Planning a 1500 Point Sternhammer List

My store is having a day of gaming, essentially a 3 round 1500 point tournament with only a cookie as a prize, where the goal is to give your opponents a good game rather than to crush them. I've agreed to lend my Blood Angels to a new player that didn't want to proxy for the tournament, so I'll be taking the Executioners. I thought about bringing Eldar, but they have too much of a stigma attached to them right now.

I decided to try a Sternhammer Detachment, as I haven't used it yet. I've been playing Blood Angels almost exclusively since before Angels of Death was released, so now seems like a good time to switch over. My goal is to make a Sternhammer that's fun to play against but won't roll over if anyone brings a tougher army, and that is similar enough to the CAD I was playing before that I'll be comfortable playing it.



First, I needed a Battle Demi-Company, which I expected to take up most of my points since I like large squads in Rhino. I started off with 3 10 man Tactical squads, each with a flamer, heavy bolter, and Rhino with dozer blades (never go to battle without them!). This is my basic load out for Tactical squads and I've been extremely pleased with them. They'll only be better now that they're Stubborn and can re-roll all of their misses with bolters.



10 Tactical Marines w/ flamer, heavy bolter, Rhino w/ dozer blades = 195
10 Tactical Marines w/ flamer, heavy bolter, Rhino w/ dozer blades = 195
10 Tactical Marines w/ flamer, heavy bolter, Rhino w/ dozer blades = 195

I tried adding a Captain or Chaplain in a variety of forms, but I kept getting stuck on what unit they would join. I knew I wouldn't have room for a 1st Company Task Force, so that eliminated Assault Terminators and Vanguard Veterans. A full Assault squad made sense, but they ended up costing almost as much as my mounted Command squad, so I went with that. I had been trying to avoid my standard Captain with Command squad since they seem very competitive, but they really seemed like the best choice at this level. Also, they're my centerpiece unit so I don't think anyone will hold it against me. It's a bit of a shame, because I would really like to put my Assault squad on the table at some point.


Captain w/ bike, power fist, Shield Eternal, artificer armor = 205

Command squad w/ bikes, Apothecary, 4 storm shields, 2 power fists = 230

To fill out the Demi-Company, I went with the old standby of 5 Devastators with 4 lascannons. For the Fast Attack choice, I wanted to save some points so I went with a basic Land Speeder with heavy bolter. I figured I can add more to it if I have extra points left over. Even if I don't upgrade it, a Fast Skimmer with Objective Secured will be quite handy.


Land Speeder w/ heavy bolter = 45


5 Devastator Marines w/ 4 lascannons = 150

This all costs 1,215 points, leaving me with 285 points. I decided this left me with 3 viable options. I could fit a 10th Company Strike Force, a Raptor Wing, or a combination of the single unit entries, mainly Devastators, Thunderfires, or Vindicators. I played around with each version of the list but eventually decided that I was most comfortable with some extra long range firepower to support my Tactical squads and Command Squad. I feel a bit light on anti-armor with just one Devastator squad, and I start twitching uncontrollably at the idea of fielding Executioners without at least one Thunderfire Cannon.


5 Devastator Marines w/ 4 lascannons = 150


Thunderfire Cannon = 100

This leaves me with 35 points. I used that to add a typhoon missile launcher to the Land Speeder and upgrade the flamers in two of the Tactical squads to meltaguns.

Battle Demi-Company

Captain w/ bike, power fist, Shield Eternal, artificer armor = 205
Command squad w/ bikes, Apothecary, 4 storm shields, 2 power fists = 230
10 Tactical Marines w/ meltagun, heavy bolter, Rhino w/ dozer blades =200
10 Tactical Marines w/ meltagun, heavy bolter, Rhino w/ dozer blades =200
10 Tactical Marines w/ flamer, heavy bolter, Rhino w/ dozer blades = 195
Land Speeder w/ heavy bolter, typhoon missile launcher =70
5 Devastator Marines w/ 4 lascannons = 150

Devastators
5 Devastator Marines w/ 4 lascannons = 150

Ordnance
Thunderfire Cannon = 100

Total: 1500

This looks like a fun list to me, well-rounded and able to engage up close and at distance against a variety of targets.

How would you feel playing against this list in a friendly environment?

Are the Command squad, 2 Devastator squads with Lascannons, or the Thunderfire too much?

Would you rather see a Vindicator than a Thunderfire?

Let me know what you think. Was a stream of consciousness army design post interesting or useful for you?