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Hello... uhm, this will be completely dumb question, but.

Im complete newbie at WH40K. I needed some relax hobby and painting models is far from computer I work with. And also, in future, when my Imperial Guard is more than Cadian Battleforce, LC and still not assembled Leman Russ tank, I will play some friendly, not tourney (well, maybe) games in local community...

But...there is one problem. First thing in my plan is assembling army. Easy said, in six months I will have cca 1200 points army, wont I? But local guys play WYSIWYG... so I must think ahead even when Im assembling models.
I dont know what armies are played (but I´ve certainly saw some Ultramarines and Tyranids) so, my army must be... universal. Which is, I know... stupid. There isnt some universal key. I know... but Im trying to get through 6th Edition (I ve played WH Fantasy Battles and that was much, much easier!) and Im still not sure what is really good, what is necessary and what is out of date due to older codex (I know I shouldnt use Rough Rides, yay). I cant adapt my army to thing I will see next month or two (earlier I wont get to any games), and I cant wait, I need my assembling/ painting zen relax now!

I have even some very foggy idea about what should my army do. Firstly I wanted to play big blob with LC behing Aegis Wall, some basilisks, Vendettas... and then I read that everyone plays it. And I hate to play styles "yeah, this is best way". So, time to get suicidal inovator.

Now I have in mind not purely defensive army.
Drop blob into more squads, maybe leave one bigger (30) with LC at my objective. Rest of sqads should - carefully - move forward with veterans, 2-3 Leman Russes and maybe got support from Griffon or two. And, of course, two vendettas, because... I like those because of model, overpowered or not. And Marbo and probably Ratlings. More troops should benefit from CCS, PCS and storm of orders.

And here are my newbie questions:
1) Is my army concept totally idiotic idea? I know IG sucks at close combat and probably should stay in trench and throw buckets of dices in shooting phase. But... I like playing "something else"...
2) Which Leman Russ? I dont know against who I will play... But I guess there is a lot of Space Marines. Keep vanilla? I must admit that Im more inclined to Vanquisher, because in offensive tactics Im afraid of MC and other tanks.
3) Put sponsons on Leman Russ? And which ones? This is probably even more stupid question, but. In I use Vanquisher with lascannon as hull weapon...should I go plasma and for the huge cost risk overheating? Or simply heavy flamers against mobs? Or keep hull clean?
4) Heavy weapons teams. I admit that Im unable to judge usefullness of all heavy weapons. So far, for HWT (not squad, Im afraid of fragile squads) looks to me best Lascannon? Or combine Lascannons with Autocannons?
5) Special weapons. For troops not sitting at deploy line... flamers? If I take Vanquishers and lascannons, its probably best antipersonnel?
6) Vox casters. Do I need those? Firtly it seemed to me as autoinclude, but after reading some reports and tips, it seems its not worth the points? But Im still afraid that without vox casters my order strategy will fail.
7) Lord Commisar. I like his concept. But... I dont know if I need him. Or, should he sit with defending team or support offensive?
8) Is there any way to play someone roughly as Ratlings? Because I really, really hate those models... but with WYSIWYG rule... It seems not, including sniper rifles into units is ineffective, PBS has better use... Oh... I hate those models...

Well...thank for any response. I know Im asking for rather prophecy then tactics, but... any input, especially in more common question would be great And sorry for bad english...its friday evenging...

Welcome to the Guard, and Dakka.

In answer to your first question, yes, an aggressive infantry list with some tank support can do rather well in a semi-competitive environment, I play something very similar myself to good effect. You'll need a LOT of guardsmen (probably around 60 per 1000 points) to soak up casualties, and will also need a fair few commissars to keep the blob in line.

As for the rest of your questions, and for some general advice, check out the link in the second line of my signature, it has a unit-by-unit analysis of the IG codex, was written with beginners in mind, and covers pretty much everything you'll need to know. All the answers to your questions are in there.

But for short answers:
1) no, it's not idiotic, it can work
2) Vanquisher, LC/PC (expensive but awesomely killy)
3) see above
4) LC (or AC if you are stuck for points), always in infantry squads and never on their own.
5) The special should work with the heavy, so pair melta or plasma with the LC platoon, and flamers and no heavy on the aggressive ones.
6) One vox can be worth it in a blob, but only if you have the points.
7) LOrd Commissars need careful use, but can be good. More info in the article
8) I'd just use sniper models as ratlings, if I took them, I'm sure you could clear it with an opponent.

Hope that, and the article should you look at it, helps.

Thank you very much! Im going to soak up information from the article