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I have a very well painted Marneus Calgar and Honor Guard that I want to use as the basis of my 1800 pt. 40k army. I also want to have some allied guardsmen. I like the idea of using Commissar Yarrick, but I understand why he might not be feasible. In terms of troops, I have 3 tac squads with pc, pr, pp and rhinos. I just don't know the right mix between marines and guard. I'll be honest, the only thing that I require is Calgar and his guard. So, any thoughts on how to incorporate some guard into a Calgar centered marine army?

Man after my own heart! I love Papa Smurf, but have not been able to figure out a way to make Honorguard work. Unless you exchange the axes for another weapon (either lance or sword imo), they just do not have a good role. They do not have an invulnerable, so do not want to face off against Terminators, which renders the Axes mostly useless. Also, the vehicle changes hurt them significantly, since in 5th, you could at least charge them out of a stationary Rhino, partially eliminating the need for a LR. They could be interesting with Azrael attached, but that's for another thread.

I read God of War as allowing his own unit to auto pass/fail along with any other Marine units that have Chapter Tactics. I am not sure though. If that is the case, then I think it makes sense to throw him in a big blob squad and march it across the table. The Sgts can soak challenges while he smashes anything in the way.

For the rest of the IG allies, I would probably take a Primaris for the blob and throw the PCS on a quad gun. A couple of HWTs would provide some fire support while being able to hold backfield objectives. A Vendetta is pretty much a must take, and you really can't go wrong with a manticore either.

A solid foot heavy Marine force (Tacticals, Attack Bikes, Devs, and maybe SGVs) can advance behind the blob and lay down fire while taking full advantage of Calgar's God of War ability. The only problem is fitting in a unit of Honor Guard. Luckily taking lots of cheap IG scoring could allow you take the HG without too much of a hit to your overall effectiveness. I'd take a small unit of 5 including Banner and Chapter Champ with Relic Blade. I think that comes out at 225, throws out 5 attacks on the charge, and shreds anything not in TDA. Unlike Assault Terminators, they can at least run things down rather than letting them rally and fight back. Just keep them away from Plasma.

I like the idea of this. I think that psyker is a good fix instead of a CCS. I do however like the idea of orders for blobs, so i'm not sure. Let me write up an edited version and maybe you can give it a glance? Thanks!

That takes a lot of points out of the rest of your list and is IMO really not worth it. One guy who kicks ass in close combat is useless in a guard list since everything else will fold like wet cardboard.

 BryllCream wrote:
That takes a lot of points out of the rest of your list and is IMO really not worth it. One guy who kicks ass in close combat is useless in a guard list since everything else will fold like wet cardboard.

It's not optimal by any stretch, but I still think it is possible to make a workable list--especially if you do not take Honor Guard.

The 2+ saves on the honor guard are pretty good in today's edition -- meaning most power weapons just bounce.

They will need a land raider to get to the assault. If they ride in anything less, they will get shot to bits before they get there.

The problem with honour guard is they cost only slightly less than a terminator base and they cost significantly more when you start upgrading. So you quickly get into a situation where terminators, even tactical terminators, are a better buy.

Also you will find that many squads of equivalent point cost will stomp the honour guard 1 on 1. They are better at charging into an ongoing assault or mopping up your opponents scoring units than going toe to toe with their big nasty squad.

They are a cool unit though and are a great modelling project. They are fun.to use just don't expect them to be a sledgehammer.

ETA: Don't forget that each honour guard can take a grenade launcher. It can be a fun little surprise since I've found most people expect you to just take relic blades and tool up for cc.

A terminator squad kicks out 12 Pfist attacks & 3 Psword attacks on the charge. Shooting wise there's likely to be 8 storm bolter shots & 4 assault cannon shots. A similar points honor gaurd has 20 Pax & 5 relic blade attacks. For shooting there's 4 bolt pistol & 1 grenade shot.

Also, Calgars got 7 Pfist attacks with rerolls to hit & wound. I just had to mention that because he's also got 2+4++ with eternal warrior. So he's definetly gonna survive a round of hth & definetly wound 7 times.

 RedAngel wrote:
A terminator squad kicks out 12 Pfist attacks & 3 Psword attacks on the charge. Shooting wise there's likely to be 8 storm bolter shots & 4 assault cannon shots. A similar points honor gaurd has 20 Pax & 5 relic blade attacks. For shooting there's 4 bolt pistol & 1 grenade shot.

Also, Calgars got 7 Pfist attacks with rerolls to hit & wound. I just had to mention that because he's also got 2+4++ with eternal warrior. So he's definetly gonna survive a round of hth & definetly wound 7 times.

Which looks good on paper, but even if the honour guard get the charge on those terminators, the combat is probably a draw. And if the terminators get the charge its good by honour guard. That's not counting the fact that the terminators will probably take down 1 or 2 with shooting of we factor that in.

It's not that honour guard are bad, its just that terminators have better saves and better shooting beyond 12 inches for the same points.

I've been running an honor guard unit lately, and trust me whne I say they need a landraider. With ol calgar costing a lot, plus the price of the honor guard and a landraider you tend to have just enough points for some sniper scouts or something.

Now this unit, with the banner (NEVER forget the banner) will destroy next to anything in melee. Make sure some of your guys have power axes, though keep a power sword on the company champion, since he re-rolls to wound vs enemy IC's, no point putting points on a guy whos gonna die.

All your guard need to do is be able to down enemy vehicles, TEQ and monsterous creatures. If you've got that covered, calgar and buddies will mop the floor with the rest of your enemies forces.

It's kinda crazy when you think about it. Honor guard have 2 attacks, plus pistol, plus banner, plus charging, that's 5 attacks per guy. For their points, that's better than terminators!