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Please note I have no idea what the current meta is in 40K so if I have made a grievous tactical blunder in my army composition please explain what it is I have overlooked. I haven't played 40K since early 2010. Also I really enjoy building fluffy lists. (EG: As good as it is I'm hesitant to give a Salamanders Chapter Master jump pack)

HQ:
Vulkan Hestan
Chapter Master
Armor Indominitus
Relic Blade

Troops
Tactical Squad
+5 Marines
Meltgun
Multi-Melta
Veteran Sergeant
Thunder Hammer
Rhino

Tactical Squad
+5 Marines
Meltgun
Multi-Melta
Veteran Sergeant
Thunder Hammer
Rhino

Scout Squad
5 Camo Cloaks
4 Sniper Rifles
1 Missile Launcher

ELITES
Sternguard Veteran Squad
+2 Marines
2 Combi-Flamers
3 Combi-Meltas
Drop Pod

Vanguard Veteran Squad
+2 Marines
2 Thunderhammers
3 Storm Shields
1 Melta Bomb

Dreadnought
Venerable
Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

Heavy Support
Land Raider Redeemer
Multi-Melta



Stick Vulkan Hestan in with the Sternguard to discourage any assaults, put the Chapter Master in the Vanguard unit and stick said unit in the redeemer.

Not bad, but a few things:

You have no AA at all. Unless your local group has sworn off flyers, you will see some, and have no answer.

I'm not sold on the armor being worth it over a normal suit of artificer armor on the CM. Also, if you like relic blades, look into the Teeth of Terra. I also question the need for a second big HQ. You might just want to run a bare bones chaplain and free up those points for other stuff. If you do keep the CM, consider replaceing the vanguard vets with honour guard.

Rather then combi flamers I'd run HFs on the sternguard.

Move one of the tac squads to a drop pod. This gives you 3 so two can hit the table first turn

Ok, I didn't realize flyers were so prevalent now. The last time I was playing 40K they were Apoc only. While I know each gaming store has it own style what would you guys say the rule of thumb is for how many flyers I can expect to see on the other end of the board on average? At 1850 would one anti-air unit cut it?

And instead of increasing the number of drop pods what about reducing it to the dread (taking off Venerable) and just making him a suicide dread? I'd put the Sternguard in another Rhino. I'm a tad worried about how long 2 rhinos can survive on the tabletop even if I use the land raider to screen.

I like the use of Thunder hammers and storm shields veteran sergeants on the attacky tactical squads. I wonder if it's not worth the points or not but I'd be very intrigued to see how they work on the battlefield.

It may turn out the points spent on that wargear would be better in just more marine bodies.

You may want to drop a rhino for another pod since three pods is far better than two since you can then deploy two on first turn (half drop pods rounding up). Edit - woops just saw first poster made that point.

There are actually no storm shields on the Vet Sgts for the tactical squads. I took the hammers for flavor but I am thinking bout switching it out for a combimelta or combiflamer. Cheper points and still keeps that Salamander feel.

Ok from a semi competitive standpoint there are a few things I would do.

Take out the chapter master and put in a librarian or chaplain.
Take off the Thunder Hammers from the Sgts
Bring the Sternguard up to a 10x Man and think about using the Heavy Flamer.
Change the Dreadnought to an Ironclad

 Feasible wrote:
Ok from a semi competitive standpoint there are a few things I would do.

Take out the chapter master and put in a librarian or chaplain.
Take off the Thunder Hammers from the Sgts
Bring the Sternguard up to a 10x Man and think about using the Heavy Flamer.
Change the Dreadnought to an Ironclad

Yeah you are probably right about the chapter master. I'm a sucker for really cool solo models but there's no way I can get this guy in on a budget for the way I wanna kit him out.

I stated this in the last reply but the more people see this and the more i think about it going combi-melt is probably a better option. Cheaper to.

Now this is where I'm a tad hesitant, I was planning on sticking on of the IC's in that Sternguard squad and if they are going to fit the HQ and the squad in a rhino I can't go bigger than 9. As for the heavy flamer...I dunno. In 5th edition I didn't see to many when I played against marines. Is the extra S and 1 point of AP really make that much of a difference to give up Special Ammo?

The Dreadnought I'm not overly attached to so if need be I am willing to drop it for something to round out the list (It seems like Stalkers are recommended highly)

I run Drop Pod Salamanders, as they are the best way to run Salamanders, so I run 9x Man Sternguard w/ Vulkan w/ 3 Combi Meltas, 1x Heavy Flamer. Dreadnoughts can also add Armor Saturation.

Alright so you think Drop Pod spam is better than Rhino Rush w/ Land Raider support? If you don't mind could you please explain why. I'm a bit hesitant to put a majority of my army in reserve and hope for good rolls to bring the rest on the table :/

Chapter Masters should theoretically be in Terminator armor or on a Bike so you can move and shoot your orbital bombardment when they arrive. The armor indomitus is simply too expensive for what it gives you, although it also does give relentless to utilize that orbital bombardment.

The difference between a Chapter Master and Captain is 1 wound and 40 points. Personally I feel it's almost always worth it to take the Chapter Master as Orbital Bombardments can win games on their own. Obviously it's risky and doesn't always work, but if you have first turn and nuke someone's 200+ point daemon prince before it has the chance to take flight, well, clearly it was worth it.

Thing is, you're already running Vulkan. He'll be your warlord else he's not worth bringing. So, a secondary HQ that's a lot cheaper you can go suicide brigade into things is not a bad idea. 40 points dropping to a captain is quite a few freed up points. Then again, you can also take Honor Guard as the unit rolling inside the land raider to go pop out and slap things with the chapter master if you keep him as such. I don't really know what is "better," simply pointing out the tactical reasons each way.

Going Land Raider opposed to Drop Pods makes a lot of sense in a Vulkan list. Makes the multi-melta significantly deadlier and does a much better job of protecting the unit inside than hoping they land somewhere in their pod they can get to cover and still be effective shooting that turn. It is pretty easy for people to pop AV14 right now, though, unfortunately. There are a lot of melta/lance/ordnance weapons going about, and obviously the more points you save by switching to drop pods, the more flamers you can take.

I'd also like to point out that Flamers/Heavy Flamers are your friends with Salamanders. They are all effectively twin-linked, allowing you to reroll failed wounds with them. Pretty great with flamers, extremely great with Heavy Flamers. I second the motion of changing the combi-flamers to just straight Heavy Flamers for your Sternguard.

Salamanders want to be right next to their foes, turning them into smoking boots with flamers and meltaguns. Drop pods get them there, without the tedium of having your ride blown up halfway across the table and footslogging it the rest of the way. There are trade-offs, and risk/reward arguments, but entering the battlefield in your optimum firing range is a very compelling choice.

You are going to get to place half your army down on your first turn in pods. But it will be the part you need, exactly where you need it. You are going to get the first shot in, at your optimal range, against the things you want to die. You land, and land HARD, and anything near the LZ is going to be either dead or so crippled that their return fire is going to be anemic at best. Or so the theory goes. Against the wrong foe, you land, eat a lot of interceptor fire, are forced to shoot at chaff bubblewrapping the juicy bits, and then watch your army get blown away piecemeal. It’s a risk/reward thing.

I agree that a combi weapon is a much better choice then a TH for a tac sarge. But I won’t tell a son of Dorn not to take a power fist, and Vulcan’s children should not have to put their hammers away.

In 5th I thought that the HF was one of the few weapons worth giving up your special ammo for. There were a few reasons you didn’t see more of them. One was the lack of a model. The other was the compelling argument that is a 5 point combi weapon. Hard to turn that down. Now there is an easy to get model, and combis have been doubled in cost, making them less attractive.

One final question before I write up the second draft. How essential are fortifications for Marines, especially a close range force? I was thinkingvof giving my scouts an Aegis Line with a quad gun for AA and Tue buffed cover saves.

Fortifications should revolve around the entire army, not a single unit. Your scouts can just pop a squat in some ruins for the same cover save. AA is another matter entirely - you need more than a single quad gun I'd say. Without finding the points for a flier of your own, I'd say your best bet is to ignore them to jam a few TL Auto/Assault cannons into your list and hope.