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When you are building your tactical squads, what builds do you go? For the purposes of this I would like to at least focus on 5 & 10 man builds. My general feeling is that at 5 man, you are taking a special weapon + 1 combi. If you add troops to it you are adding 5 more to go up to 10 for the heavy choice.

When I build my first 10 man squad for a list I go for is PG, LC and combi-plas. (As a note I play UM chapter tactics)
With 5 mans I tend to go PG/combi-plas or MG/combi-melta in a drop pod. I could see flamer/combi-flamer in a pod if you really want the flame templates but I like to bring Sternguard with 2 HF for my flame support.

Thanks in advance for all your advice!

I haven't tried it with UM. but my set up for my DA was 5 man squad in the back with a heavy weapon.

allowed my bikes and termies to do damage with out relying on them for scoring. for 300 points i had 3 scoring units who could take pot shots and do damage.

I have one Basic build: 10 man with Combi-Plasma, Plasma Gun, Plasma Cannon.
Though I am thinking about 10 man with Comb-Grav, Gav Gun, Heavy Bolter [Imperial Fist]

I usually leave my sergeant bare and go in one of these combinations

10 man tac
Flamer/ML
Melta/ML
PG/PC
PG/LC

typically though i do the first two.

I have found that it doesn't much matter.

CMG+MG+MM if you are being a drop pod type man guy. Take a couple of flame weapons if you are really dedicated to mass deep strike.

CPG+PG+PC for most other situations.

I often don't give tacticals a heavy.

Martel732 wrote:
I often don't give tacticals a heavy.

Same here, while i play UM tactics I often find myself fielding a lot more tacticals than most people (4+ squads). depending on my needs I may run PR/PC or MG/LC and throw the 5 man squad into a razorback and leave the heavy in the backfield, or run them all in a rhino and drop the heavy weapons mid field. I never upgrade my sergeants since typically run Calgar or Sicarius. With Sicarius running a MG/ Combi melta on a tact with tank hunters in a drop pod is also kind of nice too. If im being real cheap and I need a throw away squad Ill run them with 1 weapon, typically a MG since i have terrible rolls, or a flamer if im planning at throwing them at my opponent in melee.

My choices are influenced by tradition, history, and fluff. Not necessarily the best options, but I stick with them.

My go-to builds, which get included in most lists are:

ML/F, bolter on the sarge, in a rhino
MM/M, sarge is either BP/CCW or c-melta. Mostly in a rhino, sometimes a pod.

Third squad in larger games is often PC/PG, on foot.
Occasionally I'll have a 5 man squad with a LC, or run a LC/PG squad in +2K lists.

Always 10 men, always with the special and a heavy. Thus is it written in the Codex Astartes, thus shall it be fielded. You can tell I'm an Ultramarine...

Don't under estimate The Plasma Gun in a pod.
You only need to get within 12" two get two shots off and alot of armor is only 10-11 in the rear.

I won't let you do that. And if I do, it's because I'm going to wipe your squad next turn. Drop pods have quite a few limitations.

I am currently building an SM army using RG tactics which will have a few scouting rhinos with full 10 man squads. Will give them a PG and CPG.

I'm very anal. I have a few tactical squads and about 4 of each heavy weapon and several differnt guys with PGs, melta guns and so forth. I switch up a lot.

5x tactical marines w/ plasmagun
techmarine w/ servo harness & combi-plasma
sergeant w/ combi-plasma
razorback w/ twin-linked assault cannon & dozer blade

7 plasma shots in a turn from this build. Only really works with a fluffy MOTF-lead Raukaan army, though, because then you can run 3 squads like this.

Johnnytorrance wrote:
I'm very anal. I have a few tactical squads and about 4 of each heavy weapon and several differnt guys with PGs, melta guns and so forth. I switch up a lot.

I do the same thing. Depending on the list, I will swap stuff around. But each squad has it's "shelf deployment" with stock gear, and the the extra guys chilling with the spare weapons on another shelf.

I run IF with Kantor, so to me Tac Squads are more of a 90 point lascannon. I have Sternguard to Score.

However, I wouldn't bother (personally) with combi- weapons on tac squads - if I have points for a combi weapon, it's going on sternguard. Mostly, this is because I'm a min/maxing WAAC jerk who hasn't learned how to take joy from having strange and magically useful sergeants.

So yeah, MG/CMG with LC in combat squads is cool. Kinda hurts in kill points, since either you have a 50% efficient carriage or 2 kill points.

I nearly always combat squad them (pretty much only keep them as 10 men in kill point missions.) One squad gets the heavy weapon which is a plasma cannon/missile launcher/lascannon to sit on objectives in my zone and snipe, other squad gets the Sgt. and a Melta/Flamer to go assault and tie people up. Pretty simple, and it works well enough for each of the different chapters.

I'm currently planning on getting some actual Codex marines instead of running my Dork Angels as counts-as. Going to get some Red Scorpions. Giving the dudes I plan to use purely to tie up shootier enemies Feel No Pain seems pretty baller to me. Having apothecaries rocking power weapons also seems pretty fun. Will likely go power maul crazy because those are the only worthwhile power weapons.

Drop Pod Salamanders here. I go with a Veteran Sergeant with combi/melta (since it Mastercrafts the bolter half, too!) a lightning claw (with free mastercraft upgrade), melta bombs, and in the squad a flamer and a multimelta. All in a drop pod.

I play mostly csm so it was weird when i tried to help my newbie friend play dark angel n their marines.

At first i could not figureout what the weapon load should be since i was use to a pair of plasmaguns or meltaguns. We messed around with combat squads splitting assault n heavy guns up. Then we just took as many 5men + a missile launcher + flakk upgrade and that would always down my winged dp and helturkey.

Finnally we just took blobs of marines with bolters and used the pfg+banner of devastation. My pm failed a bunch of fnp saves.

So in my opinion, i dont think it really matters what combo you have since you can just split with combat squads.

Also, i would love to pay 5flashlights to get 10 combat knives for my csm. I wish my csm knew no fear.

I usaly find no mater how I armed them it was always wrong. So I just did them that way I wanted and stoped worring about it.

I'm starting to run Drop Salamanders as well, I'm currently doing Flamer, Combi-plasma, no heavy weapon.

I have had absolutely no luck with the combat-squad heavy-weapon-sniping-in-the-backfield thing. To me, that's essentially paying 90 pts for a lascannon, which is absurd. Particularly considering that 5 more points gets you a dakka pred, and 10 more gets you a thunderfire cannon.

Colpicklejar wrote:
I have had absolutely no luck with the combat-squad heavy-weapon-sniping-in-the-backfield thing. To me, that's essentially paying 90 pts for a lascannon, which is absurd. Particularly considering that 5 more points gets you a dakka pred, and 10 more gets you a thunderfire cannon.

This is why tactical squads suck. Well, one of the reasons. In C:SM, I like to forego the heavy and go with all 24" rapid fire: plasma and combi-plasma.

My tacticals tend to be 10 man squads with flamer/combi-flamer or 5 man squads with multi-melta/combi-plasma or grav

10 man squads are mobile while 5 man ones sit on an objective.

I play Salamanders, so I give them a flamer and a combi-plasma, but if it were any other chapter I would give them no equipment other than a transport. Tac squads do a poor job at dealing damage, and giving them a couple cool guns isn't going to do much. Their main function is to be sitting on an objective marker at the end of the game. And basic marines can perform that task fairly well, thanks to good armor saves, good leadership, ATSKNF, and transports. Equipment doesn't really enhance their ability to hold objectives and soak up fire.

Build your list with groups of 10, even if you're not giving them any extra weapons. This gives you the option to break them up into combat squads if you would benefit from a MSU strategy (e.g, if you're playing a mission with 5 objectives).

Unless you're running a drop pod list, rhinos are mandatory (IMO). Beyond their obvious use as a transport, they also work wonders as a mobile wall, and tank shock is a great way to play games with enemy troops who are nearby. Dozer blades are mandatory if you play with even a modest amount of area terrain.

I take a 6 man tactical squad, melta-gun, with a twin-linked Lascannon Razorback.

-It's 1 point less than a 10-man tactical squad with a LC (36 points less if you give the 10 man squad a Rhino).
-The LC is twin-linked so you have twice the chance at doing some damage.
-Depending on your other squads you can have some target saturation if you have Predators, Land Speeders, Land Raiders on the board as well to give your Razorback some staying power.
-A metal box to protect your 6 tactical guys from a Helldrake.
-Mobility
-Mobile cover

The only downside to the Razorback is that you cannot take a PC with it.

I run tactical squads strictly in razorbacks, like another poster mentioned, the 70pt+heavy weapon combat squad basically does nothing all game every game. This is not new in 6th either, I played this way in 5th as well

The squads I like are

5 Marines with 1 flamer in TL Assault cannon razorback
150pts
or

5 Marines with 1 plasma gun in TL Lascannon razorback
160pts

The former is a front line unit, while the second is a central control/backfield unit. Neither are really that great, but given sufficient target saturation it works. Of note I use the Iron Hands chapter tactics due to the number of vehicles I still run.

5-man ML for campers.
10-man melta for Drop Pod.
10-man flamer for rhinos.
Probably.

Someone said, I've found it doesn't much matter and I think that's gold.

I have 2 squads right now of 5, with combi weapons on the Sarges and a plas and HBolter respectively and I'm seriously considering swapping the special weapons out for regular bolters...

That was me.