I want to start an Imperial Guard army!

[Deleted]

Hey all, just found this forum tonight.

I want to start an Imperial Guard army very soon, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips(what vehicles do I need, how many troops, a good all around starting list, a sweet paint scheme! and whatever else you think is cool!). I was thinking of doing Steel Legion, but just use the regular Guard rules not the Steel Legion rules. I just think the models look spiffy, but then I saw a few of the pics on this site of the cadians and I thought those looked really cool too, I'm kinda deciding now .

I work at GW, so the price isn't a big deal, I just want to know what other guard players think is a good start. The other guys at the store don't play guard(they like all the alien and Eldar stuff) so I rather talk to Guardsmen about it.

Thanks!
Jon

[Deleted]

best advice at this point is to read the forums and the armylists.. you will get a lot of ideas of what has worked, what hasent worked, what is recommended, then you can goto the tactics section and see how to use them all.. once you have some ideas of how you might like to put into your army then ask again with more specifics..

only reason i say this is not to be mean but to allow you to get an idea of your own before you are bombarded with all our own tactics and favorite styles.. and trust me.. we are a looney bunch here who play IG to the beat of our own drum..

cheers and welcome aboard mate..

[Deleted]

for a start....i agree with gris.

but, troops. as i assume all IG players would concur, you can NEVER have to many troops.

i fight with atleast 1 full plattoon in my army, thats 5 squads of 10, + 5 man platoon command.

and the key to playing IG (imho) is to outnumber the enemy.

[Goddess of Darkness]

mech948 said:

and the key to playing IG (imho) is to outnumber the enemy.

agreed but also try to outgun them as well, if possible

[Deleted]

Thanks for the advice, I checked some posts and it did help.

I'm thinking of taking mainly infantry with tank support.

A couple questions:

Are mortars really useful? I was thinking of giving my HQ mortars so that they can sit back and bombard without having to get too close.

What about sentinals? I've seen them die fast, but being able to give them lascannons seems to be pretty cool.

What should I give my sergeants? Should I give him something to hold up in close combat, or just another shot?

And lastly, what is a good all around special weapon for my platoons?


Any advice will once again be appreciated! ;D

Thanks
Jon

[Goddess of Darkness]

triggertime said:

A couple questions:

Are mortars really useful? I was thinking of giving my HQ mortars so that they can sit back and bombard without having to get too close.

What about sentinals? I've seen them die fast, but being able to give them lascannons seems to be pretty cool.

What should I give my sergeants? Should I give him something to hold up in close combat, or just another shot?

And lastly, what is a good all around special weapon for my platoons?

Mortars I can't comment on as I haven't used them...yet

Sentinals: Yes they die fast ....but they are a good distraction from the important stuff (even if it for just 1 turn) or you could use a hellhound for the same thing.

Sgts: All my sgts have CCW and laspistol, It is in the platoon HQ that I give the special stuff(power fist etc). That way I can use the HQ to back up the infantry if/when they are attacked, or vise-versa. That also helps with the outgunning and keeping them cheaper so that you have more numbers.

Special weapons: That was/is all trial and error for me so someone else can grab that one.

Keep in mind that this is just how I play and is my opinion. Make sure you feel comfortable with what you have in your army. ;D

[Deleted]

Hellhounds are the best fast attack. I use 3 of them.
Mortars are only good against an army they can wound and are NOT fearless to cause pinning
Sentinels are okay I only use them in small points (under 1000) in higher points there is better
all my Sgts in basic platoons use the lasgun instead of a cc and pistol. This allows them to shoot 24" like the rest of the squad does
Hvy Weapon Support Squads are good with the HQ. This allows them to depoy with the HQ to get an advantage against the enemy that has already reployed.
Adding a hvy weaponto a squad is good against another shooty amy, against a CC army leave the squads with assault weapons so they can move and shoot.
I perfer the gernade launcher because the plasma kills your model on a 1, the melta is short range and if the enemy is that close you messed up, same short range issue with the flamer.
See if your local game store can order your the BIG IG Box set still with the 2 tanks and platoon +Heavy weapons. That is a nice deal to start an army
Also plastic models are cheaper than metal so watch out what type of IG army you are starting. There is a kids at my store who is struggling to by enough metal troops with his meager allowance each week.

[Deleted]

I use special weapons pretty extensively in my mobile units... Plasma Guns are fairly useful because they pierce the golden AP 3 and wound T4 on a two. I find them most effective in command squads with a medic, particularly when rapid firing. Meltaguns are pretty good vehicle busters, and I've had the best luck with them in mobile Veteran or Stormie squads. Grenade launchers are great line troop weapons. They've a decent range, a decent strength, and a decent AP. Flamers are great in conscript squads, if they're advancing. Don't use them in vet squads; it's wasting their superior BS.

At this stage, focus on outgunning the enemy, as well as outnumbering him. Also, I can't suggest the Leman Russ enough. The basic Russ is amazing, and will win you games. Chimeras are good, but I suggest specializing them. I also haven't had much luck with the two flamer varient. Multilaser and HB is fine for transport hunting and decimating light infantry, although the TLHB+HB is better at killing infantry.

[starwoof]

I prefer to have melta's in my suicide and deep striking squads (my whole marine army!). Otherwise I prefer the grenade launcher though recently I've been turned on to the dead-sexyness of the plasmagun. My usual preference for special weapons is to not take any and use heavies instead.

I also prefer to have another shot with my sergeants (again, except with suicide squads). I like my squads to be very specialized in their roles, then I can take more squads. Overwhelming numbers is my thing.

My favorite special weapon is the heavy bolter. Best is probably the autocannon, because it can pop infantry and light vehicles easily.


And thats how I roll.

[Deleted]

got to love mortors.. when used right they own all..

sergs in normal sqauds go with lasguns.. in command go for the power weapons..

specials.. plasmas in my commands to hit hard when needed, GLs in my normals to add that extra blast s3 or single str6 hit, and meltas for those deep striking stormies to blast tanks and terminators.. which i have yet to begin to play with

sentinals die really fast.. but i use them as a distraction now instead of a real force would be surprised what an enemy will use to take them down considering that they are mobile firing platforms..

glad that you were able to find specifics to start off your questions.. play a couple of games now with a better idea on what to use and such and find your own way of the imperium.. you will probably find some things work better for your playstyle than others.. like i go for more specilized troops or specific tasks instead of going to outnumber and have decent success with that strat atm..

[Deleted]

Welcome to the boards.

For starting out i think the best army would be 3 leman russes (or 2 russes and a demolisher) and loads of infantry. This offers a fun list which can be tweaked to your taste. Once you get the fundamentals sorted you can then experiment with units like, sentinels, rough riders etc....

For special weapon i prefer the plasma gun because it compliments the autocannons and missile launchers in my squads. If you're taking heavy bolters as your squads heavy weapon then i would suggest using the grenade launcher as well.

For sergeants i prefer to make them veterans and give them a boltgun. This way your infantry isn't relying on your officers and offers some punch in the shooting phase. (I've downed a land speeder with a boltgun before ;D ) Of course this is all down to taste. The best thing about guard armies is that there are many ways to play and each player develops his/her own tactics. The best advice i can offer is to buy some models and have a game and learn from there.

[Deleted]

(I've downed a land speeder with a boltgun before )

How? And man it would be funny to see the opponent face when you show him how you can do it...

[Deleted]

It moved 12". I glanced it as it only has an armour of 10 and immobolised it. Because it had moved 12" it crahses and burns, amid much laughter.

[Deleted]

Welcome to the forum.

Let me say one thing......
VOX CASTERS!!!!!
Always use them along with a Master Vox in your HQ with a Heroic Senior Officer and a Commissar. That gives you a LD10, and that in itself a good enough reason, it as saved me countless times. Trying to keep all that infantry in a 12" radius of an Officer is near impossible (correction: it is impossible ). When you are deploying choose a good spot of real estate with heavy cover on it to camp your HQ on. If they die, well lets just put it this way: your screwed. As for the actual weapons for these guys, I go with Storm Bolters for the HSO and Commissar, a plasma gun, a medic (for that all-important medipack), and the others with just lasguns.

For Hvy/Special weapons Ive chosen Grenade launchers and Missle Launchers; and its worked pretty well for me. You could use Autocannons, But I love putting down 9 blast templates each turn - thats not including Grenade Launchers!

I usually take 2 platoons of 4 squads and a command section each(which is compulsury anyway). thats 90 guardsmen starting out w/o anything else - thats alot of meat.

Hope that helps.
Xenobane

[Deleted]

The vox caster/HSO/Commie combo got debunked in an FAQ. The only way you can get LD 10 all around is to have your commie find your HSO wanting at the line. From what I can ascertain, it's superior just to use Veteran Sergeants and be done with it. It's slightly more expensive, but more effective in the long run. You can toss in better equipment in the line squads; surveyors are surprisingly useful in Omega missions.

I use my line infantry to support my mobile Conscript squads, with a decent mix of AT and Anti-Infantry fire power. I usually give them Missle Launchers, Lascannons, or Autocannons. I rarely use any form special weapons in these squads just because if they're within range to use them, then there are some serious problems with the flow of battle for my army already. My conscripts always have flamers. Always. It's probably the best weapon for them in the game. Plasmas are good in squads specialized to take out heavy infantry or SMs. I suggest giving the specials to Storm Troopers, Veterans, and Command squads to maximize focus fire and give them some means to survive the first couple of turns. I use transports in most battles, but I occasionally dabble with drop troops.

[Deleted]

LOL sorry madman.. thought u wrote land raider LOL way too tired when i read/wrote that..

and yeah the only way you get ld 10 all over with master vox is if the commissary wacks the HSO and takes over the squad..

drop squads and plasma/meltas work wonders.. will be using them in a tournament tomorrow should be much fun had by .. well me

[Turtleboy(AWOL)]

sorry, I'm a bit late to this conversation - finals week at college has been a killer!

triggertime said:

A couple questions:

Are mortars really useful? I was thinking of giving my HQ mortars so that they can sit back and bombard without having to get too close.

I've only ever used 1 mortar in my list and it pays for itself. at some point in any given game pretty much, it kills something. I went with a mortar in the hq for a while, put the standard in my command hq with a mortar and Ld9 officer with vox and hid them. went great till I started to get to higher point level games where artillery shows up to pound your flag more and more - specially with opponents who you play regularly. once they find out how sweet and juicy that command squad is, they'll put a bunch of artillery death into it. no real way to get around this 'cept to give em a chimera to ride in and then the standard, and leadership bubble goes kaput so it's reallyreallyreally good to have another command squad or two nearby (thus a reason why line squads or even heavy weapon platoons are good - they come with more officers). on that note, I found that an officer with chainsword and helmet blended in sufficiently to completely avoid attention by the enemy so when fortifying your firebase, make sure you put some of those type of officers nearby as the heavy weapon squads only have ld7 and no option for voxes or veteran sgts.

What about sentinals? I've seen them die fast, but being able to give them lascannons seems to be pretty cool.

it's all about how you use em. keep em back at all costs, hide em when you need to, keep them in a 'cat and mouse' mode and they'll last 3x as long and do 2x as much damage and earn their points back alot easier. I prefer the multilaser as it's far less conspicuous and tends to let the sentinel slip by when the enemy is assessing what is and is not a threat. this is also a good weapon for sents because with 3 shots you're almost guaranteed to get a hit which mean the unit does something other than looking pretty most the time (unlike 1 or, I've found, even 2 shot variants)

What should I give my sergeants? Should I give him something to hold up in close combat, or just another shot?

I like variety. I go with veteran sergeants since I only do a Ld8 senior officer for my commander and thus no vox network so veteran sgts rock. If you're going with a Ld9 officer, then take normal sergeants; I'd experiment with both weapon options till you find what's best for your style, though I really like the 2 attacks in close combat. I only ever give my sergeants rifles if they're veterans so they get the 2 attacks anyway. as far as veteran sergeants go, I think all the weapon options are useful on a fulltime basis except for the plasma pistol. that's more of a situational benefit and can get the squad leader that is providing the morale dead right when he's needed. if you have a squad like this, I recommend putting a command squad nearby

And lastly, what is a good all around special weapon for my platoons?

all the special weapons are good - take 1 of each to start with then figure out which you like the best over time and vs the whole variety of enemies and get more of those. I personally opt for plasmagun heavy armies simply because you kill or you die but in battle I can't afford to give marines 3+ armor saves when they're 8" away from my main battle lines so to speak

good luck and welcome to the IGMB!

[Deleted]

Thanks for all the responses. I like the idea of just experimenting, and trying out different things, see what works best. At the place I game, an buddy got a guard army too, so I can use that to practice and see what I like and don't like before I start buying models. I decided to go with the Valhallans! They look cool, and I don't see many of them. But remember, I'm going to just use basic guard rules, not the Valhallans.

Anywho, another thing I'm wondering is the doctrines. I get 5 to choose from and I can't really decide what's the best. Once again I'll try various ones, but it would be nice to have a better idea of what to try out.
I was thinking sharpshooter(I roll a lot of 1s), stormtroopers(awesome!), maybe carapise?(4+ is better than 5+ ), but then I think light infantry would be good for infiltrating. I plan to do the master vox thing so close order drill doesn't really appeal to me.

Any suggestions would be great! ;D

Thanks again!

Jon

[Turtleboy(AWOL)]

those sound like some fun doctrines, though if you take carapace you really shouldn't be spending many more points on doctrines because that one is so danged expensive. if you do you tend to lose your ability to outnumber by enough that it becomes really troublesome and difficult to win with. if you did carapace and sharpshooters that would make all your infantry almost as good as stormtroopers. I pose this question to you: do you really need all your infantry to be geared like that or would some stormtroopers and some grenadiers (maximum 60 stormtrooper models right there) be enough for you? this is the most effective way to do a 'carapace where it counts most' type doctrine setup - then use the points you've saved by not taking carapace to take cameleoline so all the rest of your infantry that isn't geared toward being so aggressive can sit in cover with +1 to their cover save making them really hard to take out. heck give em sharpshooters too - you havent really spent much on doctrines though I'd seriously advise not to spend much more on doctrines after that point because stormtroopers/grenadiers ARE expensive but hey, it's 9pts for a guardsman with sharpshooters (BS3.5 by the math) and carapace armor and it's only 10pts for a stormtrooper with frag and krak grenades and a full BS4 as well as the carapace quite the deal. oh and the extra special weapon too..and the sergeant who can take power weapons.

sorry totally rambling here but I think some value can be dredged from it if you're able to keep up with the train of thought I was ranting on hehe

[The Refined Gentleman (M.I.A)]

the first thing u should do 2 start it is 2 buy a cadian shock trooper boxed set. that's how i just started my imperial gurd army yesterday and i'm still painting and putting them together.

[Deleted]

I use grenade launchers fer my inf platoons...and more hard hitting weapons such as plasmas and meltas fer my kasrkns.... i dont use tanks but have a lota anti-tank squads using mostly missile launchers and autcannons with the sharpshooter ability. My command platoon is always within 12' of my platoons providing excellent moral to keep the boys fighting. I also field 2 rough rider squads to support the occasional succesful deep strike of my two stormtrooper squads...for counter attack purposes.
As for mortars....i only use them when i play my frends footsloggin ork army or with my other frends tau...gets fun when his kroot get blown to bits.