Eliminators weapons loadout?

[Powderfinger]

 

 

New player here, I've just gotten a 3 man Eliminator squad. I'd love to get some opinions on the most useful/effective weapon loadout for these guys before I build them:

 

1)3 Las Fusils?

 

2)3 Bolt Sniper Rifles?

 

3)2 Las Fusils + Bolt Carbine Sgt?

 

4)2 Bolt Snipers + Bolt Carbine Sgt?

 

As I understand it the Carbine Sgt. exchanges a little firepower for some movement abilities.

 

FWIW  I'm very flexible...the only other units I have so far are the Dark Angels Combat Patrol(Redemptor Dread, 3 Inceptors, Intercessor squad, Chaplain). I'm not necessarily planning to play as DA, it is a custom chapter and I'm most intrigued by Gladius(versatility?), Vanguard(movement?), or Ironstorm(rolling thunder?) detachments.

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Powderfinger

[TheNicronomicon]

Bolt rifles are good for taking down enemy leaders, if you need to, but the las fusils are decent against armor for the price. Unless you’re in a meta where leaders are lynchpin for opposing armies, the las fusils are probably the way to go. 

[Tacitus]

Bolt Rifles will do a number on some characters.  the assorted Eldar and Guard for example.  They fare far worse vs say a Gravis Captain, and vs a Hive Tyrant it becomes somewhat silly.   I got 3 sets of bolt rifle minis from the boxed sets, so I bought three more for the Lasfusils.  I'm not really a fan because of the 3 and only 3 squad size for anything.  People think they're cheap simply because they're 25PPM Limit:3 - Hellblasters are also 25PPM but are 5-10

[Karhedron]

I have not been impressed by the Las Fusils. Most scary Tanks and Monsters are T10+ meaning those Fusils will be needing 5s to wound. For anti-tank work I think it is better to go for Lascannons which wound on a 3+ and can be fielded in a bigger squad (e.g. 4 in a Devastator squad). Alternatively, if you are fishing for 5s, go for Hellblasters or Plasma Inceptors which have a much greater rate of fire.

 

Sniper rifles on the other hand offer a capability that is fairly unique in the Marine range in that you can knock out supporting characters. The other thing I would go for is the Carbine on the Sergeant. Snagging Objectives can be a game winner so options that give you extra movement are a usually worth serious consideration. Even if you just use it to move after shooting and thus claim the +1 to Hit bonus for being Heavy, it is still good.

 

One squad will struggle to do much against tougher Characters like Marines but 2 squads will really start to put pressure on anything short of Gravis. For my money, 2 squads with Sniper Rifles and Carbines are the way to go. If you opponent is Character-heavy (and many armies are these days) you can spoil their special tricks or make them keep their heads down. If you find yourself against an opponent who does not care about his Characters so much, they are still good at clearing elite infantry and their movement tricks can keep them out of harm's way or allow them to snag Objectives that your opponent thought were out of range.

[Dracos]

8 hours ago, Karhedron said:

I have not been impressed by the Las Fusils. Most scary Tanks and Monsters are T10+ meaning those Fusils will be needing 5s to wound. For anti-tank work I think it is better to go for Lascannons which wound on a 3+ and can be fielded in a bigger squad (e.g. 4 in a Devastator squad). Alternatively, if you are fishing for 5s, go for Hellblasters or Plasma Inceptors which have a much greater rate of fire.

 

Sniper rifles on the other hand offer a capability that is fairly unique in the Marine range in that you can knock out supporting characters. The other thing I would go for is the Carbine on the Sergeant. Snagging Objectives can be a game winner so options that give you extra movement are a usually worth serious consideration. Even if you just use it to move after shooting and thus claim the +1 to Hit bonus for being Heavy, it is still good.

 

One squad will struggle to do much against tougher Characters like Marines but 2 squads will really start to put pressure on anything short of Gravis. For my money, 2 squads with Sniper Rifles and Carbines are the way to go. If you opponent is Character-heavy (and many armies are these days) you can spoil their special tricks or make them keep their heads down. If you find yourself against an opponent who does not care about his Characters so much, they are still good at clearing elite infantry and their movement tricks can keep them out of harm's way or allow them to snag Objectives that your opponent thought were out of range.

I’d agree with most all of this with the caveat that unless you’re playing with certain vehicles Cawl seemed to forget to add lascannons to the Primaris armory and las-fusil Eliminators are excellent against heavy infantry. As with so much it depends on your meta … therefore I always think in terms of tournament settings … and the rest of your build. Either way you go two squads I are definitely the way to go. 
 

If it helps my first Eliminators we’re the same as Tacticus and I’ve played them as las-fusil in 3 RTTs and a GT and no one’s blinked an eye over it. As long as they are all the same no one gets confused.  

[Powderfinger]

Some good info in here.

 

I just built them...with 2 bolt snipers and the carbine sgt. It seemed like a close call either way, but Karhedron pointed out there are other units that replicate or surpass what the las fusils can do while the sniper rifles give you more unique capabilities.

 

Bolt carbine sgt. for the added utility makes sense as well.

 

A second unit of 3 is definitely an option.

 

Thanks all.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Powderfinger

[Wind Whistler]

A second squad would be nice to more comfortably “guarantee” that you can snipe any given character in a single turn of fire.

Edited November 21, 2023 by Wind Whistler

[Karhedron]

6 hours ago, Wind Whistler said:

A second squad would be nice to more comfortably “guarantee” that you can snipe any given character in a single turn of fire.

 

Agreed. 2 squads will mean most Characters have to keep their heads down.

[Ming the Merciless]

I had the same dilemma, i feel the las fusil's lack of strength vs tough vehicles (and d6 damage) loses against the bolt rifle's potential devastating wounds, flat 3 damage, and precision for buff characters.

[Karhedron]

Sadly neither weapon does Devastating Wounds but a flat 3 Damage is still nice to dealing with Terminators and Aggressors.

[Ming the Merciless]

7 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

Sadly neither weapon does Devastating Wounds but a flat 3 Damage is still nice to dealing with Terminators and Aggressors.

 

They get devastating wounds if they remain stationary.