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my buddy and I have just started playing 40k and I was looking for some feedback on the army that I am hoping to put together. The only problem I have is that I wonder if (since my buddy plays eldar and I space marines of the salamanders) should I go long range firepower of close combat grit?

Chapter Master-165 pts
digital weapons, lightning claw,artificer armour.

Chaplain-130 pts
jump pack, power fist

Tactical squad-240 pts
multi melta,flamer, sarg has power weapon,bolter
rhino with extra armour

Tactical squad-170 pts
Flamer,sarg has bolter and chainsword

Scout squad-100 pts
missile launcher, 3 sniper rifles
sarg has plasma pistol,bolter

Terminators-200 pts
standard equipment

dreadnought-120 pts
extra armour

Assault squad-100 pts
standard equipment

Predator-100 pts
sponson mouted heavy bolter,autocannon,extra armour

Vangaurd Veterans-175 pts
Jump packs
Sarg has lightning claw and chain sword.


Any feedback would be most appreciated. Budget is almost unlimited as long as it stays around 1500pts.

1) A Salamanders Army isn't a Salamanders Army without Vulkan He'stan
2) Take Flamers, Heavy Flamers, Meltas and Multi-Meltas (Vulkan makes them twin linked)
3) 10 Men Tactical Squads - Free Flamer and Multi-Melta Upgrades
4) Combat Squad the Tactical squads (multi-melta and 4 boys on home objective, Sarg and flamer and 3 boys in transport) to use a Heavy Flamer Razorback
5) Use Iron Clad Dreadnoughts - Replace Storm bolter with heavy flamer

I would try to get some more armor in this list. Having only one predator and one rhino are going to draw all the heavy weapons fire quickly and not do too much for you. Perhaps going with more tansports / tanks or just more marines on foot would work.

If you decide to run Vulkan, I am unsure of using TL-Heavy Flamer Razorbacks. The flamer comes twin linked without Vulkan's bonuses.. which makes it a little overpriced to run them both.

As has alreasy been said, if you want to run Salamanders take He'stan. then drop all those lightning claws for Thunder Hammers. I'd look at a short range firepower, close assault mix for 1500pt Salamanders. Something like...

He'stan

Tac Sqd(10) + Meltagun / Multimelta + Drop Pod
Tac Sqd(10) + Flamer / Multimelta + Rhino
Tac Sqd(10) + Flamer / Multimelta + Rhino

Sct Sqd(10) + 3 Sniper + Hvy Bolter + Telion

Term Ass Aqd(5) + Thunder hammers

Strn Vet Sqd(5) + Combi flamers + Drop Pod

Ironclad Dread + Hvy Flamer / Meltagun + Drop Pod

works out to 1500-1600 ish off the top of my head.


He'stan + combi-flamer sternguard is a DIRTY way of clearing off enemy held objectives. I play against a guy who like to "go to ground" with camo-lined guardsmen in buildings to hold objectives.

Telion just ROCKS for his points value. 2d6-6 scatter on the squads hellfire round from the Hvy bolt??? thankyouverymuchsir.

I second spif on that.

If you run with Vulkan and Razorbacks, take multi-meltas on the 'backs. This gives your forward assault squads with flamers some anti-tank support from their transports.

@MDW - why are you taking a 10-man scout squad, then only giving them 3x sniper rifles? Sniper rifle is a free upgrade, so you may as well give it to all of them.

Chimera_Calvin wrote:@MDW - why are you taking a 10-man scout squad, then only giving them 3x sniper rifles? Sniper rifle is a free upgrade, so you may as well give it to all of them.

combat squads - 5 of them with bolters gives you another mobile objective taking team since snipoer rifles are heavy weapons they're not so good at the moving and the shooting

ahhh - sorry, being a dumbass... :(

I'm pretty sure if you combat squad them for deployment, the bolter half can outflank while the hvy wpn half can deploy as normal.

Although i could be wrong. I normally play larger games than 1500 and stick the bolter guys in a storm.

Freaky Freddy wrote:1) A Salamanders Army isn't a Salamanders Army without Vulkan He'stan

I'm sorry, but NO. Salamanders existed long before GW ever came up with the idea for He'stan. They will continue to exist in the next codex when he is removed in favor of a different character. Yes, Vulkan is powerful, and does give your army benefits. But not every Salamanders army in the galaxy contains He'stan. Not everyone wants to play with special characters. You don't need to have special rules in order to make your army follow a certain chapter (as Chaos players are well aware). All you need is a paint scheme and a play-style.

/rant

tzeentchling wrote:

Freaky Freddy wrote:1) A Salamanders Army isn't a Salamanders Army without Vulkan He'stan

I'm sorry, but NO. Salamanders existed long before GW ever came up with the idea for He'stan. They will continue to exist in the next codex when he is removed in favor of a different character. Yes, Vulkan is powerful, and does give your army benefits. But not every Salamanders army in the galaxy contains He'stan. Not everyone wants to play with special characters. You don't need to have special rules in order to make your army follow a certain chapter (as Chaos players are well aware). All you need is a paint scheme and a play-style.

/rant

oh how i lol'd

Freaky Freddy simply meant if you want the "feel" of a Salamander amry, you'd take He'stan for his chapter tactics. Since the OP SPECIFICALLY asks for ideas for salamanders as a chapter, there is nothing wrong with suggesting taking He'stan.

Vulkan is certainly a rediculously good addition to a Salamander army but is not required. Good army and weapon selection does just fine, and even certain other special characters would work well too. Lysander makes a solid proxy for Tu'Shan the chapter master (mantle proxying ability, bad ass thunder hammer, bolter boosting fits for salamanders pretty well) and Cassius makes a great Prometheus cult leader/master of sanctity for Salamanders (master crafted combi flamer,T6 and feel no pain fits in well with a chapter that is notorious for good weaponry and hardier then normal marines).

As far as the list, it doesn't scream Salamanders to me. Overall there's just a couple of Salamander-esque choices. Some specific things to consider.

Vanguards with jump packs are very un-salamander. Their vets would not be using Jump packs. Vanguard in a pod or landraider would be perfectly fine though and a good way to get some thunder hammer toting vets (granted assault termies are tons better). Yes you don't get to use heroic intervention but that rule is not fitting for Salamanders anyways.

Assault squad -- I've got one for my Salamanders, since they do have assault marines (just very very few). Since you can take a rhino or pod for em now i will personally be removing the packs and use them that way, as the fluff does state they do not use jump packs very often. Still, I wouldn't begrudge someone keeping their packs on, as the fluff doesn't say they never use em.

Get more signature salamander weaponry. The list is sorely lacking here. Flamers on assault sqaud, flamer multimelta on dread, heavy flamer on terminators or going to thunderhammer variety, etc.

Overall you have a hodge podge list, what I call a white dwarf army. I think you need to focus the list more. Mechanized? Foot? Heavy troop oriented? Heavy terminator? Do you wanna go drop pod heavy? etc. As it stands now you just have a bunch of units with no coheasiveness.

HTH

flamers!

Instead of the LC on your commie, take a power sword and digital weapons.

Mr.Tibbles wrote:Instead of the LC on your commie, take a power sword and digital weapons.

also entirely un-salamander.

even if you don't take he'stan all your beafy hitty weapons should be TH's and all your special guns should be flamers / meltas.. leaning heavier towards flamers.
Little or no fast attack as well. they come from a heavy gravity area so rely less on fast nippy troops.


THAT's the salamander feel.

Mad Dok Wotnot wrote:
also entirely un-salamander.
even if you don't take he'stan all your beafy hitty weapons should be TH's and all your special guns should be flamers / meltas.. leaning heavier towards flamers.
Little or no fast attack as well. they come from a heavy gravity area so rely less on fast nippy troops.
THAT's the salamander feel.

Don't let the fluff get you down. but if you are bothering with that, due to minor defects and intense radiation, the salamanders are black.

Mr.Tibbles wrote:
Don't let the fluff get you down.

hmmm not getting that the OP wanted a themed salamander amry are you?

I thank you all for the advice, but all I really got out of that was that I should just switch chapters and save myself the trouble of re-writing the list.

As others have said, think about losing the Chapter Master for Vulkan. MC Thunderhammers and TL all those Meltas and Flamers. Nasty. From a theme standpoint if he wants a Chaplain, leave him with his powerweapon but let him lead the Assault Terminators.
I would also look at losing the Vangard vets and the 5-man assault marines for a sternguard unit.

If I wanted to theme Salamanders, whether you play Vulkan or not, they are an up close and personal army. The fluff has always been that flames purify...

So the things I would think about...

HQ - Vulkan, Librarian with The Avenger and perhaps Gate, Master of the Forge, Termi Chaplain

Elite - Sternguard w Combi-meltas and Combi-Flamers. Assault Terminators, Terminators with Heavy Flamer, Dreadnoughts with Multi-melta and heavy flamer.

Troops - Give those Tacticals meltas or flamers and a multi-melta.

Fast - Landspeeders with Multi-melta or add the heavy flamers. Attack bikes with multi-melta.

Heavy - Vindicators, More Dreadnoughts (need the MotF), Devastators (the place to stick the ranged weapons or even more multi-meltas), Landraider Redeemers (super flamers and another multi-melta)

As far as troop transports, drop pods would be a good way to go or razorbacks to provide the ranged fire your flamers and mult-meltas don't have.

If your friend likes dreadnoughts, think about a drop pod theme. MotF 3 or 4 dreadnoughts, a sternguard and maybe 1 or 2 terminators then add that to a base of 3 or 4 tactical squads and you should be good to go... Up close and personal.

also entirely un-salamander.

even if you don't take he'stan all your beafy hitty weapons should be TH's

Funny then that Vulkan He'stan isn't sporting a Thunder Hammer.

This is seriously not true at all IMHO. I've never read any fluff that said all they use is thunder hammers.
"Hammers" are symbolic for the Salamanders and their Prometheus cult, so including them in when possible certainly adds favor. I've personally turned many of my basic ccws into hammers from the fantasy line. However this iconic love for hammers has been bastardized to mean they'd only ever use a thunder hammers if given a choice, which is just plain unreasonable (and boring). They are smiths and I am sure make and maintain any number of different weaponry.

Hence why Vulkan He'Stan is sporting a spear made by the primarch.

Mad Dok Wotnot wrote:

Mr.Tibbles wrote:
Don't let the fluff get you down.

hmmm not getting that the OP wanted a themed salamander amry are you?

By the power vested in me by the ordo grammatica, I banish you from holy terra!