# Melta or Plasma?



## Crimson_Fist_7 (Nov 28, 2008)

Which do you use/like more? Meltaguns/Multi Meltas or Plasmaguns/Plasma Cannons?


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## ItsPug (Apr 5, 2009)

Melta without a doubt, playing guard means having a gun that only hits half the time and kills my guy a third of the time is a bit of a crazy choice, no matter how good.


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## Blue Liger (Apr 25, 2008)

Personally as a DE player I have my anti tank in lances I'd take plasma cannons, though if I could choose exactly what I'd prefer it would be meltaguns and plasma cannons


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## HOBO (Dec 7, 2007)

I have 13 Meltas and 10 Plasma Guns in my IG list and they work well. I take a Medic in my CCS w/ 4 Plasmas and I hardly ever lose a model to Gets Hot. Sure the Medic is expensive points-wise but having my CCS stick around for 5-6 turns is well worth it imo.

I also don't particularly like spamming one weapon regardless of how cost effective it is, and there are other weapons systems available to IG other than Plasma/Melta that does the job as effectively..Artillery/Fast Tanks comes to mind.


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## MetalHandkerchief (Aug 3, 2009)

With 18 XV8 suits and 18 XV25 suits in my Tau army I am amazed to be unable to recollect the last time I used a Fusion Blaster (melta)...

Basically that means I prefer Plasma I guess. But then us Tau have far superior plasma weapons...:grin:


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## pigmonger (Aug 1, 2009)

It really depends on the army. As was previously mentioned, IG really benefit from a blend of lascannons, plasma weapons, and melta guns. For vanilla marines, stick with melta all the way.


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

I think a destinction should be made between the special and heavy versions and/or whether it's cehicle munte dor on infantry.

Multi-melta on an infantry model is a terrible choice. But one on a vehicle isn't bad.

In any event, I prefer melta-weapons. For infantry heavy weapons I prefer missile launchers. As I said, a man-packed multi-melta is terrible, but a meltagun is a fantastic weapon.

I prefer meltas to flamers or lmasguns in almost all cases. It packs enough of a punch to instantly vaporize a model before you charge, it can be used on a fast unit to bust tanks instead of expensive static lascannons, it's just a really good weapon. So good it makes plasma pistols look very overpriced in comparison. Same range, 1 less S and AP, no Melta ability, you get a bonus attack in CC, but that should balance it out at best, not make it more expensive. 

The new BA codex was where I really realized what a brilliant weapon it can be. Meltas on VAS and honour guards, multimelta attack bikes (Good god, do I ever love MMABs). Any fast, mobile unit should have a meltagun. Rhino squads, bikers, attack bikes, etc. Though thanks to Relentless, I might prefer at least one meltagun in a biker squad. Anything capable of closing the distance and making up for the lack of range should have a meltagun.

This doesn;t mean it;s the perfect weapon for every unit. Obviously units acting as static fireteams will benefit more from plasma guns, thought hese days, the mandatory 1o-man units really makes fireteams kind of impractical. All of those extra bolters are kind of pointless considering the things you'll be shooting that plasma at.

And for Tau, I prefer plasma on my battlesuits instead of fusion because Tau units should never be encouraged to get close to the enemy ;-)

The real loser, in my mind, seems to be the plasma cannon.
I really don't like the 'blasts always scatter' rules in 5th.
It makes plasma cannons very unreliable when targeting vehicles and tightly packed small units (like DSing terminators, their traditional favored target). Combine that with the chance the thing will up and explode and I find them not worthy of the points.

A missile launcher is a much better multi-role weapon, much cheaper, more reliabel and longer ranged.


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## solkan (Apr 24, 2008)

For Chaos, I think the breakdown goes like so:

Dreadnought - Plasmacannons are okay. Multimelta's don't seem worth it when the dread has to walk across the board.

Bikes - Plasmaguns are okay, but so are meltaguns. Plasmaguns only end up being an option because of relentless.

Raptors - Meltaguns. It's better to charge than to rapid fire, I think. Plasma pistols aren't even worth considering with only one shot.

Chosen - Meltaguns. It's hard to make a case for plasma when it costs more and prevents assaults.

In general, meltaguns just seem more useful than plasmaguns because plasmaguns prevent assaults AND have a chance to kill the user. For lower point costs, it's not a difficult choice: You can ALWAYS fire the meltagun and it won't stop the assault, so why take the 1 in 9 risk of death each round from a plasmagun?


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

For dreads (loyalist) it depoends on if you;re podding or not.

Podding: Multi-Melta is a good choice, so is AssCan, depends on what your main target is going to be. Only reason I don't prefer MM is because as a BA player I've been spoiled with Furiosos and their extra DCCW (and meltagun  )

Walking: TLLC or PlasCan, something with range. Still not a fan of plasma in this case though (Except on Bjorn whose BS6 makes plasma much more reliable, and the TL aspect of the LC makes his BS6 redundant)


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

I prefer Plasma weapons, the concept is cooler and I like their look.
I love Multi-Meltas, they're one of my favorite weapons, but Plasma weapons are just generally more interesting.

Quick question, do Melta weapons fire a microwave beam or something, or is it like a lance of pure heat?


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## ACoz (Oct 23, 2007)

I prefer meltas, especially with my guardsmen. Misses aren't fatal.


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## Khorothis (May 12, 2009)

Meltas any time for the reasons mentioned before, even though my CSM have a tendency to roll ones and twos on to hit rolls, but fortunately my Oblits do not suffer from this issue.  Though their Plasma Cannons scatter off the map... on one occasion I missed a shot from almost point blank range... Though I have to admit that when my Termies opened fire from their combi-plasmas on another Chaos Termie squad the three rapid-firing guns tore apart the enemy squad.


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## iron panda (Jan 7, 2009)

For my BA, I prefer Plasma Cannons on my tac squads and devastators. Makes it easier taking out squads of marines of all flavors. They're not that bad against horde armies either.


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## Calamari (Feb 13, 2009)

Winterous said:


> Quick question, do Melta weapons fire a microwave beam or something, or is it like a lance of pure heat?


AFAIK they shoot microwaves so if you ever need a baked potato in a hurry...

As much as I like plasma weapons they are just too pricey to make up for the advantages of melta.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

In 3rd Edition Guard, plasmas were awesomesauce. But due to how resilient Tanks become against anything that's not S9+ or Melta/Lance, Plasma's and Autocannons just can't cut what they used to.

Me, melta's all the way. Plus, with Bikes, you can load up easily with them.


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## chrisman 007 (Jan 3, 2008)

I have a mix of both in my army, slightly leaning more to the plasma side. However, my meltagun guys have quite a high kill ration compared to their plasma gunning counterparts.


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

there's a whole thread dedicated to arguing about what meltas really are (search for something along the lines of 'difference between melta and flamer') basically microwave is what the latest ever-changing fluff seems to indicate, but it makes no sense since microwaves bounce off metal and heat my exciting water molecules in organic tissue. A sort of 'plasma lance' is the most plausible explanation and fits with the 'hyper-excited gasses' fluff and modeling.

My main reason for loving melta is that it doesn't deny assaults, and that's key to me. Any mobile unit should be abel to assault at will


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## Khorothis (May 12, 2009)

From what I remember, in Ian Watson's Space Marine there was a random no-name guy who fired a melta (I think) into the crowd some time before the Titans emerged. It describes its effect as a beam of heat thats so hot that it melts everything, especially people. Though writers have a tendency of not sharing the same opinion on what works how, so this might be irrelevant.


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## Khazaddum (Apr 2, 2009)

I find myself in the plasma camp. I played a game where my opponent was so scared of my 3 oblits and their plasma cannons that he hid his deep striking termies behind a building enabling the 1 remaining man from a 10 CSM to claim the objective and thus secure a victory:victory:


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## Gigantor (Jun 21, 2009)

Can I have a mixed answer? For My marines I prefer meltaguns and devos with plasmacannons.

As awesome as plasmaguns are (I usually field 2 vet squads full of them) meltaguns win out. Cheaper, can still assualt, not going to kill myself...


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## Inquisitor Einar (Mar 6, 2009)

Considering I play Sisters of Battle, I use the holy trinity of Bolter, Flamer, Melta.

Granted my SWS in my inducted IG platoon has 3 plasma guns, because I wanted to have something that could put lots of dents into 2+ armour save tough guys when I come onto the board from the flank.


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

I like plasma personally. Tau doesnt get burnt and a rapid fire ap2 shot is nothing to sniff at when you have a railgun to blow the tanks


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## Cato Sicarius (Feb 21, 2008)

I always thought of melta weapons as a sort of massively long range Bunsen burner.

I prefer Melta weaponry. It doesn't overheat, it doesn't stop you from assaulting, tt has a higher Strength, a lower AP, it's better at destroying tanks, it's cheaper points-wise and the only drawback is that it has less shots. 

That's 6 good points against 1 bad point, whereas Plasma weaponry is the same in negative form. 

It does overheat, it stops you assaulting, it has less Strength, higher AP, it's worse at destroying tanks (more so than ever now in 5th Edition), it costs more points-wise and the only real good point is that it has more shots (1 more).

However, sometimes Plasma weaponry can come in handy.


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## Lord Sinkoran (Dec 23, 2006)

i'm a salamander player so meltas ftw


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

Cato Sicarius said:


> I always thought of melta weapons as a sort of massively long range Bunsen burner.
> 
> I prefer Melta weaponry. It doesn't overheat, it doesn't stop you from assaulting, tt has a higher Strength, a lower AP, it's better at destroying tanks, it's cheaper points-wise and the only drawback is that it has less shots.
> 
> ...


You seem to be ignoring the fact that they fill different roles.
Melta is close-range insta-gib.
Plasma is short-medium range dangerous fire support.

When you're getting close and want to assault, of course Melta is going to win, that's what it's designed for.
But Plasma is far more versatile, more shots and longer range, it threatens a greater range of targets in a lot of situations.


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## DarKKKKK (Feb 22, 2008)

I go plasma, although that might just be I play with guys that can actually hold it. Not very common for me to give it to anyone else.

Gotta love those Plague Marines :mrgreen:
They are like made to hold them Plasma Guns, not meant to assault, got +3 Armour Save and Feel No Pain
If only they could take Plasma Cannons :cray:


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## MrFortunato (Aug 26, 2009)

This sums up why ALL plasma weapons are better :grin:

(apart from the spelling error ((i didnt make this pic)))


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## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

That's my model








How come Brother Miles couldn't have been co-opted by someone who could spell?


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## MrFortunato (Aug 26, 2009)

, like your model 

as i say, i didnt make the pic, googled it


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## Deneris (Jul 23, 2008)

I voted for Plasma, as they're what my Chaos lads prefer when trying to take out the hordes of Terminator units they see in Apocalypse. For instance, in my last game, a Blood Angel player dropped twenty-five terminators in my backfield. My loyal Havoc squad with 4 plasmaguns (And a Champ with a plasma pistol) managed to gun down 14 terminators and keep the rest from swarming the objective I was guarding...


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## Winterous (Mar 30, 2009)

Deneris said:


> My loyal Havoc squad with 4 plasmaguns (And a Champ with a plasma pistol) managed to gun down 14 terminators and keep the rest from swarming the objective I was guarding...


Plasma is to Terminators as Bolts are to Gretchin :laugh:


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