Thoughts on Vulkan - Part 2 - HQ's and Elites.

So I've already given some of my thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of Vulkan. Now I think it's time to look at what units he'd work best in an army with. I'm only going to discuss units that I think work and not the ones I don't. If you feel like I've missed out something important then that's what the unmoderated* comments section is for.

* I've never deleted a critical comment (other than a few links to porn sites that I deemed inappropriate) and have no intention of starting any-time soon ;-)

Let's start at the top.

HQ's.
Vulkan is a big chunk of points all on his own so adding a 2nd HQ isn't necessarily a great idea. there are (imo) only three choices that you could consider.

1) Master of the Forge - If your planning on a Drop Pod build to take advantage of all those super accurate short range weapons then the MotF becomes essential as soon as you want that 4th Dreadnought.

2) Librarian - Purely for psychic defence as he doesn't really have any other abilities complimented by Vulkan.

3) Captain on Bike - There have been a few people who make use of hybrid builds in conjunction with Vulkan as a Space Marine Biker unit can potentially have 4 melta weapons (Multi-Melta, 2 Meltaguns and a Combi-Melta) or 3 Flamer weapons (2 Flamers and a Combi-Flamer) in it which would work well in combination with Vulkans abilities in that area. Combinations are also a possibility but we'll discuss those more fully later.

Those options do however eat into our points allowances.

Vulkan + Master of the Forge (290 points)
Vulkan + Librarian (290 points)
Vulkan + Biker Captain (325 points)

It's also unlikely that you'll send that Biker out without at least a Relic Blade so the points for him can soon mount up.

Elites.
Well were spoiled for choice here. Lets start with Dreadnoughts then,

Dreadnoughts.

For 105 points we get a basic Dreadnought with a Power Fist and a Multi-Melta, for 10 more points we can add a Heavy Flamer and for another 35 we can stick it in a Drop Pod.

I have some reservations about the use of 'Drop Dreads' as an overall strategy. Though at 2000 points it's possible to have a first wave of 5 Dreadnoughts (a somewhat scary proposition) an enemy who knows how to 'bubblewrap' can counter some or all of that and there are a great many competitive builds that will put a considerable dent in that pile of Dreadnoughts should they not manage to cripple the opposing army straight away.The fact that you have to drop half of your pods (rounding up) can also leave you vulnerable to opponents who play reserve games. That's not to say that walking Dreadnoughts don't have some issues of their own but they seem (in my experience anyway) much easier to protect. Heavy Flamers become somewhat less useful on a non-drop Dreadnought as the short range means you won't always get to use it. I'm a big fan of them but that Heavy Flamer is also the first thing I lose should I need 10 points for something.

So were talking about either,

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 105 pts

Or,

Elite: Dreadnought (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 150 pts (Heavy Flamer; Drop Pod)
      1 Drop Pod (Drop Pod Assault)

Ironclad Dreadnoughts can be mixed in with those should you desire. Their slightly more survivable than a normal Dreadnought (but an average roll with a short range Melta weapon still kills them just fine), are effective at a much shorter range and are a bit more expensive once you give them some extra toys. My personal opinion is too stick with the standard one in a 'Vulkan' build but others may disagree.

Sternguard.

Now available in Finecast. I leave you to decide whether that's a good or bad thing...

If ever there was a unit made to compliment Vulkan than this is it. Options for Combi-weapons on every man, up to 2 Heavy Flamers and a host of ammunition types to deal with all those other things that you might come across. A Sternguard unit upgraded with Combi-Meltas and Heavy Flamers can pretty much deal with anything. They also have the standard Marine transport options giving you a fair bit of flexibility including Drop Pods which I still have reservations about in a number of areas which may be worth a blog post of it's own.......

Anyway.....I'd be looking at something like this,

Elite: Sternguard Veteran Squad (6#, 195 pts)
   4 Sternguard Veteran Squad @ 195 pts (Combi-Meltagun x2; Heavy Flamer x2; Rhino)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Combi-Meltagun x1)
      1 Rhino (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter)

If you want bigger units then just add Sternguard with Combi-Meltas till your happy with the quantities. Three units like the above are a significant threat without needing extra men. This sort of unit needs a Rhino rather than a Razorback as doing a 'drive-by shooting' out the top never get's old, lol.

Terminators.
I'm sure you know which sort I'm going to be discussing....

No.....

Here's a clue,

I should really get around to painting and basing that Librarian/Sorcerer...

The Thunderhammer/Storm Shield Assault Terminator is arguably one of the most cost effect units in any codex though they have some inherent problems. Stick them in a Land Raider and their transport will more often than not be dead to your opponents 'suicide' melta units (or non-Marine equivalent) and torrents of fire can kill everything eventually. Deep striking is a tad unreliable and using 'Gate of Infinity' obviously requires a Librarian. However you get them into combat once you do they make short work of most things. Just be careful of Hordes bogging them down as enough attacks will down even a 2+/3+ save eventually ;-)

So we have the following options,

Elite: Terminator Assault Squad (6#, 475 pts)
   4 Terminator Assault Squad @ 475 pts (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x4; Land Raider Crusader)
      1 Sergeant (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x1)
      1 Land Raider Crusader (Extra Armor; Multi-Melta)

Expensive and pretty much the definition of a 'rock' unit.

Elite: Terminator Assault Squad (5#, 200 pts)
   4 Terminator Assault Squad @ 200 pts (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x4)
      1 Sergeant (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x1)

Deep strike and hope there's no mishaps. Probably best used in conjunction with a Homer of some description ;-)

HQ: Space Marine Librarian (1#, 100 pts)
   1 Space Marine Librarian @ 100 pts (...in Power Armour; Null Zone; The Gate of Infinity)
      1 ...in Power Armour

Elite: Terminator Assault Squad (10#, 400 pts)
   9 Terminator Assault Squad @ 400 pts (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x9)
      1 Sergeant (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x1)

An amusing unit but a scary amount of points to lose to a mishap. Also probably best used in conjunction with a homer of some description depending upon how brave you are, lol.

Okay I think that'll do for now. I'll cover the rest in the next day or so.

Thoughts and Comments are (as usual) most welcome.