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Pretty much the title. I'll only play against my brother, so I don't need something competitive, just something that's fun - templates for an example.

What is in your opinion the bast Tactical Squad, and what should I equip my sergeant with?

Thanks!

I would go pretty much barebones with Tacticals

I usually go 5 man squads with a plasma gun and a combi plasma on the Sarge. Load them into a Rhino. No heavy weapons.
Although if you are facing a lot of tanks in you meta go meltagun and combi melta.......or facing hordes flamer and combi flamer on the Sarge

But that's just my opinion.

Another option is to take a 10 man squad and give them a heavy weapon but combat squad them. So 5 man squad camping an objective with the heavy weapon and the other 5 man with the special weapon in a rhino where they are more mobile.

 Ivara1 wrote:
Pretty much the title. I'll only play against my brother, so I don't need something competitive, just something that's fun - templates for an example.

What is in your opinion the bast Tactical Squad, and what should I equip my sergeant with?

Thanks!

Tac squads are something that can be used to fill holes in the rest of your list. Light on anti-tank? Go Melta. Worried about hordes? Flamer/HB. For sarge gear you probably want to keep it light. A combi weapon to match the squad’s special is probably best. The squad in general doesn’t want to be in close combat, so investing in the sarge is not the best for that. Power weapon at the most. Special pistols are overpriced.

ML/F is classic. If you are just building out of the tac box, you only have a ML for a heavy anyway.

I find the most important things to keep in mind are:

- Keep the squad focused on a job, their profile makes them flexible, their weapons help carve out their role.
- Do not take heavy weapons in mobile units, this includes in Rhinos, you are still snap shotting if you move the rhino more then 6", wasting the heavy weapon.
- Do not overload on bolter marines if you are taking just the special weapon
- Keep them in cover!
- DO NOT ever, ever ever, take a close combat weapon on the Sarge, it scares no-one. Not those Nobz, not that Hive Tyrant. You are just wasting points on a 1 wound model better spent elsewhere.
- For the love of the Emperor, keep them in cover!

Beware some weapons though, for some are traps (never take pistols), others are almost auto-includes:
- Meltagun. Unless Suicide Podding, do not take, 12" is far to short to do anything.
- Plasmagun. Tried and true, Gets Hot is nothing to worry about. and its cheap.
-Grav-Gun. Completely opponent dependant due to mechanics. Against other SM or Vehicle heavy lists, its amazing.
-Flamer. You are not assault marines. Yes, 5 pts is dirt cheap, but the plasma gun is rapid fire, S7 AP2 for 10 more pts.

-Heavy Bolter: Again, cheap, but you already come loaded with Bolt-Guns, which are superior AND can move and fire effectively.
-Plasma-Cannon: TRAP! Do not take. The small template will hit, maybe, 2-3 models, with a decent scatter. Could be useful Vs vehicles if not for...
-Lascannon. Expensive, but it obliterates anything you point it at (for the most part)
- Missile Launcher: Some people call it flexible, I call it unfocused. The krak missile, for its points cost, is ok, the frag missle has the same issue the plasma cannon has, small templates suck, and its the same profile as a bolter. (S4 AP5) for 5 points more you could be taking a lascannon.
-Grav-Cannon: Waaaay to expensive for a tact squad unless Grav-Bunkering, in which case the unit will make its points back.
-Multi-Melta: Ah, my favorite weapon. Half the range of a lascannon, but your running these in Rhinos (You better be!) so getting within 12" for Melta USR is easy.

And finally, never forget that your tacts have grenades standard. Why is this useful you ask? One Krak grenade can do spectacular things when used properly

However, as with all things WH40K, try everything and figure out what you like. Match your tacts to your playstyle.

Izural wrote:
I find the most important things to keep in mind are:

- Keep the squad focused on a job, their profile makes them flexible, their weapons help carve out their role.
- Do not take heavy weapons in mobile units, this includes in Rhinos, you are still snap shotting if you move the rhino more then 6", wasting the heavy weapon.
- Do not overload on bolter marines if you are taking just the special weapon
- Keep them in cover!
- DO NOT ever, ever ever, take a close combat weapon on the Sarge, it scares no-one. Not those Nobz, not that Hive Tyrant. You are just wasting points on a 1 wound model better spent elsewhere.
- For the love of the Emperor, keep them in cover!

Beware some weapons though, for some are traps (never take pistols), others are almost auto-includes:
- Meltagun. Unless Suicide Podding, do not take, 12" is far to short to do anything.
- Plasmagun. Tried and true, Gets Hot is nothing to worry about. and its cheap.
-Grav-Gun. Completely opponent dependant due to mechanics. Against other SM or Vehicle heavy lists, its amazing.
-Flamer. You are not assault marines. Yes, 5 pts is dirt cheap, but the plasma gun is rapid fire, S7 AP2 for 10 more pts.

-Heavy Bolter: Again, cheap, but you already come loaded with Bolt-Guns, which are superior AND can move and fire effectively.
-Plasma-Cannon: TRAP! Do not take. The small template will hit, maybe, 2-3 models, with a decent scatter. Could be useful Vs vehicles if not for...
-Lascannon. Expensive, but it obliterates anything you point it at (for the most part)
- Missile Launcher: Some people call it flexible, I call it unfocused. The krak missile, for its points cost, is ok, the frag missle has the same issue the plasma cannon has, small templates suck, and its the same profile as a bolter. (S4 AP5) for 5 points more you could be taking a lascannon.
-Grav-Cannon: Waaaay to expensive for a tact squad unless Grav-Bunkering, in which case the unit will make its points back.
-Multi-Melta: Ah, my favorite weapon. Half the range of a lascannon, but your running these in Rhinos (You better be!) so getting within 12" for Melta USR is easy.

And finally, never forget that your tacts have grenades standard. Why is this useful you ask? One Krak grenade can do spectacular things when used properly

However, as with all things WH40K, try everything and figure out what you like. Match your tacts to your playstyle.

I will be playing against the Dark Angels that comes from the Dark Vengeance box, so I'll mostly be fighting against Terminators and Bikers.

So all in all; my sergeant should be running a Combi-Melta, and my other marines should be running with the Boltgun. I also have one marine that can have a special weapon, should he be equipped with maybe a Lascannon, if that's possible?

Also, if it has anything to say, I'll have a Librarian to lead the army.

Librarians are a good cheap HQ choice. You get to take one heavy weapon or one special weapon per five guys. So in a full squad of ten you can take one of each.

 General Kroll wrote:
Librarians are a good cheap HQ choice. You get to take one heavy weapon or one special weapon per five guys. So in a full squad of ten you can take one of each.

Oh, right. So I can actually take both a Rocket Launcher and for an example a Flamethrower?

And finally, never forget that your tacts have grenades standard. Why is this useful you ask? One Krak grenade can do spectacular things when used properly

Agreed - they are soo useful Even on Overwatch they can be nasty

 Ivara1 wrote:

 General Kroll wrote:
Librarians are a good cheap HQ choice. You get to take one heavy weapon or one special weapon per five guys. So in a full squad of ten you can take one of each.

Oh, right. So I can actually take both a Rocket Launcher and for an example a Flamethrower?

The Sergeant carries one special/heavy weapon, so one of the marines can bring a heavy/special one too, if I understand this correctly.

Special weapon and combi weapon for the Sergeant.
Say flamer and combi flamer, or melta and combi melta.

In marine vs. marine battles, plasma and grav weaponry is going to be your friend. For the most part, plasma is better if you are on the move, while grav is better for stationary units (or relentless or S&P ones) Tactical squads spend a lot of their time on the run, getting to objectives, moving into rapid fire range, etc. With just the parts in the tac box, I’d run missile launcher/plasma gun, with a c-plas sarge.

Heavy weapons are questionable investment. Now, as movement is on a per-model basis, you can have the squad wheel around, while the ML guy stands still and gets his shot off. I’ve won games because I’ve had heavy weapons downfield with the tacs, rather then concentrated backfield with the devs. I’ve also had games where they’ve done nothing but snap-fire, miss, and be a waste of points. I’m an Ultramarine player, so adhere to the Codex for options. And it says that 10 man squads of battle brothers should have both the special and the heavy. But from a game mechanic POV, just running a special and a combi but be a better use of points.

Some advice needs to be tempered with your collection, time, and place in the hobby. There are a lot of things that work well in casual play, but aren’t as efficient as other options, so tend to be shunned in more competitive circles. If all you play is marines, you need to worry less about how to deal with hordes or monstrous creatures. If you are just facing off against the DV box, you don’t even need any anti-tank fire.

If you are just starting out, consider where you want to be at larger points and build towards that point. I’m not a fan of MLs in general these days. I only recommend them because of tradition and the fact that it comes with the box. If you are planning on picking up a box of devastators, which I would recommend, the MM or HB from there is a much better fit in a tactical squad. They are low cost options, but can be nice to have. As the Dev box has more guns then bodies, saving one (or more) guy from your tac box might serve you better then a spare ML guy who might not see use once your collection grows.

What chapter were you thinking about? It does impact a few choices.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Ivara1 wrote:

 Ivara1 wrote:

 General Kroll wrote:
Librarians are a good cheap HQ choice. You get to take one heavy weapon or one special weapon per five guys. So in a full squad of ten you can take one of each.

Oh, right. So I can actually take both a Rocket Launcher and for an example a Flamethrower?

The Sergeant carries one special/heavy weapon, so one of the marines can bring a heavy/special one too, if I understand this correctly.

Your 10 man squad is going to look like this

7 guys with bolters
1 guy with a special weapon (meltagun, plasma gun, flamer, grav gun)
1 guy with a heavy weapons (missile launcher, multi-melta, plasma cannon, lascannon, gravcannon, heavy bolter)
1 sergeant with a wide variry of stuff (combi-weapon, close combat gear, plasma/grav pistol, melta bombs, etc)

Most of this is optional. You could have a bare-bones squad with 4-9 guys with bolters, and then the sarge with a bolter. But it’s generally a good idea to pick up some toys for the squad.
If you haven’t picked up a codex yet, you should probably look into that.

What does the rest of your list look like, and does it have any answer to your brother's Terminators?

If you don't have much AP2 / high-strength weaponry you might want to give some to your tac marines (or another flexible unit).

The usual loadout for a tac squad is a special weapon of some sort (the exact one depends on what role you want the squad to play) and then a combi-weapon of the same weapon on your sergeant, Repeat as needed.

 Ivara1 wrote:

 General Kroll wrote:
Librarians are a good cheap HQ choice. You get to take one heavy weapon or one special weapon per five guys. So in a full squad of ten you can take one of each.

Oh, right. So I can actually take both a Rocket Launcher and for an example a Flamethrower?

That's what I'm actually doing with my 10 Tac Squads. I'm splitting them in 2x5 guys. One with Missile Launcher + Flamer and another Squad Flamer + Plasma or Plasma + Melta. One of those 5 man squads will go inside a rhino and the other is on foot. But this is my set up cause mainly I'm gonna make a list based on bikers and Tac Squad is gonna move in like a meat shield.

I suggest you to dont do my mistake and buy magnets aka magnetize your unit arms rather than glue them. In that way you will be more flexible.

I love tactical squads. I feel like they are under appreciated. To me tactical are jack of all trades.

I know that some people don't give Sargent's any weapons but I find that sometimes its best to choose your own style.

Here are some loadouts I run.

Anti horde
Flamer, ML

Anti vehicle
Melta, MM

Anti MEQ/TEQ
Plasma, PC

Cheap
No upgrades

Classic
Flamer, Heavy bolter

I recommend combat squad when needed. For example, I would move a plasma gun squad but keep the Plasma cannon behind to cover my plasma squad.

Now, while I don't always upgrade my sarg there are times where it makes sense. Giving my sarg a power sword and vetran boost my squad to leadership to 9 and during combat or a challenge has turned an assault against my enemy.

 Inkubas wrote:
I love tactical squads. I feel like they are under appreciated. To me tactical are jack of all trades.

I know that some people don't give Sargent's any weapons but I find that sometimes its best to choose your own style.

Here are some loadouts I run.

Anti horde
Flamer, ML

Anti vehicle
Melta, MM

Anti MEQ/TEQ
Plasma, PC

Cheap
No upgrades

Classic
Flamer, Heavy bolter

I recommend combat squad when needed. For example, I would move a plasma gun squad but keep the Plasma cannon behind to cover my plasma squad.

Now, while I don't always upgrade my sarg there are times where it makes sense. Giving my sarg a power sword and vetran boost my squad to leadership to 9 and during combat or a challenge has turned an assault against my enemy.

How about balance it like one AA squad and one Anti Infantry?