Collecting
Collecting
Tactics
Fighting Dark Eldar Full Metal Mammoth - My views on the Tanks
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Collecting the Imperial Guards can work out quite expensive, depending on what you have. Take Bill for example, He decides to get 1 HQ choice and 2 Troops choices before looking at any of the cool stuff. He thinks that in these first choices, he wants a solid body of men, so goes for 3 Command Squads(1 HQ and 2 sections) and 6 Squads(all with special and Heavy weapons). For the Squads alone, he was looking to clock up about 120 quid, more if he doesn't want the special and Heavy weapons in the box, but he has a Large Core of Troops. On the other hand, take Tim. He wants his first choices to be fast, so decides to have a Command HQ in a Chimera, and two Armoured Fist Squads. For these, he is only spending about 110 quid, still expensive, but is faster and more heavily armed than Bill, but has less troops to press the enemy and to swamp them in gunfire, a tactic needed to be done when your gun is basically a giant Flashlight! Rob, though, decides he wants a mix between speed and troops, so puts his Command HQ in a Chimera, and has two Infantry Platoons, both with 2 Squads, a Command Section and a Chimera. With this set-up, he has firepower, numbers and speed for the same amount of choices! This does cost about 170 quid, but is much more versatile, but its your taste which picks your army.
Another good way to collect and army is to base it on a theme. My own army is based on a Hammer and Anvil army, which is lots of infantry and lots and lots of Tanks!!! Other themes include Speed(Mechanized Platoon) Close Combat(use lots of Rough Riders and Ogryns), and long range bombard(Griffons, Basilisks and Mortars). In the Downloads section is an example army.
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Using the Imperial Guard requires a large amount of thought, as you will usually have the most amount of troops, but be the worst at combat. When I formulate a Stratagy, I split my army into five elements: Command, Assault, Anti Armour/Anti Personnel, Special and Tactical. Command is obvious as it has anything what gives troops near them or led by them a Leadership Bonus. Tactical are the mainstay of your force. these are usually the Infantry Squad but they can sometimes be Storm Troopers or hardened veterans, depending how you gear them up. Assault are the troops who are very good at close combat, compared to your own army. These include Ogryns and Rough Riders. Specials are those troops which are assigned a specific mission, like Storm Troopers might be given Krak Grenades and told to demolish bunkers, Armoured Fist Squads and Sentinels might be give the mission of capturing table Quarters and so on. As a matter of fact, any unit can be a Special. Finally, Anti Armour/Anti Personnel are basically any tank and Heavy Weapon Squads. High Strength Weapons (6 or 7plus)are anti tank while rapid fireing(2 or more shots per gun) and template Weapons( like Inferno Cannon) are Anti Personnel. Use these to hold Objectives like Bunkers and your own table quarter.
In a well balanced army, you should really pick your troops for the army of your opponent, if you can find out before the game, so to play on their weaknesses. For example, against Tyrinids, they rely on breaking their enemy, so have a large amount of command, Dark Eldar are deadly in close combat so have lots of Anti Armour/Anti Personnel things. If you enter tournaments, however, you won't know what army you will face, so try to get about equal amounts of each element, like a Command HQ platoon, an Infantry platoon, a Specialist squad, a Clase Combat Squad and a Tank. That is well balanced with one choice from each element. The only problem is that you probably will run out of choices for one element, so when this happens, try to pick as many tanks as you can(give Command squads them, use Hellhounds instead of them Sentinels and put the sentinels with your command) as Armoured Might is the Imperial Guards greatest asset. One thing which I belive you should give to every squad, however, is a comm-link. This allows your command HQ to use its influance on any unit with one. I have found that nearly any pack with a bit of wire stuck on, can make a pretty good comm-link.
The Imperial Guard 'Picket Line' is a Tactic which I regually use, as it allows me to have a decent amount of Firepower. How it works, is that you partner up two squads with heavy weapons, and deploy one of them 3 inches behind the other. The Front squad stands its ground, firing with its heavy weapon(s), while the back squad moves 6 inches forward, making them the front squad. This gives your squads mutual support against attacks as you can effectivly double your firepower. The only drawback is that after the front squad falls, your rear squad will be caught in the sweeping advance, proberbly killing them.
Like I said before, your own tastes will pick the right type of army for you and this advice is only a guideline based on my own experiances.
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First off, you need to pick your army. For your Command HQ have a Colonal armed to the teeth, with a full command staff including a Veteran Sergeant to take hits. put a comissar with them, and go kill Dark Eldar Scum! This is what I do, and they took down several Dark Eldar Warriors and all the incubi on the table. Sadly, there wasn't enougth turns to finish the combat, with an Archon and my Comand HQ.
Now for the Troops choices. At least 1 Platoon at minemum size, te command squad to back up your HQ in combat, and the two Squads for a 'Picket Line'(see above). For your second troops choice, an armoured Fist Squad. Kit out the Chimera with as many upgrades as possible, so it lives longer. As for the Squad, a Veteran Sergeant, and anti personal weapons are the order of the day.
For fast attack, use either Hellhounds or Sentinels, it doesn't really matter, but I normally use Sentinels as they get a free move at the start of the game.
Heavy Support calls for at least a Leman Russ with Heavy Bolters, and meybe a Griffon and an Exterminator, As these are all capable of taking out lots of dark Eldar.
If you have points left, Have another Infantry Platoon, some under-strength Squads( See WD 241) and Heavy weapon Squads.
Next up, tactics. Use the 'picket Line' tactic with the Infantry Squads, all your tanks and Sentinels on one flank, all the Infantry on the other, with the Command squads scattered so all the Infantry starts within 12" of some command, meaning the leadership is generally higher. Have your Command HQ, and one command Squad lead an assault on their flank, with the Tanks and Sentinels strike on their Flank. This should smash the Dark Eldar main force, giving you an edge. The only thing is to watch out for Reavers as they can make their save invunerable, and blow up your tanks. These tactics are effective for me, but that doesn't mean they will work for everyone. If they don't work, try mixing the flanks, or with different units, eventually, you will suceed.
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When me and my friends talk about our armies, one subject always pops up for me, TANKS!!! In this article, i shall be discussing my views on the armoured vehicles.
First up, the Hellhound. It's the most useful assault tank, as it can move it's full distance and fire the Inferno Cannon. the only real problem is that glancing hits count as penetrating hits. This could be reduced by giving it upgrades like Track Guards and Extra armour, but your best bet with one of these is to send it down the lightly armoured flank and cause as much fire damage as possible. You could take three and use them as an assault spearhead - nice!
Next down the list, the Chimera. in my opinion, it's one of the most useful tanks in the game. Reasonable armour, not bad firepower and a troop carrier. Fill it with upgrades and a squad and just watch those enemy scum eat laser and lead! You could stick a squad of Ogryns in the Chimera, and get them into close combat, just don't intend to remount to easly!
It's big, it's got lots of guns and it's a Leman Russ! I always use at least one Leman Russ, being Battle Tank, Demolisher, Vanquisher or Exterminator.The Battle tank and Vanquisher are more for giving long range support to your troops, sitting behind your lines, destroying enemy armour. The Demolisher is a bit of an enigma. It's designed as a Close Support Tank - like the Hellhound, but it's main weapon is Ordenance. I give it a Lascannon and Heavy Bolters, and advance untill you have a shot with the Demolisher Cannon. Alternitivly you could sit near a narrow entrance and kill anything that comes around the corner! Finally, the Exterminator is an anit-personal tank, with lots of automatic weapons. Use it to support your advance whenever you go for a break.
The Basalisk, has possibly one of he most fun guns in the game. Always pay for it to fire indirectly, as it makes it the longest range weapon in the game! Just aim at the enemy command and cause widespread panic. I also give it the armoured crew compartment upgrade, to increase its lifespan.
The Griffon, in many ways, can be used in similar ways to the Basalisk. The main differance is that the Griffon is a Siege Engine, meaning that it is at it's best against bunkers, as it has extra damage capabilities, although it is quite a handy anti personal weapon. Use them if you are fighting against bunkers or lots of opponents like Orks, otherwise I would'nt bother.
Finally, the coolest Vehicle in the Imperial Guard, teh sentinel. Always take as many of these things as you can, as with the free move, I have turned these things from a slight annoyance to a dangerous Threat, with one of them! They also look cool. Bang an Armoured Crew Compartment, pick your weapon and have fun!
Of cause, everyone has there own opinion. If you would like yours to be put on, just drop us an e-mial, and your opinion and name with go on if I think it's worth it!
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