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Hi guys, I'm just getting into the game, have been mostly painting rather than playing. But a lot of lurking, rule reading, podcasts and watching battle reports to get a feel for the game. I’ve been into the fluff of 40K since the first Dawn of War PC video game, but the pace of real-time games can’t really let you enjoy the complexity that turn based games can. Also it’s nice to have a few beers and enjoy a more social game.

I put together this 1500 point list which I should be able to complete painting on soon. 1500 points is pretty common for most games in my area. I would expand on this to also have an 1850 point list.

I tried to cover most my bases for a list that can be fairly effective against most enemies, but I lack much actual table experience. I am really into Sternguard so the list is really built around them. I’d appreciate any advice or tweaks.

1500 point CAD

Chapter Tactics Iron Hands (custom successor chapter)

HQ:
Librarian (forge world Sevrin Loth model) 90 points
force axe
+level 2 psyker

Elites:
Sternguard x 10 - 370 points
+5 combi-melta
+5 combi-flamer
+Sergeant - Lightning Claw (minus bolt pistol, using a combi-bolter listed above)
+rhino

Dreadnaught – 125 points
+Twin-linked Lascannon
+Heavy Flamer

Troops:
Tactical Squad x10 – 225 points
+Plasma gun
+Lascannon
+Sergeant combi-plasma & melta bombs
+rhino

Tactical Squad x 10 – 220 points
+Melta gun
+Lascannon
+Sergeant combi-plasma & melta bombs
+rhino

Tactical Squad x 10 – 220 points
+Melta gun
+Lascannon
+Sergeant combi-plasma & melta bombs
+rhino

Heavy Support:
Thunderfire Cannon – 100 points

Fast Attack:
Storm Talon – 115 points
+Skyhammer

Rhino (extra rhino) – 35 points
*this is to combat squad the Sternguard and attach the librarian to one team

I find that sternguard work better in a pod then a rhino. Also not a huge fan of combi heavy loads, but they can work. But together, I think you are going to have a problem. Combi heavy SG work well when stepping out of pods, because you are ensured to be in range of your target, and get the first shot in. In a rhino, the odds of you getting stranded in your deployment zone go up, and every casualty you take while you hoof it to your target is a very expensive MEQ dead. If you want to run SG in a rhino, I’d keep them bare bones. Maybe a HF or two, or 2-3 c-meltas tops. If you want to include the Lib, just run a 9 man squad.

Take the points you save from not combi-ing up (and the spare rhino) and pick up a dedicated unit to cover what the SG aren’t. So if you keep some melta on the vets, grab something like a WW or another TFC to deal with hordes. If you keep some flamers, grab a melta bike squad, or some MM LSs to pop tanks.

I’d focus the tacs a little bit better. LC/P, c-plas is good, but I’d focus the other pure melta, and maybe set the last one up for hordes.

Overall your list looks pretty well balanced. If you are looking for directions to grow, I’d suggest eyeing the formations and see if any appeal to you. They are the way the game is heading, so might as well jump on board. With three tac squads you are headed in the right direction for a demi company, and if you like sternguard, the 1st company TF is a solid choice.

Thanks for the input.

I was initially trying to build a demi-company + 1st company task force but found this extremely difficult to make with 1500 points and not having a major weakness in my army. I would lose the thunderfire cannon and storm talon too.

I had also thought about drop pods to swap for some rhinos. I'm just scared of dropping my Sternguard into a suicide mission. If i went with 3 drop pods, I could maybe drop the dreadnaught and Sternguard first turn, then drop a tactical squad after. Would that be the way to go?

For the lascannons on the tacs, i was planning to combat squad and have them sit back on objectives.

Depending on what you take, getting a demi company on the table is going to be over 1,000 point just by itself. More if you include the dread. That’s assuming full tac squads; if you cut back to 5 man minimum squads you can get the points down significantly, but it stops feeling like a marine army IMHO. That might just be my inner Ultramarine talking though. This makes it hard to get the Gladius rolling at moderate point values with anything but one of the smaller formations accompanying it. But in an 1,850 list you should be able to make it happen.

And yes, there are drawbacks. You can’t just toss in the talon and TFC ala catre. Still worth it, but you need to shuffle things about a bit. Also if you have some favorite units (and who doesn’t) it can make it more difficult to get them to the table.

Drop pod tactics can, and have, filled many pages of discussion. Not every drop needs to be a suicide drop. Given my druthers, I prefer a safer flank drop. Pick a weak side, and start rolling it up. That said, sometimes you need to kill something before it gets buffs off, or take to the air, so you need to drop into the kill box. Sternguard/dread/tac I think is one of the better options for a hybrid drop list. You get to drop two pods first turn, probably right next to each other. The last one (probably the tacs) drops later to either help clean up or grab an objective.

The thing with drop lists is that you need to kill or cripple everything near where you land. If not, the return fire is going to be ugly. When you have multiple pods coming down, you can focus a lot of firepower in a small area an achieve this. It’s a very all-in, high risk/high reward strategy, and not for everyone. But you can do some mean things with it.

Since you want lots of marines and rhinos - go with a Gladius Strike Force and 2 demi companies

For the 6 tactical squads go with 5 man squads with a flamer or meltagun to keep them cheep.

Auxiliary consider a 10th company task force or armored task force of autocannon/heavy bolter predators (or something else cheap)

You can use your sternguard models as your command squad models.

Use your extra points to give your devastators some good weapons (maybe missile launchers to keep them cheap too).

You should be able to keep it at 1500 - this definitely looks like where you want to go with your army.

Its competitive and fluffy at the same time.


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The devastator squads you can even just not give them any special weapons and pretend they are tactical squads if you want to put the points elsewhere.


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Oh - and for the 5 man squads take razorbacks not rhinos

I was really tempted to go the full battle company route with the free transports, but for the points limit it seems to leave you with a really boring generalized army. The perks are nice, but it doesn't have the flavor and variety that a CAD gives you unless the points limit is much higher and you can throw in more interesting auxiliaries. If only it scaled better for smaller games.

Lacks DA :3

The color scheme is very DA like.