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So ive got a 2000pt imperial guard list. finally got myself an aegis defense line to build upa gunline.

HQ
CCS 160pts
officer with plasma pistol
x1 plasma gun
lascannon
regimental standard
camo cloaks

Lord comissar 70pts

Elites
Marbo 65pts

Troops
x2 Platoon command squad 100pts
x4 flamers in each


Inf squad x4 240pts blobed in 20 man squads
autocannon in each

inf squad x4 260 pts blobed in 20 man squads
plasma gun in each

Aegis defence line with quad gun for 100pts

fast attack
Working on another vendetta which will put me at 2.
x2 vendettas 260pts

heavy support-not sure if i want to have camo netting or if i want to add bolter sponsons or both but i shall experiment a little.
x2 leman russ battle tanks 340pts
camo netting

Leman russ punisher with heavy bolter sponsons 200pts

manticore 190pts
camo netting

Ive tried the exectioner with las and plas sponsons but it seems too expensive and a mojor target. are there any other varients possible for investing in like, eradicator with bolter boat or punisher with bolters? tanks were my strong point but now that battle tanks got nerfed i have to come up with alternates and i would like to add more infantry.

I have 15pts left with that? Any ideas or tweaks?

Once this list is complete im looking into allies, i have some blood angels im gunna try to use but not aure how to really use them.

As another cool ally i was thinking of using terminators for from one of the different space marines but not sure how to get the most effective but yet cheap.

You could take a 10 man squad of th/ss termies and combat squad them, or else, and use them as really beefy bubble wrap. Then you can fill up the troop/hq requirement with some midfield scoring that you could also use as a buffer(Vanilla). I would even consider just picking up a decent amount of midfield scoring from any space marine army to make it much harder to advance into your gunline while giving you the option to get more scoring potentiel. Also I would deff drop all the power swords in the platoon, I find that they usually arent worth it. Have you considered adding a squad of vets/chimera and giving a chimera to the platoon command as well?

you have to spend 390 points on 3 vendettas now in the new rules flyers dominate everything

few small things first your CCS I would move one lascannon to this unit it's BS 4 and as it holds your banner you will want it protected anyway.

Also I would either buy it a Chimera or give it camo cloaks to protect it. If you haven't bought anything yet for your counter assault unit take a look at grey knights. They can take termies as troops, and you could go with a cheap inquisitor for your HQ, just a thought.

for your gaurd counter punch look at PCS with 4 flamers. they are cheap and effective, hold them behind your lines and when some one runs up you push them forward and lay down a BBQ it can put the hurt even on Marines if you get some good over lap. Or you could make a few Special weapon squads maybe a demo charge.

With the typical gun line you don't have much for counter charge the way you work it is when a threat makes it to melee range you run one unit foraward but not charging (charging just let them kill you in your own turn), then after they kill that one unit they are left out in the open ready for another volley.

Just a small note on platoons, been a guard player i find it best to maximise each for a roll (platoon, not squad) ie 1 platoon of 3 - 4 squads + cmd sqd rocking just heavy weps andd keeping bare aside from that to camp cover, objectives etc. the second platonn keep the cmd sqd with a heavy wep but the 3-4 inf squads running a single plasma gun each. gives a bit of mobility and keeps it cheap as chips, but then may not work for you but i dont like the concept of snap shooting heavies on the run, i know it valid but feels cheap lol.

IMO drop the GLs in the platoon. I used to use them but have since upgraded them to melta or plasma (depending on if I bother with allies) and they are actually worth their points. 5pts for a GL seems like a nice cheap upgrade, but for 5pts more you can get a weapon that actually does something.

@Griddlelol : I agree 100% about the GL. They are very poor choices and i have since used plasma guns in my IS and have not looked back. GL is a very lucky if I kill something. Plasma I am sure i will do some damage.

So i will put a lasconnon in the hq and give them camo cloaks to hide behind the line and they will probably man the quad gun.

So I should have one platoon with heavy weapons which will probably be 2-3 squads with autocannons and prolly 2 squads with lascannons. then i will have another platoon with 4 squads each with a plasma gun. the 2 platoon command squads will have x4 flamers as a buffer for units closing in. I thought about having 2-3 squads of vets probably 2 melta and 1 plasma and if that was the case i would would send the russes out to support them grabbing objectives. so i assume the troops like that are fine?
And as a side not how should i blob the squads and how? and another note how many comissars or lords.

the lone vendetta will stay as i need anti tank

the leman russes will stay, might keep camo netting, it worked wonders with the 3+ behind the wall, the necrons couldnt do anything to them. manticore will stay as is.

so if i include allies i will probably have blood angels. i have the possibility to get a land raiders crusader and 5-8 assault termies. i also have 5 death company with jet packs and pistol/chainsword, 1 with power fist. i have lemartes and a reclusiarch with jumppack, standard chaplain and a 10man tac squad, 1 missle launcher, 1 melta gun. ive got a death dread with talons and a drop pod as well. ive been looking at standard termies possibly 10 strong and having 1-2 assault cannons. not sure if they would be in land raider and not sure on hq, possiibly librarian.

another attachment ive been offered is expensive but has been known to wipe armies with this squad alone at my local store. there kaldor draigo with 10paladins, x4 spycannons and not sure if any other upgrades but that unit is crazy and like 800 pts, i have thought about grey knights as allies as well. but i know very little about them and have no idea of what to run to have an effective grey knight attachemnt. any ideas for players that use grey knights?

thanks for the coments and advice so far it really helps as i have been in this game for about a year and am yet to have a victory lol, ive come close though as this site has really helped me. the thing that gets me most of the time is my deployment and how i deploy my army. terrain always changes and is preset but if theres any ideas for a list like this then that would be great! again thanks for the comments!

Don't buy into the hype that sponsons are "worthless"

first of all, you're playing 2000 points? The heavy bolter sponsons cost 20 points, that's 1/100 of your list...

secondly, you could still take a different turret weapon (executioners are great) and still fully utilize the sponsons. Actually, now you can utilize them better, 5 plasma blasts anyone? Or, how about an exterminator with plasma sponsons for strength 7 spam, remember you choose which order the AP values are applied when they roll saving throws.

finally, there's a lot of things I'd rather shoot three bolters at than a battle cannon. You know, like at the end of the game when a few guardsmen/guardians/kalibite warriors/scouts (or soon, cultists) are clawing on to an objective?

Glad we could help one thing to keep in mind however no matter what anyone says you don't Have to do/have any unit The game is about fun and if you like something or don't feel like spending $300 on more stuff your not sure you want don't worry about it.

As for stratagy I probably wouldn't push your Russ's to far, with the battle cannon they can reach the entire board as it is and are vulnerable in assault, So when deploying find a spot where they have some good fire lanes and let them just go to town, moving if you need to get a better angle on something. I would also not put them side by side most of the times (no one tactic is best) that way the opponent can't hide from both as easily. Or if you don't have any good terrain use them as a wall to cover the manticore.

Melta / Plasma vets can be very effective, however if you don't have chimeras for them you have to be careful. People know they are dangerous and 10 guardsmen on foot aren't hard to kill. Move them defensively early game even if it isn't in a direct line to your target then jump out of terrain or what ever and fire.

Commissars are expensive so in general I would use them for lone 10 man squads. They work good for a combined squad as it only takes one for the entire unit. Also even if your in range of the banner the comissar will still shoot the Squad sargent, So in this case it would be a choice for a blob that you plan on putting out flank if you use one, if you use them.

so ive changed the list up above a lil bit and i got 410 pts left over. if i use an ally i could drop some of that to put some in but am trying to focus on my guard a little more. I could add another leman russ varient to try out or add some vets in chimeras to grab objectives but how many melta and how many plasma? I could add heavy weapons teams and i also have the great rambo (marbo).

any input on what would make this list more competitive is much appretiated!

Looking better, Few more little things

Your a little short on weapons to hurt AV 13-14 at 2k pts. So if you add some vets in i would make them 3x melta.

With a commisar at WS, BS 5 it's almost a shame to leave him with out a weapon of some sort.

Russs hulls are never a bad thing to have if you can't think of anythign else to spend your points on and own them. As for the different Varients, A lot is personal preference / your local gaming meta. almost every person at my game store goes for Assault / deepstrike in your face armies so personaly I love the Demolisher as i know they will be moving in so the shorter range isn't a big deal and the str 10 AP 2 is just fun.

At the moment i have one squad of melta vets and am planning on picking up another squad. So i will have x2 meltavet with chimeras.

I would have 100 pts left after that and i could probably add a power sword for the comissar to leave me with 90 pts.

I could throw in marbo at 65 pts and then with remaining 25 pts maybe give krak grenades to troops?

For russes i do have a demolisher so i could try to throw that in the list. The battle tanks were my favorite tanks but since the new rules i dont really run sponsons on them anymore. Used to use the bolter boat most often. But i will probably stick with the standard vanilla russ. I thought about throwing in the executioner with plasma sponsons and lascannon for death lol or try punisher with bolters.

Aside from melta vets and vendettas are there any other effective anti tank fire, would heavy weapons squads of lascannons work?

And as a side note if any grey knight players or anyone that knows of grey knights are there any good allies list for grey knights i mentioned the draigo paladin list but is it possible to get annything cheaper and not 800 pts thats effective for grey knights as allies.

Thanks again for the input im gunna be at my store tuesday to hopefully tey this list out and see how it goes!

I wouldn't buy krak grenades for this style list, as an anti tank CCW the only vehicle your going to threaten are rhinos and Land Raiders that make it to your line. An your not really worried about rhnos and KG can't hurt a LR.

Heavy weapon squads can work but they are expensive, and easy to kill. At only three bases and T3 you very quickly lose your offensive firepower. If you ran with a bunker of some sort then i'd think about using them. Other people disagree with me. (personal exception being Mortar Teams I LOVE MORTOR TEAMS, not that they really make there points back most times but they are cheap and really anoy my opponents.....maybe i'm not a nice person)

goodpoint about the krak grenades.

and if i use heavy weapons teams they will for sure stay behind the defence line. but i think i might just invest in another vendetta as they are probably the best anti tank, but its usually these final pts that im unsure of where my weak points are and what else can be added, if im low on anti tank i could use a vanquisher with lascannon and multi melta sponsons for 200pts and with all that anti tank being able to fire in one round should definitly be able to rip enemy armor that gets too close.

but aside from anti tank are there any other weak spots in the list? if i add that russ i can also add melta vets in a chimera to also assist in anti tank and possibly grabbing objectives and with 55pts left over another comissar to beef up a blob but aside from that any ideas?

Well got to test the army and it got chewed up and spit out. Over and over again. Althought it was against this nurgle based army with epidemus and basically my guardsmen were moved from behind their line because of a deamon price psychic power and then they would get shot up. Them because of epidemius when his army got in melee i just got rolled. He had 2 objectives in hos deployment and i had 2. My vendetta took 2 turns to try and bring down one defiler. The vanquisher anti tank was just useless cuz there were no tanks lol. My guardsmen just could not deal enough wounds to do much damage. I ran 20 man squads. So there were 2 blobs of 20 guardsmen each packed with 2 plasma guns and then 2 blobs of 20 men each having 2 autocannons in each blob.

I believe i need more comissars and possibly another vendetta for those final 410 pts because i was just picked apart. My tanks lasted but thats about that.

And possibly what is the best way to kill lists like that? If possible?

Against a list like that I wouldn't have blobbed up, being seperated Nurgle in CC against gaurd is pretty much a "you just lose" situation so by having them in one big group it means he can jjust take out more of your army in a single assault. It also makes the lash much more effective.

I would not have taken a Vanquisher. They really aren't that great, sure the +2d6 armor pen sounds nice but your gaurd so most of the time you miss, even if you do hit you might not do anything worth while to a tank. Also if there aren't any tanks it is useless. I'm a big fan of standard Russ battlecannon and a hull H-bolter, or if you know your opponens the demolisher with just hull H-bolter or H-flamer. cheap and effective against just about everything.

Yea the deplyment is what messed me up, i also had a big rock in the middle so mu squads were spread. In that situation i eould agree i shouldnt have blobbed them up. The vanquisher was equiped with a lascannon and multi melta sponsons, pretty much designed to hunt tanks but the problem was there was only 2 defilers in which a vendetta got one and the manticore got the other. Marbo didnt do much with his demo charge.

So im gunna take out the vanquisher and go back to those 410 points and either get vets in a chimera or add another vendetta. Might free up more points by taking off netting on some tanks or where theres points noy needed.

You do not want a plasma pistol on your Commander; if you roll badly and it gets hot! then the Commander has a 5+ save, you do not want to be losing wounds on your model because of your wargear.

Vendettas, like everything else should come in pairs for target saturation. I would invest in another if you can.

Not sure on camo netting, it is expensive, but it is easier to get cover saves on vehicles now. Get them behind a ruin and you're getting a 3+ cover save. I say see how you find them and take it from there.

Hope that helps

The plasma i figured was a nice boost for shooting but you do have a good point. I just dont want an hq that iseasily killed but im not sure what would be good aside from 4 plasma in chimera.

I do plan on another vendetta as well because 1 isnt getting the job done.

As for the tanks i played against necrons and we only played to turn 4 but the necrons did not have one hit go through on the tanks because of the netting so it was amazing but against demons i got torn apart in melee so that was my down fall.

Well, the plasma pistol isn't really a boost because you won't be firing 12" range much when you have a 48" lascannon .

Yea good point lol. The vendetta is going to be a must now as well, chaos marines are about to get a dragon thats supposed to annihilate flyers so im gunna try to counter that with vendettas and quad gun.

Vendettas are pure awesome anyway. When I played Guard I had two of them and they was evil and that was back in 5th. They are now even more evil thanks to 6th

I would agree completely, seeing as most of the people at this store play chaos and most of them will probably get this dragon im gunna need the air support. so my next buy will be another vendetta to throw in the list and then add some veterans to go around with that.

I love my two punishers in cover, insert pask and give out 24 hits a turn and inside a ruin you have an instant 3+ when he doesn't move that turn thanks to camo. He is the ultimate nid killer as all to wound rolls can be rerolled.

Get rid of the vanquisher and consider bringing in either exterminators, executioners. With guard the more the merrier, so if I bring a battle tank, I bring at least 3 of them. Dealing with just one is a PITA, so imagine dealing with 3 or more of them.

Sponsons on exterminators and executioners are great, as they can move and shoot at full BS. I've had executioners waste entire squads of TEQs in a single go. Exterminators with bolter sponsons rip through tough units and transports like no other. Ive started using the above variants more since I'm not a fan of the scatter dice when shooting with my LRBTs.

As for the infantry, keep them separated, unless youre trying to save on KP. Separate squads means more targets, and more headaches for your opponent.

Stick the lord commissar by the Aegis cannon, at BS5, hell be able to put the hurt on anything within range. (Hitting flyers on 2+ anyone?)

Also, for 65 points Marbo is a hilarious addition. Watching him drop a large template on a unit and destroying it is always fun. Plus if he survives past the turn he comes on, he can do some damage in CC.

thanks for the input! My plam so far was to drop the vanquisher and an executioner until i get another vendetta. I would love to use the other varientsbut the only probelm was i did what you mentioned by spamming the battle tanks and also cuz i loved them and unfortunetly the ones with sponsons arent very much worth it so i only got 3 battle tanks and a executioner. i do also have 1 demolisher. i have 2 other battle tanks with sponson bolters and 1 of the turrets has pask, i really wish i had magnetized them fist because i knew something like this was bound to happen. luckily i got a manticore for back up as well. i really want to try the punisher though lol.

I really agree with marbo as well, he comes in whereever and with his bs5 its hard to completely miss with the template then with those melta bombs he can go tank hunting or find some useless troops to take out.

I know that an CCS with x4 plasma guns is usually the best in a chimera but what about for a gunline, do i have a solid hq for gunline with a lascannon, standard bearer, and a plasma gun?

so scratch what i had before and with that remaining 410pts I will add another vendetta, a punisher with bolter sponsons, and the great marbo.

15pts left??? anything maybe give commander power sword or the comissar a sword?

bro your list is almost identical to mine i never thought id ever see someone who plays guard like me, good job mate


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Oh and i would add 2 Las cannon heavy weapon squads and another leman russ and put one in a squadren

Thats crazy, around the world and having the same ideas! Lol but i do have to ask you Jake, how do you run this list or what other units do you have thats different from mine? Im still new to the game only been playing for about a year and usually played me h but just started going for gunline. What are the general startegies you would want to use, especially with the infantry?