[darthgus]

I've been slowly painting my first few marines after sometime away on other races and I'm startign over with the Mortifactors Chapter. So with my first Tacical Squad nearing completion except for a sergeant I've been starting to think about the most suitable weapon / wargear loads for vet sergeants in various squads.

Now I'm thinking that the weapon load should naturally be considered in conjunction with the squad the sergeant is leading. I often see display armies with Devistater squads lead by sergeants with powerfists and I wonder why?

There must be an optimum loadout for each type of marine squad...

Assault Marine Sergeant:
I'm thinking that this guy is going to be in thick of it so I'm going for high power short range weapons... Plasma Pistol & Power Fist

Devistator Marine Sergeant:
Again thinking that this guy should be nowhere near the fight I question weather I should even bother with the upgrade to a Vet. and just give him a Bolter.

Tactical Marine Sergeant:
This is the tough one because he might make it into CC but he may not. Is he worth upgrading to a Vet.? I think so but what weapon load out is best? I'm thinking possibly a combi-weapon might be interesting but so might the Plasma Pistol & Power Fist combo.

All comments helpful, thanks...

[Stam]

My views:

Assault Marine Sergeant:
Veteran with Bolt pistol and Power fist. Very effective and cheap. No need for Plasma pistols.

Devastator Sergeant:
Bolter, plain and simple. No upgrades needed. You probably won't fire the bolter. And you won't see CC alot.

Tactical Sergeant:
Two possibilities:

First: CC orientated; Veteran with Bolt pistol and Power fist.

Second: Shooty orientated; Bolter. Plain and simple. No upgrades needed.

Upgrading a Sergeant to a Veteran is only neccesary if you will see CC. IMO.

[Tom Norman]

I agree with Stam; that improved leadership is always handy but an additional attack is only useful in close combat. Neither is worth 15 points; you could buy another marine with that!

I've made some mistakes in the past by giving my sergeants Terminator honours but I've come to love the models, each sergeant has a legacy. My opponent's and I remember their actions in combat, both valiant and embarrassing. Here's what I think about upgrading sergeants to veteran status:

• The only purpose to upgrading a Devastator sergeant is to give him an Auspex (and when are you ever going to use that?), it's not worth the 17 points it'd cost to do it.
• Tactical squad Sergeants can be worthwhile, but only if you plan to give his squad the means to close rapidly with the enemy. If such is the case then you need to consider the type of enemy unit's he and his squad will most often be deployed against (combi weapons can be expensive and often useless).
• Scout squad sergeants can be upgraded (they're supposed to be veterans leading the rookies anyway), this can really define their purpose. You might give him a teleport homer and use him to bring in the Terminators for a pinpoint surprise attack. If you're feeling brave, you might give him a combi-weapon of sorts, he infiltrates so it might put him in a position to threaten armour with a combi-melta, or advancing troops with a flamer...only one shot though, difficult to make it worthwhile. An Auspex can definately be useful in a sniper team because he deploys with the infiltrators, making it possible to put him in a good position to pin an enemy squad from turn one.
• Upgrading assault sergeants is fine, you'll always put close combat weapons to good use and/or possibly get a good shot off with a combi-melta at enemy armour. Never underestimate the effectiveness of a flamer to thin large troop formations before an assault either.
• Unless a squad is expected to spend the game in hard cover or is otherwise similarly well protected, never give Terminator honours to sergeants whose squads number less than ten men...or to sergeants whose squads will be forced to charge over open ground, it'll be a waste of points. Preferably only give Terminator honours to sergeants with a dedicated transport so they can safely get up close enough to put their extra wargear to good effect.

[MorkaisChosen]

They're extremely useful in assault squads, though. The extra four power sword or fist attacks can really help, even when there're another 28 normal attacks, 4 powersword and 4 powerfist attacks from the Blood Claws...

[captainwhizz]

Stam has summed it up perfectly. Bolt pistol and powerfist if the squad is intended to see combat; non-vet sgt with bolter if the squad is fire support/

[Frogger]

I would actually give Tac sergeants Stormbolters and CCWs if you're divided inbetween cc and ranged conflicts. If you're looking for a charge, your unit will be able to fire up to 24" and advance before getting into cc and using the additional attacks from charging and termie honours.
Just something to think about...

[captainwhizz]

I think of it this way- if you're giving a sgt a storm bolter, you get an extra shot at long range, or longer range shots on the move.
however, those are still only bolter shots, something a marine army has plenty of.

What a marine army does not have plenty of however is powerfist attacks. a bolt pistol will lose you a couple of bolt shots in a game, but will gain you a far more valuable extra powerfist attack.

[Elessar]

i like giving CC sergeants plasma pistols, gives them a bit of an edge. but tactic sergeants should usually stick to a bolter. a stormbolter would be nice but uping him to a veteran sergeant soley for the SB isn't worth it.

[captainwhizz]

Originally Posted by Elessar

i like giving CC sergeants plasma pistols, gives them a bit of an edge. but tactic sergeants should usually stick to a bolter. a stormbolter would be nice but uping him to a veteran sergeant soley for the SB isn't worth it.

even tac squads in rhinos? you don't give them fists?

[Howloutloud]

usually I give them both. a vet sgt with a power fist and plasma pistol has a good chance of doing a lot of damage to anything that they charge. plus the ability to negate a 2+ save in the shooting phase has actually saved many of my marine squads from my opponents wolf guard in terminator armor on more than a couple of occasions.

yes its a lot of points, but with the amount I scrimp and save elsewhere on my lists, and with me usually playing 2000+ pt games, I don't tend to worry about the fact that my sgts cost the same amount of points as a regular commander.