Army Build

Off topic but, how should sentinel scouts be armed. The emphasis in anything I read is always on autocannons or lascannons, or now a plasma cannon. The ability to move and shoot, take out tanks and terminators. Yet in the days when I played in this way the sentinels were always too fragile to stand in the gunline against tanks or autocannon equivalent armed terminators. IG guard shooting was also then as now apalling. When push came to shove a critical miss was more likely than a game winning hit. The maximum armour on sentinels was 10. A squad of bolter armed spacemarine equivalents could take a sentinel out the game with a few well aimed rapid fire shots. The special scout move seemed most useful for taking cover. And why get up close and personal when the sentinels had ranged weapons.

Then I realised what sentinels were actually for. They were diposable. They were not for taking out tanks but for mayhem during the first 2 turns. Ranging in front of the gunline and causing pain to the enemy. Armed with a heavy flamer the ballistic skill worries were gone. A strength 5 hit on the rear of a rhino had a good chance of causing pain. There were no cover saves. The scout move could be used to get up close and personal and flame the space marines instead of hiding. In the absence of power fists a strength 5 attack in close combat could also sometimes cause pain and disruption by popping a rhino or space marine or 2. Hence I used a cloud of basic sentinels armed with heavy flamers to scour space marine heavy weapons teams from cover before they could dominate the battle or to disrupt the rhino rush.

Nothing has changed with the new aroured sentinels. Heavy flamer is still best. The extra armour gives greater survivability. What do you think autocannon or heavy flamer. Range attacks or close and personal?