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So far I've been using some drop trooping vet squads.. for 75 pts I get 5 of em with either 3 meltas or 3 plasmas (I take 1 unit of each).

For the same amt of points, I can have a 6 man support squad with 2 meltas and 1 demo charge. And I assume I can make them drop troops too.

But the support squad is normal guardsmen so their BS is 3 instead of 4 for the Vets.

so I guess the real question is, are demo charges worth it or not? I'd be going from 3 BS4 melta shots to 2 BS3 shots + the charge. I'd like to get a demo charge in there, cuz they seem like fun. Yeah I might blow myself up with it, but still And if I'm not mistaken, only a support squad can take one, right? Or can you buy them as wargear? (didn't see it on the list with a price ...). And doing this I'd prolly use just the plasma vets so I could get rid of the vet dicipline, but I guess I'd have to add one to have support weapon squads?

And on a side note, is it worth making these drop troop vet squads bigger? I've been told not to by the pros out there, and I know they're sacrificial units almost all the time, but it just seems if I could add a few extra wounds to the unit, they'd be able to survive a round of shooting to pop the back of a big tank if they missed it the first time.

Don't add any bodies to the Vet sqds. They are optimal size right now. Anything else is extra VP's for the other guy.

You could also go for the 63 point demo charge/x2 flamer make. No worries about BS3 - they've just got three templates.

For 45 points - same as deep strike multilaser Sentinel - you can get just the five guys with a bomb. 3x45 < 2x75. (other drop squad options)

i like the vets with melta guns for drop troops.

Remember, that demo charge is ap2 and that makes a really big difference. The ability to drop terminators, or instakill broadsides is huge. However this squad is very random. Its a bit of fun, as it will hit less than a third of the time. You pretty much have to roll a hit with the scatter dice twice in a row to hit with them. I say take them if you have a dropping list and you have points to spare. Otherwise stick with the min size vets.

Well the more I think about it, since theres a good chance of just blowing myself up, i may just keep those units with just 5 normal guys +1 demo charge.. only thing is I gotta use a doctrine to get em, and was hoping to use them in place of one of my 2 vet squads to free that up, so that I can take rough riders also (which I don't have yet, but plan to one day...)

While I don't use drop troops, I have used a Special Weapon Team with a demo charge and flamers/meltaguns as a counter attack unit. I have found the demo charge to fairly effective, and it really doesn't blow your men up as often as you would think. It will only scatter on to your troops about 10% of the time, and if you position the rest of the squad 2" behind the demo charge man they are almost completely safe. Of course, you can't really space your men out if you Deep Strike, so in that case it would be a greater risk.

I think the meltaguns are a better second weapon for the squad, since if you move your flamer armed troops forward they will be more exposed to a bad scatter from the demo charge. Plasma guns might be a good second weapon, since they have the range to stay away from the demo charge and the ROF to offset the poor BS of the guard, but I have yet to try them.

well, i didn't see a plasma gun option for the special weapon troops.. unless I just missed it? that was the only reason I needed to keep a vet unit..

Posted By Necros on 12/19/2006 2:29 PM
well, i didn't see a plasma gun option for the special weapon troops.. unless I just missed it? that was the only reason I needed to keep a vet unit..

Nope, you're right, they can't take plasma guns. I guess that's why I have never used plasma guns before...