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I like Imperial Guard because I was in the army and I can relate to them. They'll be my next army depending if the new codex is good.
Also, this.

And sometimes, humans are awesome.

The main reason I liked guard was first off the leman russ. I wasnt able to get into 40k but played D&D and my friends always saw the 40k stuff and wanted to play, after a couple years we finally got into it. The russ and my love of tanks made me go with guard. But I also liked guard because in a time where theres daemons, man eating aliens, monstrous creatures, high tech aliens, super robots, and mutated super humans and humans in super armor with crazy weapons... and guard still fights all the horrors even though they are just ordinary men




plus their tanks are the best!

A lot of the reason is because they are "US". We are average people and the guard is made up of average people. We can emphasize with them a lot easier than an alian or a superhuman whose mind is alian to us.

the standard issue Legendary Balls Of Steel.

they are the most bad ass manliest warriors evar.

also? I looooove artillery

As a former IG player all I can say is this.

TANKS

LOTS AND LOTS OF TANKS

and enough Artillery to cause a forecast for steel rain.

Served in the military and I like that I can easily make an IG army that's themed around the force in which I served.

Some of the responses in this thread are poetry. Good job, guys. Not going to beat a dead horse here, but I second the "capturing humanity", the "HUEG TANKS", and the "very customizable" arguments.

I love the idea of trying to get into the mindset of a guardsman. With space marines it's kind of fun pretending to be a god of war but think about the average routine of a space marine, you pray, train repeat until an engagement, sit in your drop pod, land and rain bolter shells into all the terrified whatever-your-fighting and maybe die. If you live you just repeat that for a century.

But if you are a guardsman, you are raised by your family living a normal life until you get that letter in the mail with an aquila stamped on it. You have been drafted into the Imperial guard. Live or die you will never see your family or even your home world again. Your rights are striped from you, you become a number, a weapon and your one purpose is to die fighting the enemies of the imperium. If you even manage to survive basic training and traversing the warp you find your self plummeting towards a hostel world at max velocity where you will likely not survive your first hour.

You can imagine yourself holding your lasgun praying to the emperor as artillery fire pounds all around you as your commissar and priest walk down your lines as you wait for the order to break cover of your trench to run towards your certain death. Or watching in pure terror as a living tide of claws and chitin is devouring your forward lines getting ever closer, or hearing the bellowing waaaaagh of thousands of guttural voices as they sprint towards you, waiting for them to get into firing range.

The list goes on and on. It really adds character to every model and that you can really put yourself on the table! Just one scared human in a world of monsters. I think if Imperial guard were never included the 40k universe would be much more over the top and kinda silly. Space orcs and elves fighting among super advanced fish people and space terminator Egyptians just doesn't work without some common ground. I think Imperial guard put the Grim in Grim dark.

I like Guardsmen because they are human. They are outmatched by almost all foes, get horribly beaten up and still strive on, without the humongous physical and psychological advantages of their Marine friends. And if they eventually pull through and win, with nothing but numbers and honest human spirit, I like them.

I am fine with Guardsmen beating the odds, but the issue is when it becomes expected. Normal human heroism is not as cool when it is no surprise. When a commissar cuts down enemy Astartes left, right and centre (I AM LOOKING AT YOU, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) I tend to yawn and move on. An Ollanius Pius-esque story, on the other hand, that is good.

I suppose I just have different tastes in Guard. Some seem to like them to the point that they discredit Astartes of being important at all. I... I just happen to prefer the cardboard armoured flashlight armed balls of adamantium Guardsman to the cocky 'Who cares if that Plasma-armed Marine is coming? I have a Plasma too!' Guardsman.

Just my two small coins.

And they do have more roles than that. 40K would not seem so over-the-top without some normal weak humans, so that everything else can have something to compare themselves to.

They have a fantastic forgeworld line which definitely draws in a lot of veteran players.

Lentils wrote:
I love the idea of trying to get into the mindset of a guardsman. With space marines it's kind of fun pretending to be a god of war but think about the average routine of a space marine, you pray, train repeat until an engagement, sit in your drop pod, land and rain bolter shells into all the terrified whatever-your-fighting and maybe die. If you live you just repeat that for a century.

But if you are a guardsman, you are raised by your family living a normal life until you get that letter in the mail with an aquila stamped on it. You have been drafted into the Imperial guard. Live or die you will never see your family or even your home world again. Your rights are striped from you, you become a number, a weapon and your one purpose is to die fighting the enemies of the imperium. If you even manage to survive basic training and traversing the warp you find your self plummeting towards a hostel world at max velocity where you will likely not survive your first hour.

You can imagine yourself holding your lasgun praying to the emperor as artillery fire pounds all around you as your commissar and priest walk down your lines as you wait for the order to break cover of your trench to run towards your certain death. Or watching in pure terror as a living tide of claws and chitin is devouring your forward lines getting ever closer, or hearing the bellowing waaaaagh of thousands of guttural voices as they sprint towards you, waiting for them to get into firing range.

The list goes on and on. It really adds character to every model and that you can really put yourself on the table! Just one scared human in a world of monsters. I think if Imperial guard were never included the 40k universe would be much more over the top and kinda silly. Space orcs and elves fighting among super advanced fish people and space terminator Egyptians just doesn't work without some common ground. I think Imperial guard put the Grim in Grim dark.

Some one read FIFTEEN HOURS eh?

The tenacity alone draws me.

In a universe full of Rampaging, pillaging, murdering super humans (and then, ya know, their evil twins), 50 foot tall insect aliens. 3.5 ft. tall aliens with tech you can only dream about. Space elves, Evil space elves.

Not to mention one false move or thought or comment, and your commanding officer is likely to put a bullet in the back of your brain.


Oh and you're armed with the equivalent of a flashlight (yes i know the fluff makes lasguns sound mean, but really, it's a goddamn flashlight).

Takes some real tenacity, which makes them cool.


Also, armies of mostly tanks. What's not to like ?


The entirety of the Death Korps of Krieg - from models to fluff - is superb.

Thanks guys for clearing that up for me. I guess people wanting to relate to the IG in a world of aliens is a strong motive for wanting to play them. But for me I like to play futuristic games such as WH40K to get away from human perspective and have the freedom to play as many different races such as Orkz and Eldar.

Putting IG in power armour was a silly idea now that you guys have said what you said and I agree with your opinions on the fluff, gameplay, models and TAHNKS!

I like guard for several reasons, mainly because they are people. like you and me!

They make a good force to game with because they are so flexibe. You can field a huge army, or you can do a really tough tank army, or you can do super elite combat ogryns and storm trooper armies. They g=have alot of different units for variation and painting fun.

As for the in diagesis beckground, remeber there are supposed to be 1000 chapters of 1000 marines, so 1 million marines. THATS IT! For the whole galaxy.

Consider that there are 8.8 million people in Mexico city. So while in the "fluff" a marine would be able to kill 8 humans, in game 1 marine assaulted by 8 humans would not last 1 round of combat.

So lets see 1million marines take over a planet. I think not.

I would add: because of the sheer number of models. The average number of models in IG armies I have faced has got to be 80+.

 techsoldaten wrote:
I would add: because of the sheer number of models. The average number of models in IG armies I have faced has got to be 80+.

Damn right!

Those platoons are badass. A single 1750 point army could take years to complete, so a modelling perspective kicks in too

 techsoldaten wrote:
I would add: because of the sheer number of models. The average number of models in IG armies I have faced has got to be 80+.

You should play me, then. A typical 2000 point army for my has ~11 models.

 Haight wrote:
Also, armies of mostly tanks. What's not to like ?

My average Guard list has no more than 3 tanks or so. Sometimes I run no tanks and 200+ Guardsmen. What I like about the Guard is that regular humans can fight against extragalactic space monsters and literal daemons from hell and win. I like the idea that, as weak as a single human is, Humanity as a whole can be the thing that bumps in the night.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
You should play me, then. A typical 2000 point army for my has ~11 models.

I would love to play a list like that with one of my all infantry lists.

Like most stated, the Guard is just regular guys/gals dumped in a ship, shipped to the other side of the Imperium and told to do fight for the Emperor and allow the Imperium to go on for another day. They got the heaviest machines around, and their tactics is..really anything. Savages from a feral world fighting close quarters besides gangers from a hive world doing hit and runs and farmers from an agri-world digging a trench system to hold the onslaught all the while having the Industrial world artillery Regiment bombing the foul Rebels/Traitors/Xenos/whatever into dust.

Also, I got into 40k with playing DoW, mostly Winter Assault. General Sturnn simply has more style, grit and personality than the SM commander in the original game (Sturnn evens beats the other 2 IG commanders in the following game IMO). He was driven by what the mission/his duty required him to do, but at the same time he wasn't a "send in the next wave, FOR DA EMPRAH" kind of leader. His cynical nature allowed him to keep a critical thinking.

I also like the "romanced" concept of commanders leading from the front and by example, and while space marines are known to do that, they're just warrior monks who doesn't do anything eldse and know nothing about being human anymore, while the Guard is all about Humanity.

Inquisitor Jex wrote:
Like most stated, the Guard is just regular guys/gals dumped in a ship, shipped to the other side of the Imperium and told to do fight for the Emperor and allow the Imperium to go on for another day. They got the heaviest machines around, and their tactics is..really anything. Savages from a feral world fighting close quarters besides gangers from a hive world doing hit and runs and farmers from an agri-world digging a trench system to hold the onslaught all the while having the Industrial world artillery Regiment bombing the foul Rebels/Traitors/Xenos/whatever into dust.

Also, I got into 40k with playing DoW, mostly Winter Assault. General Sturnn simply has more style, grit and personality than the SM commander in the original game (Sturnn evens beats the other 2 IG commanders in the following game IMO). He was driven by what the mission/his duty required him to do, but at the same time he wasn't a "send in the next wave, FOR DA EMPRAH" kind of leader. His cynical nature allowed him to keep a critical thinking.

I also like the "romanced" concept of commanders leading from the front and by example, and while space marines are known to do that, they're just warrior monks who doesn't do anything eldse and know nothing about being human anymore, while the Guard is all about Humanity.

Well said, good man!

Exalted

IG. Whats not to like!

I have always had at least one squad of IG at one point or another in my life. Now I have Steel Legion. Its quite simply the fact that they are vanilla humans. Plus, they have lots of tanks, I have wheeled converstions for the Chimeras, and they have lots of cool looking planes. I also feel that earth colored Space Marines don't look right. Thats why I have Imperial Fists. But the guard I can bring out the tans, browns, and flat greens. I have also always loved the way Sentinels look, so I have a few of them.

What everyone has said so far about being able to relate to them most easily.


And one other important point. They put all the other armies in perspective. It's easy to get caught up with Space Marines power armour and 100ft tall monstrous creatures that could eat entire towns. IG puts all the death and destruction in context of actual humans, and give you something to measure the power of the super-humans against.

But I dont play them because I can relate most easily to IG. I would play Dark Eldar if this was the case...

I like big tanks and I cannot lie?

When a tank rolls in and puts its barrel in your face you get....BOOOM!

The FW tanks really do add a LOT to the IG on the board too. Adding in those heavy weapon platforms on defensive boards just makes the game FEEL so much more like an actual 40k battle as opposed to the 'two armies meet, round 1...fight!'.

 Melissia wrote:
I like big tanks and I cannot lie?

Exalted!



"I like big TANKS and I can not lie
You BATTUL brothers can't deny!"

Now we need to make the whole song

I like Imperial Guard because they are the every man. They're not super brave or pious or even well armed. They're essentially just regular joes thrown into a situation that would induce pants sh@#ing horror in normal men and some rise above that fear to succeed in their mission.

I like nothing more than when my guard out fight eight foot tall gods of war in power armor.

Tanks, unit variety, and general army style/appearance. That 's why I like them, at any rate.

They were a very good army in 5th , so people liked them . then they started to suck in 6th , but escalation and supplements and getting ally with updated codex helped them a lot . They are also the best army to play , if ones play circle is ok with counts as and tailoring . No other army in the game cant ailor like IG.