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Hello community,

I would like to know fromthe more Savy IG players why they equip IG sqauds a certain way. Why are some weapons shunned and what weapons you dont mix, PG+HB, LC+Melta ect...

Is it also preferable to have HEavy weapons in your infantry sqauds or make them heavy weapon squads untop themselfs. Waht are the pros and cons.

Im trying to kit out my own IG iand i just cant decide.

I can probably cover a couple of those ....

I like Heavy weapons seperate from the lasgun infantry. Especially in 5th Ed those Troop squads should constantly be on the move taking and contesting objectives, and a moving squad is a group of guys who aren't shooting their heavy weapons.

Per your combination question, some combinations are shunned by Mathhammers because they cause the damage per turn ratio on every seond thursday on a leap year to drop by .067%. Other combinations just dont make sence.

IE you have your squad with a Melta and a Lascannon. 90% of your Squad can sit pretty back behind cover with long range rapid fire weapons, meanwhile your Melta-trooper is going to have to hide and not take shots in an "optimal" situation for the rest of the squad. OR he can force everyone in the squad to move closer to the enemy so he can do his damage, risking everyone to charges etc.

Mixed bag squads usually just aren't as effective as a dedicated group of Tank hunters etc.

Of course you can build those squads however you want, but it can effect how competitive your list is

Well you asked for an opinion so here is mine. I believe in kitting infantry to do one thing only. If they are meant to stand and fire I don't bother buying a special weapon since it will be out of range for at least one and sometimes two turns. I would buy a lot of missile launchers or lascannons for my platoons to increase the volume of high strength and AP shots comming across the board. If the role of the unit is to kill infantry I buy heavy bolters and plasma rifles to increase the volume of shots at a slightly shorter range.

If I am running foot sloggers that are meant to be moving I purchase plasma just to keep my opponent honest. I don't bother with meltas since it is only one shot and guard need all the shots they can get. If I am running Chimera mounted infantry I buy a flamer to harrass incoming troops. Or I go the route of tank hunters with meltas but I do that only with Veterans. Heavy weapon teams in Chimeras are nice since they are bunkered and so long as you don't move the Chimera you can have at your opponent.

I am running an all Valkyrie IG army with harden Veterans. The troop choice are kitted out to deal with tanks and hard targets at close range using 3 meltas, one demo charge, and one plasma pistol. The Valkyries are my anti infantry using rocket pods and heavy bolters. This is surely not a power list but it is very fluffy and very much my style. It can win games but it takes a lot of finesse and luck. It looks very sexy though. So there is my opinions.

My IG squad theory and comp comes from one simple idea High Strength weapons can kill vehicles, high AP weapons kill marines dead, the more shots the better, and the cheaper the weapons load out the more units with that load out you can have.

so my Line squads since 3rd have taken a Plasma gun and an Auto-cannon. both are Str 7 that is enough to glance 13 armor, and send 10-12 down for the count, at 48 inchs the auto cannon still has two shoots, at 24 inch's you have 3 shoots, and at 12 inchs you have 4 shots all at Str 7. the AP on the plasma is 2 so it kills all armor dead, the ap on the Auto-cannon is only 4 but that kills tau saves and scout saves. The reason for the auto-cannon has always been best ap/str/rof per a shot for the points at bs3.

In third and fourth i use to use heavy weapons squads for my Las-cannons, but with the new 5th edition codex they are just so brittle and squishy that they are just not worth it.
I still take a Las-cannon in all my comand squads, The idea being fewer wasted shots, cheaper for the effect, easier to hide, and now the new HQ one has bs4.

Personally I always liked vet squads for the bs4 plasma guns, and i normally put a rocket launcher and a sniper rifle in with them just for the sheer marine killing spam but with the new codex i lose the sniper rifle( its not an option) and I still take the Plasma ( the range is what makes it really 24 inches str 7 ap2) and i take a Las-cannon now since its cheaper and lets them duel purpose better while still slaughtering marines. Honestly if GW would ever come around and make the Krak setting on the grenade launcher ap3 i would use them instead of the plasma. I would also consider the armor upgrade for vets moveing them to a 4+ saves means plasma and rough bootings from chimeras hurt alot less.

Now With the new edition every squad you have goes into 65 point chimera, 9 anti infantry shots is a bargin for those points, and it keeps your squads alive turn after turn. ( hugs his chimera save)

Now here is the other rub with heavy weapons team, one team with 3 las-cannons is around 110 ish points, a vendetta using a slot no real ig player used in 3rd or 4th gives you 3 twin-linked las -cannons for only 15ish more points, it out flanks and scouts so it will always see its target with no cover save its no where near as squishy as a heavy weapons team, and you can put penal legion troops in them to claim objectives?.

Umm, I dunno if the Autocannon is the best anti-infantry gun out there....

The Heavy Bolter works out to about an 11% chance each shot to take down a Marine, and it has 3 shots. So, 33%.

The Autocannon works out to about 13.8% for each shot...but only has 2 shots, so 27.6%.

Autocannons used to be more expensive, too, but now that they're the same price, you have to carefully decide.

Autocannons can kill light vehicles and larger creatures that HBs are terrible at killing, and have more range. I don't see any reason to ever take a HB in the new dex.
Plasma guns are good but expensive. If you take them pair them with an AC for general unit killing/transport killing, or a lascannon if you think your opponents will be MEq out of cover often.

I gave all my guardsmen grenade launchers becuase...well that's what they came with in the plastic cadian set.
I thought flamers were a bad idea as you had to get up close and personal.
My friend gives all his squads plasma guns, and lascannons. But he always techs everything out to the fullest exent of the rulebook.
lol
It's kind of funny imagining a single guard with a melta, taking down a soul grinder or something.

First off, this and many IG questions are explored in my article on the subject. [url]http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/5th_Edition_Imperial_Guard_Codex_Troops_Review_(Polonius)
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secondly, to actually answer your question: Most heavies and specials pale pretty quickly when compared to the options. The HB is same cost as the AC, gaining a small amount of anti-infantry firepower while losing range, ability to hurt medium vehicles and MC. The ML at only five points less than an LC is very inferior in two of its jobs (killing heavy infantry and tanks). Among the specials, only two go well in a stand and shoot squad: the GL and PG (because of their range). Flamers go on a PCS, SWS, or Vets, Meltas go on a CCS or Vets. By process of elimination, there are really only two heavies and two specials that are the most useful (AC, HB, PG, GL). LC/GL doesn't make sense because there is no real match of targets, leaving AC/GL (cheap anti-transport firepower with a minor in anti-infantry), AC/PG (upgunned version of the same, with good anti-MC chops), and LC/PG (for killing MCs, tanks, and heavy infantry).

Builds like HB/F are still rattling around, but are simply generally less useful than the competition.

One key to remember in the new book is that basic infantry platoons are no longer the backbone.

Read Polonius IG review, its very detailed and even in those small areas where I disagree with him he is very open as to his reasoning so you can make up your own mind.

For a new IG player this should be required reading.

THank you all who replied!... Your information was exactly ..I mean exactly what i was looking for.

I like the AC/GL for line squads and only a flamer for mounted units. I still like to use platoons as it gives me the cheaper PCS to put meltas into over veteran squads. The flamer for the mounted units keeps them cheap while putting out decent damage when they unload.

1 plama gun per squad, no heavy weapon.
SGT get a bolt pistol, and chainsword.

Vets squads, 3 plasma guns Sgt get plasma pistol.

Heavy weapon squads. Not sure yet... either las-cannons or missle launchers. haven't bought them yet so the configuration is still up in the air.

I'm still not sold on the heavy weapons squads. The only HWS that I would use are mortar squads. For sixty points you are getting a unit that can hide and shoot. Strength 4 doesn't seem fantastic till you land a barrage right in the middle of orks or IG. Pinning is nice, but don't count on it. The Lascannons and mls could hide in cover, but being 1 model instead of two means they die to S6 and above. For less points than you would spend on two Lascannon hws you could by a vendetta.