SM Scouts How should I load them out

[wildcat]

I have 60 plus scouts, what is my best option of loading them out? I do have 20 snipers. A scout army a viable force?

 

I could also load them as space wolves.

[AbusePuppy]

SM (and DA, to a somewhat lesser degree) Scouts are very excellent units these days thanks to the bump to WS/BS4. There's actually a lot of ways you can run them, but it depends a lot on what else you have in the army and what sort of force you want to do.

 

Sniper Scouts, the old standby, have lost ground to the others (though they're still not bad) due to the rifle no longer being a free swap. 1pt per model isn't expensive, but it is a small deterrent. Snipers are excellent for camping in the backfield if your army lacks other units to fill that role and their ability to wound anything is very valuable against Monstrous Creatures and the like. Also, don't underestimate the value of Precision Shots for picking off heavy/special weapons in squads. If you don't know what else to do with them, Snipers are never wasted- and they make best use of the 10th Company Task Force formation.

 

Bolt Pistol/CCW Scouts compete with their Blood Angel brethren for the superior combat version (BA get +1Str and Init on the charge, which is clutch), but SM ones have a lot of flexibility. With Meltabombs (or even a Power Fist, if you're feeling brassy) on the sarge they can really do some damage to weaker combat units and a Land Speeder Storm is ideal for getting them into range while being an excellent vehicle in its own right. BP/CCW are great for an aggressive army that wants to play in the enemy's face and work well with Iron Hands or Salamander tactics.

 

Boltguns, although seemingly boring, are extremely cheap and versatile. While they lack the ability to bring down MCs that Sniper Rifles have and the ability to punish combat-weak armies the way melee Scouts can, they are excellent at just throwing dice at your enemy and dragging their dudes down by forcing them to make a bunch of saves. The ability to fire on the move shouldn't be underestimated and the sergeant is an excellent platform for a Combi-Grav to give the enemy a nasty surprise on turn 1, especially when taken in numbers. Like melee Scouts, they often work well with a Land Speeder transport, especially one with a Multimelta to break open tanks for them.

 

None of the versions are blatantly superior to the others, but for a given army style one type of Scout will often present itself as the premiere loadout. If your friends are amenable, I might suggest testing them out a bit and see what fits with your style and what you like about them before finishing the construction of the kits.

[Guest]

I have 60 plus scouts, what is my best option of loading them out? I do have 20 snipers. A scout army a viable force?

 

I could also load them as space wolves.

Depends what you want to do, it's a very flexible unit.

 

As an army, they can work, but their lack of special/heavy weapons which the PA marines have, will certainly limit the army.

 

I will note that sniper weapons no longer have the rending rule, and instead have a pseudo rend which can only glance AV10 on 6s, and doesn't harm higher AVs (count as normal S4 shooting weapons against vehicles).

[Guest]

SM (and DA, to a somewhat lesser degree) Scouts are very excellent units these days thanks to the bump to WS/BS4. There's actually a lot of ways you can run them, but it depends a lot on what else you have in the army and what sort of force you want to do.

Our 'lesser' DA scouts overwatch on 5s and are Stubborn.

 

DA scouts can tarpit better than other scouts. Being stubborn is useful like that.

 

Though for melee scouts, you may look into BA scouts. Although they are WS/BS3 base, they have furious charge and the IC apothecaries which the BA bring give +1 WS in addition to the typical FNP, so you don't have to lose out on the lower WS.

[AbusePuppy]

The reason I rank DA Scouts lower is mostly due to their support units- unlike SM Scouts, they don't have access to excellent shooting units like Centurion Devs, Devs with Tank Hunter, Thunderfire Cannons, etc- and while improved Overwatch and Stubborn aren't terrible rules, but I would generally rank them lower in overall utility than the IF, IH, UM, and WS Tactics. DA's 10th Company selection is also inferior to the SM 10th Company Task Force, as it is not a formation (and thus can't be taken separately) nor does it have any Command Benefits attached to it.

[Lord Hanaur]

I have 60 plus scouts, what is my best option of loading them out? I do have 20 snipers. A scout army a viable force?

 

I could also load them as space wolves.

I personally have a low regard for Sniper scouts over the alternatives.  I'd go cloe combat all the way and buy the Storms to wield them.

[Ser Warwick]

I run a squad of SW sniper scouts, and they can usually camp an objective pretty well with their cloaks. Then they can bank for heavy or special weapons. Pretty low damage output though, pinning would have been nice to keep.

 

I ended up going with bolters for my DA scouts I just built, and added the heavy bolter. I am thinking it will be a light midfield harassment and interdiction unit. The melee variants seem to be better geared towards having a LSS.

 

I take it there's not much love for the humble shotgun?

[Lord Hanaur]

I do like the shotguns as well.

[AbusePuppy]

I always forget those are an actual thing that exist. I feel they're typically pretty inferior to Bolters or BP/CCW- Bolters have the range and flexibility to do more over the course of the game if you aren't spending every turn within 12" of the enemy (as well as having a superior kill zone even when within 12") while the Pistol combo is more useful if you're expecting to get into prolonged combats (and won't ever cause you to fail a charge because you got too many casualties.)

[Lord Hanaur]

Yeah I won a whole bunch of those models and like them a lot.

[Guest]

I always forget those are an actual thing that exist. I feel they're typically pretty inferior to Bolters or BP/CCW- Bolters have the range and flexibility to do more over the course of the game if you aren't spending every turn within 12" of the enemy (as well as having a superior kill zone even when within 12") while the Pistol combo is more useful if you're expecting to get into prolonged combats (and won't ever cause you to fail a charge because you got too many casualties.)

They are very contextual.

 

That said, most of their tactics pertain to previous editions, like arriving via out flank, shooting, then charging....

[Bosco]

Shotguns are my preferred load-out as generalist/utility followed by snipers as a dedicate role in my army.  

 

Sure, shotguns aren't the pinnacle of single-purpose efficiency, but they also don't restrict your options like most other options either (IMO).

[Guest]

Shotguns are my preferred load-out as generalist/utility followed by snipers as a dedicate role in my army.  

 

Sure, shotguns aren't the pinnacle of single-purpose efficiency, but they also don't restrict your options like most other options either (IMO).

You retain your pistols when you take any of the weapons, so you don't have to have your options restricted, ever.

 

For me, the main distinction between shotguns(+BPs) and CCWs(+BPs) is if I plan to use the krak grenades in assault or not. That's really where they distinguish themselves the most, as the krak grenades don't benefit from the extra CCWs.

 

Though I will note that shotguns are awesome for a powerfist veteran sarge, if you go that route. Theirs no loss since the fist is a specialist weapon. Wish the PA marines could take shotguns with their power fists....

 

Snipers(+BP) is my favorite generalist/utility unit, especially with a flakk missile launcher, cloaks and a combi-melta/plasma pistol sergeant and a melta bomb. Rather spendy, but the unit can threaten everything. This one runs 5-man.