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So, I'm planning to start a Astra Militarum army, And I know the first thing is the codex (But it has to wait. First the 7'th edition rule book next month, and then I can probabkly get the AM codex the month after) And so far I own a box of Cadians. So i'm wondering, How should I build my cadians? I have the old IG Codex and in that one it says you can give each 10 man squad a single special weapon, Is this still true? (Who do they give you 2 flamers and 2 grenade launchers when you can only use 1? Why not give one of each of the 4 special weapons they can have instead? Stupid GW.. XD) if so, Is the Flamer or Grenade Launcher best? And what should I get next, After the codex? I was thinking of a tank heavy army.

Hi,

Yep one special weapon in a squad but you can also add a heavy weapon which is in a different set.

You get extras of the special weapons because you can create a special weapon squad which off the top of my head has 4 special weapons.

In the old IG codex the Special Weapon squad has 6 members and 3 special weapons. Shame you dont get plasma guns or meltas.. Dont think the Space Marine Plasma Guns that GW sells as bits would fit too well.. (Leaving only forgeworld.. And thats expensive..)

On a somewhat related topic, I'm surprised they started using Latin-ish names for their codices.

You will want 2 platoons of guard and a company command squad for a HQ, orders got really good for guard

After that its just tanks, roll out the Russes

Hope this helps

I think in the command squad you get the plasma and meltas as well as a heavy flamer.

I think the name change was due to them not not being able to copyright imperial guard.

There a good army to do, need the codex first though to plan the purchases as there is so much variation.

Welcome to the Guard.

::Here's your Uplifting Infantryman's Primer and your flashlight::

There are two basic troop units: guardsmen (25+ per troops choice) and veterans (10 per troops choice). I recommend starting your guys as veterans, until you get more men (you need at least 50 guardsmen to run 2 Troops choices, only 20 vets to do the same).

Guardsmen can take 0-1 heavy weapon and 0-1 special weapon.

Vets can take 0-1 heavy weapon and 0-3 special weapons.

Vets are great in a variety of roles, as camoflauged long range fire support with a heavy weapon and sniper rifles, grenade launchers, or plasma guns. As elites hunters with plasma guns and carapace armor. As tank hunters with meltas and melta bombs.

If you like tanks, then you need to get some tanks. A chimera is like adding three heavy weapons to your army, on top of its transport capacity (it's amphibious, so add some water terrain to the battlefield!).

Most of the leman russ tanks are cheaper in points now, so it's much harder to recommend one versus the other. I would recommend either a battle tank, with its 72" S8 AP3 cannon, or a vanquisher tank-hunter (I think most people will let you use the same model as either, or you could magnetize the barrels to swap them out).

I think the Leman Russ kit lets you set up a:
- battle tank, long range marine/infantry killer
- vanquisher, long range tank killer
- eradicator, medium range, ignores cover anti 4+ infantry
- exterminator, medium range anti-vehicle/monstrous creature

Demolisher kit:
- punisher, short range anti-infantry/monstrous creatures. Alternate: give it the commander+Pask character upgrade and I've heard it's good vs vehicles too.
- demolisher, short range anti-everything
- executioner, medium range plasma spam

If you want just tanks you can use Pask in a russ for your HQ.

If not going armour orders are the way ahead...

Thanks for all the replies! Dident think of Veterans, That should be good for starting troops ^_^

Merellin wrote:
So, I'm planning to start a Astra Militarum army, And I know the first thing is the codex (But it has to wait. First the 7'th edition rule book next month, and then I can probabkly get the AM codex the month after) And so far I own a box of Cadians. So i'm wondering, How should I build my cadians? I have the old IG Codex and in that one it says you can give each 10 man squad a single special weapon, Is this still true? (Who do they give you 2 flamers and 2 grenade launchers when you can only use 1? Why not give one of each of the 4 special weapons they can have instead? Stupid GW.. XD) if so, Is the Flamer or Grenade Launcher best? And what should I get next, After the codex? I was thinking of a tank heavy army.

Generic questions out of the way first

What drew you to IG?

What would you like your army to be? (because with the unbound shenanigans apparently coming with 7th you can apparently take anything)

What points size/army size are you looking to build to?

As for the single box of Cadians, that's easy. Build a sarge, 8 guardsmen, and a flamer. The Grenade Launcher is an absolute excercise in futility, I've never gotten them to do anything.

The Space marine weapons WILL fit. Especially the resin ones you can get off the GW page. Just take the grenade launcher arm, lop off the grenade launcher and hand, and add the space marine hand. Just say he has a bionic hand, and bingo, you're good to go. You could also go 3rd party and order bits. Victoria lamb makes a sweet Meltagun and Mad Robot makes a really nice plasma gun (that you can buy for 80 cents a piece if you buy like 5) The vic one has a different kind of arms though, so you might not like using that one.

General advice for an army is kind of hard considering we're about to change editions again. No matter what, you'll need some guardsmen, an HQ, and some special weapon troopers. Leman Russes are pretty sweet now, so they wouldn't be a bad investment. Of course, the tank rules could get wrecked again and make them useless, but I doubt it. Either way, magnetize EVERYTHING for the tanks. Magnetize the cannon, magnetize sponsons, magnetize the hull weapon, magnetize the heavy stubber, etc. etc. You'll thank me.

Honestly? I would say build and paint your squad, figure out a paintscheme, and wait till 7th drops. Once you have a better idea of what the edition change brings, you can start planning your army more seriously.

The defense force. You will use EVERYTHING

 Melissia wrote:
On a somewhat related topic, I'm surprised they started using Latin-ish names for their codices.

Astra Militarum is easier to trademark than Imperial Guard.

I've run GLs in Killteam, where they were good value.

I think in 6th at the mo (7th?) with krak grenades being able to be thrown, it means that half the point of having a grenade launcher goes down the toilet. You do get the range, and it's a decent gun, but by no means a reliable one. Better off taking ML in your squads if you want that kind of weapon.

 Timmy149 wrote:
I've run GLs in Killteam, where they were good value.

I think in 6th at the mo (7th?) with krak grenades being able to be thrown, it means that half the point of having a grenade launcher goes down the toilet. You do get the range, and it's a decent gun, but by no means a reliable one. Better off taking ML in your squads if you want that kind of weapon.

GL will 2+ wound any infantry in the game, for 5 points that's a pretty good deal. and they're ok vs vehicles. A vet squad can take out an auto cannon and 3 GL on a reasonable budget.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The defense force. You will use EVERYTHING

QFT, it's a very good deal, here's the link:

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Cadian-Defence-Force

I'd say you could squeeze about 500 points out of the Cadian Defence Force and the box of Cadians you already have. Another command squad wouldn't be a bad idea, that way you could run a CCS w/ hwy wpn, a mech vet squad, a footslogging platoon, and a Russ in some small games.

Piling up about 50 Guardsmen with 4-5 sergeants and a few special weapons is a good next step, then go for some Chimeras and Russes.

For special weapons (melta/plasma), one of your best bets is to buy some bits from a seller on eBay and build a few of those instead of lasgun guardsmen. Buying the GW special weapon models is insanely expensive... Also, if you have some mad modeling skillz, see if you can magnetize the turret and sponsons on any Leman Russes you get, it gives you more options in the future.

The sheer number of models you can put on the board makes Guard an expensive army to start, but they're a ton of fun if you have the patience to build/paint/deploy/move all of the little flashlight toting gangsters.

Good luck!

 TheSilo wrote:

 Timmy149 wrote:
I've run GLs in Killteam, where they were good value.

I think in 6th at the mo (7th?) with krak grenades being able to be thrown, it means that half the point of having a grenade launcher goes down the toilet. You do get the range, and it's a decent gun, but by no means a reliable one. Better off taking ML in your squads if you want that kind of weapon.

GL will 2+ wound any infantry in the game, for 5 points that's a pretty good deal. and they're ok vs vehicles. A vet squad can take out an auto cannon and 3 GL on a reasonable budget.

yes but noobtubes are only 18"

good for mechanized chimera lists (though in this case just take meltaguns or even plasma guns on vets)

the flamer on the other hand protects standard guardsmen from getting charged (I dont know about you, but if a 10 man guardsman unit manages to perfectly place a teardrop shaped template on my 8 man black templar initiate squad, I'm going to not like it.

Last I checked, GLs were 24"

A good start is 2 or 3 cadian defense forces and a vendetta and a four packs of special weapons . two with plasma and two with melta . That gives you a nice army .But to be honest , I would wait till next edition with buying stuff . If you buy some of the stuff that is good now , like psykers for example, you may end up with bad models in the end.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The defense force. You will use EVERYTHING

This.

I will be buying 3.

Well, it depends. Footslogging infantry blobs or mechanized veterans?

Do you want your commander to be in a cool command squad or drive a badass Leman Russ(in that case you need two tanks)?

It really boils down to the playstyle. If you want tank-heavy army, the Tank Commander is best idea and your safest bet would be assembling one on a Leman Russ Punisher(unfortunately bits for it come with Leman Russ Demolisher box, not the one from Cadian Defense Force) and give him another Punisher as he needs second tank to form a squadron.

If you want it to be vehicle heavy, then go veterans with 2 plasmas or meltas per squad in Chimera transports - this way you could have neat force with, say, 3 chimeras full of veterans and four Leman Russes(two punishers and two other of your choice) - that's the armoured might of the Imperium!

Edit: forgot to add - if you like the Tempestus Scions models you can use them as regular Veterans with grenadier doctrine - they're the only Imperial Guard models with Carapace Armour, so you're free to use them as grenadier vets!

Welcome to the guard son.

"When recruits are inducted into the Imperial Guard, they are given four things. Their regulation flashlight (commonly referred to by the troops as "lasguns" for some reason), their regulation cardboard box (which certain regiments have taken to cutting up and wearing into battle, calling it "flak armor"), a large stack of toilet paper (which the recruiters refer to as the "Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer"), and the regulation extra large wheelbarrow that allows them to cart their massive brazen balls into battle."
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Imperial_Guard

I kind of want mostly tanks and a bit less infantry, Atleast to start with, So I think I'm gonna go for veterans in chimeras for my troops. And what drew me to Imperial Guard? Hmm... Well, I'v played Xenos, Alien super robots who wont die, And super soldiers, So I think it would be fun to play the normal humans, And I like tanks.. XD

Hmm.. I would realy like Vostroyans or Steel Legion.. Steel Legion would probably be easier to paint.. Unfortunately they dont have all the options and there is no Steel Legion command squad.. Only solution I have to that would be a Cadian command squad with a Steel Legion officer..

As for modeling and modifying models and greenstuffing, I have absolutely no skills in things like that so that just wouldent work..

depends on what you want in your army. A horde of Guardman or some leman russes is my recommendation.

You know, I think I'm gonna go for Vostroyans. I always loved the models, And while they are metal and their hats look like a pain to paint, I think I'm gonna get them instead of Cadians. ^_^

Hey Merellin, welcome to the Guard.

It's a bit more pricey to do, but I speak from experience when I say that no other army out there looks like a Vostroyan I.G. army. I have about 60 infantry painted in my Vostroyan force and I still enjoy painting them, though I'm down to just a handful of models left to paint.

The hats aren't that much of a pain in the backside to paint, the models being metal and generally more detailed will cause them to be a bit more of a chore to paint, but if you're willing to commit to painting them well they can look stunning even at tabletop standard.

An example:


My pallet consists of just nine colors and two washes.

Mechrite Red (Or some suitable darker red color will work)
Black
Bone white (I use Deneb stone, but Karak Stone will also work well)
Baylor Brown (used as an undercoat for all brass and dark brown/leather areas, as well as the stock on the rifle)
Hashnut Copper
Grey (medium grey shade)
Dark brown (such as Scorched Brown)
Green (Warpstone Glow) for lenses
Flesh tone (Old school Dwarf Flesh is what I'm still using)
(Edit: Also, Leadbelcher/Boltgun metal will be needed in small amounts, forgot that, but ANY army is going to need this color to some degree or another!)

Washes are the old school flesh wash which I use to coat the Baylor brown areas I want to be leather
Seraphim Sepia over the entire model once I finish it.

With a little patience you can get models looking like the one above.

Here's one more example:


The gunner's hat is just deneb stone (or Karak stone) with a Seraphim Sepia wash. That's it. You can drybrush a brighter color over it if you want to bring it out more. The black hat is just black with a couple of different shades of grey dry brushed over it and hit with a Sepia wash once again.

I love my Vostroyans. The only other guard regiment I would play beyond them would be Steel Legion, as I love their fluff.

I recommend starting off with a couple of squads of Vostroyans and a command squad and fielding them as veterans. (With the Grenadiers doctrine, so they have 4+ armor saves with their carapace armor).

If you want any more tips or advice, feel free to PM me. Best of luck and welcome to the Guard once more sir.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

Merellin wrote:
In the old IG codex the Special Weapon squad has 6 members and 3 special weapons. Shame you dont get plasma guns or meltas.. Dont think the Space Marine Plasma Guns that GW sells as bits would fit too well.. (Leaving only forgeworld.. And thats expensive..)

Forgeworld isn't expensive.

Thank you Red__Thirst! That was an awesome post ^_^ I love the looks of Vostroyans and I'm gonna do my best at building a Vostroyan army ^_^ I am gonna start with 2 squads to run as Veterans and then build up from there, Atleast at first I will be tank heavy, ut I'l probably get some more infantry too. ^_^

Cant wait untill I can get the AM codex and my first Vostroyan models.. Hopefully I can get one item next month.. If not I'l have to wait till the month after that.. (Got some big expensive bills next month unfortunately..)

Note Merellin, Infantry Squads DO NOT come with good special weapons. You basically have to go forgeworld to get models with actual special weapons.

 Scipio Africanus wrote:
Note Merellin, Infantry Squads DO NOT come with good special weapons. You basically have to go forgeworld to get models with actual special weapons.

GW proper just put the Cadians with Melta/Plasma Guns blister back up on their site...they're "temporarily out of stock" at the moment though.

Merellin wrote:
Thank you Red__Thirst! That was an awesome post ^_^ I love the looks of Vostroyans and I'm gonna do my best at building a Vostroyan army ^_^ I am gonna start with 2 squads to run as Veterans and then build up from there, Atleast at first I will be tank heavy, ut I'l probably get some more infantry too. ^_^

Cant wait untill I can get the AM codex and my first Vostroyan models.. Hopefully I can get one item next month.. If not I'l have to wait till the month after that.. (Got some big expensive bills next month unfortunately..)

Make a few purchases along and you'll get there.

I'd recommend starting with these:

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vostroyan-Firstborn-Squad x2 ($35.00 per squad from GW, may have better luck on eBay, or possibly ordering through your FLGS if they offer any discounts).

That gets you two ten man squads, with a Flamer and a Heavy Bolter for them. (Basic, sure, but not horrible). These will be the basis of any squad you make. So if you want to run, say, four squads of Veterans (which is how I typically run my guard at 1000 points). I'd suggest buying one of these for every squad you want to run over the course of building your army. It gets you the Sergeant you'll need for each squad, plus a special and heavy weapon on top of that. Get some spare plastic voxcasters off of a bitz trading site (Or from friends who play I.G. and have some left over) and shave the back down on one of your models so it's flat and you can attach it snugly. This is the best way to get voxcasters into the army as the only voxcaster mini you can get is the one in the command squad. You may also have luck getting the voxcaster mini off of eBay by itself.

Here's an example of the voxcaster conversion:



Next, you'll need:

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vostroyan-Command-Squad x1 ($35.00 once again, try your luck with eBay and or FLGS for some kind of a discount)

That gets you an awesome Company standard, a Commander, a nice voxcaster, a medic, and a grenade launcher. I personally LOVE the grenade launcher mini. Probably one of my favorite vostroyan minis in the range, but I digress.

After you have that, if you want to expand your force further, and diversify your infantry weapon options, you'll need to get some of these:

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Imperial-Guard-Vostroyan-Lascannon-Team ($17.25 a piece. They're expensive, but if you want a heavy weapon other than a heavy bolter, these are your best bet. The good news is that if you magnetize the thing it works with most of the plastic heavy weapons from the Cadian Heavy Weapon Team, including the Autocannon. I personally have all my Heavy Weapon Teams sporting Lascannons here.)

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vostroyan-with-Plasma-Gun ($10.00.. these things are crazy expensive for ONE model.. Highly recommend you eBay for these, as three of them costs almost as much as a damn 10 man squad. I only have three for one of my veteran teams. If you like a lot of plasma, just bite the bullet and order a one or two at a shot once you get most of your other infantry purchased)

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vostroyan-Snipers ($14.00 for a pair. These are a little better, working out to be $7.00 a model vs. the plasmagun. If you like the sniper rifle, it's a good option to consider. Also the helmeted sniper is my second favorite Vostroyan mini.)

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Imperial-Guard-Regimental-Advisors ($17.25 for the trio, they're all great additions to you Company Command squad. Not so much required, but certainly good additions if you want to spend the money)

Lastly,

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Vostroyan-Troops-1 ($17.25 for a trio of standard lasgunner guardsmen. I'd pick up a couple of these just to give you some extra bodies in case you don't want to run a heavy weapon in one or two of your infantry squads and have the individual pair of models to replace the two wound heavy weapon base.)

As I said, trying to order these through a friendly local gaming store that offers a discount, or being an eBay ninja may stretch your dollars a bit further. Sadly, as this is an all metal army, it's going to be expensive. That said, if you want the list, then get what you can when you can.

After you get your infantry sorted, it's on to tanks and vehicles to support your infantry.

If you want any further help, please don't hesitate to drop me a PM on here and I'll get back with ya ASAP once I get it.

Take it easy, and best of luck!

-Red__Thirst-

Edit: P.S. The only special weapons available in the vostroyan line are Sniper Rifles, Grenade Launchers, Flamers, and Plasma Guns. If you want melta guns you'll need to convert some up using the Flamer miniature (seen in the photo I put up in this post above) by clipping the 'muzzle' of the flamer off and replacing it with a Meltagun barrel. The only heavy weapons I can find are the Heavy Bolter in the 10 man squad box, and the lone Lascannon you can purchase in the link above. As I said, you can also use the Lascannon with an Autocannon bit from the Cadian heavy weapon box as well for variety. Lastly there was a Vostroyan Mortar team available at some point, but I can't find it on the store any longer and that may be discontinued, but look around on eBay for some if you like mortars. Just a few tips for building the army I've learned over the course of ~4 years building my force up.