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So, a 1500 point salamanders list I was thinking about playing for an upcoming campaign. Not the most competetive, but I think it has a fluffy feel to it. Any comments, criticisms, & suggestions are welcome.

Vulkan
190

Tac squad x10
-flamer, combi-flamer, ML
Razorback
-TLHF
245

Tac squad x10
-flamer, combi-flamer, ML
Razorback
-TLHF
245

Terminators x5
-TH/SS
Landraider redeemer
-MM
450

Sternguard x6
-combi-melta x5, HF
Drop pod
220

Attack bike x3
-MM
150

I know the HF razorbacks aren't the most popular choice, but I wanted to give them a shot. The razors will carry the flamer & combi-flamer around while the ML stay back & shoot. Back this up with the redeemer & I should have no problem with hordes or infantry.

The AB will all be seperate squads & used to support the podding sternguard. Sternguard should be able to handle any hard targets & the 3 mobile MM from the bikes should help with armor.

Drop missile launchers for multi meltas. Your using vulcan. Dont boycott his rules...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also. Id always sugest more troops. Drop the bikes for 10 more tactical. And why razors? They cant even transport your men around... Rhinis if anything.

 Lordjig6 wrote:
Drop missile launchers for multi meltas. Your using vulcan. Dont boycott his rules...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also. Id always sugest more troops. Drop the bikes for 10 more tactical. And why razors? They cant even transport your men around... Rhinis if anything.

Combat squads.....


However I agree that Rhinos are better over these Razors because they simply won't last long enough to do anything. Therefore keep the transport cheap and go Rhino.

I like the MM attack bikes and think they will actually mesh well with the objectives-sitting ML Combat Squads.... I see what is going on here...

Razors because I will combat squad the tac squads out. I know that rhinos would probably be points better spent, but I want to give the HF razors a go strictly from a fluff standpoint. As this is just a friendly campaign between friends, I figured it's as good as time as any to try them out. Any other suggestions?

I agree with most of the advice so far. If possible I would also swap the ML's for MM's but it's not a huge deal either way. I would absolutely NOT drop the MM attack bikes, they are consistantly my best units in my own SM lists, and when running Vulkan they are absolute money.

I don't know how the HF razors will go, but it's worth trying. I can think of a moment in my most recent game where having one would have been gold, instead of the rhino I had, and the situation does come up reasonably often, so there is merit in the idea. They are fragile though. I'd probably reserve one, along with the attack bikes, I think.

Ok, if the razors aren't that big of a hit then how about this?

HQ:
Vulkan
190

Troops:
Tac squad x10
-melta, combi-melta, MM
Drop Pod
220

Tac squad x10
-flamer, combi-flamer, MM
Drop Pod
215

Elite:
Sternguard x8
-combi-melta x5, combi-flamer x3
Drop Pod
275

Terminators x5
-TH/SS
Landraider Redeemer
-MM
450

Attack bike x3
-MM
150

Alright, I dropped the razors for drop pods & switched both ML for MM. Tac squads are kitted out 1 for anti-infantry & 1 for anti-armor. Sternguard squad got beefed up & can still take out just about any target. 3 pods means 2 on turm 1 which can hopefully cripple my opponent.

3 MM AB support the initial pod drop & the terminators/raider can be the CC punch for the list. Vulkan can go with either the termies or sternguard, depending on what I feel is needed on a game to game basis. Any thoughts on the changes or more to make? Is this better or worse? Thanks in advance

Land Speeders with Heavy Flamers, great fluff and they might satisfy your cravings now that you've dropped the HF Razorbacks.

My 2 cents

I personally like it but a warning that putting your troops down in pods will leave you wanting in objective games. Though it is fun to drop pod in y'know?

I think both lists are good but they play differently from one another. Between the two lists you will have to decide whether you are playing a more objective based game, in which case I think list 1 is better, or if you just want to smash your opponent and get secondary objectives, whereby list 2 is better.

The stern guard should be 10 man so you can combat squad when you disembark. Shoot the meltas at a transport and then the flamers at the occupants. The way you have them now at 8 will make some of them unusable the turn they arrive as the targets wont match up.

I understand the logic on bumping the sternguard up to a full 10 man squad, but I don't have an extra 60 points to make that happen. When I bump up to 1750 or 2k, I will for sure make that addition.

Icelord wrote:The stern guard should be 10 man so you can combat squad when you disembark. Shoot the meltas at a transport and then the flamers at the occupants. The way you have them now at 8 will make some of them unusable the turn they arrive as the targets wont match up.

Brakkus40 wrote:I understand the logic on bumping the sternguard up to a full 10 man squad, but I don't have an extra 60 points to make that happen. When I bump up to 1750 or 2k, I will for sure make that addition.

Maybe you dont need the Land Raider. It is a huge target that will have everything gunning for it. With the aggressiveness of the pods you might be able to deep strike the terminators out of harms way and then move them into position the next turn. 250 points is a ton to spend and could go to a lot of more helpful things at that point level. Something like Thunder Fire Cannons, perhaps.

I could drop the raider & exchange those points for the 2 sternguard & maybe an Ironclad in a pod to keep with the aggressive theme of the list. However, I don't like deep striking assault terminators. I've never had good luck with it & so if I drop the raider I would more than likely drop ther termies all together. At that point I might as well drop the bikes & go for an entire drop pod force.

No, I think assault terminators are best in a LR as well Brakkus. Now the shooty type are fun to beam in with a teleport homer, but that's because they can do their thing after a deep strike.

well LRs are more effective in 6th. They wont be stun locked before dropping off their cargo so it is all or nothing. Go for it and smash face.

Martel732 wrote:
No, I think assault terminators are best in a LR as well Brakkus. Now the shooty type are fun to beam in with a teleport homer, but that's because they can do their thing after a deep strike.

I disagree. With the army mainly coming in from pod etc the land raider is a huge sitting target. if you Pod in the other units people will have too many targets to just shoot up the terminators and they are very reilient. The raider doesnt fit this list IMHO.

I Dont particully like dreads. They are a huge melta gun target and just dont kill their points worth. I would stck with more podding infantry and or supporting units. Speeders with MM and HF are quite solid, even with 2 hull points.

How do you kill flyers in this list?

In all honesty this list has 2 ways to deal with flyers. 1: ignore them & concentrate on the rest of my opponents force or 2: shoot at them & hope to get lucky. Any list, especially salamanders, will struggle with fliers due to the nature of the weapons buffed by Vulkan.

Yes, I could take an ADL or a storm talon or even rifleman dreads, but I won't need it for this specific campaign. None of the other players have fliers, so that is not a huge concern.

While I can see the merit of deep striking in assault termies coupled with the pods, I just am not very comfortable with that idea. Like I said, I haven't had good success with it in the past. With no reserve manipulation they come in on a random turn & then require another turn, at the earliest, to get into combat. I will keep the raider if the tetmies stay because, as it has been pointed out, it's an all or nothing strategy. I do appreciate all the feedback though. Thank you!

It's a matter of taste, I guess, but this is my reasoning.

If you drop pod the terminators, there is at least one turn where they do nothing. They just stand there. The enemy can then move critical targets away, torrent them with small arms fire, and feed them an expendable unit to slow them down.

Yes, the LR draws fire. LR will always draw fire, that's their job. But unless that fire is point blank melta, you are coming out at least even. If your enemy has lascannons in his army, they are going to be shooting at something; something at least easier to frag than the LR! Now lances are a problem, but you can't stop everything.

The LR also gives said terminators the charge range of jump troops. This lets them dominate and threaten a much larger table area than being on foot. As a BA player, this is a royal pain for my jump troops! It's hard to advance without taking out the LR first.

If one is going to use assault terminators, I think an assault transport is the way to go.