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This is a bit of a weird one. When buying a battallion, I need to have 3 troop units selected. Battlescribe complains, rightly so, if I only select two. But, if I select a 10 man unit of tacticals (in order to get the extra special weapon) and only one other 5 man unit with the intention of using combat squads to split the 10 man unit into 2 5 man ones, is that sufficient? I guess the question is, do I need to fulfill the detachment requirement BEFORE I field the army or is it fine to let Battlescribe complain about having only 2 troop choices because I KNOW I will ultimately have 3? I've tried to find clarification on this but, alas, I've found nada.

It may seem like a bit of a rules bend but its an honest question.

I'm curious to hear what you all think about this one and I'm hoping the more experienced players will have more knowledge about it. I'd sure love an extra combination weapon for my tactical boys.

Thanks in advance

It’s one unit for list purposes and only splits after the game begins, so no, one ten-man squad you intend to Combat Squad will not fulfil a 2x Troops minimum on its own. Similarly one Troops and a ten-man does not = 3x Troops.

Combat Squading is a rule that's used at deployment, only.

It has no effect on your detachments and required choices.

The ability has some niche applications but 9 out of 10 times its kind of pointless.

It's actually relic of the past when dedicated transports were in fact, dedicated to the specific unit it was purchased for.

From 'Combat Squads', page 125 of Codex Space Marines (emphasis added):

At the start of deployment, before any units have been set up, if this unit contains the maximum number of models that it can, then it can be split into two units containing as equal a number of models as possible. When splitting a unit using this ability, make a note of which models form each of the two new units.

This is after the 'Muster Armies' step which is the first step in most (if not all) Mission Packs.

It does not fulfill the requirement, and honestly if you're just going to split them after is there really any reason to take a full squad in the first place? You get an extra Sgt by taking three 5-man squads than one 10-man and one 5-man with no options lost that I can tell.

I should clarify that you can get more 5-man squads out of it if you plan on maxing out your Troops slots, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be any benefit to 10-man over 5-man if you plan on splitting. In fact, the benefit seems to be on 5-man for the extra Sgt.

Deep down, I think I already knew : ) Just looking at that extra meter option ya know.

Thanks all. Much appreciated.