[andyg]

40K Army: Imperial Guard
Hi guys I need some help with a 1000p guard list I am putting together.

I have just joined a new club and am looking to start playing again after a break of 10 years.


I am planing to have most of my units mounted in transports as I am liking the feel of a mech army.

Please comment and give advice as I am a total noob with 40k

Company command squad with master of ordinance Astropath vox caster medi pack 2 snipers camo gear riding in a Taurox - 188 points

Infantry platoon command squad with a mortar team and 2 snipers - 39 points

2 infantry squads both with bolt guns for the sergeant vox caster melta gun heavy bolter riding In a Taurox - 136 points each - 272 points

2 heavy weapons squads both with 2 las cannons and a mortar - 90 points each - 180 points

Veteran squad with a bolt gun for the sergeant heavy flamer heavy bolter plasma gun melta gun in a Taurox armed with a hunter killer missile - 161 points

Leman Russ battle tank with heavy bolter side sponsors and a hunter killer missile - 180 points


The battle plan would be for the heavy weapons squads and the platoon command to dig in at the rear of the army and fire on energy tanks and the like, while the squads rush for the objectives supported by the Leman Russ. The company command squad would move into the centre of the board and find cover and support from there.

Thanks for reading

 

[Iraqiel]

Hey mate, welcome back into the hobby!

Vehicles
I personally don't use Taurox yet, I'm yet to get my hands on them. Mech to me means APCs, and so I have a company of Chimeras to cart around my Guardsmen. Chimeras offer reasonable front armour and pack a surprising amount of firepower, so I wouldn't discount them.

The tank is a solid choice. I'm a little torn on the sponsons personally as I believe - no evidence to the contrary yet - that the sponsons can only fire snapshots if the turret shoots, thanks to the current ordinance rule. Snapshots can still be good - but I'd rather invest the points in more models or melta guns!

Weapons choice wise:
I like sniper rifles. Having said that, they are hit and miss, only ever effective against small infantry squads or characters with poor inv saves and of course, for picking out the heavy weapons in larger squads thanks to their rending and precision fire. I'd only include these for my personal kicks at 1000 points.

Mixed heavy weapons teams are generally not a good idea - without the ability for them to pick different targets (note that there is an order that lets you do that). If I had to mix them, I'd pick two autocannons and a missile launcher. Both are relatively effective against most tanks or elite infantry, and the missile launcher allows a bit more utility against larger squads. This should free up some points for more heavy weapons once you drop the lascannons. Lascannons are expensive, one shot only, and often overmatch most tanks you see at 1000 points. I'd usually save these for bigger games.

Troop selection
I know taking platoons lets you take heavy weapon teams, but I still tend to shy away from them when I'm playing mech. The cheapness of veteran squads - and did I mention, the awesomeness? - plays much better to their use. Instead of HWT, just throw an autocannon or missile launcher in each vet squad, and then pack them out with melta or plasma, depending on how many tanks or terminators you think you'll face. These guys shoot really really well, and that reliability is really key for you if you play mech - the points used on vehicles tends to translate poorly to the points of soldiers you could have used to compensate for the poor marksmanship of your lascannons or missile launchers.

I do note, however, that a platoon commander can issue orders - and this is awesome and a key feature of the AM/IG. In fact, I'd recommend playing a few games with just your infantry and the tank to get the hang of balancing orders from your CCS and PCS and how to best use this awesome feature.

To increase points value, I would recommend either another tank or two, or a specialist unit such as wyrdvane psykers, a primaris psyker, a Valkyrie or Vendetta or a squadron of two or three of the mortar tanks whose name escapes me... these options providing either brute force, psychic goodness, anti-air/airborne infantry and good old fashioned indirect fire.

Hope that this helped! Flick through my battle reports if you'd like to see some examples of various guard styles of play, some more effective than others.

 

[andyg]

Thanks for the help, I will have a rejig on the heavy weapons and look into dropping the platoon and take more veteran squads

 

[Iraqiel]

Sure thing mate, let me know how it goes for you!

 

[andyg]

I reworked the heavy weapons team. Changed one to have 3 mortars and the other 3 auto cannons. Withe the spare points I included a sentinel.

What's your thougHts on the changes???

 

[harlotrose]

Honestly I am a fan of gun line platoons with 2 hw teams in each toon with a commissar in each blob 2 or 3 ten man squads are nasty with a priest and primaries cause the you have fearless and get other nasty abilities otherwise a tank commander with 1 or 2 back up russes would give you umph and mb on your Sargent while combining the infantry squads does wonders and hydras are nice aa units

 

[Bringbackmacharius]

Heavy weapon squads are not good. T3 single model, 15 points a team base versus infantry squads HWT which is 8 points. LD 7 too.

The only weapons is I'd consider is mortars and hide them behind stuff. Even so, you are better off getting them into an infantry squad (non mortar HWT) for more ablative wounds, targeting freedom (3 HWT in a squad have to fire at same thing, whereas 3 in 3 infantry squads don't) and higher LD.

However, you could stick the squad into someone else's taurox/chimera and make a fire platform.