"Greetings Sire Kirby,
I could use a little advice building an Imperial Guard army.
About me: my name is Hendrik, I'm a 31 year old W40k enthusiast from Wiesbaden, Germany. I'm into the hobby for almost 18 years now (with some breaks though). I started with Dark Angels (with whom I took part in the GW official 2nd German championship, before it was named Grand Tournament), Night Lords (true CSM codex player, just love those Defilers and Obliterators) and Tau (JSJ 4tw).
I've been thinking about starting a new army and the IG always got me. Since I'm a lazy painter I prefer small armies. Small and IG can be a tough cookie though, but thinking about tactics that are being used in reality I finally got around to think: Blitzkrieg! ;-)
What was it, that enabled the Wehrmacht in the beginning of WW2 to achieve so many victories? The Blitz!
To break it down, the Blitz is made of a mixture of rapid air strikes followed by a quick armoured assault, mainly by tanks.
Air strikes? Valkyries here I come!
Armoured assault? Leman Russ all the way!
With my friends I mostly play 2000 pts games, so I made a list:"
We all know the Blitzkrieg only worked because of the French... All French joking aside, good luck with getting a low model count for IG! The tank + flier concept should be fine though but not sure if you're more concerned about theme or gameplay here? In terms of competitiveness air-cav based lists are less balanced but fliers + tanks certainly can be built towards competitive gameplay. Anyway let's see what you've got!
"HQ:
Company Command Squad, 135 pts
· Company Commander, Camo Cloak, Krak Grenades, Power Weapon
· 4 Company Command Squad, Camo Cloak, Krak Grenades,4x Sniper Rifle
· 2 Bodyguard, Camo Cloak, Krak Grenades
Troops:
Veteran Squad, 135 pts
· 9 Veteran Squad, Carapace Armour, 2x Plasmagun, 1 Flamer
· 1 Veteran Sergeant, Carapace Armour
Veteran Squad, 135 pts
· 9 Veteran Squad, Carapace Armour, 2x Plasmagun, 1 Flamer
· 1 Veteran Sergeant, Carapace Armour
Veteran Squad, 130 pts
· 9 Veteran Squad, Carapace Armour, 3x Meltagun
· 1 Veteran Sergeant, Carapace Armour
Fast Attack:
Vendetta Gunship Squadron, 260 pts
· Vendetta
· Vendetta
Valkyrie Assault Carrier Squadron, 260 pts
· Valkyrie, Multiple Rocket Pods
· Valkyrie, Multiple Rocket Pods
Rough Rider Squad, 105 pts
· 9 Rough Rider Squad, 1 Rough Rider Sergeant
Heavy Support:
Leman Russ Squadron, 300 pts
· Leman Russ Battle Tank
· Leman Russ Battle Tank
Leman Russ Squadron, 310 pts
· Leman Russ Vanquisher
· Leman Russ Vanquisher
Leman Russ Squadron, 230 pts
· Leman Russ Executioner, Plasma Cannon Sponsons"
All in all, decent but if were' looking for competitive play some changes need to be made. Vanquishers for example are eh compared to your normal LRBT. They have the extra anti-tank ability but you can get better anti-tank elsewhere. If you're going to take an executioner I'd also put it in a squadron so you can fob off hits onto the 'weaker' Russ and make sure the Executioner can still fire to full effect for as long as possible. Otherwise I might stop at 2x Russ squadrons and grab a couple Hydras in the final slot or none at all if you don't feel that fits the theme you're going for.
Fast Attack then...Valks are fine since they are for your theme and adding anti-infantry. I'd prefer to see all Vendettas but all good. With that in mind I'd drop the Rough Riders and split the Vendetta squadron in two. This allows you to split fire which is important and saves points. With those points in mind I'd like to see Chimeras on the Veterans. Being able to deploy them via Valks/Vendettas is a great option but not always the right option. Chimeras add to the tank theme and give your army much needed flexibility. I would do the same with the Command Squad and look to cut down a lot of their upgrades. Any spare points can be put into more Veterans (grab meltaguns on them all btw for reliable anti-tank) or things like Storm Troops/PBS in Chimeras as well.
This moves the list to the more 'standard' IG layout but keeps the Bliztkreig feel IMO.
"My idea is to have the valkyries charge head on, delivering anti-infantry fire and having a veteran squad with meltas aboard, maybe also one of the other two veteran squads, depending on the mission / setting.
The other veteran squad(s) are to be waiting within the Vendettas, whom are holding back, providing anti-tank fire, due to their high Las cannon range.
The Leman Russ' are supposed to be moving constantly down the field and shooting at anything they come across. Just the Executioner may stop once in a while to fire all the plasma fire it carries.
The Rough Riders are supposed to be following the Russ' in order to counter charge any infantry that gets to close (i.e. shock troops).
The company command squad is supposed to be watching the match from a save location shooting at anything that comes into range of their sniper rifles. Probably I will put them into one of the valkyries at the start, if there is a suitable hiding place for them on the way of the valks.
So, my questions are now:
- do you think this army build and strategy are viable?
- should I change the weapons/gear on the veteran squads / company command squad? This is the point where I am really unsure, if this is a good mix.
- should I reduce the gear on the infantry in order to buy some Las cannons for the Russ'?
And last but not least, a rule question:
- can the hunting lances of the rough riders be used only once per game or are they useable in every close combat they charge into? I couldn't find any clarification on this in the FAQs.
I hope you find the time to answer my questions. I'm really looking forward to it.
Thanks alot in advance.
Yours,
Hendrik"
1) Yes but I think some tweaking needs to be done as indicated above.
2) Yes. Meltaguns for Veterans so you have reliable anti-tank. You've got a ton of anti-infantry with the Russ squadrons and Valks so you don't really need AP2/flamers. The CCS has got a lot of extra bling which it doesn't need. A heavy weapon + snipers in a Chimera is a fine choice from the backfield.
3) Russes are fine with HBs really.
4) Every cc they charge into.
Remember my suggestions are from a more competitive standpoint all the while trying to maintain your theme as I'm not sure which is the most important to you! I'd love to see pictures of the army though, particularly if you were looking at doing
