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I have been curious in building a Guard army for a while now, and I really like the theme of a Mech. Guard list.

So what are the typical builds and the tactics employed with it.

I wish i could contribute some useful info, I dont play guard but i do like this topic.

I have had experience playing against mech guard.

It would seem that that the order of the day would be chimeras with 10 man squads, with ML and plasmas then multiple russes and a basilisk.

sorry im not more useful but this is a good topic.

There is bascily two ways of going mech.
1: You can chose the doctorine "Mechanized" which makes you able to buy chimeras to your infantry platoons.
2: Or you can "fake"-mech with the doctorine "Grenadiers" which gives you the oppurtinity to buy Stormtroopers (normally elites) as troops which you can mount in chimeras. You should also put your HQ in a chimera (which he do not need a doctorine for)

Then you buy tons of sentinels, hellhounds, bassies and lemans.

All of your Chimeras should have Multilaser, Hull Heavy Bolter, and Pintle Heavy Stubber in order to spit out 9 shots a turn.  You'll have a minimum of 5 Chimera's in Mech Guard (1 for CHQ, 3 for one Platoon, 1 for Armored Fist) so that's a lot of shots.

Deploy your guardsmen outside of the vehicles, in the most central area of cover that has decent sight lines.  They should be Las/Plas line squads, either a stripped down PHQ for leadership backup, or an extra Lascannon in there.  Put a Company Standard in your CHQ and hide them within 12" of your squads.  Cameleoline is a nice doctrine for Mech actually, since you'll have a low number of troops and units of troops - less cost, and you'll want that extra cover save.

The only time you should transport your Infantry squads with Chimeras is if they start in reserve (in Escalation) and you really need that extra 6" to disembark into cover with good sight lines.  Or in a last-turn objective grab.

Play the range game.  Shoot the infantry Lascannons at hard targets.  Use the Chimeras for anti-infantry (5 Chimeras =  45 shots per turn at 36" range).  The Chimeras should be deployed on the flanks, so that they don't block each others' LOS or movement when they get wrecked. 

Hellhounds are a good investment against hordes, Basilisk/Russ against MEQs, and Sentinels only if think you'll need mobile Lascannons/Autocannons against other Mech armies.  If you go the Sentinel route, give them Drop Troops so they can get a shot off before dying.  Might as well pack an HK each as well to give them an extra shot on their only turn.

Good luck, and don't be afraid to tank shock non-fearless troops with those Chimeras!

One thing not mentioned is that the more vehicles you put on the table, the more effective they are. Keep in mind that Chimera's don't count as scoring units.

Another thing you might want to think about is Col Schaeffer.  I was contemplating the following setup:

Schaeffer, Kage -  1 Sub-Unit  w/ Chimera
Demo Charge Specialist -  1 Sub-Unit w/ Chimera
Demo Charge Specialist-   1 Sub-Unit w/ Chimera
Lascannon Specialist- 1 Sub-Unit w/ Chimera
Lascannon Specialist- 1 Sub-Unit w/ Chimera

That gives you 5 more Chimera's, 2 Lascannon 2man teams shooting at BS 4, and 2 Drive-by Demo Charges.  All in all it is 8 guys, 5 Chimera's, and a world of hurt.

With my Mechanized army, I take almost no upgrades other than weapons for my infantry and side sponsons for my tanks. If you skip on the upgrades you can usually cram another unit or two into the army. (However, since my army is pure Steel Legion I do take armored crew compartments.)

Give the infantry Lascannon, Missile Launchers, and Plasma Guns. You have more than enough anti-infantry weapons on your tanks, so you need the infantry to kill tanks. Set the infantry up outside of their AFVs, in cover if possible. I try to set the Chimeras next to their squads so the infantry can mount up easily if they need too, but behind is a ok option if space is tight.

For the most part the infantry should stand and shoot, but Flamers and Grenade Launchers aren't useless since there are a few squads that you'll want to move around. A good tactic is to set up a squad or two on a far flank to tempt the enemy into setting squads opposite them. Then you can mount up and run away, leaving the enemy with nothing to fight.

I usually take 3 Leman Russ tanks (both kinds) as heavy support, as the 3 AV 14 hulls draw a lot of fire and allow the Chimeras to escape the worst of the enemy's AT fire. I usually set up all 3 tanks on one flank, in order to over tax the enemy's AT on that flank, and roll forward with one infantry platoon following the advance while the second platoon remains stationary in the center.

An Improved Comms or two is an excellent idea, either for a Leman Russ (which is tough enough to survive) or the Command HQ Chimera (which should be hiding, anyways). Hellhounds are great since they give you a tank that you can be more aggressive with and they give the enemy another vehicle to worry about.

Strangelooper's advice is right on except about 2 things.

1) Autocannons are infinitely better than multi lasers in current skimmer dominated meta

2) Camoline isn't because your troop count is low, its because models inside burned out wrecks get a 3+ cover save.

Meching up Guard is a fun way to play guard. The main thing to keep in mind is that for the most part, in a mech guard army infantry engages tanks, and tanks engage infantry.

I used a Mech Guard list to win the Ard Boyz tournament in Garden City, so I think its definitely a viable list. You are tying up a large amount of points in non-scoring units, but at the same time, those non-scoring units are a significant threat to most opponents, so they're forced to try and kill those units.

If you've got any specific questions, fire away.

And like we asked in the other thread, what was your list Cent!?!!?!?!

BYE

Thank you a lot for the advice!

MY next question is what at the best Heavy Support Options. I was thinking 2 Leman Russes and a Leman Russ Demoliser.

If I was going to do Mech Guard, that's the loadout I'd take, Mahu. Bassies are tempting as all get out, but it's not hard to get inside minimum range, and it's not always guaranteed that you'll get a nice piece of terrain to hide it behind in a corner or something. Plus the main strength of Mech Guard is that you put down so much armor that your opponent can not put out enough AT fire to down that many tanks. So having three AV14 targets to draw fire from your AV12 Hellhounds or Chimeras, or even your AV10 Sentinels are critical.

Yeah Mech Guard is a strong build, I plan on adding 2 more chimeras to my army so I can play a Mech version of my list. I am also doing it since I don't feel like painting so many infantry models at the moment...lol. Tanks are easy and fun to paint. Plus it will be fun to have an entirely mobile IG force for APOC.

Capt k

Well,, APOC is the primary reason that got me started thinking about this army. Since I took a hiatus and am slowing getting back into things, I wanted to play an army that was unlike anything I have played before. My reasoning went like this:

I want a Baneblade.
I don't have any armies that mess well with a Baneblade, so maybe I should put together 1000 points of IG for Apoc games.
I don't want to build 1000 points for just Apoc., why not just do an IG army!

Unfortunately the Baneblade may be my first purchase towards this army. But I always loved the IG tanks and fielding 10+ plus of them would be fun. I think I am going to make it my "showcase" army, so expect to see it in 2010.

Over the weekend I will generate a list for this.