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.

Hey everyone, I've been tinkering with a smaller list for a local escalation league. 500 pts maximum, all detachments are A-OK.
Not sure what faction my first opponent will be, but there are a decent number of locals with Eldar, Ork & Deathguard. Also a mix of other factions.
No clue what the first mission will be.

==Outrider Detachment, 4CPs, Space Marines (Salamanders), 499Pts==

HQ

Captain -w- Storm Bolter & Chainsword (Teeth of Terra) - 76pts

Troops

Tactical Squad (5Man) -w- Plasma Gun - 76pts

Dedicated Transport

Razorback -w- Storm Bolter & Twin Heavy Bolter - 89pts

Fast Attack

Bike Squad (3Man) -w- Meltagun - 83pts

Attack Bike Squad (1Man) -w- Multi Melta - 49pts

Inceptor Squad (3Man) -w- Plasma Exterminators - 126pts


Strategy

The Tac Squad and the Captain start loaded up in the Razorback, it advances towards center objectives and pops smoke first round if it can't shoot anything worthwhile. The Bikes & Attack Bike advance and grab cover while the Inceptors wait in high orbit for the captain to close in on a juicy target.
Razorback drops off the Tac Squad on/near an objective and then plows onward, targeting squishy units. The bikes will soften up the enemy with Bolter & Melta shots while also trying to grab an objective / push the enemy off of one.
Once the captain is in range of a juicy target, he jumps out of the razorback while the Inceptors drop down and unload overcharged plasma shots.

What models you got to play with? Your inceptor points are way off, so your list is over 50p over.

Are you playing maelstorm or eternal war?

Thanks for the reply, I've got;

1x Drop Pod
1x Venerable Dreadnaught
1x LandSpeeder Storm
1x 5Man Scouts
1x 10man Intercessor
1x 10man Tac Squad
1x 5man Hellblasters
1x Thunderfire Cannon with Tech Marine
1x Rhino/Razorback/Whirlwind (one model with attachments for each variant)
1x Primaris Ancient
1x Primaris Apothecary
1x Librarian
1x 5man Reiver Squad
1x 3man Bike Squad
1x Attack Bike
1x Land Raider
1x 3man Inceptor Squad
1x Captain
1x Chaplain in Terminator Armor
1x Robute Guilliman

We play Eternal War.

What was off about my inceptor points? I've got 25x3 for the models and 17x3 for the guns = 126

Inceptors have two weapons. So it's 177p.

Melta is in a bad spot in 8th ed. But fluffy for sure if you play Salamanders. I think Raven guard or UM have the best chapter tactics, but competitive aspect isn't everything.

Without knowing upgrades on your models, I'd say.

Cpt (preferably with jump pack)
5x scouts OR 5x intercessors
5x Hellblasters or plasma inceptors
Venerable dread or AC/TLC razor
if you take the cpt, scouts, hellblasters route, you should have points to take 1 squad of bikes for mobility and chaff removal.

Throw out a list and let's hope you get some feedback.

Inceptors have two weapons. So it's 177p.

OMG I feel so dumb, thanks for pointing this out. I'm so used to one gun per marine.

The game came and went, I ended up with:

==Patrol Detachment, 3CPs, Space Marines (Salamanders), 499Pts==

HQ

Captain -w- Teeth of Terra relic (No jump pack) - 76pts

Troops

Tactical Squad (5Man) - 65pts

Dedicated Transport

Razorback -w- Twin Lascannon - 110pts

Heavy Support

Hellblasters (5Man) - 165pts

Fast Attack

Biker Squad (3Man) -w- Flamer & Combi-Flamer - 83pts

It was a close game but an unfortunate loss. My opponent was running Admech and had a pair of Dunecrawlers that were able to neutron laser my Razorback into dust by turn 2. I managed to tie them up in melee a few times but after losing the tank my troops weren't able to outlast the firestorm and it ended with a melee fight to the death between the two warlords with a single Dunecrawler watching. My rolls were consistently terrible, but the extra Salamander re-rolls helped offset it a bit.

---

I think I'm going to try for a more durable list this week, here's what I've got so far;

==Patrol Detachment, 3CPs, Space Marines (Salamanders) 500Pts==

HQ

Jump Pack Captain -w- Storm Shield & Power Fist (Relic: Salamanders Mantle +1 Toughness) - 112pts

Troops

Tactical Squad (5Man) 65pts

Dedicated Transport

Razorback -w- Storm Bolter & Twin Lascannon - 112pts

Elites

Venerable Dreadnought -w- Twin Lascannon & Assault Cannon - 142pts

Fast Attack

Bike Squad (3Man) - 69pts


With two T7 models, both the Captain and the Bikes having T5 and the Cap's Storm Shield, I think this list has a better chance of surviving and it still has plenty of damage output potential. I had considered putting a Thunder Hammer on the captain instead of the Power Fist, but I couldn't quite squeeze it in.

Any suggestions?

Replace tacs with scouts or intercessors. Both bring something over the tactical marines. Storm bolter on bike sarg. Or swap the bike s had for two attack bikes to grab more objectives.

IF you're paying 65pts for unupgraded tacts; take scouts with a heavy bolter instead, the range and mortal wound strat will help more than the 5 dudes with bolters.

Alternate take: I love my tactical marines; the aesthetic, ability to run spc/hvy weapons... gives me more tools in my box of tricks, but at this point level they're gonna struggle; two fold if they're not taking weapons. combi plas and plasmagun make the squad much more usable and able to stand their ground to intercessors IMO; while having a greater range of targets they can hurt... just my opnion though; I ain't into powergaming

I'll be facing Imperial Guard and the mission is No Mercy. I've reworked the list a bit with that in mind.

==Patrol Detachment, 3CPs, Space Marines (Salamanders) 500Pts==

HQ

Jump Pack Captain -w- Storm Shield & ThunderHammer (Relic: Shield Eternal) - 124pts

Troops

Scout Squad -w- Just Bolters (5Man) 55pts

Dedicated Transport

Razorback -w- Twin Lascannon - 110pts

Elites

Venerable Dreadnought -w- Twin Lascannon & Missile Launcher - 140pts

Fast Attack

Bike Squad -w- Storm Bolter (3Man) - 71pts


Swapping to scouts with just bolters and changing the Dread to Missile Launcher allowed me to put the ThunderHammer on the Captain, rather than a PowerFist.
I expect to fight against two Leman Russ tanks and infantry with mortars. The scouts and bikes can work on clearing infantry while the other units work on the tanks.

Victory for the Emperor! (I guess it would have been even if I had lost lol)

The list I posted above worked really well. As I expected he brought two tanks (one Russ and one Basilisk) and a pile of guardsmen and some mortars. I was able to win the deployment roll and forced him into the corner of the table with the least amount of LOS blocking terrain (Almost none). I also won the first turn roll.

My opponent deployed both of his tanks in the far corner and surrounded them with bodies, leaving one group of guardsmen near the center to try and rush my Dreadnought. I was able to place my scouts on an elevated position within 24" of his horde (Yay Bolter Discipline) and behind a low wall for the save bonus. My Dread was placed on a slightly elevated, landing pad like structure, just to make charging it that much more difficult. The bikes were placed near the Dread to screen any incoming guardsmen and the Las-back was positioned as far as possible, but still within range of the enemy tanks. The captain was placed high in the sky. (of course)

Turn 1
My bikes moved up and unloaded on the forward Guardsmen unit, leaving only a small handful alive. Between the Las-back and the Dreadnought, I was able to knock the Russ down two damage profiles. The scouts shredded a few guardsmen and held their position. The bikes charged into the remaining forward guardsmen and managed to run a few over. Unfortunately, I was not able to secure First Blood.

My opponent used a stratagem to combine three of his guard units into a single horde. he then moved up his rear horde and unloaded a ton of flashlight shots at the scouts, The Emperor was with us though, only one scout was killed. The Russ blew a sizeable hole in my Dreadnought. the Mortars focused on the scouts but were ineffective. (My opponent had terrible rolls for these guys) The forward Guardsmen fought valiantly, managing to kill a single Biker. And I believe the Basilisk managed to do a bit of damage to my Dreadnought as well. Luckily, my opponent was also unable to secure First Blood.

Turn 2
My Captain arrives and I place him 9" away from the enemy Mortar team. The Las-back and Dreadnought blast the Russ into bits. (First Blood) The scouts kill a few guardsmen in the main horde. The bikes clean up the forward unit of Guardsmen. Unfortunately, the Captain failed his charge, leaving him exposed to the Mortars and the nearby Guard horde.

My opponent swung his horde around and blinded my Captain with flashlight fire and mortar blasts, causing a few wounds. The Basilisk finished off the already wounded Dreadnought. Finally, the horde attempted to charge my captain but was unsuccessful.

Turn 3
The two remaining bikes closed in on the enemy horde, the Captain swung around the mortar team, getting a clear charge on the Basilisk and the Las-back moved into a position where it could target both the enemy Mortars and the Basilisk. The combined Bolter fire from the Bikes and Scouts took out a large number of guardsmen. The Las-back did a few points of damage to the Basilisk and the Captain charged in and finished it off with his ThunderHammer, then consolidated into the nearby mortars. My opponent rolled poorly for Morale and the rest of the horde fled, leaving just the enemy commander and the Mortar team.

From here it was a quick cleanup and game over.

Very nice, glad to hear it went well