Scouts vs Tac Squad

[RavenousPanda]

I was curious what the reasoning for choosing Scouts over Tac Squads would be.  Like, for what type of play style?  Is it a point vs effectiveness thing?  Ive just notice quite a few lists choosing scout snipers over tac squads. 

[Cronhour]

I often use scouts as they can fill a role cheaply making more room for our elites.

A about snippet squad can sit on a back field or put of the way objective and harass from range quite effectively while of in a Baal a five man cc Saturday at 55 points is a great harassment unit and can take out a similar squad of more expensive marines on the charge. Only last week my 5 man scout squad killed a 6 man assault squad with eviserator. Everything but the eviserator died on the charge and then it died in my opponents phase. Going first and wounding on 3's makes up for the Ws and save I've found.

[RavenousPanda]

So basically, its just to fulfill the troop requirement, but saving points for more elites?  Now I don't remember because I haven't played in years, but in objective based play, can elites capture points?  I believe in 6th ed it was only troops that could.

[Brother_Mike]

I often use scouts as they can fill a role cheaply making more room for our elites.

A about snippet squad can sit on a back field or put of the way objective and harass from range quite effectively while of in a Baal a five man cc Saturday at 55 points is a great harassment unit and can take out a similar squad of more expensive marines on the charge. Only last week my 5 man scout squad killed a 6 man assault squad with eviserator. Everything but the eviserator died on the charge and then it died in my opponents phase. Going first and wounding on 3's makes up for the Ws and save I've found.

 

extra-mega-ultra this. People on this forum overwhelmingly look at our troops choices as completely useless, more of tax so they can field the most death company they can on the table, when they couldn't be more wrong. Even a 5 man scout squad with CCW+BP is more than a match for a similarly sized space marine squad. Never underestimate that +1 I and S on the charge.

 

Similarly, a 5 man scout squad with sniper rifles and a heavy bolter w/hellfire shells is great for sitting on an objective and providing some long range fire support

[Lucumon]

Scouts with a 2+ cover save?  What an excellent objective camper...

[Charlo]

If our scouts has WS/BS4 I'd be all over them constantly - hell even combat ones aren't too bad with WS3.

[RavenousPanda]

So are they better?  Or is it preference/situational?

[Charlo]

So are they better?  Or is it preference/situational?

 

100% Preference and situation.

[Brother Scruffy]

Well Sniper Scouts are great because they have infiltrate and can cause pinning tests on the enemy. Which is very nice for claiming an early objective and their long range means they can potentially stay there the whole game and still be useful. Given the right terrain(and camo cloaks) they can have a 3+ cover save too. If they're really in trouble they can even Go To Ground to make that a +2. Those stack right?

[LutherMax]

Correct. I've had my sniper scouts last the whole game thanks to cumulative cover saves, makes them very survivable.

[Cronhour]

My sniper scouts tend to be very survivable to shooting. Though if you start to kit then out. (snipers, cloaks, hellfire bolter) they can get expensive.

Though this from a guy that made his cc scouts with power maul and veteran sergeant so.......

(they were pretty awesome especially worth an asked storm to ride in) I hate that we can't get it.

[evildrcheese]

Also worth noting that since Scouts have Move Through Cover they can jump out of a zooming Stormraen and not have to take a dangerous terrain test. Which can be useful for snagging objectives late game.

 

D

[Captain Caine 24th]

I find that tactical squads can often be optimized to fill a light anti infantry roll--lots of shots or templates. However, the rest of my army is generally good at that. But, that's not the end of the issue. They are fairly durable with And They Shall know No Fear, and a 3+ save. As stated above, scouts with cammo cloaks can get a good cover without too much trouble. Though cover can be ignored sometimes, a small scout unit usually isn't a priority target. Generally my tactical squads these days fit a role as a troop with a dedicated drop pod. Depending on points and comparable benefit of allies, an extra pod can make all the difference. Even without chapter tactics, combat squads out of a drop pod has decent damage output and can be hard to kill. So, for forceful, aggressive drop pod play I like tactical squads.

 

I've rarely given high praise to my sniper scouts, but I usually fail to acknowledge their low points cost. My chief complaint would be a low volume of fire that rending doesn't really amount to anything. On the other hand a grav gun in the hands of the sergeant can make its points back in a hurry. Overall scout and infiltrate are very powerful rules in harrassing and diverting far more enemy points to kill the scouts than they should be worth. They might be easy kill points, but on balance I find their ability to grab objectives is far more valuable in the maelstrom mission age. So, for asymmetric deployment and confusing the enemy as a tactic, I say go with scouts.

[Jorre]

For the price of a tac squad in pod i cant almost afford a furioso in pod + sniper scout squad!

[RavenousPanda]

This has all been great input.  Thank you very much. 

[Remtek]

I mostly hide my scouts or outflank/keep them in reserve. They are just more point efficient and flexible. Tacticals really don't serve a purpose anymore. It's kinda sad, but for the new marine books they have formations giving them free transports making tacticals relevant again which is great. But for BA scouts are just flat out better. They do have heavy flamers, so if that is something you need they might be worth a shot, but i'd rather take a dread then. I don't really agree on sniper scouts being optimal, but i guess thats just my opinion. I often move them around or hide go to ground. Best to keep them cheap then.