Effective troop slot

[durdle-durdle]

I typically take 2 scout sniper squads as troops. They fill the slot, have long range weapons, and can kill small support characters like astropaths and the like. Even if you want to target a big boy, 2 squads will kill him in a couple turns, or force your opponent to hide them. For the 3rd option I usually take intercessors for cheap wounds to sit on an objective and throw out some ap-1 shots. Sometimes if I couldn’t fit enough devestators I’ll bring a tactical squad with a heavy. I’ve been toying with the idea of 2 5-marine tactical squads with a plasma and combi plasma each or a melta and 2 inferno pistols in a rhino. That’s effectively 4 specials in a 10- man squad (or 6 if you take meltas.). And while sternies or vets could do the same thing killier, they’re not troops, and can’t objective secure. You could even do one of each and just jump out the squad you need, as you need it.

[9x19 Parabellum]

If your running a double battalion, why not run a brigade?

Tarantulas are cheap and good, and min dev squads or rapiers are also good.

Your taking HQS and Elites anyway.

 Well, because you also have to pay for 3 Fast Attack AND 3 Heavy Supports.

[Chaplain Gunzhard]

Does that auto hit ability that whirlwinds have work with land speeder storms? If so, that could be a really good way to fill up troops.

 

Scout Squad (Bolter x3(4 if the sergeant can have one) then a heavy bolter in a land speeder storm with heavy bolter giving auto hits to Whirl winds. I'd use that in a heartbeat.

 

Edit: Ahhh it is a stratagem. Still... If you're a fan of whirlwinds.... does a land speeder storm work? If it does that is pretty darn good imho.

I've already been using a whirlwind and 3 land speeders (with dual HF), I play against a ton of cheap chaff. Now the speeders can only do HB+HF but that's not too bad, definitely looking forward to trying that stratagem.

[durdle-durdle]

So I just had a thought. Scouts can DEPLOY at 9” away from the opponents zone. If you go first, you can move and only need a 3” charge to any units deployed on your opponents front line. I think giving them combat blades, they could make a somewhat decent chaff clearer for 55 points. With red thirst, they wound t3 guys on 2’s, and marines on 3’s. They won’t win any amazing fights, but a 5 man squad can take down a 10 man guard squad fairly easily, and forces your opponents to shoot their light arms at those turn 1. If they don’t have a good thing to go after, just sit them on objectives, and they’re still okay for their points.

[Panzer]

Well...yeah. That's how they are primarily getting used after all. :D

[Crimson Ghost IX]

So I just had a thought. Scouts can DEPLOY at 9” away from the opponents zone. If you go first, you can move and only need a 3” charge to any units deployed on your opponents front line. I think giving them combat blades, they could make a somewhat decent chaff clearer for 55 points. With red thirst, they wound t3 guys on 2’s, and marines on 3’s. They won’t win any amazing fights, but a 5 man squad can take down a 10 man guard squad fairly easily, and forces your opponents to shoot their light arms at those turn 1. If they don’t have a good thing to go after, just sit them on objectives, and they’re still okay for their points.

 

Yeah man for sure =)

I am beginning to think 1 large 10 man team of CQC scouts might become a default for BA forces I will be making.

10 guys out there to grab the front line - first drop against some armies like Death Guard to keep the stinky nurglings in their holes and such.

 

I lean towards the shotguns still because I built 10 extra under the index (before the Red Thirst bonus rule) mostly but...

There is something to be said for being in their face and boom sticking, rather than charging in and deciding things perhaps in their favor yet.

 

I enjoy the minor cat & mouse and delicious off sides baiting that happens with shotguns very much also.

Many an opponent back at the dawn of 8th especially just had to come out and get em... Yes come a bit closer to my other badasses...

You killed my 55pt scouts! Oh Noes!! =)

 

Bolters on scouts are quite good also although I have started looking to tacticals for that 5 dudes with bolter role more and more lately because you know 3+ armour and 2+ cover shtuffs.

 

----

Somebody was asking about longer range rifle Primaris for holding objectives - yeah buddy. I might have to buy some yet.

Steady Riflemen are generally good to have on the tabletop I am thinking.

I can't see more than 5-10 tho myself.

[Karhedron]

So I just had a thought. Scouts can DEPLOY at 9” away from the opponents zone. If you go first, you can move and only need a 3” charge to any units deployed on your opponents front line.

Only downside is that if you do not get the first turn, they will likely be toast. Not a tragic loss at 55 points for a naked squad but not sure I fancy gambling on it.

 

I’ve been really eyeing primaris marines, how are intercessors for camping an objective?

They look very good on paper. For +4ppm, you get twice as many wounds and attacks as a Tac squad, better Ld, longer range and AP-1 on their guns. They lose the ability to take specials/heavies (apart from the grenade launcher) but their better bolters mean that each squad member can contribute more. Stick them in cover for a 2+ save and your opponent will need to dedicate a lot more than the 90 points they cost to digging them out.

 

If your running a double battalion, why not run a brigade?

Tarantulas are cheap and good, and min dev squads or rapiers are also good.

Your taking HQS and Elites anyway.

Forgeworld is not really allowed around here which eliminates most of the cheapest Brigade options. An Inceptor squad plus a couple of attack bikes might do the job but that is still 250-ish points. Running bare-bones Devs seems a waste as I will already have to run some cheap Tac squads unless I buy more Scouts. I just don't think a Brigade leaves enough room for decent units after you have filled the mandatory stuff at 2000 points. Sure you can run one and get the tasty 12 CPs but you don't have enough strong units left to really leverage those CPs IMHO. I think double Battalion is a better compromise.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Karhedronuk

[Actionmike]

ill be running my 2k list as 2 bats. Best balance I can come up with for the 6 troops (and leaning to models I have painted) is,

 

5 CCW Scouts x2

5 tac marines  with plasma, combi-plasma and power sword x2 (in razorback)

5 intercessor x2

 

scouts for board control, tacs in razorbacks for midfield and push, intercessors in the back objectives.

 

Not running a brigade because I want to run with assault cannon razorbacks and they eat points while not filling a role slot which is annoying.

[Brother Crimson]

I really like scout/ intercessor combination for troops. Scouts are so annoying and with red thirst they can actually chop a bit more. They are used as pressure units to give time for a fully buffed primaris blob that comes as second wave to clear it clean.

 

 

As for good choices for brigade, full plasma ASM are 113 and Heavy Bolter dev is 105. These are good units that leaves a bit more space for elites.

[MeltaRange]

Intercessors because they look amazing and scouts look like crap

[brother_b]

Intercessors because they look amazing and scouts look like crap

I don't mind the scouts at all especially the older metal ones

[Emissary]

I love my intercessors. Can't recommend them enough.

 

For cheap brigade fast attack choices, don't overlook scout bikers. They have impressive firepower for 75 points.

 

For brigade heavy support the Hunter is a good one for 90 points. Basically a lascannon that reroll hits, is toughness 8 (a nice surprise for your opponent the first time they underestimate it) and it gets +1 to hit fliers. Big thing is that it doesn't have the -1 to hit nonfliers. Great against things like eldar tanks traitor primarchs and necron vehicles.

[Panzer]

Not gonna lie, I'd rather have Grey Knights Strike Squad instead but yeah Intercessors are nice and have great models. However I do think Scouts bring more value to the table for Blood Angels. :P

[Morticon]

The Brigade ive been playing with has had:

 

2x 5man Lascan Tacs, 

1x 5man Scouts  - pwr sword

1x 10man Scouts - pwr sword

 

and then a variation of either 2x5 Intercessors, or 1x5 and 1x8.

 

Given the meta in my hometown, I can never go to a tourney without scouts.

[Zynk Kaladin]

Given the meta in my hometown, I can never go to a tourney without scouts.

 

Do you run bolter scouts or bp/ccw?

[Xenith]

Scouts - camo cloak or no? Getting down to a 2+ save in cover is pretty tasty.

 

It's probably just a good idea to have scouts in every army to deploy them first and block off your opponents deployment options.

[Panzer]

Yeah I'd always take Camo cloaks

[Xerxus]

I would not take camo cloaks at 3 pts per model. It is too expensive for +1 to saves vs shooting while they are in cover. 

[Kallas]

I would not take camo cloaks at 3 pts per model. It is too expensive for +1 to saves vs shooting while they are in cover.

Agreed. It's an expensive upgrade for an ok benefit. Keep them cheap, that way they're less appealing targets you can get more useful upgrades elsewhere (5 Camo Cloaks gets you a whole extra Tactical/most of some kind of Veteran).

[Panzer]

I guess it depends on the tables you usually play. With lots of ruins 2+ armor Scouts are incredibly annoying to remove for the opponent while they are still cheap and ObSec. Even worse if you play with Cities of Death rules where they go up to a 1+ save in cover if they remain stationary.

[Xenith]

I'd probably always take them on shooty scout squads, however assault ones is a tough call that is meta dependent. My next scout unit is a bolter scout one, so cloaks for all.

[Thrown Pommel]

Currently using 3 intercessors and 3 tactical squads with 3 twin las razorbacks in the double-battalion list I'm working on. Makes for a really good base of fire so that our choppy units can move up the table and do work. Intercessors can take midfield and tacs/razorbacks can hang a little more in the back. The 9 CP doesn't hurt either!

 

I'm also thinking about 3x intercessors and 3x scouts for a slightly cheaper troops tax, but I don't have the models for that lol.

 

Really all three options are good. Just determine what their objective in you list is and go from there. For example my list lacked anti tank so I put in 3 twin lascannons.

 

Intercessors = best all around. Can function without support or a transport. 2 attacks base works wonders with Red thirst. Best at taking midfield objectives or acting as a tough screen.

 

Tactical Squad = best for plugging a hole in a list or backfield objective holding. Access to razorbacks makes them a great way to get cheap anti-infantry or anti-tank where either is lacking.

 

Scouts = best screen or aggressive deployment. Never take the the snipers unless you want to take like 10 units to maximize mortal wounds lol. Great for fitting in a cheap missile launcher or heavy bolter to access their respective stratagems (tacticals can do this too). Probably the best at disrupting the enemy plans. Give the sergeant a combi melta and infiltrate reeeeealy close to their favorite tank and your opponent can't ignore them for long.

 

Just my 2 cents :)

[brother_b]

I'm going to go with two max squads of scouts. 16 points total. One unit of tacticals 5/9

 

Unit 1: 5 CC scouts, 5 shotgun scouts, sgt. has chainsword. I may model on a powersword option for one of the sgts.

Unit 2: 9 sniper scouts, 1 missile scout.

 

I'll then go with a tactical squad. I have so many freakin tactical sprues, I love them, they are so detailed. I'm bummed Intercessors are so much better it seems. Therefore I'll have to max the squad out on weapons to make it worth while.

 

Unit 3: 10 tactical marines, Sgt. with combi weapon of some sort, special weapon: plasma gun, heavy weapon: lascannon/missile launcher TBD. If pushing up the field I'll take a heavy flamer.

[MeltaRange]

After 3 games with the new 'dex, I think I'm leaning towards 4x5 Intercessors and 2x5 Tactical w/ Grav Cannon.

[Are Verlo]

If everything goes as planned I´ll be flying down to Denmark to take part in a GT 17.2 - 18.2

 

Rules are "simple" ITC-based and all missions are malestrom, eternal war and he normal slay the warlord, linebreaker etc. And then you have a objective chosen by the player before each mission. There will be 3 secondary mission tokens given to you at the beginning of the tournament, each one stands for one of the following Primary Mission types. Each may be used only once per 3 tournament rounds.

 

1) A player who accomplishes their secondary objective while preventing their opponent from accomplishing theirs, earns 5 points and the other player earns none (0).

 

2) Should both Players either succeed or fail at their secondary mission then each will earn 0 Pick and reveal mission token to your opponent after selecting and before any rolloff and write it down on the scoresheet provided to you. Place the token at the edge of the table. They will be picked up by a referee and my not be selected for use in further missions in this set of 3 rounds of the tournament.

 

Mission:No Mercy - At the end of the game each player counts the number of kill points they have achieved from their opponent’s force -including units created during the game via reinforcement points. If you have more killpoints than your opponent you win this mission.

 

Mission: Assassination - Write down on your mission sheet before Deployment 4 enemy units that are marked for Assassination, you MUST write these down on the SCORE SHEET, mark off all that were destroyed. Reveal to your opponent before Seize the Initiative.

 

Mission: Table quarters - Divide the table into four parts that are 24”W x 36” L. To be considered in a Table Quarter the majority of the models in a unit must be COMPLETELY in that table quarter. Single model units must be WHOLLY within a Table Quarter in order to count. Players Control a quarter by having more Models than their opponent inside a quarter. You must have the highest count of units at more quaters than your opponent at the end of the game to win.

 

Then for the list I am planning on running.

NB!: FW is allowed, but units are 0-1 and each vehicle unit is max 1 model (too bad or else there would be more tarantulas)

 

Brigade detatchment @ 2000p

 

HQs:

Mephiston

Captain with JP, thunder hammer, storm shield (frag and krak so he can actually do some shooting up close)

Sang Priest with JP, chainsword, bolter

Sang Priest with JP, chainsword, bolter and the angel´s wings (relic)

 

Deticated transport: Drop pod with storm bolter

 

Troops:

6 X 5 scouts, 5 units have knives and pistols, the last unit is armed with bolters (based on the figs I have, or else they would all be armed with knives and pistols)

I feel these are the right men for the job. They can get stuck with quickly or deployed to block alpha legion and other alpha strikers.

 

Elites

SG ancient with sword, a.bolter and the standard of sacrifice

5 SG with swords & a.bolters

5 Sternguard with specail issue bolters, power sword for the sgt.

7 Death Co with JP, bolters and chainswords.

 

Fast attack

Tarantula with Twin heavy bolter

7 ASM with JP, 2x Plasma guns, power sword for the sgt

7 ASM with JP, 2x plasma guns and power sword for the sgt

 

Heavy support

Rapier with quad heavy bolter and 2 marine crew

Devastator unit with 3x heavy bolters and 1 lascannon

Devastator unit with 3x heavy bolters and 1 lascannon.

 

But I am considering dropping Mephiston and the drop pod.

For those points i can get a libby dread and upgrade some HBs to lascannons.

But then perhaps the stern guard should get swapped for something else.

One of the advantages of the libby dread is the wisdom stratagem to provide rerolls for the heavy support and tarantula, while the captain can provide rerolls for the ASM and scouts just before he charges in.

The SG can get rerolls from any character that is the WL, so perhaps they will advance/deep stirk along with a SP as warlord.

 

If I remove the sterns, the pod and mephiston, I can get the libby dread, a lieutenant with JP, upgrade 1 HB to a lascannon and add 5 more scouts?

Edited December 18, 2017 by Are Verlo