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I'm planning for a 500 pt. round but I would like to buy a model that I could use in larger games. Are snipers any good?

For the limits you've posted, I'd recommend meltas. They're cheap and they have uses in all game sizes.
No, snipers are not good, especially not for vets who like to move around a lot.

Plasma and Melta both scale pretty well into bigger games.

Are plasma guns good? If they are, that's super convenient because I have a ton of those models lying on my desk, lol.

Plasma guns are great. I use them often, but in lower points games it's hard to bring them due to their cost.

Is there any situation in which I would want, and benefit the sniper model weither it's in a veteran squad or not?

Eh, occasionally I'll throw a sniper on my stationary CCS if I have 5pts left over. Unfortunately snipers are a very weak weapon that rely on 6s to do anything.

 LordHamshire wrote:
Is there any situation in which I would want, and benefit the sniper model weither it's in a veteran squad or not?

Nope. Not under the current rules.

I must say that I like snipers , lets say , can kill MCs, precision shooting and rending on a 6 , pining and they combo well with auto-cannons , I have 3 veterans squads and 2 of then are using 3 snipers, between orders and volume of shots i can kill a updated model or a squad leader with each team , it work well versus hordes with low moral that depends on the Sargent/leaders , remove then and pin then! A tactical squad with a las cannon/plasma cannon is bothering your tanks/Meqs , destroy the las cannon/plasma cannon and the tactical squad is now non threatening.

Also the 36 range is useful to stay out of fire warriors 30 range and space marines 24 range , they plasma rifle is 24 range and its true that if hit it will kill most times but the guards can not survive the next turn shooting .

For 5 points they are good to me.

GarretAsh wrote:
can kill MCs

So can plasma, except plasma does it even better.

precision shooting and rending on a 6

Precision shots are incredibly overrated because of the low chance to do anything, and melta/plasma don't need to rend because they're already AP 2 and STR 7/8.

(1/6 chance to get a precision shot, 1/2 to wound, of which 1/3 will be AP 2 and likely to get through armor saves, then cover and/or LOS. The math is not kind to snipers.)

pining

Which is pretty much worthless since most of the things you really care about pinning have high enough leadership to be effectively immune to it.

and they combo well with auto-cannons

No, they don't combo at all with ACs. An autocannon is for shooting at light vehicles, where snipers are useless.

between orders and volume of shots i can kill a updated model or a squad leader with each team

You know what's even better than killing an upgrade model? Killing the whole squad with weapons that don't suck.

Also, if you're killing a special model with every squad you're using loaded dice. The average is considerably less than that.

A tactical squad with a las cannon/plasma cannon is bothering your tanks/Meqs , destroy the las cannon/plasma cannon and the tactical squad is now non threatening.

And if you destroy the entire tactical squad instead of screwing around with snipers it's even less of a threat.

Also the 36 range is useful to stay out of fire warriors 30 range and space marines 24 range , they plasma rifle is 24 range and its true that if hit it will kill most times but the guards can not survive the next turn shooting .

Who cares if you can shoot from 36? Your damage at that range is laughable, you're better off sacrificing the squad to send it into plasma/melta range and do something useful in the one turn it gets before dying.

For 5 points they are good to me.

It's not just 5 points, it's 5 points and a special weapon slot. Giving up a precious melta/plasma slot to take a worthless weapon is just insane.

So can plasma, except plasma does it even better.

For three times the cost. For every plasmagun you purchase you can get three snipers. And you don't need to worry about risking 15 points on a gets hot roll on a guardsman's save.

Precision shots are incredibly overrated because of the low chance to do anything, and melta/plasma don't need to rend because they're already AP 2 and STR 7/8.

(1/6 chance to get a precision shot, 1/2 to wound, of which 1/3 will be AP 2 and likely to get through armor saves, then cover and/or LOS. The math is not kind to snipers.)

I view precision shots as a bonus for snipers. Places in a CCS you'll be looking for 3's to hit. If you field multiple snipers the chance of you getting a 6 increases, but as I said, the precision shots are just bonuses. You're right that the math isn't kind at the minute, but I don't think they should be discarded when they are such a cheap option.

Which is pretty much worthless since most of the things you really care about pinning have high enough leadership to be effectively immune to it.

I agree with you that pinning isn't of much value. However, it can be useful in some games. Light targets like cultists etc. can be kept down for a turn which can really put a dampener on an enemy's plan. There is also the psychological factors of making your opponent roll pinning checks. They may decide to target your snipers in lieu of more powerful units you possess.

and they combo well with auto-cannons

Autocannons also deal with MC's and infantry well, the ranges of the snipers and autocannons are definitely complimentary. You cherry-picked a situation in which they would not be complimentary to prove your point. However, when faced with light infantry, bikes, cavalry, monstrous creatures etc. which will usually be the vast majority of your targets the sniper/autocannon combo is effective.

Of course there are a lot of other factors to consider as well regarding how you have built your army. If you are running a gunline then it will be a great addition. If you are running mech-guard then don't bother with snipers.

For the points value that you are playing I would recommend taking a plasma or melta though. If you really want to take a pinning weapon go for a mortar at 5 points. It's not great, but it should be better than the sniper at that points value!

 Marsden wrote:
For three times the cost. For every plasmagun you purchase you can get three snipers.

And the plasma gun will still be better than the three snipers.

(And of course this is ignoring carrier cost, if you count the price of the model carrying the gun you can't get a 3:1 ratio anymore.)

Places in a CCS you'll be looking for 3's to hit.

And lower chance to wound or get through armor saves than any other option. The only "reason" to take snipers is for the precision shots, for anything else another gun is better.

You're right that the math isn't kind at the minute, but I don't think they should be discarded when they are such a cheap option.

But they aren't cheap because you have to pay for the squad that carries them. If you have a choice between 85 points for sniper vets or 100 points for melta vets it's a pretty obvious decision.

Light targets like cultists etc. can be kept down for a turn which can really put a dampener on an enemy's plan.

But who cares about a cultist squad? It's probably just going to ground behind an ADL on an objective anyway, or acting as a meatshield in front of something more important. Pinning it and reducing a few "lasguns" to BS 1 is pointless.

There is also the psychological factors of making your opponent roll pinning checks. They may decide to target your snipers in lieu of more powerful units you possess.

I don't think it's a good idea to sacrifice list effectiveness to include a gimmick that only works if your opponent is stupid.

Autocannons also deal with MC's and infantry well, the ranges of the snipers and autocannons are definitely complimentary.

Autocannons are terrible against MCs because of AP 4, while snipers are worthless against infantry. All you're left with is the shared range, and range alone does not make two weapons work well together.

I find only on use for vet snipers. You have to use Harker to make them work well. The stealth bonus helps keep them around longer. If you go with Harker and 3 snipers, add a heavy weapon team.

At 500 points either melta or flamers. Plasma is pretty solid esp for 3 shots at 24" plus movement so effective 30" but arg, if I roll 3 dice one of them is ALWAYS a freaking 1!!!

Snipers are great if paired with Las Cannons in a platoon being ordered to Bring It Down or Fire on My Target.

I'd go melta's as well unless you are planning a foot-slogging guard.

Loading the CCS and 2 vet squads in transports with plasmas would take you just over 500 which means you miss out on the ability to take a doctrine for your vets, which can be very useful. You don't have to, but its proved useful for me to take them.

Although my guard still suck because I am still learning with them at the moment and the guy I am learning with is probably one of the best players locally so I'm not expecting to win, I'm happy with a draw at the moment!