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Looking at assembling 10 Sternguard to help anchor objectives in a mech marine list. My initial thoughts are to kit them out with two plasma cannons and a powerfist on the Sergeant. This gives them a small amount of close combat punch should they need to defend in close and alot of anti-infantry punch. Not worried about anti-tank as my list has plenty of lascannons and missile launchers. Planning on mounting them in a Rhino so that they can advance if need be. Thoughts?

Drop pod them in, this way you can drop them in where needed. Generally when I play against SM armies I shoot at the Rhino's first turn and come second turn there are a bunch of exposed troops far away from where my oppenent wants them.

Why two plasma cannons? Equiping a plasma cannon means that the troops can't fire on the move and you lose the special ammo option.

Will you have Pedro in the list? If not I'd think that a unit of troops with one plasma cannon mounted in the rhino might be the better (and cheaper by 100 points) option. Though you only get one plasma cannon, but it would be a scoring unit.

Plasma Cannons on Sternguard is a really poor choice. You're paying for their Bolter rounds, so you only want to replace them if there's no way around it. In this case, there totally is.

The "no-brainer, all over the internet power build" for Sternguard is 8-10 Combi-Meltas, and in a Drop Pod.

Well, I'd transport them in a Drop Pod, with 10 combi-meltas and one power fist.

6 Combi-Meltas
4 Combi-Flamers
1 Powerfist

Belphegor wrote:6 Combi-Meltas
4 Combi-Flamers
1 Powerfist

Well, then 5 combi-meltas and 5 combi-flamers. This balanced load out is better if Sternguard is combat squaded.

you dont really need combi-flamers. the chances of you dropping that close to a horde, being able to do enough damage to it and then surviving are slim to none. its not worth risking your expensive sternguard like that. better to have all combi-meltas to kill tanks.

I'm going for 4 combi-melta, 1 combi-flamer, 5 normal and sarg with powerfist. 300 points on the nose.


I'll probably combat squad them when they come out of the pod with Kantor.
Send the meltas after a tank or MC, and the rest rapidfire/flame the hordes (I'm always fighting orks or nids it seems.)

I've got the sternguard and the armour through the ages box sets so they look pretty cool as they have every type of SM armour from MkI to Mk8

(well they will when I finish them! )

Those are awesome builds for Sternguard in attack mode. What if you wanted to use them to anchor a defense instead? How would you kit them out then?

Defensive:
no upgrades but a powerfist.
With a Razorback T-Link Lascannon

(though they are expensive, both in slots and points to be a defensive unit)

Belphegor--I don't plan on using them in under 2000 points. I have more then enough assault elements in my normal army configurations to go out and capture an objective or two. I want to use the Sternguard to anchor what I consider the critical objective and to help guard against deepstriking nastiness. The Razorback is a good suggestion and I do happen to have a few more undedicated las/twin-plas ones laying around. Why no upgrades though?

to PanzerLeader:
Mostly due to points cost.
Also if you upgrade their weapons to support or heavy weapons they lose the special ammo features.
Normally 'defensive' units are kept further back and the Sternguard come with a build-in 30" range.
Both the combi-flamer and the combi-melta are short ranged, which make them poor selections for the defense.
In reference to the Razorback, having a mobile wall with a T-Link lascannon is great.
Remember you can take a full squad of 10 veterans, they just can't ride in the family car unless they are split up or 4 die.