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I've got a pile of unassembled plastic scouts and a couple unbuilt land speeders, so I've been thinking about how I would go about using a Land Speeder Storm. So, according to the rumors, a Land Speeder Storm:
- Has a Jammer which disrupts deep striking close by.
- Scouts charging from it -2 from the enemy Ld due to a "Cerebus Launcher"
- Carries 5 scouts (and scouts only) and counts as Open Topped

So, just for now ignoring the using of the Land Speeder Storm to disrupt Deep Strikers, how should the Land Speeder Storm best be used in an assault? I mean, obviously you can't use it by itself - we're talking about it being loaded with 5 SM Scouts that have now had their WS downgraded to 3. They are now nearly as bad as Imperial Guardsmen in an assault. And do we want Imperial Guardsmen assaulting? No. Should we want SM Scouts assaulting? Only marginally more than we want Imperial Guardsmen assaulting. So, my thought is that you use the Land Speeder Storm in tandem with an Assault Squad/Vanguard Squad/Jump Pack Command Squad/Jump Pack Honor Guard. I suppose you could also use them in tandem with a Terminator Assault Squad, but I'm thinking from a perspective of mobility you'd want to have them work with a Jump Pack squad. That way, you've got the Assault Squad to do the heavy lifting in the assault, and the Scouts assaulting as the icing on the cake, dropping the enemy Ld by 2.

But is this worth the points?

What are your thoughts on this?

as a Jammer which disrupts deep striking close by.
- Scouts charging from it -2 from the enemy Ld due to a "Cerebus Launcher"
- Carries 5 scouts (and scouts only) and counts as Open Topped

A new tank in the SM army. That's neat.
Well, the disruption of deep strikers can be useful if your squads occupy a mission objective and you want to prevent deep strikers close to it. Its a good defensive component.
However, five Scouts charging from the Storm is not very scary. You need to combine the charge with another assault oriented unit.

I don't think combining them with another unit will be a great option in 5th. With WS3 and a 4+ armor save they are a lot easier to kill than Marines. That means an enemy can choose to target them and win the combat much easier. This isn't as bad for Marines as some other armies, but I don't think it's worth their assistance.

Death By Monkeys wrote:
.....But is this worth the points?

Until we see the points we cannot say.

My thoughts on tactical use.
(Excepting the many places where I find the rules dont match the background.)

The Jammer.
We dont yet know the range. If it is something like 6" then it is a gimic, opponents will shoot your Land speeder if it gets in the way, also its not too far to assault around. If the jamming range is longer i can see a lot of uses. However it will shine mainly in apocalypse games where it will be commonplace to position a Storm near an important but vulnerable rear echelon unit, such as a line of Basilisks.

The assault.
WS3 is not really a problem, WS is an overvalued skill, if Scouts are cheaper for it I will still be happy. I woukls like to know what the scout sgt can take before I say any more. If the sgt can have a storm shield or lightning claws you could win a combat and force the leadership test at penalty.

Combined assault.
Perhaps the ruling states only scouts alone get this, so it might not work in a tag team witrh assault marines. If the penalty is due to some sort of shock bomb attached to the vehicle (and that is the only explanation that makes sense) it also makes sense you cant trigger the effect with friendlies nearby.

Wolf Scouts
If Wolf scouts can take this vehicle they will get a whole lot nastier.

Shotgun armed Scouts jump out, blast a foe on the objective, charge, beat them up, they run due to the launcher. Now, nobody can drop on the objective.

That seems to be the idea. The problem is that the Scouts will not reliably kill anything in close combat. So yes, tag-team with assault squad seems in order.

WS 3 is no big deal, they hit most things on 4 anyway, and still will. They get hit a little more frequently but they should be attaking things with only 1 attack so it wont be a big difference. They are still str and armor 4, which makes a huge difference over gaurd.

i used assault scouts often for things like absorbing a charge, objective holding, etc. They are only slightly less effective than marines once engaged in combat with most units.

now, i would say give them a vet sarge with a PF of PW and have them engage a dev squad, broadsides, dark reapers, or some other type of expensive shooting unit, or have them go after vehicles with their krak grenades (i believe they also come with them). With the fist, even with only 3 attacks now, they should still win combat. Plus, if they are cheap enough, you can always take two and run them together, thereby getting 2 sarges in there for twice the fun. If they can move 12, disembark 2 from an open topped vehicle, then charge 6, they have a huge threat range. Plus, combine this with Shrike to give them fleet and now you have Dark Eldar type of assault reach.

I think this unit will be really useful.

but scout bikers really have me stoked, i converted a great squad of them to fit the theme of my army but didnt use them so often, now however, with the ability to call in any deep striking unit without deviation, makes my drop pod army really happy! And, knowing if you go first or second makes the scout move so much more effective. I think scout bikers will be very popular with some army builds.

I think to use the Storm you need to think like a Scout Sergent... how would you use it, if all the force you had available was your Scout squad?

As I understand it, Scouts have two primary missions:
1) Scout ahead and grab an area to be reinforced later, if needed.
2) Defend a rear objective while providing sniper support.

The Storm is the perfect vehicle to support these roles. It can sit back and defend the rear deployed scouts from deep strikers, while providing an assault vehicle for counter strike, or retreat. Or, it can be used agressively to take forward areas.



A ten man Scout Squad can contain a variety of scout types which can be divided into two combat squads as needs dictate, depending on the role the scouts are to play. One such unit might be composed of a Sergent with power fist and combi-melta (assuming he can have it,) four bolters, a heavy bolter, and four snipers.

The unit can deploy as one unit, if needed, defending an important objective. Or, more likely, split into two combat squads.

The heavy bolter (Hell Fire rounds as per Tyranic War Vets) and/or sargent (maybe Telion for better targeting) can be left with the snipers. Or, can deploy with the bolters as desired.



A Scout Combined Arms Tactic:

The bolters deploy in the speeder and the speeder moves 12-18" to within 12" of the enemy. The bolter scouts remain loaded in the speeder to protect them from assaults, or deploy to cover if posible. If the scouts are deployed, the speeder should be placed to provide a hard to hit speed bump to deter possible enemy assaults.

The bolter scouts rapid fire on the enemy, (if Telion is with them, he could possibly pin the enemy.) Then the snipers fire, possibly pinning the enemy, (if Telion is with them, one sniper scout or the heavy bolter with Hell Fire has a better chance of hitting.)

Next turn, if the enemy is pinned, the bolter scouts can move to within 6" of the enemy and rapid fire them, while preventing the enemy from doing anything but going to ground (no chance to rally because the scouts are within 6".)

The scouts can then assault the enemy, if the enemy has not been pinned, has been whittled down enough, or the area must be immediately taken. The bolter scouts can shoot with pistols first, before assaulting. If assaulting out of the Storm and the enemy lost close combat, they must subtract a further -2 to leadership from the Storm's mind weapon.

If the Storm has a gun type weapon (Like a Storm Bolter, get the pun...?), it can aide in the attack while detering enemy deepstriking reinforcements. Or, it can be used to make a hasty redeployment or retreat. The Storm can go back to the snipers and do the same for them.

Depending on how well pinning works, and/or how many close combat wounds are needed, Scouts can vary thier weapons to adjust.



Another idea might be to deploy the snipers in the Storm, while the bolter troops deploy forward. The Storm remains stationary the first turn, allowing the snipers to support, then rushes forward to allow the snipers to support the assault (if the Storm allows assaults out of it like a Land Raider?) Lots of different weapons types would work well here...



But, I don't have the new rule book yet, so I maybe be off with some of my ideas...

Warprat

I'd be tempted to use a pair, with 5x assault scouts each (BP/CCW, maybe upgrades for the sgt?)

Now you've got minimum 10x S4 BP shots and 30x S4 attacks on the charge (in addition to whatever firepower the Storms can put out). Combine this with a -2 Ld to the receiving unit and thats some serious hurt to drive an opponent off an objective.

The fact that your opponent can't deep strike nearby in response (and you now have 2x Storms for a bigger bubble). I think this is looking like pure win for not a lot of points!

Now that I get to thinking about it, a sarge with a combi-flamer would be great idea...