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Starting up again after a bit of a break from 40K (6+ months!).  Played last week with my Tau at 1850, so I figured I'd try to whittle my 2000 point guard list down to 1850 for play in the next week or two.

Doctrines
Drop Troops
Veterans
Iron Discipline
Light Infantry
Heavy Weapon Platoons

HQ 236
JO with ID, pistol, CCW
4 Guardsmen, 2 plasma, 1 company standard
Fire support squad x3 Heavy Bolters
Fire support squad x3 Heavy Bolters

Elites 225

3 x Vet squads with 5 models each, 3 plasma guns each

Troops
1st Platoon 380
HQ
JO, ID, Heavy Bolter, Light Inf
Squad with Lascannon, plasma, light inf
Squad with Lascannon, plasma, light inf
Squad with Lascannon, plasma, light inf

2nd Platoon 335
HQ
JO, ID, Heavy Bolter
Squad with missile, plasma
Squad with missile, plasma
Squad with missile, plasma

Heavy Support
3rd Platoon 425
HQ
JO, ID, Heavy Bolter, Light Inf
Squad, x3 lascannons, Light Inf
Squad, x3 lascannons, Light Inf
Squad, x3 lascannons, Light Inf

Basilisk, indirect 125
Basilisk, indirect 125

Brings me to 1851...I'll find a place to cut a point somewhere or another.  Obviously a little slow, but I think I should be able to outgun most enemies, and I have a decent amount of indirect (vets and basilisks) to handle issues/trouble spots.  My heaviest weapons are infiltrating, so I can hopefully set them up in the best terrain to threaten the enemy while keeping them fairly safe...should also help with getting scoring units scattered about.  I think the sum comes to:

9 heavy bolters
12 lascannons
3 missile launchers
17 plasma guns

Any thoughts or matchup concerns would be appreciated.

My suggestion would be changing out the missile launchers with Auto Cannons for nailing light armor. I prefer the extra shot over the crack missile.

I'd also drop the plasma from your CHQ and maybe give a few flamers to your PHQ's. No need for the CHQ to be shooting and the flamers could help when the assaults start.

I think you are relying too much on HW squads. While you are toting a butt load of firepower, I find their lack of ablative wounds to really hamper them. I think I'd prefer to replace your HW platoon with another Las/Plas Infantry Platoon and throw one of the HW LC Squads in with the CHQ.

My personal preferences aside, I think you've got a pretty good list here.

Some interesting points to consider Flagg07.  I'm least confident on the flamer one, but the autocannon and line-platoon instead of HW platoon are of some interest.  My thoughts on each individually:

Posted By Flagg07 on 01/25/2007 6:19 PM
My suggestion would be changing out the missile launchers with Auto Cannons for nailing light armor. I prefer the extra shot over the crack missile.

I have a few autocannons, and I used to have them in the platoon HQs instead of the heavy bolters, so this is an option.  Against very light armor, the autocannon has the advantage, but it evens out at AV 12 and gets worse from there.  Against infantry it's a different story, unfortunately, with the AC not matching well with the plasma guns.  I'll be curious to see what other opinions are on this matter.

Posted By Flagg07 on 01/25/2007 6:19 PM
I'd also drop the plasma from your CHQ and maybe give a few flamers to your PHQ's. No need for the CHQ to be shooting and the flamers could help when the assaults start.

I assume you'd remove the heavy weps from the platoon HQs then, too?  I see lists with the occasional flamer heavy HQs, but I've never really had much luck with them.  The company HQ is intended to act as the counter-assault force if things get ugly around the bulk of my force.  A couple of extra rapid-firing plasma guns has proven to be an effective deterrent against most assaulters.

Posted By Flagg07 on 01/25/2007 6:19 PM
I think you are relying too much on HW squads. While you are toting a butt load of firepower, I find their lack of ablative wounds to really hamper them. I think I'd prefer to replace your HW platoon with another Las/Plas Infantry Platoon and throw one of the HW LC Squads in with the CHQ.

Another one I've considered...the biggest holdback to execution being the need to get a buttload more IG troops painted up.  I have plenty of HW teams, though, so this is easy to field.  Additionally, as a Tau player I had the same feeling originally regarding the HW teams as you do.  Just blast them with a submunition and you're done!  However, after a few games, I realized a couple things about HW teams:
1- Multiple HW teams really shut down an opponent's safe movement options
2- The lack of ablative wounds can be somewhat mitigated with cover for the HW teams and open terrain for regular squads, providing protection for both
3- Most armies lack enough long-range, rapid-fire stuff to kill this many guardsmen with big guns before they get killed in return.
Still, I plan to give it a go if I ever get the figs painted up.  Oh, and the HW teams take up a lot less deployment space, and my guys already end up pretty tightly packed sometimes.

Very good counter points Grim.

I feel the AC is the best anti serpent/ falcon weapon in the IG HW inventory due to the 2nd shot. Since Plasma is the best special weapon we've got (MHO), it's a good complement to any heavy weapon besides the mortar.

Generally speacking, I would not put weapons in my PHQ's for the simple reason that I don't want to give any more reason to pop their LD bubble. Sometimes I throw mortars in just to give them something to do. If you plan to Infil most of these squads, that extra HW may be the way for you to go.

I didn't take the better cover save into account so that does indeed give your HW squads some staying power.

Autocannons have the same chance of downning a fast moving AV12 skimmer as a lascannon.

if you're relying on cover to save your HW squads, why not buy them chameleoline? You'd get 3+ from most cover and 2+ from bunkers and the like. In any event, guardsmen rely on their cover, and anything to boost that is a good thing.

The main problem with chameleoline is that if one unit has it they all have to have it.  In an army like this, good cover is going to be at a premium.  Most of the units will likely have to set up in the open. If Grimaldi's goal is to get as many guns on the table as possible, chameleoline will only reduce that number and won't help him deal with the most signifigant threat to this army, assault troops.  The main lists that I could see posing a problem for this army are, Mech Eldar, Drop Pod Marines, A really shooty static marine list, Daemon Bomb, Fast Nid army, and maybe a well put together Necron List.  Even then it could probably give all those lists a real run for the money.  I find this kind of list lives or dies by terrain a lot of the time.

It looks like a scary Guard list.  I'd love to play against it.  You playing this weekend Grimaldi?  This evening perhaps(friday)? 

I personally hate AT squads and would never take one in an IG army I made, but running three of them might work out for you. The redundancy might counter their inherent squishiness as high-value, low-resilience targets. I would suggest removing the upgrades from the Heavy PHQ. The reason is that he is part of a heavy support choice, and 40 points to secure the center of the board in Cleanse is often very helpful for IG. While heavy weapons platoons are nice - especially for push-back - you could still be better off running the support squads under the CHQ (3 Fire Support squads is actually illegal, FYI - check the unit entry) to free up a doctrine slot for COD.

One other idea - along the lines of the cameleoline - is to use Jungle Fighters with Autocannons instead. It won't work on an urban board, but if there is a large wood you've got an invisible squad that can kick out a couple of S7 hits per turn at anything foolish enough to show its flank within three feet of their position. If they are attacked by IF, or are stuck with fewer than six inches of woods, they get a 4+ save. JF also can be selected for only the squads which you wish to keep in cover. Tangentially, camo is great for mech guard - when those chimeras go pop, they turn into little fortified hulks for their former passengers.

The only other adjustment that MIGHT be worth consideration would be changing Veterans and Drop Troops to Stormtroopers and Rough Riders. Your drop squads become 1/3 worse, but you gain access to some nice anti-MEQ countercharge to complement any flamer squads you choose to take.

He's only running 2 support squads under the CHQ so the list is legal.

I'm not a mathhammer guru, but the AC is better for AV12 for the simple fact that it has multiple opportunities to hit. Since both the AC and LC can take out Av12 and they are both shooting at BS3, the fact that the AC is heavy 2 makes it a better choice.

Yeah, chameleoline is nice, but the cost makes it less effective overall. The goal is to get lots of cheap guns on the field as possible, while having enough assets available to counter specific problems. I can be outmanuevered, but my guns have pretty good range to support each other, and the two basilisks and drop vets can lend support where needed. I don't move quickly, but again, the drop troops and 8 infiltrating units get me spread out into other areas a little bit.

I've actually been working on some rough riders...got some guardsmen I'm modeling to ride the gaunts that came in the Battle for MacCraggae box set...and while I can see using them in other lists, I'm unsure about this one. My basic counter-assault tactic is to kill most stuff before it reaches me. Next, space units out enough so if I am assaulted, I lose a unit and then blast the assaulters with several nearby units. At worst, lose a couple units while shooting up the rest of the enemy army. I had good success with the 2000 point version of this list (had another x3 las HW squad) while playing a tyranid player. The demon threat is interesting, as I haven't fought chaos much...again, I'd expect a squad or two to get munched, then have the 9 heavy bolters kill the offending demons.

I'd be curious how your chaos and eldar would do against it, Samwise, so maybe we'll get a chance to see. I'm not so worried about the Eldar, but maybe I'm underestimating them.

I'm not too worried about shooty marines, either, but drop pods are another story. Unfortunately, I don't think I've seen a list that doesn't have to worry about drop marines. I think the list has as good a shot as any...I can spread out a great deal, and yet individual squads have the range to support each other. I have drop troops of my own that can kill several marines when they come in, and I have two marine killing templates.

Wight_Widow: Sacrificing the Heavy Platoon HQ as a push-back unit isn't a bad idea, really...I might give that some thought. The only problem is, it only helps on cleanse missions where I deploy first. Otherwise, the unit is kind of wasted. Still, cleanse is pretty common. Regarding HW squads...like I said, I originally felt the same as you, but after playing a few IG guys that fielded them, I found I had a hard time killing off enough models to nullify them in one turn, and when they fired back at my hammerheads, they hurt. I'll try more line platoons when I get more figs painted up, but so far I'm finding several HW squads synergize nicely.