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Hey all,
basically I've been collecting Black Templars for a while now and want to start with Imperial Guard. I've created a regiment for my guard (13th Cadian Liberators) and had a few questions.

1) Could I take the 20 guardsmen and 3 heavy weapon teams from the battleforce and make 3 infantry squads out of it? As in:
- Squad with 7 guardsmen, 1 sergeant and 1 heavy weapon team
- Same as above
- Squad with 4 guardsmen and a heavy weapon
So basically, does there have to be a minimum of 10 infantry (including 1 sergeant) in an infantry squad?

2) Would a Leman Russ Punisher with hull-mounted Lascannon and Plasma Cannon Sponsons with a heavy stubber be good for all-round attack? As in:
- Punisher Gatling Cannon - Infantry
- Lascannon - Vehicles
- Plasma Cannons - Infantry/vehicles? I don't know how they work exactly, are they blast weapons and what is the strength?
- Heavy Stubber - Infantry, and does the Leman Russ Demolisher/Punisher/Executioner kit come with a heavy stubber or do I need to buy the accessories sprue?

Thanks,

Jake.

You have to have a minimum of 10 in a squad.

And the Punisher is a waste of points. No matter what. Best to specialize all of your guard units. Don't try and make them all-rounders, you need anti-tank units and anti-infantry units. There is no all rounder.

If you really want a Punisher, run it with HBs, just to give it extra shots.

I wouldn't run that Punisher. Give every unit a single purpose. If you want to run a Punisher, make it all anti infantry - take a hull heavy bolter, sponson heavy bolters, and a heavy stubber. A better idea would be to not glue the guns in so you can swap the guns out for whatever loadout you want.

There is no stubber on the Leman Russ sprues, but there is on the Chimera sprue.

Brother SRM wrote:
There is no stubber on the Leman Russ sprues, but there is on the Chimera sprue.

But there are stubbers in the tank sprues. At least there are in all the ones I have bought in the past.

Bongfu wrote:

Brother SRM wrote:
There is no stubber on the Leman Russ sprues, but there is on the Chimera sprue.

But there are stubbers in the tank sprues. At least there are in all the ones I have bought in the past.

There was on the old accessory sprue, but there isn't on the modern Leman Russ sprue, which doesn't come with that accessory sprue. I have an unbuilt Demolisher in a box right next to my desk and it's not in there.

Right, thanks for the replies guys, I think i'm gonna rethink my heavy support then. My regiment is going to be urban combat, so which russ would be best in your opinions? To be honest I might go with a Basilisk, Hellhound or even a Chimera (think that's how it's spelt, am on my iPod so I can't check)

Well I play an infantry guard list and it does really well in an urban environment. If you want an urban theme go with demolishers, medusas, and the colossus. The colossus is the best anti-power armor gun in the guards aresenal, in my opinion. Str 6 AP 3, ignores cover in a large blast. Pretty much going to give you the ability to wipe out whole squads a turn. Downside is it's minimum range and it's vulnerability. So make rue you protect it.

Demolishers rock because of the impressive firepower they can both dish out and take. Aside from the obvious advantages of having a Str 10 AP 1 large blast, adding heavy flamer sponsons only increases it's deadliness to infantry, or multi-meltas for short-ranged tank killing.

Medusas are great for taking out vehicles and heavy infantry alike. Honestly the best use for it is smacking around enemy armor. Terminators die in whole squads to this beast. My medusa has killed 32 terminators, 14 vehicles, 7 tanks, 1 baneblade, and a Warlord Titan.

Demolishers are totally boss, not gonna disagree. I don't think I'd ever give them flamers though, as I want them as far from flaming range as possible. For urban combat, the Eradicator is a good choice. It has strength 6 AP4 shells that ignore cover; tailor made for killing Eldar, Tau, Guard, Orks, or scout Marines. Not as versatile as the standard LRBT or a Demolisher, but useful in a cityfight.

Hellhounds are excellent for all situations. I highly recommend them. Chimeras are very useful as well, but neither of these tanks serve the same purpose as a Leman Russ in any variant.

To add to the medusa question, do you always take bastion breacher shells? I run mostly infantry IG and am going to be getting one very soon, so it would be nice to know...

(Sorry for the thread hijack, but it relates to the advice given, and would be useful)

I know a guy who swears by vanquishers. Not as great for a city fight, but what they hit they kill. If you can get them to hit...

Happygrunt wrote:To add to the medusa question, do you always take bastion breacher shells? I run mostly infantry IG and am going to be getting one very soon, so it would be nice to know...

(Sorry for the thread hijack, but it relates to the advice given, and would be useful)

I know a guy who swears by vanquishers. Not as great for a city fight, but what they hit they kill. If you can get them to hit...

I never really use them unless the board is going to be an open one. With BS3 the template would be too small for it to have a good hit percentage. Although, if your opponent has a lot of battlewagons or landraiders, then it's the best anti-armor weapon you can take.

I don't really like Vanquishers to be honest. A LRBT is much better when you can just take a lascannons team to do a better job.

He runs a Vanquisher w/ Lascannon and MM sponsons. Swears by it as the best anti tank the guard can get.

MM? Why in the Emperors name would you put MMs on something that has a 72" range and 48" range back up lascannon?

Sorry, but I have been playing guard for six years now. I've seem almost every combo and tried them myself. You don't mix long and short range fire power. MMs on a Demolishers are awesome because a Demolishers has a bloody 24" range!

Don't ask me! He had it all worked out. He kept moving forward, and it worked for him.

Guess it depends on your style. A mechanized army or a tread head army might benefit more. But my motto has always been, take as many guns as you can use first turn to kill the opponent. That's how you win with guard; you pummel them so badly on the first turn they can't recover. My list regularly have 7-8 large blast templates and scores of heavy weapons hitting them in the first turn.

Just ignore the choppy part.

Seriously though, you've been talking a lot about tanks, what do you plan for your troops or elites or HQ for that matter?

If you're planning city fight Guard, I recommend powerblobs.

Powerblobs are basically a 20-40 man combined squads, with a Commissar and as many power weapons as you can squeeze in. Toss in a few melta guns/flamers, and you've got a Guard force that can cut through anything in CC by sheer weight of numbers.

I aslo recommend Demolishers (learn to love rear armor 11) and Hellhounds, and while others disagree, I also stand by Banewolves as a viable option (espescially in cities).


More generally, remember a Guard army that relies on clobbering on the first turn can be countered VERY easily. Reserves and deepstrikes can keep units off the table long enough for them to screw up the firing line. I used to run a Guard army like that, and while I could clobber anyone who came at me head on, anyone who outflanked, reserved, or deep struck was able to screw me over far too easily.

I'd counter that the way you win with Guard is not pummelling them so hard on Turn 1 that they can't recover. It's about outlasting them, and pumelling them a bit each turn so that while they can take one or two turns of it, they DEFINITELY can't take 4, 5 or 6.

Think about it, Guard have cheap infantry, and cheap vehicles. You should try to spam in one or two directions. Have more men than the enemy has bullets, and more tanks than they have anti-tank rounds.

Well I don't suggest using a veteran list. I just don't see them work unless you have money to spend on 6 Valkyries. Not to mention a list like that and he will run out of people who will play with him. I'd say a good two platoons with at least six heavy weapons each is a solid base. Buying the battleforce makes that pretty easy.

Your best elites are Marbo and Ogryns. Psychic Battle Squads can be fun if you want to try them, but they are best paired with a Primaris Pskyer leading a Squad of Ogryns. It should be noted that Ogryns are fantastic. Convert them from Ogres or Ork Nobz and run as many of them as you can. A full unit of ten Ogryns is a scary prospect. Led by Yarrick, they can be absolutely devastating.

For HQs a command squad is a must. I prefer Straken over Creed, but I play a lot of assaulting armies. So do what is best for your gaming group. Advisors are another must have, and don't forget you can throw a lascannon in there for a BS 4 tank killer.

Lord Commissars are nice, but lack that Umfph you get with something like a Primaris. If you want to run a Commissar IC, Yarrick is the way to go. At 185 points he can be pricey for a guard list, but when paire with at least three Ogryns, there is really nothing he can't take on.

Just get loads of infantry and Vendtts. Thats a good start. If you like the idea of being mechanized get Chimeras. I usually run 8 chimeras.