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Hey all, I'm building a couple new army's as I'm a returning 2nd edition fan. I have a few models and thought I'd stick on what I have so far. Most my old models are orks, but ive always liked my ultras. Thought id let you guys give me your advice on where to go.

-Space marine captain with power fist and bolter ( old model to be replaced)

-10 man Tactical squad with missile launcher and flamer (from my old 2nd edition box, to be replaced)

-10 man tactical squad, vet sarge, power sword, plasma gun, missile launcher (not built yet)

-5 Scouts, bolters + heavy bolter

-5 Sternguard possibly combi weapons (not built yet)

-Razorback/rhino (not glued the turret down so I can swap it out for a rhino)

-Drop pod, storm bolter

-hoping to pick up the Start collecting box to replace the capt, and old tactical models and add a Ven Dreadnought. I have two old 90s metal devastator models- Las +Hbolter plus 5 marines but need to look through spares to rebuild them as they're in bits.

My general battleplan at the moment would be, Scouts infill to capture close objectives while tacticals move up to mid field. Sterns in razorback/Dpod head out to cause trouble or take out important vehicles/heavy inf etc. Dread supports the tacticals moving up. Maybe add another razor/rhino so I can transport 2 tact squads in rhinos or stick a new set of devastators in another razorback to aid the sternguard/razor plan.

Thanks..

Welcome to Dakka, back to 40k, and the Ultramarines.

One thing about the most recent edition is formations. There is a lot of free rules/power if you build your army to fit them. Something to consider when expanding your collection. I’d say you can use the old CAD/force org chart system, but if you are returning from 2nd, that’d be new to you as well. Just be sure to give the rules/codex a good read.

Your basic strategy is sound. The devil is in the detail though.

Your captain is not terrible as-is. Get him Artificer armor for the 2+ save, stick him in with the sternguard in a pod. Might not be the most min/maxed guy out there, but not bad for a moderate point investment in a friendly game. The terminator captain from the start collecting box is much the same. He’s got a jack of all trades weapon loadout. One problem with picking that guy up is where would you stick him? He really wants a terminator squad to hang out with. Frankly, my terminator captains (and TDA characters in general) rarely see the table. They can be iconic and fun in friendly games though.

When looking to add a new captain to your collection, you already have the best option: the sternguard box. Cull the coolest looking bits from there and build a captain out of them. Because what GW is charging for their mono-pose captains is criminal. Why pay $30 for one guy, when you can pay $40-50 for a box of the sweet looking veterans, and get 5 guys that fit the bill. When the released, I joked that you could buy both the sternguard and vanguard boxes, shake them together, and get a whole chapter’s worth of captains out of them.

You should also think about how your captain is going to get into combat. I field my bike and jump pack captains far more often then my foot one.

You might look into other HQ options. Librarians are quite good these days.

IMHO there are two ways to run sternguard. Either 5 man with max combis, preferably melta, (but arguments can be made for the other choices). Or a large squad (9-10 men, depending if you need space for a HQ) bare bones, with a pair of heavy flamers. Both work best in a drop pod (the combi only works in one). The combi squad is there to drop, vaporize a tank, and then die. I dislike squandering our chapter’s veterans this way, but that’s a fluff argument. The naked/flamer squad is there to drop/roll up, and take down high-priority targets with special ammo.

From a modeling POV, consider cutting your sternguard box with parts from tac squads to get more vets out of it. I find that if you use 100% parts from the sternguard box, the models look a little too ornate. But adding in a few plain parts tones them down a little, and is an inexpensive way to bolster your squad.

Most of my lists I form around the core of two full 10 man tac squads in transports. When fielding a battle demi-co formation, this goes up to three. But when using a CAD, 2 full tacs and a 5 man stick of squads has filled my troop picks for a long time now. What gear to give them varies a lot. The general rule of thumb these days is a special weapon, and a matching combi on the sarge. Heavy weapon are optional (but I always take them for tradition) but should mesh with the other guns. Some of my favorite ones are:

Multimelta/meltagun, c-malta sarge
Heavy bolter/flamer, c-flamer sarge
Missile launcher/flamer, basic sarge (I field them for nostalgic reasons, but they do OK-ish on the table)
Grav cannon/grav gun, c-grav sarge (the new guys, expensive, but they kill the rough stuff)

Always 10 men, always in a pod/rhino. But that’s just me. 5 man small units in razors is a viable choice.

You might want to look into getting your scouts a land speeder storm. Not required, but nice. If they are camping in the backfield or infiltrating into cover, camo cloaks are also nice to have.

Dreads are OK-ish these days. There are a lot of nasty guns floating around out there, and vehicles have been largely eclipsed by monstrous creatures. Still, he brings some guns and packs a decent punch. If you get one, done glue the arms on (they should fit snug on the pegs) and you can adjust as your list needs. In a more casual meta they can still get the job done.

One thing I would do is to keep an eye on where you want your army to be. Right now you have a reasonably flexible small force. A little light on anti-tank firepower. I would suggest building up to a battle demi-comapny. So 3 tac squads, a fast pics, and a heavy pick. You have some options on what to get for the last two. A dev squad is a solid choice, but most of the FA picks are good. And a good place to stick your HQ. Bikes are in a very good place mechanically these days, but assault marines make a decent backup for the captain (or chaplain especially). From there, I’d look into picking an auxiliary choice that appeals to you. I’d suggest looking at (and collecting) both a 1st and 10th company TF. They require 3-5 squads of scouts or vets respectively. Vets work well for high point lists, scouts for low ones.

Short term, I’d consider picking up the start collecting box, a devestator box, and a razorback (build as rhino). You want more heavy weapon option then the tac squads give you, so the dev box is a solid pick. It also fills the AV gap in your army, The ven dread is another good flexible kit, and is one of my favorite to build. Tac bodies in transports is one of those things you always need more of to form the backbone of your list. The only reason not to get the rhino is if you wanted to go with more pods. Long term, I’d suggest a hybrid drop list. 3 pods, and the rest in metal boxes. Lots of ways to go though.

Some great advice, thanks! I've alot to think about. I also don't like the idea of sending the sternguard out to take out 1 thing and then die. But I like the idea of sticking the current capt with them in a drop pod. Kit bashing a capt I really like, recently kit bashed a looted wagon for my orks from an old style SM predator.
I love the look of the new Devs too, they will be a cert. But I never thought to put combi weapons on the sarge, combi weapons are new to me and i always thought traditional and theyd have a pistol and chainsword. It makes sense for the more shooty tactical squads who will be doing more mid/long range contacts more dice on the table for their strong point of shooting.
Can't wait to get painting