I like vendettas for tank killing. And running away once you've slaughtered enough to win a moral victory in annihilation.
Normal infantry only have a 50% chance to hit with each shot, so on average only 4-5 rounds from each squad will even hit (since the sergeant only has a range of 12"). Even against T3 units, that means only 50% of those will wound (down to 2-3 wounds); against T4s, only a third will wound (1-2). With no AP value, that's cut down to effectively nothing against most enemies (one left, if you're lucky...). So for 50 points, you get a ten wound blob of useless. :/
Veterans given autocannons/heavy bolters and grenade launchers are halfway useful, though. 66% of their attacks will hit, and you can replace three flashlights with an S3 AP6 blast weapon that doubles as an S6 AP4 antiarmor round, which can be fired at its full range while moving, and with a BS of 4 that means it won't scatter too far from your target with a little luck.
Vendettas bring a staggering amount of highly mobile fire power for a relatively low cost. One has a decent chance of destroying a tank, and they chew up heavy infantry. Add on the heavy bolters, and they can tear up lighter, cheaper infantry too.
I hear chimeras are nice, and thinking about it, in a higher point game, they make a nice upgrade to a veteran squad or something, that has a heavy weapon team and three alternate weapons. Throw on the heavy stubber and camo netting, park it in cover, and you have a nice heavily armored fire point capable of laying down a staggering amount of dakka, with a 3+ cover save, that can turn and get the hell out if the enemy gets too close.
If you have the points and enough firepower to keep the enemy off, colossus or griffons might be a good investment. Basilisks are nicer, but their minimum range is almost the short length of a normal board.
I hesitate to say infantry platoons are useless, but that seems to be the case. They're too expensive to just swarm and overpower heavier shit, and there are better solutions to lighter swarms. Let's look at basic infantry versus toaster warriors:
Every shot that's fired has a 50% chance of hitting (1/2 of shots get this far), there's only a 33% chance of inflicting a wound (1/6th shots), then only 33% get past the armor save (1/18th of shots), and, after all that, there's a 50% chance it'll just hop right back up on its next turn (1/36th of shots inflict a lasting wound). So, to kill a single 18 point toaster in one volley, you would need, statistically, four infantry squads, coming in at 200 points.
Now, for 198 points, you could get 11 toaster warriors. They have the same range as guardsmen. 66% of their attacks will hit (2/3rds), and 66% of those will wound (4/9ths of shots inflict wounds). So those 11 warriors, firing on the guardsmen, would inflict roughly 5 wounds per volley, or one eighth of the total strength of the mass. Of course, in practice, the guardsmen will all manage to shoot themselves instead, and the toasters will manage to hit five with every shot. >:|
The problem is, you'd have a damn hard time getting those 40 guardsmen (got to remember the useless sergeants...) all in range, so the toasters would just shred them unit by unit until there was nothing left.
I've got about five hours before I have to go to sleep if I'm going to get a reasonable amount. Anyone want a game in the meantime? I want to continue that daemon one against userpay, a little less so the IG v Toasters against neruz, but I want to try out another daemon army that might work better. Or tau, if I finish the 1000 point list before anyone wants a game.