Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Like the title says, how are they? For odd reasons I've been think about starting them and am interested in feedback.

They have one of the flat best <keyword> tactics so far [every infantry squad, bike squad and dread gets to reroll one to hit and one to wound roll every turn] and they are space marines so a giant pile of shiny things to choose from.

I expect the number of green spray painted marines to increase immensely.

My splinter faction has always been green with yellow and white trim and I have never been happier about it.

Do people really care what the paint job on your marines are? Like I would find it very petty for someone to tell me I cannot use my Imperial Fists as another chapter for game play reasons. Like do they expect you to go out and buy/paint a whole new army just to have a different tactic?

And Salamanders are amazing. They have my favorite chapter tactic by far. You can always count on it to work.

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:
Do people really care what the paint job on your marines are? Like I would find it very petty for someone to tell me I cannot use my Imperial Fists as another chapter for game play reasons. Like do they expect you to go out and buy/paint a whole new army just to have a different tactic?

And Salamanders are amazing. They have my favorite chapter tactic by far. You can always count on it to work.

Some people do. They're not worth...well anything really though.

The rules don't care what paintjob you have. If someone refuses to play you for following the rules then it's a problem with them, not you.

Definitely strong if you have a lot of older stuff.

However, among the primaris stuff there's no new melta weapons and only 1 unit with a really big flamethrower. So you miss out a bit on that stratagem and Vulkan hestan.

The repulsor also has neither.

I was thinking of an infantry force backed up by a flyer or two.

ERJAK wrote:

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:
Do people really care what the paint job on your marines are? Like I would find it very petty for someone to tell me I cannot use my Imperial Fists as another chapter for game play reasons. Like do they expect you to go out and buy/paint a whole new army just to have a different tactic?

And Salamanders are amazing. They have my favorite chapter tactic by far. You can always count on it to work.

Some people do. They're not worth...well anything really though.

Is this comment directed at anyone in particular?

Looking at a gaming table,
seeing the models painted first of all
and outfitted as the rules that they represent
all in line with the running narrative that serves as the backdrop for the fine enough grained battle sim that is 40k
is one of the great joys of this hobby.
I enjoy looking at models in this way outside of a game.
I imagine that a lot of people do.
People buy grey plastic and make these bits into a story.
If not this then frankly why use models at all?

Regarding the op and the purpose of this thread
well when I read it I imagined a person interested in investing time and money in painting a salamanders themed army.
I imagined the question to be coming from a
"Hey, is it worth it to go through this trouble and commit to this plan,
or should I go another way?"
Maybe I got that part wrong.
But I like green and yellow or for that matter black.
It is the story that matters, the one that the work and investment in painting models represents.
Being green and yellow certainly helps to fit with the way that Salamanders are typically represented though,
and thus contributing to the enjoyment of looking at the battlefield.
But then again if this doesn't matter to you the that is your bag of wax, chief.

 Tibs Ironblood wrote:
Do people really care what the paint job on your marines are? Like I would find it very petty for someone to tell me I cannot use my Imperial Fists as another chapter for game play reasons. Like do they expect you to go out and buy/paint a whole new army just to have a different tactic?

Damn, if I painted an entire Imperial Fists army, I'd play it as Imperial Fists regardless of Chapter Tactics. Are Chapter Tactics really that important? They seem to me to be the least important reason to choose a SM chapter.

If someone plunked down an Imperial Fists army (iconography and all) and told me they were using Salamanders Chapter Tactics, I'd probably enjoy the game less because I'd feel that they just were there to WAAC, not enjoy a game - same as if they plunked down a bazillion Conscripts or Brimstone Horrors, or whatever other currently strong meta was in fashion.

Although their bonus rerolls make them look like hot stuff, compared to the Raven Guard they've had a...

*shades*

...lukewarm reception.

 John Prins wrote:
Damn, if I painted an entire Imperial Fists army, I'd play it as Imperial Fists regardless of Chapter Tactics. Are Chapter Tactics really that important? They seem to me to be the least important reason to choose a SM chapter.

If someone plunked down an Imperial Fists army (iconography and all) and told me they were using Salamanders Chapter Tactics, I'd probably enjoy the game less because I'd feel that they just were there to WAAC, not enjoy a game - same as if they plunked down a bazillion Conscripts or Brimstone Horrors, or whatever other currently strong meta was in fashion.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are someone who has never had an army be totally non viable and had to scrape for every advantage just to play against non optimized lists for most armies. I mean, if I had this attitude and had actually painted all my chaos army in pure DG colors, I'd be having to bin or at best repaint half my units as they are no longer allowed. Bad enough having to deal with GW trying to actively screw us over, those sort of players who take pride in assisting them to ruin our fun.

Honestly, it's also why I use something close but not the same as "official" color schemes and mix iconography up so it isn't totally consistent with one army/faction. You can always be a successor or break away faction using X or Y rules to represent your play style, but come with any army painted for x faction but not want to use their exact rules and that one guy always starts something. I mean, I've had people complain I didn't paint a unique character "correctly". It's absurd how people try to tell others how to run and play their armies.

Anyone know what there command strategem is and if they have a unique relic
My nephew has played them since the beginning of 5th I can remember getting fed up of him always using my Blood Angels when he was 10 and I was stuck using Orks from black reach he liked there colour scheme and fluff. He's got Heresy and 40k Salamander's these days.

 mondo80 wrote:
Like the title says, how are they? For odd reasons I've been think about starting them and am interested in feedback.

Shades of colour aside and back on topic.

They have a cool backstory, tradisionaly the only non-white marine. Has a thing for flamers, meltas, hammers and dragons.

Their special rule, re roll hitting and damaging is very strong. It scales well with big weapons.: Melta, Multimelta, lascannon, powerfists and hammers.

Any group with a lascannon seems to be insane. A combat suad 10 men, with a melta gun and a lascannon split into 2 suads seems very good. Dreadnoughts with lascannon and powerfists seems good.

Also, fun to buy scaly bits and green stuff them on to make scales.

SilverAlien wrote:

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are someone who has never had an army be totally non viable and had to scrape for every advantage just to play against non optimized lists for most armies. I mean, if I had this attitude and had actually painted all my chaos army in pure DG colors, I'd be having to bin or at best repaint half my units as they are no longer allowed. Bad enough having to deal with GW trying to actively screw us over, those sort of players who take pride in assisting them to ruin our fun.

Well, really, a Space Marine army has always been pretty viable regardless of chapter tactics, unless you want to take all the worst elements and none of the good ones. I see your point, but I guess I'm more willing to carry on from edition to edition with my chosen favorite armies and not worry too much about my win/loss ratio.

Funnily enough, my 5th edition Death Guard are basically all invalid because they have chainswords and bolters, which Death Guard cannot have. I used Tyranid fleshborers for bolters (heavily converted army), so I can use them as CSM with Chainsword and Bolt Pistol with Mark of Nurgle, but yeah, straight up Death Guard is a no-go, at least from a WYSIWYG perspective. I'd have to run Chaos Daemons + CSM to field it these days.

But yes, I skipped 6th and 7th editions, and in retrospect I'm really glad, because formations made the game just a list building competition.

Honestly, it's also why I use something close but not the same as "official" color schemes and mix iconography up so it isn't totally consistent with one army/faction.

So really you're running more of a custom chapter, which is IMO the best way to go if you want to vary Chapter Tactics.

I mean, I've had people complain I didn't paint a unique character "correctly".

That's just garbage. But yeah, I've seen people get bent out of shape if you don't paint your Librarian blue or Techmarine red.

Can't stand red and blue specialists. The army should look coherent, and with a lot of GW paint schemes, the red and blue stand out like hideous abominations.

It also seems really stupid on a operational level. 'Come kill these guys' is not a thing your uniforms should be saying.

I've always liked the Salamander fluff; they are seen as one of the most down to earth chapters that truly values humanity first. They have some great books too, by Nick Kyme I believe. I have a very small starting force (like 4 models small) that I would like to one day turn in to a drop pod Salamanders army. Like someone said above, the new Primaris don't have access to a lot of flamers or meltas which is kind of their specialty. However, normal marines can fit a ton of those weapon types in almost any squad. I was thinking a couple of multimelta devastators, some flamer assault sqauds, several flamer and melta tactical squads, a few dreadnoughts, and possibly even some sternguard. All of that comes in via drop pods with a few scouts starting on the board. Lastly would be a squad of thunderhammer terminators, most likely the awesome looking FW models.

I'm excited to try out Salamanders Tactics on my Biker army. They get the best buffs for thr MSU style of my particular list.

My first game I ran Raven Guard tactics, and my opponent brought a footslogging Nurgle Daemons list....

The Sallie trait will always be relevant.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Regarding color schemes, my Marines are painted Red, and I've ran them as WS the past 2 codexes. But now, I'm going the distance and adding Salamanders Chapter Symbols to commit myself without feeling like a tool.

I play Orkz and Nurgle. No more green Marines for me. Plus the whole Charcoal skin thing looks like someone forgot to paint and left the primer on their faces. I painted them with varying skin tones anyway. I even have some WS sergeants and top knots on most of my sergeants.

When people ask, I say Red Salamanders. Red Dragons if I go back to WS.

I just swapped a Playstation 4, an older TV and 250 bucks for a 3000 point (mostly painted) Sallies army (including forgeworld doors, brass and kits).

30+ Tacs
5 Devs
10 Sternguard
5 Assault termies
3 Cent Devs
A bunch of characters, Captains, Lt's Techmarine, Apothecary, Honor guard etc
1 Storm raven
1 Storm talon
1 Storm hawk
Drop pod
3 Rhinos
3 Dreadnaughts
1 Predator
1 Land raider
1 Whirlwind
1 Vidicator

and more.

He also threw in 3000 points of Knorne and Tzeench Demons (painted up) for my Chaos force.

Score!

Im spewing I painted my existing Primaris force and Redemptor dread as Crimson fists. I may keep them that way just so I can use a detachment of Crimson Fists alongside the Sallies (get to use both sides strategems that way)

Malifice wrote:
I just swapped a Playstation 4, an older TV and 250 bucks for a 3000 point (mostly painted) Sallies army (including forgeworld doors, brass and kits).

30+ Tacs
5 Devs
10 Sternguard
5 Assault termies
3 Cent Devs
A bunch of characters, Captains, Lt's Techmarine, Apothecary, Honor guard etc
1 Storm raven
1 Storm talon
1 Storm hawk
Drop pod
3 Rhinos
3 Dreadnaughts
1 Predator
1 Land raider
1 Whirlwind
1 Vidicator

and more.

He also threw in 3000 points of Knorne and Tzeench Demons (painted up) for my Chaos force.

Score!

Im spewing I painted my existing Primaris force and Redemptor dread as Crimson fists. I may keep them that way just so I can use a detachment of Crimson Fists alongside the Sallies (get to use both sides strategems that way)

Holyyy wow.
Congratulations man.
Dayam!
Now need to trade the Xbox for some display cases and a bigger basement?

Malifice wrote:
Im spewing I painted my existing Primaris force and Redemptor dread as Crimson fists. I may keep them that way just so I can use a detachment of Crimson Fists alongside the Sallies (get to use both sides strategems that way)

Just say they are a super secret Salamanders strike force painted blue.