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basically, I want to make an Imperial Guard army, and I want to bring the artillery to the field - and I'm talking real artillery, not wyverns.

so does an army based around master of ordnance and basilisks work? in each detachment I can get 2 master of ordnance shots and 9 basilisk rounds, points for just that being around 1300, with need for 2 troops.

even so that's 3 lots of 3 S9 barrages and 2 individual barrages to direct at the enemy, more than enough to start putting some real hurt onto any list. the only issue is anti-air, so if we change one unit of basalisks to a unit of hydras, it becomes 1120 points, with decent anti air and still a load of templates to drop on the enemy.

does anyone play the bombardment game? does it work, or do the enemy generally get too close for it to be effective? are the imperial armour tanks like bombard siege mortars and the like a good addition? (I don't know their rules, seem to recall they have a larger-than-large blast...). is there any "Must Have" Equipment for the basalisks to optimise their efficiency?

Camo netting every where. Also Aegis defence lines and body wraping are your friends here.
Be advised that you will auto lose against Invisible targets. Also Invest in a Command Squad with a Curov's Aquilla for that "a 2+ to wound rerolling 1s" sweet spot.
Also I strongly suggest to look up the Heavy artillery Carriages from FW. As artillery they can have commisars and Psyckers attached to them and be the recipient of orders. Str 9 AP3 with Ignore Cover is a thing of beauty when facing Jinking things.

Cheap artillery! Cheap Infantry to support more guns (but give the infantry atleast an autocannon?).

Specifically, Wyverns are brutal. I would also suggest massed long-ranged weight-of-fire should also be considered alongside artillery, to support.