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Introduction

I am a long time foot guard player and when the new Mont’ka formations I was given hope, espically regarding the Emperors Shield Infantry Company. A new imperial guard formation that is focuses on infantry? Sounds too good to be true.



Formation Breakdown

For those of you who are not familiar with formation the overall requirements are:
• 2x Company Command Squad (1 for the Battle Group, 1 for the formation)
• 3x Platoons: each MUST have 1x Platoon Command Squad and 5x Infantry Squads minimum (but you can take all the other options from a platoon on top of this e.g. Conscripts, HWS etc) and no one can take dedicated transports.
• 3x Sentinel units (armoured or scout)

In total you have to take 180 infantry and 3 sentinels. Now for many IG players this will be a too many men to even consider, but for me it was perfect (I have over 300 infantry... don’t judge me please I am lonely).

The bonuses for the formation are (including the ones for taking a Cadian Battlegroup):
• 24” bubble for order from Senior Officers.
• 3x Orders per Senior Officer.
• Punishing Fusillade: take one Ld test for First Rank Fire Second Rank fire are apply it to as many units as you want within order range.
• Reroll 1s to hit with lasguns.
• Move through cover if within 9” of a Sentinel.
• Special order for junior officers – Fire and Advance = counts as being stationary for shooting even if the unit has moved.

The bonuses clearly focus on you being able to move forward with you Infantry and put out a rolling wave of firepower. This is a huge bonus for pure infantry guard lists as it finally adds in some much needed manoeuvrability and also gives us a more firepower (which is needed without the heavy tanks of the guard available). Also with orders going so many order coming from you Senior offices and them being super reliable (meaning no need to pay for Voxs anymore) your men have elder levels of trickery!

I rushed to the internet to see what the general thoughts were and to my dismay I saw page after page of people saying the new formations were average or worse, that on paper they did not stack up Vs other armies out there. Most of the opinions were based on theory and not many people had actually had the chance play with the formations.



Potential List

My list for this formation is below, and I have to say it is has been tearing up the local meta:

1500 Points Warlords Team Tournament List

Cadian Battle Group Detachment

Battle Group Command:
Company Command Squad (105): Officer and 4 Veterans, Lascannon ,2x Sniper Rifles,, Master of Ordnance. Officer has Bolt Pistol.

Emperor's Shield Infantry Company:
Company Command Squad (85): Officer and 4 Veterans, Lascannon, 2x Sniper Rifles. Officer has a Bolt Pistol.

Platoon 1-
Platoon Command Squad (35): Officer and 4 Guardsmen, Mortar.
Infantry Squad (65): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (65): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (65): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (65): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (55): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Flamer.
Sentinel (35) with Multi-laser.
Platoon 2-
Platoon Command Squad (35): Officer and 4 Guardsmen, Mortar.
Infantry Squad (70): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (70): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (70): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (55): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Flamer.
Infantry Squad (55): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Flamer.
Sentinel (35) with Multi-laser.

Platoon 3-
Platoon Command Squad (35): Officer and 4 Guardsmen, Mortar.
Infantry Squad (75): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Lascannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (75): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Lascannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (75): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Lascannon, Grenade Launcher.
Infantry Squad (55): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Flamer.
Infantry Squad (55): Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Flamer.
Sentinel (35) with Multi-laser.

No Force Org
Commissar (40): Commissar with Power Axe.
Commissar (40): Commissar with Power Axe.
Commissar (Warlord) (50): Commissar with Power Fist.

So the general thinking behind this army was to play to the strength of the formation. The 5x flamer squads are speed bumps and are kept as individual units, each one put out a surprising amount of firepower as they will be almost guaranteed to be getting FRFSRF from Punishing Fusillade. The blobs will receive orders and focus down the big targets along with the CCS. I even had a few points left over for a few fun upgrades on the Commissars and Senior Officers!



Table top performance

Regardless of the negativity on the internet about the formation, I decided to purchase the new book and take the new formation out for a spin.

First game was Kill Points against Blood Angels with a nasty death star style unit in the form of a huge mob of Sang Guard led by Dante and a Sang Priest.
The game was a massacre for the Blood Angels. Advancing forwards, firing wave after wave of Lasgun shots against the Blood-star, the Sons of Sangunius were cut down. Even the arrival of 3 squads in drop pods was not enough to save them.

What really stood out was the how well all the bonuses of the formation gelled together. The ability to issue first rank fire across the army and the re roll 1s to hit with Lasguns meant that I was putting down at least double the wounds from my small arms fire. Having such a surplus on orders and them being more reliable meant that every squad in the army was receiving some kind of buff every turn, and unlike psykic powers my opponent could do nothing to stop them.

In summary: it was like a new life had been breathed into my army, the one I had been collecting for 10 years!

My second game was The Relic, again against Blood Angels again (different player). His list contained a lot of armour. Land Raider Redeemer a pair Baal Preds meant that he had a lot of anti infantry. My Lascannon and Missile Blobs had their work cut out for them. Going into this game I thought I would struggle.
My opponent had 1st turn and my fears were soon confirmed as his Dakka Baals unloaded onto my speed bump squads, wiping one squad and tearing up another. However, in my turn I simply issued Bring it Down on all my blobs and both my company command squads. 5 Lascannons, 3 Missiles, 4 autocannons and a couple of cheeky grenade launcher which had side armour view, all with Tank Hunter easily turned both Baals into flaming wrecks! I even had enough orders left between the company command squad and Platoon squads to successfully issue Move Move Move on the speed bump squads send them all at the Relic.

Without going into a turn by turn report, I spent the rest of the game flooding the Relic with bodies and lasgunning to death any infantry that was sent to claim it, and again thanks to copious use of Bring it Down his redeemer was not an issue after turn 3.

What really stood out here was how many orders I had! I had so much tank hunter available that normally a list I would struggle with was easily rent asunder. It made up for IGs classic bad ballistic skill because as long as I hit, I was almost guaranteed to do damage.

My final test game was against White Scars with Chaos allies. His list was lots of small bike squads and then 3 Helldrakes as his Chaos Allies.
We played Maelstrom: Cloak and Shadows. Unfortunately, we only had an hour and a half to play so we only got to an even turn 3. My opponent technically won this game 9 points to 7. However, by the end of my turn 3 shooting phase he had 3-4 bikes left (out of a starting 20ish) and 2 Heldrakes, and I still had over 100 Infantry left, So I like to think that it was more of a draw.

Once again the combination of so many orders and formation bonuses really stood out. I issued Fire on my target on my Lascannons and Missiles everyturn and it took those bikes down from a 3+ jink to a dead Also his chapter master died in a hail of almost 150 lasgun shots on turn 2!



Summary

So after taking this formation out for 3 test games would I recommend it? Yes, but with a condition.

The formation takes footguard from being an uncoordinated mess with a trickle of firepower, to and well drilled machine that can put out a hail of small arms fire that even Orks would be impressed! With so many orders mobility issues are reduced as an officer can simple order a unit to Move and almost guarantee a good run move. Lasguns go from being a joke to a genuine threat and I can honestly say that were the work horse weapon in all the games, consistently chipping off the last wound from a tough squad or just hosing down an enemy.

However, the only issue I would say is the lack of obsec. I only noticed it once or twice in all 3 games, but it was at critical times moments so it stuck in my head. But overall the benefits from the formation and battle group make up for it.

Overall I would say the formation is perfect for fluffy play and it even has the capability to more than hold its own in a tournament environment. It’s not going to walk all over Eldar, but I found it was more than capable to standing up SM, which is widely considered to be the 2nd best tournament codex these days.

Nice to see plastic being pushed around to test things. rather then pure theroyhammer.

It seems like you had fun, did your opponents? How long were those games? One thing about horde armies is the sheer mechanics involved in playing them, moving, rolling, etc. And the new guard formations really double down on the horde nature of the foot guard list.

BA are not SM.

As much as I want to like foot guard, there's just too many things that they can't realistically hurt. Great to hear you're having a bit of a run with them though and more importantly, having fun!

Would be very keen on seeing you face off against some more competative armies though (gladius, decuricrons, tau etc) and hearing how you fare there.

IIRC you can't get No Force Org with this detachment. So, no comissars, priests and prymaris psychers.

The only way is to ally in CAD or psycana division for a comissar.

Okay. You beat BA. Everyone can do that, the BA codex is just sad. It is one of the weakest codices.
Then you lost (or okay, had a draw) against SM. All in all, that does not say much about how good this formation is or isn't.

It is nice to see that foot guard has been improved, and from the looks of it, this formation is great for fluffy games, but there is just too much things in the game that a foot guard list will never be able to hurt.

The games lasted just under 2 and a half hours. I have been playing with a horde army for long enough that I have pretty speedy with movement. I just plan 2 turns ahead so I know who I am gonna do straight away :p

I have got a couple more games planned for this weekend and they should be against more competitive armies. 1 gladius and 1 need flying tyrant list. I will update on how they go.

Commissar are definitely allowed. Priests and primaris are not allowed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes they were against a bad dex but both players are veterans with a decade of experience under there belts each. Also it was my first time using the formation so I had no idea of its capabilities the first couple of games.

I think a better way to look at the games is to review the types of armies I faced:

1st game was against a drop heavy army with 5 pods in total and a tough death star- lite. I was able to absorb the alpha Stoke and counter attack across all fronts.

Second game was against a armoured list with 5 tanks in it.

And the last game was against a flyer heavy list.

As I said in the review, the formation can hold its own. I don't think it would win many games in a super competitive environment but it could definitely give them a bloody nose

 FatBoyNoSlim wrote:

I rushed to the internet to see what the general thoughts were and to my dismay I saw page after page of people saying the new formations were average or worse, that on paper they did not stack up Vs other armies out there. Most of the opinions were based on theory and not many people had actually had the chance play with the formations.

The reason that there was so much of people saying the new formations were "average or worse" is because of the requirements.

Bare minimum for an Emperor's Shield Infantry Company, you're looking at over 1k for a single Core choice. Add in the mandatory Command choice and it makes it clear that this is a VERY unwieldy Detachment to utilize in an edition of high ROF weapons with AP4 at least and Ignores Cover on demand for quite a few armies. Add in the obscene number of models you have to take(remember, Guard Squads aren't variable unless they're Stormtroopers, Ogryn, or Ratlings or Conscript Squads) and it rapidly pigeonholes you into playing fluff games rather than playing "serious" because so many of your points are taken up from the get-go.

I think this formation is good in that helps boost guard infantry and puts them into the "barely competitive range", which is nice.

That being said, I still see this falling over against the stronger armies out there. If the benefits of the re-rolls applied to all weapons, this formation would go from "average" to "good".


Edit; Years of playing doesn't equate to skill at playing. It helps, sure, but 40k isn't a deep enough game that it takes a decade to master.
I've seen BRs on here from people who have been playing for years that have them, or their opponents who have similar levels of experience, making huge tactical errors over and over again. It's why people ask for BRs and lists when discussing what a game actually proves.

On the bright side, it is a bit counter meta. Most lists are designed to take down GMCs and superheavies. Grav guns are not going to do a lot to guardsman bob and his T-shirt.

Not saying it’s going to be top-table, but there are some perks to going horde.

 Nevelon wrote:
On the bright side, it is a bit counter meta. Most lists are designed to take down GMCs and superheavies. Grav guns are not going to do a lot to guardsman bob and his T-shirt.

Not saying it’s going to be top-table, but there are some perks to going horde.

It's anti meta in regards to grav weapons sure (which is about 1/4th of the top armies, to be fair).
Scatbikes still do well against it, easily able to stay out of range of the lasguns while throwing ID weapons downfield.
Tau do well against it, able to put str 5, markerlights, and large blast weapons downfield.
Necrons do well against it, since RP 4++ makes them very tough against lasguns and the wraiths love seeing so many weak troops.

I'm not saying it's awful, but it's not anti meta so much as it is anti grav, which is a part of the meta but doesn't define it.

 FatBoyNoSlim wrote:
As I said in the review, the formation can hold its own. I don't think it would win many games in a super competitive environment but it could definitely give them a bloody nose

Which is why people say it's not good (in combination with having to take 180 models that no-one wants for bonuses to models that don't matter and costs over half your points), because it isn't something that can realistically get a win against tournament quality level armies.

I still look forward to seeing how the camo green tide does though.

Sounds right proppa, as a green tide enthusiast I approve of your use of manly hordes of green army men. It's also nice to see a guard list not based around vets or artillery. Would be great to see it go against a green tide list, a long game for sure but the back and forth would be amazing.

I'm glad to see someone with actual play experience using the formation. I love infantry guard (I play Catachans) and have used this formation once against Tau. Sadly it was not a victory, however I was not tabled so it was a vast improvement over my usual games against them. I did enjoy the formation and and felt the bonuses really mesh well with each other. Lots of cool synergy within the formation.

As for the huge model count, as long as you're well practiced and plan ahead, it really does not take that long to move. You will rarely ever have multiple turns where you have to move every single model.

Is it a good formation? That depends on if you enjoyed playing it. It sounds like you did so its a good 'un. Is it 'competitive'? Maybe not (depends on your meta). Sadly most of the chatter on forums comes from the minority of players that attend tournaments regularly. They who have decreed the formation must be 'bad' thanks to copious amount of Theoryhammer and a generous echo chamber.

 FatBoyNoSlim wrote:
As I said in the review, the formation can hold its own. I don't think it would win many games in a super competitive environment but it could definitely give them a bloody nose

Against bottom tier armies, sure, it's OK. Thing is, all either of those BA players had to do was bring a couple Knights to the board, and they'd have done dramatically better. That's the real issue with the ESIC not being "good".

Thanks to everyone who has read the review and replied to it. I will try and address all of the points raised here with the experience I have got from the formation.

Bare minimum for an Emperor's Shield Infantry Company, you're looking at over 1k for a single Core choice. Add in the mandatory Command choice and it makes it clear that this is a VERY unwieldy Detachment to utilize in an edition of high ROF weapons with AP4 at least and Ignores Cover on demand for quite a few armies. Add in the obscene number of models you have to take(remember, Guard Squads aren't variable unless they're Stormtroopers, Ogryn, or Ratlings or Conscript Squads) and it rapidly pigeonholes you into playing fluff games rather than playing "serious" because so many of your points are taken up from the get-go.

The formation does a great job of representing how the guard fight! They are a blunt instrument, unwieldy as you said. It also makes those basis Infantry Squads a viable choice again, way above Stormtroopers etc. Trust me when I say that anything in your opponents army can be wounded by lasguns, then it will die to this formation very quickly. 50points for a unit that will be putting out 19-27 shots a turn with preferred enemy-lite is a very viable unit, there is not much else in the whole of 40k that can match that value for points.

I think this formation is good in that helps boost guard infantry and puts them into the "barely competitive range", which is nice.

That being said, I still see this falling over against the stronger armies out there. If the benefits of the re-rolls applied to all weapons, this formation would go from "average" to "good".

I agree with everything said here. The formation makes Pure IG remotely viable in a tournament again, you can go into every game at an event knowing that you wont just roll over and die.

Edit; Years of playing doesn't equate to skill at playing. It helps, sure, but 40k isn't a deep enough game that it takes a decade to master.
I've seen BRs on here from people who have been playing for years that have them, or their opponents who have similar levels of experience, making huge tactical errors over and over again. It's why people ask for BRs and lists when discussing what a game actually proves.

Sorry should have said that they both do national tournaments regularly, 1 of them is my brother who won Best BA General Caladonion Uprising a couple of years ago If I can get a pic of his medal to verify I will

On the bright side, it is a bit counter meta. Most lists are designed to take down GMCs and superheavies. Grav guns are not going to do a lot to guardsman bob and his T-shirt.

Not saying it’s going to be top-table, but there are some perks to going horde.

This was true in my 3rd game, 150 points of biker grav wasted! Having so many men means that marines relying on bolters are not gonna do enough wounds to shift you.

It's anti meta in regards to grav weapons sure (which is about 1/4th of the top armies, to be fair).
Scatbikes still do well against it, easily able to stay out of range of the lasguns while throwing ID weapons downfield.
Tau do well against it, able to put str 5, markerlights, and large blast weapons downfield.
Necrons do well against it, since RP 4++ makes them very tough against lasguns and the wraiths love seeing so many weak troops.

I'm not saying it's awful, but it's not anti meta so much as it is anti grav, which is a part of the meta but doesn't define it.

All true, but then again Eldar, Tau and Necrons will rip apart most things they face with ease so its not a Formation specific problem

I still look forward to seeing how the camo green tide does though

Sorry to disappoint but I have Mordian Iron Guard, its more of a smart well dressed tide!

I'm glad to see someone with actual play experience using the formation. I love infantry guard (I play Catachans) and have used this formation once against Tau. Sadly it was not a victory, however I was not tabled so it was a vast improvement over my usual games against them. I did enjoy the formation and and felt the bonuses really mesh well with each other. Lots of cool synergy within the formation. As for the huge model count, as long as you're well practiced and plan ahead, it really does not take that long to move. You will rarely ever have multiple turns where you have to move every single model. Is it a good formation? That depends on if you enjoyed playing it. It sounds like you did so its a good 'un. Is it 'competitive'? Maybe not (depends on your meta). Sadly most of the chatter on forums comes from the minority of players that attend tournaments regularly. They who have decreed the formation must be 'bad' thanks to copious amount of Theoryhammer and a generous echo chamber.

Exactly, atleast it now it a close loss rather than a roll over and die when I use my Infantry!

Against bottom tier armies, sure, it's OK. Thing is, all either of those BA players had to do was bring a couple Knights to the board, and they'd have done dramatically better. That's the real issue with the ESIC not being "good".

Yes and no.

Against my thrown together army Knights would do well, but it would be a simple case of dropping the "fun" equipment I brought (power weapons, MoO etc) and one could easily save around 100-150 points. Thats enough to easily give every squad a ML or LC. Thats 20 Anti Tank Weapons all with Bring it Down on them.

Thank you for the review. The new formations seem decent enough, it's just that the number of models I would need to buy to field it is putting me off (I would need to buy 100 more Guardsmen to field that infantry company, along with 3 sentinels)

 FatBoyNoSlim wrote:
Thanks to everyone who has read the review and replied to it. I will try and address all of the points raised here with the experience I have got from the formation.

Bare minimum for an Emperor's Shield Infantry Company, you're looking at over 1k for a single Core choice. Add in the mandatory Command choice and it makes it clear that this is a VERY unwieldy Detachment to utilize in an edition of high ROF weapons with AP4 at least and Ignores Cover on demand for quite a few armies. Add in the obscene number of models you have to take(remember, Guard Squads aren't variable unless they're Stormtroopers, Ogryn, or Ratlings or Conscript Squads) and it rapidly pigeonholes you into playing fluff games rather than playing "serious" because so many of your points are taken up from the get-go.

The formation does a great job of representing how the guard fight! They are a blunt instrument, unwieldy as you said. It also makes those basis Infantry Squads a viable choice again, way above Stormtroopers etc. Trust me when I say that anything in your opponents army can be wounded by lasguns, then it will die to this formation very quickly. 50points for a unit that will be putting out 19-27 shots a turn with preferred enemy-lite is a very viable unit, there is not much else in the whole of 40k that can match that value for points.

And trust me when I say that I've played this Formation as well. It doesn't really make "Infantry Squads a viable choice again, way above Stormtroopers". Stormtroopers are already considered subpar options when looked at in the perspective of 40k in general. The fact that they are competing with Bullgryn, Ogryn, and Ratlings means that they come out looking like Wraithknights in the Guard Codex.

There's a reason why Guard are considered a subpar book right now, and it wasn't because of the fact that the "Infantry Squads weren't viable". It's a book that has not kept up with the times and is still basically priced according to the 3rd edition mentality. It's a book where armor and infantry are supposed to work in concert, but there is no real viable way to do that because armor is made of tissue paper this edition.

When I say that the Infantry Company is unwieldy, I'm not meaning it in the sense you seem to be thinking of. It's unwieldy because you're forced to commit 100+ models for a Core choice. 100+ models for a CORE CHOICE is absolutely asinine from a design perspective. The Infantry Platoon should not have been mandating "Infantry Squads" but instead should have been "Squads with the Infantry Unit Type", making it a far more manageable formation to achieve.

I still don't like it as there's no option for Yarrick without allies. Foot guard dying in droves without Yarrick? HERESY!

 koooaei wrote:
I still don't like it as there's no option for Yarikk without allies. Foot guard dying in droves without Yarrikk? HERESY!

Why would Yarrick be in a Cadian Detachment?

He's anywhere foot guards are dying in droves.

 koooaei wrote:
He's anywhere foot guards are dying in droves.

You do understand that this is a CADIAN DETACHMENT that requires the ESIC as Core, and that it only allows CADIAN CHARACTERS to be taken as part of it yeah?

If you want to field Yarrick with it, then run the ESIC by itself as a Formation and bring Yarrick as part of a CAD. Not sure why anyone would want to field him though, captured twice and a Commissar to boot.

I run a similar list.....

Battle Group Command:
Company Command Squad : Officer 2 flamethrowers 1 medic 1 with the standard of the lost 113th, Master of Ordnance.

Emperor's Shield Infantry Company:
Company Command Squad : Officer and 4 Veterans, 1 autocannon, 2 snipers, Master of ordinance

Platoon 1-
Platoon Command Squad:Officer 1 autocannon 2 snipers.
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon
Sentinel with Autocannon

Platoon 2-
Platoon Command Squad:Officer 1 autocannon 2 snipers.
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon,
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, Autocannon
Sentinel with Autocannon

Platoon 3-
Platoon Command Squad:Officer 1 autocannon 2 snipers.
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Sentinel with Autocannon

Platoon 4-
Platoon Command Squad:Officer 1 autocannon 2 snipers.
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Infantry Squad : Sgt and 9 Guardsmen, flamethrower
Sentinel with Autocannon

So the battle command group gets to a middle spot where it can drop the standard and become fearless to road block control of my back field objectives. 1st platoon blob goes right second blob goes left gets into the fearless bubble and pick off armor/ big items with the platoon command squads located so they can order and fire. 3rd and 4th go 2 20 man squads to the other objectives with the last 10 man squads of both platoons on the rear objectives.

Frontline gaming has been exploring this formation and its definitely better than people give it credit for. I think people just got mad it needed so many models despite that being a fluffy IG army and an effective one.

I don't think they're top tier, but I do think it gives IG a presence in mid tier to anyone man enough to field it.

I wish my cousin would use the formation so i could take my new Tau out for a spin instead of simply having to continuously take cads and not get to use anything fun I have.

 Gamgee wrote:
Frontline gaming has been exploring this formation and its definitely better than people give it credit for. I think people just got mad it needed so many models despite that being a fluffy IG army and an effective one.

NOBODY IS SAYING THAT THE FORMATION IS NOT GOOD OR THAT IT DOES NOT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE FLUFFY OR EFFECTIVE OR FUN.

Get this through your friggin' head. The reason why "people are mad that it needed so many models" is that it is a VERY restrictive list when you bring this as a Core choice unless you're running a fairly high points game from the simple fact that it mandates you take 15 Infantry Squads. If the Infantry Platoons had a bit of flexibility allowing you to add HWS/SWS as part of the mandatory requirement then the reception would be a heck of a lot different.

I don't think they're top tier, but I do think it gives IG a presence in mid tier to anyone man enough to field it.

To anyone "man enough to field it"? What a ludicrous statement to make.

You hear that Guard players? You're just wimps for not wanting to run a formation that requires 1065 points for 175 infantry models(2x Company Command Squads(5 models each), 3x Platoon Command Squads(5 models each), 15 Infantry Squads(10 models each)) and 3 Scout Sentinels as a minimum choice with no upgrades anywhere.

It would be like if your Hunter Contingent required you to take 15 full Kroot Carnivore Squads of 20 models with 3x Krootox Riders, 10 Kroot Hounds, and a Shaper as a Core choice.

I wish my cousin would use the formation so i could take my new Tau out for a spin instead of simply having to continuously take cads and not get to use anything fun I have.

So you somehow think that this formation makes them good enough to take on "new" Tau with all your toys and crap from the formations?

Unless you do Fire Warriors only, yeah, it's going to be no different than you bringing tourney style CADs against him: IG are not really going to be winning with these formations except against Orks, Tyranids, BA, and the other "lower tier" lists or fluff lists from the power books(ex: Ranger/Guardian heavy Eldar with Illic and built solely around the idea of Alaitoc).

 Gamgee wrote:
Frontline gaming has been exploring this formation and its definitely better than people give it credit for. I think people just got mad it needed so many models despite that being a fluffy IG army and an effective one.

I don't think they're top tier, but I do think it gives IG a presence in mid tier to anyone man enough to field it.

I wish my cousin would use the formation so i could take my new Tau out for a spin instead of simply having to continuously take cads and not get to use anything fun I have.

Ahahahaha NO

This formation is utterly crap for what you get out of it and requires masses of points to be dedicated to a purely Infantry list. Whats more it lacks any form of AT firepower until you start purchasing extra units and expensive weapon upgrades which means that this list can be invalidated by the fielding of a single tank. It also suffers from dying in droves to blasts and amassed firepower from anything.
Even worse so its actual damage output is, for what you are paying, terrible. Those Lasguns are not being buffed in any major way and the lack of any upgrades is crippling.
What is more, you are having to put close to two hundred models on the table. Another bad idea.

The only way that I can see this formation being effective is at boring your opponent to death in the movement phase.

When do you ever see tanks though? No one takes tanks anymore. And monstrous creatures can be tar pitted.

 Gamgee wrote:
When do you ever see tanks though? No one takes tanks anymore. And monstrous creatures can be tar pitted.

Most armies. Even transports are immune to this formation.

Transports are frail enough to be popped by your anti tank though.

 Gamgee wrote:
Transports are frail enough to be popped by your anti tank though.

What anti tank? Remember that this is a 1065 point list of nothing but infantry

Oh your only taking the base formation and no auxiliary? Yea your fethed. I mean come now. The real meat and potatoes is the auxiliaries the psykana division being very potent. At smaller point games its not viable but so are many of the super formations. I wouldn't expect any list or army to win if it only fielded basic infantry from any faction.