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I have been playing Marines for a few years and would like to do a guard army. I've seen some very successful IG armies in tournaments. I'd like to know the Dakkites opinions on what to take and what not to take.

I would prefer to field a combined arms force with infantry and some tanks, no basilisks.

So, help me out so I can make the right purchases and not waste my money.

Thanks

Hi there,

First you have to decide what regiment you are going to field. There really isn't a right or wrong choice here, but the Cadians are the cheapest and have the widest selection of models available. The Tallarans are also good, since they have their own Rough Rider models.

Second, you have to decide on doctrines. The choices here are vast, but the best ones are probably Light Infantry, Drop Troops, Iron Discipline, Close Order Drill, and Cameolemine. It doesn't really matter what you take, but be aware that you should only take Mechanized and Carapace Armor if you are certain you like them, since they eat up a lot of points.

The only truely bad unit in the list is the Enginseer. Ogryn and Ratlings are mediocre, as are Mortars and Special Weapons teams. The best units are any Infantry unit, Rough Riders, and all the tanks.

For the sake of simplicity, I'll assume that you decide to play Cadians with the doctrines listed for them in the book. This is a solid selection of doctrines, though the Sanctioned Psykers are kind of weak, and it would be nice to have Rough Riders.

Anyway, the core of most IG armies is a ton of infantry, backed up by a ton of tanks and some assault elements. I find the army is most effective if you take the minimal amount of upgrades for you characters, squads, and vehicles and instead use your points to buy more men and more guns.

Here's a rough idea for a 1850 list:

Command Squad
-Medic, Standard, x2 Flamers, HSO with power fist, Commisar with Power Fist.

Special Weapons Squad
-Demo Charge, x2 Flamers/Meltaguns.

Fire Support Squad
-x3 Heavy Bolters, Sharp Shooters.

Storm Troopers
-5 Troopers, Deep Strike, x2 Meltaguns.

Infantry Platoon
-Command Squad with Medic
-2-4 Infantry Squads
-A mixture of Autocannon and Lascannon for Heavy Weapons.
-A mixture of Plasma Guns and grenade launchers for heavy weapons.

Conscript Platoon
-30-40 Conscripts, Flamers.

Armored Fist Squad
-Flamer, Heavy Bolter.

Grenadier Squad
-Chimera, 10 Storm Troopers, x2 Plasma Guns.

Sentinel Squadron
-Multilasers/Autocannon.

Leman Russ Demolisher
-2 Plasma Cannon, Lascannon.

2 Leman Russ tanks
-3 heavy bolters, 1 with Improved comms.

Your basic strategy would be to sit and shoot with you infantry, bogging down enemy assault units with your conscripts, and counter attacking with your command HQ and the special weapons squad. The Storm Troopers can Deep Strike to take out Defilers, Basilisks, etc. If you need to attack the Conscripts would advance as a human wave, backed up by your Chimera-mounted units and the tanks.

An alternative would be to drop the Conscripts, take a second Infantry platoon, and field a number of small Rough Rider squads to act as an assault unit. Or you could add Demonhunter allies. The options really are endless.