DoomMouse wrote:
My ten man squads get an autocannon + bolter (on the sergeant), then combined into units of 20-30 and given a priest/commissar/inquisitor to stop them running away.

Gives you a tough unit that sits in the backfield and some reliable firepower that you can augment with orders.

 DoomMouse wrote:
Hey, I can certainly say it works as part of my list, but might be more situational depending on what else you're bringing. I run two platoons with two maxed-out units of conscripts running up the board as an assault force, so the platoons are partly a tax to get them (though they are definitely useful in their own right)

I use my platoons to sit on backfield objectives in cover, so they're often out of range with lasguns. I also have a CCS with MOO nearby to hand out ignores cover/tank hunter as needed. I don't expect them to achieve wonders, just survive and snipe a few things from across the board. If there are any psykers nearby then they're also great units for prescience.

I'd only ever run lascannons or autocannons in blob squads (usually autocannons), never mortars, heavy bolters or missile launchers.

I've had plenty of occasions where they've done something pivotal. Three lascannons gunning down the last three wounds from a dreadknight in one shooting phase was probably the high point of their career! More often it's just knocking off the last hull point of a tank or wound off a riptide - stuff like that.

 KommissarKiln wrote:
I generally leave the job of dishing out damage for vehicles, veterans, etc. I have found that basic infantry squads and conscripts excel at:
a) holding objectives
b) tarpitting (or speedbumping) scary CC deathstars, and
c) catching bullets/human cover saves
Yep, you usually want to have a commissar or priest attached to a big blobs to make them hard to shift, but why sink lots of points into guys who honestly won't rack up that many casualties? If you can get a rapidfire FRFSRF off, terrific, but that doesn't require 100 points (equal to 2 more infantry squads or 25 conscripts and a priest) of power axes and melta bombs to do. Just bodies and a command squad. Now, I will admit that if upgrades start making your blob scary enough that your enemy starts focusing weapons that direction rather than towards your Emperor's Wrath Artillery Company etc., then the psychological value of those upgrades and keeping your vehicles alive makes up for the cost.

tl;dr I go for leadership/morale upgrades, rather than worry about damage output. I think that whole unit cover/invul saves would be worth it too, for sufficiently large blobs.

Martel732 wrote:
Leman Russ hulls are terrible in 7th ed.

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:

 DoomMouse wrote:
My ten man squads get an autocannon + bolter (on the sergeant), then combined into units of 20-30 and given a priest/commissar/inquisitor to stop them running away.

Gives you a tough unit that sits in the backfield and some reliable firepower that you can augment with orders.

That's quite unusal to see someone giving heavy weaponry such as autocanon to squads. Or at least i personnaly don't for i find it's too much hindering mobilty and the range issue applies to this case. Can you certify it works? i'd like to try once

As far as flamers i assumed according to the form of his question, saying he wanted tanks and infantry rather than mecha stuff, that he wouldn''t get any chimera. But of course, if you do own a chimera they're quite sweet as a matter of fact!

 Krusha wrote:
I take a 50 man blob with five auto cannons, melta bombs for sergeants and an aegis line, then castle them up in a corner.

The autocannons add range, punch and versatility. With orders, it's only really heavy armour that they can't hurt. In my last game I took out a flying hive tyrant and it was glorious.

 KommissarKiln wrote:

 Krusha wrote:
I take a 50 man blob with five auto cannons, melta bombs for sergeants and an aegis line, then castle them up in a corner.

The autocannons add range, punch and versatility. With orders, it's only really heavy armour that they can't hurt. In my last game I took out a flying hive tyrant and it was glorious.

Where do opponents tend to place the "backfield HW blob in cover" in terms of target priority? Are people usually distracted by the big guns on treads, or are they quick to mop up the soft T3 bodies with only a cover save as protection? It's a tactic that does have some appeal to me, though without an objective to camp it otherwise feels somewhat expensive to field.

bogalubov wrote:

 KommissarKiln wrote:

 Krusha wrote:
I take a 50 man blob with five auto cannons, melta bombs for sergeants and an aegis line, then castle them up in a corner.

The autocannons add range, punch and versatility. With orders, it's only really heavy armour that they can't hurt. In my last game I took out a flying hive tyrant and it was glorious.

Where do opponents tend to place the "backfield HW blob in cover" in terms of target priority? Are people usually distracted by the big guns on treads, or are they quick to mop up the soft T3 bodies with only a cover save as protection? It's a tactic that does have some appeal to me, though without an objective to camp it otherwise feels somewhat expensive to field.

It depends what else you bring right?

I usually bring artillery and buffer those killy units with a blob with heavy weapons and then conscripts up front. Usually the artillery is out of sight, so unless your opponent has barrage that can hurt T7 they have to get through your bodies. If you take 2 blobs most armies won't be able to churn through them before the game ends.

ExFideFortis wrote:
Try fielding Armored Sentinels in place of infantry. The most successful guard list I have run involves 0 infantry:

Emperor's Talon (9 Armored Sent.)
Emperor's Fist (5 LRBT)
Emperor's Wrath (Manticore, Bas. Bas.)

I use the Sentinels to do the jobs the infantry would otherwise do, and so far they have done a far better job, and survived far longer that my 60 guardsmen ever have. Not to mention they are a legitimate shooting threat, unlike guardsmen. 27 STR 6 PE shots per turn can do terrible things, however 200 lasguns does basically nothing.

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:

 DoomMouse wrote:
My ten man squads get an autocannon + bolter (on the sergeant), then combined into units of 20-30 and given a priest/commissar/inquisitor to stop them running away.

Gives you a tough unit that sits in the backfield and some reliable firepower that you can augment with orders.

That's quite unusal to see someone giving heavy weaponry such as autocanon to squads. Or at least i personnaly don't for i find it's too much hindering mobilty and the range issue applies to this case. Can you certify it works? i'd like to try once


I find this works well. Although I normally go with Heavy Bolters primarily. Autocannons at S7 is to high for general troom targets. 3xS6 shot from a HB work out well. And add 2-3 into a 20-30 man blob squad meanso I generally run them turn 1-2 inot cover then pump out fire support and when hey attract enough attention to be attacked having 20+ men and a priest means hey don't go anywhere ]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9100830.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9100830.page GMT
but in all seriousness, they are guardsmen. They are there to choke on bullets as my skitarii step over their mangled corpses to claim the objectives. Don't spend more than 5pts a squad. Slap a flamer or nade launcher in there and save points for more "effective stuff" such as:

Heavy Weapon Squads with Auto Cannons
Leman Russ
Artillery
Space Marines
Did I mention the Auto Cannons? (seriously get more auto cannons...just not in infantry squads because their job is to eat bullets)]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9100854.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9100854.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101202.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101202.page GMT HWTs. They have reasonable damage output when combined with orders but are pitifully fragile in defense. They don't even work particularly well in a foot guard army as they will be targeted first by any sensible opponent. I'd love them if they were appropriately priced but they're just too expensive in points.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101615.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101615.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101775.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101775.page GMT plas platoon with 35 troopers, commissar, 4 lascannons, 4 plasma guns, vox, and 3 meltabombs. Good against heavy armor/heavy infantry.  This is my favorite configuration. 

While it is horibly expensive (chiming in at about 370-ish points) and innefficient (plasmas work better when in the hands of BS4 vets), it is a really fun combo.  The sheer firepower of this blob (especially if I'm using orders and double-tapping is awe inspiring).  This unit has been an MVP in many games.

I've been using it to good effect for 16 years.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101979.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/702770/9101979.page GMT