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I really like scouts not only on paper but in game as well. I was just kind of wondering how other people used them other than the obvious Telion + snipers squad.

Personally I actually don't like snipers to much unless I am going to be holding a objective with them. I have looked at CC and Shotguns what is the advantage of Shotguns over Assault weapons?


10 man with Shotguns = 20 shots at range ; 20 attacks when charging.

10 man with CC and Pistol = 10 shots at range ; 30 attacks when charging.

Yes scouts are very good, 5 in a storm with a sgt with a fist is great at popping tanks first turn and only cost 150 points, 75 point 5 man squads are cheap and great a sitting on objectives and going to ground, you can give them sninpers for free if they dont auto pin them selves, hand to hand or shot gun scouts are great at just getting in your opponents face and forcing them to deal with dirt cheap scouts or get charged, I don't like to compare scouts to tactical marines because they are 2 completly different types of units, and each is just as viable, I like to compare scouts to other armies cheap troops choices like, dire avengers, or guardians. Compared to dire avengers they are better, scouts can infiltrate and scout and move through cover, give them shotguns and they get a assault 2 weapon with the same strenght as a catapult and with the infiltrate and scout move they can be in range on the first turn to shoot them, they are tougher with the same armor, and stronger in close combat, a scout sgt with a hidden power fist will instant kill alot of indipendant characters unlike a dire avenger exarch who costs more with upgrades vs a scout sgt, they can kill greater deamons, wraithlords, and vehicles with the seargeant. Scoust can get cloaks for 3 points a modle and have much more weapon options and can ride in a land speeder, all in all I think scouts are one of the best troop choices in the game.

The trick is to play agressivly with them if they are geared for closing in, and if they die they died for a good cause in keeping your more expensive stuff un-hurt, 10 scouts moving at the enemy through cover is alot harder to take out than my might think. With shrike they will get a first turn charge. also do not under-estimate there strenght of 4, alot of vehicles with rear armor of 10, or light vehicles like ork trucks or speeders have gone down with a hail of strenght 4 hits glancing them causing multiple immobilising hits. Unlike dire avengers with a strenght of 3 there shurikan shots will usually only hit a vehicle on the front or side, where as scouts will hit the rear of the vehicle on the charge and if the sgt has a fist that vehicle is good as gone.

In the recent RTT's I played, my army included a Scout squad, 5 sniper rifles, 1 missile launcher.
In objective based missions, I combat squadded the unit and eventually let the 5 Scouts with missile launchers, combat knives outflank, while the sniper Scouts were deployed on an objective. It worked very. Haven't lost one game.

Scout squad w/ CC weapons + sergeant w/ powerfist makes a great shock unit.

10 man scout squad w/ sniper rifles + camo cloaks + heavy bolter + sergeant tellion (if you want the extra firepower) is a great MC killer. C'tan, 'Fexes, DPs, etc. will fear this squad, and it can sit on your home objective.

on the charge they are both the same it is a pro and con between the shotguns and pistols

Shotguns get their 2 shots if they arent in charge range (example 9 inches away)

Pistols get their bonus attacks if they are charged or the turn afterwords

so its +10 attacks if not in charging range

+10 attacks in CC not on charge.

i personaly would go for the Pistols and CC weapons but thats mostly becaues i love having the extra attacks

9 Scouts, Sniper Rifles and Tellion

190 Points, Pinning, Rending, Tellion can Pick out Who he needs dead and a 3+ cover save for the whole unit? Yes plox

Scouts are the underdogs of the SM, they are awesome, though not everyone realises it. Telion is an awesome upgrade, but scouts with different sorts of equipment, can fullfill different roles. Sniper rifles, awesome to slow down the opponent, and hold a certain perimeter. Close combat weapons for take out small units, send them with the new landspeeder storm to take out small heeavy weapon teams or things alike. I wouldn't recommend a scout unit, full of shotguns, but rather add them to a unit with cc weapons, or sniper rifles, to pack some extra punch if they need to assault, or fire in close range.

Also, I love the aspect of scouts where they have influence on your opponent in a mental way. Not every player is aware of all the uses of the opponent's troops. In these cases you can utilise them as a distraction, depending on what your opponent thinks. If he thinks: OMG! scouts with snipers, those are a big treath! send in the tanks! - it'll give you an opportunity to take out the tanks with other troops. If your opponent thinks: Pfffff scouts, SM without their trademark armor.....lousy stuff, ignore them! - in this case, you can use them without being in too much risk of losing your beloved snipers or whatever gear they carry.

As a desperate tactic you can always make use of the fact if they carry shotguns (shotguns tend to be a quite rare weapon on 40k battlefields).
"Oh I'm gonna take out your puty little scouts!"
"Sure mate! Do that, you do know that they carry shotguns, right?"
"So?"
"Dude! SHOT-GUNS!"
"*silence*"
"Haven't you seen terminator? The untouchables? Shotguns cause a massacre man, they'll rip you apart!"
"Oh, what's that over there? I didn't see that tactical squad over there, I should attack those....yup....that's the best thing..."

Although this might not work for everyone

I liked Tacticus Maximus' remarks about psychology-though I would apply it in a different way. By now all but the newest players will understand that the scouts are not to be sniffed at (they are not Guardsmen with bolters/shotguns/sniper rifles). Competant players will recognize the threat they pose regardless of how you arm them--so use that to your advantage. If you have 10 scouts with CCWs and a PF sitting in a woods close to your opponents transport vehicles, it may be enough disincentive that he won't risk sending his transports up, or other wear armoured vehicles, until he has dealt with the scouts - this delays an army built for close combat, say, BA, or what have you, from moving forward.

That may not work (they may just move up anyway and then kill you when you destroy the vehicle) - but this too works to your advantage--you've destroyed their transport, or, if you didn't and they jus disembarked and killed your scouts, oh well--depending on which squad you set your scouts up close to, if it's his big expensive HQ squad for instance, well, now that squad may have killed the scouts, but it has just exposed itself to the rest of your army to do so. Use 'em tactically to cause alterations in your opponent's plans, is my point.

General_K has a good point there. Although I'm usually having a hard time sending troops on a suicide mission, if you know what I mean. I hardly send my troops into the opponents army, far away from the rest of my army. Maybe I hang on to a policy too much where I try to keep as much of my soldiers alive as possible, and therefor taking a lot more time, to crush the opponent in a defensive fight. But for players who don't mind to send in some troops ahead, "expendable-style", it'll work just fine.

Soon the landspeeder storm kit will be released by GW, so I'm quite sure we'll spot quite a few of those on the battlefield. Now I'm wondering, what psychological effect this will have. Mostly, new stuff looks "scary" on the battlefield. Humans always fear the unknown. The valkyrie for example, it's big, it's new, it looks terrifying, but is it really "that' good. Sure, it's ideal to transport troops quickly across the battlefield, and depending on it's weapon-load-out, it can hunt down tanks. But it's not too hard to shoot it down. I'm looking forward to see what effect the landspeeder storm + scouts will have, and also the way scouts will be used now. I can already see myself sending out a few landspeeders, loaded with sniper-teams, to take up defensive positions in towers, or other points of interest, depending on the type of battlefield and mission.

I have used the storm a few times ( I converted one) and I had success with it each time I fielded it, If I get the first turn I just scout it up near the enemy and have the pf seargeant open up a tank, if I go second I like to out flank or hold in reserve with it, on the charge the negative leadership grenades it has is pretty good, eccpecially if you are supporting a unit in cc already, all in all not a bad option to put a manditory troop choice in to give it more options.

5 man squad with a powerfist & combi melta in a land speeder storm with a multi melta, on everything but dawn of war when I have first turn they scout forward & then move withink 12 inches for the multimelta & 6 inches for the combi melta. I've taken out a 3 man squad of russ demolishers on the first turn. Too much fun!