# Using Devastator Squad In Your Space Marine Army



## Captain Roy

I have a question to all space marine players. How do
you use your devastator squad in your army, Do you 
mix your four heavy weapons in your squad or keep
them the same weapons for example four missile
launchers in your squad. I'm planning to build two
new squads of devastator squads for my space
marine army and need some advice. If you have
any questions about my thread, Please feel free
to post a message. Thank You :victory:


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## Belthazor Aurellius

Missiles and Heavy Bolters. Lascannons and Plasma are too expensive for dev squads. Better to capitalize on combat squad rules and put the lascannons in the tacticals (half the squad's mobile with a meltagun or plasma gun, while the other sits back and lasers anything inside 4-foot range. If something gets too close, the heavy bolters can hose any infantry, and I usually field a land raider just to soak enemy attention in general.


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## maddermax

It really depends on what you want to do with them, but the general consensus is to keep they weapon types mostly the same - so 4 HBs, or 4 MLs and so on. This is because when you shoot at a target, you want to have full effectiveness from your guns. Having say LCs and HBs in the same squad say, would mean that if you fire at tanks, your HBs are useless, and if you fire at hoards of orks, your LCs aren't doing much.

You can mix and match a bit, HB and MLs aren't too bad, but it does mean that sometimes you won't get the full effect of them.

I personally love all missile launchers though - yeah, they don't have the punch of a LC, but the versatility of being both anti-tank and anti-infantry is too much to pass up.


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## Vaz

I'm a fan of the 4x Plasma Cannon, or 3x Plasma Cannon, and 1x Lascannon. Gives me anti tank, and 3 Str7 AP2 Blast Templates. Stay away from the Anti-tank in your Troops - they have Bolters, AKA, bad at shooting tanks. Marines need all their numbers to count, so having even just 4 Marines miss a turn shooting because you Lascannon a tank is bad.

Anti-tank therefore always goes in Heavy Support for me, and AntiInfantry in the Troops.


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## TwoKill

I like the 4 missile launcher unit, you get all that damage for 150 points. This will shred most armor before it even gets to move and if your worried about armor 14 stuff a dev squad won't help you out there anyways.


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## Dessel_Ordo

only one weapon, MM's are a terrible choice, LC's are bad unless you are in dire need (read: LR, Titan, Baneblade, otherwise you are overpaying for that many in one squad). PC's are pushing it points-wise, but are by far the best way to dominate a firing lane/split an enemy army (hardly anything wants to cross 4 S7 AP3 blasts). Heavy Bolters and ML's are by far the best gun to give your Devs tho.


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## tony161

so it's an argue ment of having overpriced stuff in dev squad (LCs) or have them cheap in a combat squad and possibly sacrifice 4 bolt rounds. What should go in dev squad is anti infinfry, and have LC, ML and plas spread through tac.squads so u havent got a lumpy target, but in my choas army i have 3 land raiders, so that i don't need fragile havocs.


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## Pertoleum

i tend to play alot of horde/swarm armys and i found the heavy bolter and plasma cannon to be great ive taken out a broodlord and his 11 genestealer retinue in a single turn and the pc can double as anti tank and trust me when i say this never put a power weapon in your squad your asking to get in a fight and thats the last thing you need is devastators in combat


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## Whizzwang

I embrace the 4x Plasma Cannon option. BOOM!
I also only buy a 6 man squad and stick them in a razorback in case of dawn of war set up games. nothing more annoying than having to walk to a building turn 1.


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## Cato Sicarius

2 Plasma Cannons and 2 Lascannons is my choice of equipment. I play against chaos a lot, so the Plasma Cannons help there while the Lascannons can do something at least, and for the tanks all the weapons work well. Unless it's a Land Raider. That's why I have the Lascannons. In my opinion it's the best if you face MEqs often, including the Inquisition. 

Against Orks the Plasma Cannons do wonders, and the Lascannons will take out tanks like a hot knife through butter. Same with Tyranids, except the lascannons are used against Carnifexes and such, but the Plasma Cannons work well here as well.

Against Tau and Eldar (including Dark Eldar), it takes out everything. They have light armour and light tanks, and Wraithlords and Battlesuits aren't too bad a worry. Battlesuits are just shifty MEqs, and Wraithlords out up a good fight but in the end are just a rather large MEq with a higher toughness and an extra attack.

Of course with Imperial Guard it doesn't matter what you use - they die either way! :biggrin:

I only have 5 men in the squad. I hope to distract the enemy with much juicier targets, who are slowly advancing and if left unchecked will rip their army to shreds, (i.e. Assault Terminators in Land Raiders) however in games of more than 1250 pts 10 men are needed dearly, so I'm going to get the Combat Squad boc soon.


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## Fugital357

I've found that using four of the same weapon works best for me, although I guess certain mixes would work well to. I tend to spread them out so blast weapons won't kill as many of them, and put the heavy weapons on the squads corners. That way, if the squad can't see one target, they can probably see a different one, and it doesn't total distract from their ability to concentrate all they're fire-power onto one solid target.


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## Captain Roy

I want to say thank you for everyone's advice on Devastator
Squads on Warhammer 40k. If anyone has any more question?,
Feel free to post more information. Thank You :victory:


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## Captain Roy

Also not too many players at my local gaming club don't use
devastator squads in their army.


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## Evil beaver2

I get 2 plasma cannon and 2 heavy bolters. Plasma for armored infantry and heavy bolters for lighter infantry. I also like to put them in a razorback.


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## raverboi

i play 2 las, 1 plas and HB
and put them in building ruins, they have an effective mix of anti infantry and anti vehicles, they kill vehicles, and thin out any really threatening enemy infantry that gets to near


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## lord Sanguinius

ive found it most useful for me is to have 2x plasma cannons and 2x missile launchers because i usably face swarm armies and marines and plus its very good at adapting and also i have a multi meltas in my tac squad along with a plasma gun and in the other i have a flamer and a heavy bolter to hold down objectives


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## Fugital357

Evil beaver2 said:


> I get 2 plasma cannon and 2 heavy bolters. Plasma for armored infantry and heavy bolters for lighter infantry. I also like to put them in a razorback.



That sounds like a fun combo for me to try, although I wouldn't use the Razorback. I figure of they're moving, they aren't shooting, and you can always run them... 

I'd give the razorback to the HQ, given that SM HQs tend to be killey in CC, and the Razorback can get them there. 

I tend to run 2BH 2Missle launchers for anti-infantry, with some anti-armor punch.


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## Vaz

Unless you're playing static Marines, or the rest of the army is in a Razorback, don't put Captains/Combat Characters in them. You leave them High and Dry after disembarking, doing nothing for a turn, and then getting shot up.


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## Someguy

lord Sanguinius said:


> ive found it most useful for me is to have 2x plasma cannons and 2x missile launchers


That looks like quite an interesting combo. It's a lot scarier against MEQs and TEQs without losing much power against vehicles or hordes.

Personally I don't usually take devastators. I tend to have a few missile launchers scattered around my army to shoot at enemy transports and then use meltas and cc against heavy tanks. The actual chance of taking down a land raider or monolith with a lascannon really isn't high.

The main problem is being static. If I have to move on in dawn of war I'm not going to shoot (admittedly the darkness prevents most other shooting as well) so my opponent is able to freely move his transports around. I consider slowing down transports to be a major part of the job for my big guns, and in this case the devastators auto-fail.


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## Phrazer

The last game i had a ran a 10 man squad, combat squadded with 2 LC in one and 2 HB in the other and it worked really well. Before now ive had a 5 man squad with 4 HW in and lost them all in 1 shot to a Guard pie plate!! DONT really want that happening again so ive split them up


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## Fugital357

Vaz said:


> Unless you're playing static Marines, or the rest of the army is in a Razorback, don't put Captains/Combat Characters in them. You leave them High and Dry after disembarking, doing nothing for a turn, and then getting shot up.


That is true, and I found that out the hard. Sadly, I'm also a slow learner. :ireful2:

Ironically, my fix was to speed the rest of my army up, and be less static. :grin:

And I might have to steal that 2PC 2ML combo for my next game. My 4LC team didn't fare so well last time i used them. 

Anyways, sorry for the relatively off-topic post; I just just felt compelled to reply.


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## Captain Galus

I personally run 3 squads of Plasma Cannon Dev Squads if I field any at all. I love templates, I love plasma, and I love killing stuff; thus, Plasma Dev Squads are the Space Marine equivalent of my soul mate.


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