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I've got the Tactica bug now, so here is what I came up with this time.

Scouts

Intro:
Scouts are the life and future of every Chapter in the Imperium, as they are the Chapter's future battle-brothers. Being rigorously tested in every way, their role in the Chapter is wide and all-encompassing. On the battle field, Scouts fulfil a multitude of roles from infiltration to ranged support to rapid assault on Bikes.

In this Tactica, I will focus only on Scouts on foot, as the deployment and tactics of Scout Bikers is vastly different and requires a Tactica of its own.

Scouts: Pro's and Con's

Pro's
-Value-
As troop choices go, Scouts are as cheap as dirt. Able to field 6squads of 10 Scouts in under 900points, a commander could easily overwhelm an enemy with sheer numbers in a 1500point army.

-Versatility-
Able to act as a single unit with sniper rifles, assault enemy lines supporting Tactical squads, or take down heavily armoured vehicles, Scouts can tackle any problem that could arise on the battle field, if only a little worse than a Tactical squad for a lot less points.

-Infiltrating-
The ability to start the game within assault range of the enemy is a massive bonus to any commander, with a multitude of uses.

-Teleport Homer-
Being one of the only units in a commander's arsenal to take a Teleport Homer to the field, a Scout squad can bring in support from Terminator units to arrive exactly where the situation requires.

-Camoflage-
When equipped with a Camo-Cloak, the Scout has increased cover from rubble and ruins, and even decent cover in the open when gone to ground.

-Suppressive Fire-
When equipped with Sniper Rifles, Scouts not only gain the ability to take down much tougher targets then usual, but also get the chance to stop the enemy in their tracks, pinning them in place while other units prepare for the assault.

-Weapon Variety-
There are a number of weapons, each designed for a different purpose, from long-range snipers, fast firing heavy bolters, missile launchers, shotguns and the trusty boltgun. Regardless of the deployment requirements, there is always a weapon to suite.

Con's
-Weakened-
Compared to any other Space Marine, a Scout is somewhat weaker than his fully-fledged battle brothers, with below-typical weapon and ballistic skills. This has an impact on the number of hits a Scout can land on the enemy.

-Soft Armour-
As well as below-typical skills, a Scout wears below-par armour as well. Scouts are more easily killed by most weapons fire.

-Easy Target-
Although not a priority to enemy commanders, many will know the potential of Scouts and quickly take them down with nothing more than suppressive fire.


Summary
Considering Space Marine commanders only have two options to fill the required two Troop slots, for those who focus on other aspects of their army, Scouts are a cheap and viable way of saving points that are needed in other places. With the right equipment and deployment, Scouts are able to quickly capture and hold strategic locations early in the game, allowing the rest of the army to focus on taking down the enemy.

Tactics & Employment

Battle Roles
Scouts are able to quickly and easily switch roles on the battle field, however their effective use is relatively limited to the war-gear they take to the battle.
When used in conjunction with other, more specialised units, Scouts can not only offer support, but also deal with units that would other wise slow down the progress of the entire army.

The Pro's mentioned above show Scouts as a supporting role, and this is their primary use. Although able to hold their own against weaker enemy units, Scouts excel at providing utilities that other units can take advantage of.

The first and most common Battle Role for a Scout unit is to infiltrate into a position that sits close to a weakness in the enemies deployment with a Teleport Homer, allowing Terminator units to arrive exactly where needed. By using this method, Terminators do not scatter when within range of the Homer, meaning much needed power strikes at the heart of the enemy from the outset.

The second, and substantially less used Battle Role for a Scout unit is to infiltrate onto a Strategic point very early, providing covering fire while staying in cover. This allows all other units in the army to concentrate on the battle without having to dash out to capture strategic locations later in the game.

The third and least used method is MC hunting. A Scout's Sniper Rifle has the ability to strike weak points on any unit, providing the same chance to wound a Bloodthirster as it does to wound a Grot, while providing a possibility to rend the target as well. In this role, a squad of 10 Scouts armed with Sniper Rifles has a fair chance of scoring at least one wound at a range that can cover entire battlefields.

Deployment
Scouts have more ways of being deployed than normal Tactical squads. Infiltrating into position before the beginning of the game is a common method, however Scouts can also be deployed with the rest of the army, or via the 'Outflank' move when kept in reserve.

For Commanders that require more dedicated support for their Scouts, the Land Speeder Storm (A.K.A. LS: Storm), a unique varient on the Land Speeder pattern, can be taken. The LS: Storm is deployed like a typical Land Speeder, either via Deep Strike, in reserve or as normal with the rest of the army, and takes up a Fast Attack option. The LS: Storm is not taken as a dedicated transport, however a Scout unit can be deployed either inside the LS: Storm, or can embark on the LS: Storm during their Scout move like they could any other transport.

The LS: Storm is a fast moving unit with special traits designed just for Scouts, and with it being Open Topped, Scouts can assault directly out of the transport. When they do assault from the transport, the LS: Storm's 'Cerberus Launchers' reduce the enemy Leadership by 2, granting the Scouts a better chance to break the enemy moral and making it easier for them to destroy the enemy in a sweeping advance (lower enemy leadership = easier for them to fail and fall back!) LS: Storm's also come with a Jamming Beacon which stops enemy wargear that reduces Deep Strike scatter from working, and forces enemies that insist on Deep Striking near the LS: Storm to scatter twice the usual amount. These simple upgrades can have a massive effect when combined with other parts of an assault force.

Because Scouts emphasise the ability to strike the enemy quickly very early and from directions the enemy would not anticipate, Raven Guard commanders favour the use of Scouts over more experienced and costly battle-brothers who would other wise require transportation or a long walk before reaching the enemy.

Raven Guard often make use of infiltrating Scout units with Teleport Homers in order to deploy Terminators more effectively, then using the Scout unit to support the main offensive, either through supporting fire or assaulting nearby units to keep the enemy locked in combat.

Handy Tips
1. Pinning from Sniper Rifle Scout units generally fails when facing Marine-Equivelent armies. Their higher leadership stat makes it much harder to pin the enemy. Units with weaker leadership such as Guardsmen, Hormagaunts, Rangers or Orks (almost all) Pin far easier. In these cases, pinning them is a very effective way of removing a threat for a round.

2. When using Scouts to infiltrate a Teleport Homer into the enemy, remember that the effective range of the Homer is 6inches, meaning Terminators teleport into assault range, while with some accurate positioning of models, flamer templates can get within their effective range as well.

3. Although they have lower stats than a normal battle-brother, Scouts are still very effective at holding up units of more expensive models. Raptors, Warriors and Dire Avengers to name but a few still struggle to take down a Scout unit in melee combat if the Scouts make the Assault. Combined with good assault weapons, such as Shotguns, Scouts can even win the combat!

4. Again, the lower stats mean shots fired are less effective, however Frag missiles are hardly affected by the reduced ballistic skill.

5. Although Scout units cannot take a Transport with them to the field, Rhinos and Razorbacks deployed for other squads can still ferry the Scouts around. This is helpful when a Scout unit has taken too many casualties to be effective, yet still be able to hold an objective.

6. Combining Camo-Cloaks with a Tech-Marine's "Bolster Defences" ability grants a maximum potential of a 2+ cover save in ruins. This is absolutely perfect for a squad of snipers with a missile launcher, as they can lay down suppressive fire right across the board while being as safe as can be.

7. Sergeant Tellion, though expensive, has his uses. A Krak missile fired with his ballistic skill has the highest chance of any weapon in a Space Marine's arsenal to take down AV12 vehicles, while also being able to target individual models in a unit with a Boltgun that functions better than a Sniper Rifle!

8. Hellfire Shells are a real god(emperor)-send. Matching the range of Sniper Rifles, a single blast that always wounds on a 2+ is hard to ignore, and forces even the toughest of enemies to keep one eye on those scouts.


Builds

There isn't a whole load of war-gear for Scout units, which often leads people to believe their use is limited, however the right weapon in the right place makes a world of difference.
Below I have detailed the typical weapon load-outs, detailing strengths and weaknesses of each.

A. Infiltrating GPS
5 scouts with boltguns, Teleport Homer
Cost: 90points

This squad is entirely designed to locate a vital position on the field and provide a stable location for Terminators to teleport to. The squad size is too small to effectively achieve anything other than to hold an objective or provide covering fire until the Terminators arrive. This squad needs lots of cover and a little luck to survive long enough for the Terminators to arrive, but they are cheap and fill out a required troops slot very easily.


B. Campers
9 scouts, sniper rifles, camo-cloaks, Heavy Bolter and Telion (10models)
Cost: 230points

As Scout Squads go, this is expensive but effective. Best used in conjunction with a Tech-marine with 'Bolster Defences' used on the ruins that the unit is hiding within. Almost nothing could be able to hit this unit while they lay down suppressive fire up to 36inches across the battlefield and take down tough infantry and MC's with ease curtesy of increased ballistic skill from Telion working Hellfire Shells from the Heavy Bolter. If placed on an objective, this unit can keep most enemy away long enough for support to arrive from elsewhere on the battlefield. Problems occur when the enemy assaults this unit, so always be aware of flanking enemy!


C. Objective Campers
5scouts, sniper rifles, camo-cloaks, Heavy Bolter OR Missile Launcher
Cost: 100points

This squad is really just a cut-down version of the one above. Able to strike fear into most infantry with the use of Hellfire Shells or Frag missiles depending on the chosen heavy weapon, this squad's designed purpose is to sit on a home objective and hit anything that comes too close. This frees up the rest of the army to focus on the main assault without worrying about the state of the home objective - ideal for Raven Guard strike forces which focus more on taking on the enemy than strategic assets


D. Sneaky Fist
10 scouts, shotguns, Power Fist on Sergeant.
Cost: 165points

This is a reasonable and cheap unit designed for assaulting enemy squads. Best used along with another unit such as a Tactical squad, the entire reason for existence is to soften up the target before delivering the Power Fist. When supporting another unit, be aware of the chance to kill the target in one round of combat, leaving both squads open to enemy fire. Combat this by assaulting multiple targets with both units where possible.


E. Crowd Control
10 scouts, boltguns, Heavy Bolter, combi-flamer on Sergeant.
Cost: 160points

This unit is designed simply for taking down hordes of weaker enemy models. With the heavy bolter and rapid-firing boltguns plus a slight toasting from the Sergeant, most infantry squads quickly get taken down at close range. When a little further away, the Hellfire shells from the Heavy Bolter mean even tough enemy units are likely to fall fast. This unit is best when not split into combat-squads, the reason being that all boltguns are needed to fire in order to be effective due to their lower ballistic skill. When the enemy is too far away to be a target, keep the unit on an objective and fire the Heavy Bolter's Hellfire Shells as supporting fire for other units out on the field.


F. Tank Chaser
5 scouts, boltguns, melta bombs and combi-melta on Sergeant.
Cost: 90points

A unit design curtesy of Levitas, the Tank Chaser build has one goal, and that is to hit vehicles two or even three times the unit's point cost within the first two turns of game play, thus opening a weakness in the enemy line that further reinforcements can exploit. The unit is small and cheap, which in the case of the unit failing and dying, its loss will be less noticed in the grand scheme.

Conclusion

Scouts are light-years away from being as potent a weapon as any of their battle-brothers, however they have their uses, especially when used to support other units on the field.

In almost every deployment and build variation, the use of scouts is always to support other units, and that’s how it really should be for a unit as cheap as Scouts. No commander should expect a unit of Scouts to perform as well as a Tactical Squad, and the cost of each squad reflects this.

With Sergeant Telion leading the unit, a squad of Scouts quickly finds its self able to tackle more than their worth on the field, and with a well placed missile, can earn their value back in a single round against vehicles they otherwise wouldn't dream of scratching.

As is typical of units like this, support is everything. Whether using the Scouts as support for other units, or having other units support the Scouts, their real effectiveness revolves around working with other units, else they just fall apart.



Thanks for reading, C&C is very welcome as always

Cheers,

CR

PS. Thanks to Levitas for the 'Tank Chaser' build idea and adding a section on the Land Speeder Storm, and Hagg for reminding me about Hellfire shells (I cant believe I forgot them!)
Thanks to Pendrecki, for pointing out I'd mis-calculated one of the builds!
Thanks to Mortemer, for pointing out a very silly mistake.

Another fine article CR! I picked up a few new things too.

I like the cheap sucide unit that infiltrates and melta bombs stationary tanks on turn 1. Simply bolters and a sgt with melta bombs and combi melta. Nice to take out vindis, LRs, or nasty pred builds early.

Will you be commenting on the use of the land speeder storm?

With a few of the tacticas they will overlap, such as speeders, not sure how we deal with that.

Very well put together and presented mate, I think there are a few more builds to squeeze out so see what peoples ideas are.

I'm off to work on a sneaky fist (!)

Thanks for the quick feedback.
I didn't think about the LS: Storm as I consider it a seperate unit, however I can see that mentioning it here is actually really required, so I'll nail out another sub-section to cover that. What I'll do is simply mention its use with the unit, and allow a future Tactica to cover the unit in more detail.

I've only got two scout squads, so I struggled to come up with other builds. Cheap tank buster sounds really effective, I'll add that one plus any others that people come up with =)

Thanks again (and good luck with the sneaky fist)

CR

really good work CR, there a some things i might try.

I miss the heavy bolter, it is the perfect weapon for a sniper scout squad because it has the same target priorities and it is cheaper than the missile launcher. plus it wounds at 2+ and fires a template making the ballistic skill less important.
I think a "camper" unit can use the heavy bolter better than the missile, especially as there are to much wasted shots when firing at a tank.
the ranged tank hunter role scout squad would maybe have 4 snipers and a missile launcher...

~hagg

True, hellfire shells are valuable. Makes even plague marines look over their shoulder. I guess you take whats needed for the job on hand.

I like the cheap camping unit at 5 man without Telion. In almost every game with objectives they can be handy and their loss wont ruin your day.

I do have issuses with how fragile they can be, but they have won me many a game as opponents ignore them as they are low threat.

I always found that what a HB would be effective against, a frag missile would be more so, though the hellfire rounds are something I forgot entirely, thanks for the nudge

I'll update the camper build to be a 'sniper-HB' build, and make a ranged tank-hunter build as you suggested Hagg.

Cheers for the feedback. With this level of support, these tactica will iron out really nice =)

CR

We are certainly making progress! Just be sure to sticky them, for one it will make my job easier at the end to compile the whole lot.

There are still some juicy tacticas to be done, Sternguard anyone? Tacs? drop pods?

A few more updates have been added, including using Hellfire shells (I'm still in shock that I forgot them!)



Oh yes, I really agree that we're making progress. I didn't know that I could sticky posts though?

I chose to do these last two as they are reletive while not being essential to anyones game. Perhaps I'll give Sternguard a shot next if I find the time =)

Cheers again

CR

totally off topic but i love CR's sig - nice article too

Lol, in that case i sugest you run out and get yourself a copy of Dog Soldiers.
Its an English made film, should cost around £5 if bought online. It's an epic watch, very origional and has lots of cracking lines (including my sig!)

Glad you liked the article. If you ever think of anythink I've missed, let me know.

CR

Great article, just one minor point of contention, I'm fairly sure scouts can be deployed in the LS: Storm. They dont have to but it is a valid option as long as they only have 5 men.

a good point but i don't think it deserves more than just a mention, as i'm sure the land speeder storm will get its own tactica which will describe the benefits to scouts, Maybe if clean rabbits tactica spree continues he might be able to do one


another quality article my friend, keep it up

Very well written CR,

although, perhaps emphasize abit more on the pros and cons of the various weapon load outs. Nonetheless, very well written.

Thanks SyN, I'll take that point into consideration and look to exactly what I could add to cover what you recomend =)

Jasp, I wouldn't call it a Tactica spree, so much as not wanting to hack up SQL queeries at work




Then I need something clarifying.
Can a unit other than Terminators be deployed inside a Land Raider (any variant)?

I've never seen a rule saying otherwise however I never thought that a unit could deploy in a transport that wasn't dedicated to the unit. I've never had the need for this rule and cannot find anything in the rulebook section covering transports that states when units can be deployed in the vehicle other than the 'dedicated transport' section. If you guys can point me in the right direction here, I'd be more than happy to change this Tactica to cover deployment via LS: Storm (heck, I even think you should be able to deploy in them, else their use is pretty limited!)

CR

a unit of terminators can take a land raider as a DEDICATED transport, for all the others you have to take it as a heavy support option and add troops in up untill the capacity limit.