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I'm putting together a new guard list and got to thinking - are heavy weapon squads really worth taking, or should I just take more infantry with HW's?

Cons - they're small, die easily  and can't have vox casters for improved leadership.

Pros - they're small so can use terrain easily for cover, concentrate a lot of firepower together, and you can have up to 5 of various types in your HQ.


Thoughts?
If I should, what kind of mix do people use?

Thanks!

I find them very useful.

I don't field Heavy Weapons Platoons, but I do field two Anti-Tank squads and two Fire-Support squads attached to my HQ.

They can pump out a lot of focus fire. With the Light Infantry doctrine, they can help set out new fire lanes and force the enemy to split their forces.

Thoughts:
Don't only take them, and don't concentrate valuable weapons like your Lascannons in them. Keep those in more protected squads and use the Heavy Weapons squads for things like Heavy Bolters, MLs and Autocannons.

That's very similar to what I was thinking - don't pack really dangerous stuff in or they become instant targets. Thanks!

I find them quite useful. I have a 3 Autocannon support squad for my 1200 (soon to be 1500) point army list, and I use them to drop the heavier targets that lasguns can't touch. I try not to use them as an anti-armor unit, since I usually am disappointed when they shoot at anything over AV12.

CK

I actually get a lot of milage out of my Lascannon Anti-tank squad. If placed in 4+ cover, it takes 12 wounds to destroy them, and few armies have enough long range firepower to do that in one turn (though they are out there). Keep in mind that an anti-tank squad with sharpshooters is only 25 more points than a 10 man las-plas squad.

Aside from mortars, all of the heavy weapons have their uses. Oh, never mix weapons. Even with sharp shooters, you're probobly only hitting 58% of the time, so you really want to focus fire power.

Heavy bolter: Obviously built for cheap anti-horde work
Autocannon: light vehicles, medium infantry, and MeQs in 4+ cover.
Missile Launcher: I'm not a fan, but I guess people use these for medium armor and meqs
Lascannons: Termies and Armor

I generally stash my missile launchers in command squads, along with two plasma guns, field las/plas and ml/plas squads, and a couple of heavy weapon squads.