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Hey guys, i'm planning on kitbashing a captain and command squad using loads of awesome bits like commander capes, sanguinary torsos, and sweet helmets etc, but before I waste my money on weapons and bits, I want to know what the most efficient loadout would be. I want the captain & command squad to be anti-infantry, because i'll probably take them in a land raider for the AT support. Doesn't matter if they thrive in CC or shooting.

Tell me what you think guys!

LDP
(Matthew)

Just a note on the aesthetic side of things
I drew a sketch on what one of the marines will look similar to.
[I drew and apothecary, dont focus on the weapon options, more the bits used.]
what do you guys think? ps I still need to know the best combination of weapon options for the captian and command squad.

LDP

For a captain with a command sqaud?
Relic Blade and storm shield.
Give the Command Squad either as many plasma guns or flamers as they can (depending on whether you are after light or heavy infantry) and add an apothecary.
There is probably some variation depending on taste or local meta but that tends to fit the bill.

First up, sweet picture. Really, you should use whatever bits make you most happy. Smiles= Happiness.
Loadout-wise, as you can only take a 5-man units plus the captain, a mix of flamers and plasma guns plus a company champion and a close-combat tooled captain would be pretty nice for anti-inf. Personally I would use them as anti-tank as the possibility of bringing 4 meltaguns in one squad is too good to miss, and it's a unit I would use in a razorback for blasting errant land raiders and other similarly harsh vehicles. If you're using Vulkan as well, it's a good choice. You can spend all kinds of points on storm shields and other gubbins to increase their longevity but probably would keep 'em cheap and go with a plas/flamer mix. I guess if they are riding in the landy then the general tactic would be to 12" it forward, use machine spirit to multimelt/lascannon a transport open then guff the occupants. Is that the plan?

I tend to go with 4 Plasma Guns and a Apothicary. The Medic helps with "Gets Hot" and when place in the Right Spot they have the posibility to even mess up Terminator Squads.

First off, thanks for the feedback guys.

@Exhumed, If I was to run the squad in a land raider, then I would probably put some cc weapons on the veterans, and assault off the ramp. What do you think of that?

@Anpu42, This also sounds like a decent idea. What do you think about combi plasmas?

@purplefood, this would indeed make an excellent command squad, for a good price, but I sort of want the squad to be spoilt with great weaponry and the like, so I won't mind spending some more points for the sake of making the squad as efficient as possible.

And also - Do you guys think that Standard Bearer / Company Champion is worth it?

thanks again guys

LDP

lipsdapips wrote:First off, thanks for the feedback guys.
@Anpu42, This also sounds like a decent idea. What do you think about combi plasmas?

They look cool [ ], but you can only fire them Once.

Yeah, although that's true, it also means I could be more efficient in an assault, and if i'm put up against some hordes with my squad, im gonna need it

Anyone use a CC tooled up squad?
I was thinking along the lines of:
Captain with Relicblade and SS
Champion
Apothecary with PW
Vet with Powerfist
2 vets with PW.

Run them in a HB Razorback with EA.
Runs about 410 points though.

If you run them in a razorback, you can not disembark and assault the same turn. That makes them pretty much a waste.

If you are going for CC, you must run them in a land raider to be any use.

Personally, I have a relic blade stormshield captain on a bike. Along with a command squad with apoth and four vets that each have a plasma gun and a flamer on bikes. The plasma guns make MEQ disappear, and the flamers thin out hordes. If the get stuck in close combat, the captain is a help, but they already failed at that point.

Hence why I want them to thrive in CC
i'll put the squad in a crusader, providing anti-infantry cover fire, they'll assault out with CC weapons and shred some enemies

It's expensive but for a CC squad I would go all out.

Basic Relic Blade/ Storm Shield / Artificer armor captain.
Two Vets with dual lightning claws.
One vet with power fist and storm shield
One vet with thunder hammer and storm shield. And I only add the hammer cause they look great.

Ignore the banner and champion upgrades, generally not worth it.

Ok, thanks.
If i was to replace the thunder hammer, what would i replace it with?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
ok guys,
so from what i've seen/read,
4 plasma guns sounds like one of the better options
But the problem is I want to be able to carve up in CC off a LR crusaders assault ramp, and also PWs and the like are aesthetically superior

But yeah, i'd like to know the best CC loadout for a captain/command squad.

thanks
LDP

ok guys,
so from what i've seen/read,
4 plasma guns sounds like one of the better options
But the problem is I want to be able to carve up in CC off a LR crusaders assault ramp, and also PWs and the like are aesthetically superior

But yeah, i'd like to know the best CC loadout for a captain/command squad.

In that case, the Very Ultimate Best would be something like 4 vets with LC or PW and storm shield. Or for extra attacks+shootiness, plasma pistols and power weapons. There are so many flavours that it boggles the mind. There comes a point, though, when bringing 5 TH/SS terminators is just more worth it.
Captain-wise, relic blades all the way. I personally prefer thunder hammers, due to playing 'manders, but keeping your I with a strength 6 pw is generally more efficeient. They're not a retinue for him so he could get insta-pwnd by certain units before he can use a hammer.
My final opinion for a bit of everything but without putting 100's of points into what is still only five basic dudes would be- 2 meltaguns, 1 "hidden" powerfist (just in case), company champion, apoc and relic-captain.
If they get hit by something that ignores their armour and blows 'em all to dust, then tough

My 2 cents... a cc unit for space marines is terminators. The 2+ save is the same as 3+ 4+ FNP for the most part, and double claws are superior to PW.

Now, when looking at their shooting options, whatever you decide to do needs to be better than sternguard. So for example, 5 sternguard with 5 combiplas versus your command squad with 4 plasmaguns, sure the command squad is a bit tougher and has more than 1 turn of plasma, but the sternguard can shoot wounds on 2 ammo that doesnt overheat, plus for the points the sternguard get more plasma in the initial strike.

The point I am trying to make is that you prefaced the topic as the most efficient captain/command squad loadout, BUT the most efficient captain/command squad loadout is really a librarian/named character with either sternguard or terminators, depending on what you want.

With that said, if you understand that the captain+command squad is already not going to be efficient, you should take what you like or what you think looks cool. So dont worry about what is good or bad, take whatever and have fun.

IMHO, the commandsquad on foot with 4 meltaguns and a few fists is probably very useful in the metagame, despite being inefficient, as you can shoot+assault. Again sternguard are gonna be a bit better (aka cheaper), but will lack FNP and more than 1 fist.

Not that I've ever used a command squad - there are generally better HQ options. But, if I was going to, it would be Captain with Relic blade and SS with 4x plasmagun +apoth every time. Simply from a strategy standpoint its the strongest build of the role they do better than anything else in the codex (special weapons spam with CC beatstick)

Ok thanks guys.
Im concluding that i'll try get my hands on 2 command squads, build one the PWs and SSs, and make them excell aesthetically, and then another Command squad with either 4x plasma of 4x metla.

Sound good?

I agree with DevianD, if you want a CC squad, go with Termies and a Chaplain or Libby, or both. If you want to use the Command squad, consider putting them on bikes w/plasma, not cheap but cool.

You can always spend the points and go
1x Apothicary
4x Plasma Gun, Power Weapon

I have used this and the only unet that ever thretened tem was VV unit with Relic/Power Swords and Storm Shields

The CC command squad on bikes is one of the top CC options in the codex, take away the bikes and the need for a landraider makes you wonder why you're not using terminators.

If you're willing to go for bikes, you might consider mounting the aesthetic CC squad on bikes so they're more than just pretty faces. Squad I'm running looks like:

Captain -Bike, Storm Shield, Relic Blade, Artificer Armour
Champion -Bike
Apothecary -Bike
Veteran -Bike, Storm Shield, Lightning Claw, Meltagun
Veteran -Bike, Storm Shield, Thunderhammer, Meltagun
Veteran -Bike, Storm Shield, Powerfist, Meltagun

Very expensive deathstar, but it soaks fire better than any other non-vehicle unit in the codex, and can tackle anything in the game, except maybe a C'Tan.

The command squad is one of the coolest units in the codex.

Now you have to take the banner. No it is not optional, that was a misprint. Anyway... You can't change the apoth so he's gotta stay as he is.

If you want to make a good anti-tank unit in a landraider, then meltaguns are a must. Now for cc... Powerweapons at least. of course you can kit them out differently, which is the best way to do it. Lightning claws, powerfists and thunderhammers are always available as are Stormshields.

My favourite combination is a Powerfist, Meltagun, Banner and Stormshield. On a bike. I'm not quite sure how he holds all that, but he is bad-ass.

Oh an Kahn makes them even better in CC.

I fail to see how any of these builds offered are efficient. The only efficient build is 4x plasmagun/meltagun with the apoth. No, banner is not necessary. If you want a CC unit, terminators do it better for less points.

yeah. When I build my game effective command squad i'll probably kit 4x melta / 4x plasma.

ps - updates on the command squad on my blog now!
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/368000.page

LDP

close combat = bikes and close combat gear
shooting = 4x plasmaguns and a rhino

But like Dracos said... neither of these are that efficient. The plasmaguns are better, but the fact that you have to take a ~150 points Captain to unlock them automatically makes them not an optimal choice. Better is to take the HQ you really want, and then add in the firepower through other squads. Terminators for close combat and sternguard with combi weapons for shooting. Both of these will be cheaper and better than the command squad in their role.

-Myst