Infantry Company

[iggy666]

Alright, so I am trying to make an infantry company, I think, for my Iron Guard 805th regiment. Firstly, is a company what I'm thinking of or is it something else?

Right now I have an Infantry Platoon of 41 men including 8 heavy weapon teams and a veteran squad. I am going to add Storm Troopers and Scout Snipers to my infantry company as well as more vets and infantry platoons.

I am buying Storm Troopers regardless of their effectiveness because I want to paint the models. For 1850 how many infantrymen would most people include? I'd like to buy, paint and form my infantry before I start adding vehicles. I am thinking 2-3 infantry platoons, 1-2 veteran squads, a ratling squad and a storm trooper squad.

Anyone willing to judge the worth of conscripts, ogryns, and penal legionnaires for me?

[WestRider]

An Infantry Company is pretty loosely defined in 40K at this point. Some guess-work and updating from old sources gives me a minimum of 3 Platoons plus a CCS under the current Dex.

If you're running all Infantry, 3 relatively frugal Platoons plus some support elements is totally doable at 1850. Last time I ran Hybrid Guard at large Points Levels, I had about 120 Models at 2K, along with an Executioner, Griffon, Medusa, and HellHound. An All Infantry force should probably be looking to break the 150 Model mark at 1850.

If you want Tanks included in that Army, I'd probably stick to two Platoons, or three more or less minimal ones. 80-100 Infantry in 1850, probably.

- Storm Troopers: I'm pretty sure they got better in 6th. Check out my post in this board for some thoughts various people have had on using them.
- Conscripts: Unfortunately, the FAQ killed the one trick that made them potentially useful. You can get more or less the same effect, but better, by just buying a couple of extra Infantry Squads and not giving them any gear.
- Penal Legionnaires: I've always had absolutely terrible luck with them myself. As in, mine have never passed a Ld Test. Even from what I've seen of their use by people with better dice rolls, they seem kind of mediocre and unreliable. If you could get them in Combined Platoons, they'd probably be better, but since you can't reliably get a bunch of them with the same Ability, they usually don't end up doing much.
- Ogryns: Haven't used them, but my gut feeling is that they still don't quite have what it takes to truly shine. They don't seem to miss the bar by much, tho, so if you like them, I doubt you're really handicapping yourself too badly with them.

EDIT: The 2nd Ed Codex might make the best template for a Company that's actually fieldable at a reasonable Points Value: CCS+3 Platoons with 3 Infantry Squads each, with up to 9 other Units (one per Infantry Squad) in Support. Support Units could include additional Infantry Squads as I recall.

Going with moderately high estimates for add-ons, I get a base value of somewhere around 1200 Points for the basic Company, leaving you with enough for 3 solid Support Units at 1850, maybe 4-5 if you're frugal.

[dragoon6]

Functional units that have seen combat are going to be less than full strength, and to represent that about 150 dudes is perfect for representing that. It's still combat effective without being really large. In general, a Full strength, newly raised company will be about 400 men, plus Officers and thier staff, representiation from the commisariat, the ecclesiarchy, and the Machine cult (if required).
In game terms, it'd look something like this:

4 Infantry Plattons each with
5 Squads each
2 Fire Support Squds armed Mortar or Heavy Bolter
Special weapon suited to role scattered throughout.
perhaps 1:20 ratio

2 PLatoons
2 Infantry squads each to perform overwatch duty
5 Armor Supression Support Squads with Lascannon or missle Launcher, dependant on world of origin.

1-3 Priests. varies based on world of origin. Shrine worlds and such will have more.

1 Lord Commisar
0-10 Commisaar (depending on world of origin, wild or rowdy regiments will have more)

6-9 Liuetenants

1 Captain or Major ( hardened units are often led by a major if the original captain survives. If he doesn't the company will be led a Lt. that is promoted in the field)


Now Obviously this is a crapload of pts. and should only be undertaken for "so i can say I have them) coolness points. I know it's my goal. I'm about half way there.....

Dragoon 6

[iggy666]

As I'm only beginning I'd like to make a company with stuff I'd mostly use, as a start.

Company Command Squad - Vox, Master of Ordnance, Missile Launcher, Regimental Standard
Lord Commissar

1st Platoon
Command Squad - Vox, Mortar, Grenade Launcher
5 infantry squads - vox, grenade launcher x5, missile launcher x5
3 Mortar Heavy Weapon Squads

2nd Platoon - Vox, Mortar, Grenade Launcher
5 Infantry squads - vox, grenade launcher x5, missile launcher x5
3 Mortar Heavy Weapon Squads

Veteran Squad - Vox, Plasma Gun x3, Lascannon, Chimera
Veteran Squad - Vox, Meltagun x3, Lascannon, Chimera

10 Storm Troopers - no idea

6 Scout Snipers

3rd Company of the Iron Guard 805th Regiment.

[dragoon6]

You said this was about 1850? hmmmmm....I'd like to see a Leman Russ in this. Probably a stock model with three heavy bolters on it. There are a CRAP LOAD of upgrades on these guys, but I'm happy to say that none of them is outright bad. Some recomendation on where you can cut pts. for the russ:

The Vox net: In the old dex, these were a viable option, and I think they're super cool looking. but I just don't like them very much anymore. The fact you still need to be in order range really just kills em for me. It's a neat effect, but it looks like you can save 75 pts here by dropping them.

Master of the Ordnance: Another awesome looking dude with what seems to be an awesome and exonomic power. In reality, your better of aiming him at a unit nearby your target, rather than your actual target. almost never hits anything. Running total of pts. saved: 105

Storm Troopers: These are good, and warrent a place in your list if want them, but not ten of them. They are very costly in pts., and the basic armaments don't do a whole heck of a lot, despite being AP3. Drop to 5 or so, and add either plasma or Melta weapons to them.

Those three things together should get you that leman Russ, or 170(ish) pts. worth of something else you think would be useful, such as some equipment for the Lord Commisar, or another two small units of Stormtroopers, a psyker battle squad, or anything from the Fast Attack section. Any of these choices would add a capability to your army that you lack now, and you haven't lost a lot in getting there.


Dragoon 6

[iggy666]

I'm sorry if I was confusing. I am making an Infantry Company. There is only Infantry in this Company. This is NOT a list, but rather, a list of the INFANTRY I will incorporate in my list.

I do not have 75pts worth of Vox casters. I have 1 in my CCS, 1 in each of my PCS and 1 per 5 infantry squads.

In 1850 I'm looking to have this in my list as far as infantry goes:

Company Command Squad - Vox, Regimental Standard, Missile Launcher, Master of Ordnance. Vox for orders, standard for morale, missile launcher for versatility, master of ordnance because he pays for himself if he's in an immobile unit (I know how to aim him)

Lord Commissar or Commissar, there will always be at least 1.

Platoon Command Squad - Vox, Grenade Launcher, Mortar. Vox for orders, Grenade and Missile for versatility.
5 Infantry Squads - 1 vox, 5 Grenade Launchers, 5 Missile Launchers
3 mortars

Same Platoon again.

Veteran Squad - Chimera, Lascannon, 3 Melta or Plasma
Possibly a second veteran squad
Possibly a Storm Troopers squad
Possibly a sniper squad.

And theres my infantry company. The whole company is accompanied by 2 dedicated Chimera transports, probably will add a few more for variety.

3rd Company of the 805th Iron Guard
Total number of Infantrymen: 155
Total number of Heavy Weapon Teams: 21
Total number of Officers: 5

My thought process is this:

I buy all these models, and I never buy anymore infantry. I field them all a few times and I mix and match them with the artillery and tanks I get. This, I believe, is all of the infantry I am going to need I'm thinking.

Idea: Infiltrating Snipers and Storm Troopers together or crossfiring with them could be usefull.

[commisarblur]

For awhile now I've played with a command squad consisting of Creed, Krell, and usually a boat load of advisers. Recently however I spent a night to myself and recalculated that I was overspending points on just that one squad alone for under 2k battles.

Average points was about 375 without advisers. Waay too much.

So this is what i'm planning on fighting with considering im more of a mech/armored regiment.

HQ- Lord Commisar with Bolt pistol

Troop choices-

1 Platoon squad- Platoon C.O. with bolt pistol and Power sword.
1 regimental stand
1 Vox, 1 medic, 1 heavy flamer

4 Infantry squads- Average loadout: Sarges with laspistol.
1 Vox per squad, 1 weapon specialist per squad.

3 Heavy weapon squads- Averaging anti-tank / anti-armored builds.

1 Speical weapons squad- Probably going with three Grenaders or meltas.

1 Veteran squad- Sarge with plasma pistol, 1 vox, three speicalized weapons, 1 Chimera with mult-laser, front mounted heavy bolter and storm bolter mounted on the hatch.

After this point I'd have over seven hundred points left over to tailor to the game i'm playing. If your going for pure Infantry regiment then you could field another two platoons with five man squads each.

[treadiculous]

Ogyns - not used 'em since 2nd ed
Penal - not used 'em, seen them be effective in 5th ed though
Conscripts - not used 'em, nor seen them used.. and with 6th ed out I don't think I ever will.

[TheHoboHunter]

For the auxiliaries:
I've had mixed success with ogryns; they're tough, for sure, but they just can't hit back at an AP value that makes them competitive at their cost. Blobguard and lowered Ld across the board for IG generally spelled the end of ogryns as a tarpit unit for me.

Penal Legion: Love 'em. Granted, I don't rely on one squad, always purchasing 2-3 units any time I field them, but that's just the IG way: redundancy, redundancy, and then some more redundancy. Stubborn makes them good screening/skirmishing forward-liners, and they're just dangerous enough to force your opponent to deal with them.

Conscripts: very much like ogryns, except instead of them costing more, basic guardsmen got cheaper to the point it simply wasn't worth the downgrade to conscripts. Last codex they were an okay flamer-delivery squad, since you couldn't combine regular infantry so the mass of warm bodies was good, and the Ld could be mitigated with officers' leadership radii. Since neither of those apply (no weapon options and infantry can blob up now)... yeah, you do the maths.


As for fluff: the most recent I can think of is the "Shield Company" formation in Apocalypse: built around a command platoon (back when support was attached to the CHQ instead of infantry platoons) and 3 infantry platoons (squad numbers weren't specified above the 2-6 available in the codex). IIRC, First platoon was the company's veterans, usually tasked with the nastier assaults required. Second platoon was fire support, and third was the company's most green soldiers.

So... make of that what you will, I guess.