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I'm trying to develop an IG drop list based loosely on the Harakoni Warhawks, with the idea of the army being a bunch of relatively elite men toting plasma and melta dropping out of planes where they are needed after a barrage of artillery has been shot.

As far as modelling goes, I believe I'm going to either get elysians from Forge world (really slowly due to cost), or use storm troopers as troops to represent carapace armor (still relatively slowly due to cost).

Any and all criticism is welcomed.

DOCTRINES

Drop Troops

Carapace Armor

Special Weapon Squads

Veterans

Close Order Drill

 

HQ

Junior Office Platoon - 105 (Carapace Armor, 4 Plasma Guns, Power Weapon)

Drop Special Weapon Squad - 95 (Carapace Armor, Demo Charge, 2 Meltaguns)

Drop Special Weapon Squad - 95 (Carapace Armor, Demo Charge, 2 Meltaguns)

ELITE

Veteran Drop Squad - 103 (Veteran Sergeant & 4 Veterans, Carapace Armor, 3 Meltaguns)

Veteran Drop Squad - 103 (Veteran Sergeant & 4 Veterans, Carapace Armor, 3 Meltaguns)

Veteran Drop Squad - 103 (Veteran Sergeant & 4 Veterans, Carapace Armor, 3 Meltaguns)

TROOPS

Junior Office Platton HQ - 100 (Carapace Armor, 4 Plasma Guns)

Drop Troop Platton - 105 (Carapace Armor, Plasma Gun, 1 Missile Launcher)

Drop Troop Platton - 105 (Carapace Armor, Plasma Gun, 1 Missile Launcher)

Drop Troop Platton - 105 (Carapace Armor, Plasma Gun, 1 Missile Launcher)

Junior Office Platton HQ - 100 (Carapace Armor, 4 Plasma Guns)

Drop Troop Platton - 105 (Carapace Armor, Plasma Gun, 1 Missile Launcher)

Drop Troop Platton - 105 (Carapace Armor, Plasma Gun, 1 Missile Launcher)

Drop Troop Platton - 105 (Carapace Armor, Plasma Gun, 1 Missile Launcher)

FAST ATTACK
Drop Sentinal - 50 (Autocannon)

Drop Sentinal - 50 (Autocannon)

Drop Sentinal - 50 (Autocannon)

HEAVY SUPPORT

Basilisk - 145 (Indirect Fire, Improved Comms)

Basilisk - 145 (Indirect Fire, Improved Comms)

Falling out of the sky with guardsmen is huge amounts of fun...especially when you get 3+ full platoons on te table in one turn

That said, your list needs help.

1) Heavy weapons: These need to be on sentinels, period. Look at it this way, best case scenario, your missile launchers come in on turn two and start firing on turn three. That gives them 4 shots all game, which is in the best case. In reality, you're going to be out of range, behind terrain due to a bad scatter, so on and so forth. Thus, I think that you should stick to single special weapons in your line squads.

2) Sentinels: The only dedicated anti-tank that you have has a 12" range and can't pen a monolith. I'd give these guys las cannons and your improved comms.

3) Bassalisks: None of your army is going to start on the table, except for two open-topped AV 12-10-10 artillery platforms, upon which you have placed your best hope of coming in cohesion. If you honestly plan to DS whenever possible, these guys will get minced in no time at all.

4) Carapace: Is there no way to convince you that this is a worthless doctrine? 280 points spent on it? Dude, that's another platoon. But if you have to have it, I'm not going to tell you no

5) Numbers: Guard works by battering your opponent with a statistics book until they have no models left. You simply don't have enough men to acomplish this. When I ran a similar list, I had ~180 men. You've got 92. That's a whole lot of probability that you're passing up.

The changes I'm recomending make this a total gimmick list. Don't expect it to perform against high caliber players with high power armies. If you want one of those play mech or DT/light infantry gunline. But to see your opponents reaction when he realizes it is impossible for him to kill off all of those guardsmen by the end of the game or waxing a demonprince/termie squad with 50 lasguns is priceless. Plus, you get to hum the 'Ride of the Valkeries' as you roll for your reserves.

cheers

P.S. Change the special weapons squads' melta guns to flamers. Same with one of the command squads.

Yeah, you are probably right about the carapace armor and the rest of the suggestions you made.  Time to rework the list, I guess.

Any suggestions on what a Drop Troop/Light Infantry list looks light, in general?

I play IAv3 Elysians, so that's a slightly different proposition.  However, my buddy who plays Codex drop Troops usually runs something like this at 1000-1500 points:

Drop Troops
Iron Discipline
Close Order Drill
Veterans
Special Weapons Squads

JO w Power Weapon
4x Specials

2x Special Weapon Squads with 2x Flamer and Demo

2+ Infantry Platoons
JO w/ Power Weapon
4x Specials

2x Infantry Squads w/Plas and Heavy
1x Remnant Squad w/Plas or Melta

2x Veteran squads with 3x Plas

The idea is maxing out mobile dropable plasma and melta goodness.  Every squad usually has a veteran sergeant, so when they use close order drill they're at Ld 9.  Pretty frickin' effective.  Good fun doing drop troop vs drop troop engagements. 

So what does your Elysian List look like?  I've been thinking about doing one (cost is a bit scary), but I'm not sure what their strengths/weaknesses are versus the strengths/weaknesses of the Codex Drop Troops (who just have tons of special weapons, basically). 

Care to elaborate on what you've found to be the major difference(s)?

So, after much debate about cost and about the validity of the list (if I can play it when I want to where I want to, and such), I think I'm leaning towards starting an Elysian Regiment Drop Troops list.

I think I will use the cadian bodies to save a bit of money for myself, and buy the drop chutes and miscellaneous weapons/upgrades from Forge World when required. This will allow WYSIWYG while at the same time, being a bit easier on my wallet (plus, I'm not a fan of the Elysian models).

Their selections are a bit different than the regular Codex IG Drop Troops, but they don't have any tanks, but can get flyers (although none in this list [cost]).

Well, see the list below. It's a straight drop troop list (nothing on the table at the beginning). As I really don't have any of the models yet, I'm completely open to suggestions. Has anyone had any experiences in playing against the Elysians, or does anyone play them?

Thanks in advance:
DOCTRINES - these are given in IA3, so can't be changed
Drop Troops
Iron Dicipline
Veterans
Storm Trooper Squads
Special Weapon Squads

HQ
Company Command Drop Squad - 90 (Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Plasma Gun, Medic, Iron Discipline)

Special Weapon Drop Squad - 68 (1 Demo Charge, 2 Flamers)

Special Weapon Drop Squad - 68 (1 Demo Charge, 2 Flamers)


ELITE
6-man Hardened Veteran Drop Squad - 83 (2 Meltaguns, 1 Demo Charge, Iron Discipline)

6-man Hardened Veteran Drop Squad - 83 (2 Meltaguns, 1 Demo Charge, Iron Discipline)

6-man Hardened Veteran Drop Squad - 83 (2 Meltaguns, 1 Demo Charge, Iron Discipline)


TROOPS
Drop Platoon Command Squad - 60 (Plasmagun, Medic)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)


Drop Platoon Command Squad - 60 (Plasmagun, Medic)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)


Drop Platoon Command Squad - 60 (Plasmagun, Medic)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

Drop Platoon - 89 (Veteran Sergeant, 1 Demo Charge, 1 Grenade Launcher, Iron Discipline)

FAST ATTACK
Drop Sentinel - 55 (Multimelta)

Drop Sentinel - 55 (Multimelta)


Drop Sentinel - 55 (Multimelta)


HEAVY SUPPORT
Drop Sentry Gun Battery - 75 (3 Sentry Guns, Twin-Linked Lascannons)

Drop Sentry Gun Battery - 75 (3 Sentry Guns, Twin-Linked Lascannons)

Drop Sentry Gun Battery - 75 (3 Sentry Guns, Twin-Linked Lascannons)

TOTAL - 1846

For me at 1000 competitive it looks like this:

HQ
Command Squad
Captain w/Lasgun
Meltagun

Fire Support Squad or Mortar Squad
Special Weapons Squad: Snipers
Special Weapons Squad: 2x Flamers and Demo and Plasma

Troops
2x Infantry Platoons
Lieutenant w/Bolt Pistol and CCW, Meltagun, Medic

Infantry Squad: Demo Charge, Plasma
Infantry Squad: Demo Charge, Plasma
Infantry Squad: Demo Charge, Plasma

Elites
Veterans w 3x Shotguns and 3x Meltaguns

Going up to 1500 or 2000 points for me it's about adding the Flyers. At 1500, I go down to two squads per platoon, no veterans, do 3x Valks and a Vulture and two drop sentinels. At 1750 the squads go back up to 3 and I add a 4th Valk. Haven't figured out what to do for a 2K battle yet, but I'm thinking two more sentinels and a Thunderbolt, there's a bunch of Ork Fightas and Chaos Hellblades around, and I need some sort of Air Defence.


As for your list a few things to consider:
-While every squad has Iron Discipline in its entry and costs 5 points more than a normal guard squad, it still only works off the officers.
-That said, perhaps the plasma pistol isn't the best choice for your Captain
-Drop Sentry Gun Batteries, I used to think these would be a slick use of a heavy support slot, but remember that the guns only have a 12" range in area defense mode and a 24" range in point defense mode. I think most opponents will be able to destroy or simply avoid these AV10 turrets with little effect on their battle plans. It's 225 points that I think could be better spent elsewhere, like on a Vulture...
-Grenade launchers in the infantry squads...come on, you can't spend the extra two points to get the hot plasma death? Me it's worth it for dealing with a wide range of targets, and I'll rapid fire them. I don't really care if they overheat and kill the gunner, that squad is unlikely to survive the game anyway. Also, I keep plasma in the line squads, and save the meltas for the command sections. I figure that while the command sections have the primary responsibility of providing leadership and rallying understrength units, they melta lets them go tank hunting in a pinch. With a squad of 5 you're not wasting all the lasguns and demo charge that should really be engaging infantry targets. Although, you seem to be all set with meltas in the veteran squads, so plasma in the command sections probably works just as well.
-On the veteran squads, I'd lean away from the demo charge and get that 3rd Melta. It just seems to be a waste of their BS4 to go with scatter death. My personal preference is for shotguns with meltas, so I have the option to assault after, and lasguns with plasma for ranged accuracy. More on that later.
-Since you're taking the veteran in every squad, consider spending the 2 points for a bolter. It's rapid fire like the rest of the squad's lasguns, and gives you some S4 AP5.


Employment of the Drop Infantry Company
People say Drop Troops are a one trick pony, that once your opponents wise up to it, they are near impossible to play. While this is true to some extent, the tactics actually come from playing against the people who understand how to deal with it. Each army one fights requires a different approach. Densely packed 'nids require a more hit and run (die?) style, fragile spread out eldar require you to concentrate on one point, and against other IG Drop Troops it's just a free for all orgy of dice rolling. The missions force a different play style too, the largest consideration being whether or not you have the deep strike special rule. Despite these differences, there's some general rules of thumb I've found to be successful with Elysians.

"Elysians: For when you absolutely, positively, must have 100% casualties" -Warseer Forums Poster
Basically, if you go into every fight viewing the end state as I will have 1 scoring unit and my opponent will have none, you'll do alright. Unlike other guard armies, where there's some units that are game winners you want to keep alive through the battle, Elysians are as expendable and one-shot as the demo-charges they throw.

My drop infantry squads have a high mortality rate, almost 75% if they're jumping. If they don't scatter into enemy troopers or impassable terrain, the demo charge doesn't come flying back into the tightly packed bunch of soldiers, or survive the next round of shooting, templates, and inevitable assault, they are extremely lucky. The flipside is, that if everything goes as planned, they are devastating for the turn of their drop. That's why I'll rapid fire the plasma, the squad will likely die anyway, might as well get two S7 AP2 shots off.


"Fortune Favors the Bold"
The dice gods do not reward traditional conservative guard tactics of holding back and shooting. You're hardest hitting power has a 6" throwing range and your next best thing is 12" of rapid fire. On the drop, get close and hit hard. You'll lose squads, and if you're lucky, only a few troopers. Just stay the heck away from table edges. The patron god of the scatter die has a sense of humor. Generally I'll concentrate one platoon on an enemy unit and drop the officer last to try to keep him within 12" of his squads. This last bit is important for anybody that survives to H+1. The officer will with iron discipline let those understrength squads rally and continue the fight, perhaps your special weapons will have survived. While these little units of 3 or 4 aren't too effective, they are downright annoying, and deny the enemy full victory points.


"Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking!" -FERDINAND FOCH
For those games where you can't deepstrike, you're reduced to footslogging guard, footslogging guard without long range firepower. Tactically this breaks down into two situations: against an assaulty army or against a shooty Army. Against an assaulty army, you typically can hug cover, and form a standard IG Gunline. Don't be afraid to move your squads backwards one turn if it allows someone else to do a counterattack with a demo-charge. Beyond that, assaults are inevitable. The gist though is you have to maneuver to minimise the effectiveness of the attackers. Keep in mind that with no heavies, you are free to maneuver, and heck, assault if the situation dictates.

Against a shooty army, like say a standard SIGAFH, forward is the only option. Try to mass as much of your army as possible and hit the smallest portion of your opponents. If your opponent is a smart player, he's going to maximize his shooting and do many mutually supporting overlapping fields of fire. Accept that casualties will be high on the maneuver, just keep moving. It's very similar to footslogging Ork. Think of Iron Discipline as your way of "mobbing up," and keeping those demo charges and special weapons moving into range. If practicable, assault to get locked in combat, block LOS from his guns, and allow your rear elements to maneuver into position. Yes, I know, it's very un-guard-like, but with EDTs you need to adopt some unorthodox techniques to make them work.


"From the Skies!" -23rd Elysian Regimental Motto
Should you happen to have more money than sense, or have bought a bunch of flyers when the exchange rate was something closer to 1.30 USD to 1 GBP, the Elysians can compensate for some of their fundamental weaknesses with the use of Valkyries and Vultures. Pull out the mathhammer and you'll find that the Valkyrie with 2x Bolters and Multilaser is the most cost efficient MEQ and GEQ killer of all the flyers. These 36" range guns give Elysians some of the heavy fire support it's otherwise lacking. As flyers always start in reserves, you can now drop your troopers anywhere on the board regardless of whether the mission has deep strike and they're not subject to scatter.

Of course, mobility and firepower comes at a price. For the cost of a Valkyrie, you can almost get two fully equipped drop infantry squads. While the ability to fly one right up to that enemy squad and dump off a unit of drop troopers seems tempting, getting it into such close range exposes it to enemy small arms fire. Despite being AV11, a single glancing hit has a 33% chance of destroying your Valk and if not destroyed, it will likely be forced to abort it's attack run. Finally, the Valkyrie models are big, 4 flyers on a 4x6 table means your airspace quickly becomes congested. Oh, and if your opponent is bringing his own aircarft, your Valks are pretty much hosed.

Should you use the power of the Elysian aircraft, I recommend doing your attack runs up along board edges. This typically keeps you out of range of enemy attacks. One viable tactic, although somewhat cheesey, is to keep the squads inside until the last turn, and then dump them off in places impossible for your opponent to reach. Don't use the VTOL mode unless it's either A) going to be out of range of any enemy counterfire, or B) a last turn last ditch attempt to finish off an enemy unit. Other than that, VTOL is just handing your opponent 150-200 easy victory points.

The Valks and Vultures though are just cool models, and hence why I like incorporating them at games above 1000 points.

WOW... that was awesome advice... I've tried to take it into account with the new list.  I can't use fliers near me because no one will let them play (I had to beg to get the Elysians to be allowed, in general).

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For the mortar squad, it's not always effective, but it sure is fun. The forgeworld models are nice looking too. I typically set these guys up on the board behind or in cover instead of dropping them, usually in conjunction with a sniper squad. It gives me something to do on turn 1 while I'm waiting for the reserves to come in or some fire support if I have to slog across the board. More often than not between the snipers and mortars I'll force a pinning check per turn.

If you want to give those tarantulas a try, by all means go for it. I think it might be fun if not entirely effective. Although, for the 195 points you're dropping on tarantuals, might I suggest a squadron of three Heavy Bolter Sentinels, one with improved comms at 140 points, and another multimelta sentinel at 55. It'd give you two squads of two multimeltas, for when you absolutely positively must crack that enemy armor, one squad of mobile fire support heavy bolters, and a reroll for all those reserves that you'll be rolling for.

One of the other things I'm toying with is dropping the 180 points on a Support Sentinel Squadron with missile launchers. I can either hide the sentinels and get indirect mortar fire, or pop out from cover and launch 3 krak missiles. Seems like a good all rounder instead of those HQ support squads. I think I'd be into those if I couldn't take my flyers, perhaps these are more up your alley?

Well, this is the latest and greatest version of the list. I've dropped some of the support weaponry in favor of more sentinels and an improved comms sentinel. I think I'll start the snipers (and maybe the multiple rocket launcher sentinels) on the board, and let the rest of the army drop in (with help from the improved comms when appropriate).

C&C? Any and all is welcomed.  Would you play against this list? Do you think it can do well? Do you think it will be fun to play?

HQ:
Company Command Drop Squad - 75 (Command Squad, Meltagun, Medic)

Special Weapons Drop Squad - 70 (3 Sniper Rifles)

Special Weapons Drop Squad - 70 (3 Sniper Rifles)


ELITE:
6-man Drop Veteran Squad - 83 (1 Vet Sergeant, 5 Vets, 3 Meltaguns)

6-man Drop Veteran Squad - 83 (1 Vet Sergeant, 5 Vets, 3 Meltaguns)

6-man Drop Veteran Squad - 83 (1 Vet Sergeant, 5 Vets, 3 Meltaguns)


TROOP:
Drop Platoon Command Squad - 60 (Command Squad, Plasmagun, Medic)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)


Drop Platoon Command Squad - 60 (Command Squad, Plasma Gun, Medic)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)


Drop Platoon Command Squad - 60 (Command Squad, Plasma Gun, Medic)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)

Drop Platoon - 85 (Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Demo Charge)


FAST ATTACK:
2 Drop Sentinel - 110 (2 Multi-Melta)

2 Drop Sentinel - 110 (2 Multi-Melta)

2 Drop Sentinel - 130 (2 Multiple Rocket Pods, Improved Comms)


HEAVY SUPPORT:
Sentry Gun Drop Battery - 45 (3 Tarantulas w/ Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters)

Sentry Gun Drop Battery - 45 (3 Tarantulas w/ Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters)


TOTAL: 1849