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So Ive played Warmachine and Hordes for 2 years now and Im finally jumping into 40k! A local guy made me a great offer on some old models he never used, and it just so happens that Imperial Guard is the army I had my eye on. Here is the list Im picking up on Sunday:

Imperial Guard:
40x Catachan Guardsmen
9x Ratlings
Leman Russ Tank
Lemun Russ Exterminator
Basilisk
2x Sentinels
2x Missile Launcher Teams
3x Autocannon Teams
1x Lascannon Team
an Inquisitor with a Plasma Pistol
a dozen troopers with assorted Meltaguns, Plasma Guns, Grenad Launchers, etc
A few Sergeants and Lieutenants

What Im looking to do is build a very thematic army, but I have limited knowledge about the fluff. Aside from the codex (which i have on order) what books would you suggest I read to make my army my own? Ive been reading black library books since high school and loved them, but never picked up an Imp. guard one.

Also, what models are needed to make this a decent starter list?

Thanks all, Im super excited to really dig into the game!

Fifteen Hours should put you in the right sort of mood. And not so heavily themed that it doesn't apply to Guardsmen across the board. A problem you'll find is that a lot of books deal with a specific army, for instance the Vostroyan Firstborn who can be compared to Russian soldiers. They have specific models that I can almost guarantee aren't the ones you picked up.

Finding an Imperial Guard omnibus or even better, a short story compendium is the best way to go. Many flavors in smaller bites but I can not remember the name of any of them...

That list of models should do you well for a little while but you are going to need Chimeras as you move forward. I see atleast room for four if you like mechanized heavy lists, and another Leman Russ tank to form a Command Squad from them using Pask. Grab some HQ of some kind and you'll be set for as long as it takes you to learn the game during lower point games.

The Inquisitor with Plasma is from a separate codex so I'd hold off doing anything with him unless you can get the rules. They give access to a different set of rules for a Chimera and a lot of very interesting units.

You need some air power looks like rest is there all ready.

Catachan guyz are jungle fighters. And they prefer diversions and lightning strikes. Means they'd rather have a sentinel rather than a leman russ.

However, fluff's there not to dictate you what to take and what to do but to add something special to your games. A backstory.

Thus, noone restricts you from running catachan jungle fighters with a bunch of leman russes and a basilisk. Just make up your own fluff - it's the best part of it. For example, a Catachan Jungle Fighters detachment has been directed to a heavilly worn down regiment in dire situation to aid them. After the fight was over, imperial beurocracy forgot bout the guyz - so they're still there and as they have to move on, they've adapted to some other type of warfare other than they're used to. But still like their sentinels scouting from the bushes.

You've got all you need for a good starter. I'd probably add some bits to make more laz or autocannons out of missile launchers as they're quite mediocre atm.

And you can play around with different leman russ tanks. The main gunz are replacable. You could find the best option that fits you the most. Personally, i like a squadron of Punisher [Pask, Hull-mounted Lazcannon, Sponson-mounted Multimeltas] and Eradicator [Heavy bolters everywhere]. Pask is a beast especially in a punisher. Lots of infantry will help you out bauble wrapping the tank if needed if you're gona face some drop-pod melta guyz.

Ratlings are tricky. They're not there for actual killing. They're for taking objectives and going to ground as soon as someone looks in their direction. I'd take them as 3 squads of 3 or 2 squads of 5, just infiltrate somewhere on an objective in no man's land or even behind enemy lines to annoy the opponent. Could also utilise the outflank feature if you feel infiltrating them wouldn't be profitable. Yep, they might pull a wound or two. But the guyz are there for objective grabbing and distraction. Stick to cover and they'll be fine. Can also perform a shoot + run out of LOS stuff.

The big hole in the models you've got is the lack of any way to deal with airplanes; the Valkyrie and the Hydra are the easily-available plastics that will solve that problem.

As to a thematic list a hyper-fluff-accurate Catachan list would be almost entirely infantry and have to play on a board with very specific terrain rules (they had a White Dwarf Codex back in the day that was basically designed to play jungle games against Kroot and nothing else), you may have to make some sacrifices to play pick-up games effectively. That or make up your own regiment that doesn't have strict uniform regulations and uses armour and fights on more varied terrain.

I haven't read any Black Library books dealing with the Imperial Guard directly, but I have read plenty of books written by Dan Abnett and can assure you that he is hands-down the best Black Library writer and if you look into Gaunt's Ghosts you won't be disappointed.

If you've got Catachans, Death World is a good pick. It's the first 40k novel I read so I may just be nostalgic about it, but I remember it being good. 15 Hours is pretty alright too. One of the best ones I've read that deals heavily with IG is Storm of Iron. Technically that's a CSM book, but the CSM are fighting IG and so the IG get a lot of time as well. The Eisenhorn series deals a bit with IG. Even if it didn't, however, that series is, in my opinion the best that BL has to offer. Definitely a good read. I've not read Gaunt's Ghosts yet, but I've heard great things.

Here, use this link and some d10s to generate a random regiment. Even if the random regiment isnt exactly what you wanted, it is a good resource and a good exercise in finding out what kind of army you would like play, fluff-wise. Or you can just scroll through and pick-and choose the features you like.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Imperial_Guard_Regiment_Creation_Tables

The vaurious Imperial Armour books also have quite a lot of fluff regarding Astra Militarum. Not sure about Catachan spesifically, but google should help in that.

Start with This wiki link, and follow the imperial guard link, and then go to Catachan. That wiki is invaluable for getting a grasp on the fluff.

All the other advice so far has been great, I'd like to add something though.

Even though you have catachans, there is no requirement to paint them up and theme them as jungle fighters. They look and work perfectly fine in an urban
setting, like so: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/307448.page

Make your army whatever you please. Catachan models make for good irregular or veteran troops imo.

Really the only theme you can't do very well with catachan models is an ice world platoon.

 Big Blind Bill wrote:
All the other advice so far has been great, I'd like to add something though.


Really the only theme you can't do very well with catachan models is an ice world platoon.

I Lol'd. The advice so far seems pretty good. I would definitely look at picking up a Commisar and a Ministorum Priest, as those two models will be a huge boost to your infantry. I would also look at picking up a Wyvern, which is widely regarded as one of the best Imperial Guard models (it's great at killing pretty much any type of infantry, and can even wear down power armored foes over time).

If you are looking to pick a theme, you may also want to look at Imperial Armor IV: 2d Edition. The Elysians, who are an elite detachment of the Guard, are featured in that book. They also use a lot of Sentinels, and have some really cool tactics (such as Drop Sentinels). It's a forge world book, though, so it costs a bit. The Elysian fluff from that book is pretty cool too.

 Big Blind Bill wrote:
All the other advice so far has been great, I'd like to add something though.

Even though you have catachans, there is no requirement to paint them up and theme them as jungle fighters. They look and work perfectly fine in an urban
setting, like so: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/307448.page

Make your army whatever you please. Catachan models make for good irregular or veteran troops imo.

Really the only theme you can't do very well with catachan models is an ice world platoon.

Oddly enough... I was planning on painting them as a Valhallan Ice Guard, Paint them up in that grey, russian look. Makes sense really, if a people were that used to the cold and were called away to a planet with a more moderate tempature (Most other planets) they would be in light clothing as the temperature would be so warm to them.

Thanks for all the help guys! I was also given a Cadian COmmand squad, next I think I want to grab a Commisar and Ill be set for a while!