Scout Sentinels and their role

[stovrose]

I'm a fan of long range fire support. With the change in price of sentinels in this codex I was excited.

Every list I create typically sports at least 2-3 scout sentinels with autocannons. These beauties almost always outflank, giving me the best decision to place them out f harms way, while providing that much needed punch to a MC or rear armor.

How do you field them? If at all...

[gamma016]

I have only run them a few times this edition, but I found running them with heavy flamers was pretty good if you know your opponent has troops sitting on backfield objectives. I'd also like to try running them with lascannons now that they got cheaper. I see the best way to run them as being multi laser, heavy flamer or lascannon. Multi laser to keep then cheap and the strength 6 can still take out light vehicles. Heavy flamers, also cheap, and great anti Infantry. Lascannon for heavy vehicle hunting, especially with the price drop as they are only 5 points more than an Autocannon or Missile Launcher.

[treadiculous]

Scout sentinels are great, I have a few and they normally do well.

I like all the weapon load-outs and find they can make the most out of rear armour shots due to outflank, this tends to make the lascannon seems overpowered when autocannons will deal with rear armour happily.

...however I am building a formation of stompa hunters which will all field lascannons, for 100 points for the formation they will be able to fire twice at any super heavy (and then not move next turn) and also gain +1 to the AP roll (effectively making them strength 10). (making 18 x S10 Ap2 shots!).

This is an old apocalypse formation which GW used to have on their website - I'm not sure where you can find it these days.

If I run sentinels in a game I tend to field a lot on the basis that at least some of them will roll the reserves rolls I want, the others will just sow confusion.

I play against emptyhat who is far better at using his sentinels than me and often causes horrific damage to my infantry with them.

[emptyhat]

Jul 14, 2014 3:23:39 GMT -5 treadiculous said:

I play against emptyhat who is far better luckier when using his sentinels than me and often causes horrific damage to my infantry with them.

[tallarncommander]

I love scout sentinels. I find them to be plucky, cheap units that can screen, outflank, and tie up the foe. They’ll never be a great unit, but they’re a decent unit that can perform well if taken in large numbers. Since I’m a historian, here’s a historical run-down of my experiences with sentinels.

2000 to 2009
With both the 2000 IG Codex and the 2003 IG Codex, I’d often bring 12 sentinels as a themed Tallarn desert recon list (back they you could attach a 4th sentinel squadron to your HQ). My infantry-sentinel lists were a fun army that performed about as well as my more orthodox IG tank-infantry lists. My sentinels’ stock in trade was to jump into combat and blow up, thereby holding up the enemy assault on my main line for a turn and then doing more damage to the enemy when they died. I even wrote up a 3-page sentinel tactica (I’ve misplaced my copy) and I handed out copies to my opponents at tournaments. They always seemed amused to be getting a how to guide on sentinel use.

2009 to 2014
In 2008 my sentinels got the outflank rule with the 5th edition. Huzzah! Sadly the 2009 codex dropped me down to 9 sentinels (the command squad lost the ability to attach a squadron), but this codex gave me Al’Rahem. Using scout sentinels and Al’Rahem in tandem sometimes worked quite well from 2009 to 2012 (although the combo could also get horribly wrecked too). Sadly, once 6th edition came out in 2012 my outflanking platoon could no longer charge on the turn in came out. Plus, my opponents all started taking allies (and I’m a fluff purist) so my foot-sentinel lists lost almost all of their games in 6th.

2014
Now with the 2014 IG Codex I’m sad to see I’ve lost Al’Rahem. On the other hand, armored sentinels got a lot cheaper so I might just take a foot list backed by 9 armored sentinels. This would bring the sentinels back to the pre-2008 days when they couldn’t outflank so I just sped them ahead of my main line as speed bumps. I suspect AV 12 will mean they last longer then they did back then.

If I do this I need to figure out how to make my scout sentinels look like armored sentinels. I guess I could get strips of plasticard and glue them on the sides and front. Do you all have any suggestions on how to convert 9 scout sentinels to armored sentinels?

With regard to weapons, I jump back and forth between multi-lasers, lascannons, and autocannons (they’re all good in the right situation).


-Tallarn Commander

IG, “We are many, they are few.”

[Lord General Armstrong]

The armoured sentinel is an absolute steal in the current edition. I've even debated the autocannon or missile launcher option considering they're now the same price.

[hootsmon]

In my current 1500pt list I have 3 Armoured multilaser sentinals for flanking and back field shenanigans, hopefully trying to draw fire away from my Leman Russes and Banewolves.

Alternatively with some tweaks I can afford a Chimera for my CCS and two Plasma Cannon Armoured Sentinals which will be just as if not more threatening.

[emptyhat]

They're pretty mean in Kill Team games too.

[that1guy]

As far as Sentinel weaponry selection goes I don't think you can go wrong with the exception of the hunter Killer missile. I have an Armored Sentinel squad, one with a Plasma cannon, one with a Laser cannon and one with a Missile launcher. With all the heavier weapon's already paid for in points it's just a waste to upgrade such a fragile unit with expensive war gear.

when I can buy models again I intend to make a scout sentinel squad too, not just because they are more valuable per cost of points, but also because the armored Sentinel bits left over are essential for converting a chimera chassis into a scout salamander... which also has the scout rule & takes up a fast attack slot.

BUT!... those 3 Sentinel's will be armed with a Multi laser, Heavy Flame thrower & Auto cannon to cover one of each of the weapon's. Maybe these Scout sentinel's will be worth upgrading with HK's since they don't have a lot of punch vs. Armored targets & they are cheaper in points. Then again I've not had a lot of luck with HK's, in any edition I've played... which isn't a lot.

I just made the Armored variant because I thought it looked cooler, but after reading the rules the scout sentinel is irresistible.

[nutty]

I don't think HK missiles are worth it on sentinels. Besides one of the main reasons people take scout sentinels this edition is the fact that they are cheap; no reason to slap a single shot weapon on there that has a pretty decent chance of missing it's target.

Personally I would stay away from the autocannon this edition: I've ran mine (which are magnetized) mainly with heavy flamers this edition, just to distract and harass my opponent. I might try some with multi-lasers now that the new points-costs are out because they are the bargain option.

[RedsandRoyals]

Necro-thread ahoy.

That said their roles have changed since this was initially posted four and a half years ago.

Scout sents usually work best as cheap as possible their primary role is to present a deepstrike/infiltration denial bubble. I'm not sure investing in anything other than a multilaser will be worth it due to their fragility and the fact that people usually have a tendency to shoot the closest models to them if they think there's a melee threat there. A case could be made for heavy flamers but there are much more effective methods for getting fire down range, even just within the Guard fast attack slot.

Armored sents depend on the flavor of regiment you're running. Cadian ones do well with lascannons or autocannons, as they're a cheap way to trigger Overlapping Fields of Fire but heavy weapon teams are usually the more efficient choice for that. Tallarn ones do well with anything, and aren't bad at tying up weak chaff like guardsmen or cultists if need be. I personally think the armored sentinel's value is the inverse of the point level of the game. Vehicles can be tough to deal with in low point games, so the extra toughness and mobility give you outsized staying power at a budget price in 500-750pt games.

The real catch is that unless you're playing a small game, sentinels don't offer much that can't be accomplished by other units more effectively. They should be taken because you're on a budget or because you need the buffer zone of the scout sentinel. I also strongly recommend avoiding the plasma cannon and hunter killer missiles. Since the sentinel doesn't have emergency vents it dies on overheat (and there's better platforms for plasma anyway). I'm dubious on HK's as regular missiles aren't that fantastic and making them single-shot just makes them worse.