also the point of this thread was fast melta, so tac squads with meltas isn't exactly fast, and a complete waste of the 9 other squad members (8 if you want a combi). My fast melta is taken in the form of a bike squad with 2 meltaguns and a multi-melta attack bike. Or sometimes a dread with multi-melta and missile launcher for first turn vehicle destruction. Small but durable units that are fast or able to be in prime melta range on first turn, and bikes are great for this role as they also have blistering anti-infantry weaponry.

[Giga]

Plague marines are T5 if you remember

Plague marines are T4(5). The +1 toughness they get is from mark of nurgle. Mark of Nurgle doesn't work when it comes to calculating instant death. Hence, S8 AP3 krak missiles ignore both plague marine armor and FNP.

Also the point of this thread was fast melta, so tac squads with meltas isn't exactly fast, and a complete waste of the 9 other squad members (8 if you want a combi). My fast melta is taken in the form of a bike squad with 2 meltaguns and a multi-melta attack bike. Or sometimes a dread with multi-melta and missile launcher for first turn vehicle destruction. Small but durable units that are fast or able to be in prime melta range on first turn, and bikes are great for this role as they also have blistering anti-infantry weaponry.

Umm... That's what I said, with the exclusion of the dreadnought parts.

 

Also, you can hardly say tac squads aren't fast. 12" move with their rhino, then 6" move in next turn with 12" melta range out of the top hatch. It's not as fast as bikes or speeders, but it's hardly slow or ineffective.

[greatcrusade08]

Fast melta is needed, yeah. The way I see it, every all-comers list should have at least two ways of delivering fast melta, be it mm/hf speeders, mm attack bikes, biker units with mm attack bike and 2x meltagun, mech sternguard units with 2x meltagun + a bunch of combimeltas, etc.

 

That being said, having a ton of melta isn't exactly the way to go in many situations. One needs to have a combination of good long-range anti-tank (predators, godhammer land raiders, typhoon speeders, and rifleman dreadnoughts) and fast-moving melta. This way you have a chance of popping enemy transports and the like from turn 1, and using the melta to destroy the real hard vehicles (such as land raiders, leman russes, etc.).

 

Also, I don't think it's such a great idea to put melta on every unit. If your tac squads, command squads, sternguard squads, etc. all have meltas, that means you're taking away from your anti-infantry.

Melta is also great at killing anything else, it ignores feel no pain (AP1), so vesy effective against plauge marines should your melta need to be turned on them, whereas a missile launcher would not.

Missile launcher also ignores feel no pain because it inflicts instant death on the plague marines. Weapons that inflict instant death ignore FNP. The toughness gained from having mark of nurgle/riding a bike/etc. doesn't count when calculating instant death.

 

 

You sir know your apples ^^^

Its silly to put melta and multimelta on your tac squads, i did this myself for a while.. truthfully its a waste of all those lovely bolter shots which could instead be used to own whatever falls from a wrecked transport.. most marine armies are outnumbered therefore you need your troops as anti-infantry (what they are meant for with those rapid fire jubblies)

if you want that extra kick go for plasmaguns

 

The way i see it you need to remove transports and dangerous vehicles early game, you could ignore a dread until hes near cc, but ultimately mobility is the key for winning (it works for my scouts anyhoo).. what i mean by this is not that my army is more mobile its that i remove my enemies transports and make them footslog. I can then concentrate fire on certain units and ultimately control the game (see brother tuals tactica)

 

My unsung hero atm is a scout sarge with power fist (I do also give him a combi melta truth be told) in a storm for fast moving, open topped assualting, tank popping power. He's got a melta, but as a one shot thing, it is the power fist that usually does the deed, and if you've going first, you can usually get a 1st turn charge on a non moved vechile, so a fist is usually enough, but the kraks from the rest of the squad are also useful. This is obviously more expensive than a MM attack bike or speeder, but is also a scoring unit, so can be used for other things too, has the same mobility in the speeder, but is actually 2 units (great in objective missions, not so useful in KPs).

 

I use the same loadout on my HF LSS, but i also have a MM LSS with sergeant armed with combi-melta and meltabombs, against a stationary vehicle it has the same odds of destruction as 3 MM attack bikes at close range

[Koremu]

The reason people tend to take lots of Melta is that Melta has a short range, but is highly effective within that range. Therefore distributing your Melta weaponry is a sound plan.

 

The reason people tend to take fast Melta is that the additional movement of the fast weapon platforms extends the effective range of the Melta weapon.

 

Everything about Melta deployment is a response to its range issues.

[Fatuous]

Haha, I only just realised, I prob got the inspiration for said scout sarge from your scout tactica

 

Not tried the MM on the LSS, much prefer the HF (all mine get these) to add a bit of infantry suppression for when the scouts target a vehicle.

 

Reg melta in tac squads.

 

These can be more useful than at first glance. melta a transport, then assault what you blow out of it (u can assualt the contents if you destroy the transport), and give your self a nice CC shield from fire next turn (asuming you don't kill everything).

 

My main issue with alot of the fast melta options is it can often lead to 'swopping units', I can take out your x, but you will kill my y in return next turn. Their effectiveness can not be doubted tho.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

I wouldn't say its necessary. It's just extremely popular because its effective. Where I'm at, you can't throw a rock without hitting a Vulkan-led army, so people take nothing but meltas and flamers to capitalize on the twinlinking. And if every unit in the army has at least a stock meltagun, then there's no way to avoiding letting one within half range of your expensive heavy tanks.

[Fatuous]

I was so close to building Vulkan in to my list when I was planning it and really glad I didn't.

[greatcrusade08]

Vulkan = booooooorrrriiinnnngg!

[Giga]

No way. Vulkan is generally quite entertaining as he promotes an aggressive lets-get-close-and-personal playstyle. Army lists that take advantage of his special rules are usually fast, super-killy, and have a mix of close combat and short-range shooting elements.

 

The main reason people dislike him is;

 

- they get owned by him

- they play too often against him

 

The character himself is totally awesome, brings good things to the army, and has cool fluff.

[Titan87]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Let me see if I can clarify my original question. I know that you need AT of all types is needed, at all ranges, and that you need find balance between AT and anti-infantry. My question was if the traditional fast melta platforms are necessary, or if melta and other AT spread throughout the list is sufficient to deal with bad armor.

 

i.e. do yo need platforms that can bring melta/AT just about anywhere on the board in a turn, or is the ability to have melta/AT across the list in tac squads, land raiders, Terminators, etc negate the need for those vulnerable fast platforms?

[Koremu]

No way. Vulkan is generally quite entertaining as he promotes an aggressive lets-get-close-and-personal playstyle. Army lists that take advantage of his special rules are usually fast, super-killy, and have a mix of close combat and short-range shooting elements.

 

The main reason people dislike him is;

 

- they get owned by him

- they play too often against him

 

The character himself is totally awesome, brings good things to the army, and has cool fluff.

Personally I think he's lamer than a salamander with no legs, and discourages any kind of creative thought process. Much like most of the special characters.

 

The decent SC in the C:SM is Sicarius, and even he is only a good character because he's a glimpse into how they could have done ALL marine units.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Let me see if I can clarify my original question. I know that you need AT of all types is needed, at all ranges, and that you need find balance between AT and anti-infantry. My question was if the traditional fast melta platforms are necessary, or if melta and other AT spread throughout the list is sufficient to deal with bad armor.

 

i.e. do yo need platforms that can bring melta/AT just about anywhere on the board in a turn, or is the ability to have melta/AT across the list in tac squads, land raiders, Terminators, etc negate the need for those vulnerable fast platforms?

 

The problem is that melta's dominance as an AT weapon is driven by the current metagame, which is entirely reliant on mechanized formations. This results in extremely fast-moving armies (case in point: all Blood Angels Rhino chassis-based vehicles are now Fast), which means that they don't NEED long-range antitank weapons like lascannons and missile launchers; 75% of all weapons fire in the average game takes place inside a 24" window. Plus, melta is more reliable in A.) punching armor and B.) getting Destroyed results due to the extra D6 at half range and the AP1 giving +1 on the pen chart, respectively. So consider: would you rather have the Landspeeder that can move 12" and fire a multimelta for less than 100 points, or the Predator Annihilator that has to sit still to get off more than one shot for double the cost of the Landspeeder? The fact that melta weapons are on lots of fast chassis -- bikes, attack bikes, speeders, tac squad in a Rhino, etc -- only improves the cost-effectiveness of meltaguns since you can reliably get them within that magic half-range.

[Fatuous]

That I think is down to personnal choice, and your army composition. both are ways that work, and both have benefits and negatives.

 

Melta, are all very short range, but will get the job done better than almost anything else, due to extra dice, and most importantly..... the +1 to damage roll, but they are not the only weapons that can do this.

 

Speeders will get you where you need to be, and will most likely take down their target, but leave them selves open to getting shot to pieces next turn, and is unlikely to be able to go after another target late game. Speeders are susceptable to bolters, and often end up being a 1 shot wonder, killing some thing but trading themselves in the process. Of course, they are usually trading themselves for some thing more valuable, so it is often worth it. A speeder is still a kill point tho, and giving up easy KPs is negative for fragile units that often get 'Swopped'.

 

A pred, costs more, is more likely to give away cover saves, and is less mobile, but this comes with benefits, being far more survivable, and can dish out the pain while remaining well outside of assualt range, and is more likely to still be kicking around late game so potentially can be more useful in the long run, even tho their odds at taking down that x, y or z is less than a melta in melta range.

 

So to answer your question, fast melta platforms like bikes and speeders are not NESSASARY. You don't have to take them, and their roles can be covered by other means as I outlined earlier in this thread (see third post down). They are of course very cheap and mobile, and are very effective, which is why they are so popular. I still prefer my dreads in pods and scouts in speeder storms, as they are more dual purpose, can slag a tank and then go on to do other things, maul infantry and even hold objectives.

 

You need AT, and fast melta is a good way to add it to a list, but it is not the only way.

[angry man]

as far as i see it, for an army to stand a chance against anything other than a 'fluff' list, it needs melta. how else do you intend to deal with the AV13/14 that can be deployed so cheaply and in large numbers?

 

yes there are other options, so lets have a look

lets assume that a melta weapon is in half range, and compare it to the other AT options in C:SM, namely the lascannon and the missile launcher:

STRENGTH - melta wins

AP - melta wins - and this is what makes the melta so great

SHOTS - same as its 'opponents'

RANGE - ok, melta loses but we can get around this

COST - melta is free in tacts and platforms are cheaper than preds/typhoons

 

the only part of melta that lets it down is range. this is where the fast part comes in. melta platforms that can move and shoot extends the range to 24" and by turn 2 they can hit anything on the board.

 

this would suggest strongly that melta is the most efficient AT in C:SM and that having it on a fast platform makes up for the downside... melta IS necessary and it just so happens that a fast platform is the best way to deliver it

 

AM

[Ming]

Based on the metagame, I now have a sternguard squad kitted for turn 1 melta-strike - 2 meltaguns and 3 combimeltas. They pod in. Their job is to kill dreads or vehicles if possible on landing, or alternatively combined with a librarian to smite MEQ squads. Sometimes they get to do both.

 

Yes, fast melta has a major role in every marine list.

[Fatuous]

as far as i see it, for an army to stand a chance against anything other than a 'fluff' list, it needs melta. how else do you intend to deal with the AV13/14 that can be deployed so cheaply and in large numbers?

 

yes there are other options, so lets have a look

lets assume that a melta weapon is in half range, and compare it to the other AT options in C:SM, namely the lascannon and the missile launcher:

STRENGTH - melta wins

AP - melta wins - and this is what makes the melta so great

SHOTS - same as its 'opponents'

RANGE - ok, melta loses but we can get around this

COST - melta is free in tacts and platforms are cheaper than preds/typhoons

 

the only part of melta that lets it down is range. this is where the fast part comes in. melta platforms that can move and shoot extends the range to 24" and by turn 2 they can hit anything on the board.

 

this would suggest strongly that melta is the most efficient AT in C:SM and that having it on a fast platform makes up for the downside... melta IS necessary and it just so happens that a fast platform is the best way to deliver it

 

AM

 

 

Yes indeed, lets tally up the options using meltas in their optimum (half) range and ignore each and every other option put forwards. In a melta (at optimum range) vs lascannon or ML, funnily enough the melta does win hands down.

 

While we're at it, lets do this on a shot by shot basis, and ignore that other, more expensive options will get more shots per game than a 1 hit wonder speeder unit. They are cheap for a reason. You get in, blow something up and then crash and burn. More expensive units have far greater survivability, will have a much greater chance of being able to contest an objective late game, and less likely to give away KPs. Couple this with using say a troop option to do the same job, more pricey, but much more multi purpose.

 

We can ignore vindicators completely I guess too, cos St10 AP1 weapons are a bit pants tbh.

 

I'm not disagreeing the power or usefullness of fast moving melta weaponry (I'd be pretty stupid if I did). But NECESSARY, is pushing it too far. Other options work and do have benefits to choosing them.

[DarkGuard]

I've been including a squad of two multi-melta attack bikes for well over a year now, and they have been very good, able to bring down large amounts of mechanised units if not brought down. I took them out for one game with meltaguns in my Tactical Squads to tackle anti-tank, and went up against two Land Raiders, and even with my demolisher cannons I had trouble tackling them, so I put them straight back in. IMO they are a staple unit of any Space Marine unit, as you able to crack open those troublesome tanks when you want.

 

And Fatuous, the demolisher cannons carried by Vindicators are not AP1, they're AP2. The only S10 AP1 Ordnance weapon in the Space Marine Codex is the Orbital Bombardment. Of course, demolisher cannons aren't bad at taking down vehicles, the S10 and ability to always roll 2 dice and pick the highest is handy, but they aren't AP1

[Jackelope King]

Put simply, every unit and every option you field should be in your list because it'll achieve a goal for you. In the Codex: Space Marine arsenal, Melta is the best option we have to deal with high-AV enemy vehicles.

 

Melta weapons have terrible range, pure and simple, but they're better than most people think, because you really don't need 2d6 armor penetration against all vehicles. You need it against AV13 and AV14, yes. But when mounted on a fast platform (really the only solid anti-tank we have that can be mounted on a fast platform), we can usually just as easily choose to scoot around the flank and take a shot on weaker side or rear armor or close and go for the 2d6 armor penetration. Meltas get a good S and the critical AP1, which many folks here have already noted.

 

Las-Cannons are extremely pricey, and except in two cases (on a Razorback or on a Predator) are fairly stationary, and you're trading off a point of AP for a +1 to S, so you're no longer able to kill on a glance or have a 50% chance to kill an enemy vehicle on a pen. But the range is darn nice, and anyone who argues otherwise on that count, at least, is a fool.

 

Missile Launchers are an excellent comparison, being stunningly cheap in most cases, and in our sibbling codex (Codex: Space Wolves) supremely spammable. They can also multitask a little bit better (though I still think better analysis needs to be done on just how many hits you can expect from a single frag missile template), and while they lose on out the ability to really threaten 2+ saves compared to either Las Cannons or Melta, they keep that decent S8 that lets them Instant Death T4 models, can ignore 3+ saves just fine, and can often be fielded in enough numbers to really threaten light vehicles (AV 10-11). But they can never do more than glance AV14, and are really unreliable against AV13 and are at best passable against AV12.

 

Autocannons should be analyzed here too. They lose out on S, they lose out on AP, but you get a nice rate of fire and in one star case, a really nice accuracy (the Rifleman Dread). Having two shots means they can multitask by shooting up light vehicles on one turn, and then turning their sights on infantry the next without losing much effectiveness. They're really only for popping light vehicles, however, and I'd argue that you're really reaching if you're even trying to deal with AV12 vehicles with an autocannon.

 

Those are our main anti-tank, and they really each have a role. Meltas reliably kill heavy armor. Las Cannons don't reliably kill heavy armor, but if you can somehow take them en masse, you will at least reliably pen most heavy armor every turn, which will translate into more wrecked enemy vehicles. Autocannons and Missile Launchers can threaten light vehicles and that's it. So our options for dealing with heavy armor with Codex: Space Marines are either Melta weapons or Las Cannons. Melta is more reliable and cheaper, and fits better into more types of 5th Edition lists. If you want to use Las Cannons for your anti-heavy armor, you need to build your list around it and bring lots of it (lots of Las/Plas Razorbacks, for instance). That's why melta is much more popular these days: it can be more reliably dropped into more types of armies. Bring autocannons and missile launchers along too, of course, but your goal with them is to kill lighter vehicles, not AV14 or 13.

[bystrom]

The reason meltas are seen as necessary is IMO coupled with what Jackelope have said, namely the unreliablility of other AT options against heavy armour. You've only got 5-7 turns to destroy or immobilise vehicles, otherwise they can move onto objectives, trasport troops etc., and lascannons can't be taken in enough numbers to gain the reliability of melta weaponry. That said, I mix, while I at most take one lascannon and several meltas, I also take missile launchers, as the mix gives me options, different threats (and makes a more fun army IMO), etc.

[greatcrusade08]

Fast melta isnt absolutely necessary, but in terms of the metagame is important to make your army more efficient and competative.

 

Despite Vulkan being a decent character, i still think hes boring, and like Giga/Koremu said, its because:

A. people overuse him and

B. Its too easy (in a lame do something unique instead kinda way)

 

i felid a whole army of scouts and only have one melta platform of LSS with 5 scouts with combi-melta and meltabombs, generally only works if i get first turn and then its a suicide unit... yet i manage to compete with some very competative players and lists....

[Captain Idaho]

Melta is very important for some lists and a useful back up in others (but should always be in a SM list). I believe that longer ranged anti-tank is important in a list to be able to reach out and touch someone from a distance, before the opponents are close enough to not care you have shot their transport out from under them because they are within range.

 

But melta weapons are still important because sometimes you need to eliminate a target that is up close and in your face. Landspeeder platform is my preffered method, as they move extra fast and can flit over terrain. The ability to redeploy the right weapon for the job is what I am looking at here.

 

Of course, I save points most times and put melta weapons in my Tactical squads as a last ditch "defence", as they can fire from Rhinos turns I don't want to disembark. Not their most efficient use, but to me Tacticals need to survive first and kill opponents models second. A maraudering Iron Clad will cause your Tactical squad endless grief even with a powerfist, but a Melta gun in there can neutralise the threat and save the squad without sucking in resources from elsewhere. After all when a I need to take down a vehicle that close a fast moving melta platform is no better than the Tactical squad with melta weapons.

 

Soooo, in summary I would say yes Fast Melta weapons are awesome and should always be considered in any list. But you can operate without them (but not entirely without melta, just not fast melta) with the right list.

 

Las-Cannons are extremely pricey, and except in two cases (on a Razorback or on a Predator) are fairly stationary, and you're trading off a point of AP for a +1 to S, so you're no longer able to kill on a glance or have a 50% chance to kill an enemy vehicle on a pen. But the range is darn nice, and anyone who argues otherwise on that count, at least, is a fool.

 

Jackelope King makes some good points. My I add Tactical squads can have a Lascannon for just 10pts. For a couple turns of softening up opponents before their units are within danger territory that is a bargain.

 

I do agree that you need to build your lists alot more intelligently with lascannons as your primary anti-tank. They are less reliable in a direct one on one comparison with melta guns at half range, so you need 3-4 plus some back up melta guns to safely take out armour at a distance.

 

It should be noted that all you have to do is stop an opponent from shooting to consider a shot as successful, and doing that from accross the table is always worth while. As an example, imagine trying to brave the guns of an IG list with a number of Leman Russ tanks or Hydras etc. They are going to be taking down your transports and Marines at range, preventing you from getting into range to hit back successfully. A couple of long range anti-tank lascannon shots (backed up by a Typhoon or 2) can even the odds, preventing even a single Leman Russ from firing is a big difference!