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View Full Version : How to Equip Sternguard Veterans?



exoduster18
10-24-2009, 07:11 PM
I did quick search but didn't turn up anything satisfactory to my tastes....

What I am looking at doing is taking a 10 Man Sternguard Veteran Squad in a Drop Pod.

In order to make them effective, I need to kit them out properly.

I do not want to take any "heavy" weapons. I want to stick strictly to bolters and combi-weapons.

I am thinking:

Sergeant w/ Power Fist, Bolter, Melta Bombs
4 Vets w/ Bolters
5 Vets w/ Combi-Meltas.

With the above combination, I have anti-Infantry in spades due to the Special Issue Ammunition rules. This also allows me to drop the unit behind enemy lines and wreck their mech (I am looking at you IG and Orks). I know the Combi-Meltas are one shot specials in the Melta department but with 5 of them, something should happen. If nothing happens, then I still have the Sergeant's Power Fist and Melta Bomb to attempt something.

In the meantime, if I drop then behind some infantry, they could all but blast them to bits with their bolters.

I was going to go straight Storm Bolters for all, but this gets expensive in a hurry.......the idea there was to have the ability to deal death to Ork mobs.....but then the unit is a sitting duck to armor.

Thoughts? Ideas? Hints? Tricks? Accusations?......Please let me know how you all equip yours and what works best. Thanks!

DarkLink
10-24-2009, 07:40 PM
Looks pretty good, overall. I would maybe switch a combi-melta or two out for a combi-flamer (as good as special ammo is, a good shot with a flamer can do significantly more damage), but that depends on what type of enemies you're facing.

Just remember to keep them as cheap as possible. They're good, but can get expensive if you go overboard on the options.

exoduster18
10-24-2009, 09:43 PM
I thought about the flamers for horde armies, but I am thinking that most of the time my Sternguard will drop pod in and then destroy a tank or two and then just start slugging it out in the back field with the opponent's infantry. I am thinking that their Bolters as is should work just fine.

They will also be utilized as a late game objective grabbing/contesting force. They are fairly survivable and they hit hard with the Special Issue Ammunition.

And if I understand correctly, if I absolutely needed to, I could nail the opponent's infantry with Melta, but that it won't be that effective as that is not really it's intended use. Is this correct?

DarkLink
10-24-2009, 10:26 PM
You can shoot the combi-meltas at whatever you want. Most of the time, your special ammo will be better than a combi-melta against infantry, but if you have to shoot something with a 2+ save, the combi meltas will be able to do some damage.

exoduster18
10-24-2009, 10:37 PM
Ok. It's settled then. I will stick with my original idea and have 5 Combi-Meltas in the unit.

Now it's conversion time.....Thanks for the opinions/answers, Dark Link.

Any ideas from anyone else? I'd like to hear what everyone else has/runs.......

deadmanwade
10-25-2009, 02:50 AM
I usually run something similar, but I put a Heavy Flamer in if I'm playing non-MEQ as well. Sure, you lose the special ammo, but when you get out of a drop pod and hit 6 or 7 guys with that S5 AP4 template its always fun.

Kloud
10-25-2009, 09:52 AM
The OP said he was thinkin bout Storm Bolters, but if you equip a Sternguard with a Storm Bolter, don't you lose the Special Issue Ammunition for that guy?

Katie Drake
10-25-2009, 11:01 AM
The OP said he was thinkin bout Storm Bolters, but if you equip a Sternguard with a Storm Bolter, don't you lose the Special Issue Ammunition for that guy?

If the bolter is replaced by a storm bolter, then yes. Only bolters and combi-weapons can use the special ammunition types.

DarkLink
10-25-2009, 12:02 PM
If the bolter is replaced by a storm bolter, then yes. Only bolters and combi-weapons can use the special ammunition types.

Yeah, I don't for the life of me know why it costs 5pts to "upgrade" to storm bolters, when you loose your special ammo. In the best of circumstances, a plain storm bolter is almost as good as a bolter with special ammo, definitely not worth the extra 5 pts.

Unevenscore
10-25-2009, 03:20 PM
My personal favorite tactic with sternguard is 3-5 combi melta/ 3-5 combi-flamers. Drop pod in near a transport, combat squad have the meltas pop the transport then flamer the contents.

Chadmack
10-25-2009, 03:32 PM
One I ran at LOT with alot of success is

Power Fist, 2 x Combi Melta, Melta Gun, Heavy Flamer - 300 Points.
Usually dropped with a librarian with Gate and Avenger.

ggg
10-25-2009, 03:56 PM
I run 10 in a drop pod with four combi meltas and one fist. Unless it is a kill point game I always combat squad them with 2 combies in each. I like your logic with the melta bomb but I don't have the points to spare. My unit is made up of tyrannic war vets and the stern guard box. I pinched an apocalypse upgrade command sprue or two and took the combi meltas from there. I am going to make one more sternguard squad with the death watch upgrade pack and a tatical squad box - I have seen several superb versions of the deathwatch kill team sternguard - allows you to use them with more than one marine army too!- unfortunately, it is a fairly common unit to see.

My sternguard do me proud in every game - their fire power and stats almost live up to marine fluff. Shame the bolters are not assault otherwise they would be perfect! I love the extra range shots they can pull. Although the winner is the hellfire round - the vengence round kills too many of my own squad for my liking, so I tend to rely on the hellfire round even against marines unless it is the fith turn or the situation is dire. Their effectiveness on the charge is also great, particularly with their best friend Pedro. Not used them with the Heavy flamer but I don't know whether it is warranted. Not tried them with a librarian either - although that seems popular - gate and 5+ invuln usually.

lock and load!

Confuddled
10-25-2009, 11:10 PM
1) Stern Guard in drop pods?
6 combi-meltas, 2 combi-flamers, 2 melta guns

a) Assuming I combat-squad them to go after tanks, that works out to 3 hits per tank more or less – depends on whether the guys with combi-flamers are split evenly between both squads or concentrated in a single squad (much more likely if I’m dropping into the middle of an Ork army…)

b) 2 melta guns are pretty cheap, and so long as the unit survives, it gives me a second (and third, and fourth) shot at taking down enemy armour.


Combat upgrades for the Sergeant are nifty and all, but generally, not worth it.

The way I see it:
a) If the other guy’s melee units are still in decent shape after you bust up their transport, odds are the Sergeant isn’t going to contribute all that much before the unit gets swarmed under…

b) I could either spend all those points on a power fist OR bring along another 5 combi-weapons, maximising the impact of my first round of shooting - which is what Sternguard do best, after all!!.



2) Stern Guard deployed on the table with old Pedro to help them score?

2 heavy weapons (missile launchers or lascannon), maybe a Rhino, and 2-4 combi-flamers to deal with all those pesky deep-striking/outflanking/infiltrating units that keep popping up in my backfield.

MAYBE a power weapon or power fist for the Sergeant in this case – instead of being the first ones in, they’re the guys who’re going to be holding back to hold the fort and provide supporting fire, after all.

By the time the other guy is done chewing his way through the rest of my army, even a 5-man Sternguard squad can deliver a pretty respectable punch.

Sitnam
10-26-2009, 01:00 AM
the vengence round kills too many of my own squad for my liking, so I tend to rely on the hellfire round even against marines unless it is the fith turn or the situation is dire A friend of mine had a lil rule about vengeance rounds: He only uses them against assault MEQ's who looked to be charging his Sternguard. Worked rather well when holding an objective. He also used atleast one Missile Launcher in his squads, and he had no qualms about using it to pop marines with krak missiles (I do the same thing with ork Rokkits. May not be a tank, but even a tactical marine will go a long way to making points back.). No save allowed by marines, as such it is instakill to most Marine characters.

Ming
10-26-2009, 07:58 PM
I have a 10-man, PF, 2xPC, 1xcombimelta or combiflamer squad. I split off the PCs together if I combat squad them.

RocketRollRebel
10-27-2009, 02:32 AM
I've been trying forever to get a friend of mine to do something similar with his CF sternguard but he is too friggin obsessed with having them sit back and fire their 30in bolter shot... You sternguard sound much more threatening sir.;)

zanzibarthefirst
10-29-2009, 03:05 PM
If you are wanting to use storm bolters you may as well jsut use grey knights. They have a threat range of 30", score and have a s6 stick, how bout that. However in alll seriousness, i cannot thing of any situation you would even think about putting stormbolters on a sternguard squad

Brass Scorpion
10-29-2009, 03:14 PM
My Sternguard unit is equipped with:
1) Sgt. with power fist
2) Three combi-meltas
3) One combi-plasma
4) Standard kit on the rest for a total of 10 models.

mjayc50
11-05-2009, 02:32 PM
a friend runs his sternguard with lysander in a drop pod. bolter drill with these guys hurts lots. He runs 2 melta. 2 plasma and 2 flamers. He has lots of success!

Dingareth
11-05-2009, 04:06 PM
I run 2x 10 Sternguard with 6 Combi-Meltas, 2 Heavy Flamers, and a Power Fist in a Drop Pod.

They combat squad out, with 3 CM and 1 HF in each squad, pop 4 tanks, and then if they live, roast any infantry around.

Alternatively, I run:

2x 6 Sternguard with 3 C0mbi-Meltas, 1 Heavy Flamer, and a Power Fist in a Razorback.

Same idea, just more mobile.

Note: The Sergeant also has a Combi-Melta in addition to his Power Fist, helps keep the important bits on a minimum number of models.