# SM Command Squad Composition



## Noxnoctis22 (Oct 19, 2009)

I'm curious as to how other people set their SM Command Squads. 

The Apothecary is a given and I assume most people upgrade 2 of the Veterans to the Company Champion (w/PW & SS) and the Standard Bearer. I'm just not sure how I should set up the other 2 Veterans. I was thinking of giving one a PF maybe? I don't know.

Any suggestions?


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## Praxiss (Aug 13, 2009)

Can you have 2 champions?

From what i have read your best bet is to go CC with them. Maybe a flamer or something help out on the way into the charge? Or a melta to complement the p.fist and give them the option of a bit of tank killing.

Alternatively try loading up with power weapons/p.fists.

i guess it kind of depends on how you have kitted out your Captain. they are there to support him after all.


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## Noxnoctis22 (Oct 19, 2009)

Praxiss said:


> Can you have 2 champions?


Just 1 as far as I know.



Praxiss said:


> i guess it kind of depends on how you have kitted out your Captain. they are there to support him after all.


Well at the moment I'm using the SM Captain model from AoBR Set. So he has a boltgun & Power Sword/Relic Blade. I'd probably give him other wargear if the points allowed.


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## Siphon (Jan 17, 2009)

I have two command squads.

One is all shooty. 4 Plasma guns, 1 Standard bearer, 1 Apothecary. I skip the Champ in this squad. The feel no pain from the apothecary helps for the gets hot rolls that inevitably come when shooting plasma weapons.

My other is CC geared.. 1 Apothecary, 1 champ, 1 standard bearer with power fist, 2 with power weapons. I usually put them with a CC Captain and send them off in a Razorback. Works well, not as well as the plasma squad though usually.

Another option I have not done yet is the Biker command squad, all geared for CC. That would be a beastly unit, it's on my to do list someday.


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

Siphon said:


> My other is CC geared.. 1 Apothecary, 1 champ, 1 standard bearer with power fist, 2 with power weapons. I usually put them with a CC Captain and send them off in a Razorback. Works well, not as well as the plasma squad though usually.


However powerful a CC-geared powerhouse Command squad is, I think it's too expensive for what it does.
I'd say that a Champion and a Fist is plenty, have the other two with CC/BP, sure they don't ignore armour, but you've already got a fair number of power attacks flying around, especially considering the Captain is probably in there too.


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## Noxnoctis22 (Oct 19, 2009)

Siphon said:


> I have two command squads.
> 
> One is all shooty. 4 Plasma guns, 1 Standard bearer, 1 Apothecary. I skip the Champ in this squad. The feel no pain from the apothecary helps for the gets hot rolls that inevitably come when shooting plasma weapons.
> 
> ...


I love the idea of 2 types of Command Squads, one shooty and the other CC. But as I only have 1 Command Squad right now I'm trying to make one that is able to adapt to what is needed. They might not be the best shooty squad or best CC but can help in both areas.

I never thought about bringing in a Plasma Gun. The Feel No Pain rule makes is a lot "safer". That's an avenue I might take. Great tip.

I've been thinking about using a Razorback to transport the Command Squad & Captain. But I'm wondering if I should just use a Rhino instead, it's 10 points cheaper but has no added weapons. That's if I have to squeeze 10 points at of some where.


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## Praxiss (Aug 13, 2009)

I have a razor back for mie with the H.Bolter option. As the captain & command squad will mostly be used to paste infantry units, it made sense tactically and points-wise to give the tank an anti-infantry gun.


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## sooch (Nov 25, 2008)

Biker command squads work well with 3 powerfists, champ with TH, all with Storm Shields and a handful of meltaguns (however many you can fit). Expensive? Yes. Effective? Yes.


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

The best 'command' squad layout is TH/SS terminators. 4 of them come to a similar cost to a command squad, and would rape them.

Try:

Captain w/ Relic blade, SS and digital weapons
5 TH/SS assault terminators
in a Drop Pod.

Bring that down on your opponents army.


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## Praxiss (Aug 13, 2009)

Ouchie. Your only hope woudl be to blast them as soon as they got out, seeign as thery can't charge out of a 'pod. But with the 2/3 save you will be hard=pressed to scratch them.


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## Noxnoctis22 (Oct 19, 2009)

Orochi said:


> The best 'command' squad layout is TH/SS terminators. 4 of them come to a similar cost to a command squad, and would rape them.
> 
> Try:
> 
> ...


I see how this squad would be pretty nasty on the battlefield but they bring about a few issues.
-They count as an "Elite" unit, while the Command Squad is a free slot when used with the Captain.
-They have no Company Standard, lacking the benefit they would normally receive.
-They have no Apothecary, lacking the Feel No Pain rule.
-Also aren't the stats of Assault Terminators and SM Veterans different?


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## Siphon (Jan 17, 2009)

I think you also forget the fact that a Termy assault squad does not have access to a drop pod, and neither does a Captain without a command squad, a drop pod is a dedicated transport so no unit (aside from IC's) can begin the game inside of it unless that unit bought it, so you can't buy a drop pod somewhere else and put the Termy squad in it.


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## Raptors8th (Jul 3, 2009)

Siphon said:


> Another option I have not done yet is the Biker command squad, all geared for CC. That would be a beastly unit, it's on my to do list someday.


Biker squads of death are great, and anything with FNP and Relentless is just asking for plasma guns. Two loadouts I've found usefull were:

Squad 1 with: Bikes, Standard, 4 LCs and 4 PGs.

Great anti elite/marine. Shoots the hell out of stuff and shreds it in CC.

Squad 2 with: Bikes, Standard, 4 LCs and 4 Flamers.

Great all around take on anything squad. 4 flamers is just as brutal on marines as orks with all the forced saves, and LCs are still useful against hordes with the rerolls.

Both squads are incredibly expensive (near 400 pts.), but I think they're worth it considering the fact the can take on anything. If you want more anti tank you could swap some guns out for meltas and some claws for fists. thats about it for bikers.



sooch said:


> Biker command squads work well with 3 powerfists, champ with TH, all with Storm Shields and a handful of meltaguns (however many you can fit). Expensive? Yes. Effective? Yes.


This is an impossible layout. It's a common mistake to assume that you can upgrade the champ, but in CSs you can't (the wording says "Any _Veteran_ may blah blah blah blan"). So your champ is stuck with a shitty combat shield and PS.



Orochi said:


> The best 'command' squad layout is TH/SS terminators. 4 of them come to a similar cost to a command squad, and would rape them.
> 
> Try:
> 
> ...


1. Termies can't take pods. They can teleport, but then you leave your captain in the dust.

2. Why would you want to give them pods? DS termies generally isn't a good idea if they're assault oriented because the turn they arrive your enemy goes "Oh Shit" and puts half his firepower into them. try a LR (any type). It's a hell of a lot more expensive, but it delivers your 400 point squad of death into your oponents quickly and safely.


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## Rye (Sep 22, 2009)

Can't Captains be given artificer armour? I know they're identical to Termie armour minus the inability to perform a sweeping advance, but do they adhere to the same Deep Strike rules? 

Even so, just max the squad as much as possible in order to fit them in a LR. Much more useful than a drop pod/teleport, because it's an assault vehicle!


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## Siphon (Jan 17, 2009)

Artificer armor does not give you the ability to deepstrike. It only gives you a 2+ save, the same as terminator armor, but is in effect still treated as regular power armor.


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## sooch (Nov 25, 2008)

I dunno what I was thinking with my previous layout, it's totally wrong and not at all how I run my CS (no champion, only 1 S8 weapon, etc).

Actual CS layout:

Captain: Relic Blade, Artificer Armor, Bike

Apothecary (Bike)
Vet 1: Lightning Claw, Storm Shield, Meltagun, Bike
Vet 2: Lightning Claw, Storm Shield, Meltagun, Bike
Vet 3: Lightning Claw, Storm Shield, Meltagun, Bike
Vet 4: Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Bike


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

Orochi said:


> Captain w/ Relic blade, SS and digital weapons


Relic blade yes, SS no, DW no.

Relic blade is awesome, plain and simple.

Storm Shield is 15 points for an extra 1 to your Invulnerable save, I think that's ONLY worth it if you're having him walk around alone, meaning that the big guns won't hurt him much, and the little ones still won't.

Digital Weapons is um, a single re-roll to wound in combat, I don't think you need that when you have S6...
If you had a Power sword, then yeah, it'd work well, but not a Relic blade.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Winterous said:


> Relic blade yes, SS no, DW no.
> 
> Relic blade is awesome, plain and simple.
> 
> ...


The configuration that was suggested Orochi is more or less a Monstrous Creature hunter. He has a high Strength and a single reroll to Wound so he can easily tag things like Avatars, Greater Daemons and the like.

That being said, one might as well just take Vulkan. He's more expensive sure, but the benefit he gives the army is more than worth the increased cost.


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## Raptors8th (Jul 3, 2009)

Katie Drake said:


> That being said, one might as well just take Vulkan. He's more expensive sure, but the benefit he gives the army is more than worth the increased cost.


Except Vulkan=no command squad which is the entire point of this thread.


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## Noxnoctis22 (Oct 19, 2009)

The setup I'm going with for modeling purposes is

-1x Apothecary w/Bolt Pistol & Chainsword
-1x Company Champion w/Power Sword & Combat Shield
-1x Company Standard w/Bolt Pistol & Chainsword
-1x SM Veteran w/Bolt Pistol & Power Fist
-1x SM Veteran w/Bolt Pistol & Power Axe

I'm always making a SM Veteran w/Plasma Gun with the extra bits from the Command Squad box.

But yes this thread was about Command Composition not about what you would take in place of one.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Raptors8th said:


> Except Vulkan=no command squad which is the entire point of this thread.


Except there's nothing stopping you from taking a Captain with different equipment for a Command Squad.


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## bishop5 (Jan 28, 2008)

Keep the Command Squad cheap and use it as ablative wounds for the Commander. Maybe a Power Fist, nothing more.

I don't think it's worth spending too many points on, unless you're doing a specific army like bikes, when you might end up needing a bit more punch.


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## Pearlay (Nov 26, 2009)

*Blood Angels*

*BLOOD ANGELS* 
 Commander Dante and his Honor Guard is great if you have a huge Points battle, Honor guard have Lots of Upgrade options like: Sanguinary Priest, Tech-Adept, Standard bearer and Company Champion.

:good: Better would be Lemartes as HQ and Combine him with Death company

:laugh: if you are running a large points battle take corbulo instead if Lemartes and run them in rhino (Over-charged Engines) with out jump packs, keep corbulo inside to control them and stay out of battle to be able to save wounds on them or Dantes HQ, and keep DC in Dantes range for Prefered enemy for reroll hits.


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