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So I've seen the general consent that Salamanders can make a decent drop pod/melta spam list with Vulkan, but does anyone really consider them competitive in a tournament scene? If so, would you take them with mainly pods or do GSF with rhinos and Razorbacks or some mix of everything? Looking for any ideas really. I've been trying to get my green pyromaniacs all painted up and ready to go but haven't played them much yet.

Thanks in advance.

Given the short range of most Flamer and Melta weapons, I'd say you're better off doing Drop Pods, but a couple of Stormravens carrying things like Assault Squads, Terminators and Ironclads would not go amiss either (they can take Locator Beacons as well).

Also, have a look at the Badab War characters from Forge World; Vulkan is great, but I think Brayarth Ashmantle is worth considering in this sort of list as well, although that might just be my Dreadnought fetish talking.

I'm no expert but I would imagine a Salamanders Gladius with tonnes of melta/flamer weapons using Vulkan as the Captain for one of the Demi-Companies and making use of a whole bunch of free Drop Pods would be a pretty nasty build. You could go all in on the "drop" and take a 1st Company Task Force with Sternguard Veterans in Pods as well. Of course, you'll end up with a heap of units in reserves, so getting some kind of reserves manipulation is key.

I'd put combis on all the sergeants since you can mastercraft them. Drop down in a pod and you get two shots off.

I've ran Vulcan + Gladius with 25 Sternguard (1st Company Task Force) for a month or two now and I like it. 11 pods total with 2 Attack Bikes with TL Multi-Melta for ground presence (for ITC maelstrom reasons). Ran 4 Melta Tac squads and 2 Flamer Tac squads. If I had the actual models I'd run 6 Melta Tac squads for more Knight control. The Sternguard pecked away at any MCs. Meltas shot at anything with an armor value. Auspex on the Chaplain with the alpha strike Sternguard usually guaranteed first blood. The Dev's I ran had 1 Grav cannon since all the other heavy weapons snapfired. 3 shots at BS5 for 1 turn and if they happen to survive with the original 12" grav shots, 5 shots at BS5 helped a lot. Especially when you pop Tactical Doctrine for the reroll 1s.

I had a lot of success with it at both Nova and ITC practice games, but I simply run them as White Scars now and they're better. HnR with a drop pod army is quite successful. Especially with everything being obsec and landing on any objectives you need to pick up.

Saythings wrote:
I've ran Vulcan + Gladius with 25 Sternguard (1st Company Task Force) for a month or two now and I like it. 11 pods total with 2 Attack Bikes with TL Multi-Melta for ground presence (for ITC maelstrom reasons). Ran 4 Melta Tac squads and 2 Flamer Tac squads. If I had the actual models I'd run 6 Melta Tac squads for more Knight control. The Sternguard pecked away at any MCs. Meltas shot at anything with an armor value. Auspex on the Chaplain with the alpha strike Sternguard usually guaranteed first blood. The Dev's I ran had 1 Grav cannon since all the other heavy weapons snapfired. 3 shots at BS5 for 1 turn and if they happen to survive with the original 12" grav shots, 5 shots at BS5 helped a lot. Especially when you pop Tactical Doctrine for the reroll 1s.

I had a lot of success with it at both Nova and ITC practice games, but I simply run them as White Scars now and they're better. HnR with a drop pod army is quite successful. Especially with everything being obsec and landing on any objectives you need to pick up.

I tried something similar but had the stern guard have master-crafted combi-meltas. It master crafts their special bolster ammunition after which is very nice, to say the least.

 bomtek80 wrote:
So I've seen the general consent that Salamanders can make a decent drop pod/melta spam list with Vulkan, but does anyone really consider them competitive in a tournament scene? If so, would you take them with mainly pods or do GSF with rhinos and Razorbacks or some mix of everything? Looking for any ideas really. I've been trying to get my green pyromaniacs all painted up and ready to go but haven't played them much yet.

Thanks in advance.

As has been alluded too -- there's some overlap between the doctrines you get in a GSF and the bonuses Salamanders and Vulkan provides. Especially true for tacticals who can get twin-linked several times in a game without any help from vulkan or chapter tactics. Keeping that in mind, a Salamander GSF should focus on units that don't get as much (or anything) from the doctrines. Command squads with meltaguns and sternguard with combi-melta come to mind with Vulkan. Scouts also (MC combi-weapons and twin linked land speeder storm meltas) and dreads. Then the tacticals can use other non-melta/flamer weapons and let the doctrines provide bonuses to hit. Its what I was building towards with my ancient salamander army.

Has anyone tried running a Sally CAD bike list yet? Bike libby, 6 x 3-man bike squads with double flamers to take care of enemy infantry, 3 x 3-man gravturion squads in FA pods to take care of tanks and MCs. Should be pretty decent.

Deschenus Maximus wrote:
Has anyone tried running a Sally CAD bike list yet? Bike libby, 6 x 3-man bike squads with double flamers to take care of enemy infantry, 3 x 3-man gravturion squads in FA pods to take care of tanks and MCs. Should be pretty decent.

I had considered doing double grav/melta and combi-flamer bike squads. I'm not sure if doing the double flamers idea is all that good considering how you couldn't fire the flamers if you have to jink.

 Spineyguy wrote:

Also, have a look at the Badab War characters from Forge World; Vulkan is great, but I think Brayarth Ashmantle is worth considering in this sort of list as well, although that might just be my Dreadnought fetish talking.

I second Ashmantle!

In a gladius strike force, short range flamers and meltas should be no problem with all the free drop pods. Can be a very killy list. What were you thinking of running for your assault squads and devestator squads?

 mrveng wrote:
In a gladius strike force, short range flamers and meltas should be no problem with all the free drop pods. Can be a very killy list. What were you thinking of running for your assault squads and devestator squads?

I have two assault squads with 2 flamers each, and two devastator squads (one with full MM and one with full grav cannons). I also have Land Speeders, Assault bikes, regular bike squads, and Centurion devastators that I can swap out.

As for Ashmantle I do have him as well but would have to bring a CAD or Allies detachment to bring him as well if I do a GSF.

 bomtek80 wrote:
. I'm not sure if doing the double flamers idea is all that good considering how you couldn't fire the flamers if you have to jink.

Use the bike's twin boltguns when you have to jink.

bomtek is that Archer in your profile pic? I cannot for the life of me read what it says.

I prefer 2 Attack Bikes with MultiMeltas (Twinlinked) in my assault slots. *thumps up*

 Tenzilla wrote:
bomtek is that Archer in your profile pic? I cannot for the life of me read what it says.

That is indeed Archer. The picture is someone asking him if he even gets hangovers anymore, with Archer replying "Can you repeat the question?"

All while he is holding a scotch in hand.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Drop podding in all your Salamanders could certainly be devastating but by not taking any Rhinos or Razorbacks would you not be severely limiting your mobility as well?