Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

A shooty captain though good on paper is a waste of I5 and his A value. He cannot sport an Assault Cannon or anything meaty like that, sure he could have a Combi but he is just a glorified Sternguard and for the cost you could almost get a sternguard squad!
Captains should definitely be leading the assault. Shooty Characters? Techmarines / MOTF the Conversion Beamer is a real nasty piece of technology! Libby's are valuable for different reasons, and Chaplains make assault units into death dealing maniacs.
Captains IMHO should be used as an out and out Assault force leader, not a glorified Sternguard or Veteran Devastator Sergeant. The option is there but it doesn't play to their strengths on the stat line. Telion is probably the most shooty character out there for SM.

As others have said, captains on bikes for bike troops if that is your thing. Otherwise, they add nothing to an army other than close combat, and THSS termies do whatever a captain will do much better. My captain setup is Bike, Relic. Cheap and just effective enough. Anything else is mostly a waste, as the captain is not efficient enough to warrant spending any more points on.

Special characters are roughly the same cost, with 'free' army benefits, while if you dont like special characters a libby's hood and powers provide much more army benefit that the captain. So if the captain HQ provides no benefit to your army why take him? At least the bike captain gives you something.

Shooty characters are pretty much a joke as mwnciboo said... the MotF is good for dread armies, but otherwise the points are better spent on a tank.