How to equip sergeants for close combat in 7th Edition?

[CrystalSeer]

Honestly, the biggest force multiplier for my Sword Brethren ( Vet Srgts) is other characters. The reason Sgt's don't do well is because they get challenged and die before they can make use of their weapon. If another character is in the challenge, they can swing to their heart's content.

[MagicMan]

Power-Weapons are good. They open up Tactical options.

My Squad with PW, vs your squad without PW.

I'm not worried about getting into your face, brawling with you, and grinding you into offal on-top of an objective.

Yeah, with the combi-weapon you will get an extra special weapon shot against me, once. But after that i've killed your Sarge (and stripped you of his higher LD) and probably chopped a couple of his buddies up into the bargain.

For a squad that wants to remain flexible in order to hang around objectives, a little melee capability can be a life-saver. Just my two pennies.

What kinds of power weapons do you equip your Sergeants with - are there tactical options you take into consideration? Or do you just go with whatever looks cool for the pose the Sergeant is in?

I agree that a Power Weapon could certainly make a squad more flexible, and that is what I want in my Troops choices. For me, a Flamer and Multi-Melta work very well for "bully squads", and to use these weapons effectively (not to mention the Boltguns of the rest of the squad) they have to be close to a target. Even if you are not in a challenge, the Power Weapon helps give you the edge over other Marines in combat which could just be enough to tip the odds in your favour. It also makes killing off far weaker targets more of a sure thing - yes, an Imperial Guard squad will fold in combat...but for those situations where you really, really need to break through in one turn the power weapons help out.

It also helps that the Salamanders chapter tactics mean the power weapon gets a free master crafting, and the flamer is a little bit deadlier on top as well.

I tend to go for what looks cool, but I also consider the role of the squad.

For my Plasma-toting squads, who I expect to be fighting with other Marines fairly close up, I'll take a power sword. The AP3 at initiative is nice. If the Sarge is taking a bolter (for instance Sternguard, where its silly to drop the special ammo) I'll take a lightning claw. That way you don't lose out on the extra attack for taking a bolter instead of a pistol.

My Melta-toting squads will often get a Powerfist (despite the hate) because i tend to send them for tougher targets, and the fist allows them to excel in both the shooting and assault phases. The Axe is a good choice here, too. But the fist is better against vehicles.

For squads toting a flamer (light infantry duties, usually) i'll take a Maul. Which is handy against anything not in Power Armour. Its also probably the most flexible.

Assault squads always generally get a fist, because their speed lets me apply that fist where i need it.

[Trevak Dal]

 

I dunno. In my experience, I have not found power weapons to be very useful on tactical squads since 6th edition began. A number of small changes shifted the likelyhood and nature of assaults. Dedicated assault units will kill a tactical squad regardless. So power weapons mostly help tactical squads win fights against equivalent sorts of opponents: other tactical squads and so forth. I used to find such assaults occurred quite frequently. Now, not so much.

 

This situation happens quite a bit in my games, due to the value of Objective Secured. If you need that objective the enemy Tactical Squad or equivalent is on, you're going to send your own Objective Secured unit to at least contest it. That means a simple power sword can tip the balance in that small area of the board.

 

No...I'm going to send my 5 man Raptor squad with dual flamers to go "kick the door and say hello" to the Campers after my CTacs have liberally boltered the crap out of said unit-though the Champion will have a power weapon (Sword or Claw/s).  I shoot the Raptors first (flamers then pistols), then I shoot bolters/any special weapons, then combi Bolter from the rhino, then I assault with the raptors.

 

That usually leaves room for the other rhino nearby to 'flatout' ontop of the objective and secure it, and also provide a little more cover for the raptors and dismounted Ctac squad.

[Acebaur]

Here are my rules of thumb for handing out different power weapons.

 

First you have to ask yourself this. When this squad sees combat will the sgt be accepting any challenges? 

• If the answer is yes, then you should go with either a Maul or a Sword because you retain initiative to help try and get those swings in. The Maul is particularly useful on Templars in a challenge because you get the extra S, still smight most xenos and have that chance to rending. 
• If the answer is no, then you can go with an axe or a fist
• NEVER give a fist to 1 attack model, it's not worth the points
• If the squad is CC oriented pay the points for the extra attack, it's worth it. 

 

 

Don't bother. No matter how you equip them they will always be mediocre and likely die in a challenge.

Only exception are BA sergeants as they can have +1 str and +1 initiative.

 

BT Sgt's are very good as well, getting re-rolls to hit and rending in challenges