STORM TROOPERS TACTICA
By Prittstift
Introduction
Storm Troopers are often the subject of debate. Many people tend to label them as “watered-down Space Marines” or “glorified Guardsmen”. As with most IG soldiers it is not so much that they are great warriors who can single-handedly slay 5 Space Marines , but that they are relatively cheap and can bring quite a bit of medium range firepower. The IG was my first army and at first Storm Troopers (Kasrkin version) were more of an ecstatic choice for me since I loved the models. After a couple of games I realized how much potential they have.
Now, many, many games later I would like to share my findings.
Why Storm Troopers?
This is a valid question. Everything in your army should be analysed for its potential, Storm Troopers being no exception. Imperial Guard excel at mowing down everything that moves from a static position. This is also their weakness; they often need to stay put to fire their heavy weapons, which are of the utmost importance. Without the AutoCannons, Heavy Bolters and LasCannons firing holes in enemy targets, you will often find yourself in a position were the opponent gets to close for comfort with a big force. The will need to be shot to pieces by your main line.
This is were the Storm Trooper comes in. The Storm Troopers’ main purpose is to get to a key location and hold it. This can be done in a multitude of ways: infiltrating, deep striking or giving them a Chimera. They will be holding a key location, be it a mission goal or just a great firing position, while the rest of your troops are blazing away. A great factor is that they are cheap: a full squad of 10 with two plasmaguns which infiltrate cost a mere 130 points. For those points you can barely field 10 basic scouts. Now I ask you, what would you rather have 10 Storm troopers with two plasmaguns or 10 barebones scouts?
Another good reason to take them is for a easy second troops choice. You’ll need the grenadiers doctrine for this and they won’t be able to deep strike or infiltrate. This is great for low point games.
Reason enough if you ask me!
Gearing up!
What makes a Storm Trooper great, aside from the extra point of BS (which is HUGE) and the additional Ld, is of course their gear. The most obvious piece of equipment is the Carapace armour. This gives the Storm Trooper a 4+ armour save. This is a big difference, because it lets you save pretty much all forms of small arms fire. Secondly you have Hellguns; these are basically Lasguns with AP 5. This should not be taken lightly! There are many models with a 5+ save or worse. (Orks, Guardians, Guardsmen etc.) They also have targeters, which ensure that you that you can hit what you aim at. Lastly they have Frags and Kraks to their exposal. They are very well equipped to say the least.
Optional Weapons:
Each squad of Storm Troopers can carry two special weapons. These add serious punch to your Storm Troopers. These are your options:
Plasmagun: My main choice. It has high strength and low AP, add that it has rapid fire and you have a great tool for hunting heavily armoured enemies, like Space Marines, Terminators and Mega Armoured Nobz. The “Gets hot” rule is less lethal due to your 4+ save
Meltagun: A great tank-hunting tool. 2D6 armour penetration within half its range and AP 1 you can bust pretty much every tank. If there is a character in range (and no tank to bust) it will almost always instant-kill it.
Grenade Launcher: Personally, I find this weapon less useful than the first two. For just 4 points more you can have a Plasmagun, which has a lot more killing potential. So, I say pay those 4 extra points.
Flamer: Why somebody would give one of the few Guardsmen with BS4 a flamer is beyond me. Seriously, its just a waste, so don’t
When to give them a Melta and when a Plasmagun depends on the task at hand. I will breaks down the tasks and what is the gear of choice.
Squad types
Location occupation squad:
This squad is for claiming of key points on the table. The need to take it and defend it from enemy incursions. This is why infiltrate is the way to go; it will most often put you on (or at least very near) the location. Put your Storm Troopers in cover and let them shoot everything that comes close. This is also why you want no less than 10 men in the squad to ensure survivability.
Because your Storm Troopers are going to be way ahead of your army, you are going to need some serious firepower. Plasmaguns are mandatory and will enhance the threat-level of the squad considerably. This is important because the opponent will be more reluctant to attack them blindly which buys time for support units to come. The Storm Bolter is kind of controversial for some people, but I have nothing but good experiences with it.
Veteran Sergeant
Storm Bolter
9 Storm Troopers
2 Plasmaguns
Infiltrate
Points: 141
Tank-hunting squad:
This is cheap tank-busting material. Now I know that you can deal with most threats by kitting out some of your regular Guardsmen with LasCannons but they often can’t get to those nasty hidden artillery vehicles. That’s the main purpose of this squad; you drop in, fire two meltas in the vehicle and hope it’s a smouldering wreck. (which it usually is) This works very well on those hidden Basilisks, Whirlwinds, Defilers and such.
After they are done you can send them out to hunt other vehicles or characters if they are close. There is nothing like instant-killing a 100+ point character with 86 point squad.
Storm Trooper Sergeant
5 Storm Troopers
2 Meltaguns
Deep Strike
Points: 86
Interception squad:
This squad is mainly for intercepting heavily armoured infantry. They need a Chimera for the mobility, so they can soar towards their target and give them something the lack: heavy weapons! So drive them to their high priority target and shoot the snot out of them. (it couldn’t be easier!) Rapid firing plasmas make short work of most infantry.
Especially 2+ units hate Plasmaguns and your other weapons have trouble breaching such armour. Nothing like killing 3 Termies in one turn; Than you already have 120 points of kills. You’ll need those extra troops to keep them alive when the enemy retaliates.
Storm Trooper Sergeant
7 Storm Troopers
2 Plasmaguns
Chimera
Multilaser
Heavy Bolter
Extra Armour
Points: 190
Grenadier squad:
These are great or low point games. If you just started playing IG and want to make a starting army of around 500 points than this is a good option. For 80 points you have a decent second compulsory troops choice. This means you can spent the rest of your 420 points on other stuff, which is nice on such a tight budget. Aside from that they still pack a punch and should hunt the most heavily armoured units.
Storm Trooper Sergeant
5 Storm Troopers
2 Plasmaguns
Points: 80
Conclusion
The Storm Trooper is a flexible unit that can serve in multiple roles. I never play the Guard without them. I hope this helps some of you guys out there or at least gave you some insight. They are worth the doctrine in my book.
By Prittstift
Introduction
Storm Troopers are often the subject of debate. Many people tend to label them as “watered-down Space Marines” or “glorified Guardsmen”. As with most IG soldiers it is not so much that they are great warriors who can single-handedly slay 5 Space Marines , but that they are relatively cheap and can bring quite a bit of medium range firepower. The IG was my first army and at first Storm Troopers (Kasrkin version) were more of an ecstatic choice for me since I loved the models. After a couple of games I realized how much potential they have.
Now, many, many games later I would like to share my findings.
Why Storm Troopers?
This is a valid question. Everything in your army should be analysed for its potential, Storm Troopers being no exception. Imperial Guard excel at mowing down everything that moves from a static position. This is also their weakness; they often need to stay put to fire their heavy weapons, which are of the utmost importance. Without the AutoCannons, Heavy Bolters and LasCannons firing holes in enemy targets, you will often find yourself in a position were the opponent gets to close for comfort with a big force. The will need to be shot to pieces by your main line.
This is were the Storm Trooper comes in. The Storm Troopers’ main purpose is to get to a key location and hold it. This can be done in a multitude of ways: infiltrating, deep striking or giving them a Chimera. They will be holding a key location, be it a mission goal or just a great firing position, while the rest of your troops are blazing away. A great factor is that they are cheap: a full squad of 10 with two plasmaguns which infiltrate cost a mere 130 points. For those points you can barely field 10 basic scouts. Now I ask you, what would you rather have 10 Storm troopers with two plasmaguns or 10 barebones scouts?
Another good reason to take them is for a easy second troops choice. You’ll need the grenadiers doctrine for this and they won’t be able to deep strike or infiltrate. This is great for low point games.
Reason enough if you ask me!
Gearing up!
What makes a Storm Trooper great, aside from the extra point of BS (which is HUGE) and the additional Ld, is of course their gear. The most obvious piece of equipment is the Carapace armour. This gives the Storm Trooper a 4+ armour save. This is a big difference, because it lets you save pretty much all forms of small arms fire. Secondly you have Hellguns; these are basically Lasguns with AP 5. This should not be taken lightly! There are many models with a 5+ save or worse. (Orks, Guardians, Guardsmen etc.) They also have targeters, which ensure that you that you can hit what you aim at. Lastly they have Frags and Kraks to their exposal. They are very well equipped to say the least.
Optional Weapons:
Each squad of Storm Troopers can carry two special weapons. These add serious punch to your Storm Troopers. These are your options:
Plasmagun: My main choice. It has high strength and low AP, add that it has rapid fire and you have a great tool for hunting heavily armoured enemies, like Space Marines, Terminators and Mega Armoured Nobz. The “Gets hot” rule is less lethal due to your 4+ save
Meltagun: A great tank-hunting tool. 2D6 armour penetration within half its range and AP 1 you can bust pretty much every tank. If there is a character in range (and no tank to bust) it will almost always instant-kill it.
Grenade Launcher: Personally, I find this weapon less useful than the first two. For just 4 points more you can have a Plasmagun, which has a lot more killing potential. So, I say pay those 4 extra points.
Flamer: Why somebody would give one of the few Guardsmen with BS4 a flamer is beyond me. Seriously, its just a waste, so don’t
When to give them a Melta and when a Plasmagun depends on the task at hand. I will breaks down the tasks and what is the gear of choice.
Squad types
Location occupation squad:
This squad is for claiming of key points on the table. The need to take it and defend it from enemy incursions. This is why infiltrate is the way to go; it will most often put you on (or at least very near) the location. Put your Storm Troopers in cover and let them shoot everything that comes close. This is also why you want no less than 10 men in the squad to ensure survivability.
Because your Storm Troopers are going to be way ahead of your army, you are going to need some serious firepower. Plasmaguns are mandatory and will enhance the threat-level of the squad considerably. This is important because the opponent will be more reluctant to attack them blindly which buys time for support units to come. The Storm Bolter is kind of controversial for some people, but I have nothing but good experiences with it.
Veteran Sergeant
Storm Bolter
9 Storm Troopers
2 Plasmaguns
Infiltrate
Points: 141
Tank-hunting squad:
This is cheap tank-busting material. Now I know that you can deal with most threats by kitting out some of your regular Guardsmen with LasCannons but they often can’t get to those nasty hidden artillery vehicles. That’s the main purpose of this squad; you drop in, fire two meltas in the vehicle and hope it’s a smouldering wreck. (which it usually is) This works very well on those hidden Basilisks, Whirlwinds, Defilers and such.
After they are done you can send them out to hunt other vehicles or characters if they are close. There is nothing like instant-killing a 100+ point character with 86 point squad.
Storm Trooper Sergeant
5 Storm Troopers
2 Meltaguns
Deep Strike
Points: 86
Interception squad:
This squad is mainly for intercepting heavily armoured infantry. They need a Chimera for the mobility, so they can soar towards their target and give them something the lack: heavy weapons! So drive them to their high priority target and shoot the snot out of them. (it couldn’t be easier!) Rapid firing plasmas make short work of most infantry.
Especially 2+ units hate Plasmaguns and your other weapons have trouble breaching such armour. Nothing like killing 3 Termies in one turn; Than you already have 120 points of kills. You’ll need those extra troops to keep them alive when the enemy retaliates.
Storm Trooper Sergeant
7 Storm Troopers
2 Plasmaguns
Chimera
Multilaser
Heavy Bolter
Extra Armour
Points: 190
Grenadier squad:
These are great or low point games. If you just started playing IG and want to make a starting army of around 500 points than this is a good option. For 80 points you have a decent second compulsory troops choice. This means you can spent the rest of your 420 points on other stuff, which is nice on such a tight budget. Aside from that they still pack a punch and should hunt the most heavily armoured units.
Storm Trooper Sergeant
5 Storm Troopers
2 Plasmaguns
Points: 80
Conclusion
The Storm Trooper is a flexible unit that can serve in multiple roles. I never play the Guard without them. I hope this helps some of you guys out there or at least gave you some insight. They are worth the doctrine in my book.