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Hello all, ive been an avid player of imperial guard. [ cadian models ] in my years of playing the game since 4th edition, since then ive collected.
13 leman russes [ i got an emperors fist tank company ]
3 Valkyries
3 Chimeras
1 Manticore
40Shock troopers
9 heavy weapons teams
5 sergeants/lieutenant
3 company commanders

Im playing 9th edition now and i am getting back into the swing of things
im asking my fellow guard players what should i get next?
whats fun to play?
whats competitive?

ive been out of the loop for about 5 years now and just recently got the codex.
i was thinking of getting a mass of sentinals next.
besides the models looking cool, i hear they can be great screening units.
feel free to ask and comment what you want

Well I've seen Manticore being argued as the best unit in the IG right now, so another one or two of those probably wouldn't hurt. Another one or two Infantry squads might be good to have on hand for 2000+pt games. A few more Chimera transports for all those infantry as well. Maybe a command squad or a regimental advisors trio would be good to fill out some things. Some sort of psyker is almost a must in 9th, so pick up either a Primaris Psyker or an Inquisitor to fill that role. If you go Inquisitor to avoid taking up a force org slot, I suggest Coteaz as he's really well kitted for his points cost. Give him Arbiter of the Emperors Will and he can basically keep your main infantry line from breaking by himself as well as the rest of what it does. Otherwise, you might want a Commissar for that. A Sentinel squad is also a good option I've heard.

Other than all that, check out the Army Lists section of the forum for ideas on what's fun and meta right now. Could even post your own list and ask for more targeted advice as well.

Bare in mind that Manticores are only better when they have the Full Payload support ace. Otherwise its demolisher cannons or bust.

Jarms48 wrote:
Bare in mind that Manticores are only better when they have the Full Payload support ace. Otherwise its demolisher cannons or bust.

I hear this a lot. Are the battlecannons considered lame and weak or am i missing something about demolisher's that makes them so worth the slot.

vox grenadier wrote:

I hear this a lot. Are the battlecannons considered lame and weak or am i missing something about demolisher's that makes them so worth the slot.

Think of it this way:
- Battle cannon: 72 inch, Heavy D6, S8, AP-2, DD3
- Demolisher cannon: 24 inch, Heavy D6, S10, AP-3, DD6

In terms of stats, other than range, the demolisher cannon is superior in everyway. S10 means it can wound T8 on 4+ and T5 on 2+, something that the battle cannon simply can't do. It also has AP-3 compared to AP-2 of the battle cannon, making it better against higher save enemies. The other benefit of AP-3 is that most ignore AP abilities typically cap-out at AP-2 (look at VH Sisters for example). Then there's the damage. You have a much higher chance of killing multi-wound models or killing vehicles in one round of shooting.

The range is also much less of an issue than it use to be. Board sizes got smaller, 44 by 60 instead of 48 by 72 (unless you still play on an old board of course). There's also the regiment trait that gives +6 inch range. Both of these basically removed the one drawback it once had.

Oh, it's also the same points cost as a battle cannon currently. I do expect it to be completely nerfed when the codex drops but no-one knows when that will be. Could be in 6 months, could be next year.

Don't play until you get a 9th Edition Codex, no reason really to play the army until then. You are playing on hard mode with an instant handicap and mostly outdated rules regardless of errata and faq.

 BlackoCatto wrote:
Don't play until you get a 9th Edition Codex, no reason really to play the army until then. You are playing on hard mode with an instant handicap and mostly outdated rules regardless of errata and faq.

What an optimistic view you have.


To OP, maybe it's time to lose your Superheavy v-card. Get yourself a Baneblade kit, magnetize it up and try out 8 different super heavy tank variants. My personal favourite is the Shadowsword cause "big gun go boom".

 BlackoCatto wrote:
Don't play until you get a 9th Edition Codex, no reason really to play the army until then. You are playing on hard mode with an instant handicap and mostly outdated rules regardless of errata and faq.

I mean if the OP is playing in a WAAC no-holds-barred environment maybe.
OP I would say go for something like Scions, they add to your current army while also offering something different in terms of tactics/weapons. Personally, I've tried to get all the units available in the codex so I can vary my lists as much as possible. I would also suggest playing games at around 50 Power/1k Points and changing your list for each game. For example, in week 1 play nothing but infantry and try to swarm the enemy to death, and in week 2 take your tank company.

Nah IG are just bad, in fact it probably scales worse if you don't try to optimise lists. Starting something like them, GSC or tau is a recipe for disaster. Catto is right on that.

Man, I wish I knew AM were bad when I won nearly every single game I played with them the last edition and did fairly well in some 9th test games.
Considering the OP is coming back to the game with a large army already "don't buy AM" is hardly an option.
I am genuinely curious do people actually play 40k on Dakka or do they just look at numbers and decide "everything is bad, GW is Satan, the game is literally unplayable"?

I would spend some time looking into and thinking about how/whether you might use Bullgryns. Things are very combat oriented at the moment and they can really help screen and beat some things down while your firepower goes to work.

I have more infantry on hand (about 90 and building) so it might not hurt to think about how well the current levels are doing for you, if they work for what you're doing, no problem.

Astropaths were a must include but their costs went up so I'm not always including them now, but they can be useful.

Also think about what scions could do for you. Currently I'mthinking to try having them drop in early and get "raise the banners high" on some of the objectives while the rest of the army moves up to fortify them.

I AM having fun with multi-melta devil dogs right now, but that's likely to change when melta points costs go up.

 Gert wrote:
Man, I wish I knew AM were bad when I won nearly every single game I played with them the last edition and did fairly well in some 9th test games.
Considering the OP is coming back to the game with a large army already "don't buy AM" is hardly an option.
I am genuinely curious do people actually play 40k on Dakka or do they just look at numbers and decide "everything is bad, GW is Satan, the game is literally unplayable"?

Wow, congratualation, so inspirational, you did it, good job, cracked the case ace detective.

I have played and they perform variously subpar, even when playing so called "casually". People seem to think that any game outside a tourney wont have people actually, you know, win the game? You're individual wins mean near nothing when data suggests that for most others, winning isnt the case. You could give tips and strategy, but saying you won games in a previous edition means utterly nothing at all.

Guard are in bad shape, bad enough that I'd argue playing them would be a turn off for first players atm. Me telling them to wait for a codex is an accurate thing to say for an army that seems to not be built at all for this current edition.

If I were you,
Ogryns
Sentinels

Ok, here are a few things.

First, more troops will be a good idea no matter what, you need lots of bodies, 40 is like nothing in guard terms they die much too quickly.

As said another manticore now wouldn't be bad but if you fear them changing, then hold off but Demolisher tanks should still see some mileage.

Lastly I'd pick up some Ogryn/Bullgryn boxes and make them up as Bullgryns unless something dramatic happens they've been pretty solid for a couple of editions now and you will most likely get good mileage out of them as tough forward pushing face smashers.

I'd say more infantry. Personally, unless you are super locked into GW only parts, I'd suggest going third party and mixing the extra Cadian bits you have. Heck, a Cadian Command Squad + say one of the Wargames Atlantic kits would net you about 30 bodies for your army with a bunch of compatible bits to make them fit in the theme a bit better. If you have your heart set on Cadians, just scour ebay, they are up for auction all the time for reasonable prices compared to new - you might need to strip them but it will save you money in the long run since GW now wants 36 dollars for the kit.

I'm always a fan of Ogryn/Bullgryn. Note that I don't think there was a single edition Ogryn were good in any way shape or form, but Bullgryn are pretty good. Bonus points - with just a little bit of knife work and green stuff you can really stretch out the kit with Warhammer Fantasy Ogres, which at least used to be cheaper than Ogryns with more bodies. I think between the two kits you'd get 9 bodies, and could make 4 Bullgryn and 3 Ogryn with their full official loadout, and 2 more that are currently legal as Ogryn Bodyguards.

I see you don't have any Scions - that kit is quite nice though 38$ for 5 models isn't ideal if you want to use them in actual numbers. Their Start Collecting set is actually pretty good however - 2 squads of them, the overpriced Commissar (wow I just looked and the guy is 29$ now...if you want a Commissar but don't want the boxed sets, just buy the metal one for 15$) they put in every Guard box it seems, and a Taurox/Taurox Prime.

 kurhanik wrote:
I'd say more infantry. Personally, unless you are super locked into GW only parts, I'd suggest going third party and mixing the extra Cadian bits you have. Heck, a Cadian Command Squad + say one of the Wargames Atlantic kits would net you about 30 bodies for your army with a bunch of compatible bits to make them fit in the theme a bit better. If you have your heart set on Cadians, just scour ebay, they are up for auction all the time for reasonable prices compared to new - you might need to strip them but it will save you money in the long run since GW now wants 36 dollars for the kit.

I'm always a fan of Ogryn/Bullgryn. Note that I don't think there was a single edition Ogryn were good in any way shape or form, but Bullgryn are pretty good. Bonus points - with just a little bit of knife work and green stuff you can really stretch out the kit with Warhammer Fantasy Ogres, which at least used to be cheaper than Ogryns with more bodies. I think between the two kits you'd get 9 bodies, and could make 4 Bullgryn and 3 Ogryn with their full official loadout, and 2 more that are currently legal as Ogryn Bodyguards.

I see you don't have any Scions - that kit is quite nice though 38$ for 5 models isn't ideal if you want to use them in actual numbers. Their Start Collecting set is actually pretty good however - 2 squads of them, the overpriced Commissar (wow I just looked and the guy is 29$ now...if you want a Commissar but don't want the boxed sets, just buy the metal one for 15$) they put in every Guard box it seems, and a Taurox/Taurox Prime.

Just to add to this a bit, if you want a bunch of Scions on the cheap and don't mind 3rd party models, take a look at Mondragon's Eisenkern Stormtroopers on Wargames Atlantic. They don't come with any weapons that naturally look like a Plasma Gun, but they do come with a variety of weapons and all you have to do is pick an option and paint it up with some glow color along the barrel. Boom, Plasma Gun. One of the nice things about that line is that there are already a number of models for it not currently available anymore, but due to be reworked and rereleased, so when the Scions expand into heavier troops you'll be able to expect similar from the Iron-Core line. Additionally, a one or two more sets of the reworks have already been teased and are due to rerelease soon. I believe either the Command box or the Accessories Set which will give you more weapon options and parts to make officers from the regular box.

 SergentSilver wrote:

 kurhanik wrote:
I'd say more infantry. Personally, unless you are super locked into GW only parts, I'd suggest going third party and mixing the extra Cadian bits you have. Heck, a Cadian Command Squad + say one of the Wargames Atlantic kits would net you about 30 bodies for your army with a bunch of compatible bits to make them fit in the theme a bit better. If you have your heart set on Cadians, just scour ebay, they are up for auction all the time for reasonable prices compared to new - you might need to strip them but it will save you money in the long run since GW now wants 36 dollars for the kit.

I'm always a fan of Ogryn/Bullgryn. Note that I don't think there was a single edition Ogryn were good in any way shape or form, but Bullgryn are pretty good. Bonus points - with just a little bit of knife work and green stuff you can really stretch out the kit with Warhammer Fantasy Ogres, which at least used to be cheaper than Ogryns with more bodies. I think between the two kits you'd get 9 bodies, and could make 4 Bullgryn and 3 Ogryn with their full official loadout, and 2 more that are currently legal as Ogryn Bodyguards.

I see you don't have any Scions - that kit is quite nice though 38$ for 5 models isn't ideal if you want to use them in actual numbers. Their Start Collecting set is actually pretty good however - 2 squads of them, the overpriced Commissar (wow I just looked and the guy is 29$ now...if you want a Commissar but don't want the boxed sets, just buy the metal one for 15$) they put in every Guard box it seems, and a Taurox/Taurox Prime.

Just to add to this a bit, if you want a bunch of Scions on the cheap and don't mind 3rd party models, take a look at Mondragon's Eisenkern Stormtroopers on Wargames Atlantic. They don't come with any weapons that naturally look like a Plasma Gun, but they do come with a variety of weapons and all you have to do is pick an option and paint it up with some glow color along the barrel. Boom, Plasma Gun. One of the nice things about that line is that there are already a number of models for it not currently available anymore, but due to be reworked and rereleased, so when the Scions expand into heavier troops you'll be able to expect similar from the Iron-Core line. Additionally, a one or two more sets of the reworks have already been teased and are due to rerelease soon. I believe either the Command box or the Accessories Set which will give you more weapon options and parts to make officers from the regular box.

Hopefully they can get that hover Stug that failed to Kickstart into production.

ccs wrote:


Hopefully they can get that hover Stug that failed to Kickstart into production.

Yeah, that would be nice, but I hope they get everything else back into production first. I really want to get some of the Valkyries and Titans.

Mostly from my 8th ed knowledge but..

- Bullgryns are very nice, they are a very tanky melee unit that the guard normally lacks.
- More troops. You can never have enough bodies on those objectives. Which are big in 9th.
- Wyvern. I have one that has always done well at clearing chaff.
- StormTroopers. Deepstrike 3 or 4 plasma guns, hitting on 3+

List in no specific order.