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.

So i've recently begun putting together my old catachan box set. It consists of:
1 sentinel
1 command squad
20 catachan guardsmen

With what I have now, I'm looking at a scout sentinel with autocannon, 3 autcannon teams, a command squad, and two veteran squads. All this comes to about 300 pts.
I'm hoping to go for a footslogging list. I'm not opposed completely to vehicles, but I don't want a fully mechanized list.
Still not sure how to outfit the troops, but it's looking like plasma guns.

I have no experience with IG however, and don't play against them too often, so I was hoping for a bit of guidance building out my units, and what I should set my eyes on next. The only thing I'm really sure of is that I don't want to run the traditional chimera spam list... I don't think it makes sense in a Catachan list anyways.

Depends on if you want to run mechanized, airborne, or foot IG.

Sounds like you just need to pick up the codex. The forum can give you advise on how best to use what you have, but it's not a replacement for actually having the codex.

Seems like my original post was kind of vague, It should be better now.

If your footslogging, don't use plasmas. Your going to want to combine squads into blobs and use FRFSRF orders for massive firepower output. plasmas are good in CCS or vet squads. Foot sloggers are viable and deadly, but they need numbers. If your planning on using your troops as vets, they need chimeras or vendettas (almost every army ignores IG armor saves with their basic weapon)

a bit of modeling advice: get some extra heavy weapon team bases (buy extra bases) and you can turn those extra bits into more heavy weapon teams

Paitryn wrote:
If your footslogging, don't use plasmas. Your going to want to combine squads into blobs and use FRFSRF orders for massive firepower output. plasmas are good in CCS or vet squads. Foot sloggers are viable and deadly, but they need numbers. If your planning on using your troops as vets, they need chimeras or vendettas (almost every army ignores IG armor saves with their basic weapon)

a bit of modeling advice: get some extra heavy weapon team bases (buy extra bases) and you can turn those extra bits into more heavy weapon teams

Wrong. Plasma does just fine in blob squads. It is, in fact, much safer there from enemy fire, and combines well with blob Lascannons; the AP2 synergizes to great effect.

FRFSRF is not very good; BiD is much better. Lasguns are just lasguns; twin linked heavy weapons are actually good.

As a guy who uses plasma in his footslogging lists quite a bit, they work pretty well. As long as you have melta somewhere else you're fine.

They do have a very annoying tendency to kill themselves though

Most people use meltas though as a way to keep enemy armor from tank shocking them, and to ID T4 multiwound models like paladins and special characters.

Plasma and melta both work well on foot, just try both and see what matches your playstyle.

Thank's for the info. I don't think I have nearly enough units right now to make a viable list, but what I decided was a group of 10 veterans with flamers and a heavy flamer for a fluffy catachan squad, and another squad with meltas. It seems like a 10 man group will get eaten away pretty quick though without a transport, but I was hoping to avoid that.
So is it better then to throw all of my units into one big platoon? That's a lotta guns for one troop choice, it just means I need to wait a bit longer to even get some trial games in.

 AtariAssasin wrote:
Thank's for the info. I don't think I have nearly enough units right now to make a viable list, but what I decided was a group of 10 veterans with flamers and a heavy flamer for a fluffy catachan squad, and another squad with meltas. It seems like a 10 man group will get eaten away pretty quick though without a transport, but I was hoping to avoid that.
So is it better then to throw all of my units into one big platoon? That's a lotta guns for one troop choice, it just means I need to wait a bit longer to even get some trial games in.

Vets should never have flamers.

The reason vets are more expensive is their BS4. That is their main bonus. Flamers make this irrelevant, and force you to get close, where they will get steamrolled.

If you want a fluffy Catachan vet squad, take Harker, another heavy bolter, and three sniper rifles.

If you want flamers, take a couple infantry squads with meltaguns and autocannons (blob them up and this will be a solid unit). Then, even fill your PCS with 4 flamers; it will make a great throwaway fireball squad.

Taking the blob of IS's also allows you to take Special weapon squads. Another good way to apply flamers is two flamers and a demo charge in an SWS.

 TheCaptain wrote:

Wrong. Plasma does just fine in blob squads. It is, in fact, much safer there from enemy fire, and combines well with blob Lascannons; the AP2 synergizes to great effect.

FRFSRF is not very good; BiD is much better. Lasguns are just lasguns; twin linked heavy weapons are actually good.

BiD doesnt work on infantry, only MCs and Vehicles. so that does you a whopping no good against standard troops. I think using a blob squad to kill MCs and Tanks is a bit of a waste. BiD works well with Heavy weapon teams and if you want a really nasty combo get a blob squad and SM allies with a librarian, prescience, and now you have a giant blob of infantry that fires 3 times rerolling failed to hit. Oh and benefits from ATSKNF.

If your wanting to Use Bid, its better on a command squad or PCS where you can kit the whole squad with the guns. Vets get 3 in a squad and combo with vendettas your looking at getting somewhere with it instead of walking.

Paitryn wrote:

 TheCaptain wrote:

Wrong. Plasma does just fine in blob squads. It is, in fact, much safer there from enemy fire, and combines well with blob Lascannons; the AP2 synergizes to great effect.

FRFSRF is not very good; BiD is much better. Lasguns are just lasguns; twin linked heavy weapons are actually good.

BiD doesnt work on infantry, only MCs and Vehicles. so that does you a whopping no good against standard troops. I think using a blob squad to kill MCs and Tanks is a bit of a waste. BiD works well with Heavy weapon teams and if you want a really nasty combo get a blob squad and SM allies with a librarian, prescience, and now you have a giant blob of infantry that fires 3 times rerolling failed to hit. Oh and benefits from ATSKNF.

If your wanting to Use Bid, its better on a command squad or PCS where you can kit the whole squad with the guns. Vets get 3 in a squad and combo with vendettas your looking at getting somewhere with it instead of walking.

BiD is better on infantry blobs because they can pack more heavy weapons than heavy weapon teams can, can take Voxes, and have higher leadership.

Prescience is better cast on said heavy weapon teams, because it is cast on the psyker's LD, ignoring the HWS crappy leadership, while still conferring the blob the ATSKNF if said psyker is attached to it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Not to mention, Prescience can be cast on our tanks/artillery. It is, in essence, wasted on blobs.

 TheCaptain wrote:

FRFSRF is not very good; BiD is much better. Lasguns are just lasguns; twin linked heavy weapons are actually good.

They're different tools for different jobs. FRFSRF is very useful, and with 6th ed's change to rapid fire rules, you can drop a full volley at 24" and still do some appreciable damage.