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I've realized voxes can be incredibly useful, but I wouldn't take them unless I'm fielding a lot of orders, like 6+

Orders are actually more restrictive than a lot of people know. For instance, you're not allowed to issue more than one order per turn to any one squad, regardless of whether or not they pass their test. Obviously voxes are going to be worth less if you can just give the plasma guys another BiD.

A re-roll can be a really nice thing to have with orders, especially when you get boxcars. If you get these before your most important orders, you won't get to give them, whatever the leadership or number of commissars in that blob. Unless you have a vox.

As for bodyguards, I find they definitely have merit. With his bodyguard alive, a CO has a 0% chance to die from a s6+ blast, as opposed to god knows what without it. They're also great at absorbing wounds in an assault. Assuming the squad is intact when they reach combat (which it won't be but whatever), one bodyguard changes the minimum amount of wounds required to potentially put down your commander in the first phase from 15 to 36, and statistically he should survive even that with the 5++.

If your guy has 2 bodyguards (and 5 living veterans), he can't die until he's been assigned 7 wounds, which won't happen unless you have 49 or more to allocate. That's deceptively resilient for a handful of t3 5+ guardsmen. The only question is, when is your CO so important as to warrant this protection? The bodyguards add negligible survivability to the special weapons, so it's really only when the commander himself can remain useful even when his squad is gone.

ChrisWWII wrote:Sniper rifles are generally considered one of the less effective special weapons...if you want to use them for fluf or rule of cool purposes, go ahead, but I would take the lascannon in a competitive list.

I suppose I could split the difference and take 1 Lascannon and 2 Snipers. Only 10 points more effective and there is enough overlap between the weapons to not be a total waste. The major downside is that this setup requires that I deploy within LOS to my enemy which seems counterproductive.

As an aside, is it a total waste of my time to try for the close combat CCS?

Ailaros wrote:

minigun762 wrote:With a footslogging army thats light on HWS, what exactly does the L. Commissar give you thats better then the CCS?

You get a WS5 W3 S6 Sv4+/5++ death machine that gives everyone nearby Ld10, and gives the squad he's attached to +1 to their cover saves for only 100 points - the same cost as a lascannon/MoO or a 2x melta 2x plasma CCS.

He doesn't add all that much that the blobs aren't doing, but he synergizes slightly better for the same price.

105 points(you forgot the p-fist is 15, not 10).

That said you can actually forgo 1 Blob Commissar to put him in(making him effectively 60 points); or you can add him as an extra back-up.

Guard I3 means that the P-fist on this IC is not as bad as on other ICs, you are already striking Last vs everyone but guard, Orks, Tau, or necrons.

That out of the way; CCSs are great order platforms, QA cheap CCS in the way back-field can be a nice traffic officer to keep your units from fleeing off table(get back in the fight), and you can give them a nice cheap Mortar to keep them out of LOS. If you keep that same CCS near your Lascannon/Autocannon/Missile launcher HWS(or blob) you can issue Bring it down to rid your troops of Armor/MC threats. Finally Autocannon and missile launcher Blob/HWS also benefit well from fire on my target(which, despite the name does not require you commander to have LOS to the target).

Edit: The only unit Sniper rifles should be on is ratling, everyone else simply do not have the numbers to make them useful/cost too much to carry them. Auto-cannon/2 grenade launchers(or missile and grenades) is better, and overall cheaper.

In a foot army, Lord Commissars are also a lot more durable to shooting than a CCS is. They can just join up with a blob instead being a valuable but vulnerable weapon squad.

Biophysical wrote:In a foot army, Lord Commissars are also a lot more durable to shooting than a CCS is. They can just join up with a blob instead being a valuable but vulnerable weapon squad.

If I go with the L. Commissar, should I put them in the very back of the blob to keep him safer for longer or in the middle so he can actually help kill things?

Depends on who you're fighting. If there's no weapons that will instant death him, you could put him up front for killing power. If you've got to throw guard bodies at death incarnate, keep him in the back to make sure guardsmen are between him and danger. Remember, you've got to swing at what you're in base with, so if he's in base with one model, and you can get the other guardsmen basing up everything else, you get a degree of control of who can take swings at him. Because you don't want to give your opponent the chance to pick him out with assaulters, I'd keep him back a bit in the blob, and if you see an advantageous assault, move him up before you assault.

Just remember that in both Defenders react and pile in moves, you must move available trooper that are in his way, out of the way first, then move him into base to base as soon as possible.

I will edit in a min with some descriptions.

With my own Guard list, I'm planning on running my Company Command Squads in Chimeras (Multi-Laser, Hull Heavy Bolter, Pintle Mounted Heavy Stubber) with three Grenade Launchers and a Vox Caster. The plan is to use the units to dump orders onto my infantry blobs and otherwise function as mobile anti-infantry firebases, chucking out six S6, three S5 and three S4 shots per turn. In my head, it seems like a good option. Unfortunately, my WH40K experience is all Space Marines and Dark Eldar (circa the old Codex), so I'm not sure if this is a viable option for Guard. Any thoughts on my configuration?

SkaerKrow wrote:With my own Guard list, I'm planning on running my Company Command Squads in Chimeras (Multi-Laser, Hull Heavy Bolter, Pintle Mounted Heavy Stubber) with three Grenade Launchers and a Vox Caster. The plan is to use the units to dump orders onto my infantry blobs and otherwise function as mobile anti-infantry firebases, chucking out six S6, three S5 and three S4 shots per turn. In my head, it seems like a good option. Unfortunately, my WH40K experience is all Space Marines and Dark Eldar (circa the old Codex), so I'm not sure if this is a viable option for Guard. Any thoughts on my configuration?

Thread Hijacker!

It seems viable to me but if you have difficulty with it maybe make make use of it's mobility? Swap out the HBolter with a HFlamer and move it along your lines using your infantry for cover saves.
Just a thought.

Peace!

I say go with with the vox-caster. As said earlier, it would be very useful to your army.

Kommissar Kel wrote:Finally Autocannon and missile launcher Blob/HWS also benefit well from fire on my target(which, despite the name does not require you commander to have LOS to the target).

It does require LOS from the commander. Page 30, "Fire on my Target!" rule:

"...choose one enemy unit visible to the officer."

So does bring it down. However, first rank doesn't.

RubberJonny wrote:
Thread Hijacker!

Ah, sorry about that. I'm used to topics like this being about unit types, not a particular player's unit. I didn't mean to steal anything away from the discussion at hand.

Trickstick wrote:

Kommissar Kel wrote:Finally Autocannon and missile launcher Blob/HWS also benefit well from fire on my target(which, despite the name does not require you commander to have LOS to the target).

It does require LOS from the commander. Page 30, "Fire on my Target!" rule:

"...choose one enemy unit visible to the officer."

So does bring it down. However, first rank doesn't.

huh, lookydat.

I use a direct-fire CCS so it has never been an issue; I just totally forgot it was a requirement(probably why I didn't give them a mortar for hide and issue)