Your Berserker Squad Size and Why You Run It.

[Schurge]

In 7th Edition I ran squads of 10 Berserkers in Rhinos, in 8th Edition I ran squads of 8 Berserkers in Rhinos (often with a buffing character), in 9th Edition I've run both but still lean towards 8 (though never with buffing characters thanks to how precious HQ slots are now). One thing I've never tried but see put forth quite often by B&C fraters whom I perceive to play in more competitive metas then me put two squads of 5 in each Rhino for more power weapons and presumably greater board control / movement versatility.

 

I would like to gauge how popular each squad size is in and specific reasoning / case studies as to why people go with the unit size they do.

 

I generally run with 8 because it is fluffy, and bumping my 2-3 squads to 10 is basically the difference between having another Daemon Engine or not or having extra ablative wounds on a Melta bike squad, etc. If I have extra points leftover I may use them to buff a squad from 8 to 10, but I have never really noticed a difference performance wise.

 

In 8th I also used to run them with a Chaos Lord (solidifying 8 instead of 10). I always found Chaos Lords more useful then the more popular Exalted Champions because I could more safely have them run off and do their own thing thanks to the Invulnerable Save (the To Hit aura seemed to be equally as effective as the To Wound aura as well). In fact, I rarely ever kept the Chaos Lord in cohesion with the Berserkers for long after they jumped out of the Rhino for that reason.

 

Even still, with that said, I haven't run into a situation yet in 9th where my Berserkers jumped out of the Rhino and I found myself wishing I could split them in half to go into two different directions largely due to Maelstrom no longer being a thing (or at least not a thing in my area, I don't know if people elsewhere still play Maelstrom). For those who don't know, Maelstrom was an old format where your objectives were randomly generated at the beginning of your turn so you had to adapt your strategy on the fly unlike the largely static objectives of 9th.

 

I look forward to your thoughts and stories.

[Khornestar]

5 man squads with a fist on the champ, so 2 units can fit in a rhino. Max amount of power fists possible. Very little S10 at our disposal; berserker champs are the way to go.

 

Never much cared for sacred numbers if they confer no benefit in game (very little creativity on GW’s part with chaos rules), and now with the unit coherency rules anything above 6 is a risk IMO.

[Tallarn Commander]

I've always run Khorne's holy number. :) But to each their own.

[Irate Khornate]

I usually run squads of 10 with three plasma pistols and a banner. I used to run squads of 8 with a powerfist and banner. The reason for the change was anything I need the fist for in my current meta is a dreadnought so it doesn't serve me much purpose.

[Cheex]

In Matched, I run squads of 5 for standard dudes, squads of 8 if accompanying a character. Having the flexibility of smaller squads is excellent.

 

In Crusade, I run squads of 10 and 8.

[Slave to Darkness]

I always run my cult units in the Gods favoured number, thats how I rolled back in Rogue Trader and I have done ever since. 

[MadEdric]

I usually run 8 Bezerkers, plus a Champion for a 9 man squad that holds to the sacred number is a fashion. I'm also seeing the wisdom of 5 man squads to get two in a rhino. 

[Schurge]

So, I just finished a game vs. Black Templars where I ran two squads of 5 Berserkers per Rhino for the first time and it was hugely helpful to have two squads when faced by the new Indomitus character that forces a unit within 3 inches to fight after everyone else. In general, it felt nice to have additional options but I don't think it actually changed the ultimate outcome of the game.

 

I also charged two squads of 5 berserkers into a 4 man squad of Bladeguard (bad idea) but since he didn't split his attacks he only killed 5 when it normally would have been a full wipe of an 8 or 10 man squad.

 

I will continue to experiment. 4 squads of 5 Berserkers with Chainaxes + Chainswords, with a Fist on the champion and an Icon in two Rhinos is 596 points while 3 squads of 8 with the same loadout in 3 Rhinos is 729. That 133 point difference opens enough room for an entire Daemon Engine or other shenanigans. That alone is amazing.

[dice4thedicegod]

Seems like , with the changes to charging, that multiple min size squads are good (as even 5 Berzerkers can kill most things). ... Unless your meta has lots of 20 strong necron warriors or LOW... in which case , maybe you need all the attacks you possibly can!

[Relentless]

I always run 9 with chainaxe/pistol and PF on champ.  I'll have two squads in rhinos with exalted champ in one and Khârn in the other.  For me, they're just too easy to get wiped in smaller squads as they'll have to potentially survive a lot of attrition (blown up rhino, overwatch, small arms fire).  I'm definitely interested in doing 5-mans once they get their 2 wound bump in a new codex, though.