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.

I'm planning on running 1 or 2 lieutenants as a 2nd HQ choice (or main HQ for small skirmishes)
I'm not sure where the "value lies"?
1) 2 standard lieutenants are cheaper, one could take a jump pack and hang with Inceptors, assault marines etc
2) Primaris lieutenants have an extra wound and attack (and look so nice)
--> i like the power sword model BUT am guessing the auto bolt rifle is the better choice as these guys are likely to hang near my intercessors and hellblasters.
Any advice?
Thanks very much

When you start adding all the nice stuff to a standard lieutenant it starts getting more expensive than a P lieutenant.

IIRC Lieutenants work for close combat attacks as well meaning the power sword option may be worth it in a more aggressive CC army.

If you have the points to do it, it could be worth giving a marine lieuteneant a combi weapon of some sort to bolster up shooting with something like hellblasters or other mid range heavy weapons if you are castling, you will probably need the primarus one if you are tanking up in a repulsor with hell blasters though.

For the most part, you only want the LT for his rerolls of 1s to wound.

Unlike a captain, techmarine, or chaplain, don't have BS or WS 2+, and only have 3 attacks, so they aren't really very good at anything. It's probably not bad to give him a power sword, axe, or a storm bolter if you have extra points and nothing else to spend them on, but otherwise bolt pistol / chainsword seems like the way to go IMO.

jcd386 wrote:
For the most part, you only want the LT for his rerolls of 1s to wound.

Unlike a captain, techmarine, or chaplain, don't have BS or WS 2+, and only have 3 attacks, so they aren't really very good at anything. It's probably not bad to give him a power sword, axe, or a storm bolter if you have extra points and nothing else to spend them on, but otherwise bolt pistol / chainsword seems like the way to go IMO.

I feel like for the ones that have access to the combi weapon list it could be worth taking combis its another plasma, or melta in your army that is much harder to remove than in a normal unit.

you would have to build around it but you are already paying for the HQ tax or a sick buff.

though with the extra attacks that often come on these models a CC weapon might not be that bad ether.

That's true, I just rarely have the points left over, and not being BS2+ makes me a little scared of using plasma on my characters.

I could see taking a Combi-Melta, but only after all my HQs with better BS had one, which seems like an unlikely scenario to my from building the lists i have.

Magnetize is, as is often the case, the answer.

Primaris I think are a wash for options. Sword is going to be better for a more aggressive deployment, guns for campers.

For the normal LT, I think stock with the MC bolter, and a power axe/sword to taste. You want to keep his points low, so choose the budget options that appeal to you. One of the low end CC toys is required IMHO. While not awesome, LTs have decent statlines, and it’s just a few points to make those WS 2+, 3A more then just soft slaps. They don’t bring a whole lot to the shooting scene, so I’d not invest in an expensive gun.

With a JP, I’d spring for one of the nice pistols. But that might be the fluffy bunny part of me finally convincing the bean counter that plasma pistols are finally at a fieldable price with rules that won’t always blow up in your face.

For what it’s worth I’ve got a LT in parts on my workbench waiting to get mold lines cleaned up. While I’m going to magnetize him, his primary build is going to be JP w/ grav pistol/power sword. I went grav over plasma, as he might not be nearby a re-roll to hit aura when dropping someplace backfield. If I had more cool axes, I might have gone with one. IMHO they are differently good, and roughly equivalent. But I’ve got far more cool looking swords to choose from.

The unit entry is really not worth much more than the rerolls aura. Chuck a Storm Bolter and a Power Weapon on and let that be it.

Use it with a combi-weapon that pairs with the weapons used in the squad he'll roll with, to make them more efficient at tackling specific units they're tasked to attack.

Equip the Lieutenant like the units he will be buffing. Shooting for shooters and melee for fighters. Taking the DI starter set for example, pair the auto bolter LT with the Intercessors and Hellblasters. The power swird LT would be useful for Reivers (if you were to add them to the army).

A melee LT is little help a camper squad in its intended role, and vice versa.

Find a.nice pointing fingee, a chainsword or bolter hand, a suitably ornate helmet (or no helmet, so no white and red stripe) and shoulderpad, and give him a suitably heroic name. Like Rerollius Maximus.

For Primaris Lieutenants I run the Power Sword almost always. My gunline is always eventually charged so the Lieutenant helps with that more than the mediocre rifle. I have considered a Stalker Pattern one though, I think there is merit there. Regular Lieutenants I run one of three ways. Cheap with a Storm Bolter and Chainsword. Jump Pack with a Power Axe and Plasma/Grav Pistol, or with a Power Fist and Plasma/Grav Pistol (if I am playing my Crimson Fists). Which of them I run depends on my list, and if I have leftover points though. I view all my characters as primarily buff dealers and secondary as light charge defence.