Imperial Guard Advice

[Santange11]

Hello All, 

 

A friend recommended me to this forum and I already love it. I am a Guard player and enjoy all the shooting. However, in low point games where I don't bring Leman Russ's (to keep things friendly since 14 front armor isn't) I don't know how to handle 3+ armor saves that well. Can you guys give me some advice on what are good units or strategies to take against this?

[AbusePuppy]

IG actually have tons of options in this respect, so you're not out in the cold. I'm guessing by "small" games you mean 1000pts or lower? To be honest, the game can be pretty unfair at low point levels because it's just not designed for that sort of thing, but there's still stuff you can do.

 

Veterans are a pretty easy and cheap way to do it- grab a pair of Plasmaguns (or the full three if you want some redundancy) and sit them inside a Chimera; they'll tear up MEQs pretty bad. A Company Command Squad can do a similar thing if you need to fill an HQ slot.

 

Infantry Squads blobbed up are also a pretty terrifying threat to most MEQs- Lasguns may be [big bad swear word]ty individually, but you can point a LOT of them at a target with stuff like First Rank Fire Second Rank Fire. They also tend to have heavy weapons (and in particular Lascannons) buried in them, which can add a bit of oomph to things. And don't forget melee attacks, either- having a Priest in the squad makes them quite scary for a very small price tag and many players run with Power Axes on the sergeants for added kick. Once you've seen someone throw 20 S4 AP2 attacks that reroll to hit and wound, you'll understand why Guard can be scary in melee.

 

I know you specifically started this off by saying you struggled when not bringing a Russ, but Executioners are brutal when given a way to reroll Gets Hot (i.e. Preferred Enemy from Pask being in the squadron or having Prescience cast on them.) If you're used to using the vanilla Russ or Demolisher, give the Exe a shot- you'll be pleasantly surprised, I think.

 

Wyverns are a much cheaper and self-sufficient solution to killing infantry- though they don't penetrate MEQ armor, the sheer number of wounds they can force onto a unit is usually enough to vaporize large portions of a squad. Though the Basilisk is a bit more generically effective, the Wyvern is fantastically reliable (thanks to all those rerolls) and good against just about anything with a Toughness value- plus, it's dirt-cheap.

 

Last but not least, if you absolutely must have an anti-MEQ tool specialized for the purpose- and, generally, I don't think you do- the Banewolf serves relatively well. An AP3 flamer on a Fast chassis can keep those pesky Marines from advancing towards your lines pretty easily. Make sure you get it a Dozer Blade so it doesn't get stuck, though.

[Guest]

Hello All, 

 

A friend recommended me to this forum and I already love it. I am a Guard player and enjoy all the shooting. However, in low point games where I don't bring Leman Russ's (to keep things friendly since 14 front armor isn't) I don't know how to handle 3+ armor saves that well. Can you guys give me some advice on what are good units or strategies to take against this?

How low is low points?

 

Easiest way to include Russes is to take the Tank Commander option, making them fill your required HQ slot. Then add two supporting vet squads, possibly with their own transports, and call it good. Should be attainable at 500pts.

 

I will note that if your friends are really having issues with leman russ armor, they may may need to redesign their list, as your not doing anything unfriendly. Remember that they strike rear armor in assault, so those russes die to anything that makes assault. The Russ is slow and cannot overwatch. The blast russ variants can't snap, either, so it really isn't too tough to impair one of them.

 

If the battle cannon is too mean, try one of the lower range variants (Erradicator, Executioner, punisher or Demolisher) and see if you get the same "unfrendly" feeling. The lower range means you need to get closer to fire, which often means exposing your soft side/rear armor which can do wonder to make this tank more friendly.

[Santange11]

IG actually have tons of options in this respect, so you're not out in the cold. I'm guessing by "small" games you mean 1000pts or lower? To be honest, the game can be pretty unfair at low point levels because it's just not designed for that sort of thing, but there's still stuff you can do.

 

Veterans are a pretty easy and cheap way to do it- grab a pair of Plasmaguns (or the full three if you want some redundancy) and sit them inside a Chimera; they'll tear up MEQs pretty bad. A Company Command Squad can do a similar thing if you need to fill an HQ slot.

 

Infantry Squads blobbed up are also a pretty terrifying threat to most MEQs- Lasguns may be [big bad swear word]ty individually, but you can point a LOT of them at a target with stuff like First Rank Fire Second Rank Fire. They also tend to have heavy weapons (and in particular Lascannons) buried in them, which can add a bit of oomph to things. And don't forget melee attacks, either- having a Priest in the squad makes them quite scary for a very small price tag and many players run with Power Axes on the sergeants for added kick. Once you've seen someone throw 20 S4 AP2 attacks that reroll to hit and wound, you'll understand why Guard can be scary in melee.

 

I know you specifically started this off by saying you struggled when not bringing a Russ, but Executioners are brutal when given a way to reroll Gets Hot (i.e. Preferred Enemy from Pask being in the squadron or having Prescience cast on them.) If you're used to using the vanilla Russ or Demolisher, give the Exe a shot- you'll be pleasantly surprised, I think.

 

Wyverns are a much cheaper and self-sufficient solution to killing infantry- though they don't penetrate MEQ armor, the sheer number of wounds they can force onto a unit is usually enough to vaporize large portions of a squad. Though the Basilisk is a bit more generically effective, the Wyvern is fantastically reliable (thanks to all those rerolls) and good against just about anything with a Toughness value- plus, it's dirt-cheap.

 

Last but not least, if you absolutely must have an anti-MEQ tool specialized for the purpose- and, generally, I don't think you do- the Banewolf serves relatively well. An AP3 flamer on a Fast chassis can keep those pesky Marines from advancing towards your lines pretty easily. Make sure you get it a Dozer Blade so it doesn't get stuck, though.

 

This is more for help with games lower than 1000 pts; above that I love to run Pask, almost always in a Punisher, with an Executioner buddy.  In regaurds to the bane wolf I have never really had good luck, they always get one good attack off then die the next turn. I like the idea of the platoon and numbers, though I don't have much experience since I normally run heavy mechanized lists.

[Santange11]

How low is low points?

 

Easiest way to include Russes is to take the Tank Commander option, making them fill your required HQ slot. Then add two supporting vet squads, possibly with their own transports, and call it good. Should be attainable at 500pts.

 

I will note that if your friends are really having issues with leman russ armor, they may may need to redesign their list, as your not doing anything unfriendly. Remember that they strike rear armor in assault, so those russes die to anything that makes assault. The Russ is slow and cannot overwatch. The blast russ variants can't snap, either, so it really isn't too tough to impair one of them.

 

If the battle cannon is too mean, try one of the lower range variants (Erradicator, Executioner, punisher or Demolisher) and see if you get the same "unfrendly" feeling. The lower range means you need to get closer to fire, which often means exposing your soft side/rear armor which can do wonder to make this tank more friendly.

This is just how my group is and I don't feel like getting on people bad sides when I enjoy playing with them. 

[AbusePuppy]

This is more for help with games lower than 1000 pts; above that I love to run Pask, almost always in a Punisher, with an Executioner buddy.  In regaurds to the bane wolf I have never really had good luck, they always get one good attack off then die the next turn. I like the idea of the platoon and numbers, though I don't have much experience since I normally run heavy mechanized lists.

Vets and Hydras, then- they're both reasonably cheap and very good at what they do.

[Threejacks]

 If ya don't want to run the Heavy tanks you can also go with some armored Sentinals with various guns on them,I think the Lascannon Sentinal is 50points? .Those aren't too tough to deal with at 12 front av.

 

Two of those with a platoon boosted by some heavy weapons and maybe a vet squad with meltas or plasma in a Chimera should make for a good medium  to low power list to fight most other armys with.

[Santange11]

 If ya don't want to run the Heavy tanks you can also go with some armored Sentinals with various guns on them,I think the Lascannon Sentinal is 50points? .Those aren't too tough to deal with at 12 front av.

 

Two of those with a platoon boosted by some heavy weapons and maybe a vet squad with meltas or plasma in a Chimera should make for a good medium  to low power list to fight most other armys with.

I like sentinels and has always wanted to play around with them, but have gotten any and wont be able to afford them for a while. Right now I have a couple chimeras, two wyverns, countless guardsmen, and too many leman russ's. This is why I am leaning towards a blob style at these low point games.

[Lord Hanaur]

Hello All, 

 

A friend recommended me to this forum and I already love it. I am a Guard player and enjoy all the shooting. However, in low point games where I don't bring Leman Russ's (to keep things friendly since 14 front armor isn't) I don't know how to handle 3+ armor saves that well. Can you guys give me some advice on what are good units or strategies to take against this?

Sintinels with Plasma Cannons are a cool flexible platform to consider for such armor.

 

I also find that Rough Riders are a smashing success on the charge with their super duper Power Lances.  Great unit to counterpunch with.

 

There's a couple ideas for lower points games.