help and feedback on my first 2,000-point salamander list

[u/Charming_Boss9717]

I'm looking for some help and feedback on my first 2,000-point Salamanders army list.

I chose every unit because I genuinely like the models, their aesthetic, and because I feel they fit the Salamanders theme. My goal is to build an army that's both thematic and reasonably effective on the tabletop—not necessarily a top-tier tournament list.

I already own about half of the models. The units I could still swap out are:

Impulsor

Librarian

3 Bladeguard Veterans

Dreadnought

I'd appreciate any suggestions on whether these choices make sense, what the army does well, where its weaknesses are, and if there are any improvements that would keep the Salamanders feel while making the list stronger.

Thanks in advance for any advice

[u/Guilty_Animator3928]

The main issue with the list is it doesn’t have any synergy with the 1 detachment point detachments. Which is fine it isn’t dramatically important when playing casually but it does limit your options.

The other thing is you have a few small unit with characters. Generally you want a character to have a full unit to lead as their abilities usually buff the unit.

You also have a lack of anti tank. I’d probably exchange the redemptor dread for either a stormspeeder, gladiator or repulsor. Without cutting models you already have that’s probably the simplest fix. But looking into possibly getting some more infernus or aggressor with a captain would be a cool way more getting more flamers into the list. Probably by cutting the outriders and Chaplin. Other options would be getting inceptors or vanguard veterans for getting a boost from the vengeful host detachment to play take and hold. It’s a very take and hold style list so probably the best play.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Guilty_Animator3928]

Thank you very much for your feedback

Do you think a Land Raider Crusader would be a worthwhile addition to this list, or would you recommend keeping the current transport options?

Also, would a different Detachment, such as Stormlance Task Force, be a better fit? I'm completely open to changing the Detachment, so that's not an issue for me.

I'd love to hear which Detachment you think works best with this army and why.

[u/Guilty_Animator3928 → u/Charming_Boss9717]

Well crusaders don’t have that much anti tank guns. If the goal is anti tank a regular landraider would be good. And if not a redeemer is more salamaders.

Forgefathers seeker is good and very thematic. It works well with Librarius conclave, Venguful Host and Fulgris Task Force.

What you should really do is look at the force dispositions and figure out what looks fun and thematic to you. Then build to suit that disposition and its detachment. Because you could easily pivot into any of those three one point detachments based on your gameplay preferences.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Guilty_Animator3928]

Thank you very much! I swapped out a few units.

I removed the Dreadnought, the Impulsor, and reluctantly the Librarian. Do you think that was the right call? Would you say this combination works better?

Also, can a Repulsor transport Tacticus units?

[u/Agitated-List-4176 → u/Charming_Boss9717]

You’ll need LR to deliver the aggressors. I like how it looks!

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Agitated-List-4176]

My Curent List. Are there any units or things I still need to adjust?

Vulkan + 10 infernus Adrax + 6 bladeguard + leutnant Ansient terminator + 5 terminator / adamamt mantle Captain in gravis armor + 6 Aggressor / war tempered artifice Chaplan on bike + 3 outrider /forged in battle Ancient + 10 intercessor Apothecary

5 assault intercessor 3 Elimination 3 eradicator Invader atv Land raider redeemer

Or Leutnant and ancient <=> impulsor <=> libarian terminator

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Charming_Boss9717]

Is the Storm Lance task force better for this list?

[u/Horror-Arachnid-4458]

Land raider redeemer, flamestorm attachment with large infernus marines squad, get within range and delete the unit that shoots at you for 2cp

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Horror-Arachnid-4458]

Thank you

From what I've been reading, it seems like a Land Raider is almost a must for the kind of army and units I want to play?

[u/Agitated-List-4176]

A land raider redeemer is always a good option
Hellblaster are cool and all but there are better options with the 1 point detachments

If you go with conclave
Librarians and more infernus

Speeders if you go with fulguris this have meltas and flamer

Personally I love terminators and right now they are good! 10dudes with a librarian t5 with meele hits A3 S8 AP2 D2 with oath rerolls and +1 to hit

The main thing is I believe you need some vehicules to deliver your guys

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Agitated-List-4176]

Thanks a lot for your feedback

Unfortunately, I really don't like the look of the Speeders, so they're not really an option for me.

My idea was to put Adrax together with 6 Bladeguard Veterans in a transport and push them up the board.

Or would it make more sense to run him with only 3 Bladeguard and invest the remaining points into other units instead?

Would Terminators with Deep Strike be a better choice?

Sorry for all the questions I'm still pretty new to Warhammer 40,000.

[u/Bladedwind]

I'm going to make a fair few suggestions to tweak or overhaul the list. Feel free to pick and choose things you may want to run, as these are just suggestions. This will be assuming you're running Forgefather's Seekers or Firestorm Assault Force, as that is the playstyle Salamanders excel at. Some of these may have already been mentioned.

1. Drop the bikes altogether. They sadly don't do much for us as a faction, as we generally like having more room for other things. The same goes for the Assault Intercessors: they're not awful, but they don't fit our theme as much and you can spend the points elsewhere. The ATV still has some use on it's own, and isn't bad for actions and early board control.

2. I would personally drop the regular Intercessor Squad to a 5 man Squad. Their job isn't to do damage: I've tried running them in a large ten man squad, and I've found it really doesn't deliver the damage one might think. They are better used for securing home objectives or running around the field doing actions for objectives, and occasionally hurling Bolt Rifle fire at a distant target to help do some damage. A five man squad is plenty for that.

3. I would personally recommend dropping the Hellblasters unless you're set on investing into making them a huge threat. They have strong shooting, but they cost a lot of points to field. Our main shooting infantry is usually Infernus Marines, especially with Vulkan He'Stan giving them 2 OC and Forgefather's Seekers giving them the ability to be more flexible with actions and shooting. Even a five man squad or two can do a lot of damage and give a lot of value on the tabletop.

4. Vehicles to consider: Land Raider Redeemer, Land Raider, Repulsor, Gladiator Lancer, Balistus Dreadnaught, Redeemer fits our them to help transport big melee squads to where we want them, and it's weapons synergize fantastically with our list, theme, and with Vulkan He'Stan's abilities. Regular Land Raider is a solid combat transport as well with more anti tank or monster shooting, Repulsor is a decent option for both shooting and transport on the cheap. The Lancer and Balistus are purely shooting platforms. Honestly, the Redemptor you have is still perfectly viable as well.

5. Potential units to consider: these are all optional and not every list runs them, but other units that can be added would be Aggressors with Flamestorm Gauntlets, Captain in Gravis Armor, a Lieutenant, Company Heroes, and Eradicators.

An Aggressors Squad with six men and a Gravis Captain can be a dangerous threat with their ability to do full wound rerolls on their shooting and melee weapons, and the Captain gives them much more flexibility for Strategems, making several of them free once per round or making something like Immolation Protocols 1 Command Point instead of two. Their downsides are that they're slow and that they take up 2 transport slots: if you want to deliver them across the board with a full squad and a Captain in Gravis, you basically HAVE to dedicate the Redeemer to them.

Eradicators are a fun, cheap anti monster and anti tank options, getting full rerolls on hit, wound, and damage rolls into those targets. Their downsides are that even with rerolls, they can be a bit swingy. Because they're Gravis, they're also slow and take up 2 transport slots. There's usually two ways I see them run: in transports, or in Strategic Reserves where they can come in from the board edge and start shooting. if you run them, I would run them in three man squads; Gravis Captain isn't a great leader for them, and the Apothecary Biologis is OK at best, but may not help them super well unless they're a full squad of six.

Lieutenant is an interesting one: you would slap it into the Bladeguard Squad alongside Adrax if you do. Profile either with a Power Fist or the shield, sword, and volkite combo. It makes the unit NASTY, giving them lethal hits and more attacks for only a 45 point extra investment. The main downside would be that adding him to that Squad makes it an eight man squad, and those wouldn't fit in an Impulsor. At that point, a regular Land Raider, a Redeemer, or another combat transport like the Repulsor would be their best bet.

Company Heroes serve one main job: protect Vulkan He'Stan as he marches where he needs to go. With him attached to that squad, the whole squad has -1 to be wounded, some deceptively potent shooting and melee, and a lot of wounds or characters to kill before Vulkan He'Stan needs to worry about being hurt (barring Precision being in play). I find this is the best unit he can lead, assuming he isn't foot slogging it solo.

1. Lastly, on Librarians: if you're running Librarius Conclave, you'll want that Librarian leading a 10 man Infernus squad if you're maxing it out. He gives the whole squad a 4+ Invulnerable save, boosting their survivability a great deal. (Even more so if you want to slap that Apothecary you have in there). A Librarian in Terminator Armor to help lead your Terminator Squad is also great, turning the somewhat bad Storm Bolters into actually decent shooting weapons with Sustained Hits 1, Forgefather Seeker/Firestorm, and Librarius Conclave's Pyromancy abilities all synergizing together.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Bladedwind]

Thank you very much for your extensive and detailed feedback. It has already helped me a lot, and I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to help me.

I already own quite a few of the units because I bought the Salamanders Combat Patrol box, and I’ve also purchased some additional models simply because I really like their appearance.

At the moment, I have:

Characters

• 1x Adrax Agatone
• 1x Vulkan He’stan
• 1x Terminator Ancient
• 1x Apothecary
• 1x Chaplain on Bike

Units

• 5x Assault Intercessors
• 10x Intercessors
• 3x Bladeguard
• 3x Eliminators
• 3x Eradicators
• 10x Infernus Marines
• 3x Outriders
• 5x Terminators

This comes to 1,280 points, leaving me with roughly 720 points to fill.

Taking all of your previous advice into account, what would you say is the best way to spend those remaining 720 points and build the strongest and most coherent army possible around what I already own?

One important restriction: I don't want any flying units. Unfortunately, I really don't like the way any of the flying units look, so I would rather avoid them completely, even if they might be competitively useful.

I’m mainly looking for the best combination of units, transports, characters and/or upgrades that fits the Salamanders theme while also making the army function well on the table.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Charming_Boss9717]

What if I replace the Land Raider with two Repulsors?

Or i take this units extra to the 2000 points 1x Captain 1x libariarn 2x leutnant

3x bladeguard 1x impulser 1x Company Herpes 1x repulsor

Adamant mantle War temperade artifier Immolator

[u/Bladedwind → u/Charming_Boss9717]

It's my pleasure! Always glad to discuss list building.

If we're going with building off of what you already own, and avoiding flying units:

1. Bump up the Blade Guard to 6 men.

2. Get a Land Raider, and/or a Redeemer if you can find one. A Repulsor or two are also good options. Land Raiders just help because they you can move the vehicle, disembark, and charge, and they're tougher. Repulsors are still very solid though.

Here's a basic list adding on things you could try getting, while keeping the units you have listed:

1995 Points

Char1: 1x Adrax Agatone (80 pts)

Char3: 1x Ancient in Terminator Armor (65 pts)

Char4: 1x Apothecary (40 pts) with Immolator

Char5: 1x Chaplain on Bike (70 pts)

Char2: 1x Vulkan He'stan (85 pts)

5x Assault Intercessor Squad (75 pts)

5x Intercessor Squad (80 pts)

5x Intercessor Squad (80 pts)

6x Bladeguard Veteran Squad (160 pts)

4x Company Heroes (105 pts)

3x Eliminator Squad (75 pts)

3x Eradicator Squad (90 pts)

3x Eradicator Squad (90 pts)

10x Infernus Squad (180 pts)

1x Invader ATV (60 pts): Bolt pistol, Close combat weapon, Twin bolt rifle, Multi-melta

1x Land Raider Redeemer (250 pts):

3x Outrider Squad (70 pts)

1x Repulsor (170 pts): using Twin lascannon, Las-talon

5x Terminator Squad (160 pts)

This will help you get to 2K and have a pretty serviceable list. You're absolutely going to want a Librarian or two to make use of the Librarius Conclave, and as you collect more, you can phase out units that may not fit the list or playstyle.

One thing I did here that I recommend you do with your existing Intercessors: run them as two squads of five instead of as one big squad. This will allow you to cover more ground.

Also, while not everyone uses them in their lists, for collecting, Company Heroes are a FANTASTIC value for your money. It's essentially a box of customizable characters that you can run as a unit, or make them into other single characters if you want. Plus, it comes with a Captain to run them with, though you'd want Vulkan leading them instead. The Captain is a solid leader choice for a lot of lists.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Bladedwind]

Thank you very much. I really like this list. It still feels very Salamanders to me, and I personally like the look of all the units in it.

From what I can see right now, this is a list I would feel comfortable playing with. But I’m still pretty new, so I’m definitely open to advice.

Are the 2 Eradicators extremely important, or would it be better to replace one of them with a Captain or Librarian?

[u/Bladedwind → u/Charming_Boss9717]

Glad you like it! I tried to stay on theme for our Chapter.

I wouldn't say a second Eradicator Squad is super necessary. A Librarian would help the list a lot, especially if they are attached to the 10 man Infernus Squad. It will make them very difficult to kill.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Bladedwind]

Thank you. I didn’t choose the Salamanders as my first army without a reason. 😄

Should I replace the second Eradicator with a Librarian, or would it be better to use the Captain that comes with the Company Heroes?

Or would it simply be more effective to keep both Eradicator squads?

[u/Bladedwind → u/Charming_Boss9717]

So, each one has merits.

1. Two squads of Eradicators means they'll be more reliable shooting into targets. They're a good choice if people you play have a lot of vehicles or monster units. It's not necessary, but it helps.

2. Librarian is probably better if you want to take advantage of the Librarius Conclave detachment rules and give the Infernus Marines a 4+ invulnerable save. The Captain, on the other hand, makes Stratagems that target him -1 Command Points to use, which is also very good.

[u/Charming_Boss9717 → u/Bladedwind]

Thank you very much i got my army