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The #1 point I think he was trying to make is stormies never score.

They are also less durable for many reasons such as...

Stomies are university regarded are useful. After they deep strike and melta something that t3 4+ armor unit that is clustered, in the open, and costing more than tac marines before the special weapons are purchased the life expectancy of stormies is squad. The penal legion keeping a low profile while dispersed and in cover isn't a high priority target, and if they do get shot their 3+ cover after go to ground is better than carapace in the open. If stormies routinely survive battles to score linebreaker then you're probably not playing aggressively enough with them

But back on topic, stormies don't score so we might as well be comparing penal legion to LRBT, drop pods, or eldar fire dragon

The #1 job of penal legion is to score.

Dead penal legionnaires don't score either.

If you really want to deliver scoring units to the backfield, take al'rahem or put vets in a vendetta. Wasting points on something with a low probability of success isn't a good idea.

Of course, you also don't NEED to score objectives either, as simply removing your opponents models from an objective still gives you points (relatively), and if you're doing it with something that contests, they're less likely to even be able to get those points back.

And if all you want is a linebreaker, take marbo.

 Ailaros wrote:
Dead penal legionnaires don't score either.

If you really want to deliver scoring units to the backfield, take al'rahem or put vets in a vendetta. Wasting points on something with a low probability of success isn't a good idea.

Of course, you also don't NEED to score objectives either, as simply removing your opponents models from an objective still gives you points (relatively), and if you're doing it with something that contests, they're less likely to even be able to get those points back.

And if all you want is a linebreaker, take marbo.

I've never had Marbo survive until the end of the game, and I use him regularly. Once he drops his pie plate of doom, the enemy is usually so pissed off with him that they pour an unhealthy amount of firepower into into him next turn. Stealth or no stealth, he suffers ID on S6, and he only has two wounds anyway. Maybe using him less aggressively would work-I've never tried it though.

I totally agree that Penal Legion are trash. All they take is one volley or one whack and they're gone. If they cost less than a PIS, and then the benefits may be worth it, but Stubborn is only useful in combat, which they simply can't do well in. If the enemy unit is good at ranged combat, you're not even going to get close, and if they're good in combat, you'll just get ripped to pieces on the turn you charge. Gambling on the possibility that your opponent doesn't know that the Penal Legionnaires can score is a dubious plan at best.

Al'Rahem and flyers all the way.