Infantry Force

[kharneth]

I'm trying to make an Imperial Guard army that is all about Infantry and supporting the infantry. I play 40k and Fantasy, but with IG I feel completely overwhelmed. I've looked around the forums for information on tactics and Infantry information.

I don't want Mechanized Infantry, I'm not opposed to vehicle support but it is not the focus of this army. I want Infantry.

Where do you go to capitalize on the Infantry's power?

My first assumption is an Infantry Platoon (obvious, right?). So I'm starting here, yeah?

One Large Platoon of 40 men and the command squad. What weapons do I give these guys? I'm thinking Missile Launchers. These guys would be sitting as a blob, in the back at the base. Securing my objective(s) and guarding the artillery.

2 Veteran squads in Chimeras, "charging" forward to secure the center of the board. Yeah? No?

Am I on the right track? I'd like to incorporate Storm Troopers and Ratlings too.

Again, I feel totally overwhelmed with all of the options from Infantry Squads, Special Weapons, Heavy Weapons, Veterans and all of this.

[Ponen19]

Ok, calm down and breathe. Better? Good.

If you want to go all infantry then platoons are probably the best way to go. For the 40 man blob, ML's are good, but Lascannons, Autocannons, and Heavy Bolters may benefit you better as a bubble wrap unit. Tough to charge and they'll lay on the firepower if anything gets close.

Vets in Chimera's are a good way to go also, just remember that they're still guard and still squishy. If you're using them as objective grabbers, save them for mid/late game grabs after your artillery or other blobs have softened up the enemy, then have them come in guns blazing and wreck face.

Ratlings are awesome as snipers but they're tricky to use since you have to place them in a good spot to get the best use out of them without giving up an easy "Firstblood" point.

Storm Troopers are similar to Vets, but they're more of a suicide squad. They pop in, kill something, then most likely die shortly after.

Hope this helps!

[WestRider]

How many Points are you talking about? Blob (Combined Platoon) Guard is strong, but past a certain point, you really do need support from the Artillery Vehicles at least.

I run two general variations on Blobs:
1) Shooty Blobs: 30-40 men. Depending on the expected targets, they want Autocannon, Missile Launchers, or Lascannon. I usually stick Special Weapons in there as well. If I'm planning on deploying the Blob forward AND I'll be able to rely on Re-rolls (either because I'm going to be almost exclusively shooting at Vehicles/MCs with Bring It Down or because I have an Allied Psyker with Presience), I like Plasmaguns. If not, any of the 5 Point options can work (Flamers are mostly for Overwatch in this case), or you can do without if you're tight on Points.
2) Assault/Power Blobs: 40-50 Models. No Heavy Weapons. Power Axes and usually Meltabombs on all the Sergeants and any Commissars who might be included. Flamers or Meltaguns are the Special Weapons of choice here.
- Characters: Either kind of Blob needs Morale support. If you're using Commissars, you usually want a second one for Blobs of 40 or more, especially for Power Blobs. If you're using Allied ICs or a Lord Commissar, you can usually get away with relying on their 2+ LOS! roll.

Platoon Command Squads: These are kind of awkward on foot, because they're so fragile and their best damage dealing capacity is very short-ranged. If I don't have a Flyer or Chimera to stick them in, I usually just give them a Mortar to remind me to hide them out of LoS. If you aren't averse to adding in Valkyries/Vendettas, giving them 4 Flamers or 4 Meltas and tossing them in a Flyer can have excellent results. Don't forget that they're Scoring, so they're good for camping Backfield Objectives in awkward places.

Special Weapons Squads: Don't bother unless you've got Flyers that aren't yet carrying PCSs. These guys absolutely need a delivery system.

Heavy Weapons Squads: Hit or miss. They pack a lot of cheap firepower, but if there's a decent amount of opposing S6+ Firepower on the other side of the table, they can just vaporize. They also have trouble taking advantage of Orders since it's hard to increase their Ld. If you do take them, don't mix Weapons within a Squad. If you're taking a lot of them, Creed and Kell can be a good buy, since they'll let you issue 4 Orders at Ld10.

Speaking of whom, Creed can be really useful for an Infantry-based Guard Army, since he can let you Scout forward or Outflank with a Power Blob, in addition to tossing out the 4 Orders per Turn. Infantry Armies can struggle to deal with the Opponent's backfield, and dropping an entire Platoon back there can really help with that.

Your CCS wants to mostly be a Support Unit in an Army like this. Yes, it can pack some nice firepower, but what you really want to be doing is using Bring It Down and Fire on My Target every chance you get, to make sure that the firepower of the Blobs actually does its job. Keep it safe, maybe buy an Astropath if you've got Outflankers, maybe a Master of Ordnance, as much as anything for the extra bodies they add as for their abilities. You may even want a second one.

More later. In addition to Points Levels, how do you feel about Allies? There are a couple of fairly cheap Ally "templates" that can add quite a lot to a Guard Army like this, particularly Dark Angels and Space Wolves.

[kharneth]

Thank you both, Ponen19, I feel better haha; Westrider, your in-depth explanation was very helpful.

With everything you've said... I feel as though this could be effective.

40-Man Platoon w/ 4x Missiles and 4x Grenade Launchers for versatility. Grenade Launchers can in fact damage light vehicles and infantry, while the Missiles can hurt "all" vehicles and even infantry too! These guys will sit back.
2 Veteran Squads w/ something, Plasma? They will buy a Chimera. The Command squads will hide behind the Chimeras, maybe in them if I don't need the commands. By last turn or 2 the vets will embark and seize the forward ground.

I'd like to add Snipers and Storm Troopers to this mix. I'm not against a Heavy Weapons Squad or 2... but how does this idea look so far?

I'm thinking I could purchase an Aegis Defense Line and put it like 18-20" forward and move into it to hold a more forward position. I don't know, I want to make sure I don't end up just having an army of stationary squads, ya know? Or is that pretty much how IG are best played?

[WestRider]

Your 40-man Platoon is pretty much going to want to sit still, yeah. Be careful with an Aegis Line, the Heavy Weapons Teams can sometimes have trouble drawing clear LoS over the top of it, which will give Cover Saves to your Opponents as well. In general, it's a good plan, tho. And getting a Quad Gun with it adds a really nice bit of extra Firepower to the Army.

A fair chunk of the rest of your Army can be more mobile, tho.

Storm Troopers are probably best here as "suicide" Melta Squads: Minimum size, 2 Meltas, no other upgrades. Deep Strike in next to hard targets (or maybe even Infiltrate up if your Opponent screws up and gives you a good shot), blast 'em, get wiped out by whatever else is nearby. Without something like that, you're really going to struggle against Armies that are putting a fair amount of Armour in their backfield, other IG Armies with Russes, even SM with multiple Predators.

Ratling Snipers are a solid option. I like to try to Infiltrate them off to one side somewhere, always in Cover, ideally in a Ruin, so they have some chance of not just getting blown away. I like a big Squad, because Snipers are kind of underwhelming in small numbers. They're not weak, mind you, it's just that they need significant volume of fire to do much, because their special Rules only kick in on 6s.

You're probably going to want at least 3 Units pushing forward in Chimerae if you're playing more than about 1000 Points. Because you don't have any other Armour in here, those are going to be the obvious target for any opposing Anti-Tank weaponry. Keep them back for at least a couple of Turns, and be careful not to expose the Sides until you have to.

Using the Chimerae to screen one side of the Quad Gun can let you man it with something relatively flimsy, like a Platoon Command Squad, without it getting blown away right off the bat.

Otherwise, do without them entirely, go for Target Saturation/Denial by only giving your Opponents Infantry to shoot at. Some other options to give you some more Mobility/Flexibility:
- A Veteran Squad with Harker, Infiltrating up or Outflanking. I like Plasmaguns or Grenade Launchers here, so they can stand off a bit, and hopefully avoid getting Charged.
- A Power Blob, Outflanking with either Creed or El Rahemo. Seriously, one of these can make Opponents really watch their Flanks, and can be a life-saver in Hammer & Anvil Games, when you need to get to Objectives 40"+ from your Deployment Zone, but within 24" of a Side Board Edge.
- A Power Blob advancing with another couple of Squads in front of it as a Screen, to keep you from getting Charged by faster moving Assault Units (i.e. all other Assault Units )
- Veteran Squads, Command Squads, or Special Weapons Squads in Valkyries/Vendettas. Because Flyers are so durable, taking just one or two of them is much more viable than taking just a couple of Chimerae.

[kharneth]

Alright, so originally I didn't want any special characters... but Harker is awesome!

I am going to take him with a Vet squad to infiltrate in some decent cover, probably with the sniper support.

I don't want to kill my Storm Troopers, is this really the only way they are effective?

Also, this is just the Infantry part of my army. I'm thinking of an 1850-2000pt Tournament list, probably about 1000-1200pts of infantry and the rest for support. I will have at least one Leman Russ Battle Tank. I think I will take 2 Chimeras and a Valkyrie for transports.

CCS and PCS
40-Man Infantry Platoon - 4x ML, GL.
Vet squad infiltrating with Harker
2 Chimera and a Valkyrie with... something in them.
8 Ratlings (I'd like another unit, but I'm fine with just one min.)

I can take more Vets, but I don't think I need 3 more units. I could add an Infantry squad to the platoon and put it in a transport. I could take a SWT (3 Meltas) and drop them from the flyer.

1 vet squad in the chimera, 1 infantry squad in the chimera, melta team in the flyer?

[WestRider]

It's more important to get a third hull on the table than that it have Vets inside.

I'd use the PCS for an airdropped Melta Unit. At BS3, the 4th Meltagun that they can take makes a big difference. The second Chimera would then just have an Infantry Squad in it or something.

(Speaking of Infantry Squads, just thought I'd mention that the Autocannon is my preference in most cases. I find that the extra shot is usually worth more than the extra S or AP of a Missile Launcher, and they're a little cheaper.)

I'd take the Ratlings at least up to 9. Means an extra casualty before they have to take a Morale Test, and with Ld6, that really matters.

Storm Troopers, regrettably, are really expensive for what they can do. If you take a Unit big enough to not be suicidal, it's clocking in at close to the cost of a 30 man Blob, and they're nowhere near that survivable, or capable of dishing out that much damage, and they can't hold Objectives. They actually cost more than DA Tactical Marines or Grey Hunters, both of which are far better Units.

If you like the Models and the Fluff, and you're not playing in particularly hardcore environments, maybe see if people would be OK with you using them as Counts As Veterans with Carapace Armour.

[Sgt. Rock]

I have to agree with WestRider on the Missile Launchers. They're really flexible, but unfortunately, they struggle with AV14, which means Russes, Battlewagons, and Land Raiders are all going to pretty much laugh at them. For the same reason, I wouldn't count on GLs to do much against anything over AV10. In both cases, the weapons try to do two things adequately, but really don't end up doing either all that well. If your opponent only runs light to medium armor (Eldar or Dark Eldar, for example) then they're grand. But anything heavier is going to give you trouble, and the frag options, while nice, are unreliable. The AP value on them sucks, you won't get more than three, *maybe* four models if your opponent is at all smart about spacing the unit, and there's a solid chance it'll scatter off into la-la land and never do anything. For anti-infantry and light armor, ACs are the way to go. If you want some legit anti-tank firepower, spring the points and buy some lascannons. I tend to run Lascannons in my blob for dealing with big tanks before an appropriate target gets into lasgun range, and flamers to discourage any unwanted advances. If you're keen on infantry, also consider a heavy weapon squad or two with mortars. They're cheap, they force pinning checks, and they annoy your opponent to no end.

There are some fiendish things you can do with Harker; if you take the Forward Sentries doctrine and dump him in ruins somewhere, you're sitting on a 2+ cover save. Take an AC or another Heavy Bolter with him, and some sniper rifles, and you've got a good long-range fire unit that's pretty hard to dislodge. Give them plasma guns and put them in a Chimera or Valkyrie, and you've got good mobile firepower.

On the Ratlings, I've actually had good success with small squads of 5 or 6, mostly because they're just enough of a nuisance to be worth the cost, but not enough that my opponent will devote significant firepower towards them. Yes, they're abject cowards, and I generally expect that if they take casualties, they're going to run. But a small unit is cheap enough that it's worth it, as far as I'm concerned.

I can also tell you, from experience, that one infantry squad in a Chimera pretty much equates to a wrecked tank and ten dead guardsmen. AV12 isn't anything to sneeze at for a troop transport, but once it goes up, any dudes inside are pretty much toast. And if you've only got one of those, like WestRider said, it's going to be a prime target for any anti-armor weaponry your opponent has. Chimeras are one of the better basic transports in the game, but they're steel coffins for the poor bastards inside.

I'm of the philosophy that "everything counts in large amounts." If you're going to take tanks and APCs, take lots of them. If you're going to take infantry, take lots of them. One or two Chimeras are pretty much going to be toasted within the first couple turns. If you bring five or six, one or two of them may survive long enough to do their job. Killing infantry is easy; every basic trooper in the game is equipped to do that. The big guns are going to focus on the big targets, and if you've only got a couple big targets to focus on, they'll be able to focus much better, and your tanks won't last long.

I'd also consider taking a Scout Sentinel with an AC. It's dirt cheap, and the ability to show up with a couple of S7 shots at something's juicy side or rear armor is potentially game-changing. If a 40 point Sentinel can materialize in the other guy's backfield and take out a 150 point artillery piece or tank, I'd say that's a good use of points. The Multilaser can be decent here, too, if you're strapped for points, but it's a pittance to up to the AC, and the extra strength is worth it.

Bottom line, if you want to run an infantry horde, do it completely. Screw the Chimeras, put everything on foot or in Valkyries/Vendettas. Take at least two or three Russes, and a Basilisk or three, and just pound it out.

[kharneth]

I don't have time to respond to everything, I just have one quick question.

How/why is the Basilisk good? If anything, I'm going to take its cannon emplacement as "true" artillery. But 36" min range seems terrible... I'm not very familiar with how ordnance and stuff works. I rarely play against it and I normally just cut things with Khorne Berserkers

[Sgt. Rock]

The minimum range is a relic from 5th edition; you can still fire at targets inside 36", but you have to fire as barrage, which means you can't subtract your ballistic skill. Seems totally bass-ackwards, I know. I could be wrong; anyone have a better grasp on it that can confirm/deny my interpretation?

[kharneth]

With my Infantry Platoon, I'd prefer to have them shoot at infantry because of all of the rifles. The reason I prefer Missile Launchers over Autocannons is because even though the extra S is not quite as good as an extra S7 shot, the S8 allows you to glance AV14. Unless things have changed since I played last summer, glance spamming is an effective way to kill vehicles. And against Infantry, the frag can inflict higher casualties on mobs and the krak can kill space marines. Grenade Launchers wont do much, but S6 will add a little against vehicles and infantry.

I could take a unit of 8-10 Ratlings instead of 2 smaller units. They would not take a Ld test as quickly, but might be targeted sooner and might not fit in ideal areas. Instead, I could take 2x5 or 6 and they could fit in small places where nothing else could fit and they could focus fire on the same target to be just as good as a 10-man squad. The only issue is Ld.

I think what I'd like, then is:

40-man Infantry Platoon with ML and GL
Vet squad with Heavy Bolter and GL or Snipers, Forward Sentries
2x6 Ratlings
1-2 Vet/Special Weapon/Platoon squads in Valkyries
More infantry... more vets or what?
2-3 Leman Russ Battle Tanks
2-3 Earthshaker Cannon emplacements. These will be as far away and hard to see as possible, they'll always be using Barrage.

[Ponen19]

Basi's are good, but they're very tricky and situational to use. Because of their min range you have to get lucky and play them on a long deployment, the short one (Hammer and Anvil if I remember right) severly hampers them as they have to be deployed in a corner to maximize their effective range. Manticores have a smaller min range and a stronger shot, but their squad limitations kinda hamper them there. Play around with them and see how you like them.

Ordnance barrage just means you can fire indirectly and you calculate cover from the center of the blast. Good for killing guys behind aegis lines or barricades, and it allows you to hide your artillery and still have them do damage.

One thing to remember with ML's and S8 is that yes it can glance AV14, but thats only a glance and it's a small chance at that. If you need to deal with AV14, Lascannons are always the best option.

[kharneth]

Can I, or can I not, fire an Earthshaker at a unit 24" away?

I made a list... its 1805 so far.

Company Command Squad – Castellan Creed, Vox Caster, Master of Ordnance,
Platoon Command Squad – 4 Meltaguns
4x Infantry Squad – Vox Caster, 4 Missile Launchers, 4 Grenade Launchers
Platoon Command Squad – 4 Meltaguns
4x Infantry Squad – 4 Grenade Launchers Outflanking
Veteran Squad – Harker, Forward Sentries, Heavy Bolter, Grenade Launchers Infiltrating in terrain
2x6 Ratlings Infiltrating in terrain
Valkyrie PCS inside
Valkyrie PCS inside
2 Leman Russ Battle Tanks
Earthshaker Cannon Emplacement
Manticore Missile Emplacement

[Sgt. Rock]

You can, but only indirectly. Which means no subtracting your BS. Which, in itself, is BS. BUT... them's the rules.

If you want to use the MLs, go for it. They're really not all that bad, despite the negative talk about them in this thread, but in my experience, they really struggle with AV14, as you need a 6 to glance. Those aren't very good odds. Your meltaguns will have a better shot, once they're inside that magical 6" bubble.

The list looks pretty good, though I do have to caution you about the artillery emplacements. Those are Forge World rules, and some people might get titchy about them. You won't be able to use them in a lot of tournaments. If your local group is cool with it and you don't plan on playing tourneys, go for it. But it's something to keep in mind. I'd also consider swapping the Valkyries for Vendettas. Vendettas are stupidly good for their price (some might call them undercosted) and they'll kick the snot out of any tanks you'll run into. Barebones Valks aren't that hot; those Hellstrike missiles are one shot that's only got a 50% chance to hit its target, and even then, it might not do anything. After you've launched those, you've basically got an expensive flying Chimera. If you really want to run the Valk, swap the Hellstrikes for the rocket pods; those things are devastating against infantry. But considering the amount of anti-infantry firepower you've got going, I'd go with the Vendetta. Tanks and any infantry with a 2+ save are going to crumble before its wrath.

[kharneth]

My gaming store allows most imperial armor stuff. I just have to get it approved with the tournament organizer, which I'll do once I know what I'm bringing. I really want Artillery, instead of Artillery on tanks. I'll figure that out myself though, are there any advantages of having a Basilisk or Manticore Rocket Laucher? More Armor, but less easy to hide, right?

As for Valkyries and Vendettas... I really wanted a cheaper, gunless flying transport, I figured the Valkyrie was close enough. But I know the Vendetta is so good, and I think you may be right. Those 6 extra Lascannons will bring a lot to the rest of the army.

[Sgt. Rock]

The chief advantage to mobile artillery is just that - mobility. If something starts getting too close, you can haul arse away from it. You can move to more advantageous firing positions, or better cover. Emplacements are stuck there. And as far as I know, the mobile stuff does have better armor... IIRC, the emplacements are 10 all 'round, and mobile stuff at least has 12 on the front. Plus the extra help from the hull weapon (Heavy flamers are really nice for encroaching infantry). You may also find that the mobile stuff is actually easier to place; as far as I know, Forge World only makes the Death Korps emplacements now, and the Earthshaker one takes up more space on the table than a Basilisk does. So to use the Medusa one, you're looking at scouring eBay and hoping for the best. Overall, I'd take the mobile over the static. But I'm a little biased, because I think tanks are cool.

Oh, and if you want a cheap, gunless transport, and your group is cool with the IA stuff, look at the Arvus lighter in Imperial Aeronautica. It's cheap, doesn't have a gun, and can still carry 12 guys.

[kharneth]

I hear you on the mobility part... my idea was with such small artillery pieces (high mostly) I could hide them out of LoS and not get shot at, or hide them easier in cover, with stealth, for very hard to kill artillery pieces. I love tanks too, but that's what the Leman Russ are for, imo, Artillery should be like heavy weapons teams... not on treads. I understand that in the 40k universe, the tank body is basically just wheels to move from one battle to another.

Don't worry about the models or the price. My entire army is a Proxy. I'm not using any warhammer models. I am just looking for an army list, so I know what stats/rules I will be using for the proxies.

I am trying to make a Marine Corps force that includes mostly Infantry with Tank, Artillery, and Air support... that I can use in 40k.

How are Leman Russ Vanquishers? I know BS3 1 shot is eh, but I'm having a unit of 2 Russies and thinking I'd take 2 vanquishers. 1 would his and surely pen a vehicle (S8+2D6=15). I chose the regular Battle Tank because with S8 AP3 it seemed the most versatile, but If I take an earthshaker cannon or 2... S9 AP3 would be redundant. I'd prefer the artillery to be ordnance/barrage and the tanks to be solid slug cannons if that's possible/effective.

I will check out the Aeronautica!

[kharneth]

This is what I've come up with:

Note that these Companies and Platoons are Detachments and are not complete.

Infantry Company: 680
Company Command Squad – Castellan Creed, Vox Caster, Master of Ordnance.
4x Infantry Squad – Vox Caster, 4 Missile Launchers, 4 Grenade Launchers
4x Infantry Squad – 4 Grenade Launchers

Aviation Combat Element: 150
2x1 Arvus Lighter

Tank Platoon: 310
2x1 Leman Russ Vanquishers (Or Battle Tanks)

Reconnaissance Platoon: 440
2x6 Ratlings
Veteran Squad – Harker, Forward Sentries, Heavy Bolter, Grenade Launchers
2x Platoon Command Squad – 4 Meltaguns

Artillery Battery: 260
3 Heavy Mortars
Medusa Siege Gun – Indirect Fire

[Ponen19]

Vanquishers get a lot of hate because of the cost of a BS 3 shot. Personally I love them. The thing with them though is that you have to put Pask in it to get the most out of it. But a Vanq with Pask and a Lascannon will kill things, some pretty big things too. You just have to be willing to shell out the 200+ points to get it. Whenever I take a Pask-Vanquisher it usually has the highest kill rate and always buys back its points.

[kharneth]

I'll have to play around with them then. I take it you would prefer 1 with Pask instead of 2?

2 is 310pts and could pretty much kill anything. A squad of 2 Vanquishers is bound to hit once and with S8 + 2D6 pen and +1 on the damage table, I feel it would be pretty good. BS4 is nice, but Crack Shot seems only slightly helpful on a weapon that already has 2D6 AP, it doesn't feel like its worth 50pts to me.

1 elite tank for 220pts or 2 for 310?

[WestRider]

A Squadron of 2 misses one Turn in 4. Pask misses 1 Turn in 3.

Also, against AV14, 2d6+8 only actually penetrates about 58% of the time (Crack Shot takes this up to about 72%). Then there's the possibility of Cover.

And depending on the target, at least a couple of the possible results are generally going to be useless: Transports don't really care about being Shaken or having a Weapon blown off, Gun Tanks often don't mind getting Immobilized.

All told, Pask only has about a 25% (that's assuming a Hull Lascannon, too) chance of stopping a Smoked Land Raider bearing down on your lines, just for one benchmark. Works out around the same for two regular Vanquishers, the extra odds of hitting and possibility of more Hits more or less balances out with the reduced odds of penetrating.

[kharneth]

So the only real benefit in having 2 tanks without Pask is the extra armor and target saturation.

My list is at 1840, where would I drop 40pts to include Pask?

[jenburdoo]

Incidentally, if you take the Forgeworld variant of the Vanquisher, you can increase accuracy for significantly fewer points by taking a coaxial heavy stubber for a mere 10 points. Score a hit with it before you fire the main weapon (7/8 chance with BS3 at 36") and the main weapon becomes twin-linked.

THEN put Pask in it. At which point you have 26/27 chance of having his BS4 be twinlinked.

On the other hand, you have to be within 36" of the enemy. But on a normal board, is that really so hard?

[Lord General Armstrong]

No, unfortunately you can't put Pask in a Leman Russ from Armoured Battlegroup. But just go one better, you can take Armoured Battlegroup as an ally for an Imperial Guard army. So have a Command Tank (BS4 and unique orders) with a Vanquisher cannon, coaxial stubber and beast hunter rounds. (Small blast and Instant Death, you can choose between standard rounds or these)

Then just fill out the required troop allotments with Leman Russ MBTs. (Give these the order to force the enemy to reroll cover saves, makes standard Russes from Armoured Battlegroup so much more effective) For more fun, try a Commissar tank (gives a leadership 10 bubble similar to a Lord Commissar) in your rear lines near your heavy weapon teams, or within range of assault platoons or conscripts.

That'll keep your standard armies Heavy Support choices free for other things, namely artillery or Hydras. Basilisk gun carriages are pretty good too (Toughness 7, 3+ armour) for half the points cost of a standard Russ and you must remember that barrage weapons are currently the best snipers in the game. Or instead of these, go for the Forge World Manticore, its cheaper, still retains the 7'' blast (could be 10'' can't recall at the moment at work, what are you going to do?), AP2 missiles, with the option of buying the codex storm eagle for the same price as a plasmagun or sky eagle missiles. (They don't have skyfire for some reason but allow rerolls to aircraft thanks to Heatseek)

From: Imperial Armour Volume One Second Edition - Imperial Guard

[jenburdoo]

Hey, there's nothing that says you can only take that stubber in an armoured battlegroup. You can field the individual tank choices as is (heavy support for an IG army).