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I'm in the process of putting together my first 40k army, an Imperial Guard infantry based army. The thought of just tanks doesn't appeal to me. Anyway, I was wondering what anyone take on having a Psyker Battle Squad in there aswell? I was thinking it'd be helpful to further support my blobs and help wittle down enemy infantry before they get into close combat and murder my guardsmen.

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? and what kind of results did you have?


*Sorry if this is the wrong section, please move it.

My friend runs the psykers on foot but they are priority number one against most opponents so if you take them on foot make sure you have a plan to protect them.

I was thinking of having them in the back, near my Leman Russ and preferably with some kind of cover.

How many does he run and how do they do on average?

Well, I have a Grot Proxy Guard army, and I only take sancioned psykers, if I have a commisar handy

killykavekommando wrote:Well, I have a Grot Proxy Guard army, and I only take sancioned psykers, if I have a commisar handy

Yeah, I'll have 2 commissars in the overall army. 1 per blob. Also have a Lord Commissar model that I can add and have it join the battle squad.

Stick 'em in a chimera. use the top hatch for shenanigans. Works wonders.

Psykers are highly-competitive choices for any IG army, and can prove game-changing if used right. They can lower an enemy squad's leadership down to a min. of 2 from 36", combine with shooting to cause pinning - a serious combo. Also with a range of 36" for their psychic blast attack of APD6 & S=no. of squad members these guys can really turn the tide of battle. If this weren't enough, you can stuff them in a Chimera and fire from the hatches whilst the tank is moving - their psychic attacks are assault. Added to this is the fact that the unit + chimera totals at ~160 pts, these guys are a force to be reckoned with.

That said, your army could suffer from not enough AT, from what you said about not liking tanks. Like it or not, the mech-focussed 5th ed. means that some kind of armour is almost a requirement for any good IG side, blobby armies tend to get eaten alive.

TheBlueRedPanda wrote:Psykers are highly-competitive choices for any IG army, and can prove game-changing if used right. They can lower an enemy squad's leadership down to a min. of 2 from 36", combine with shooting to cause pinning - a serious combo. Also with a range of 36" for their psychic blast attack of APD6 & S=no. of squad members these guys can really turn the tide of battle. If this weren't enough, you can stuff them in a Chimera and fire from the hatches whilst the tank is moving - their psychic attacks are assault. Added to this is the fact that the unit + chimera totals at ~160 pts, these guys are a force to be reckoned with.

That said, your army could suffer from not enough AT, from what you said about not liking tanks. Like it or not, the mech-focussed 5th ed. means that some kind of armour is almost a requirement for any good IG side, blobby armies tend to get eaten alive.

It's not that I don't like mech armies, it's I don't like the idea of fielding 2 troops, an HQ and the rest tanks. I'll of course be taking a few Leman Russes, but not make it 75% of my army

Thanks for your input, and everyone elses.

Piz wrote:

TheBlueRedPanda wrote:Psykers are highly-competitive choices for any IG army, and can prove game-changing if used right. They can lower an enemy squad's leadership down to a min. of 2 from 36", combine with shooting to cause pinning - a serious combo. Also with a range of 36" for their psychic blast attack of APD6 & S=no. of squad members these guys can really turn the tide of battle. If this weren't enough, you can stuff them in a Chimera and fire from the hatches whilst the tank is moving - their psychic attacks are assault. Added to this is the fact that the unit + chimera totals at ~160 pts, these guys are a force to be reckoned with.

That said, your army could suffer from not enough AT, from what you said about not liking tanks. Like it or not, the mech-focussed 5th ed. means that some kind of armour is almost a requirement for any good IG side, blobby armies tend to get eaten alive.

It's not that I don't like mech armies, it's I don't like the idea of fielding 2 troops, an HQ and the rest tanks. I'll of course be taking a few Leman Russes, but not make it 75% of my army

Thanks for your input, and everyone elses.

1 Chimera does not make a mech army.

Seriously, for 160p you get a highly effective unit that can absolutely deny alot of deathstar's, and can cause alot of pain to the enemy. To drop the chimera makes them lose a bucketload of versatility and effectiveness. If you want to use them well, just 1 chimera isn't going to break you. Hell, my friend does a similar list- lemans, a bassy, and two chimeras (CCS/meltavet squad) and the rest is a wall of men, and it works well.

Thanks, I'll be sure to use them with a Chim to maximize their potential. Now I just need to find a good conversion guide for making plastic psykers

I used to congo line them through a blob of guard to give them a cover save and cover alot of the board with a good mental blast or two

Because they can move and shoot a PBS on foot is far easier to protect than a HWS. It's not difficult to protect a PBS on foot.

Where the Chimera really becomes useful is in mobility against limited range psychic defenses such as psychic hood/space wolf runepriests/shadow of the warp. It's hard to run out of the 24" range of a psychic hood on foot than it is in a Chimera.

one thing to consider is that with all the stubborn and they shall know no fear the PBS is really limitted to its large blast which gets less and less effective as psykers are killed off. also instead of losing 1 psyker to perils of the warp you lose D3 which while is difficult with there higher leadership it DOES still happen

General Ian wrote:one thing to consider is that with all the stubborn and they shall know no fear the PBS is really limitted to its large blast which gets less and less effective as psykers are killed off. also instead of losing 1 psyker to perils of the warp you lose D3 which while is difficult with there higher leadership it DOES still happen

Depends on the opponent. PBS really can screw up a Wolfstar's day, and ATSKNF doesn't completely abrogate Weaken Resolve. Just makes it so you can regroup easier. Nobz squads also have a hard time dealing with it.

At 165 pts, a PBS in a Chimera is putting out a S9 large blast at 36" and has a 42" threat range. There's a 50/50 chance that this thing will be AP3 or better. That's totally worth your points alone.

maybe so for some but my battlefeild experience with them has left me dissapointed. i think the bes thing they did for me was assault some tau battle suits and win