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Looking at adding a Captain to a Command Squad with five melta guns.

My question is, is taking a sixth melta gun on the Captain overkill?
And what gear would you give him (besides artificer armor)

If I were to do this, I'd gear him purely to be a close combat machine, as due to the nature of Melta, you're dropping as close as possible anyway, and so you might as well use them as a delivery system for a beatstick. With the loadout below, you can use him to tank for a turn so you get a second round of melta-fire, and then detach him as a one-man wrecking ball.

I'd go with Teeth of Terra (Very likely he'll be outnumbered, so Rampage will kick in and make him a squad-chopping monster), The Shield Eternal (to make sure he can survive against Big Nasties), and Artificer Armour. This gives you EW, 2+/3++, between 5 and 7 attacks on the charge at S6 AP3 at initiative, and he's generally something of a badass.

Artificer Armor, Shield Eternal, and probably a Powerfist or Relic Blade (Teeth of Terra isn't a bad choice, since it's two-handed). Use him as a shield for the unit, and also as a way to dissuade enemies from getting into close combat. No real need to give him a ranged weapon - at best he can take a combi-weapon and you command squad is putting out a ton of firepower anyhow.

Isn't wasteful to only have him tank wounds in a shooty squad?

 minigun762 wrote:
Isn't wasteful to only have him tank wounds in a shooty squad?

As I outlined above, he tanks for a turn in which he can't charge, as this keeps the melta alive to summer something else, turning it from a suicide squad to a multi-turn threat.

As soon as he can, he leaves the squad and charges in to hack stuff up, so he's not just tanking.

 Paradigm wrote:

 minigun762 wrote:
Isn't wasteful to only have him tank wounds in a shooty squad?

As I outlined above, he tanks for a turn in which he can't charge, as this keeps the melta alive to summer something else, turning it from a suicide squad to a multi-turn threat.

As soon as he can, he leaves the squad and charges in to hack stuff up, so he's not just tanking.

True, if it becomes a multi turn threat, is there value in losing a melta gun for an Apothecary?

Well, I guess 4 meltas well handle almost anything, and if you decide to charge the CS in with the Cap rather than detaching, the FNP well make him more durable.

 Paradigm wrote:
Well, I guess 4 meltas well handle almost anything, and if you decide to charge the CS in with the Cap rather than detaching, the FNP well make him more durable.

Yeah but if I'm charging then I'm not melta-ing things.

Suppose it might be better to focus on breaking the Captain off the squad.

Or you could give him terminator armor, shield eternal or storm shield, and that relic storm bolter thats a salvo 3/5. This makes him able to tank pretty well but still gives him a decent shooty weapon, although not so decent againts shooting things you'd want to melta.

But seriously I think making him a melee character would be better, and yea breaking him off wouldnt be a bad idea.

 minigun762 wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
Well, I guess 4 meltas well handle almost anything, and if you decide to charge the CS in with the Cap rather than detaching, the FNP well make him more durable.

Yeah but if I'm charging then I'm not melta-ing things.

Suppose it might be better to focus on breaking the Captain off the squad.

True. Even if you break him off though, the FNP will possibly help the squad live longer and potentially kill more stuff over more turns. Four meltas will deal with almost anything short of a super heavy anyway.

No double relics...

Is this guy the warlord?

otherwise keep him cheap with AA + SS and some kinda beatsticky weapon (perhaps a maul) to go to town on some weak backfield troops

You could give em a apothecary but its sorta weak on 5 guys

Also i think its worth giving em melta bombs as a back up.

Give him an auspex to reduce the cover save of a jinking skimmer / thing in cover. Cheap, increases the effectiveness of your melta.

Woozl wrote:
Give him an auspex to reduce the cover save of a jinking skimmer / thing in cover. Cheap, increases the effectiveness of your melta.

Interesting idea!
I like it, makes up for no combi weapon.

And if it matters, he would be the warlord

If WL

then id go simple AA Shield Eternal, with a TH to go knock some heads on the Drop

Auspex might be worth it.

 Desubot wrote:
No double relics...

Why not?

The thing is, this guy won't be very mobile after the initial drop. If the enemy is fairly scattered or even mildly mobile, this guy will struggle to make back his points not for lack of killing power, but because he will spend time trying to chase down targets. That said, the cheaper you make him, the easier it will be for him to murder some backfield troops and/or make the melta squad last a second turn.

 Icculus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
No double relics...

Why not?

The one weapon with one of the following thing

Its old as dirt

 Desubot wrote:

 Icculus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
No double relics...

Why not?

The one weapon with one of the following thing

Its old as dirt

And a lot of people (including myself) play it the other way. Both are valid interpretations, so for the purpose of this thread I assume the other interpretation unless the OP states otherwise.

Mavnas wrote:
The thing is, this guy won't be very mobile after the initial drop. If the enemy is fairly scattered or even mildly mobile, this guy will struggle to make back his points not for lack of killing power, but because he will spend time trying to chase down targets. That said, the cheaper you make him, the easier it will be for him to murder some backfield troops and/or make the melta squad last a second turn.

That's why I'm thinking a cheaper Captain over the more expensive Chapter Master. That and you need a Captain for a Command Squad but you could do the same basic plan with Sternguard instead.

As far as a threat, I doubt anyone will let a five man melta squad run around their backfield unmolested but I could increase my threat bubble by taking Plasma Guns instead.

 minigun762 wrote:

Mavnas wrote:
The thing is, this guy won't be very mobile after the initial drop. If the enemy is fairly scattered or even mildly mobile, this guy will struggle to make back his points not for lack of killing power, but because he will spend time trying to chase down targets. That said, the cheaper you make him, the easier it will be for him to murder some backfield troops and/or make the melta squad last a second turn.

As far as a threat, I doubt anyone will let a five man melta squad run around their backfield unmolested but I could increase my threat bubble by taking Plasma Guns instead.

It depends on what you want dead, and what your opponents bring. 4 to 5 PGs can melt all but the largest squads and toughest MCs, while like it was said earlier, MGs turn all but the biggest SHVs into slag. They'll still be a massive target, regardless of weapon choice.

Other than FNP in the squad, the best way to help survive the return salvo is to provide something equally if not more dangerous than your Command Squad. TH/SS Terminators are very tough and scary, and in a LR their fear factor climbs even more. You get the analogy.