Your source of fast melta

[Jackelope King]

.......however, melta is overated. There are better ways at killing AV.

 

In a Space Marine list, no there isn't.

 

There's better ways of shutting down armour lists (Autocannons, Missile Launchers), but melta is still king if you want to blow something up.

 

Edit - Oh and another vote for melta speeders. Previously MM/HF, but now experimenting with the 75pt DA Multi-Melta/Typhoon Speeder

Exactly.

[Vindicatus]

When running with my objective-holding C:DH list, I run 3x5 IST squads with 2 melta guns, and 1xINQ/ret squad with 2 warriors(melta) and 2 mystics rolling around in Rhinos Generally, people know what's in there, but they're usually more concerned with the giant rolling deathtrap that is my Crusader with my GKGM/ret in it.

 

Granted, I usually only reserve that list for times in which I know I'm going to need every ounce of AT I can muster (it's fun to run a Callidus behind the lines and start flaming/glancing the backends of vehicles with the Neural shredder too).

[maturin]

I'll throw in my vote for GC08's Scout/Storm triple-melta combination.

 

I've been considering the idea for a while and finally got a chance to use it this weekend. In two games they both did their jobs admirably. The combination of scout move (flat out), 12" move, and scout assault really can place this unit anywhere on the board you want, assuming you have first turn. And the fact that you can target two separate units really is a nice bonus.

 

Particularly memorable this weekend: with first turn, my storm positioned itself near table center. It scout moved toward a DE raider + ravager hiding behind a building. On turn 1, the scout sarge toasted the raider and the ensuing explosion killed a few DE warriors. But then the storm blew up the ravager next to it - and the explosion killed the majority of the surviving warriors. Scouts assaulted and cleaned up.

 

Very satisfying!

 

EDIT: The only downside I'm finding is that this combo eats up a troop and FA slot, though this probably isn't too much of a problem in smaller point games.

[Ookami_81]

Fast melta ?

In small bike squads targetting tanks, with MM AB: 2 melta, one MM

In biker command squads, 3-4 melta

 

I know they are good in speeders, but mine are typhoons, and I don't want to sacrifice the pricy twin missile launcher in close range, so I keep with the HB as secondary armament for horde mopping.

 

MM AB squads have no sacrificials and krak missiles are all but too present nowadays, I can tell you (I'm personally responsible for this in my LGS :P )

[DarkGuard]

I know they are good in speeders, but mine are typhoons, and I don't want to sacrifice the pricy twin missile launcher in close range, so I keep with the HB as secondary armament for horde mopping.

 

It's funny you say that Ookami_81, because I've recently been thinking about the viability of melta Typhoons. True their 100pts each, but it's only an extra 10pts, so that's not much IMO. Their anti-infantry killing power comes not from the heavy bolter (which helps), but from their frag missiles, landing 4 of them onto a target can really ruin a unit's day (I use one squadron of two), the heavy bolter is the icing on the cake.

 

I used to dismiss melta Typhoons, but I'm not so sure now. You use your krak missiles to take out transports at range, and your frag for infantry. But when those big, important, heavy tanks come in you can send our multi-meltas up against them. Of course, the chances are they'll then be taken out, so maybe not.

 

I did give them a try against my brother though, and one died because I immobilized it while trying to make sure it would be in melta range, and the other missed and was then blown up, so maybe I should stick to the MM/HF Speeders.

[Ookami_81]

It depends on the rest of your army. My thinking is typhoons are both anti-transport and anti-troops. The HB helps in both (I can't remember how many times I blew out a truk with the HB on a glancing hit, maybe I'm lucky but it appends. You're happy to have three 5 S shots when one of your krak missed and the other failed to do anything on a one.)

Melta is for AV13/14. Since my favourite friend is an ork player I don't have many of them to kill, since batllewagons are AV 14 on the front, I usually flank them to shoot lateral armour.

 

I still have a decent quantity of melta for other armies and because I want my list to be generic and not anti-ork (we both do that because it's more honest and also more cost effective).

 

The other thing is I have mainly bikes as troops, so MM AB and melta bikers are easy and plentiful to obtain. I don't need more on speeders. Even against tank heavy IG, there are plenty of vehicles a Typhoon can kill like hellhounds and chimeras, or basilisks in deep strike. Even LR can be shot to the flanks or the rear. Demolishers and the like are tough nuts to crack so here I use my bikes.

 

But without bikes as troops I think there's no better place for fast melta than speeders. You simply need anti transport / MC killers of another kind, like riflemen dreadnoughts or combi preds.

[Liam101]

Two MM/HF Dreadnoughts in pods Tact squad in the third pod with Melta, Combi-melta and Multi-melta, sergeant with Powerfist.

 

This makes it easy to get inside melta range with the Dreads, as it requires you to get a shockingly bad Deepstrike roll in order to be outside of it. CCW's help afterwards. The third pod is for double melta on landing and then the ability to fire the Multi during the next turn, or attempt to get into assault with the Powerfist.

 

Another effect of dropping Dreads is that they are very tough and forces the enemy to stop and engage them, allowing other units to close the gap for more Melta (5 combi's on a Sternguard in a Rhino), and allows short range Heavy Support to close the distance (Vindicators are in mind here).

 

Liam