Space Shark Tactical Loadout

[vharing]

I bought a BAC box today with the plan of using everything in it to make a Carcharodons army. I have some other SM bits as well to help kit everything out but I was wondering what people thought would be a good Loadout for the tacticals. I plan on buying another box and building at least a Demi company. These first ones though I plan on putting in drop pods. I'm thinking one squad loaded up with melta. I want to make them be a fast, in your face army.

[YorkNecromancer]

They get Fear, and can buy extra CCW for peanuts.

So, your choices are going to be determined by how you run them. To my mind, if you're going all-in on the Carcharadons' theme and capitalising on this, you should be running them as kind of Despoiler squads from 30K. Essentially, assault squads in transports.

Personally, I'd run them in squads of five, and I'd probably run four of them. Give each squad a flamer, 5xCCW, and a Razorback. Put them in their IFVs, move them towards the objectives, either plinking at them with the RB's twin-linked heavy bolters (if that's what you've equipped them with), or taking pot-shots at high-value targets with the RB's Lascannon (if you went anti-tank). If you want a more generalist approach, take the las/plas Razorback and shoot tanks as you approach, and infantry on the objective as you get within charge range.

Just before they arrive at the objective, have them disembark from the rear and use the tank as cover. Then - assuming the RB survived - Tank Shock the bejeezus out of whatever enemy unit is holding the objective, before making your assault; the flamer should be used to burn enemy infantry off the objectives.

The Carcharadons' special rules aren't remotely enough to build an 'auto-win' list, so you'll need to support this with further anti-tank and anti-air choices, as well as some hard counters for whatever's in your local meta, but as a start, four squads of five, all with chainswords and one with a flamer should do. You might want to give the sergeant options as well. Power swords are pretty good, because you're not going to be using these squads to hunt Terminators; if you send them against enemy Elites, they'll get mullered. Alternately, you might want to give him melta-bombs, just in case there's an enemy tank on the way, but if you're honestly worried about that, then a Power Fist is probably better and less situational.

[Haighus]

To add to what YorkNecromancer has said, lightning claws would also be a potential alternative to power swords- they get less attacks, but the attacks they do get are more effective, and also fit nicely with the Carcharodons' theme of being sharks tearing the enemy apart in a cold-blooded rage. Would save you 1pt per sergeant as they wouldn't need the extra close combat weapon either.

I otherwise agree though- the Carcharodons are all about getting up close, and their units improve as they defeat enemies in close combat, so they want to get stuck in. It may be worth looking at Tyberos the Red Wake's rules too, as he can add some cool options to the force (as well as being a bit of a beast in melee). With Tyberos, you could assemble the Cataphractii in the set as dual lightning claw-equipped Terminators and run them as a troops unit (although rules-wise they wouldn't be Cataphractii pattern).

[Mikhail233]

Pretty good, may want to consider a thunderfire cannon for some ranged support as your allies matrix is desperate or come the apocalypse only, so you won't be able to grab many allies

[Haighus]

Hmm, have just seen you plan on getting a second box- this would give you enough power armoured Marines to make 2 demi-companies of 25 Marines each, and therefore allow you to take free transports- this would work really well with the Razorback idea. Would also allow a cheaper Drop pod assault.

You could also then use the Terminators and the remaining 10 Marines to make a 1st Company task force as an auxiliary formation- the ability to cause enemies to suffer -2 to their Ld could be a decent combo with the entire army having Fear on it's units. Situational as it is entirely useless as a tactic against any loyalist Space Marine army, but it could be handy against other forces.

Gladius Strike force: 1849
Battle demi-company:
Captain: Lightning claw 105
Tactical squad: Flamer, Lightning claw, ccw x4,
Razor back, twin-linked Assault cannon 114
Tactical squad: Flamer, power sword, ccw x5,
Razor back, twin-linked Assault cannon 115
Tactical squad: Flamer, ccw x5, Razor back 80
Assault squad: Flamer x2, Lightning claw, Razorback 95
Devastator squad: Razorback, twin-linked Assault cannon 90
Battle demi-company:
Chaplain: 90
Tactical squad: Flamer, ccw x5, Razor back 80
Tactical squad: Flamer, ccw x5, Razorback 80
Tactical squad: Flamer, bolters exchanged for ccw,
Razorback 75
Assault squad: Flamer x2, Lightning claw, Razorback 95
Devastator squad: Razorback, twin-linked Assault cannon 90
1st Company Task Force:
Terminator assault squad: 175
Terminator assault squad: 175
Sternguard squad: Combi-melta x5, Drop pod 195
Sternguard squad: Combi-melta x5, Drop pod 195


Kind of an amusing 1850pt ObSec Razorback rush list, with Deepstriking 1st Company support.

[vharing]

I like the razor back spam but might go half of them drop pods so I can be right in the enemies face as quickly as possible