Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Kanluwen wrote:Yeah. Clearly they're "not the most elite fighting force or even hinting at it".

OT: Elysians would be up there on my list as well, I have to agree.

Hrmh. Okay, that does seem a bit harsh.

Anyways.

Elysians are fairly elite, but the problem is they're waaaaaaaaaaay specialized.

Kanluwen wrote:Hrmh. Okay, that does seem a bit harsh.

Anyways.

Elysians are fairly elite, but the problem is they're waaaaaaaaaaay specialized.

Agreed with your last part, they have the same problem as the Catachans do.

And no hard feelings Kan.

Regiment wise? Gotta go with the Firstborn, where your standard trooper, aka shiny, is given carapace armour. Plus, they have some of the best looking lasguns IMO.

But if you want the best squad like if it was one on one, I would take Inquistorial Stormtroopers hands down. Ultra-hating, carapace wearing, hellgun wielding, badasses with Inquistorial support? 'Nuff said.

The most versatile would be without a doubt Cadia, but for deadly environments you're better off with Catachan, for desert Tallarn, mechanized warfare would be Steel Legion, etc. Cadia is good with the most types

of warfare when it comes to IG, so they're best due to there flexibility.

In my opinion the Krieg are for the moment the very best the guard generally fields. But I'm biased....

For the Emperor!

Well, there are a lot of ways to define "elite".

Iron Guard regiments are disciplined beyond belief or reason. Catachan regiments are highly skilled and experienced.

By the most common uses for the word, I would definitely agree with Cadian Kasrkins though. There doesn't even need to be fluff on these guys to get an estimate of how badass they are, in my opinion. Their entire planet is indoctrinated from birth to become soldiers. Cadia's Interior Guard are already some of the best trained, equipped, and motivated human soldiers in the galaxy. Cadia's Imperial Guard regiments go even beyond that. And a long way from even that, you finally have the Kasrkin regiments.

Cadian soldiers train from birth to essentially guard the gate to Hell. They have been doing just that for thousands of years. Now imagine that Kasrkins are their last line of defence.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure not even Ultramarines can top that.

From my own point of view, there is no real ELITE regiment in the Imperium for the Imperial Guard. All of them are good fighters, some are better than others, some are more specialized by others.

We have to understand for what ELITE stands for and it varies from person to person.

Personally, Cadian regiments should be the ELITE since the population is trained since birth to fight and learn how to survive in a battlefield.

hmmm... would the tech guard be included in who is the most elite guardsmen?

Cause if so, there is no question... cybernetics... the best tech gear in the Imperium... absolutely fearless. (You march into a titan battle on foot and tell that would not scare the crap out of you.)

Otherwise it would be the inquistorial stormtroopers or the cadians.

Just info for you noob Cadian fanboys, prior to the release of the plastic Cadian set (and the focus for the Imperial Guard model line) the codexes never made them out to be anything special, they were just another regiment in the IG. As I recall back in those days most Guard players played Catachans

Brotherjulian wrote: Just info for you noob Cadian fanboys, prior to the release of the plastic Cadian set (and the focus for the Imperial Guard model line) the codexes never made them out to be anything special, they were just another regiment in the IG. As I recall back in those days most Guard players played Catachans

Gee. People played the Guard force with a plastic kit.

Shocking!

And just some info for you-even before the plastic kit release, Cadians were made out to be something special.
The first Gaunt's Ghosts novel made them out to be something special, so did the second Eisenhorn novel. I should also add that the Codex: Eye of Terror used the metal Cadians. So did Codex Battlezone: Cityfight.

It's also not like Cadia has suddenly been rewritten to be a planet of absurdly important value. Or constantly at war with a high level of training.

To suggest that this is something new is ridiculous.

Yes, I believe they've always been the gatekeepers of some important gate: what was it again? Ah yes, the cadian gate: the most vital strategic world in the galaxy.

Harakoni Warhawks
Savlar Chem Dogs
Dkok
Tallarn Desert Raiders
Elysian Droptroops
Praetorians
Kanak Skulltakers
Tanith First and Only

These are my opinions... what was the question?

In my opinion the best are the skitarii with all their enhancments and training

Skitarii aren't guard.

And the point of this thread, or at least from how I'd read the OP, is what are the "most 'elite' Guardsmen" in terms of the entire regimental organization.

Inquisitorial Stormtroopers and Kasrkin are probably at the top of the list, especially if you're defining "elite" along special operations/SEAL lines.

Really, it depends on how one defines "elite". Certain standard IG regiments may have more exclusive membership requirements, leading to such regiments being few in number and well-skilled, but that does not necessarily make them "elite".

Kanluwen wrote:What are the "most 'elite' Guardsmen" in terms of the entire regimental organization.

I thought all where the same when it comes to Regimental organization. That only planets, equipment and combat styles are unique per Regiment.
All Regiments are going to that that everyone have best Regimental Organization.
I would say that this place are taking Cadians. Because of their proximity to the Eye they always must have top of the line military organization.
And I would put Catachans on the last place, they are good and know tactics. But when it comes to organization - they are everything except that ( take their commissars for example... ).

Wait. It says that you are asking which guardsmen are the most elite, but it seems like everyone is answering which Guard regiment is the "toughest", or best trained, or most respected.

An "elite" is generally a small group within their society, considered by that society to be "the best", and also having a privileged status in that society. Assuming that the society you are talking about is the Imperial Guard (and not the planet itself, where the Vostroyan Bluebloods would seem to exemplify the "military elite" of the planet), you really have to distinguish "elites" from "specialists". There are a lot of specialist regiments like the Elysians, but they aren't widely viewed as "the best", nor do they have a privileged position in the Imperial Guard.

I'm not sure that you could argue that Cadian regiments benefit from any privileged status in the Imperial Guard. They are widely considered to be among the best guard regiments, but I don't know that they get any privileged status from it (but instead get thrown into some of the worst hellholes).

Stormtrooper Regiments would certainly get a much better claim to being an elite regiment. They get better equipment, more specialized training, and certainly seem have a bit more privileged position (in that they are both idolized as an ideal, and looked down as Glory Boys, etc.).

However, "most elite" doesn't mean "most badass", or "toughest", or even "most specialized". I think even GW makes this mistake. Elysians are definitely trained to a high standard, and equipped to a high standard, but do they occupy a privileged status in the Imperial Guard? Do all of the other Guard Regiments generally view them as "the best"? I don't think so.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Skitarii aren't guard.

Technically they are, the Skitarii are the Tech Guard... note that while they are not considered part of the Imperial Guard regiments, they can be considered guardsmen as they are "Tech Guard".

The original post never stated Imperial Guardsmen, just guardsmen. I posted them as one of the possible for the most elite (how much more elite can you get than having targetting circutry installed in you in addition to cybernetics and have the hardest to get gear, and selected only from the Forgeworlds?) but I did say that was dependant if we were including the Tech Guard.

sekerra wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Skitarii aren't guard.

Technically they are, the Skitarii are the Tech Guard... note that while they are not considered part of the Imperial Guard regiments, they can be considered guardsmen as they are "Tech Guard".

The original post never stated Imperial Guardsmen, just guardsmen. I posted them as one of the possible for the most elite (how much more elite can you get than having targetting circutry installed in you in addition to cybernetics and have the hardest to get gear, and selected only from the Forgeworlds?) but I did say that was dependant if we were including the Tech Guard.

No, there's different types of Mechanicum forces. Tech Guard are one type but there's also Skitarii, Praetorians and Cataphracts, etc. Skitarii are more like Cyber-Ogryns than men.

Skits are part of the Mechanicus... not quite within the same scope of the debate, I think, for in that case, I would make the argument that a Titan, then, is the most elite of all infantry forces.

It's military. It has guns. It walks. That makes it infantry, right? Pretty elite.


Seriously, though, Da Butcha seems to have picked up on what I was getting at with my alternate definition of "elite". I was thinking, specifically, of the Bluebloods and similar noble-caste Guard troops that have social caste requirements as part of their membership.

Sly Marbo...he's all you need

The only other guys who could top him would be Chuck Walker or Stev'al Ryback

Seriously all Guard regiments would be pretty hardcore. Storm Troopers are their special forces but not exclusive parts of Guard regiments per-se.

Veterans?

If we must pick one I'd say Cadians, purely from how the background describes them, but, having said that, I wouldn't want them escorting me through a Jungle, Ice Wasteland or Desert.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:

sekerra wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Skitarii aren't guard.

Technically they are, the Skitarii are the Tech Guard... note that while they are not considered part of the Imperial Guard regiments, they can be considered guardsmen as they are "Tech Guard".

The original post never stated Imperial Guardsmen, just guardsmen. I posted them as one of the possible for the most elite (how much more elite can you get than having targetting circutry installed in you in addition to cybernetics and have the hardest to get gear, and selected only from the Forgeworlds?) but I did say that was dependant if we were including the Tech Guard.

No, there's different types of Mechanicum forces. Tech Guard are one type but there's also Skitarii, Praetorians and Cataphracts, etc. Skitarii are more like Cyber-Ogryns than men.

Actually some of the Praetorians are more like the Cyber-Ogryns, which are a sub group of the Skitarii.

From the Warhammer 40k, 4th edition rulebook. "Skitarii is the Adeptus Mechanicus' official term for all military forces under its command (except for the Titan Legions, though the Legions may possess their own Skitarii forces). It is a term equivalent to 'the Imperial Guard' as it generally includes almost all combat personnel and armour that the Mechanicus possess. Skitarii are also known as Tech-Guard (or Tech Guard) to outsiders, and the singular form of Skitarii is Skitarius. "

Please note: Skitarri are also known as the Tech-Guard, which is their version of the Imperial Guard.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Skitarii has some good consolidated information on the Skitarrii forces. (Though I note they did not mention that there are subgroups of the Praetorians including the Praetorian Protectors mentioned in the Mechanicum novel. Rho-Mu 31)

Oh also according to EPIC 40,000 Firepower Magazine Issue 1 (p.5), Tech-Guard and Skitarii are just different names for the same thing:

"Known by the uncouth and uninititated as the Tech-Guard, the Skitarii are raised from the populations of Forge Worlds and are armed and trained in a similar fashion to the Imperial Guard."

That was why I mentioned them as a possible "elite guardsmen", but barring them being allowed for the discussion I would say it would likely be cadians. (Remember they only allow their best to join and they consider it a honor to serve after training their whole lives in how to fight.)