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I'm still new to W40k, and have spent most of my time learning about and using Footslogging Sisters. Unfortunately, all that lack of mobility has gotten me interested in a completely mobile army, and who does that better than the Armageddon Steel Legion? (Please don't answer that. There might be more mobile armies, but Steel Legion has style points.) This army is somewhat fluffy, as they love Chimeras and Grenade/Missile Launchers, though I'm not sure putting a missile launcher inside a Chimera is a viable strategy. I do, however, love the idea of dropping blast templates on every living thing on the field. So, with that being said, I present to you...

Armageddon Steel Legion
HQ
Company Command Squad- 165
Meltagun x4
Chimera- HF/HHB

Troops
Veteran Squad- 140
Grenade Launcher x3
Chimera- HF/HHB

Veteran Squad- 140
Grenade Launcher x3
Chimera- HF/HHB

Veteran Squad- 140
Grenade Launcher x3
Chimera- HF/HHB

Veteran Squad- 140
Grenade Launcher x3
Chimera- HF/HHB

Veteran Squad- 170
Plasmagun x3
Chimera- HF/HHB

Fast Attack
Scout Sentinel- 50
Lascannon

Scout Sentinel- 50
Lascannon

Scout Sentinel- 50
Lascannon

Heavy Support
Leman Russ Battle Tank- 150

Leman Russ Battle Tank- 150

Hydra Flak Tank x2- 150

Total=1495

Any advice would be welcome, and I will be testing this out on Vassal as soon as my battle-buddy finds some time. I figure it should be fairly straightforward. I drive towards the enemy with my tanks, I shoot as much as I can, dropping blast templates everywhere. The Hydras can take care of hidden anti-tank, and the Sentinels will start by taking care of the enemy's own vehicles. The Battle Tanks do what they do best, which is wreak havoc on the faces of my rivals. Finally, my HQ is somewhat of my adaptability. It contains both heavy bolters and meltaguns, to be used depending on what the situation requires. But that is leaving out the best part of the strategy. The masks cause fear in the opponent. Not his models, just the opponent. I will wear one myself. And it will be glorious.

*Ahem*
There you have it, my 1500 Steel Legion army. Once again, I would love comments and suggestions, as I'm still learning about Imperial Guard.

Good army, but I have some questions:
1) Why veterans have grenade launchers? they can take plasma and meltaguns- these options are more effective and dangerous for enemy soldiers.
2) You don't have a lot of antitank. one company scuad with meltaguns- it is not a problem for all-mechanize armies (imperial guards, space marines and others)
3) Leman Russ needs a sponsons with hevy bolters- tank fires 9 shots (from 3 heavy bolters) and has one big blast (from battle cannon)
4) 3 Hydra tanks in one squadron aren't very effective- tanks can explode during 1-2 round, because don't have good armour. 2 tanks in squadron are enough.
5) Himera needs 2 tipes of arms: heavy bolter (if in tank drive guards with long-distance special weapons, such as plasma guns)/heavy flamer (if in tank drive guards with short-distance weapons, such as melta guns) in tank and multilaser in turret. our russian gamers say, that "multilaser-is the weapon of glory"!
6) Heavy sentinel is better, than scout. 12 armor helps him to live more long time.

Sorry for my english- this is not my first language))

Thanks for the reply. I'll be changing the list right after I post this, with some changes.

1) Why veterans have grenade launchers? they can take plasma and meltaguns- these options are more effective and dangerous for enemy soldiers.

The way I figure it, I did this for two reasons. First, Steel Legion apparently uses a lot of grenade launchers in the fluff. Second, for the cost of a single plasma gun, I was able to purchase three grenade launchers. Putting those in a Chimera means that I can provide some stress to the entire field. From what I can tell, it works well against light tanks (ones that I'd rather not bother using my anti-tank on) and hordes. It shouldn't do too terrible against standard MEQ. All this, instead of two plasma shots that have a chance of killing the user. So overall, it's more of a preference.

2) You don't have a lot of antitank. one company scuad with meltaguns- it is not a problem for all-mechanize armies (imperial guards, space marines and others)

Two Hydras, a CCS with four Meltas, and the two Scout Sentinels take care of my anti-tank. The gentlemen I play with usually don't use a lot of vehicles, so I made sure to have enough that they can't surprise me too much.

3) Leman Russ needs a sponsons with hevy bolters- tank fires 9 shots (from 3 heavy bolters) and has one big blast (from battle cannon)

You are correct, sir. I corrected that by dropping one Hydra. I completely forgot about Lumbering Behemoth. Thank you.

4) 3 Hydra tanks in one squadron aren't very effective- tanks can explode during 1-2 round, because don't have good armour. 2 tanks in squadron are enough.

See: previous point.

5) Himera needs 2 tipes of arms: heavy bolter (if in tank drive guards with long-distance special weapons, such as plasma guns)/heavy flamer (if in tank drive guards with short-distance weapons, such as melta guns) in tank and multilaser in turret. our russian gamers say, that "multilaser-is the weapon of glory"!

Once again, I'll accept your point. I'm not sure about the Multilaser, as I'd almost rather run with a Heavy Flamer and Heavy Bolter, to add some adaptability. Unless someone can explain why I'd use the Multilaser over Heavy Bolter, cause I'm just not getting it...

6) Heavy sentinel is better, than scout. 12 armor helps him to live more long time.

Normally you'd be right, but I'm using them for their Scout ability. For 5pts less than the price of a stock Armored Sentinel, I have a Scout Sentinel that moves closer to the enemy early on, and is able to fire it's Lascannon. I don't expect them to last long, but they should be able to slap a few vehicles before they go.

I appreciate you taking the time to look at my list, and I will definitely make a few changes based on your suggestions.

Thanks a lot, that you haven't ignore my suggestions, but i can explain all my advices:
Multilaser has a strangth 6, when hb-5, AP isn't very important, because majority of opponents are space marines or others units with good armour save, better than 4+.
The second problem is that opponents can get razor-spam (blood angels, grey knigths) or scimmer-spam (dark eldars, eldars) and you need a lot of good anti-tank with strength 7 and more. Of corse, grenade launcer is a good weapon, tht do one shot with s6, ap4, but plasmagun can do 2 shots and has s7, ap2! This is the bedt anti-terminator weapon.
PS: how demonstrate practice, 4 twin-linced autocannons, 2 lascannons with 3 bs, 4 meltaguns and some grenade launchers-isn't enough to destroy all dangerous units on the table, a lot of multilasers can help you with enemy light transports, plasmaguns add power in your army (2 squads of veterans, no more). If you don't have points, take away heavy stabbers (thry are very expensive) and one scout sentinel

Multilaser has a strangth 6, when hb-5, AP isn't very important, because majority of opponents are space marines or others units with good armour save, better than 4+.

I overlooked that, sounds good. Now, as for Heavy Bolters and Heavy Flamers, I'll probably just give the Heavy Bolters to the new Plasmavets, as I'll touch on below. The rest will stick with Heavy Flamers, since I absolutely love my templates...

Of corse, grenade launcer is a good weapon, tht do one shot with s6, ap4, but plasmagun can do 2 shots and has s7, ap2! This is the bedt anti-terminator weapon.

If I drop the Dozer Blade, Heavy Stubbers, and take all the Grenade Launchers from two squads, I could give those two squads two Plasmaguns each. That's four shots each. Would that be enough?

I appreciate you helping me out. I haven't had a chance to try the list yet, but I'll see if I can do so this weekend.

I like to run Plasma vets with a LC. Yes if they move it can't shoot, but if it does not shoot it gets a 9-2 48" range shot.

You can get one squad with 3 plasmaguns and autocannon, in himera- this is good home scoring unit. And other squad can leave with grenade launchers- veterans need to take 3 special weapons, this is their first and more important advantage. (more special weapon for god of special weapon! )

Its not bad. With guard there is a fine line between more units and better units. Alot of people are advocating more expensives upgrades to vet squads. Whatever you decide keep them 115 points or less. Similarly with support vehicles keep them stock. Drop: Dozer Blade , Extra Armor, on your CCS chimera. Drop: Heavy Bolter Sponsons, Pintle-Mounted Heavy Stubber on both your LRBT. Your quite light on anti AV-12-14 so use the 85 points wisely. To keep with your theme, perhaps another las scout sentinel, and 2 ml for two of your vet squads. You should do half decent.

Oh if your opponnent is mech heavy don't be afraid to hit their vehicles with your LRBT. Statistically one should hit and its still ordnance. Good luck.

I like to run Plasma vets with a LC. Yes if they move it can't shoot, but if it does not shoot it gets a 9-2 48" range shot

You can get one squad with 3 plasmaguns and autocannon, in himera- this is good home scoring unit.

All right, I made the changes to one of my Vet squads, giving them three Plasmaguns and an Autocannon. I don't have my book near me (as I'm at work), so i'm not sure how much the Lascannon costs, but I still have five extra points. -EDIT- Lascannon it is, do deal with AV14. I'll update the list later, once I can check the codex.

Drop: Heavy Bolter Sponsons

I dropped the Heavy Stubbers, but I'd prefer to make the most of the LRBT. I'm keeping the HB Sponsons to take advantage of the Lumbering Behemoth ability.

I feel like this list can comfortably fight most casual styles; Heavy Flamers and Grenade Launchers for hordes. Plasmaguns and Meltaguns and Grenade Launchers for heavy armor, and enough average weapons to take on your standard balanced list. Is there anything I'm completely overlooking or missing?

Your mis-reading/understanding the Lumbering Behemoth rule. The rule is that you can fire 1 weapon and the turret weapon when you move (plus defensive weapons).

They word it like they do because Ordnance weapons state you can not fire any other weapons (including defensive weapons) when it fires. When you normally move, you can fire 1 weapon and defensive weapons (heavy stubbers, storm bolters, ect). So 'LB' allows you to fire your turret weapon (even if it is Ordnance), one other weapon (as per normal rules), and a defensive weapon (if you have one).

The only reason to have sponsons on a LRBT is for when you don't move and now you can fire all of their weapons... but a LRBT that doesn't move is a dead LRBT (due to auto-hits in CC against it's AV 10 rear armor).

You have to remember... fluff is fluff. It is written by some guy who may not even know how to play 40k or barily understands the base story they are refering too. I can respect a fluff army, but handy capping yourself for fluff is where I start to draw the line. Those GLs should all be melta guns. Plasma guns are fine, but read the rapid fire rules to use them effectivily.

As for the Sentinals, they are still BS 3 so they hit 50% of the time. They are really better off with ACs and giving the one Vet squad a LC over the AC.

If you drop the Sponsons, downgrade the LC Sentinals to ACs, you get 60pts. You can upgrade the GLs to meltas, though you have to leave the AC on the plasma Vets. I recommend outflanking the Sentinals then for flank/rear shots on light armor then.

Lumbering Behemoth only says that a LRBT that moves at combat speed or remains stationary can fire its turret in addition to any other weapons it is usually allowed to fire. So if you stay still you can fire all of the bolters and the battle cannon. If you move at combat speed, you can fire the battle cannon but only a single bolter. With no bubblewrap, if you keep your tanks static to they are going to die quickly . For this reason sponsons are just not worth it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
DAMN ninja'd!

Welp, I really shouldn't post on here at work anymore, since I don't have the codex with me. (That, and the need to actually get work done...) That was my bad with the misunderstanding, so I'll remove the sponsons. As I'm at my campus right now (not in class, mind you), I'll wait till I get back before making any further changes.

You have to remember... fluff is fluff. It is written by some guy who may not even know how to play 40k or barily understands the base story they are refering too. I can respect a fluff army, but handy capping yourself for fluff is where I start to draw the line. Those GLs should all be melta guns. Plasma guns are fine, but read the rapid fire rules to use them effectivily.

I understand what you're saying. I really do. However, one of the reasons I love the Steel Legion is the Grenade Launchers/Missile Launchers. The only reason I don't have any Missile Launchers is because the Lascannon is needed for AV14. The Meltaguns are not necessary, though they are efficient. If this were a super-competetive army (or even somewhat competetive), I would definitely take the advice. But since all of my games are against my friends, and none of us are terribly competetive, I'd rather stick with the Grenade Launchers. Once again, it is a personal choice, and not just me ignoring you.

Now, as a side question, would it be generally frowned upon to use a Steel Legion Commissar model in place of a Company Commander, as there really isn't a set model for it? Everything in the army has a model, except for the CCS, and the Commissar is such a great model.

cowleyc wrote:

Now, as a side question, would it be generally frowned upon to use a Steel Legion Commissar model in place of a Company Commander, as there really isn't a set model for it? Everything in the army has a model, except for the CCS, and the Commissar is such a great model.

Heh... no offense but I find this kinda funny because you spent most of the last post defending your choice of a fluff list and this is really a fluff choice. Of course you can use a Commissar fig as your Commander!

I honestly wish the Missile Launchers were good enough to be a option to LCs, but if it were Str 9, no one would ever take LCs. I am glad you seem to understand this and you understand the reason why I am saying melta guns over GLs. But in a army like this, I would rather see you take MLs and drop the GLs. Your just going to become incredibily frustrated playing any type of power armor list. If your still cool with this... man, more power to you because your a better man then me.

Good luck!

I use the Lord Commissar model as my CO. Just to avoid confusion make sure there are no actual commissars in your list. It helps also to paint him up similar to the others. Steel legion commissar is sweet btw.

Sorry for my small opinion, but LRBT with HB sponsons- the best defensive tipe of LR. HB and battle cannon have large distance and tank doesn't need to move every turn- enemy unit appear in our deploy zone in 2 or 3 round. During this time LRBT can fire and fire without fear about death in close combat. If you like the mobile LR, you need to get demolisher with lascannon. His demolisher cannon has small range and moving helps tank to survive and fire with all weapon, but when tank has resault "weapon destroed"- LR demolisher can not do nothing without his ordanance cannon, and LRBT has 3 HB that can fire and tank can do damage when one of his weapons is destroyed.
Lascannon in veterans-it is good weapon, but very expensive. Autocannon- good choice for plasma guards. Cheap and effective.
Commissars in veteran army? Why? Veterans in close combat cann't do nothing, commissar needs for big and expensive platoon squad, when we need to have stubborn.

Demych, you have given pretty good advice and your english is a million times better than my Russian. Don't sell yourself short.

But... Vanguard Vets in a Drop pod can land turn 1. I am not saying it is common but it is possible. Sure... 9 out of 10 Drop pods have a Dread or Sternguard so we are talking a melta gun hitting the AV 10 rear armor.

Also, 1 round of shooting for 20-40pts is not... efficient when those points could be other things that are used every turn.

But... he is not facing Tourney level lists either, just friends. He is probably fine no matter what.

I'll take a look at using an Infantry Platoon in place of a few Veteran squads, to get access to the Heavy Weapon Squads. That way I can drop the Lascannon from the Veteran squad, meaning all my Chimeras can move constantly. Giving the Infantry Squads Grenade Launchers, and the Veteran Squads Plasma/Meltaguns might work.

EDIT- Once again, making assumptions without research. Infantry Squads can get one Grenade Launcher each, and the Special Weapon Squads don't have dedicated transports. As far as my theme goes, not worth it.

As for the LRBT, I'll leave it stock, and use the points elsewhere. If they lose their weapon, I can still use them to Ram or even Tank Shock some units off an objective.

demych777, I didn't mean adding a Lord Commissar to my army. Just using his model in my CCS, since GW didn't feel like giving them their own models. I know better than to put him in a Mech Guard list. I'm not as dumb as I look.

EDIT- All right, even newer updated list up top.

Well, for what your doing and what your aiming for, I think your list looks pretty good. Your Sentinals and LRBTs can try to take out armor while your chimeras move up. Just make sure you kinda protect your CCS as it is really your most effective anti-tank unit. The CCS and the Plasma vets are your most effect units against terminators and MCs.

Use your GL Vets and LRBTs as a screen for those two units and you should be fine. Also make sure to keep your Sentinals out of HB range.

To cowleyc: you don't look as dumb, I didn't understand the question with commissar
I see that you have other warhammer game))): our gamers like CC a lot:
1) blood angels usually use squads of assault and terminator squads (we have special name for terminator-limit- termination)
2) space marines-a lot of terminators, dreadnouds and land raiders
3) GK- purifires, dreadnouds and paladins.
This is very common information, but you understand, what tactic we use:
1)more anti-tank, anti-infantry and other weapon, that has long distance of fire.
2)all infantry platoons die during a short time: they can not live more that 3 tours.
In conclusion of this small excursion: veteran-limit, LRBTs with HBs, heavy sentinels and a sea of special weapon.
And about alldrop armies: reserves will help to us! CCS can buy astropat, that helps with exit out reserves.
First turn starts opponent with his droppods- 50% of army drops on the table- they don't have any targets for shooting, then gets out our 70% of units and we do big problems for our enemy. this tactic works everytime.