To Combat Squad or Not?

[RIGHT-Titan]

So typically I run combat squads. I'll have 5 men near the backfield in a piece of terrain with a heavy weapon and good lines of sight to as much of the board as I can manage. Usually a Missile Launcher, sometimes a Lascannon. This gives me a heavy weapon in the back field that can threaten transports or some tanks.

My other squad usually moves up in a rhino with a basic sergeant, 3 normal marines and a marine with a meltagun, and goes about trying to sit on an objective, or finding a tank to pop.

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That said.. I'm recently debating the merit of combat squading. Definitely in a killpoint game I'm giving the potential to lose more kill points making it tougher to win the game. The other problem becomes actually holding those objectives with 5 boys in blue. Is it perhaps more advisable to sacrifice one or two turns of shooting that single heavy weapon to keep the squad intact on an objective?

Certainly something that wants to push me off will have a much harder time. That said, there are a variety of weapons that I would fear dropping on them. Most often it seems these objectives are usually in a cover feature so you end up cramming 10 marines into a piece of cover only to be hit with a demo cannon, plasma cannon, flamestorm cannon, or some manner of nasty IG artillery. In that situation, it's possible I would lose 10 marines instead of the 5 I might have otherwise lost, but either way, I'm no closer to holding the objective.


So what do you think?

Combat Squading, I doubt there is no 100% answer, but what do you think? Generally usable or not?

[Tynskel]

KISS--- Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Your strategy should be firm and based upon the design of your army. Your tactics, however, should be flexible.
Combat Squads is a Strategic decision--- you should have a plan in mind what your squads should be accomplishing before you enter then board.

Usually, strategies go out the window, once the game starts. But, a well balanced army will be able to counter just about any situation your opponent throws at you, and you should be able to continue to keep the pressure up on your opponent. That's where tactics come in.

When it comes to combat squads, you should have an idea what your squads are going to be doing BEFORE the game begins. Depending on your interpretation of the setup rules, you may have already committed to combat squads. That's fine. The other interpretation is fine too-- but ultimately, the results should be the same--- your squads were designed to accomplish certain strategic goals. Keep that in mind.

[fuzzbuket]

ahniliation = 10 men = less KP
objectives = 5men= more objective holders (and less sitting down whilst missle fires :P)

[lowdog]

If you plan to squad them, why not do a razorback instead of a rhino?

[Chuck777]

ahniliation = 10 men = less KP
objectives = 5men= more objective holders

Exactly what I was going to say!

I think one of the hardest choices that a General who favors Combat Squads has to make is whether to buy a Rhino or a Razorback for his squads. On the one hand, the Razorback is much more killy BUT it does restrict your movement when it comes time to not use Combat Tactics.

[kevinmcd28]

Think about it this way. 3 units of 5 guys sitting on a back objective (2 lascannons and one set of 5 extra guys) with the other 5 guys in razor sitting on another objective. or 10 guys sitting on an objecitve each. 3 targets are a lot harder to kill on an objective than 1 or 2. I won my first tournament with this type of division. good times.

[TSINI]

Think about it this way. 3 units of 5 guys sitting on a back objective (2 lascannons and one set of 5 extra guys) with the other 5 guys in razor sitting on another objective. or 10 guys sitting on an objecitve each. 3 targets are a lot harder to kill on an objective than 1 or 2. I won my first tournament with this type of division. good times.

Yeah i'm going to agree with this, combat squading seems to be a good idea generally.

i play IG, and i regularly field a 20 man conscript squad. they die to lots of rapid firing from usually 1 enemy squad.

so i never ever blob my infantry squads together because you can put 40 wounds on a 20 man squad and kill 20, or 40 wounds on a 10man squad and only kill 10.

in the case of marines, a whole enemy unit has to be used to kill a 5 man team, so two 5 man teams will take at least 2 enemy squads to remove from an objective (in shooting) but both 5 man squads can either split their fire, or combine fire on the same target.

in assault, both squads can be assaulted as one, but in shooting, the positives surely outweigh the negatives

[Duke]

The best thing about combat squading is the flexibility, I usually always combat squad unless...

1. I want to hit something really hard in assault
2. It is a kp mission and combat squads could hurt me heavily
3. All 10 men need to be in a. Transport for one reason or another

Even if I want to punish something in shooting I will combat squad because they can simply shoot the same target. I really Ike combat squads and razorbacks because the assault element can move forward and rrecieve fire support from the five left behind.

It also allows the army to be able to hold more objectives...

Duke