A Tanker Commander's Guide to 7th Edition

Tanks, specifically the tanks of the Imperial Guard, were my introduction to the hobby. White Dwarf had a army list in 3rd Edition for a tank company, which was the first list I ever played. I have fond memories of my unpainted Leman Russ squadrons getting decimated by Dark Lances and Haywire grenades from games played while in high school.

My tank model collection consists of 14 leman russ hulls, in various stages of being retrofitted for the new 7th Edition IG codex. These models were assembled in pre-magnetism days with sponsons, in the glory days of STR 5 defensive weapons (4th edition). Why GW decides to alternatively buff-then-nerf sponsons every other edition and codex is beyond me. Lately I've taken them out for some 1500 games against Eldar and space marines.

What is a tank army and why should I run one?

I think of a "Tank Army" from the perspective of the IG is a list that fields more than 3 Leman Russ hulls in a single detachment. With 3 or less hulls, the tanks aren't the focus of the army, and will be there to support your other models. With 4+ tanks, they take up enough points and table presence that they become the core focal point of the army, with other units serving as support. As vehicles in general got a boost with 7th edition penetrating damage tables, the IG are well suited for the metagame of 7th because our vehicles can dominate the opposition's vehicles when brought in large numbers. Having 6 AV tanks in a 1500 point game might sound like a dick move, but considering how unbalanced this game is and always will be, don't worry about it. You'll need all the AV 14 to face down Eldar wave serpent spam.

Vehicle Selection and Armament:

I am an advocate of battleforged, because objective secured and re-rolling your warlord trait are big advantages for a small price to pay in the IG codex.

Running a "tank army" doesn't mean you have to go Unbound. Sure, you can run nothing but Leman Russes or other vehicles if you want, but such a list has very limited mobility. 7th Edition, especially Maelstrom missions, is all about mobility. A tank army is never going to match Eldar (nothing can match Eldar in 7th in mobility or firepower), Dark Eldar, or Scions in mobility, but it still needs fast units to claim midfield or backfield objectives.

Vet squads in Valkyries are perfect for the task of claiming contested objectives. All they need is a heavy flamer for light infantry, demolitions to threaten TEQs and vehicles in assault, and a push out the door! Taking 2 vet squads gives you the ability to claim enemy backfield objectives on turns 3 or 4, and midfield objectives by turn 2 if you grav-chute deploy. Personally I like waiting till turn 3 or 4 to deploy my vets, but that isn't always the best tactical option.

Obviously you'll need some Valkyries. Rocket pods are a good choice, as you'll be closing in on the squads dropzone on turn 2 or 3 and will want to soften up anything holding the objective. Heavy bolters are too expensive as you'll only get to shoot one at full BS if you fire the multilaser.

In short, vet squads aren't a troops "tax." They are something you want in a "tank army."

Tank commanders: Take 2. This gives you 4 leman russes, right off the bat. I like my commanders to take vanquishers, and the other squadron member to be an exterminator.

Vanquishers are the kings (queens if you are playing chess) of tank-on-tank warfare. Because the main gun is heavy and not ordnance, take a lascannon as the hull-mounted weapon as well. This essentially doubles the anti-tank potential of the vanquisher within 48". For sponsons, I think Heavy Flamers are a must if you aren't going with much infantry support (i.e. only air cav vets, no platoons).

The enemy will ALWAYS try to kill your warlord, and if he can't do it at range, he'll send specialists to assassinate your leader. A primary threat is close-in infantry, especially ones with grenades. Because you probably won't have enough infantry to bubble-wrap your tanks, having some heavy flamer sponsons to hit tightly-packed deep strikers is an excellent defense. The AP 4 helps against stormtroopers, carapace vets, swooping hawks, and a variety of other potential deep striking threats. Plus the H.F. sponsons are half the cost of the heavy bolter ones. As you aren't shooting ordnance, you can still fire your main gun and lascannon at close infantry (even terminators and oblits will be afraid)

The other half of the squadron is the Exterminator, which can deal with everything the BS 4 commander isn't optimized to handle: mass swarms of infantry at range, light vehicles, and aircraft. The twin linked autocannon is a beast, and the BS 3 the crew has doesn't matter. You essentially have BS 4.5 with twin linked BS 3 (75% hits). Kit this vehicle out with 3x Heavy Bolters and a stubber for maximum dakka. With the split-fire order, your squadron tanks can still target separate units. Just make sure you issue orders before you do any other shooting.

Other Unit Options:
You can round out your force with a 5th or 6th tank if you want and are playing higher points levels. Remember you still have all 3 HS slots despite having 4 tanks already. For more tanks, the basic Leman Russ is a good choice: its a generalist threat that MEQs despise. It's greatest weakness is that ordnance forces all other weapons to snap shot, making sponsons on a basic russ unusable. Heavy Flamers should be heavily considered instead of the hull heavy bolter. Template point defense is critical for tank armies, and you can never have enough of it.

A Vendetta is always a good choice for this kind of army. Either bring one of these or two Hydras for anti-air purposes. The vendetta is better because it's guns are AP 2 and can target ground and air targets with the same effectiveness. But you can get two hydras for the less the price of one Vendetta. Your exterminator autocannons can function as anti-air in a pinch.

A third Veteran Squad in a Valkyrie is another option to consider.

Stormtroopers: One thing lacking from the army is mobility. For Maelstrom of war missions, bare-bones storm trooper squads or 2x melta-gun or flamer squads can help with getting midgame VPs by simply deep striking on an objective. Resist the urge to buy plasma guns and consider not bringing any special weapons: they have their uses in a Scions army, but as support for a tank army, these guys are simply there to claim a VP and then get destroyed.

Consider allying these guys in from the Scion codex: the orders are simply better, especially if you are running hotshot-only squad weapons.

Thats it for now. Part II will cover deployment and playing the tank army on the battlefield. 

Tactics: The 7th Edition IG Light Infantry Squad

I've held off making recommendations for the new IG codex until now, given that potential changes to the 7th edition rules set could have invalidated my advice. Luckily, the changes were between 6th and 7th were minor in nature (with the exceptions of wound allocation in shooting and the psychic phase). I'm starting my Tactics series with the core of the IG army, the humble light infantry squad.

Armamaent: So many options, so little time!
Infantry Squads remain essentially the same as in the previous codex. Points values for weapons options are different (and standardized across the codex YAY!). With my infantry squads, I like to be a threat to an enemy unit regardless of range or composition.

Multi-threat: The squad can engage vehicles, MCs, and infantry with its heavy and special weapons.
Multi-range: Every squad gets a heavy weapon. You want your units to contribute every round of the game. Also, the enemy WILL get close: either close enough to assault your lines or close enough to hit with flamers.
Modular: You should be able to swap your HW/SW combo for another without adding or subtracting points. I'm not talking about tailoring your list for your opponent, I'm talking about having the flexibility to make changes without reworking your whole list.

I like the following three 25 Point Options (my favorite): Plasma Gun + Autocannon, or Melta Gun + Missile Launcher, or Flamer + Lascannon. The grenade launcher is loved by many IG players, but its a bit of a throwback to 5th Edition days when Plasma Guns couldn't move and shoot 24". My 12+ models with grenade launchers are currently enjoying their retirement in foamville. The Melta + Missile Launcher is a new combo for this edition that I haven't run much before. I'm predicting a rise in AV 14 vehicles being used, and think the Autocannon will be of less use. Glancing vehicles to death is more reliable than getting a penetrating hit this edition.

I like keeping weapon option consistent in a platoon. This way if you blob up, all your weapons will be able to hurt the selected target with the same probabilities, making target selection easier.

Sergeant Options: Power Weapon (axe) vs Bolter

Unfortunately, power weapons for sergeants are prohibitively expensive for a GEQ model's statline. Yes, I know power axes add to the STR of a sergeant, and through buffing you can make your sergeants reroll hits the first round of combat and wounds if a priest gets his buff off. This just isn't points efficient. A power weapon is the same cost as a plasma gun Which one does more damage, especially in an edition that continues to favor shooting over assault? The age of the power weapons IG blob is over.

Instead, make the wise choice of giving your sergeants bolters. Yes, bolters. For a single friggin' point, you get the same STR as a power axe, two "attacks" at 12 inches, and the modeling opportunity to make some cool conversions. You can get 15 of these things (enough for all your sergeants and officers) in an IG army for the price of one power weapon. You tell me, what's the points-efficient choice?

The Blob: How Many is Too Many?

When IG squads gained the ability to blob up several codexes ago, there was much rejoicing, because of the MSU-crushing mission type known as Kill Points. The KP concept was a great equalizer and a necessary design element to reign in abuses by space marine players, but it hit IG armies hard, to the point where games were un-winable.

Blob Basics: 
You decide to blob or not to blob right before warlord traits are rolled. This means that you will usually know if KPs will be part of the mission before you have to make this decision. If you are running a single 50 man blob and KPs aren't the mission objective, it might be worth it to split up. For small games, smaller blobs or individual squads might be the way to go, especially if there are many objectives that need to be claimed.

Running a Battleforged Army makes your blobs super-awesome objective claimers. Even if the enemy has 10 WTF Elite Terminators with Abaddon next to your objective at the end of the game, you still get to claim the objective and make Ollanius Pius proud.

Blob Trade Offs: 
As blob size increases from 20 to 50, the blob gets better in several ways, and worse in several ways:
Positive correlations with Blob Size: Efficiency of orders, war hymns, and psychic buffs, survivability and resistance to 25% morale tests, raw attacks in close combat, volume of fire on a single target.
Negative correlations with Blob Size: Greater size means more enemy units will shoot at it (a blob of 50 becomes a huge fire-magnet), susceptibility to a small assault unit tying up many points in a protracted close combat, reduced ability to claim distant objectives, reduced number of enemy units that can be engaged in a single turn.

A IG commander can deploy 20, 30, 40, and 50 man blobs. Each size has its advantages and disadvantages. My advice is to try each size out and see what works for you. I've tried all sizes and prefer the 30-man unit, and can run 2 blobs in a 1000 point game and 3 blobs in a 1500.

Leadership: Voxcasters, Commissars, Priests, and Primaris Psykers
Blobs need buffs to go from good-to-great. The cheapest way to improve a blob is to make sure they follow orders by having a robust vox caster network. More expensive options are the addition of commissars and primaris psykers for higher leadership values.

Commissars are the classic infantry squad buffer. Since last edition, they transferred stubborn to their blob, and that continues in this edition of the codex. You can't go wrong with adding a commissar to a blob for his LD 9. A commissar might be the one place to take a power weapon in your blob, as his WS 4 makes him better at chewing through WS 3 enemies.

Primaris Psykers are the new hotness, allowing IG to play in the Psychic phase both offensively and defensively. Attaching them to your blobs protects them from many attacks, and makes sure they are in range to cast prescience, forewarning, or perfect timing on your blob. If you already have a commissar in the blob, don't fear the "It's for your own good." Perils is far less of an issue this edition, especially if you manage your warp dice well across multiple psykers. And if the commissar does "BLAM" your psyker, at least he saved some guardsmen from the potential of D6 STR 6 AP 1 hits. The Primaris has LD 9, helping with orders and morale should your commissar buy the farm. His Force Staff (using the GW model) makes him acceptable in close combat with STR 5 and AP 4, instant death if you charged it. I haven't experimented with Mastery level 2 on Primaris Psykers yet. Obviously you get more warp charge and another power in your arsenal. In games above 1500 points its probably worth it.

Priests completes the Emperor's Trinity of blob attachments. They bring fearless, a 4++ personal save, and rerolls-to-hit the first round of combat to the blob, all without taking a check. They also stop you from going to ground. If you think you'll need the blob to go to ground, to hunker down on an objective or whatever, just detach the priest from the unit (he's an IC) in your turn. In close combat, the priest can try to buff your blob (and attached commissar and primaris) with re-rolls to wound. This is very handy for STR 3 models. The other hymns are very situational, as rerolling your 5+ armor isn't going to help you much against power weapons, chainaxes, or MCs. Smash is interesting and could be helpful against a MCs, but on balance the re-rolls to wound are the best bet. The downside of hymns is that in the 7th edition rules (page 13), the test is taken on the priest's LD 7, not the highest LD model in the unit (LD 9 if you have a commissar or primaris). So your hymn may not go off when you need it most. Having a regimental standard in a nearby CCS won't help much either, as you can't get a reroll on that type of test.

The Best Troops in the Game?

I think that IG Light Infantry squads are the best troops in the game. They are points efficent, durable, reliable, can threaten all types of enemy units (even flyers with prescience!), modular, and flexible. Their ownly weakness is their statline, armor, and weak basic ranged and melee attack, all of which have never been something guard players have worried about. Now go forth and overwhelm the enemy!

IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR, LET NONE SURVIVE!

Next time we'll look at Platoon Command Squads and Veteran Squads.

The 7th Edition CSM IG Breakup

*Editor's Note: The following is satire and in no way to be taken seriously by anyone, especially Games Workshop's blood sucking attorneys, especially especially that guy who thought it'd be a good idea to sue the author of the kid's book Space Marine. The only way to react to bad new is with humor*

Dateline: The Milky Way Galaxy; the 41st Millenium

After two years of wedded bliss, the Chaos Space Marines Codex and Imperial Guard Codex are breaking up. In a couple known throughout the internetz as "traitor guard," 40k players everywhere once rejoiced by fielding professionally trained and well-armed unit of basic human followers of the Gods of the Warp.

The story was broken by the new 40k 7th Edition allies chart, which revealed that the IG Codex and CSM Codex would only be seeing each other "come the apocalypse." For Imperial Guardsmen and their commanders, there was much rejoicing. Lord Commissar Markus Xerius said of the events "This is great news! I can retire now, knowing that only the Adeptus Astartes and common citizens [cultists] can fall to the temptations of the Warp. GW has decided all guardsmen are immune to corruption and would never serve the dark gods."

Korodus Etogaur, a leader in the Ashen Veil, a professional military unit based on the Sanguinary Worlds' Blood Pact, and dedicated to the Chaos god Khorne, was saddened by the news "We've been fighting with this group of Berzerkers for a couple years now. They really knew how to get shit done, know what I mean? Now GW says we have to abide by a restraining order and stay 12" from them? I just don't get it. Didn't Matt Ward read his Dan Abnett?"

Some Internet pundits have suggested that this breakup is indicative of GW's plans to introduce a Traitor Guard codex supplement. Other expert tea-leaf readers claim that because Forge World already has such as list (Vraks Renegades), that this imaginary GW product will probably be released "come the apocalypse."

40k players who have invested conversion time, money, and paint to create their traitor guard forces expressed outrage at the news. Many are looking to Forgeworld, commonly viewed as the more caring and resin-y side of GW by the 40k community, to update their Vraks Renegades list for 7th edition.

Sources inside GW claim the breakup was engineered by Matt Ward, ostensibly because one time his Ultramarines/Grey Knight Mary Sue Brofist army got "WTFPWND" by a Traitor Guard force with an allied Heldrake during early play testing.

In related news, the CSM Codex has recently been seen at a fondue restaurant with the NewCron Codex. While Necrons once considered the powers of the warp to be their anathema, clearly no fluff is too sacred or too good for GW to retcon away.

New Codex Thoughts

I am very excited about this codex. I've played IG since midway through 3rd Edition. Steel Legion was my first army (i played mech before it was cool) and had a full company of Mech Infantry as well as a full Tank Company. I sold that army and bought into 150 plastic Cadians when they came out in 2003 as part of the (now retconned) Eye of Terror campaign. This force had 3 vultures and 1 Valkyrie (all resin). I sold that force and started my current light infantry core army with the promise to "never sell again." Thus I've accumulated nearly a full tank company, a 200 man light infantry force, and 2 platoons of storm troopers. In summary, 40k for me is ALL about the Imperial Guard. And it will continue to be all about the Guard, even as I expand my Traitor Guard/Chaos cultist collection so I have an appropriate arch enemy to face off against.

Thus, my "review" of the new IG and Tempestus Scions codex(es) will be from several different perspectives, each focusing on a different type of company from my collection: Light Infantry, Armored Company, Storm Trooper strike force, Mechanized Infantry, and Traitor Guard.

What I really love about this new codex is that, for the most part, there seem to be lots of Options for success. I think the codex will serve IG players well into 7th Edition. 

The upcoming Codex Review Series:

Codex Review: Light Infantry
Codex Review: Armored Company
Codex Review: Storm Troopers
Codex Review: Traitor Guard
Codex Review: Mechanized Infantry

-AF

New Codex gives me hope!

The new Imperial Guard codex is inbound and gives me cause to return to the hobby. Exciting rumors:

1) points-compeditive Veteran Squads with camo cloaks. 5th editon codex had camo vets at 10ppm. 6th editon codex has them coming in at a rumored 7ppm. Long live the light infantry.

2) storm troopers getting a much needed points drop to 12ppm. Someone at GDubs realized AP 3 ain't worth shit if you can't cause wounds. Expect deep striking to commence shortly.

3) +1 STR relic blade (power weapon). Ibram Gaunt is back in action :)

4) a useful priest.

5) more and better orders. And FRF SRF applying to hellguns.

Looking forward to getting back into 40k, and only being out the cost of a codex or 

-AF

The Workbench: Tales from the Hobby Basement

Vendetta WIP. Green matches my Arborian regiment's shirts, khaki matches my
Storm Trooper's carapace armor, and the blue windshields match the Storm Trooper
Fatigues. 

Katalyptic Armored Demolisher tank. Just the basecoat at the moment.

Editor's Note: That may or may not be an Upland Wheat in the background :)

1500 Point Hybrid IG List

I've been on a spending and painting spree as of late trying to get my 1500point army 6th Edition ready. This list is part throwback and part new-hotness. The throwback is the reliance on MSU shooty infantry squads. They were the mainstay of 3rd edition IG armies, and they are even better and cheaper now with the changes to rapid fire and heavy weapons with snapfire. The new-hotness is, of course, Vendettas and Demo-Charges

Arborian 1st Light Infantry Regiment

• Company Command Squad: x4 Plasma Guns
• No Special Character: straken is just too expensive and this list really isn't built to assault.
• 4 Plasma Guns in the hands of veterans is going to be just sweet, especially with the BID! order to re-roll those pesky "1"s
• Marbo
• Come from nowhere and blows up anything that isn't T5+. And he doesn't risk blowing himself up if you deploy him on a building and throw that demo charge at a different level. 
• Platoon Command Squad: x4 Flamers or x4 Grenade Launchers (haven't decided yet)
• Flamers for counter-assault and anti-horde. I'd make these Plasma if I had the points.
• 4x Infantry Squads: 1x Plasma Gun, 1x Autocannon
• 4 scoring units. Expendable. Versatile. These guys can help out the Demolishers by providing some defense against assault and Melta as well. 
• Veteran Squad: 3x Plasma Gun, 1x Autocannon
• I needed a 2nd troop choice, and vets are cheap and easy. They bring 3 BS4 Plasmas to the table. 
• 2x Special Weapons Squads: 2x Flamer, 1x Demo Charge
• These guys get loaded up in Vendettas and deploy via Grav Chute Insertion wherever I need them, ideally on top of some Terminators or enemy squads in cover. Plus they can score objectives. If the Vendetta gets shot down, its only a 65 point squad lost. 

Imperial Navy: 5331st Air Assault Wing

• 2x Vendetta Gunships: 2x Heavy Bolters
• Vehicle Killers and probably the best flyer in the 40k game at this point. Also, not bad for taking out other Flyers. These babies do it all, and even drop off Special Weapons Squad

Katalyptic 27th Armored Regiment

• 2x Demolisher: 3x Heavy Bolters, Heavy Stubber, Dozer Blade
• Infantry Support Tanks. Their job is to kill Paladins and Nob Bikers. Anything with a T5 2+ Multi wound stat-line. Think of them as my Luke Skywalker to all those Internet Death Star lists floating around out there. 

1500pts: 1st Arborian Rangers Vs. Thousand Sons

Turn 1: Infantry Squad Seizes Statue Objective

This week, Brandon (Head of GMM Studios) fought a 1500 point battle at his office. We fought on urban terrain and had a great time. This was my second 6th Edition game, and the first one which was played to completion. I brought a three Vendetta list, one full infantry platoon (55 troops plus a Lascannon HWS), Harker's Veteran Squad, Straken's as my Warlord, a Lord Commissar, and Marbo.

Turn 2: Valkryies arrive, Marbo arrives and misses with Demo Charge

Turn 3: Platoon Command Squad deploys via grav-chute insertion;
fails to kill  any traitors with  Heavy Flamer & Flamer. 

Turn 3: Forces converge on the central objective. 

Turn 3: Epic Battle between Marbo and Sorcerer continues.
Marbo won and then got wiped out by Terminators.

Turn 4: Marbo gets wiped out by Terminators :)

Turn 6: Last Charge of Col. Straken

End result was two objectives (one barely ;)) in the hands of the Thousand Sons, and one objective in the hands of the Arborian 1st. A loss, but a well fought one which could have easily gone either way with a few different rolls of the dice.

Impressions of 6th Edition:
-Massed Psykers are a credible defense against Flyers. I lost all three during the battle. I did put two of them in Hover mode in order to deliver mass firepower on to the Terminator squads, which did the pilots no favors. Also, I forgot to take Deny the Witch rolls when my Vendettas were targeted.

-It took over three hours to play a 1500 point game :/. Of course, we were looking up rules frequently.

-Move & Shoot games are so much more fun than any previous edition of 40k: Rapid Fire, Overwatch, and Snapshot make the game so much better.

Overall Tactics:
-I should have kept my infantry all on foot, instead of keeping 25 of them in reserve aboard the Vendettas. One Vendetta got taken out before the troops had a chance to deploy, the Platoon Command Squad miffed their one chance at glory by failing to kill a small Thousand Son squad, leaving only one Infantry Squad to hold the central objective.

-Vendettas should NEVER get placed into Hover Mode. They will die. /endstorybro

Only War BETA Rules on RPG Now

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/103312/Only-War%3A-Core-Rules-Beta

Got it yesterday, $20, plus $20 off your purchase of Only War when it comes out for reals. Regiment Creation Rules are everything I've hoped for. Now, if only GW would bring back doctrines for 40k IG, I'd die a happy man.

Expect House Rules Doctrines based on the Only War rules to come out soon from Deep Striking.

Straken in 6th Edition

Ever since the 5th edition IG Codex was released, Straken has been my favorite HQ choice. He leads from the front lines, transforming all guardsmen within 12" into powerful (for the IG) and resilient assault units. Now with 6th, Straken's role must be reassessed because of the changes to shooting, assault, and his USRs.

Fearless: HUGE bonus to Straken and his combat squad. No longer does he get the shaft for being fearless and taking wounds for being outnumbered.

Furious Charge: Let's get one thing straight: the nerf to Furious Charge hurt Imperial Guard foot lists quite a bit. There is a massive difference between striking simultaneously with Marines, and going after marines have had their way with you. Sure, the +1 to Strength is fantastic, but it does no good if your models die before they strike.

However, most casualties caused by power weapon blobs were, of course, caused by power weapon armed sergeants and commissars. The Look Out Sir rule makes these models highly survivable, so the hit to initiative might not be as bad as it seems.

Counter Attack: Counter Attack actually got much better with 6th Edition. Because of the Overwatch rule, you almost WANT assault units to charge your squads, because you get another round of BS 1 shooting in. Because your lasguns have Rapid Fired for at least another round (remember, move and shoot 24" now), you've already thrown a lot more S3 attacks at inbound assault units than in 5th edition. With Counter Attack, you get MORE S3 attacks. By my math, the best case scenario is that, compared to the 5th, an average guardsmen can throw 3 more S3 attacks before he inevitably sacrifices his life for the Emperor.

My suggestion would be to partner Straken with a Lord Commissar. Because Straken is Fearless, you don't have to worry about Summary Execution, and you can test on LD 10 within 6" for Counter Attack.

Challenges: Challenges add interesting options for allowing a guard commander to sacrifice a Sergeant to, say, a solo demon prince or hive tyrant, and still only lose combat by 1, which can be negated with a platoon or regimental standard. Unfortunately, challenges will make Power Weapon armed Sergeants less appealing, because frequently they will be singled out and be killed before they can strike :( Straken himself, though, can be a BOSS when it comes to challenges. S7 Ignores Armor Saves gonna give most characters out there pause.

BLOB or MSU Platoons: I hate to say it, but the IG BLOB has probably seen its last deployment with me. The Focus Fire rule, changes to Rapid Fire (specifically Rapid firing bolters), wound allocation, and challenges just makes BLOBs a less appealing choice than the redundancy of MSU squads. Straken still benefits MSU infantry squads, because you can gain the benefit of Furious Charge whenever a 10 man squad charges, instead of just the turn your 30 or 40 man blob charges. Because of the utility of the Plasma Gun, it will gain a dominant presence in 10 man infantry squads. The jury is still out on Power Weapon Sergeants.
----------
A few points from Boxer Saint from Any Given Codex.

IGNORES ARMOR: Straken doesn't use one of the new fancy AP3 'power weapons.' His attacks "ignore armor saves", making him a relatively rare commodity. He still won't be smashing thunder hammer/storm shield terminators to death, but he'll strike fear into terminators without stormshields. Straken users will definitely want to leverage this point.

LOOKOUT SIR: Straken's Look out Sir is on a 4+ since he isn't an independent character, so we'll need to be careful how we place him. Bodyguards make his Look out Sir automatic, if it is allocated to them, so bodyguards are still useful.

CHALLENGES: Bodyguards, Astropaths, Officers of the Fleet, and Straken himself, are all characters. So if there is a baddy that you don't quite want Straken to face, issue a challenge with your Officer of the Fleet instead(who himself went from being a possible liability, to being pretty nifty with the new reserve rules).

FEARLESS: A quick note to fearless, you can't go to ground if you are fearless, so that could hurt your survivability some. (Maybe you couldn't do it in 5th either, so I may be a cheater).

---------------

Conclusion: Straken is still the BOSS. He is still a viable choice to lead your IG foot army. Instead of sitting back and giving PW BLOBs Furious charge like he did in 5th, now he can lead an army of small fireteams, each with Counter Attack and Furious Charge. Let the enemy hit one of your squads to fix them, then charge with Straken in you turn and swamp them with bodies and S7 attacks.

The Death of Camo Cloaks

A review of 6th Edition Imperial Guard FAQs:


Good Call, GW!

First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire: Adds another shot for lasguns. So now you can move your infantry squad (or blob) 6", FRF, SRF, and shoot 2 shots @ 24" with all your lasguns. #winning

Auras (Straken, etc): Don't work on allies. Thank you. Gets rid of a lot of bitching from the tournament community.

Hydra: Skyfire, ignores Jink. Logical and works as intended. Nerfing of Hydra to only hit ground targets on 6s (see post by Natfka here) is confusing. Probably an error to grant to ability to ignore the Jink but only hit jetbikes and skimmers on 6s.

Valkyrie/Vendetta: Skimmer (Hover). Logical and works as intended.

WTF, GW?

Camo Cloaks now apparently stack with Stealth. The codex language replaced by the FAQ gave models with Camo Cloaks the Stealth USR. Now, camo cloaks no longer confer stealth, just give a +1 modifier to units with Stealth. This amounts to a nerf because of the changes to the Stealth USR: in 6th edition, the Stealth USR adds +1 to any cover save, and grants a 6+ save when in the open.

Obviously GW was afraid of how OP guard veteran and company command squads would be with a 6+ cover save in the open. Wha wha whaaaaaaa.

I may be taking this a little personal, because my ideal army is one of light infantry that would somehow get the Stealth, Move Through Cover, and Infiltrate (any maybe even Accute Senses now that it has changed) USRs, like the old 3rd Edition Guant's Ghosts list. Anything that nerfs camo-cloaks is like a knife-in-the-back from GW.

Missile Launchers? Where the fuck are my Flakk Missiles? So why don't all Missile Launchers (SM, Eldar, IG, etc) get Flakk missiles as standard? I assume they don't, because of the relevant language in the rulebook.

6th Edition: The IG Light Infantry Platoon Part 1

Thanks to Natfka for a great post on the actual changes on the rules from 5th to 6th Edition: Rules From The Rulebook Are Here: Hull Pts, Focus Fire, Assaults, No Psychic Phase and More.

In this post I've attempted to relay my thoughts on how the changes will effect Light Infantry Imperial Guard platoons.

Rule change: Rapid Fire: "Rapid Fire weapons can now fire [I'm assuming one shot] at target 24" away irregardless of moving or not. (or choose to fire twice at target 12" away)

Analysis: Increases the effective range and (rate of fire) for standard line-infantry. This is both a boon and a curse to the Imperial Guard, especially light infantry armies. The advantage of move-and-fire lasguns means that your infantry hordes (MSU or BLOB) can move 6" and fire 24", increasing the effective range of the lasgun from 18" in all previous editions to 30". How this all works with the FRF-SRF order remains to be seen. Ideally we'd be able to get 1 more shot @ 24" even if the squad moved.

As a disadvantage, nearly every other army (MEQ TAU especially, etc) now has greater effective range with THEIR basic infantry, most of which possess the deadly AP 5 characteristic.


With the rapid fire rules changes, the plasma gun becomes a much more attractive option for MSU infantry squads. The main reason I advocated the grenade launcher was the effective range of 30". Now, with the changes to Rapid Fire, the plasma gun has a leg-up over the grenade launcher, with S7 vs S6, a much higher AP score, better anti-vehicle results (AP 2 weapons have a +1 bonus on the vehicle damage chart in 6th edition), and a higher rate-of-fire.

On BLOBS: With the rumored demise of Killpoints, MSU guard armies will be more compeditive in 6th Edition. This is because a guard player can sequentially split fire offensively and force opponents to waste firepower on depleted squads defensively. Of course, by taking MSU infantry squads you open yourself up to morale issues and less-efficient orders. BLOB strengths in 5th Edition were that with one officer, you could give multiple squads of guardsmen FRF-SRF and Ld 9 Stubborn with a Commissar, not to mention the reduced killpoints compared to MSU infantry squads. My prediction: more foot guard players going run to MSU platoons, and relying on IC Lord Commissars and Warlords for Morale purposes. Straken remains competitive without blobs, because he can FURIOUS CHARGE all MSU infantry units in his radius, and CREEEEEEEED! becomes a marginally more attractive option (however, his orders should still be directed at HWTs with Autocannons as a priority).

Rule Change: Overwatch: "Unit can elect to "Overwatch" if being assaulted. Simply a "Stand and Shoot 40K version" - resolved at BS1, Template does D3 hit instead."

Analysis: Another (marginal) boost for MSU infantry squads. Combined with the rapid fire changes (which essentially gives an infantry squad another turn of lasgun fire per game before being eliminated), FRF-SRF, we get a THIRD shooting phase (all-be it at BS 1). Not entirely reliable, but remember that MSU infantry squads are expendable. Note that plasma guns can be fired in Overwatch. I'm not sure if grenade launchers can or cannot be used in Overwatch if firing in frag Blast mode.

Rule Change: Snap Fire: 
"'Snap Fire' allows certain weapon types to shoot even if moving, but with a BS of 1 (ie. 6 to hit)"
"Blast Weapons cannot "snap fire"
"Vehicles movement and weapons. Defensive and Primary Weapons are gone. You can fire all of your weapons at most of the time. But moving faster will result in less weapon fired at basic BS, the rest will be fired at BS1 (Snap Fire)"

Analysis: Now, contrary to what the latest White Dwarf said about the coolest change for Imperial Guard was move-and-shoot lascannons in infantry squads, the actual best part of this is that HB Sponsons and Heavy Stubbers are going to be making a comeback in my armies. But that is for another post. Infantry Squads should be advancing, rapid firing their lasguns and plasma guns, and wasting 25 points on a lascannon which only hits 16.667% of the time is a poor strategic decision. Yeah its cool, but overall I think it will have little effect on army selection.

Just to summarize Snap Fire and Overwatch: these rules are nice, but not something to base your strategy on. BS 1  is just too unreliable to get too excited about.

I'm Blobin' It!

http://blobguard.blogspot.com/

Seems to be a great site with good input on how to run an Imperial Guard infantry blob army! I'll be reading his thoughts and incorporating his advice into my list. I'm not 100% sold on guard blobs: they reduce KPs but allow the enemy to focus-fire your squads much easier.

Imperial Guard RPG from Fantasy Flight Games!!!!

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=201&esem=1


"As Imperial Guardsmen, your characters will be called upon to undertake dangerous missions deep behind enemy lines. Your squad might be ordered to infiltrate an enemy base to acquire vital logistical plans, or to quickly set up an ambush against an incoming xenos convoy. With missions as varied as the galaxy’s innumerable warfronts, you and your squadmates must often rely on nothing but your own grim determination and your faith in each other."

"Take the role of a Guardsman with one of twelve distinct Specialties, bringing unique skills to your squad to complement those of your comrades. Will you support your team as its Medic, rushing headfirst into fire to perform life-saving feats, or will you draw on the energies of the Warp as a fearsome Sanctioned Psyker? Perhaps you’ll protect your squad with suppressing fire as a brawny Heavy Gunner, or become the team’s Commissar and “motivate” them to greatness at the barrel of a bolter. Whatever your function, you’ll be an important part of the Imperium’s efforts to protect humanity."

"Bloodthirsty xenos and the foul spawn of Chaos are hardly the only threats to a soldier’s life, however. Throughout your adventures, you and your fellow Guardsmen will also contend with paralyzing bureaucratic apathy, a leadership that often views you as expendable, and the fickle political maneuvering of those far beyond your humble station. In spite of this, your squad must make the best of the situations you encounter, embodying the ideals of the Imperial Guard while punishing the enemies of the God-Emperor. A Guardsman must take the glorious fight to the enemies, and spread the Light of His Word to the darkest corners of the galaxy."

"In the face of overwhelming opposition, Guardsmen fight against mankind’s many enemies for the very survival of their species. It is the very immensity of this challenge, however, that strengthens a Guardsman’s sense of brotherhood and duty toward his squadmates. Though you are just a few among a faceless multitude of your brethren, chance or fate has singled you out for some special purpose. Prepare to join the greatest fighting force the galaxy has ever seen!"

---------

Obviously I am super excited about this new product, and look forward to seeing a LOT more previews from FFG.

House Rules: Shotguns

Yeah Son! Humidified. 

What Guard commander doesn't love shotguns? While only strength 3, they are assault 2, meaning you can still double-tap with a squad of Veterans, use those flamers or meltas, and still Assault with a ton of S4 I4 attacks (you DID brink Straken, right?).

Elysian Veteran with Shotgun, obviously  Deep Striking out of
a Valkyrie Assault Carrier to WTF PWN some traitors.

Yet, to me, shotguns are still missing something, a rule to represent the spread (called a pattern to us RL shooters) of the shot, something to give them a greater chance to hit at close range than the standard infantry weapon, but not powerful enough to up the price-per-model. What about bringing back the old "Sharpshooters" rule from the 4th edition guard codex? Widely panned as an inefficent choice even at 1 point-per-model, making it a trait of all shotguns regardless of which imperial faction us using them shouldn't raise too many complaints.


House Rule: Any model using a shotgun may re-roll to-hit dice of a "1".

I <3 shotguns: the author (left) shooting some clays

Armies of the Charcot Sector: Katyliptic Fusiliers

Homeworld: Katyliptic Fusiliers (Civilized World)

Regimental Type: Armored or Artillery

Specialty: Tank Battles, Biltz tactics

Full Regimental Strength: ~1000 crew, 200 armored vehicles

Famous Regiments:

16th  Katyliptic Fusiliers

The large number of families who operate the interstellar trade charters make their homes on this world, which is brimming with wealth and privilege. Katyliptic raises both Artillery and Armored regiments for the imperial guard.  Vehicles are typically painted in a Codex Grey scheme, with the regimental colors painted on track guards, flanks, and barrels.

Katyliptic regiments consist of 15 tank companies or 16 batteries of artillery, with each unit containing nine combat vehicles (organized into three squadrons or batteries of three) and one command vehicle. Armored companies are commanded by a captain mounted in a Leman Russ Vanquisher, while artillery batteries are led by a captain mounted in Chimera. 2 recon companies equipped with sentinel walkers provide forward observing, reconnaissance, and rear security functions. Finally, 2 air defense companies provide for anti-skimmer and anti-aircraft defense. Armored Regiments also include a single Super Heavy tank company.

Armored Regiments (Blue)

• 1 Super Heavy Tank Company: 3x Baneblade
• 15 Leman Russ Companies: 10x Leman Russ
• 2 Reconnaissance Companies: 10x Sentinel Walkers
• 2 Air Defense Companies: 9x Hydra, 1x Chimera Command Vehicle

Artillery Regiments (Green)

• 16 Basilisk Companies: 9x Basilisk, 1x Chimera Command Vehicle
• 2 Reconnaissance Companies: 10x Sentinel Walkers
• 2 Air Defense Companies: 9x Hydra, 1x Chimera Command Vehicle

2000 Point Arborian List

Revised 3/17/2012: Thanks to Kirby at 3++ for the feedback on my list, quoted in his favorite color, and my responses, in Arborian Green
The most obvious thing to say is: needs Chimeras :P but this will probably deter from your theme. Adding Chimeras would give this list a lot more available options in terms of how to manuever and handle the board as most of your firepower (outside of Vendettas) is pretty static. Add in the Vendettas are the only armor you have on the field and they will go down pretty quickly which also leaves all that S6+ firepower to go into your HWTs which will see them bite the dust quicker than you might like. So chimeras, if you can stand to fit them within your theme :P.
Unfortunately, Chimeras are right-out, this being a "Light Infantry" list. I fully understand and comprehend the disadvantages that a no-Chimera list carries. 

Otherwise, drop the Ratlings and Camo Cloaks - not needed.The SWS should really be running meltas + Demo rather than flamers and I wouldn't bother with the Power Weapons on the Platoon Command Squads though without mounting up, Grenade Launchers can work. You're also running two large blobs which is leaving you with only two targets - can't really do much about that without swapping a lot of things around but just bear that in mind - perhaps you'll want to run it so you have three squads of 20 + commissars rather than two squads of 30+. 

I've retooled the infantry squads into three 20-man blobs, each with a Commissar. This means that I've had to drop down to one priest, who I've given an eviscerator and placed in Straken's squad so that his S7 attacks aren't wasted. Dropping the ratlings gave me the points for another Platoon Command squad with 4 grenade launchers, and all three platoon command squads have their power weapons dropped. 

I'll keep the flamers in the SWS for now, as they will 1) most likely be out of range of Straken's Bring It Down order and 2) will cause more damage to their intended targets (small troops units in cover claiming backfield objectives such as Devastators, Long Fangs, Heavy Weapons Squads) than meltas because of their ability to IGNORE COVER SAVES. 

Best of all, I've kept my 130 model count (sans Commissars and Priest attachments)!

Company Command Squad: Straken, Medic, 3 Grenade Launchers, 2 Bodyguards                                                                                            

1 Priest (attached to Company Command Squad)

1 Platoon Command Squad: 4 Grenade Launchers
1 Platoon Command Squad: 4 Grenade Launchers
1 Platoon Command Squad: 4 Grenade Launchers 

                        

2 Infantry Squads (Combined Squad): 2 Meltaguns, 2 Sergeant Power Weapons, 1 Commissar, 1 Commissar Power Weapon     

2 Infantry Squads (Combined Squad): 2 Meltaguns, 2 Sergeant Power Weapons, 1 Commissar, 1 Commissar Power Weapon
2 Infantry Squads (Combined Squad): 2 Meltaguns, 2 Sergeant Power Weapons, 1 Commissar, 1 Commissar Power Weapon 

             

Heavy Weapons Squad: 3 Autocannons
Heavy Weapons Squad: 3 Autocannons 
Heavy Weapons Squad: 3 Autocannons 
Heavy Weapons Squad: 3 Autocannons 
Heavy Weapons Squad: 3 Autocannons                                                  

Special Weapons Squad: 2 Flamers, 1 Democharge (mounted in Vendetta)
Special Weapons Squad: 2 Flamers, 1 Democharge (mounted in Vendetta)
Special Weapons Squad: 2 Flamers, 1 Democharge (mounted in Vendetta)

Vendetta: 2 Heavy Bolters

Vendetta: 2 Heavy Bolters
Vendetta: 2 Heavy Bolters

Total Infantry: 130 (plus 2 commissars and 2 priests)

Obviously the backfield for this army are the 5 autocannon equipped heavy weapons squads, which can dish out a ton of anti-transport firepower. They are also troops choices, which means that they can effectively hold objectives placed into cover, especially in pairs or trios, where their MSU (multiple small unit) nature makes them more survivable than opponents might expect from 6 GEQ models.

The front-field of this army are the three Vendettas carrying three special weapons squads, each with a demo-charge and 2 flamers. Intended to be the first troops to meet the enemy, they take full advantage of the Scout move of the Vendettas, then deploy close enough to make use of their close-range weapons. Being a troop unit, the enemy MUST eliminate them or risk them taking an objective. The Vendettas are the only long-range anti-AV14 in the army and will no doubt draw considerable fire as there are no other vehicles in my army list, but with 3 there should be enough redundancy to get the job (slagging AV14 vehicles) done.

The midfield for this army are two rock-solid power-weapon blob Combined Squads, each with a commissar to make them Stubborn, and a priest to re-roll attacks when the charge. Leading from the front is the venerable Colonel Straken, whose greatest contribution is Furious Charge to the power weapon blobs within 12". Melta-guns in the power weapon blobs help to keep tank-shocking tanks away, and grenade launchers in the three command squads are a 24" move and fire flexible weapon for supporting the infantry charge. 

Painting day!

This weekend I had an unforeseen opportunity to get some long-overdue painting in on my primary army, the Arborian Rangers Imperial Guard regiment. I have roughly 25% of my infantry models fully painted and based, enough for a full platoon (30 guardsmen, 3 meltaguns, and 3 sergeants with power weapons). Part of the reasoning for creating this blog was to encourage me to paint more frequently, and so when I found myself with a few extra hours this weekend, to the painting table I went. I tend to paint assembly line style, using Vallejo Paints, Reaper Brushes, and an old CD as a pallete. Colors go in the following order:

1. Krylon Flat Black as a spray-on Primer
2. Reflective Green basecoat on flak armor and capes
3. Green Grey on the legs
4. Brown Violet on the arms and tunics beneath the flak armor
5. Charred Brown on boots, lasguns, belts, masks, and backpacks (quivers with the arrows clipped off during assembly)
6. A layer of black on non-las weapons (grenade laucnhers, flamers, meltas, autocannons)
7. A layer of Woodgrain on the lasguns
8. Gunmetal Grey on the bayonets, belt buckles, and metallic furniture on weapons
9. Flat Flesh on hands and faces
10. Based with Charred Brown and a 50/50% mix of sand and green flock

As you can see it is quite an long process to get the Arborians exactly the way I want them, but the end result is totally worth the time and effort involved. I am by no estimation a great painter (see my friend at GMM Studios for that). I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of converting all these infantry, a project that began way back in 2008, before the current guard codex and when Stealth and Infiltrate could still be given to your entire army. To get an idea of what is involved to make the Arborians, here the bitz used:

• Cadian Torsos
• Cadian Lasguns, Special, and Heavy Weapons
• Cadian Kneeling legs for HW troopers
• Cadian Webbing and Grenades (not very visible, but necessary to make the capes look good)
• Wood Elf Glade Guard Legs
• Wood Elf Glade Guard Capes
• Wood Elf Glade Guard Scout Heads (for the hoods)
• Maxmini Beret Heads for Sergeants and Officers

Vendetta/Valkyrie magnetization

Worked hard last night to get the 3 skimmers in my 2000 point list ready for action. 2/3rds of the way done! Props to Corbania Prime for the great how-to guide.