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So I've got this fairly decent-sized 30k militia army. I kind of fell in love with them for having strong infantry that wasn't Space Marines, and came closest to representing the kind of force I wanted to run (Human mercenaries with plenty of nice toys). However, I realize that this army is EXTREMELY fringe, tactically inflexible, and doesn't have very good rules support, as Forgeworld released their book riddled with typos that, if interpreted to their strictest and most literal writing, makes some parts of the army unplayable.

I guess that TLDR version is bringing it down to a list of things I'd like to get out of an army. As mentioned above, I want to play a force of mercenary humans; fluff-wise I'd justify this as being the personal army of a rogue trader or planetary governor, being sent off on vendettas and treasure hunts while also occasionally helping out the Imperium if it suits them. As such, I wanted to keep things towards the mobile and elite end to stick with the idea of said trader/governor keeping costs down by sending in well-trained and well-equipped strike teams instead of carting around millions of enlisted soldiers. I was also hoping to make as much use out of my existing army as possible, as the 'entry' point for playing games with my group is 2000 points, and I really want to avoid buying 2000 points worth of brand-spanking new models if I can help it. At the same time, however, I would like something that's also tactically forgiving - I don't have the time to practice playing or pouring over the meta that I used to, and while playing a fluffy and fun army is nice and all, getting curb-stomped every game would just make me want to quit.

Let me try to reiterate all that in a condensed list:
- (Preferably non-space marine) Human force to represent rich person's private army
- Makes best use of current models (See pictures below)
- Mobile and relatively elite - able to snag objectives in Maelstrom of War
- Tactically forgiving

And for those of you wondering, these are some pics of the models from my 30k militia that I'm hoping to repurpose:


I hope I don't come across as too incoherent. It's late and I'm sick as of posting this.

I see...rhinos, sentinels, and some human troops. I would run them as SoB, Inquisition, and the new IG sentinel formation.

the_scotsman wrote:
I see...rhinos, sentinels, and some human troops. I would run them as SoB, Inquisition, and the new IG sentinel formation.

Not entirely sure which book that Sentinel formation is in; I'd like to look it up, someday.

SoB is another thing I just haven't been able to look up. Where the heck are there rules, anyway? I've only tentatively considered them, as I would have to reconfigure nearly 40 guys to have bolters instead of the shotguns/long las'es they currently have. Also, while Acts of Faith are a neat little mechanic, I can't see how I would justify them for an army of roving mercs.

As for Inquisition, I've been quite tempted. Thing is, I'm forced to play 2000 points for most games (my opponents want to have their deathstar and don't want to take it out of the rest of their army), and I just don't see 12 man squads scaling all that well for such large games, especially with the extremely limited FOC Inquisition gets. Can it even be done, and would it be worth doing at that point? The added diversity seems nice, though, and I sure wouldn't mind throwing in a death cult assassin or two per squad just to deter charges.

The other thing I've considered (though it leaves me largely in the same place) is switching over to LatD, using the lasrifle guys in armor as Grenadiers for the Bloody-Handed Reaver option, the guys in armor with shotguns as a fleshed out command squad for my lord (go full 15 with carapace armor and slog them over an objective), and using the ~40 'lesser' troops as standard platoon squads with either lasrifles or shotguns, modelling up special weapons as needed. This has the advantage of drawing all my stuff from one book, and while it's still a Forgeworld source, it seems to get a lot more love than 30k militia. Also, chimeras with autocannons are nice. I've actually had plenty of time to think about this one, since the scout-armored troops were originally designed for LatD grenadiers. The issue here is that LatD seems to only shine when you're taking hordes, which is exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to steer away from. Can LatD work while leaning towards 'elite?'

There's also Tempestus, but I hear that's extremely difficult to play well, not to mention I'd either have to buy a parking lot of Tauroxes, or a plentiful enough substitute for such silly looking models.