Getting Sternguard to work?

[GravesDisease]

Back in 5th there was what some called "The Sternguard Scalpel", whereby you'd load up a bunch of them in a drop pod with combi-meltas and turn one destroy the most expensive vehicle(s) you see on the table. Now that the meta has changed i'm finding it's really hard to earn back their points - or feel like they are contributing to the game in any way other than dying like a marine.

I've tried popping two heavy weapons in there and making them a small scale firebase (****ty devestators), i've put them in a rhino and tried running them up field. Anyone had any recent success with Sternguard where they played a pivotal role in the events of a game?

In my desperation to get them to work i'm considering for the next game 10stern+droppod+AlliedDALibrarian. With prescience they shouldn't be killing themselves as much and should be putting out ~8 unsaved wounds a turn (assuming vs. power armour).

[Librarian Harker]

I find that the drop pod approach is still very successful. I use Pedro Kantor so that all the sternguard become scoring. I equip them with combi flamers x 8 and heavy flamers x 2, or combi meltas x 8 and melta guns x 2, normally a mixture of the two, and I also include two tactical squads, armed with plasma weapons (Combi on the sarge, plasma gun and plasma cannon). All of them are given drop pods, so turn three I have three squads of sternguard (two with combi and heavy flamers and one with meltas hitting the enemies front rank.

If put in combat squads the flamer sternguard can either remove or severely damage four enemy squads, whilst the melta squad attack any vehicles or heavy infantry. Meltas are good for assassinating warlords as strength 8 often causes instant death. As there are 9 potential targets on the table your opponent having lost a number of units will struggle to destroy them all, and if your reserve rolls are good you get two tactical squads the next turn.

It may even be possible to squeeze in a couple of stormtalons as well to provide air support. This approach will give you a wide range of scoring units, and this build is also very flexible if you need to change how your squads are outfitted.

The last time I used this build, my opponent was using tau, and he was not happy as all of his fire warriors and pathfinders disappeared turn 1. His broadsides were only able to take out a combat squad a piece. The next turn my melta stern guard killed his broadsides. His force did not move from his side of the board, and the tactical squads did little more than take the objectives on my side of the board and kill his crisis suit squad.

Hope this helps

[DarkLink]

Just don't go all melta. Take some plasma, and maybe even a flamer or two, and just don't be quite so aggressive that your Sternguard get swarmed by the entire enemy army in one turn and die. Drop them in on a flank with a little support to put pressure on your opponent. You'll still wipe out one or two units, and if you position them well your opponent will have to expend significant effort responding to their threat.

[Bob821]

I have just started using them as you described. Load them in a drop with combi melta's and kill what ever I think is the biggest threat to my beloved Death Company filled Land Raiders. I pull off the same trick for a lot more points with Danta, a sanguinary priest and a squad of melta augmented Sanguinary guard. These normally survive a bit longer though and do a lot more damage.

I don't mess about trying to do anthing cleaver with them though. Never seemed to have much luck dropping them in the flanks. I will sometimes have large squads as part of my gun line if I fancy trying to outshout my gameing friends Tau, Eldar or Space wolves... does not normally work very well though!

[Maakeff]

For extra trolling, stick Corbulo in the Drop Pod with them. :-)

[plawolf]

For extra trolling, stick Corbulo in the Drop Pod with them. :-)

That only works if they are BA Sternguard. Allies don't get the benefits of BA S.Priests as the wording for their rule specifically mentions BA units.

[Maakeff]

Why would they not be Blood Angels? All the cool kids play space-vampire-angels...

Fair point, though.

[GravesDisease]

I'm running them in a crimson fist army, so no priests for me - however even if i could take one i'm not sure that i would. Stern + droppod + a few combi's is already at the 300 mark. Adding a sanguinary guard is going to push that cost even further up to a place where they would never be able to reclaim their points back.

[dirkspair]

i run a BA army and i take a unit of stern guard with lysander in a drop pod as allies. just 2x combi melta and 2x combi plasma, combat squad them as they impact and cause a bit of commotion on one flank. usually lysander soaks a lot of fire to keep them around and he leaves them to break faces while they chill and use their special ammo.

[GravesDisease]

You can't have two combat squads in a single drop pod now.