Looking for some advice on the modern Scout Squad

[Orange Knight]

I don't currently own any Scouts as I sold my old kits sometime before the models got a refresh.

 

I can see that the current unit is quite different from the older squad, and has even more of a mishmash of weapons.

 

I'm wondering if anyone on the forum actually has any experience in using the squad, and exactly what wargear they have equipped them with. I can see that the shotguns have the assault keyword which has the benefit of performing and action after advancing.

So how should these be equipped? Heavy Bolter looks decent, how much use are people getting from it? And what about the Sniper rifle? Is the chainsword worth it for the Sgt?

 

 

Any advice will be appreciated!

[DemonGSides]

I think ultimately the weapons matter little. I'd be running them with the intent of only using them for actionsb and start of game move blocking.

 

Assault doesn't matter any more for them as you can't do an action if you advanced, regardless of Assault, at least in chapter approved.  I think there's ways to give battle line the ability to advance and action but not scouts. 

 

They should probably be 5 mans and used as pre game screening and mid game mission completion.  With their ability to go back into reserves, they are key for doing action objectives by coming down in appropriate places to do so. They aren't a damage dealing squad any more, though they do get a little more longevity in melee if running as BA, but that's true for all things in LAG.

 

 

Edited September 24 by DemonGSides

[Karhedron]

The rules have been changed so that a unit cannot perform and Action after Advancing so having Shotguns doesn't particularly help anymore. I am struggling to find a use for Scouts. For a few points more you can have Intercessors, Incursors and Reivers, all of whom are tougher. Scouts' only really unique is that they can go back into reserves but without Deep Strike, even that is mediocre.

[DemonGSides]

Speed bumps I think is their main use, and then if they aren't gobbled up by the enemy, they become action monkeys.

 

And in my experience, if you don't bother shooting with something, people tend to devalue that model/unit and don't pay as much attention to it. So they often can go unattacked for turns even if they're easily liftable. 

[HeadlessCross]

6 hours ago, DemonGSides said:

I think ultimately the weapons matter little. I'd be running them with the intent of only using them for actionsb and start of game move blocking.

 

Assault doesn't matter any more for them as you can't do an action if you advanced, regardless of Assault, at least in chapter approved.  I think there's ways to give battle line the ability to advance and action but not scouts. 

 

They should probably be 5 mans and used as pre game screening and mid game mission completion.  With their ability to go back into reserves, they are key for doing action objectives by coming down in appropriate places to do so. They aren't a damage dealing squad any more, though they do get a little more longevity in melee if running as BA, but that's true for all things in LAG.

 

 

Assault still matters a little since it means if they need to run they'll still shoot, but their shooting sucks anyway. 

 

Min squad, 1 ML, 1 Sniper, rest with Knives. Don't need to do more than that. Now I DID have luck once doing a max squad with 2 ML, 2 Snipers, and the rest shotguns in both Vanguard and Firestorm lists, but that was more lucky than anything. 

[Tacitus]

I think they have the same issues as Company Heroes.  They don't know what they want to be doing so they do everything badly.

[DemonGSides]

I don't think that's true.  I think people want them to still be what they used to be, and they aren't.

 

They've got a very obvious niche as move blocking at the start of the game, and then if they survive, they become Mission Completers and Action Monkeys.  They aren't there to interact with the opponent outside of saying "No you can't move there at the beginning of the game."

 

Which, in context of the faction, is fine.  There's other units that sort of the do that (The Phobos armor units in various capacities), but Scouts are cheap and their ability to Infiltrate and the reposition before the enemy ever gets to move is more impactful than any of the Phobos marines, as well as their ability to remove themselves from the battlefield entirely; none of those other Infiltrator/Scouts units can do that.

 

They have a niche moreso than something like Incursors do.  Infiltrators at least do the move blocking thing slightly better with the anti DS bubble, but Scouts have a use case.

Company of Heroes.... eh.  There's builds that really like it, and things like Calgar can make good use of them.  They're a more thematic choice than a smart game choice, which makes sense considering their mixed weapon unit style; if you make that type of unit too good in any one direction, it becomes better than the units that do that weapon style and pushes them out, so you've kinda GOT to let them be just ok.

[AutumnEffect]

I arm mine with CCW and Bolt Pistol (Chainsword Sergeant)

I've never needed the incidental STR 4 shooting from bolters or the odd sniper rifle or heavy weapon. The opportunity costs for skipping shooting with them to do an action or advance is lessoned with just pistols. It also makes them better at dealing with other chaff objective control units. It makes charging them with said units a little more of a prickly prospect and charging the scouts into said units to flip an objective more appealing. 

A squad of five does 5 wounds on average dice to Toughness 3 4+ save compared to just 2 without the CCW's. That could kill out another minimum squad of something or force a battleshock test.

At the end of the day though I don't think it makes too much of a difference since it's a unit that you aren't taking for it's damage output. I just feel that, with that in mind, I like the CCW option as it's the 'defensive' one making them ever-so-slightly more challenging of a charge prospect.

Edited September 30 by AutumnEffect

[Rhavien]

I built one Squad with shotguns and heavy bolter for the looks and one with CCWs. 

The shotguns are pure action monkey. Don't know I've shot with them three times in the last year. 

The CCWs however can catch the right opponent of guard, but that's because I'm running BA LAG in general. With infiltrate you are in the opponents face turn one and they are a threath for fire warriors and that kind of stuff.

[Galron]

The only use I have found for them is if I have exactly 70 spare points and not enough enhancements left to make it worth spending points on and wasting the excess. Their weapons are only for incidental chip damage when they arent doing something more important. I rarely use them. Funny enough in a list I was working on for the weekend this morning, I debated them or 70 points of enhancements for three characters two of which were kind of like "ehhh maybe it will come up"-type enhancements and I chose the enhancements.

[Tacitus]

On 9/29/2025 at 6:59 AM, DemonGSides said:

I don't think that's true.  I think people want them to still be what they used to be, and they aren't.

 

They've got a very obvious niche as move blocking at the start of the game, and then if they survive, they become Mission Completers and Action Monkeys.  They aren't there to interact with the opponent outside of saying "No you can't move there at the beginning of the game."

 

Which, in context of the faction, is fine.  There's other units that sort of the do that (The Phobos armor units in various capacities), but Scouts are cheap and their ability to Infiltrate and the reposition before the enemy ever gets to move is more impactful than any of the Phobos marines, as well as their ability to remove themselves from the battlefield entirely; none of those other Infiltrator/Scouts units can do that.

 

They have a niche moreso than something like Incursors do.  Infiltrators at least do the move blocking thing slightly better with the anti DS bubble, but Scouts have a use case.

Company of Heroes.... eh.  There's builds that really like it, and things like Calgar can make good use of them.  They're a more thematic choice than a smart game choice, which makes sense considering their mixed weapon unit style; if you make that type of unit too good in any one direction, it becomes better than the units that do that weapon style and pushes them out, so you've kinda GOT to let them be just ok.

You realize you're making my point?  And no, Calgar cannot make good use of them.  He can make them suck less than they already do, but that's it.  Two guys have "good guns"  One guy (and probably the captain) have "good swords".  The unit doesn't know what it wants to be.  Neither does the Scout Squad.  Incursors know what they want to be.  Terminators and Aggressors don't have to pick what they want to be.  Saying its just an action monkey that does nothing else isn't something it wants to be.   Its something people are willing to settle for.  Even Reivers are better than Scouts because Reivers all want to be the same thing.  With Scouts and Company Heroes half of them are standing around admiring their own rear end while the other half does the thing the other half want to do. 

[SvenIronhand]

Cheap infiltrators. 

[DemonGSides]

6 hours ago, Tacitus said:

You realize you're making my point?  And no, Calgar cannot make good use of them.  He can make them suck less than they already do, but that's it.  Two guys have "good guns"  One guy (and probably the captain) have "good swords".  The unit doesn't know what it wants to be.  Neither does the Scout Squad.  Incursors know what they want to be.  Terminators and Aggressors don't have to pick what they want to be.  Saying its just an action monkey that does nothing else isn't something it wants to be.   Its something people are willing to settle for.  Even Reivers are better than Scouts because Reivers all want to be the same thing.  With Scouts and Company Heroes half of them are standing around admiring their own rear end while the other half does the thing the other half want to do. 

 

I'm really not making your point.  You reiterated what I said about the Company of Heroes back at me as if it was in opposition of what I said, and then you fundamentally misunderstand what the point of Scouts are.  If that's your point, then sweet, I did nail it.  If not, well, you've got yourself already twisted up with this so I'm sure its just more misunderstanding on your part.

 

You may not be up to date with how the game is played, or maybe you only play "Only War" and go for pure tabling when you do get a game in, but having units that can do actions and are good at them, is pretty important to the game.  If that same unit can then also help mitigate the enemies plan at the beginning of the game through move blocking and smart infiltrating, that's a solid unit to have in the toolbox.

Not every unit needs to be "Obliterate the enemy".  The game is healthier when there are units that AREN'T just damage dealers.
 

[HeadlessCross]

On 10/2/2025 at 10:34 PM, Tacitus said:

You realize you're making my point?  And no, Calgar cannot make good use of them.  He can make them suck less than they already do, but that's it.  Two guys have "good guns"  One guy (and probably the captain) have "good swords".  The unit doesn't know what it wants to be.  Neither does the Scout Squad.  Incursors know what they want to be.  Terminators and Aggressors don't have to pick what they want to be.  Saying its just an action monkey that does nothing else isn't something it wants to be.   Its something people are willing to settle for.  Even Reivers are better than Scouts because Reivers all want to be the same thing.  With Scouts and Company Heroes half of them are standing around admiring their own rear end while the other half does the thing the other half want to do. 

Company Heroes want to be a cheap bodyguard where an Enhancement is less important to be used or named characters to make them significantly more durable while they don't super buff their squad. That includes not just Calgar but Vulkan (and Adrax if you need something cheaper than Bladeguard), Ezekiel, and I'm sure I'm forgetting another one. While a more dedicated squad to make use of their abilities is preferred, there's an actual niche for them and frankly their only sin is being a "build only the box" squad. 

[Tacitus]

On 10/3/2025 at 5:24 AM, DemonGSides said:

 

I'm really not making your point.  You reiterated what I said about the Company of Heroes back at me as if it was in opposition of what I said, and then you fundamentally misunderstand what the point of Scouts are.  If that's your point, then sweet, I did nail it.  If not, well, you've got yourself already twisted up with this so I'm sure its just more misunderstanding on your part.

 

You may not be up to date with how the game is played, or maybe you only play "Only War" and go for pure tabling when you do get a game in, but having units that can do actions and are good at them, is pretty important to the game.  If that same unit can then also help mitigate the enemies plan at the beginning of the game through move blocking and smart infiltrating, that's a solid unit to have in the toolbox.

Not every unit needs to be "Obliterate the enemy".  The game is healthier when there are units that AREN'T just damage dealers.
 

No I repeated what you said about Company Heroes back at you because its fundamentally wrong in its own right.  Calgar does not make good use of them.  Nobody makes good use of them.

 

Additionally that is not their only sin.  A number of units are Build The Box units and they're not bad.  Because the whole unit either picks the same something to be good at, or is good at everything and doesn't have to pick.  

[Tacitus]

5 hours ago, HeadlessCross said:

Company Heroes want to be a cheap bodyguard where an Enhancement is less important to be used or named characters to make them significantly more durable while they don't super buff their squad. That includes not just Calgar but Vulkan (and Adrax if you need something cheaper than Bladeguard), Ezekiel, and I'm sure I'm forgetting another one. While a more dedicated squad to make use of their abilities is preferred, there's an actual niche for them and frankly their only sin is being a "build only the box" squad. 

No, they don't want to be a cheap bodyguard.   4 bodies 125% of the cost of 5 Assault Intercessors who are always OC2, and give a Reroll 1's to wound to the character likely to be wounding on 2+.   5 Infernus Marines are also cheaper and better.   A full 10 man Tactical Squad is only about 33% more than the Company Heroes.  May or may not still be "cheap" at this point its on the line for me, and others have their own opinion.  But now you've got 20 wounds, 10 bodies, etc.   Company Heroes are bad.  Not just a little bad, but really bad. 

[Karhedron]

Company Heroes look cool but rolling for every unique weapon individually is a chore. I swapped mine out for Sternguard in my last game and although they are not as durable, the damage output was far higher into OOM targets. 

[HeadlessCross]

20 hours ago, Tacitus said:

No, they don't want to be a cheap bodyguard.   4 bodies 125% of the cost of 5 Assault Intercessors who are always OC2, and give a Reroll 1's to wound to the character likely to be wounding on 2+.   5 Infernus Marines are also cheaper and better.   A full 10 man Tactical Squad is only about 33% more than the Company Heroes.  May or may not still be "cheap" at this point its on the line for me, and others have their own opinion.  But now you've got 20 wounds, 10 bodies, etc.   Company Heroes are bad.  Not just a little bad, but really bad. 

5 Assault Intercessors is 10 wounds and the Tactical Squad is 20 wounds without a relevant game rule like the Assault Intercessors. The Company Heroes are 16 wounds with -1 to wound. 

 

I don't think you're grasping how much more durable Company Heroes are. 

17 hours ago, Karhedron said:

Company Heroes look cool but rolling for every unique weapon individually is a chore. I swapped mine out for Sternguard in my last game and although they are not as durable, the damage output was far higher into OOM targets. 

I've already gone over their biggest sin is "build only the box".

[DemonGSides]

23 hours ago, Tacitus said:

No I repeated what you said about Company Heroes back at you because its fundamentally wrong in its own right.  Calgar does not make good use of them.  Nobody makes good use of them.

 

Additionally that is not their only sin.  A number of units are Build The Box units and they're not bad.  Because the whole unit either picks the same something to be good at, or is good at everything and doesn't have to pick.  

 

Why would you repeat it back to me as your own point if it's fundamentally wrong?  I think you're a bit lost in the sauce on this one, brother.

 

 

[Tacitus]

3 hours ago, DemonGSides said:

 

Why would you repeat it back to me as your own point if it's fundamentally wrong?  I think you're a bit lost in the sauce on this one, brother.

 

 

I repeated it back to you so you knew that's what I was disagreeing with.  Or at least should have known.  

 

6 hours ago, HeadlessCross said:

5 Assault Intercessors is 10 wounds and the Tactical Squad is 20 wounds without a relevant game rule like the Assault Intercessors. The Company Heroes are 16 wounds with -1 to wound. 

 

I don't think you're grasping how much more durable Company Heroes are. 

I've already gone over their biggest sin is "build only the box".

5 Assault Intercessors are still cheaper.  Which was your original claim.  Assault Intercessors are a far better "cheap" bodyguard.  Tactical squads can have two Specials or a Special and a heavy, in addition to 14 ablative wounds before you have to lose the hidden power fist, the special guns, or OC2 making the Tacticals actually more "durable".   The Tacticals put out 18 "basic" close combat attacks vs 15, and a hidden power fist (or other options). 

 

If you're willing to spend BGV are a better bodyguard.  If you want to maintain the "Calgar" fiction, the best choice is probably Aggressors.  T6, 6 models, 18 wounds.  MV 5 doesn't care when you get to Advance, Shoot, AND Charge every turn.  Making the Gaunts of Ultramar AP -2 is just gravy.   The whole point of Calgar is to multiply threat.  His first and foremost use is as a buff bot.   He makes a good beatstick, but 6 T6 dudes running around about 8-9" move, shooting you up before they still get to charge and punch you in the face is the wound.  Calgar and two MC Power Swords is the salt.   And that's before we check if he's your warlord for the freebie CPs where you want durability to keep him around for as many free CP's as you can get. 

[HeadlessCross]

6 hours ago, Tacitus said:

I repeated it back to you so you knew that's what I was disagreeing with.  Or at least should have known.  

 

5 Assault Intercessors are still cheaper.  Which was your original claim.  Assault Intercessors are a far better "cheap" bodyguard.  Tactical squads can have two Specials or a Special and a heavy, in addition to 14 ablative wounds before you have to lose the hidden power fist, the special guns, or OC2 making the Tacticals actually more "durable".   The Tacticals put out 18 "basic" close combat attacks vs 15, and a hidden power fist (or other options). 

 

If you're willing to spend BGV are a better bodyguard.  If you want to maintain the "Calgar" fiction, the best choice is probably Aggressors.  T6, 6 models, 18 wounds.  MV 5 doesn't care when you get to Advance, Shoot, AND Charge every turn.  Making the Gaunts of Ultramar AP -2 is just gravy.   The whole point of Calgar is to multiply threat.  His first and foremost use is as a buff bot.   He makes a good beatstick, but 6 T6 dudes running around about 8-9" move, shooting you up before they still get to charge and punch you in the face is the wound.  Calgar and two MC Power Swords is the salt.   And that's before we check if he's your warlord for the freebie CPs where you want durability to keep him around for as many free CP's as you can get. 

5 Assault Intercessors are 75 points for a total of 10 wounds, or 7.5 points per wound. Company Heroes are 105 points for 16 wounds, which is 6.5 points per wound. So you're wrong on Assault Intercessors being cheaper for wounds, but at least they have a relevant rule. OC2 is irrelevant for late game. 

 

Tactical Marines are 140 points for 20 wounds, which is 7 points per wound. That means they are a better value for wounds vs Assault Intercessors. However, they have zero relevant game rules because Combat Squad is not only a bad rule, it's bad for bodyguard duty. They also don't have a "hidden" Power Fist because it's 2 3+ attacks, which is incredibly irrelevant vs the Champ's 6 2+ attacks. So yeah, the 3 extra S4 attacks I'm not going to pretend you think really matters in this discussion. As well, their Special/Heavy weapon saturation is poor for the price vs paying just 80 extra points to go for a max Devastator squad, which at least has a relevant game rule. The OC2 is irrelevant when you can just use regular Intercessors to sticky an objective after killing something (which Tacticals won't). OC is really irrelevant after you have at least a value of 1, which is why Banner Guy is usually the first to die. 

 

Bladeguard at the minimum size at 8.9 wounds per wound, which is the worst so far, but at least they have a 4++. The problem comes from fhe characters allowed to actually join them. They're definitely not offensive, since they have a total of 12 S5 AP-2 D2 that hits on a 3+ whereas the Champ by himself gets 6 of those attacks hitting on a 2+ on top of the 15 attacks with no stats. However they at least have a relevant game rule. They're not a "better bodyguard" though. 

 

Now comes the point of Aggressors. They're 11 points per wound which is the worse value so far. While they are T6, Company Heroes have the -1 to wound, which means they're not actually more durable. They have the problem not all characters can join them, and their own rule not necessarily benefitting everyone. While Calgar enjoys conferring his benefits, the Company Heroes still enjoy it (though to a smaller degree) and will live longer for Calgar to use his stats. The question is if you want to make the most use of the Aggressors vs Calgar, and that's a good discussion. They're not the "better bodyguard" though. 

 

[Galron]

OK, I actually found a use for scouts in my army. Not really caring how they are armed although I have old models so its 4 shotguns and a sniper rifle because thats the models although I could simply do 5 shotguns just as easy. I dont play tournaments generally and play more themed lists that I wish to succeed more often than not if that makes sense. Currently since most of my Angstrom infantry force is done I have been looking into other aspects and am building a 1st Company Emperor's Shield detachment for my Red Scorpions as the drop force to compliment the guys on the ground. Long story just to say what I am using my little dinky 70 point scouts for in this list is to occupy an Impulsor so the intercessors can sticky the home objective on T1. On my T1, they switch places and the scouts will pop tart out and come in on a flank in a later stage of the game to do far side of the board things. So here their use is 100% as cheap action guys who have the ability to leave the board and come back somewhere and do something else which is something this list with its heavy use of big blocks of slow elites wont be able to accomplish with any speed or efficiency. In my standard Vanguard/Ravens Claw list, I have more than enough units available with strats to have this angle covered so I dont have to have a squad like scouts dedicated to do this. 

[DemonGSides]

5 hours ago, Galron said:

OK, I actually found a use for scouts in my army. Not really caring how they are armed although I have old models so its 4 shotguns and a sniper rifle because thats the models although I could simply do 5 shotguns just as easy. I dont play tournaments generally and play more themed lists that I wish to succeed more often than not if that makes sense. Currently since most of my Angstrom infantry force is done I have been looking into other aspects and am building a 1st Company Emperor's Shield detachment for my Red Scorpions as the drop force to compliment the guys on the ground. Long story just to say what I am using my little dinky 70 point scouts for in this list is to occupy an Impulsor so the intercessors can sticky the home objective on T1. On my T1, they switch places and the scouts will pop tart out and come in on a flank in a later stage of the game to do far side of the board things. So here their use is 100% as cheap action guys who have the ability to leave the board and come back somewhere and do something else which is something this list with its heavy use of big blocks of slow elites wont be able to accomplish with any speed or efficiency. In my standard Vanguard/Ravens Claw list, I have more than enough units available with strats to have this angle covered so I dont have to have a squad like scouts dedicated to do this. 

 

Sounds like you're using scouts exactly as they are meant to be.  And for their points, they aren't half bad; built in Uppy-Downy is like, a huge benefit especially if you're using your CP elsewhere or are running one of the many detatchments without the ability to pull guys back up, like in Vanguard as you mentioned.

Edited October 6 by DemonGSides