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i'm currently building my tactical squads and having a bit of a mare over what Special Weapon to take. I'm pretty set on Multi-Melta for the Heavy Weapon (Grav Cannons are too expensive IMO) but i'm umming and aaahing about whether to take the plasma gun and getting 24" Str 7 AP2 and Rapid Fire at 12" OR the Grav Gun which is only 18" but AP2 and Salvo 2/3. Admittedly Grav gun is not great against anything but vehicles and AP3 stuff...

Plasma gun for the Tactical Squads, retain the Grav gun bits for future uses if you are planning on getting Bike Squads or Biker Command Squads.

I agree. Tacticals are not Relentless, which means the Grav Gun will have a hard time getting into range. Plasma is best for them, although since you have a Multi-melta, would it not be better to just go with another Melta?

When grav cannons first came out, I balked at the points cost. But when you consider that they excel and taking wounds off of very expensive models, it doesn’t take much for them to make it back.

Tactical squads are one of the few places where a plasma gun can still compete favorably with a grav gun. In a vacuum, that would be my suggestion. Especially if not pairing with a cannon.

I have had success with a full grav squad. While the grav gun does have a shorter range on the move, I have no problems getting my tacs into flamer range, and that’s an inch shorter. And if you stand still, you get the better range. Which is nice for when you step out of the rhino/pod right next to someone. You don’t need the range for the first shot, but there might not be good targets close after the alpha strike.

I would go full melta if you are set on the MM though. If you want to take plas/grav as a special, I’d pair that with a HB, GC, or even a LC. That might just be the relative rarity of power armor MMs in my collection tainting my opinion though. I needed to concentrate them into AV squads, and couldn’t spare them on the squads focusing on anti-infantry work. But I do think that wound spam from the HB would probably be a batter match then the one shot from the MM. But these days, I’m thinking of swapping the LC/P shelf deployment for my 3rd squad to full grav. It’s just been working that well for me.

The grav-cannon also has the advantage of being the only heavy weapon that can usefully fire on the move, which is very nice in a Tactical squad. (Why the heavy bolter isn't Salvo is a question for another thread...)

It depends a bit on which chapter, but I would say all bolters.

I would keep the special weapons elsewhere.

Plasma Gun on anything that isn't Relentless, always.

There's no good reason for a walking man to ever have a Graviton Gun when Plasma Guns are better and the same cost.

I am a stickler for WYSYWYG, and a majority of my Bikes are from Dark Vengeance so I do have more Plasma than grav in my lists, which is sub optimal BUT I don't have to feel so guilty spamming grav!

I have 3 units of plasma and two units of grav. Plasma still has its uses. And your opponent will thank you... I do feel a little guilty sometimes.

Now, I still have a unit Grav Centurions (with a Hunters Eye Tech marine in a drop pod) that evens things out a bit. Obviously grav is the better choice. And if I so desired those plasmas could easily be proxyd as grav (if I see a particularly cheesy power list on the table)

Plasma is better vs light vehicles and demons for sure.

 DarknessEternal wrote:
Plasma Gun on anything that isn't Relentless, always.

There's no good reason for a walking man to ever have a Graviton Gun when Plasma Guns are better and the same cost.

There are reasons. How good they are is debatable.

Plasma wounds everything T5 or less on a 2+. But on bigger targets, it starts to lag. T6 is only a 3+, T7 4+, T8 5+ and T9-10 on a 6+. So against any MC/GMC with a decent toughness and a reasonable armor save, grav is still better. On the move, they both get 2 shots out to 9”. Plasma works a lot better here, with an extra 3” of double tap, and out to 24” for one shot. Standing still it gets a bit more complicated, but grav starts to pull way out ahead with the extra shot. But the range issue is not as bad as you’d think.

Grav also doesn’t get hot.

Vs. vehicles, plasma is also better vs. light stuff, close for mid-range, and can’t touch AV14.

Grav is still the go-to tool for monster hunting, even on foot. Plasma is more generically useful. Especially in a tac squad, where the bolters are not doing anything relevant to the big guys.