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So my question is what do people think of fielding 6 penal legion squads. Also i would like to ask what would be the best way to support them.

No don't do it. Let me elaborate: Penal legion squads have fun abilities and one or two are certainly very handy in some way (gunslingers, psychopaths, knifefighters) but are severely hampered in every way. They can't kill vehicles as they have no options for grenades or melta bombs, and are too few to win via attrition like the power blob. Something like 12 casualties by striking Scorpions on I5-4 will only annoy a 30 man blob but the penals will just evaporate. A walker will shut them down. They need support very badly...

What is their role then? Blocking Scout movements against deffkoptas and valkyries. Deploying themselves in a conga line to force the orks to charge them and not the gunline/power blob behind them. Outflanking as a nuissance unit (like a Sentinel) that can only target badly mauled objective camping infantry (unlike a Sentinel) and will die to a stiif breezze (again like a Sentinel ) Guarding the flanks of your tanks against outflanking Chosen, Genestealers, Kommandoes. They come in, torch/shoot the penals to death and are left in the open for your army to shoot at.

How to support them? Depends on what they must do. If they are your only troop choise something must kill the enemy in order for them to sweep them up. Check the Heavy support (Battlle cannons, Executioners, Demolishers,Basilisks, Manticores), Elites (Ogryns, Psykers and Stormtroopores) and Fast Attack (Valkyries have the added benefit of being able to transport the little blighers) sections in our codex.

Ive done it once and pulled out a win against another imperial guard army. It had russes,hellhounds and marbo as support(i might be forgetting some units). I like fielding the other units in the codex, im just looking for more ideas to make it better.

Besides what has already been pointed out, they have a distinct lack of special weapons. Nothing is stopping you from taking one or two squads for giggles, but don't build a list around them. If you're looking for small squads that are effective, stick with vets.

I like to have a unit or two in my list, but if you are going to take them exclusively you may consider running some stormtroopers to replace your vets as special weapons carriers. Or you could do what I always dreamed of. Field all prisoners (6 squads=480pts) and fill the rest of the list with maxed artillery from heavy support: just keep lobbing pie plates over them. And if you wipe out your own troops...well, they were on prisoners anyways, not even guardsmen.

grobbicull wrote:I like to have a unit or two in my list, but if you are going to take them exclusively you may consider running some stormtroopers to replace your vets as special weapons carriers. Or you could do what I always dreamed of. Field all prisoners (6 squads=480pts) and fill the rest of the list with maxed artillery from heavy support: just keep lobbing pie plates over them. And if you wipe out your own troops...well, they were on prisoners anyways, not even guardsmen.

He's already paying too much for his Troops. spending more points than he needs too for
Special weapons platforms would make less sense to me.

They are a naturally stubborn scoring unit that doesn't cost much in points.

A single unit is inexpensive enough that it's expendable.

They can outflank and attack weak CC units like Dev squads. They might win, they might lose, but either way they are stubborn so the fight should go on for a while with the Dev squad not shooting as long as the CC goes on.

They can outflank and grab an objective in cover.

A single unit of PL is not a large loss of points in games they under perform.

Thanks for the quick replies,i like the storm trooper and artillery ideas. What hq would best support the penal legion, Im thinking the lord commissar.

Nay. Your points can be spent much much better elsewhere. Fun unit though

I've been known to take PLs in Valks/Vends. They aren't as effective as loaded Veteran squads, but they're a good deal cheaper. Its a handy way to make those Valks/Vends capable of grabbing objectives if necessary, and if they get shot down they're the most likely to be able to hold their own (as much as single squads of guardsmen can anyway) in assault.

Now I don't know how 6 squads would do, but there you go.

Nay, not 6.

Yay to 2-3. But:

Dont take them without proper support at the flanks (1-2 units stormtroopers)

Maybe this one helps you having an idea, what they can do and what they cannot

Tactica Penal Legions

Thanks for the useful replies,any help on hq choices.

A couple minostorum priests would help boost their Cc ability, but other than that it really just depends on what you intended on taking for additional forces.

Nay.

Penal legionnaires ARE support units, not core units that need supporting.

Bringing only 60 non-transport, low-leadership infantry models sounds like a bad idea to me, especially given their relatively mediocre killing power. Prepare to do poorly on objectives-based games.

FoxPhoenix135 wrote:I've been known to take PLs in Valks/Vends. They aren't as effective as loaded Veteran squads, but they're a good deal cheaper. Its a handy way to make those Valks/Vends capable of grabbing objectives if necessary, and if they get shot down they're the most likely to be able to hold their own (as much as single squads of guardsmen can anyway) in assault.

Now I don't know how 6 squads would do, but there you go.

This idea has merit.

6 PLS, 1 CCS, 7 Vendettas = 1440 points. That's all your anti armor and anti personnel needs right there.

I say that you could get away with one, if for no other reason than an inconvenient outflanker/infiltrator. I can't imagine what you'd do with 6 of them however.

Lonecoon wrote:This idea has merit.

6 PLS, 1 CCS, 7 Vendettas = 1440 points. That's all your anti armor and anti personnel needs right there.

2 x Vendettas, 2 x Vendettas and 3 x Valyries would probably be better IMO.

L. wrex

As above, I wouldn't field 6, but depending on what they roll, 1-2 squads can be anything from a nuance to a serious threat to enemy units. Mine have a permanent place in my list due to one lucky game where they managed to kill Sicarius, 5 Terminators, and a Librarian in terminator armor in two rounds of combat due to rending attacks, only losing 5 legionnaires. To be fair, Sicarius wiffed the second round, otherwise I'm sure they only would have got away with just killing the termies.