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Im assuming they are useful only in a footguard army. Would one or two suads benefit the footsloggers?

They're a harassment unit. They show up out of nowhere and punish your opponent for making mistakes.

They do the job much worse than stormtroopers, sentinels, Al'Rahem, Marbo, outflanking vendettas, PBSs, and the like, but they're much cheaper than most of those, and they also score, unlike most of those.

They are good in a footguard list as a mobile, stubborn, cheap objective grabbing unit that can also be quite good against certain lists. All of their abilities are good, so no matter what you roll, it is a benefit.

In a mech list they aren't so hot, although I suppose you could make an argument for them as a good unit to fill a vendetta as they are 10 stubborn bodies to sit on an objective if the Vendetta goes down in flames.

I like them mostly because they are a cool modeling opportunity and remind me of 2nd ed when they had exploding collars! Haha. But in a purely competitive list, they would not be my first choice.

I'm sure a slightly cheaper model (at least I think they are cheaper than a guardsman) in a IG is never a bad thing.

More lasgun shots for a start,as well as more to send to their deaths,and lets face it they're a nice bit of character and charm in a force.

They are more expensive than a regular guardsman, but they are stubborn and can outflank.

Plus, they can have rending! Or furious assault. They aren't bad at all, just not optimal, at least not IMO.

But yeah, I totally agree, they add a lot of character to an IG list.

The biggest problem is the unpredictable nature of the Desperadoes rule, so if you ever plan on using them, their bonus shouldn't factor into your battle plan. Of course, without that bonus, there is little point in taking them. I've seen them used effectively though.

The thing you've got to remember is that they only come in packs of 10. What will it matter that they're stubborn when it's so easy to just wipe out 10 guardsmen straight away? What does it matter that they get rending if they only get 30 WS3 S3 attacks?

The problem with penal legionnaires is that they have a lot of candy coating, but the inside is still just a 10-man guard squad.

All of the bonuses have the same general strategy though, run at them and charge. Psychopaths may get you there a bit quicker and knife fighters may make you able to take on vehicles but the general notion is the same. I have had some nice successes outflanking them and charging units i have lured close to the board edge.

As with any guard unit I would say take 2-3 or leave them at home. This gives you more chance to get a rule you need and they can work together to swamp an opponents flank. To that end an astropath is a must so that there is a good chance they will arrive on the same board edge.

Penal Legionnaires are a dedicated objective grabbing unit and a unit that will tie up a dedicated shooting unit for a few turns.

They can outflank or scout move, lay low, then grab an objective late game and go to ground like it's their job. No one is going to bother shooting at them until late game in most cases as in a decent IG list, there are so many other, bigger threats.

10 IG gone to ground can be tough to kill. They will soak a good amount of firepower before dying or running away. Obviously things like flamers, etc. will nuke them, but good play should mitigate this.

What will 30 WS3, S3 rending attacks do? Well let's see what that would do if they charged say, Lootas: 15 hits, and most likely 4-5 dead Lootas (2.5 rends, 2.5 normal wounds). Not bad at all, and they can do this coming off of a flank.

Against 5 man tac squads, HG, HWTs, Rangers, FWs, broadsides, etc. they will charge in and tie the unit up. Maybe not wipe them out, but do some damage and stay in the fight due to stubborn. This will at least cost your opponent a round or two of shooting, which can be game changing.

They are definitely useful. I think people just need to alter their expectations of the unit's function. They go on suicide missions, which is exactly what they do in the fluff, which I like.

The thing is, 2 penal legion squads costs the same as a power blob, which will do anything a penal legion can do better, except outflank (which other things can do much better, if outflanking is really part of the strategy).

Yes, 10 guardsmen can go to ground and can be tough to get rid of with light shooting. If your opponent wants them dead, though, they're dead. Likewise, you can charge in and kill a couple space marines, who will then DESTROY them. They can't tie up an enemy unit when they're dead.

And this all still assumes they pass morale tests. They're stubborn, but their leadership isn't fantastic, and they don't get a reroll.

They're a harassment unit. If you can get them to show up against a seriously weakened opponent or an unprotected objective, they can be pretty cool. Otherwise, they just get stomped flat like, I don't know, 10 guardsmen...

Hey, like I said, they aren't a tournament choice. I was just pointing out their uses. There are plenty of better options to take. You use Penal Legionnaires for themed/fun games or just as a laugh. I totally agree that regular infantry are better, I wasn't trying to say otherwise.

Their best use is arguably to be taken as a "fluffy" choice in casual play, because while they're not nearly as good as platoons or vets, they're still actually pretty good.

They're also a cheap, outflanking scoring unit. They'll never be useless.

I rather like using them as flank defence in my mechanized list. It means I can load one side of the board with vehicles and not need to worry about flanking powerfists/klaws. Helps limit enemy mobility and they're cheap enough not to worry if they get toasted. If (somehow) they survive then they can either support my garrison troops or make a dash for any other nearby objective.