Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard Tactics

[Gunny O'Grady]

This is a document I wrote in an attempt to get my knowledge down on paper. I am trying to really improve my gameplay and get better at the game, so I compiled a document to serve as a checklist during a game -- a reference document of strategy.

Abstract:
The following is a reference document for Warhammer 40k Strategy. The strategy outlined has been geared to complement lists that rely almost exclusively on shooting, with a specific emphasis towards the Imperial Guard Codex. This technique attempts to utilize aggressive destructive tactics to control the tempo of the game. It does this primarily through the use of Firing Niches and Target Priority. The goal is to use systems of redundant, asymmetrical shooting to cripple the opponent's ability to do damage and control objectives. The document is broken down into two sections: Operation Analysis and Operation Control. Operation Analysis occurs before the start of the game -- it is a process of observation, anticipation, and prioritizing. Operation Control begins when the game begins. It utilizes information organized in Operation Control to provide a methodical way forward as the game unfolds. End Abstract.

Click the link below to read the document -- feel free to save it if you like it!

Fundamentals of Warhammer 40k Strategy

If you guys have any thoughts, ideas, arguments, or improvements, feel free to post something. I will appreciate feedback that helps to build a stronger document. My goal is to help people to get better (myself included). I am not trying to split hairs in the rules or assert allout-mathhammer-ohmygod-nine-vendettas dominance.

Regards,

-Gunny O'Grady

[majordaley]

not a bad doc gunny but vague on the specifics, as per the rolls of specific units and the use of said units, ie ratlings and their sniper rifles good for pinning certain enemy units while another squad of infantry assault the pinned unit......can that b done as I have only just started collecting and gaming. I play a friend who has a sizable chaos marines force specifically thousand sons, with lots of icons, sorcerors and deep striking terminators rubric marines and a deamon prince he calls magnus..... so I bulk up with ogryns, heavy weapons squads and veterans in carapace armour, ive brought in an astropath and an officer of the fleet for my bad rolls on reserves and went for lots of armour, only 2 platoons, 1 dismounted with 3 squads, a special weapon squad, 3 heavy weapons squads (3 lascannons, 3 missle launchers, 3 mortars, I want to see what the barrage effect with the mortars will have on his grouped cultists) and conscripts, and another platoon in 3 chimeras. With my priest attached to conscripts, Lord commissar attached to the combined squad of 30 infantry, hoping that the combined weight of fire will do some damage. I have not got any heavy weapons in my infantry squads....should I change this?, I have been told by someone at my local GW store to equip my chimeras with autocannons.
anyway any thoughts would b welcome as i'm sick of getting my arse kicked
MajorDelay

[Julian Sharps]

Asking the same question on multiple threads isn't exactly the best way to go about asking for advice. Pick a thread and stick with it, please.

Part of the problem is that a lot of what you're using just isn't all that great. The bread and butter of the Imperial Guard are our infantry and our tanks/artillery; anything else is an indulgence. Pinning won't help you in the slightest against the units you need it to, since I'm pretty sure that Thousand Sons (and Marked Chaos Terminators) are Fearless. I've only found one strategy where Ogryns make up a critical part of its effectiveness, and you pretty much have to build your army around them and hope you get lucky. The only thing that Conscripts have going for them is Send in the Next Wave, which requires you to take Chenkov and, by extension, requires you to build your entire army around recycling a largely combat ineffective scoring unit in games where unit kills don't count toward your score. For a single point more per model, you have better WS, BS, and Ld, as well as access to special and heavy weapons in your line infantry (on a related note, as a general rule it's a good idea to put heavy weapons in your infantry squads, as they can take more of a beating than those in heavy weapon squads due to all the ablative wounds protecting them, and you have access to higher Leadership models in the unit and Vox support).

As a rule, the Imperial Guard do not assault unless doing so can buy you another turn of shooting, or if you're supporting a unit that had already been assaulted. The best way to avoid being assaulted is to shoot whatever is maneuvering to assault you off the table. The Leman Russ MBT is very useful in this capacity as just about everyone hates being on the receiving end of a Battle Cannon. If you're not using one, I suggest you get two; with a few notable exceptions (Punisher), the various flavors of the Leman Russ chassis make up for the best tanks in the game. In fact, if you're having trouble with Tzeentch Terminators, make one of them a Demolisher and surround it with your infantry.

Of course, I can't be more specific unless I have a more detailed understanding of your list, as well as what you tend to go up against.

[Paradill]

If like to add/elaborate to sharps' post:

Play to your strengths. If you're tailoring your force to annihilate chaos marines, you don't need vets, and definitely not carapace. You aren't going to out- endure an MEQ force by taking better armour, you aren't going to out-elite them with vets and you certainly aren't going to out close combat them by taking Ogryns. You can, however, out shoot them to such a degree it becomes embarrassing. Focus on that, not the frilly gloves but the iron fist.

[majordaley]

basically I need bulk infantry and tanks that go bang! and that I shouldn't have to have all the extras just high strength multiple shots, shoot them and let them come to me, when the dust settles go for the objectives?

thanks for the advice gentlemen, as for the multiple threads my apologies this is my first time on this site, actually found it last night

[WestRider]

On the original post: Solid, but I don't see why you'd call that an Imperial Guard Tactics article. At that level of generality, all those principles hold just as well for Space Marines or Dark Eldar or Tyranids.

As a minor thing, I would also add Anti-MC capacity to your list of target types you should be able to handle. There's some overlap, but taking down a wall of Tärvigons or a trio of WraithKnights is a different proposition than dropping a Cron AV13 Wall or a triple Land Raider list.

For 40K, tho, that's not how you win Games, five times out of six. I won a game of The Emperor's Will a little while back with only a single Genestealer left on the board, while big chunks of my Opponent's army were still around, because that Genestealer was Contesting my Opponent's Objective at the end of the Game, and I was ahead on Secondaries.

In 40K, it's more important to think first in terms of how you're going to handle the Victory Conditions for the various Missions:
- How are you going to Hold and Contest Objectives? Those in your Deployment Zone, those in the enemy Deployment Zone, those in Midfield. Do you have a plan for if you end up facing an Opponent with more Objectives in his Deployment Zone in Grand Crusade or Big Guns Never Tire, or if your Opponent gets the 4/3/3 Objectives in The Scouring?
- How are you going to handle The Relic? Do you have a Unit that can get up there quickly and hold (or at least contest) Midfield? Can you stop Bikes that pull a Turn 1 capture and then start Turbo-Boosting back immediately?
- How does your Army hold up in Purge the Alien? Do you have any Units that are really easy VP for your Opponent to pick off? How are you planning to protect them?
- Secondaries: How well protected is your Warlord? What do you have that could be really easy for your Opponent to drop for First Blood? How can you mitigate that threat? What Units do you have that can reliably score Linebreaker?

Once you've got sorted out how you're going to handle the Game itself, then you start looking at how you're going to keep your Opponent's Army from stopping you doing those things. But it's important to keep those Victory Conditions in mind. The Nid/Tau example I gave above was the most extreme case I've ever seen, but I've pulled out a number of Draws with only a handful of Models left on the table against half or more of my Opponent's Army, and won other Games by barely touching my Opponent's Army.

[Gunny O'Grady]

@ Majordaley, Julian Sharps, Paradill an interesting discussion. I will weigh in on it shortly.

@ Westrider that is an extremely valuable point about the emphasis being on victory-conditions before enemy destruction. It seems as if I would have to write an entirely different part about each different scenario-type, with the current document as a secondary part of any given victory-situation -- the kill-your-opponent part. I will reflect upon this further. Thank you.

[WestRider]

I think you could work it in as just another section, and then say to keep those goals in mind while working out the rest. What's ideal here is a very general document, something you could use when prepping your list before a Tournament where you know you're going to have to play 5 games with 5 different scenarios, against 5 different Armies, for example.

Especially since several of the scenarios are so similar. Relic and Purge the Alien are the only ones that truly require a different approach, the other four are all just variations on a theme.

It might also be worth tweaking it to make it a bit more IG-centric. For instance, when doing CAD analysis, Avoid is rarely a viable option for the Guard, so we often tend to forget about it on the occasions when we can pull it off.

This is really valuable information for IG Players tho, and I'm glad you're doing this. Guard Armies win or lose by their Target Priority management and keeping the OODA loop going.

[hendrik]

an interesting read!