How can I still need more figs?

I started arranging my Salamanders last night into squads based on the notes I took from the local store's advanced copy of the new Space Marine Codex. Actually, first I pulled all the models I might use as Salamanders from the tackle trays of Blood Angels and Storm Lords, setting aside all special Blood Angel stuff. Then I began organizing them into squads for Salamanders.

I have about 18 Terminators. I can field a ten man squad with all thunder hammers and storm shields except for the two with heavy flamers. Of course these guys can't shoot for a damn, but I don't generaly think of terminators as shooters, which may be a mistake. Besides hammers and flamers are so very Salamanderish. I do have one with a missile launcher and some with storm bolters. I also have like 4 with lightning claws. I am contemplating making a shooty terminator unit and making an assaulty unit. Obviously the T-hammers, lightning claws, storm shields, etc. would be the assaulty side of the house. I actually have to buy a couple more termies for a full ten on the shooty side.

Scouts are in a similar mixed bag. I have about six or seven with sniper rifles, about as many with shotguns, and about as many with pistol and sword. I have 1 with a heavy bolter, 1 with a missile launcher, and 1 with an autocannon. *sigh* The scout with the autocannon is no longer allowed which sucks; it was a conversion. As a Salamander, I usually used scouts as shooters who could move into good positions to shoot a tank in the butt. As a Blood Angel, I assaulted with them. I'll probably stick to the shooting bit, especially now that there will be a landspeeder that can carry scouts. Of course, Salamanders are supposed to be real light on fast attack stuff like speeders, bikes, and assault troopers, so I'll have to be careful on this score. Again though, I don't have quite enough scouts to field a full ten of anything. I may break them into two units, the snipers with the heavy bolter making a group of ten. Then have a smaller group be set to board the landspeeder. Give them a missile launcher for up the kilt shots. Maybe I'll swap the heavy bolter and the missile launcher.

HQ is a real mess. It used to be that you had a command squad of up to ten people which could include techmarines, apocatharies, standard bearers, etc. Essentially it was a veteran squad with special guys. No longer. Now there are two types of these squads, honor guards for chapter masters and command squads for company captains. Honor gurads are up to ten figs, but command squads are five and only five figs. Both can have apocatharies and standard bearers (or chapter banner bearers or whatever). The other HQ's, Librarians, Techmarines, and Chaplins have no command squads. Techmarines, by the by, now come in three flavors, masters of the forge, techmarines, and slaves. Techmarines are independant characters now as well. Masters are HQs and normal Techmarinnes are elites. Masters let you field six dreadnoughts instead of three (three as elites and three as heavies). GAH! I currently have two Librarian figs, three Techmarine figs, two Chaplain figs, two commander figs, and an Imperial Champion. The Champion is one of my best paint jobs back from when they introduced the Imperial Champion and let any chapter have one. But of course now only Black Templars can have one. Maybe it can be a Chaplain or a Commander. Actually, the rules allow the command squad to have a company champion, maybe it could be that. I also have generic command squad marines with power fists, flamers, etc. that I will now have to see it they can still be fielded in the modern command squads. Tactically, the HQ was one of my few assault units because I could load it down with power weapons. time will tell if that still holds true. The other problem will be choosing which HQs to use. I like my Librarians and the Techmarines are very Salamanderish, not least because they can be armed with thunder hammers. And some of my best figs are the Chaplains. (I have the special Xavier figure x2.) Do I put my best painted army on the field or my most effective? Do I care more about fluff or performance on the field?

And now I move to discuss my devestator squads. Slow moving and carrying heavy weapons, I've always felt that devistators are very Salamanderish, especially when tricked out with 4 multi-meltas. That said, I discovered I used to have two D squads. One carried four multi-meltas. The other carried my favorite heavy weapon, four plasma cannons. Plasma cannons are a small template weapon that pierces most armor and will kill most things and, unlike the smaller plasma guns and pistols, can't blow up the user. A plasma cannon hits hard enough to have a chance of destroying most light tanks, skimmers, etc. but it is also a great anti infantry weapon. It's not usually considered a Salamanderish weapon though. Moreover, because the new rules allow tac squads to field multi-meltas for free, I split up the D squad based around multi-meltas for use in tac squads. In the place of the multi-melta D squad, I now have the beginnings of an anti-personnel D squad consisting of a heavy bolter, a plasma cannon, and two missile launchers. I may eventually set up an all heavy bolter squad, we'll see. The rub is that I don't have enough figs to make this second D squad a ten man squad. I either need to get more figs or I need to mount these guys in a Razorback.

Next, let's talk tac squads. I currently will have five of them. Partially, this is because I broke up the multi-melta D squad which gave me 4 multi-meltas. I already had one tac squad that was a multi-melta and a flamer. Now the rub. I don't have enough flamers because, in my experience anyway, flamers sucked; short range and almost everyone got a save. It was better to have another guy with a bolter who could shoot all the way across the field. Now though flamers are free and people are telling me they got "way better" because there is no cover save anymore. Perhaps. Still, they are a Salamnder weapon. What did I have though? Well I had meltaguns (big hit, pierces armor, short range) or plasma guns (almost as big a hit, same range as the bolter, pierces most armor, can blow the gunner up). My recollection is that it is far better to have a squad with similar engagement ranges than one with different ranges. I went with the plasma guns though the meltas are probably more Salamanderish.

I have 1 assault squad and I need to find out if the flamer guy in it can stay. I also have a lot of extra assault marines so I may be cobbling togehter a veteran assault squad. It will give me a place to put all the guys from the old command squad with power fists, etc. I noticed that all of my old composition (power fists and thunder hammers) was based on the fact that, against most enemies, I was going slower anyway so I took the "always-go-last" weapons. I don't know if I will keep that mold now that I no longer have an init penalty.

None of the above includes vehicles. I have a Vindicator, a Land Raider, a Land Raider Crusader, a Whirlwind (I never use it), 2 Razorbacks, 5 Rhinos, a Typhoon Landspeeder, a normal Landspeeder, and two dreadnoughts. Oh and a bike squad with an attack bike, something else I never use.

I also have four guys with Lascannons. They could be slotted into a D squad or I could put them into a veteran shooty squad. A shooty veteran squad in a Razorback looks mean. I have them, even though they are not very Salamanderish, b/c a lascannon is about the only weapon we have that will shoot a heavy tank like a Land Raider at range with any hope of penatrating. Land Raiders laugh at missile launchers, plasma weapons, or anything like that.

I also have some converted Dark Angels in robes (including one with a LasCannon) that I used as the Storm Lord command squad. I may retain them as the Honor Guard should I ever field a Chapter Master. Which brings me to the fact that I don't know if I ever will. My army, big as it is, is only company sized, not chapter sized. It would seem inappropriate to field a Chapter Master.

I also wonder if you can, under the new rules, make a D squad that has four heavy flamers and is geared for assault.

Just my thoughts for today.