To Squad or Not to Squad Vehicles?

[Mr. Pickles]

Do the cons really out way the pros when putting vehicles in squadrons?

There are some obviously crippling effects of putting multiple vehicles in one squad. The main two being that immobilized counts as destroyed and the whole unit has to shoot at the same target.

Here are some good pros, though: the squad is never stunned (just shaken), you have the option of allocating to fodder vehicles, and multiple blasts/templates inflict up to roughly 66% more wounds on a target. the last point is the most important one.

I was playing in 'Ard Boyz and missed third by a single point. I was playing a sub par list, but two units surprised me. The first was the armored sentinel squad, and the second was the basilisk squad of three. Yes, the basie's died horribly every game, but they made their points back. In the last game they killed a swarm of gaunts/gargoyles a turn.

I would not put my basilisks in a squad again, but a Russ squad would do wonders. In conclusion, I think that squadrons of vehicles are worth it, but what do you think? What vehicle are, or are not, worth it? Prove me wrong if you can. Can you give me any more pros and cons, and include both side of the argument.

[Houghten]

You've missed the really huge pro here.

Vehicle squadrons = more vehicles squeezed into your Force Organisation Chart.

If you want to take those same three Basilisks separately, you can't have any Leman Russes.

How can ya have any Leman Russes if ya doon't squad yer Basilisks?

This is why I always mob up my Killa Kans - so I can take six of them and a Boomwagon.

[SonicPara]

Houghten hit the nail on the head; it is all about squeezing more into your Force Organizational Chart. The free extra armour (all squadrons downgrade stunned to shaken) is nice but it is not worth the automatic upgrade from immobilized to wrecked; that means that your vehicle squadron now dies 50% of the time instead of 33% of the time. On top of that, vehicle squadrons take damage like infantry takes wounds. That GK Autocannon dread that is shooting at your squadron of Basilisks now has a chance to affect multiple tanks instead of just super-killing one of them.

If you need to squeeze in more stuff then squadron is an agreeable concession to allow you to do so. If you only have three Heavy Support tanks then always leave them individual. The same rules apply to any vehicle squadron like Eldar War Walkers and Space Marine Landspeeders.

[Mr. Pickles]

I know it seems like the obvious choice is to keep them separate, but what about the increased firepower of two Russ over one? This applies especially to Russ with plasma cannon sponsons. The effect is even more important when the target is in cover. On paper it may SEEM like the better choice is to separate them, but I think AV14 helps enough to make it worth it.

[AbusePuppy]

Being in a squadron is, on the whole, a disadvantage. Dying to Immobilize is way, way worse than free Extra Armor, and the ability to stack more hits together into a single shooting action is easily outweighed by the inability to fire at two separate targets. It also makes maneuvering more difficult, although cover becomes somewhat easier to obtain.

The only time you will want to put vehicles in squads is if you are forced to because of FoC constraints- and even then you need to look carefully at what you're gaining versus what else you could do with those points. There are only a few vehicles in the game that are even allowed to squad up, so it's not actually all that complicated.

Land Speeder: Typhoon/Bolter can squad up; MM/HF should stay separate.

Piranha: Actually very little disadvantage to squads, since you're often moving Flat Out anyways. Also reduces number of KP, which is important for Tau.

Vyper: These are mediocre vehicles at best, there's not much reason to take them in numbers.

Hellhound: No strong incentive to, several good reasons not to. Seriously, IG is not lacking for places to spend points on tanks.

Sentinels (both types): One of the few places you'll actually want to do this. Scout Sentinels especially are a great value for their points (Armored less so), so cramming a unit of Autocannons into your FA can be very worthwhile.

Vendetta/Valkyries: This seems like it would be awesome, but it's actually not. Three Lascannons (or two large blasts + sponson shots) should be more than enough to at least shut the target down for a turn; more firepower than that is probably just wasted. And with you being up there in the air, vulnerable without a cover save, it's highly likely that the enemy will be able to inflict a hit on both squad members and shut them down. Also, you get Extra Armor for free already.

Hydras: This is one you'll see fairly often. While it's better to split them up, at 2k+ especially it becomes worth considering running a pair or two of them for the sheer firepower that you can put out. (S7 is always a little iffy against AV11/12, so it's nice to up your chances some more.)

Leman Russ: One of the other reasons to actually use squads, AV14 lets you mitigate a lot of the vulnerabilities of squads. A monstrous creature or Meltagun squad at point-blank range can still end them prematurely, but if the enemy is that deep in your lines already, you're probably losing anyways. Stick to the cheap variants, especially the basic Russ and the Eradicator (no-cover large blast).

Ordnance Batteries: This seems awesome, but it isn't. The Griffon is the closest you'll come to wanting to actually take these in multiples, and even that is pretty iffy.

[thecactusman17]

Another great squadron is Eldar Warwalkers, which can be simultaneously cheap, complex, and capable of dealing with any threat on the board if prepared right.

Air Cav Val-Dettas are a unit that people tend to forget about, but they can be pretty terrifying if played right. Use that speed to carve up tanks without a chance for your opponent to respond, two vendettas firing on even a monolith are not going to tickle.

[Mr.Pickelz]

The most i've seen taken is 2 tanks in a squad, never 3. That being said, it's usually to double up on the firepower of the plasma Russ, but duel demos or battle cannon shots can also ruin someones day. ;)

[Bean]

It seems like it's mostly been covered, but I'll restate it anyway just to make sure:

Vehicles in squadrons are basically worse than the same vehicles unsquadroned. Squadroning is only a good idea if you need to do so in order to fit more stuff into your force organization chart.