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What do you think of the Infantry Platoon, which you know consists of 1 Platoon Command Squad, 2-5 Infantry Squads, 0-5 Heavy Weapon Squads, 0-3 Special Weapon Squads and 0-1 Conscripts Squad?

Do you usually take the same Platoon build?
Do you ever take all the 5 Infantry Squads? What about the 5 Heavy Weapon Squads?
Do you think that the Special Weapon Squads should be 0-5 or that the Heavy Weapon Squads should be 0-3?
Do you think that the Platoon should be more or less customizable than it is now?

Looking forward to see how much the dakkanites disagree on this subject even though it's rarely discussed.

The Infantry Squad tends to get used for 'blobs' - big, fearless masses for board control and tar-pits .

They may get a bit more useable if anyone's mad enough to field 150 infantry as their 'core choice' thanks to the Cadian Battlegroup being able to Front Rank Fire! Second Rank Fire! en mass without using combined squads.

A few broken-off squads are nice in maelstrom games, but the bulked-up platoon block is still the core of it.

Heavy weapons squads.... people tend to dislike them. They're cheap but so damn fragile, and once you've bought decent weapons they're not actually that cheap. The other big problem is that tanks provide the same firepower (or more) and are more flexible. A Wyvern beats a mortar squad into a cocked hat. A punisher or exterminator with sponsons massively out-dakkas a couple of heavy bolter squads, and can afford to be somewhere with decent lines of sight.

Special weapon squads aren't too bad - but suffer from the fact that a platoon command section is compulsory and can do the same job better.

The biggest thing that would improve the platoon in terms of firepower is giving the support squads combined squads too. That way you could have a couple of infantry squads, and bolt a heavy weapons squad onto each to give you four heavy weapon teams and a block of lasguns for spare wounds.

HWT are not cheap, if they were people would take them.

About heavy weapon squads and tanks: aren't the Heavy Support choices used fast so it's nice to have the option of no-Force-Organisation-choice-needed-Heavy-Weapon-Squads?

Besides being fragile and expensive it seems as a nice opportunity to bring 15 Heavy weapons with 1 Platoon Command Squad and 2 Infantry Squads as tax. We certainly can't ignore the cost of 5 Heavy Weapon Squads but it's more than other armies can bring in a single Troops choice.

The thing with HWS is they can take orders.
Being able to get Tankhunter, or Ignore Cover, is very useful.
Also, being Infantry, they can enter vehicles or buildings for cover.
But, they die quickly without proper support.

I use them when I can.

 Skinnereal wrote:
The thing with HWS is they can take orders.
Being able to get Tankhunter, or Ignore Cover, is very useful.
Also, being Infantry, they can enter vehicles or buildings for cover.
But, they die quickly without proper support.

I use them when I can.

How many Heavy Weapon Squads do you usually take per Infantry Platoon?

 Skinnereal wrote:
The thing with HWS is they can take orders.
Being able to get Tankhunter, or Ignore Cover, is very useful.
Also, being Infantry, they can enter vehicles or buildings for cover.
But, they die quickly without proper support.

I use them when I can.

Sure, they can take orders, but with Ld7 and a 50/50 chance of failure, is it worth the order? HWTs are also very fagile. Two unsaved wounds, and they're just as likely to be off the table. If you coud give them a simple vox-caster, they'd probably be seen in more lists.

I have 6 built HWT, but usually only play up to 1500 points.
So, 1 HWS of 3 models does me.
I have taken 2 squads, but you need enough command squads to throw the orders around.

The problem with hws isn't price(they are fairly cheap for the weapons and the concept of their stats).

It is their stats themselves.

A HWT is a little over the cost of 2 models(or in the case of platoon teams just plain 2 models voltroning into 1 team model). The squad comes out to 7.5 ppm, or about a multiplier of 1.5 compared to an infantry model(5 ppm) but then, you are supposed to be factoring in survivability and function, along with efficiency of orders.

Lets look at some of the orders given to a HWS vs a platoon blob with the same # of teams:
-tank/monster hunters, 3-lascannon squads: hws is 105, platoon blob is 210. Platoon blob is already twice the cost, but carries many more bodies. However this order given to those 27 platoon guardsmen is terribly inefficient: 24 of them have no use from it(11.1111% of the unit can actually make use of the rule). Use doubles on many targets if you increase points in the platoon blob by adding special weapons. Every member of the hws makes use of the rule.
-ignores cover, same as bring it down.
-FRF,SRF, added here because it is one of those orders you want to use on the blob, but is wasted on the hws; the Hws ddoesn't mind this.

The problem with the hws, and the price, is survivability. T3 and 5+ saves means that the teams are going to get insta-gibbed by just about every singe gun with S6 or higher(either no save, or might as well be no save from the flak armour). On top of that is the loss of a lasgun(if the hwt could simply fire 2 weapons, this would be fine), the team is now 1 model; but costs 2(3 points-wise in the hws) while losing the firepower of those additional models to form the team.

Hwt could be easily fixed with 2 lines in the special rule about them: the ability to fire the lasgun as well, and eternal warrior. Done. At this point they become worth their points in a hws(just via ew alone) and they contribute to other units better(they fight in close combat with almost the same efficiency as 2 guardsmen, only lose 1 attack while charging which can be justified what with 2 dudes charging into melee with a freaking huge gun dragged between them)

 Kommissar Kel wrote:
The problem with hws isn't price(they are fairly cheap for the weapons and the concept of their stats).

It is their stats themselves.

A HWT is a little over the cost of 2 models(or in the case of platoon teams just plain 2 models voltroning into 1 team model). The squad comes out to 7.5 ppm, or about a multiplier of 1.5 compared to an infantry model(5 ppm) but then, you are supposed to be factoring in survivability and function, along with efficiency of orders.

Lets look at some of the orders given to a HWS vs a platoon blob with the same # of teams:
-tank/monster hunters, 3-lascannon squads: hws is 105, platoon blob is 210. Platoon blob is already twice the cost, but carries many more bodies. However this order given to those 27 platoon guardsmen is terribly inefficient: 24 of them have no use from it(11.1111% of the unit can actually make use of the rule). Use doubles on many targets if you increase points in the platoon blob by adding special weapons. Every member of the hws makes use of the rule.
-ignores cover, same as bring it down.
-FRF,SRF, added here because it is one of those orders you want to use on the blob, but is wasted on the hws; the Hws ddoesn't mind this.

The problem with the hws, and the price, is survivability. T3 and 5+ saves means that the teams are going to get insta-gibbed by just about every singe gun with S6 or higher(either no save, or might as well be no save from the flak armour). On top of that is the loss of a lasgun(if the hwt could simply fire 2 weapons, this would be fine), the team is now 1 model; but costs 2(3 points-wise in the hws) while losing the firepower of those additional models to form the team.

Hwt could be easily fixed with 2 lines in the special rule about them: the ability to fire the lasgun as well, and eternal warrior. Done. At this point they become worth their points in a hws(just via ew alone) and they contribute to other units better(they fight in close combat with almost the same efficiency as 2 guardsmen, only lose 1 attack while charging which can be justified what with 2 dudes charging into melee with a freaking huge gun dragged between them)

Eternal Warrior, but not against blast and template weapons. That would make most sense.

I thought HWS did have las guns? Correct me if I'm wrong I don't have my codex, I just never use them because I'd rather snap fire an auto cannon/ las cannon then frf srf a las gun.

 Kommissar Kel wrote:
The problem with hws isn't price(they are fairly cheap for the weapons and the concept of their stats).

It is their stats themselves.

A HWT is a little over the cost of 2 models(or in the case of platoon teams just plain 2 models voltroning into 1 team model). The squad comes out to 7.5 ppm, or about a multiplier of 1.5 compared to an infantry model(5 ppm) but then, you are supposed to be factoring in survivability and function, along with efficiency of orders.

Actually a HWT costs 45 points as opposed to an Infantry sections 50 points and contains only six bodies. The Imperial Guard heavy weapons are also so vasty overpriced that they are an utter laugh. The real killer though? That 45 points is without any heavy weapons what soever and you have to purchase three heavy weapons for them meaning that the cheapest you can ever get your HWT at is, with three Mortars, the weakest heavy weapon within the game, 55 points. If you want to have a Missile Launcher or a Heavy Bolter the price goes up to 85 points and with Autocannons or Lascannons you might be better off purchasing a tank.

That said I do agree with the other improvements you suggested, EW would be a massive boost to them and would stop long range fire from Krak missiles and Plasma weapons basically removing a third of the section per wound.