Imperial Guard in 6th Edition, a new series

Hello once again ladies and gents, up here in grand ol' Michigan we have started diving in more and more into the world that is 6th edition. The more we dig in, the more I at least realize things have changed. I do not mean that the entire thing has been turned upside down, but some units have becomes far more viable, and some less so.

Eldar Tactica! Avatar

Rework in the makings for the Autarch. Avatar is sufficient for now but will most likely also be re-done.

All that is Beast! Rawr! For his points the Avatar is one of the Cheapest yet most effective CC monsters there is. He's T6 which means basic weaponry will need atleast a 5 or 6 to wound him and he's got a 3/4+ save which means he has a decent chance of stopping whatever does try and harm him. At 4 wounds he can even afford to take 1 or 2 ouchies before making it to combat and still tear shit up! He's S6 and MC and he even has a built in meltagun which means vehicles and Walkers are less of a problem than other things that are just as tough if not tougher than the Avatar. Did I mention he's WS10 and I6? I6!!! He can outswing and outhit even the fiercest opponents. He's a Daemon too! Daemons are all Eternal Warriors so no blowing his mind apart with Force weapons or having to worry about the Khan lopping his head off with a single stroke. He even makes other Eldar within 12" fearless. IMMUNE TO FLAME AND MELTA BASED WEAPONRY! Get some.

Even the beast must be wary though. T6 isn't by any means unstoppable. Though he can take his fair share of lasgun and bolter volleys doesn't mean you should let him and that's the lightest weaponry someone will carry, don't forget about heavier weapons that wound even T6 on a 2 or 3 and than you only have a 4+ invul to fall back on. Something that makes you take a save makes you take the risk of failing that save. For proper support you should have your own warriors giving heavy cover fire and/or presenting a multitude of threats that leaves the enemy unable to deal with all of them.

Distraction or Hammer? A Favorite tactic while running an Avatar is to split your force into roughly equal halves. Equal being based on either High Toughness or lots of models. The first half consists of the Avatar and the toughest BAMFs that you want to march alongside him, usually Wraithlords. These guys like to wade up the middle soaking up huge ammounts of the enemy fire power before charging in and crushing whatever was shooting at em. A potent fire magnet in their own right, the most frustrating thing is that some of them usually live to make it to the enemy line and this actually represents very little of your army. The Rest of your force is laying down cover fire or soaring to the flanks in tranports ready to butcher the enemy in close quarters. With the Avatar and a couple buddies providing such valuable not to mention potent double duty on the battlefield it's easy to see why these guys enjoy such popularity.

The Anchor The other way of running the Avatar without actually fussing over the little details is to use him to bolster a huge Eldar Firing Line or Horde of CC guys. Both ways are run pretty much the same way just one moves and the other does not. By using him to provide fearless you ensure your ability to return fire with every unit that has atleast one model within 12" of the Avatar no matter how many casualties are inflicted on them short of total wipeout or how many enemy snipers are trying to pin you. The other Way is to field bunches and bunches of Storm Guardians supported by a couple heavies and run them screaming at the enemy. I dunno how effective it is but it sounds like fun.

Comments and criticism are always appreciated guys. I'll be going over Rangers and Pathfinders in my next thrilling installment. Till next time!