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Hi All!

I'm just getting back into the grim dark future after 10 years out. I actually love what's going on in the rules set. Good to be back!

To the point: I want to play air-mobile imperial guard. Lots of zoom and sort of elite.
Do guard do ok with relatively few heavy weapons? If I just took melta/plasma vets in chimeras, I'm afraid I'd lose out on blob combat power, orders, and flexibility in being able to dakka from far away.

Are chimeras mobile enough?

Are there combat options for the vets so they don't get bogged down? I'm thinking allied inquisitors.

Are vendettas necessary, or can I just get away with multilaser valks?

Taurox primes look cool. TL auto cannons and missile launchers is a lot of dakka, especially moving as far as they can.

Do I need to make room for servo-skulls and divination psykers?

I was excited to see that you can take valkyries and vendettas without having to go to IA. However, with the way reserves-auto lose works, it looks like you need to find work arounds. I've been told Elysians can do it, but that's a $75 buck book for...2 pages of rules? I dunno, if it was $5 for just the relevant bit I'd not hesitate.

The options now appear to be as follows:

-Blobs with veterans in chimeras

-Blobs with veterans in valkyries

-Blobs with scions in chimeras

-Blobs with scions in valkyries

-Veterans in Chimeras

-Scions in chimeras/tauroxes as Codex stormtroopers

Are there opinions on these? Blobs are good, I guess, but might lend themselves to getting ignored while the mobile elements get chopped up. The valkyries make this better because they survive better than chimeras, but with so few of them, I'm worried I'm going to be too fragile.

Thanks!

Astra Militarum are probably the least mobile army in the current game.
You could probably do well with vets in valkyries and vendettas. You're going to want those TL lascannons to take out vehicles. I would avoid deepstriking your valks/vendettas, in the amount of time you wait getting them from reserves, you can just fly across the table. Straken and Yarrick are still awesome HQ options.

Yeah, I know I'm not making the best of the guard's strengths!

Vets in valks is the goal, but I need to have something on the board at the start of the game. An infantry platoon?

Why do you think chimeras aren't good enough?

Like I said, your valks should probably be on the board at the start of the game.
As for Chimeras, I don't think that there's anything wrong with them, they're just slow. If you want a mobile guard army, you'll probably need to rely on the valks. Also, in my meta, nobody bothers to bring too much skyfire, YMMV.

Hmm, since they're fliers, don't they need to start in reserve?

Ether wrote:
Hmm, since they're fliers, don't they need to start in reserve?

Yup, must start in reserve, outside of placing one on a skyshield landing pad, but that's more expensive than it's worth.
I'm working on a drop pod IG list right now. Blood Angels allies gives me 6 pods to fill with anything I want, plus 2 units of 5 tacticals in pods. It's really cheap too.
It's the balance of the list that's giving me fits. I could add a 2nd BA formation for a total of 16 pods and rain down infantry like no other, or I could round out with some vendettas, wyverns and russes or possibly a pair of knights.


Commissar Lord
1 platoon (3 melta guns and heavy flamer)
2xinfantry squads (melta gun, krak grenades)
2x SWS, 3 demo charges
1 vet squad, 2 melta guns, 1 heavy flamer, demo charge and melta bombs.

3x10 Storm Troopers

BA Librarian
2x5 tacticals with heavy flamers in drop pods
6x fast attack drop pods

Knight Errant

1800 points.


-Matt

if you want a highly air mobile list FW makes a elyssian drop troops list. could take a look at that

Ether wrote:
Hmm, since they're fliers, don't they need to start in reserve?

You're right. I'll admit it's been a while since my guard have seen a tabletop.
The Elysian army list from FW is probably up your alley.

Thanks for the input all.

Quick question, are assassins durable enough to live through a turn of being the only model on the table? Vindicare seems pretty decent; he can go to ground with stealth for a +2 to his cover save, plus with infiltrate he can stay out of the way pretty well. The culexus is cool too; a nice anti-invisibility tool plus bs/ws 1 makes him hard to hit without blasts.

Elysian list from forge world is a lot more then just 2 pages. It's a separate codex, although you need the AM book for orders. It also has a bunch of campaigns, and alternative missions, etc, along with Tau stuff, if you're interested in them.

As to regular guard, I must admit to being somewhat in the dark. Our regular AM player uses a lot of platoons with Leman Russes, with only the 1 Vendetta occasionally. However, a few Veteran squads in Chimeras should provide enough ground force to last till turn 2, especially with some terrain. Just make sure you have some reserves manipulation.

I run blobs with a stromtrooper unit getting carried around in a valk. The multiple rocket pods are a must, try to magnaise the ML and lascannon though!

This combo is great against hordes for me, especially tyranids. If they bring heavy support or a MC then take a vendetta and combine it with heavy support (I use a basilisk but a LR is fine too).

I would also stick the command squad in the chimera as it's just another box they can protect them selfs with and also belt out orders from.