So, regular squad weapons?

[Grey Mage]

What do you like to give them? A single flamer? Nada? A plasmagun and a lascannon? Power axes?

What point do you find theres to many toys and not enough boys- IE whats the most expensive youd consider going on a 10 man squad?

Is the grenade launcher at all usefull?

[Beachymike123]

grenade launchers are one of the most versatile tools in our special weapons upgrades imho. not sure of the new points cost but they can hurt marines and deal with small groups of hordes if used right. to me they're a great medium between template and ranged weapons. 

regarding infantry squads i like to keep them capable of achieving a set task - medium firepower = grenade launcher and heavy bolter. heavy hitters = melta gun and autocannon. i only really give missile launchers to HWTs or vet squads as they have the capability of using them to their full potential. 

[WarriorFish]

Flamers and Grenade Launchers all the way for me - keeps costs down but still useful and lets the squad stay mobile The Flamer's merits speak for themselves but GLs are pretty handy as a flexible weapon that helps fill gaps. So I wouldn't take all GLs but they're good in a support role to the Flamer squads. A couple on a PCS gives them some punch while keeping points and threat levels down for example.

I like to keep the HWTs in squads to focus them generally but if I do take them in infantry it's always a case of special or heavy but never both. I find they're better focused on a single task and cheaper, if I need a different job doing I've another squad for that My favourite weapons are Mortars (in HWSs only, and likely usurped by Wyverns now :( ), Autocannons and Heavy Bolters as they're inexpensive and good.

I like to keep the bigger guns on vehicles for the extra durability and mobility, so my Infantry Squads tend to be nice and cheap. I always buy a Vox though but they don't break the bank

[Warhead01]

I field Missile launchers an autocannons, plasma guns flamers and grenade launchers as many as I can in squads. Heavy bolters and mortars  and autocannons in heavy weapons teams. I avoid lasscannons they are to expensive to field in large number and a lot of vehicles can carry them. For troops with a lower BS I like blast weapons. Even with a scatter they may still hit something. 

Melta guns will mostly be fielded in a CCS or with special weapons teams. I do have meltas in an infantry rifle platoon. That platoon also has flamers. 

 

Right now I am seeing the missile launcher as over all the best weapon available.  If your thinking, "well what about AV 14?" I don't worry about it. I have artillery and air support and fortifications available. The most important thing is crippling the other army. Space Marines aren't very durable against artillery. If the castle up in a building or covered ruins, they aren't going any where and I still have the missiles.

Lastly, Melta bombs. 

[Andhil]

I've got two types of Infantry squad: The Assault units, and the Lineholders.

The Assault units get a Flamer, and advance on objectives.

the Lineholders get GL's and a HB's, because they're part of my firebase behind the Aegis. I found the Heavy Bolters add some extra punch to the IS.

[Grey Mage]

Im hearing alot of love for the grenade launcher, thats interesting. So the relatively short range and high AP isnt a problem?

[Malus Trux]

GLs are great. As stated above they're cheap & flexible. They've got the same range as a lasgun so the short range means you're not wasting shots unless you're engaging a vehicle or high toughness unit (in the latter's case you're probably dead, desperate or both) & at 8" you've got 2 frag or krak grenades going into whatever you're shooting. As far as AP goes, again your dominant weapon in the squad is still lasguns which have none. If its MEQs or TEQs you're facing volume of fire is more important in this case while SEQs & lower get kraked.

[Shuggnuggath]

Melta bomb, missile launcher and flamer, grenade launcher or plasma gun. 

[Warhead01]

 

Im hearing alot of love for the grenade launcher, thats interesting. So the relatively short range and high AP isnt a problem?

Not if when you wound! it's like everything else, volume of fire. One isn't going to be amazing 5 or 10 will likely do the job.

It's all about drowning the target. Termies should be soaked in lass fire, rinse and repeat! 

[lionofjudah]

I field GL's in every other 10 man squad, they are great for poking wholes in the enemies line. Flamers in the rest of the squads with sgts wielding power weapons and a commisar- soon to be a priest if what I am reading is right.

 

I leave meltas to the CCS with Harker and a medic and plasmas to the vets for their higher bs.. the only Lascannon in my infantry is in a vet squad with 3...now 2 :(  plasma guns and Harker to infiltrate and set up behind the lines and blow up something big :)

 

I run HWT of Mortars and Autocannons to drop pie plates and dakka.

 

Playing Guard is all about volume of fire..with our orders we can throw out Ork dice and even the 2/3 save is going to fail (I ran a 1st company marine force for years and was amazed at how the mighty marine's fell to flashlights)

[RolandTHTG]

@ lion - You can still take 3 special weapons in a vet squad - The wording is along the lines of "You can take 2, and if you don't have a Heavy Flamer, you can take a third". 

My grunts get either Grenade launcher or flamer, then my platoon command runs around with 4 Grenade launchers to lay down some blast markers. 

[hendrik]

i prefer lasguns over the grenade launcher any day. it's cost quickly adds up if taken by multiple units and it only marginally increases the units damage potential to other targets. Here's my reasoning.

Advancing infantry squad always is mounted in a chimera, I prefer the multilaser, hull HF type. this means i can already roast whatever comes too close, and can put out 3 S6 shots from the unit. A grenade launcher will only add 1 extra S6 shot to this mix and will in my opinion not matter that much. A meltagun however (even though it has only half the reach) will turn my chimera in a potent anti tank weapon. Sure it's only BS3, but so is everything else!

but what about the blast? AP6 has almost never changed a round of shooting that much in my experience, and unless the target models are all standing in base to base, saving all those 5pts to buy an extra infantry squad might just be the better weapon!

if i wanted a small blast in my infantry squads i always take a mortar. sure, it means the model can't move, but it has twice the range, and doesn't need LOS!

[FlamingDeth]

@Lion: Harker sadly doesn't let you infiltrate any more. The only way to get infantry behind enemy lines without slogging or a transport now appears to be storm troopers.

 

I go with autocannon and grenade launcher myself. The points aren't that significant, I don't feel bad about shooting infantry but can take out light armor that presents itself, and besides, if I didn't want upgrades I'd be better off taking more conscipts.

[No Foes Remain]

Quick off-topic question: Combined infantry squads, they still in or not?

[Riptor]

Quick off-topic question: Combined infantry squads, they still in or not?

As in, are they a thing you can do? Yes. you can.

 

I was going off them lately, until the split fire order was put into this dex.

[Chaeron]

Depends on whether they're Catachan, Cadian or whatever... because the fluff will dictate a lot of my choices (and available weapons/sculpts!).

[Grey Mage]

Well Ill be using a 3rd party mini set, so sculpts arent a problem!

[Idlem]

Grenade launchers are nifty cause you have options for krak and frag. So they can do a lot in pinches, like taking out a few more Boyz or a wound off a high toughness critter.

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

My squads carry flamers and meltaguns (although mostly flamers). Partly its due to fluff -- my regimental fluff is such that my troops only have those two options -- and partly because while flamers seem to generally be the "best bang for your buck" when it comes to BS3 troops, I found that I liked having some extra meltaguns sprinkled here and there especially when facing my friend's Eldar who could avoid my melta-toting veterans more easily with their fast Wave Serpents.

[march10k]

I like to take mostly or all autocannons, maybe sprinkling in a few missile launchers...but S7 shooting spam is a beautiful thing.  I like flamers for the auto-hits, especially when receiving a charge...certainly got a better chance of killing a marine than you do using a lasgun as a club!

[Kierdale]

I've usually favoured flamers for my ISs but I do hear a lot of love for grenade launchers. And with the amount of Prescience we can throw about now, I've heard of people taking more plasma guns (not something I usually trust in BS3 hands).

[Raulmichile]

Flamers when playing against armies that will charge you (almost all, hehe) or GL for shooting matches (Tau, IG, some Eldar) and I always equip them with HB/AC just in case you need to sit and blast away. Maybe a bolter for the sgt. now that we can, maybe also a vox if I have some spare points and that's it. The rule for me is that the grunts won't never be above 70 per unit in normal situations.

 

It has worked very well for me many many years. Big specials like meltas ans plasmas are for vets and other BS4 guys.

[Hellios]

I have 6 full sized infantry platoons. 5 of them only have heavy weapons, with each platoon only using one type of heavy weapon. The last platoon is armed with heavy bolters (because why not...) and flamers... and this tends to be the on that walks forwards, or sits in front of the rest of my platoons. Not that this list was designed to be the best. I think auto-cannons are my favorite heavy weapon. I prefer to use veterans with assault weapons... but I like flamers in my infantry squads... They won't do much while the enemy is far away, but they almost always do something before the enemy gets into combat with me.

[WarriorFish]

The rule for me is that the grunts won't never be above 70 per unit in normal situations.

A good rule, one I follow too and it has served me very well

[march10k]

The rule for me is that the grunts won't never be above 70 per unit in normal situations.

A good rule, one I follow too and it has served me very well

An excellent rule...my infantry squads are usually 60 or 65 (autocannon...maybe a flamer), but I do give more love to my veterans when I field them instead...forward sentries, autocannon, heavy flamer...actually, that build is a whopping 40 points cheaper than in the old codex, where the base was ten points more, the heavy flamer was ten points more, and forward sentries was twenty points more...90 points for a squad that used to run 130 is awesome!