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I've been running all mech lists lately but felt that I've kinda gone away from what my army should look like. So I wrote this list to try to get a better mix of forces by not going completely mech while hopefully not ruining the build. So the main difference is just that I've got a platoon now. Any feedback on how to better incorporate infantry into a mostly mech list would be appreciated. When I ran this list the other night I won pretty convincingly but every man that either started out of a tank or later got out of a tank died, this makes me want to go straight back to running an all mech list. Could have just been bad deployment though. Please share you thoughts.

HQ

Company command squad 175pts
4x plasma gun
1x plasma pistol
chimera, heavy flamer

Elites

Marbo xxpts

Troops

Platoon command squad 50pts
4x flamer

Infantry squad 170pts
1x lascannon
commissar, power weapon
chimera, heavy flamer

Infantry squad 70pts
1x lascannon

Special weapons squad 95pts
3x demolition charge

Veterans 155pts
3x meltagun
chimera, heavy flamer

Veterans 155pts
3x meltagun
chimera, heavy flamer

Fast Attack

Vendetta xxpts

Banewolf, multi-melta 145pts

Heavy support

Demolisher, heavy flamer xxpts

Basalisk, heavy flamer xxpts

Deployment

The platoon command squad jumps in the vendetta and will try to capture an objective at the last minute or take advantage of any mass flamer opportunities.

The special weapons squad deploys next to the infantry squad's chimera and jumps in turn 1 (they are more of a joke unit to infuriate the enemy with the ridiculous weapon)

The two infantry squads combine and sit back shooting lascannons at transports / MC's with 'bring it down'

Not according to plan

Turn one the 21 man infantry squad got assaulted by jump pack marines with a chaplin, they held for 3 rounds but were wiped out completely never firing a shot.
Every single tank survived.

I still won but this is kinda making me think that you just kinda have to go mech and that infantry on foot wont work.

Well, it sounds like your platoon won you the game to me, just 20 men taking all that crap so your vehicles can live is pretty much what they're for. If you always aim to win without losing any guardsmen then you're either some kind of tactical genius, or in for some rough times when people start shooting your chimeras.

Platoon looks a little funky but I wouldn't call it bad. Lascannons always add flavour and if demo squads are your thing then cool. I would, however, take the MM off your banewolf for a HF. That way it's still a fast flame tank after weapon destroyed, almost fully functional against non-meq too. One melta shot at bs3 isn't really super anyway, not something I'd bet my banewolf on by exposing it to return fire. Either that or switch it for a hellhound, I think they're better value.

First turn assaults ordinarily aren't possible. Were you playing on a short table?

There's real life precedent for dismounted infantry to advance alongside their vehicles to mutually support each other. The vehicle supplies fire support while the infantry keeps other infantry from assaulting it or using short range antitank weapons. Maybe trade the lascannons out for power weapons on the sergeants and the assault weapon of your choice and possibly melta bombs.

Yeah... You would have had to have won turn 1 and move 12" and started out 12" from the table edge and they would have had to start 12" from their table edge, move 6" and just /barily/ reach you with that 6" charge.

If you have won first turn, don't start in 12" from your table edge to avoid that. You being charged 1st turn is actualy you making a tactical mistake. If you do start out 12" out, don't move the full 12" if you have assault troops (specially marines) across the table from you.

You can start out with troops in vehicles, just not in dedicated transports. Since a dedicated Chimera is the same price as a normal non-dedicated Chimera, you can buy a Chimera (non-dedicated) and put your Special weapon squad in it starting out. You can also start out your PCS in the Vendetta.

I don't like heavy flamers on a Demolisher, because you have a 24" range weapon and your secondary weapon you can shoot every round is even shorter ranged. Leave it as the heavy bolter, since your most favorable target is infantry, you can be shooting them before they even get in range of your main weapon.

Heavy flamer on the Basilisk? *shurgs* Why bother...

+1 to Almarine on the multi-melta on the banewolf. If it was a Devildog? Yeah, give it the multi-melta.
I would rather make this a 2nd Vendetta and gather up points to get a 2nd SWS with 3 flamers to throw in it for 50pts. Do the same thing with this unit as you are with your PCS, but now you have 6 TL lascannons instead of 3, firing at two different units.

Your blob is fine as a defensive unit, sitting back to protect your Basilisk, but apparently your assaulting with them. If your sitting back, fill those special weapon slots with plasmas (or meltas depending on the heavy weapon). If your assaulting, kit out with meltaguns, add two more power weapons and meltabombs for the sergeants. Obviously, you do not need heavy weapons in a assault blob. Yes, that means fully equiped defensive blobs are more expensive than fully equiped assault blobs.

Good luck!

BlkTom wrote:
Since a dedicated Chimera is the same price as a normal non-dedicated Chimera, you can buy a Chimera (non-dedicated) and put your Special weapon squad in it starting out.

What exactly is a non-dedicated Chimera? I think you need to go back and read your codex a little more closely.

For the OP: Any chimera that you buy has to be bought as a dedicated transport. This means that the ONLY squad that can start in it is the one it was bought for. Once the game starts feel free to have the SWS jump in.

Being able to buy an undedicated chimera is news to me. Are you sure it's possible to do that?

Heavy flamers on a basilisk make perfect sense. Heavy bolter's at its best when you can plink away with it every turn but most of the time you won't be firing the hull weapon. . Basilisk will usually be using its main cannon unless something has gone wrong, in which case you might as well use the more decisive heavy flamer.

Ok yeah probably should have mentioned we were playing "surprise attack" from the scenario rule book. Means the enemy deploys spread out and 12" in from the edge and I move in from any edge. My mistake was putting the infantry near the assault guys turn 1 but I'd tried to kill them with everything else and was hoping the infantry could take up a good defensive position after.

About the transports, yeah the chimera I bought for the special weapons squad technically belonged to one of the infantry squads so they had to start next to it and just embark turn one.

As for the tanks I always take heavy flamer on every tank as a deterrent to assault troops. Most of the time it's good because on the move you can only shoot one weapon anyways. I agree with the demolisher it's a bit of a waste as the demolisher can shoot two on the move and the heavy flamer will never be in range.

Now as for the banewolf I'm pretty convinced that the multi-melta is the right choice because the chem-cannon + a heavy flamer just causes so many wounds that it allows your opponent to take LESS casualties through wounds allocation manipulation. If some models have to take 2 wounds then he'll stack AP3 wounds on one model leaving other models to take 3+ saves on the heavy flamer wounds. For that reason I try to avoid ever mixing AP1-3 weapons with AP4-6 weapons. Especially against marines.

It really hurt to watch my guys slowly die in that assault but I hadn't really considered that it was keeping him away from my tanks. I should make it bigger.