Scouts are another must have
Space Marine unit in my gaming experience, since they offer so much for the
point cost.
They are a scoring unit, can
take a variety of interesting wargear, infiltrate, outflank, and ride in a
storm speeder.
The balance in using them is in
understanding they are not power armored troops and rely on cover and
positioning to keep them safe. And even though scouts can do a variety of
things, you have to pick one primary role for each scout group in your army.
These two primary roles are
often shooting based or assault based and work off infiltrating them or
outflanking them.
Shooting based scouts work best
with Telion (worth the upgrade IMHO) and sniper rifles in a supporting role.
Infiltrate them into a good position on the table and use the sniper rifle to
assign shots, take down high toughness models, and blast away with Telion- plus
they are a scoring unit for later in the game. Camo cloaks are nice if you have
the points but you can work around them by using terrain and having (and using)
other units on the table so your opponent doesn’t have the time to shoot at the
scouts.
The second is an assault based
scout unit- taking in the maximum number with bolt pistols, close combat
weapons, and a heavy bolter with shells, and a teleport homer (again for the
deepstrike guide option if you have terminators).
These scouts CAN infiltrate and
hide out if the terrain is there for later in the game or to be a nuisance to
your opponent, or they can outflank to force your opponent to deal with them
when they arrive- shooting that turn, and then if they are not dealt with
assaulting the next turn. YES they are not dedicated shooting or assaulting
units, but they have the versatility
with the infiltrate and outflank to go up against similar units or units that
are not dedicated in that way.
I almost feel that you should create a wiki so this tactica will stay easy for people to find and click through. These are great Fritz!
ReplyDeleteWhere's the Eldar unit analysis? How about alternating?
ReplyDeletethoes are some awsome space marines! who painted them?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunalty, Assault scouts have lost their umpf a bit with the 6th release and disallowing 1st turn charge and the changes to CC making it a bit less awesome. Also, the Storm has lost out as an Alpha strike vehicle too with the changes.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I have an entire 10th Co Crimson Fists army that uses Storms and Assault Marines. It just requires even more finesse than it did before due to the innate weaknesses of Scouts. Just means you have to draw on their strengths even more and realize as you said, they are not power armored troops.
I've been running my scouts in every list lately. I can't wait for DA pricing to hit the SM book, because they'll be a lot better when they're cheaper and have cheaper cammo cloaks.
ReplyDeleteMy current configuration: Power Axe Sergeant and 4 ccw guys in a LS Storm, depending on my opponent I'll either infiltrate, or preferably outflank them with the Storm Talon as an escort. The other half of the combat squad is 4 snipers and a heavy bolter that sit in bolstered cover with my Master of the Forge.