Kobrakei Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Hi All In the process of building my Tactical Squads for my DA, and found myself in a bit of a bind. I'm not entirely sure which heavy weapon to equip my Tactical Squads with. I know that conventional wisdom is to skip them on Tacts due to the amount of moving around, but that doesn't feel thematically right to me. I have been loading the units with combi-plasma and a plasma gun, so would have thought that a plasma cannon would be a solid choice. However, they will be using Rhinos, so missing that snapshot, and also missing out on BS2 Overwatch seems like a bad choice. Grav Cannons are an excellent choice, but quite cost-prohibitive and I like to squeeze as many bodies into my armies as possible. I've narrowed it down to missile launchers, heavy bolters or multi-meltas. I don't tend to play against particular armies, so an all-comers choice is the ideal. What are your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaplain Lucifer Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 My advice would be grav cannons, despite the price, they can get more bang for the buck than any other choice. They have enough shots to help anti-tank and infantry and they do manage quite well vs infantry at 5 shots a piece. If you still feel it's overpriced, the ML would be the go to solution with both anti troop and tank capabilities, although limited as they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeChisler Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 BS2 ? Who plays without a Lions Blade? Grav cannon full BS overwatch for the win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobrakei Posted May 18, 2016 Author Share Posted May 18, 2016 I only tend to play with CAD as it's a bit more flexible at 1.5K, plus it's easier to slot in some Black Knights that way :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aura_enchanted Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 BS2 ? Who plays without a Lions Blade? Grav cannon full BS overwatch for the win i dont, i enjoy the tactical flexibility of the CAD, not to mention the ability to handle bigger fish at the high end then a lions blade can, at least more effectively. i have 3 pieces of forgeworld at my disposal and the warhammer world raider im not going to have them sit on my shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epher Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 To answer the original question, which heavy weapon for a tactical squad? I think it comes down to the missile launcher or the heavy bolter for a general use load out. The missile launcher gives you more flexibility by allowing you to choose between frag and krak missiles. You will get your ability to fire snap shots on the move. A strategy to consider is dividing them into combat squads, this way your ML can stay behind while your sergeant and special weapon can move forward. ML range is 48" so you can really reach out and touch someone. The heavy bolter is better for an army on the move since you will be able to fire more rounds for both snap shots and overwatch. You can keep the squad together if you would like. The range is much better than most weapons on the board at 36". The biggest drawback is that it lacks the punch on the ML. From your style of play, it sounds like the heavy bolter is your weapon of choice but I would go with the missile launcher. I would have to agree with the good chaplain and say that grav cannons give you the best option since you can fire three shots at full BS even if you move. They have a shorter range and a bit pricey too. You should consider having a mix of heavy weapons in your army. You should post an army list. I would be curious to see what you have fielding. Have you many victories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobrakei Posted May 18, 2016 Author Share Posted May 18, 2016 I don't have a list just yet, I'm just fishing for ideas and thoughts. In my Codex Marines army I always run Multi-Meltas as they're very cheap and pack a punch up close. I'm probably leaning towards Grav-Cannons after listening to the above though, they've got some kick and having five overwatch shots with them is going to be nasty at BS2 and I'm sure I can squeeze them in points wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobrakei Posted May 18, 2016 Author Share Posted May 18, 2016 Actually did a quick army list off the top of my head Company Master - Mace of Redemption, Storm Shield, Combi-Plasma Deathwing Squad - Cyclone, TH/SS 2 x 10 man Tactical Squads - Plasma, Combi-Plasma, Grav-Cannon, Rhino 1x 5 man Tactical Squad - Combi Plasma, Grav-Cannon, Rhino 5 x Black Knights 8 x Assault Marines - Jump Packs, Power Weapon 7 Devastators - 2 x ML, 2x PC Roughly 1500pts, but don't have my codex at work Seem solid for a base? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epher Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Three tac squads, one assault squad, one devastator squad and a company master? Looks like a Demi-Company to me! But I am not sure that you can call it a Demi-Company in a CAD since you would have to break up the formation into its individual units. A Demi-Company on its own would give you a BS of 3. The list looks like lots of fun. You may want to swap out the rhino for the 5 man tac squad rhino for a razorback. Drop pods can work well with grav since you would be able to get them closer to the high priority targets! What is your plan for your company master? He looks kitted out for assault but there are no real units to support him in that role. You may want to consider an HQ on a bike to go with your Black Knights. My go to HQ for list with jump pack assault marines is a jump interrogator-chaplain. You could drop the combi-plasma for your CM and then take up a jump pack. A biker librarian would also fit well with the black knights too. Anyways, some food for thought. I hope it helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Can't agree more with the grav cannons for full tact squads in Rhinos, they're expensive but really pack a punch. Even more so in a Lion's Blade. Another option is to take a Razorback and combat squad like mentioned above. The missile launcher combat squad can camp a home objective while your Razorback combat squad (with special weapon & combi weapon if you bought them) can move up the board. Although, with all the troops slots in a CAD you could just take them as separate 5 man squads. Agree with Epher's comments above regarding your initial list. For me the DA book is about combo'ing synergies. An interrogator Chap (either in TDA, on a bike or with a jump pack) could slot into one of those three the squads you've got listed above nicely while boosting the squads output. That CM feels like he doesn't really know what he wants to do with that load out. Also the point on the Librarian, for me at 65 points base they're just auto include in any list. Seems a shame to forfeit a whole phase of every game turn for the sake of 65 points. Just a thought. edit: spelling is difficult... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvnisher Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 I think grav cannons make the most sense yes they are expensive but are very versatile. Can take on heavily armoured troops, all types of vehicles no matter how tough. They shoot a lot and are handy for overwatch. Only downfall is vs lightly armored troops. And to top it off they get to reroll wounds and penetrating armor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CovertToaster Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 I agree with epher, you already have a demi company, so take one with an auxiliary at least you'll get a few more bonuses. Also don't mix heavy weapons in dev squads just take all las cannons for anti tank and give them a TL-AC razor in case someone gets close enough to threaten them. Personally I prefer all plasma in tactical squads it just suits the dark angels better and grav sucks vs orks or guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berzul Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Grav Cannons ARE expensive. They are considered the better choice almost unanimously, though. But, I get the idea of trying to keep the cost down. I too try to get more bodies in over better heavy weapons in. Usually I'll go for heavy bolters on squads that I plan on keeping on the run, and missile launchers on squads that I plan to camp an objective. When I go for a CAD, I tend to take one squad for each task. Keep one near my end, to hold it's ground, and take the other on a rhino or drop pod to move up and capture objectives that are at a distance. Works well for me most of the time, and I will recommend this set up any time. BUT, if you do have the points, grav cannons. Def. grav cannons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
march10k Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I think grav cannons make the most sense yes they are expensive but are very versatile. Can take on heavily armoured troops, all types of vehicles no matter how tough. They shoot a lot and are handy for overwatch. Only downfall is vs lightly armored troops. And to top it off they get to reroll wounds and penetrating armor. Lightly armored troops are bolter-bait, that's a fantastic problem to have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvnisher Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I think grav cannons make the most sense yes they are expensive but are very versatile. Can take on heavily armoured troops, all types of vehicles no matter how tough. They shoot a lot and are handy for overwatch. Only downfall is vs lightly armored troops. And to top it off they get to reroll wounds and penetrating armor. Lightly armored troops are bolter-bait, that's a fantastic problem to have! No doubt and at least the grav fires enough to get some wounds in. With the rerolls it's bound to do good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypherthefallenangel Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 For me I like versitility in my tac squads so more often than not I take a missile launcher as there heavy weapon. They're fairly cheap and good against most targets. Grab cannons are great and all but if I'm investing in them, devastators are a better unit to put them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
march10k Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 I've been running plas/plas ten man tac squads since 3rd edition. Never OTT, but always reliable. Koth Ridge for the win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.