Showing posts with label Tactics. Show all posts

Here we go, second part, with a bit of delay. If nothing goes wrong I should also finish psykers today, so expect to see them soon!

This time round, the really interesting units in all Imperial Guard armies! Also tomorrow I most likely am going to a 40k tournament for the first time. I wonder how will it turn out, I'll be sure to let you know!

Unfortunately I couldn't construct the list I really wanted, because my online store still didn't send me my Chimeras and as such I'm unable to field a Manticore as I wanted. Oh, well, once they arrive though look forward to the Manticore construction log!




And now, ot the point.

• Fast Attack
  
  • Scount Sentinels
    Not a bad choice, all in all, though there are more potent units within this section. Still the Scout Sentinels can mess with the enemy quite a lot. 90% of cases they should be outflanking. They're way too fragile to start on the table and will get pounded quickly, unless you're starting or can utilise the scout move to hide them from los. But I doubt you could do that with a squad larger than one model.
    As for weaponry I prefer them cheap, so Multi-laser. Mathhammer wise it's as effective against AV 10 (Outflanking means you should get them into position on enemy rear) as Autocannon and 5 points cheaper and can potentially score more hits.
    Don't forget they can assault to, did I mention my cc-butchers? But don't really do that against any combat oriented unit (not even Tactical Marines).
    
  • Armoured Sentinels
    At first when I heard of an AV 12 Sentinel with a plasma cannon I was going all "oooh" over it. But time and a few battles reviewed that opinion. It's a horribly expensive unit and not really that effective. Armoured Sentinel is still interesting, but not really that awesome. Plasma Cannon is horribly expensive and as such I'd rather use this unit for something entirely different. Equip it as cheaply as you can, so Multi-laser, and go ahead charge your enemies. AV12 means it can lock out quite a few enemy units effectively an hold them for quite long. Imagine a huge bunch of 20+ Kroot turning up from outflank and then getting charged by a single sentinel and getting locked out for the rest of the game!
    
  • Rough Riders
    Some say it's the least effective unit in FA section, but I disagree. Appropriately used the good ol' RRs are still deadly, though fragile. You'll have to hide them out of los of all enemies (tanks are quite helpful for that I'd say) till they're in position to unleash their charge. That they can now get both flamers and lances is only another bonus I like about them. Sadly the biggest problem is, of course, the lack of models (Attilans? What's that? You don' mean those horribly ugly models from the age of dinosaurs?). I only ever made one when I fielded them back in 4th ed., but after the 5th I haven't used them at all and as such never finished the unit. Maybe I will once... Still I've heard of people using them to a devastating effect, so if you have the models give them a try!
    
  • Hellhound/Devil Dog/Bane Wolf
    Let's start with the ol' Hellhound. It got changed, his range is slightly lower (remember only the short end has to be within 12") but he is now a fast vehicle, making him an excellent choice against enemy swarms and otherwise fragile units holed in cover. Like Imperial Guard heavy weapon teams, lemme tell you how nicely they get roasted... I'd pair it with Heavy Flamer, for double as much fiery death when moving up to 6", though Multi-Melta might be appealing too, making the Hound more versatile and make our enemy think twice which weapon to choose when it suffers a Weapon Destroyed result.
    Devildog is the underdog of all three, but it's still a good choice. It's a good AT vehicle, especially with a multi-melta on the hull and it's ten times easier to hide than a Vendetta, though it lacks the ability to outflank and deliver your troops where they're needed. Definitely something to consider.
    Finally, the Bane Wolf with its fearsome Chem Cannon, the bane of all MEQs. It's main weapon is utterly devastating but short-ranged. For those reasons it will be targetted a lot and will have a hard time getting anywhere useful (though being fast helps). For that reason I'd always field them in pairs (Not squadroned though!). That way one should reach its destination! Also remember that if you pair it with a Heavy Flamer you shouldn't fire it at targets of ASv 3+ because you might end up doing less damage due to wound allocation gimmicks.
    
  • Valkyrie/Vendetta
    Now for the beloved Valk. Starting off with the regular sort. Two ways to use this. Either bare to just transported, which doesn't sound appealing to me, since it will do nearly nothing aside of hopefuly getting the troops to the place and it costs a hundred points. For just 30 points more you get rocket pods, which are really nice and I see no reason to not take them. Still somehow the MRP Valk didn't perform too well for me, but I heard a lot of people utilise them successfuly, so I guess it was just my bad luck. Remember MRPs are defensive weapons, so Valk can be quite successful against hordes, putting out quite a few attacks after moving 12".
    Vendetta on the other hand is a very solid choice. It would seem most power-gaming lists include those. How to field them? Two pointers from me. Field at least two units and do not field maximum-sized squadrons. So, 2 in two slots, 4 in two slots, 6 in three slots, all work well! Just as Banwolf, a single one (or a single unit) is likely to attract too much enemy fire. They're resilient, but not invincible.Best way to use them is either outflank, to make sure they will get to fire at least once, or utilise the scout move to get them to a proper shooting position, if you have the first turn. Also, remember about the objective of the game (which is a general tip, but it's important to say in regards of that unit). Maybe you could get 3 TLL shots at the enemy rear, but if you go Flat Out, you will contest that objective!
    Not going to mention the RAW nightmare of properly handling Valks though. I wish you all to have as sensible gaming groups as I do, that consider it stupid if you'd tell them Valks have issues with disembarking or, mentioned earlier, contesting.
    
• Heavy Support
  
  • Leman Russ tanks
    Ah, everyone's favourite tank! (Non-IG players have no voice on that one!) Coming in a variety of different flavour. Let's start with the good ol' Leman Russ Battle Tank. I'd say it's still the best choice out there. Versatile, with a very big range on its main gun and it ignoring the majority of armor saves and inflicting instant death on majority of targets as well for the cheapest price of them all! Recently I discovered the barest LRBT is the best, that means no sponsons at all! It still performs just as good, but costs less. The only problem is that sponsons on mine require a knife and some strength... And now it looks silly (of course I repainted it and everything. Even put magnets in case I'd like sponsons in the future), but is just as deadly. Generally when it comes to sponsons, nowadays I'd never put heavy bolters. Plasma cannons are quite decent. Never used Multi-meltas but they could be handy. Heavy Flamers are definitely out. You don't want to be close to the enemy in these days.
    Next is the Exterminator, which is an interesting pea-shooter, as we call units with many shots around here. It's also nice in taking out light armour, but all in all I probably won't field one. Twin Hydras can have similar fire output and cost less. of course, they're more fragile, but still. I guess I just love those large blasts...
    And that's why I don't like the codex Vanquisher.It sure can be deadly to tanks, but at BS3 it's waaay to unreliable. However if you put a lascannon on the hull and a Knight-Commander Pask in the hull it can perform really well as a long-range AT platform. I think only this version is worth considering at all.
    And the last of the rear AV 10 variants - the Eradicator. A poor choice, I don't like it all. It can ignore cover saves, but is only S6 (means it won'tinsta-kill those pesky nobs for example) and only AP4, meaning MEQ don't really care. I'd rather take a Colossus, which is the same price.
    Starting the rear AV 11s is the Demolisher, the second very good LR variant. Yep, it turns out the best ones are still those we had in our armory for ages. Demolisher is utterly deadly on short ranges. I like mine with plasma cannons, so it dishes out quite a lot of AP 2 hits. It's also very feared by the enemies and acts as a great fire magnet and might also fear your enemies away from it. All in all, a very solid choice
    Next, the tank that made all non-Guard players tremble in fear when rumours about it leaked. In the end it turned out to be one of the poorest choices in the codex. Sure, it can fire off 20 shots, but it has BS 3 and athe shots are AP -. It can't even reliably hunt AV 10. The only way it could be useful is, again, with Pask. Then it becomes a decent MC hunter actually!
    And lastly, the Executioner, another tank that made everyone suddenly very afraid of the new Guard. Just like with Punisher it proved not to be as good as everyone though, though it's still a very good tank, unlike the former. It's very expensive however and one should be careful not to make it even more expensive. 5 plasma cannon shots might sounds very appealing, but I'd rather not put sponsons on it. Furthest I'd go is to put a lascannon on the hull, as it goes well with AP 2 plasmas, making it cost as much as plasma Demolisher, while being good as well. Apparently it performs quite well, according to some forum posts.
    Generally I'd avoid using Russes in squadrons, but the best working ones would probably be either two of the same time or a Battle Tank/Demolisher mix.
    
  • Hydra
    An interesting Heavy Support choice not to be overlooked. Very cheap points-wise and providing some really nice firepower. It's special ability is interesting, though a bit funny. The part about ignoring turbo boost cover save is more or less useless. About the only units it gives something against are DE bikers and regular Ork Warbikers. Everyone else either has a 3+ armour save anyway or laughs at puny few S7 wounds. Ignoring Flat Out cover is way better though and should help a lot against pesky Eldar. Works really well in squadrons as well, freeing up other slots for heavier toys... or more Hydras!
    
  • Artillery
    Starting off with the good ol' Basilisk, which in the new codex is rather.. uninteresting. It has a nice strength and AP values, but the other choices have some special gimmicks making them more appealing somewhat. If you need a solid all-round artillery piece it's a nice choice, but it's minimum range of 36" hampers it's effectivness quite a bit. Also, unfortunately, for now it's the only unit that has a model.
    Medusa is quite an interesting thing, really. It has the largest range of all ig S10 AP2 pie-plates, or becomes a rather deadly AT platform. The latter unfortunately takes away versatility of the regular gun, which has quite a lot of AT capability on its own. it's downside is lack of indirect fire, which means it has to see the enemy, which in turns means enemy will see it. It's quite fragile, so might end it's life abruptly.
    The next one - Colossus. Now we're talking. S6 AP3 ignoring cover saves is a bane of all MEQs. This one's downside is that it can only fire indirectly, so if the enemy is charging your way into assault you might get a range problem. Remember you can't fire indirectly after moving. Still it's a very solid choice. This one suffers the most from the lack of model, there is none, aside from the FW Bombard, which apparently is the same gun, just mounted on a Russ chassis.
    Finally, the lowly Griffon. A very solid choice, actually, the Accurate Bombardment rule is a very nice hting to have. I would field them in pairs or linked with other artillery pieces in a squadron. If it fires first it helps to guide the other shots due to Multiple Barrage.
    
  • Manticore
    Apparently the new king of Heavy Support slots in tournament play. I'm going to construct one soon, so I'll be able to give you more feedback, but from what I've gathered so far it's a real butcher. It might not be AP3, meaning meaning it won't slaughter those Space Marines so easily, but it will pop their Land Rider like a ripe watermelon. That's what it does best - hitting side armour of tough vehicles (Doesn't help against Land Riders, but Battlewagons? Sure thing!) rolling two dices and picking higher for armour penetration. It's also utterly deadly against Ork hordes on foot. The Limited Ammunition rule is hardly much of a drawback.
    Keep in mind however - competetive players field those in pairs. That ensures they will do what they have to do. Also keep in mind that a list basing around Manticores and e.g. 6 Vendettas along with mech-vets places you right there on a shelf next to twin-lasher-nine-oblits-plague-marine-spam lists.
    
  • Deathstrike
    This entry is a joke, honestly. It's totally unreliable and as such useless in competetive playing. I don't it should be used, unless in Apocalypse, some special scenarios or just a "for the laughs" game. In any other circumstances there are waaay better things out there for as much or less points that won't let you down.
    Of course it can be utterly devastating, but you sure need a lot of luck for that to happen. Not the best thing.
    
    

And that's it for today, juust like last time I'd love to hear your opinions!

Now to decide if I'm too lazy to go play at a tournament today, since I'm actually thinking I am, even though I was looking forward to it...



Read more!

I'm sorry for the slowness in the past week, but I've been busy actually playing the game. Whoa. Since the Psykers are still not finished I'm giving you this tactica post. Hopefuly the next thing will be them.

I've been playing quite a lot recently, making up for all that time I haven't played just after the codex was released. Right now the 42nd stands proud with 7 victories, a single draw and 3 losses. Not too shabby. The other thing that has been attracting my attention is the thrice-damned Blizzard Entertainment that once again proves they can make awesome games by announcing third expansion for World of Warcraft - Cataclysm. Looks like I'll have to derive some money off the Space Wolves project. I promise I'll try not to get sucked into it too much and continue to post things.



But enough of rambling, let's get to the point! This time, I'll tell you my thoughts about most of the units in the new Guard codex.

• HQ
  
  • Company Command Squad
    
    The most solid and the best HQ choice in an IG army, period. It provides you with a solid platform for some special weapons and is the ultimate support for the army at the same time.
    A while back I was going to field two of those in larger games, thinking what can be better than a load of meltas on BS4, double the ammount of orders and perhaps a double advisor bonus? Right now I don't think it's such a great idea. Perhaps another veteran squad is a better choice. A semi-mechanised list I play simply has nobody to give even 2 orders to, not to mention 4, since you cannot issue them to embarked units. A fully mechanised army will have it even worse. If you're high on foot infantry though, it can be a great thing!
    The orders the CO provides are the most powerful ones. Admittedly, Get Back in the Fight! is actually the best one, but making thoe pesky Nob Bikers re-roll their cover saves can work wonders too.
    What should the Squad be used for? I can think of two ways of using it. First, grab those meltas or plasma guns (the former being maybe a bit better, especially since it doesn't make the CCS so damn expensive) hop into a Chimera and make proper use of BS 4. The other is to deck them with sniper rifles and maybe a heavy weapon and hide within some cover to provide fire support. It might be worth to invest in camo-cloaks for this choice, though I'm not entirely sold on it.
    CCS also gives you access to one of the bes things in the codex - the advisors. Out of those only two are worth the attention however. Master of Ordnance is horribly unreliable and the Bodyguards don't help too much. The other two however, can easily shift the game in your favour. I'd rank the Astropath slightly above the Officer of the Fleet, but I include both. With the re-roll from Astropath you have roughly 90% chance that your outflanking units will come out of the side you want them to! Officer of the fleet makes such a chance of success for your enemy roughly 44%, which is quite nice too. His ability to delay reserves surely saved me from being overwhelmed in some cases!
  • Lord Commissar
    That one would be the worst HQ choice, unfortunately. I haven't fielded him yet, but I can't really see a lot of use for that unit. Being IC he gets to die quite quickly in combat, so you might not get to benefit from Stubborn. I suppose you could keep him around for the Ld 10 bubble, but honestly, with orders, it isn't really that useful.
  • Primaris Psyker
    A decent support HQ choice. I could see myself using him as a second HQ unit. He can give out a lot of S6 hits, which can be annoying to the enemy, even if he gets to make his armour save. Nightshroud however is totally useless. I don't know what did Mr. Cruddace have in mind when he made that power. I could see him attached to a veteran squad in a Chimera, though admittedly the best loadout for such vets would be GLs. With plasmas, you probably wouldn't want to shoot AP 5 shots since with the wound allocation you might actually deal less damage.
    Oh, he also has a force weapon. Wow, a S3 power weapon that won't insta-kill anything anyway because all the damn things have Eternal Warrior nowadays..
    
  • Techpriest and Ministorum Priest
    Just no. Overpriced and unreliable, unless in very rare and strange cicumstances. Unless you're going for a theme... but well, this article is meant to say about competetive play.
    
• Elites
  
  • Ogryns
    Ha, ha, ha.. Do not field, unless you like the models and want a fluffy game. If you're playing at least slightly competetively stay away from them. Highly overpriced, with low Ld (So what they have Stubborn...) and no real close-combat options available to them whatsoever..
    
  • Ratlings
    A strange choice. They aren't really too bad, but they aren't too good either. Ratlings are quite cheap and can give a lot of shots, which have a chance to be Rending and force a Pinning check - which might work well combined with Weaken Resolve. But the majority of weapons in game will wound them on 2+, meaning even their 3+ or better cover save won't do much (since they'll have to make a lot of those). At Ld6 as soon as you force a morale check they're out of the game. Don't expect to reliably use Get Back in the Fight! on them.
  • Psyker Battle Squad
    The best Elite choice and one of the best units out there. Mounted in a Chimera (without it they're actually a very poor choice) they can unleash devastation upon your foes. With Weaken Resolve you can easily get rid of that annoying and deadly enemy unit, push the enemy off the objective and many more. If the enemy is Fearless you can blast them with an S9 big pie-plate, which has 50% chance of penetrating Power Armour.
    With that unit you may no longer fear the dreaded Nob Bikers. You only need to kill 2 or 3 (and with the ammount of S8+ large blasts we can dish out it's not really that hard) and they're out of the game more-or-less.
    Keep in mind your overseer is important however - or you will suffer a really deadly Perils attack!
    I wouldn't field more than one squad however. Just keep their Chimera safe from enemies and prefferably in cover all the time (using other Chimeras for example). I'll just add that this unit has never failed me in any battle it had fought in. And I really love psykers fluff-wise, have I ever mentioned that?
    
  • Storm Troopers
    Uh. Fiercely debated on, I am unsure about them at all. They're overpriced quite badly, but not as much as Ogryns and they have much more uses. I would never field a full squad however, but rather a 5-man with either twin meltas or twin flamers. Together with Airborne Assault it means you're likely to get those special weapons exactly were you need them.
    Still, personally I haven't used them and as such I can't comment more. My friend used them a bit and said they perform quite well however.
    
• Troops
  
  • Infatry Platoon
    The bread and butter of the Imperial Guard, now even cheaper! Platoon is still a very solid Troops choice, giving you access to a Command Squad that is an awesome place to stack flamers, very cheap and expendable Infatry Squad, deadly Special Weapon Squads and two other choice which are rather poor.
    As I mentioned the PCS is the best place to stack up flamers. I use mine with 3 of those and they have done great things, like roasting 10 Lootas, a 3-strong Crisis Suit team and routing a Chaos Space Marines squad. I usually use either this or a Special Weapon Squad in one of my Vendettas to get them where they're needed. They're also Troops and can claim objectives, a win-win situation! I wouldn't really put any other options on those however, well perhaps GLs since they're cheap.
    The Infantry Squads are still nice. They're cheap and as such give you a lot of scoring units, about twice as much as other armies! (I have a total of 9 scoring units, that's way more than anyone can have!) The important bit is to keep them heap, however. Do not go over the board outfitting them with power weapons, lascannons and plasma guns! I keep mine simple, GL + AC bringing them to nice 65 points, which is still cheaper than squads under the old codex were! There is however a different way to use them. Get 5 squads, give every sergeant a power weapon, give them flamers and add a Commissar with a power weapon to one of those. Grab a priest. Combine the squads. Start slowly marching through the field of battle, being as deadly as a mob of Orks! Much more expensive of course, but with 25 power weapon attacks you can do quite a lot of damage to most foes, especially since those weapons can't be singled out! I'll have to try it out one day.
    Special Weapon Squads are, other than cheap cannon fodder, the best reason to take a Platoon. I kit mine out with two demo charges and a flamer. Last game they dealt 27 wounds to a bunch of Kroot.The other they evaporated 7 out of 9 GK terminators, including the Grand Master. A one-shot wonder tat can get you out of a lot of troubles! I usually put one into a Vendetta to deliver it onto the nasty enemy (or an objective, if there's no suitable targets!). The other sits back, preferrably out of los, behind the Infatry Squads and waits for that careless Ork mob or a Terminator squad to charge and slaughter the poor Guardsmen... I lose 65 points, he loses way more.
    Heavy Weapon Squads are strange under the new dex. Very, very fragile and quite unreliable to get orders at Ld7. They can be quite useful armed with their basic weapons though! Mortars can cause some havoc in the enemy ranks as he's safe nowhere and the teams can just hide out of los and not be so easily slaughtered.
    Conscripts are a big no in the codex. Why pay 4 pts per one when you can pay 5 pts for a guardsman with 3 Ld more, 1 WS and BS more and weapon options, which you can combine into a huge squad as well?
    
  • Veteran Squad
    And excellent Troops choice, to which many people have switched over. This is the best place to put those expensive and most powerful special and heavy weapons. Give the sarge a fist (this is the only unit which should use special melee weapons), to make sure a single Space Marines cannot ruin your day and put them into a Chimera or a Valk and start handing out punishment to your opponent. Doctrines are quite interesting, but are slightly too expensive for my taste. If I was to pick one I'd go with Demolitions. Nothing more fun than one more demo charge! It's also worth noting that if they're armed with plasma guns they should have lasguns, but if they're armed with meltas they should carry shotguns. If I made my squad again I'd convert them.
    
  • Penal Legion
    Haven't used those, so can't really say much. They seem quite interesting, but at the same time I feel they might let me down quite a bit. These don't really fit my army theme, so unless I get some crazy idea or GW releases some totally awesome kit, I'm not going to use them.
    Their outflank ability might be interesting for grabbing some lonely objectives however. The ammount of the attacks/rending they could dish out might sound interesting, but against highly armoured foe it probably won't do too much (and rending is a gamble, really). But ultimately, they're not too bad.
    
  • Chimera
    Ah, the lowly Chimera APC. Went from the worst transport in game (horribly overpriced!) to more-or-less the best one (at least cost-efficency wise). Sure, it has a side armour of 10, but it can get your troops where you want them and lets them shoot out of it! That means your squad is protected from most anti-personnel weaponry (after all, you should face your enemy with the front, right? Of course it's not always possible) while still being able to shoot all special/heavy weapons! For 55 pts it's a real bargain. There's a reason my favourite online store is constantly out of stock for those.. My favourite loadout is Multi-Laser and Heavy Flamer. Shoot some S6 shots on long distances, which have a chance of popping an enemy transport and if they get close, roast them up. Be careful though, if the enemy is too strong and is likely to survive roasting I reccomend getting away or you will lose the Chimera in the next assault. I'll be writing up general tactics of using units in the third part of Tactica Imperialis.
    

And that's it. I'll probably write up Part II with Fast Attack and Heavy Support (The interesting bits for every threadhead, eh?) choices tomorrow. As a closing word, a 1800 list I came up with a while ago, which I consider very solid and fun.

HQ: Company Command Squad - Standard, 3xMelta, OoF, Astropath
Chimera - ML, HF
Elites: Psyker Battle Squad(9 Psykers)
Chimera - ML, HF
Troops: Veteran Squad - 3x Plasma, Fist
Chimera - ML, HF
Troops: Veteran Squad - 3x Melta, Fist
Troops: Platoon Command Squad - 3xFlamer
Infatry Squad - GL, AC
Infatry Squad - GL, AC
Infatry Squad - GL, AC
Special Weapon Squad - 3x Demo Charge, Flame
Special Weapon Squad - 3x Demo Charge, Flamer
FA: Vendetta
FA: Vendetta
FA: Scout Sentinels (3) - 2xML, 1xAC
Heavy: Leman Russ Battle Tank
Heavy: Leman Russ Demolisher - Plasma Cannons

1800 pts.

The list is quite mobile, while having lot of meatshields to block out enemies or sit on objectives. You can use Infantry Squads efficiently to block enemy assaults on your important bits, while SWSs act as a counter-assault unit. The Sentinels can do a lot of fun things. Last battle they outflanked right behind a Hammerhead, shooting it int he rear... and doing nothing, but shaking it. I decided that I got nothing to lose so I assaulted. Out of 6 attacks, one managed to hit (it moved 12" so needing 6's). I proceed to roll for penetration.. scoring a 6 - penetrating hit! I roll on the table... yet another 6 and the tank explodes spectacularly. Now try imagining the Sentinel running up to the tank, kicking it, making it go boom. Awesome. Vendettas outflank with the melta-vets and either the PCS or a SWS, depending on what enemy I'm facing and what I might need. I also removed sponsons from LRBT as you can see. More on that in next article.

Aaand that's it for today, thanks for reading! If you have any comments or opinions, I'd love to hear them!



Read more!

I suppose it's about time to post something else than just pictures and modelling articles. Time for the first article, in a possible series, genuinely named Tactica Imperialis. This one will mostly focus on saying a few words about pretty much everything in the new Guard codex as I find them on the battlefield.

This series will consist of three parts. First one will focus on weapons available to the Guard, second the units and third the possible combinations of the units. I hope some of these informations you will find helpful and they will aid you in constructing a list that will bring glory to the God-Emperor many times! Remember to keep in mind though, this is entirely my own opinion based on my experience. Yours may vary depending on your tactics, meta-game and many many more.



Let's begin then.

1. Special Weapons
   
   • Grenade Launcher
     Ah, the humble Grenade Launcher. It doesn't really excell at anything, but it's a good all-round weapon. In my opinion, if you take and infantry squad it has to have this weapon at the very least. If its not made for some specific task the Launcher costing only 5 points is a must-have even if only to make that single S6 shot. Don't expect miracles out of it but it's still a small boost to effectivness of the squad. It's a viable option for every unit, though I do prefer more specialised weapons for BS 4 vets. I put those on every infantry squad I field.
     
   • Flamer
     The second cheap weapon in our armoury, the flamer is much more specialised than the Grenade Launcher. First of all it requires you to be up close and personal, which isn't the best idea for your fragile guardsmen. Second thing is their effectivness raises tremendously when stacked on a single squad. Third is that they do not use BS and as such are great choices for low BS guardsmen but not so good for BS 4 vets. I tend to stick them onto special weapon squads and the Platoon Command. The other good use I can see is a few combined Infatry Squads.
     
   • Melta Gun
     One of the best special weapons nowadays and the single best anti-tank weapon (aside from Multi-melta of course) in game. It's drawbacks are short range and single shot. I such they're best utilised on BS 4 that's somehow made more mobile. The best in my opinion is a squad of vets or a Company Command Squad in a Chimera. That way they're protected from most harm, have an effective range of 26" (20" on short range) and can be where you need them to be. Second choice would be Stormtroopers with Airborne Assault deployment - second good way to put the weapons exactly where needed.
     
   • Plasma Gun
     The bread and butter of Guard in previous edition, now somewhat receeding. With its cost up to 15 points it's quite a serious investment. In my opinion you should only use it on BS 4 units where they can make the most out of those weapons. They're still good for opening light vehicles and taking down MCs especially with Bring it Down! order, but I'm fielding only 3 of those, when I used to field 12 and some people used to have more...
   • Heavy Flamer
     Seemingly a great weapon, though somehow limited in which units have access to it. After you see the hefty point cost however it stops being so great. As of now it's only place is on vehicles for me, though I suppose fielding it on Vets isn't that bad of an idea. On the other hand using it on a Command Squad is a waste in my opinion. For the price of one you can have 4 regular Flamers, what do you think will cause more damage? Sure, you could field 3 and one heavy but I think it's a waste of points that could be put to a much better use.
   • Sniper Rifle
     I still haven't used that weapon, so in fact I have no experience on how it performs. I did hear however that it's quite effective, though again it has to be stacked to do anything good. The ability to pin combined with Psykers nearby can however be a deadly combination to an enemy killer-unit. They too should be put on BS 4, Ratlings work all too well for those.
   • Demolition Charge
     Aaah, one of my favourite weapons. Once it hits it more or less obliterates the enemy unit, but it has to hit first. With only 6" range and very few units who can take those it's not that easy. Doesn't stop me from taking four on two SWSes though and it sure is a great laugh when they scatter back onto your owno unit... Still, back in 4th Guard needed some kind of unit that would act as a cc-counter. Nowadays a demo charge is all unit need, hide it behind the to-be-slaughtered unit, watch it die and enemy helplessly consolidate within the range of the dreaded "briefcase"
     
   • Boltgun
     Well it is a kind of a special weapon for the Guard is it not? In my opinion - a waste of points. Take it only for fluff reasons and the coolness-of-model factor.
   • Bolt Pistol
     As above, turning that single 12" S3 shot into 12" S4 AP5 shot won't really do much difference. Pick only for fluff reasons or to fill in missing points.
   • Plasma Pistol
     A "slightly" more lethal upgrade for a pistol this one more noteworthy. However it's point cost is rather high and it has the annoying tendency to kill your character (and Guard sergeants are much more than they used to be, having 3(!) base attacks). It still could find its use to add a bit more punch to the unit, but myself I tend to steer clear of these, though I did use to field them under the previous codex in the plasma-bomb-veterans-of-doom.
     
2. Heavy Weapons
   
   • Mortar
     A cheap, versatile and very handy to get those pesky enemies that are hiding out of los, possibly sitting on an objective. Even after the recent additions and changes of the codex Guard isn't the most mobile army around and sometimes you just have no way to reach that objective. Personally I haven't fielded those, but I'd sure wish to try one day and I heard lots of good about them.
   • Heavy Bolter
     Another weapon I haven't really fielded on the squads. I prefer to keep it to the tanks. With the same point cost as the Autocannon there really isn't a reason to field the Bolter with less Strength and less range even though it has one shot more, other than you liking this weapon in itself.
   • Autocannon
     The best heavy weapon in my opinion. Cheap and effective can both through light vehicles (up to AV12) and some infatry (wounding nearly everything on 2+ does help). Again I field all my Infantry Squads with one of these.
   • Missle Launcher
     A strange weapon, to be honest. Personally I don't really like it. On one hand it's versatile allowing you to shoot both nearly every vehicle (Only really weak against AV14, though the single shot does hurt) and infantry with the blast. On the other it is just single shot and the small blast isn't going to hit lots of models if your opponent know how to play. I find myself preferring the Autocannon to it, though I surely can see why people would field Missle Launcher.
   • Lascannon
     Quite expensive but still a decent heavy weapon, however I do not field any on my infatry anymore. Two Vendettas carry more than enough Lascannons for the job and they are more resillient and hit much better. Some claim that Lascannon on BS 3 is one of the worst AT weapons mathematically and I suppose there's some truth in it looking back at what they used to do. Still Lascannons are more-or-less mandatory in the list somewhere, so if you do not field Vendettas you'll need some for the long-range AT quality.
3. Melee Weapons
   
   • Power Weapon
     In most cases melee weapons are rather useless in the Guard. Power Weapons might take away the enemy high armour save but it doesn't change the fact that the wielder is only S3 and against a lot of opponents he'll wound on 5+. It's not really worth the 10 points looking at it competetively. They do however have their use when combining squads. 3 or more combined Infatry Squads with a Commissar fully outfitted with Power Weapons have from 12 to 16 no-armour-save-allowed attacks which can deal serious damage to the enemy. The combined squad is also too big for nearly any enemy to kill the sergeants before they manage to make their blows.
   • Power Fist
     A much more interesting choice costing only 5 points more. I seem to be noticing lots of people put Fists onto every Veteran Squad of theirs. being 10-man strong it's hard to kill the sergeant before he makes his attacks and he's going to bring at least one enemy down. Sure it doesn't cause instant death like Marines PFs but it still does wound on 2+. Right now I'm looking into way of fitting these into my list and I'll let you know how they fare once I've tried them out good. I did field them yesterday against Dark Elder, but the vet unit never got into any combat and had no chance of testing them out. On the other hand the fist on command squads or, even worse, Commissar Lord is a total waste of points and your commander. The 5-man command squad is very unlikely to get a chance of using the weapon, unless you have a myriad of different advisors there, though that does make the squad quite overpriced. Commissar Lord being IC is definitely going to die before his chance.
4. Other
   
   • Medi-Pack
     30 points for Feel No Pain on a squishy 5-man unit? Mh, not really, thanks. Though I suppose if you do not field your unit in a Chimera, or have many advisors and maybe plenty of plasma guns it can have its appeal. Though I still think 30 points can be spent much better, sadly, as I really like the old metal Medic model.
     
   • Regimental Standard
     Now this is an interesting thing. Re-rolls for morale tests are really good stuff, especially since you do not have to re-roll if you do not wish to. The sad thing is they don't work from inside the Chimera and I'm unsure why do I field one. I guess I just love the looks of standards in general, though it isn't really visible anywhere when it's inside. I guess it will have to go in some variants of the list, though in my opinio it's a must-have for a Company Command Squad that's on foot.
     
   • Platoon Standard
     This standard on the other hand is quite useless. The 5-man platoon command will be slaughtered by nearly everything that will assault it and counting as dealing one more wound won't help. It may actually hinder you as otherwise they squad could've safely disengaged and combat ending during your assault phase is a great threat for the Guard army. I wouldn't field it even though I love standards so much.
     
   • Vox-Casters
     On voxes I do have mixed feelings. If you wanted to outfit entire army in those they turn out quite expensive. Re-rolls for orders are nice, but in all honesty I haven't really had that many problems with order. Usually I actually have no units to issue them to, playing a more mechanised list! In my opinion they're a bit of a waste as they are now and I could only see the use if you have a specific unit that's meant to work with order and you can't afford it to fail. But frankly, I don't believe such situation will come up on the battlefield often.
     

And that's it. I hope you enjoyed the read and will benefit from it one way or another. As with IHRH if you have any specific wishes go ahead and express them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. Finishing, here's my 1800 pts list that I've been using with slight modifications here and there. It still lacks that final polish as I'd like to add the Fists, another Chimera and the Astropath, but still haven't got to it.

Imperial Guard 42nd Cadian - 1800

HQ
Company Command Squad
Officer of the Fleet, Melta Gunx3, Regimental Standard
Chimera - Multi-Laser, Heavy Flamer
190

ELITE
Psyker Battle Squad(10)
Chimera - Multi-Laser, Heavy Flamer
165

TROOPS
Infatry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad
Flamerx3
45

Infatry Squadx4
Grenade Launcher, Autocannon
65x4

Special Weapon Squadx2
Flamer, Demolition Chargex2
80x2

Veteran Squad
3xPlasma
115

Veteran Squad
3xMelta, Power Fist
Chimera - Multi-Laser, Heavy Flamer
155

FAST ATTACK
Vendettax2
130x2

Scount Sentinel Squadron(2)
Multi-laser
70

HEAVY SUPPORT
Leman Russ Battle Tank
Sponson Bolters
170

Leman Russ Demolisher
Sponson Plasma Cannons
205

1800


Read more!