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80% of the time i blob my squads without barely a thought (KP's and Orks are great incentives). Sometimes I run them seperate, and often I'm regretting it during the battle. It is well known that sometimes, however, it is advantageous to have multiple smaller squads; I have used them to effect on occasion, depending on the situation at deployment (opponent, terrain, mission).


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Can't edit polls, sorry to all those penal legion deviants. You're in there with the vets!

I always run mine seperate, but then I roll them in chimeras, so it makes more sense. If you are not playing KP, I don't really see the point of blobbing them unless it is to get more efficient use of orders.

I dont think we can run them in squads of 10 *regulars.
( i dont even think we can last edition )

@ LunaHound: 10 man squads in the context of an infantry platoon, of course...

murdog wrote:@ LunaHound: 10 man squads in the context of an infantry platoon, of course...

Wouldnt that make them minimum 25 man? very different than the 10 men vet squad with no strings attached?

Yes very different. I'm asking, for those who run infantry platoons, do you ever split the squads into 10 man units. I just put the vets option on there for the sake of including all guard commanders - those who play guard but don't use platoons. I should have made it vets/penal legions, or left it out, to avoid confusion.

Then no i dont take them anymore ,
i prefer vets in everyway.

But when i do take platoons , i take minimum amount of infantry , and maxed out weapon teams.

Lol. So you don't take them, but when you do, you take the minimum. So minimum is 20 boys - do you blob them?

murdog wrote:Lol. So you don't take them, but when you do, you take the minimum. So minimum is 20 boys - do you blob them?

sorry what does blob mean :x

Isnt it minimum 25 though?
5 in platoon command squad
2 of 10 in infantry squad

and then i take 5 maxed heavy weapon squad
sometimes i take a special weapon squad with flamer ( since BS is not an issue ) and give them a chimera.

Sorry for the slang, 'blob' is when you use the rule allowing you to combine multiple 10 man squads into one squad, up to 5x 10 man squads for a 50-man 'blob'. When I reference the size of a 'blob', I ignore the mandatory 5 man PCS that comes with it.

I will usually run combined squads of 20-40 guys, depending on point count, KP or no, and several other variables. I do this because it's cheaper to have commissars manage them where there's less individual units, and because you get more bang for your buck with orders. I've considered the 10 man variants, but the only times I do that is when I'm intentionally trying to goad melee army players into real life fistfights or when I'm dealing with really little armies that need more maneuverability. The current 1000 pointer I'm theory crafting for my next game includes infantry platoons run separately with autocannon, grenade launcher, commissar, and sergeant with bolt pistol. They're expensive, but their job is to get to cover and sit there, giving the enemy one more thing still that he has to worry about digging out. The other troop choice is a vet squad with meltas that rides around in a chimera, and then I treat the PCS as everything that a special weapons squad should have been.

My most recent update to my tourney list has cut veterans completely. I'm playing guard, I don't want skill units, I just want more units Its allowed me, for just an insignificant amount of additional points, to have 4 troops in chimeras AND a 30 man blob.

this is the troop set up

platoon command squad with 4 flamers (thinking about 1 autocannon and 2 flamers) in chimera
infantry squad with autocannon in chimera
infantry squad with autocannon in chimera

platoon command squad with 4 flamers in chimera
infantry squad commissar
infantry squad
infantry squad


So far the results have been infuriating for my opponents. The problem with veterans is that they become too important to your overall battle plan, you tend to use them aggressively, then they die. By killing my vets, you have both eliminated a scoring unit, and one of my big offensive threats. now I have 60 point units inside 55 point transports, stacked up 2 deep across a wide front. If you want to get past it, you have to kill a chimera, then get in a close combat, all while avoiding being tarpitted by the blob.

Cool, tx for the comments guys. Keep 'em coming....

You both point out excellent but different uses for the stubborn the commies grant (multiple hard-to-root-out squads and the tarpit). I have been still wanting my men to break, so I can shoot the enemy that was assaulting them...

I've had the opposite experience - regretting blobbing up my units (a phrase I often hear in Company of Heroes).

I've found, the vast majority of the time that, unless it's kill points, assaulty armies just don't care about the number of guys in the blob. It's either, they kill more with a heavy flamer / blast master, or they have less 'wasted' wounds when their actually assaulty horde finishes beating them to a pulp. It's better, I find, to just deploy the squads in a line, so that after the front, 10 man squad is dead. I have 20 intact guys left a few inches behind to lasgun them - or better yet, flamer them, to pieces.

Veterans all the way. A matter of theme and style, since I play an Airborne Regiment.

Shep wrote:My most recent update to my tourney list has cut veterans completely. I'm playing guard, I don't want skill units, I just want more units Its allowed me, for just an insignificant amount of additional points, to have 4 troops in chimeras AND a 30 man blob.

this is the troop set up

platoon command squad with 4 flamers (thinking about 1 autocannon and 2 flamers) in chimera
infantry squad with autocannon in chimera
infantry squad with autocannon in chimera

platoon command squad with 4 flamers in chimera
infantry squad commissar
infantry squad
infantry squad


So far the results have been infuriating for my opponents. The problem with veterans is that they become too important to your overall battle plan, you tend to use them aggressively, then they die. By killing my vets, you have both eliminated a scoring unit, and one of my big offensive threats. now I have 60 point units inside 55 point transports, stacked up 2 deep across a wide front. If you want to get past it, you have to kill a chimera, then get in a close combat, all while avoiding being tarpitted by the blob.

What I do to free up points is to use meltagun armed SWS to replace veterans, as I run a hybrid list....I just let them borrow a chimera from a regular squad in the same platoon, which means even if they come from reserve they have a ride, as elements from an entire platoon have the same reserve roll. On the first turn, they simply set up behind the chimera and then embark.

In this way, I actually can get a decent number of units in chimeras and still have my firebase of at least 4 squads of guardsmen...

Compel wrote:I've had the opposite experience - regretting blobbing up my units (a phrase I often hear in Company of Heroes).

I've found, the vast majority of the time that, unless it's kill points, assaulty armies just don't care about the number of guys in the blob. It's either, they kill more with a heavy flamer / blast master, or they have less 'wasted' wounds when their actually assaulty horde finishes beating them to a pulp. It's better, I find, to just deploy the squads in a line, so that after the front, 10 man squad is dead. I have 20 intact guys left a few inches behind to lasgun them - or better yet, flamer them, to pieces.

The joy of the blob, is that the decision doesn't have to be made until the last minute.

If a guys army is filled with super choppy, high number of attack assault units, then you can stay separate. But I guarantee you that 200 points of assault terminators with thunderhammers are VERY unhappy when they get stuck on a 30 man blob.

Likewise if you want to free the unit up OP, you can always allocate a wound to the commissar.

I myself run melta vets currently, but I was going to start a blobbly list even with conscripts, while i have all you guard savants here I have a slight off topic question. If you have conscripts and use the points and character to allow "Send in the next Wave" has any FAQs come out saying that I couldn't use that ability to remove my conscripts from the board and thus leave whatever squad assualted them hopefully thinned out a little, in front of many many guns.

doubled wrote:I myself run melta vets currently, but I was going to start a blobbly list even with conscripts, while i have all you guard savants here I have a slight off topic question. If you have conscripts and use the points and character to allow "Send in the next Wave" has any FAQs come out saying that I couldn't use that ability to remove my conscripts from the board and thus leave whatever squad assualted them hopefully thinned out a little, in front of many many guns.

This is a perfectly viable tactic, as long as you keep note you do it at the start of your turn, assuming the conscripts survived the assault by the enemy...and the best thing is they do not consolidate thus are packed nice and tight (theoretically) for all your wonderful pie plates to land upon..

I've checked the GW faq as well as the adepticon faq, nothing there that says otherwise...

I didn't expect running 10-mans would be winning the poll...

murdog wrote:I didn't expect running 10-mans would be winning the poll...

Was this poll supposed to be about "winning" something? Interesting results though. So far we have a clear triumvirate: the basic 10-man squad, the "Blob" and the Vet (+Penal ) routes.

It's leading the poll, not 'winning'.

10 person regulars squads are very useful if your running platoons in Chimeras otherwise its better to combine squads to have a 30+ person blob with a comissar if your on foot.

Platoon in Chimeras:
Platoon command squad with 4 flamers in Chimera with hull heavy flamer
Infantry Squad with Auto Cannon in Chimera with Hull Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad with Auto Cannon in Chimera with Hull Heavy flamer

It may also be useful even in cases when they are the firebase...for example, as a screen for the main body when you know snikrot is coming out later on in the game, etc....or when there are 2 objectives on your side of the table which are far apart....

So it depends on the mission and situation..and the best thing is that you declare the blob only when you deploy..just because you can blob does not mean it is the automatic choice...

Shep wrote:My most recent update to my tourney list has cut veterans completely. I'm playing guard, I don't want skill units, I just want more units Its allowed me, for just an insignificant amount of additional points, to have 4 troops in chimeras AND a 30 man blob.

this is the troop set up

platoon command squad with 4 flamers (thinking about 1 autocannon and 2 flamers) in chimera
infantry squad with autocannon in chimera
infantry squad with autocannon in chimera

platoon command squad with 4 flamers in chimera
infantry squad commissar
infantry squad
infantry squad


So far the results have been infuriating for my opponents. The problem with veterans is that they become too important to your overall battle plan, you tend to use them aggressively, then they die. By killing my vets, you have both eliminated a scoring unit, and one of my big offensive threats. now I have 60 point units inside 55 point transports, stacked up 2 deep across a wide front. If you want to get past it, you have to kill a chimera, then get in a close combat, all while avoiding being tarpitted by the blob.

This sounds really painful to have to deal with, but how do you cope with enemy vehicles/MCs? Another one of the advantages of Vets is their ability to have 3 special weapons. Unless you're busting out a special weapon squad for melta support (which would be a mistake, IMO), then you seem to lack the "in your face big thing killer" factor.

I find the multiple cheap unit ability of Imperial Guard platoons means that many an enemy squad overkills its target and I can drip lasgun fire into them until they go away without worry about overkill on my own part.

Even in kill point games it's good to leave a few squads separate out in front to act as buffers to assauts, though you have to be careful not to give enemy Jump Infantry assault units anywhere to land before their assault!

Initially I was running vets to the exclusion of all else but recently I'm coming around to using Vets for the specific role of secondary anti tank carrying 3 meltas with generalist IG Platoon squads thrown in to perform other roles, like suicide flaming (PCS, SWS) and objective sitting with an autocannon.

I've become increasingly fond of throwing 3-4 flamers on PCS or SWS and letting them hop into Vendettas while "something else" like Allied Inq. plasma squads or HWTs hop into their chimera.

I don't have a huge fondness for the regular 10 man line squad, but as a source of cheap chimeras and flamer platforms (which I *do* have a huge fondness for) the regular IG platoon can't be beat.

sourclams wrote:Initially I was running vets to the exclusion of all else but recently I'm coming around to using Vets for the specific role of secondary anti tank carrying 3 meltas with generalist IG Platoon squads thrown in to perform other roles, like suicide flaming (PCS, SWS) and objective sitting with an autocannon.

I've become increasingly fond of throwing 3-4 flamers on PCS or SWS and letting them hop into Vendettas while "something else" like Allied Inq. plasma squads or HWTs hop into their chimera.

I don't have a huge fondness for the regular 10 man line squad, but as a source of cheap chimeras and flamer platforms (which I *do* have a huge fondness for) the regular IG platoon can't be beat.

I agree. I do the same thing except the PCS are chimera mounted, and the SWS are the ones in skimmers..the line squads have 1 job...be a firebase and hold objectives on your side, or die trying....i still run also 1-2 veteran squads also, mounted in a chimera.....it is after all easier (and cheaper) to sacrifice a line squad or a SWS than a veteran squad, and everyone knows that playing the IG means sacrificing your men if need be!!!

daedalus wrote:This sounds really painful to have to deal with, but how do you cope with enemy vehicles/MCs? Another one of the advantages of Vets is their ability to have 3 special weapons. Unless you're busting out a special weapon squad for melta support (which would be a mistake, IMO), then you seem to lack the "in your face big thing killer" factor.

3x hydras, 2x manticores, 2x vendettas with heavy bolters, CCS with 4x melta, and PBS with strength 8 soulstorm...

Basically I do the 'dangerous work' with my non-troops. I found out that every time I drove up and popped a land raider with a vet squad, something would kill my chimera in the following turn, and then the contents of the land raider would make me one troop short...

I felt it was just more comfortable to have my troops hang out and shoot autocannons from the back. They lived longer that way. It is a little tricker to wipe out hard units that managed to get close to me. But thos hard units have a LOT more work to do if they want to wipe out my troops. I usually just whittle them down, and then tarpit with the blob.

I ran 3x mech vets with 9x plasma for a long time. I liked them and they are perfectly viable. Its just a more fragile set up, and people are getting too good at killing chimeras these days. And I'm expecting that to continue.

I ran 10 regulars in Chimeras as Shep and Avariel described but I found them rather lack luster. Yes they sat on an objective and shot with their auto cannon but they really didn't do much other then provide a cheap 115 pt scoring unit in a Chimera. What was good was the 4 flamer platoon command squad if you actually got close enough to burn something but more often then not your chimera would get blown up and your platoon command would die.

10 regulars on foot just sounds bad. If they get assaulted your just dead and your taking a leadership test after only a few get shot.