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Infantry Tactica

3K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Triumph Of Man 
#1 ·
INFANTRY SQUAD TACTICA


By Prittstift

The backbone of pretty much every Imperial Guard army list are the Infantry Squads. The Imperial Guardsmen are often belittled by players of other races. Well, yes, they have the poorest all-round stats of any standard trooper out there, but they are dirt cheap and have a huge array of options. If you just start playing the Guard it is often daunting to make a choice between all the things out there. Once you know what is good at what and how to make a good squad, you’ll have a great ace up your sleeve.

Assembling a squad


Special Weapons


As said before there are quite some option at your disposal. First choice your going to need to make is what kind of special weapon do you want. You always want a special in your squad; it increases the fire power of your squad considerably. These are your options:

Flamer

The Flamer is a good weapon for assaults, which can do serious harm to many models at once. The problem is that it has very limited range; so the enemy has to be very close to you if you want to make use if it. Obviously this is not what you want since distance is what you want, because melee isn’t exactly the Guards strong suit. Only good for Jungle Fighters.

Grenade Launcher

I don’t like this weapon very much. The problem with this weapon is that it the Frag Grenade lacks strength and the Krak Grenade lacks AP. Many people say that the fact that it is an assault weapon makes up for this. I beg to differ; Guard infantry will stand still 90% of the time and as such don’t need to be an assault weapon. I rather pay 2 extra points for a Plasmagun. I never use it.

Plasmagun

My weapon of choice! It has a low AP and high strength which allows you to hurt pretty much any infantry model on a 2+. Aside from that does the weapon also allow you to bust transports and walkers. Add the fact that it can rapid fire and you have great weapon. There is one downside though; it has the “gets hot!” rule which with a simple 5+ save often spells a early demise for your Guardsmen.

Meltagun

This weapon has some use with other Guardsmen units (Hardened Veterans and Storm Troopers) but is rather wasted on the basic Guard infantry. It lacks range and as such has little use in a squad which is going to fire from a distance (if all goes well). Skip this one unless your playing City of Death, for the same points you have a nice Plasmagun.

Heavy Weapons



This what makes the Imperial Guard a force of its own; the ability to take a large number of Heavy Weapons to the field of battle. There are quite a few out there and they all have there uses. Making a good choice for the job is very important. As such you will need to make your pick out of these and make a well balanced army.



Heavy Bolter

This is the closest thing to a machinegun out there. It has a high rate of fire, nice AP and good strength. The only thing that limits this weapon is its range. Its range is rather limited compared to the other Heavy Weapons. The Heavy Bolter works well against “swarms” (large, lightly armored mobs). It is useful against higher toughness units as well, but I prefer Autocannons for that job. Every army should have a couple.

Autocannon
This is a great weapon. It has great overall stats; very good strength, nice AP and a decent rate of fire. Due to the its high strength it is able to hurt to high toughness models without to much trouble. It also has the ability to bust most transports and walkers. Add to this that its pretty cheap in comparison and you have a good weapon.

Missile Launcher
Although it is often neglected in favor of the Lascannon, this is actually a good weapon. The first thing that makes this a good weapon is its flexibility. It has two different rounds: Frag and Krak. Krak Missiles are good against tanks, other vehicles and Power Armored units. Frags are good against mobs of lightly armored units. Now add the fact that you pay 10 points less than you do for a Lascannon and you have a valid choice!

Lascannon
This is the most widely used tank busting tool out there for the Guard. It is very powerful and has low AP making it ideal for big critters (Carnifex , Tyrants and such) as well as tanks. Due to its low rate of fire it is wasted on anything else. This weapon is mandatory in your force. You’ll need a few to take on the stronger targets. Don’t go overboard with these though, because they are pricey and don’t stop infantry well.

Mortar
This is a good weapon when used properly, but I think there misplaced in a Infantry Squad. When I use them, I use them in the Support Squad, which works well for me. I’ve heard other people say they like to put them in their Command Squads. But general opinion is that you can do better with other Heavy Weapons for the Infantry Squad.

Optional Wargear




Vox-caster

This is handy piece of equipment for people playing “Drop Troops”. Its not very expensive and can really save your hide. You should never use this unless you have your troops spread across the board or the points are wasted. Its not worth making a Vox-network if only 2 squads are outside your leadership-bubble.

Frag Grenade
Frag Grenades are wasted on Guardsmen. They should not be in close combat.

Krak Grenade
Krak Grenades are wasted on Guardsmen. They should not be in close combat.

Infantry Doctrines


There are quite few doctrines out there which influence your troops and as such should be talked about. There are some good one, but also some which are less useful. They often impact your force significantly. You should always think about how you want to play before utilizing a doctrine.

Drop Troops

This is a great doctrine! The ability to deep strike very handy, although there are some things you should take in to account. The first thing is that some of your forces might die before they can do a thing, hitting impassible terrain on the scatter roll or what not. Second is that your force is going to arrive a few squads at a time and as such is easier to handle.

Die-Hards
This doctrine in my opinion is kind of shabby. It cost points per unit and gives you an edge in close combat. Well, personally, I rather not get into close combat all together. This makes the doctrine rather useless.

Close Order Drill
This is in my opinion the best doctrine out there and any army should have it. The initiative bonus gets you a healthy initiative of 4; so they will be swinging at the same speed as most standard troops. The additional leadership is a gift of the gods for Guardsmen. The best thing is that its free! There is only one downside to this doctrine: you have to bunch up so you’re susceptible to artillery fire.

Hardened Fighters
Another doctrine that is about close combat. The extra WS is just not what I think the Guard needs. Fighting is not their strength and never will be. Add the fact that it is downright expensive and you should just now enough. Leave this in the bin!

Jungle Fighters
This one is kind of up to you. If you play a forest/jungle heavy board all the time this is pretty good. It enhances the abilities of the Guardsmen in forests/jungles greatly. They out-shoot anyone and can hit-and-run like mad. If you like it, go for it!

Light Infantry
This is a very good doctrine, especially in City of Death. The extra difficult terrain dice is just priceless. You’ll be bale to maneuver your troops a lot better, which is great in COD to get a line of sight on the opponent. The infiltrate ability is also a big deal. You can just take those nice spots with the great line of sight. The sniper option is not a great one. A single sniper will never be as effective as a Heavy Weapon.

Sharp Shooters
It has been mathematically proven that its better to just buy another squad for the points you invest in this doctrine. In other words: pass.

Xeno Fighters
Yet another doctrine which involves close combat and paying points. As said before, Guardsmen should not be in close combat and as such reduces the benefits of this doctrine significantly.

Chem-inhaler
I like this one a lot. The fact that you will not have negative morale modifiers is very good since Guardsmen morale isn’t super. Especially if you use Drop Troops in which case your often outside the leadership-bubble. The fact that your Guardsmen don’t run but get pinned when failing a leadership check at the end of shooting is great. That the troops are on drugs is just a fun extra.

Cameleoline
A good one for City of Death. You will have a 3+ cover save in buildings. Better yet, you’ll have 2+ save in fortified buildings. Remember that they get the cover save inside buildings even when in close combat (COD rules). This enhances the lifeline of any squad.

Carapace Armour
This one is kind of expansive. The only way I would take this if I was using Drop Troops to take the initial beating. After that you can run for cover. Carapace Armour does withstand most small arms fire, which is good. Its up to you.

Cyber-enhancement
Bionics aren’t good to begin with, so equipping your squads with them isn’t a good idea. Its expensive too!

Warrior Weapons
Pay points to make Guardsmen worse?!

How to use your infantry


The Infantry Squad is best use as a form of static fire power. Since most of your weapons are either rapid fire or heavy; moving is not a great option. But there are some nuances to it though. You want to create squads for a certain purpose. First you need some fire support in both categories (anti-vehicle and anti-infantry). As such you’ll need a well balanced force.

Heavy weapons ratio

+ 3 Heavy Bolters/Autocannons
+ 2 Missile Launcher/Lascannons

Which weapons you chose depends on which armies you usually face. You face a lot of Orks or Tyranids? Go for the Heavy Bolters and Missile Launchers (or Lascannons if he uses Extended Carapace on Carnifexes). You face a lot of Marines (or other heavy infantry)? Add some Autocannons and Lascannons. The clue is to anticipate on what you can expect and make it well rounded.

Deployment is the key to victory for every Imperial Guard army. There are a few things that are important when deploying your troops:

+ Get as much line of sight as possible
+ Make sure your inside the leadership-bubble
+ If you can make use of impassable terrain, do it (making you hard to reach)

You also want some units that can go out there and do jobs like claiming objectives and such. Since your normal troops have no transport, you will have to get more creative. You’re going to want to use special doctrines like Drop Troops or Light Infantry (which are both optional). These doctrines will often let you claim objectives and also have fire power at important points on the board.

I remember playing City of Death and we had to secure and hold the as many buildings on the board. Two stratagems: Infiltrate and Ammo Dump. I infiltrated the main building (which had the Ammo Dump) giving them a good line of sight. Needless to say the fight was for this building being the easiest defendable target once overtaken. Well, with two Heavy Bolter, two Plasmaguns and 14 Lasguns blazing (with to-hit re-roll) there was an onslaught.

This is just one of the many examples I can give you on great infiltration/objective claiming.

Conclusion


In conclusion I would like to say that I just love the Guardsmen. They are numerous and can out shoot almost anything. Now, let the opponent taunt your Guardsmen and eat their words at the end of the game…
 
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#2 ·
Thank you for this i have even got a couple of ideas from reading this. I exspecial like that you stuck for some weapons that deserve more credit then what they normally get the missle launcher and the mortar.

the only thing i did not like was the dissmisal of the sharp shooters as i find that it could be extremly useful if you have a doctrin left to put with anti tank squads.

ounce again i enjoyed reading it. Will you do many more of these?
 
#5 · (Edited)
This is a good tactica prittstift, and I have some points and counter points to add.

Grenade Launcher...Krak Grenade lacks AP
Heavy Bolter...nice AP
do you like AP4 or not?

In defense of the grenade launcher:
The usefulness of this weapon depends heavily on the opponent you will be facing. Gaunt swarms break before the frag grenade, as because they come in such large numbers they really cannot help but clump, and while it's AP is crap, it is still enough. The krak grenade is a beautiful thing for knocking out Tau, Eldar, midrange toughness Tyranids and other Imperial guard players. Beyond 12" this has the same rate of fire as the plasma gun plus if your enemy has managed to make use of cover terrain so that a squad or 2 do not have LOS than this allows you to move a bit and still get your 24" of range out of it. It also does not kill the man wielding it.

The Flamer:
I agree that the flamer is not a good weapon for most IG troops, however it can have it's place in assalut focused command squads and as you said Catachans.

The Plasma Gun:
I believe that usually the plasma gun should be kept out of troop squads, and reserved for command squads, veteran squads and stormtrooper squads. Reguar troops do not have the ballistic skill to counter balance the risk of overheating, and will often die before they have made their points back. Veterans carry the same risk as the guardsmen, but it is my opinion that their higher ballistic skill and their ability to concentrate 3 into one squad makes it worth losing some to overheating. Command squads, while having the same BS as troop squads and the same armour, can take the medic to reduce the risk. Storm troopers are where the plasma gun shines. They have decent ballistic skill and better armour, they were made for plasma.

The Melta Gun:
I would also like to point out that if you are buying plamsa guns, you will be buying melta guns. It is what I beleive to be a dirty scam on GW's part. They have thrown in a model that you probably wouldn't otherwise buy, and use it as an excuse to inflate the price of plasma. There is no way 2 little pieces of pewter should cost anywhere near $18. That's even a rip off by GW's standards... sorry about that, I sometimes need to vent a little. Anyways, as I was saying, you will have the melta guns, and they cost the same points as plasma guns, so try switching them in every so if your are going to be facing more tanks and T4 heros. It is truely sweet when a cheep upgrade instant kills a 150 point hero.

You covered the lascannon, missile launcher, autocannon and heavy bolter quite nicely there.

Mortar:
The only time I would use one of these is in an HQ command squad that has the master vox, and is therefore avoiding LOS. The mortar allows it to still put out a bit of firepower and possibly provide some annoying pinning fire.

Well said on vox casters and grenades.

Doctrines:
Drop Troops:
I should also add that you never want to mix this with heavy weapons. If you deep strike a heavy weapon the earliest it will fire is turn 3. This doctrine goes well with special weapons. Bear in mind that if you deep strike you must be prepared for close combat because it will happen a lot sooner when you land right beside the enemy.

Die hards:
Why worry about being outnumbered? We are the Imperial Guard, we are many!

Close order drill:
Been saved by this one more than once. It is a very handy one that I never leave home without.

Hardend fighters:
Not worth it. It may enchance your weapon skill, but at too high a cost to your model count. I would rather have more guardsmen, we are many!

Jungle fighters:
I would like to go into more detail here. Some new players might be scared off by the fact that you pay points and lose some of your armour save. This does not matter as you get a bonus to your cover save when in jungle instead. This enchanced cover save works better than a regular guard armour save, as most weapons have AP 5 or better anyways.
You also lose those handy lascannons, but most tanks want to stay out of the jungle anyways, as they will usually end up stuck in a ditch.
This also is a nice doctrine for heavy weapons focused armies. The ability to see 12" in jungle means you can sit well back with your heavy weapons shooting out of the jungle, but your enemy will be unable to fire back because he can only see 6" into jungle. This coupled with the ability to place last and place farther forward via infiltration even makes up for the lost lascannon, as a missile in the side is typically more deadly to a tank than a lascanonn in the front.

Light infantry:
My personal favorite. I like heavy weapons teams, a lot, and this allows me to place last. The benefit here is that I can see the whole set up of the enemy before I decide what heavy weapon goes where. This also works great for special weapons that have to get close like melta guns and flamers, as your deployment zone is opened up by infitration. Moving better in difficult terrain is nice, but it's not the reason to take this doctrine, and I often forget about it. I don't use sniper rifels either, they need an update.

Sharpshooters:
I agree that this one is not worth it on regular troop squads, but on heavy weapon squads and command squads that have 4 special weapons it is definately worth the points. The tanks and monstrous creatures are much more scared of my 3 lascannons and 4 melta guns because of sharpshooters. But yes, never take it on standard troop squads.

Xeno fighers:
Not worth it. If you put it on your list and then don't fight the race you tailored yourself to, it is 100% waste, unless you are the type who tailors your force to make anti-armies, which I think is unfair. Even when you do face the force you customised yourself against, then i just get back to the point of customising your force to the opponent you face. I think we should have our balaced list and rely on our tactics to beat our opponents, not make anti-armies.

Chem inhalers:
I like this doctrine, but I don't use it. It would be cool to ignor those negative modifiers and never fall back from shooting, but I realy on the ld bubbles of my HSO and JO with the HI and iron discipline.

Iron discipline:
You missed this one, and since i just mentioned it i will discuss it now. Never leave home without it. Guardsmen dont have the greatest moral and for good reason, they die easily. Your men are going to get to under half strength and the ability to regroup a squad with 4 men left, consisting of a sergeant, heavy weapon and special weapon can make the difference between victory and defeat. Instead of losing everything you have only lost the flashlights.

Chameloline:
Great for an army that prefers to rely on cover saves instead of armour saves, o wait, thats almost every guard army. If you have the points, definately take it. 7 point MEQs in the city who are immune to AP can be fun.

Carapace armour:
The decision here is more models who die more easily, or fewer models with more staying power. Your choice. I don't use it, but i wont say anything bad about it.

Cybernetic enhancments: Increase the cost of your troops by 1/3 and increase their staying power by 1/6 at best? Need i say any more?

Warrior weapons: I wouldn't be as hard on it, but i don't believe it is worth while.

As for the doctrines you missed:

Mechanised:
I have no experience with this one whatsoever. The chimera is a nice vehicle, but i would rather pay the 50%ish extra points (after you have taken all the worth while upgrades), get a leman russ and make the troops walk. Mechanised would also preclude the use of fire support squads.

Grendadiers:
Great for a more elite list with a storm trooper veteran combo, or if you want cheep troop choices.

Independant commissars:
A must have if you take conscripts.

Conscripts: (since i just mentioned them)
A great meat shield. If you take them than put a commissar on them and make that the only upgrade. No doctrines, no weapon upgrades, just cheep meat to protect everything else. Best used to tie up carnifexes/wraithlords etc. who cannot make their points back by killing conscripts or for assaluting things that would rather shoot. If for some reason you want to block LOS they work well for that too. Get 50, stretch them a bit wide and assault something. You are not allowed to shoot through an assault.

Veterans:
Pretty self explainitory. Removes the 0-1 cap on veteran squads. There is no elite that you can fill up on without taking a doctrine for it, so this is really just like unlocking a restricted troop.

ugh, sick of typing, ill come back and edit in a conclusion.
 
#12 ·
Mechanised:
I have no experience with this one whatsoever. The chimera is a nice vehicle, but i would rather pay the 50%ish extra points (after you have taken all the worth while upgrades), get a leman russ and make the troops walk. Mechanised would also preclude the use of fire support squads.
Spoken like a true guard general. "Sorry boys we need m0ar shooting so pls do be walking."

Excellent.

Also thanks for the tactica. I'm new to the IG so it definitely puts some perspective on the stuff I'm building.
 
#6 ·
Nice Tactica Prittshift, Rep.

Good retort Rabid-IBM, Rep.

I would have to side with Rabid on the Grenade Launcher issue, it is the weapon of choice with my infantry Squads.

Die hards has good use in some infantry squads as long as it is backed up by Iron Discipline. Often i have sent a single squad into advancing assault troops to hold them up. A squad with Die hards will hold for two assault phases at least. It's a nice option to have, maybe on a throw away remnant squad?

Cheers

Origin
 
#7 ·
Thanks guys.

Still on the Plasmagun, I think a lot better than the Grenade Launcher. The "gets hot" never gave me much grieve. The occasional Guardsmen gets killed, yes, but they generally kill enough opposing models (especially MEQs) to keep a blind eye.

As for the question: do I like AP4? Only on weapons which have a high rate of fire. Spray weapons not need as much AP as single shot weapons; they force more saves. That being said the answer on your question is: that depends on the weapon!

As for the Meltaguns, I think they are better used in a H. Vet squad. Three of these, deep striked next to a tank is just great. Use in Infantry Squads is rather limited. Ow yeah, and I agree with the blister being a cheeze fest...

Very good reply!

Thanks for the rep cookie, Origin.
 
#8 ·
The "gets hot" never gave me much grieve
You lucky bastard, it has been the bane of my army all too often. In a friendly game against necrons once i experimentally put 4 plasma guns in a command squad, had them hide behind a hill until the opportune moment, then run out and rapid fire. There were 4 explosioins, followed by a bewildered officer standing by himself on top of a hill.
 
#10 ·
Chem-inhaler
I like this one a lot. The fact that you will not have negative morale modifiers is very good since Guardsmen morale isn’t super. Especially if you use Drop Troops in which case your often outside the leadership-bubble. The fact that your Guardsmen don’t run but get pinned when failing a leadership check at the end of shooting is great. That the troops are on drugs is just a fun extra.
I have to disagree with that. I find it to be a terrible doctrine, it's not super cheap and delivers minimal bonuses considering you should be using Iron Discipline in a competitive army anyway (which is super cheap). I agree though it is a fun doctrine.

However it may well have its uses against a FotD army, although I haven't yet tried it against that. But in a take all comers list it has no place IMO.

Otherwise the rest of the tactica looks fine to me.

----------------

Hmmmm... Just noticed these.

[dice0][dice1][dice2][dice3][dice4][dice5]

Interesting.
 
#11 ·
Very nice tactica!

A few things:

Drop Troops

My favourite doctrine, I find it hard not to include it in a list. It's free, it's flexible, and it gives the Imperial Guard something it rarely has: mobility.

Tips:
- If you're bringing in a vehicle, say a Basilisk, equip it with Improved Comms. You are allowed to reroll one Reserves roll per turn for each one you have. It's a bit pricey but you don't need more than a handful. Remember the ENTIRE Platoon counts as one for Reserves roll purposes.
- This also ties in well with Close Order Drill. When you Deep Strike you have to place your individual units Base-to-Base. It's free like Drop Troops. And if your Guardsmen get Assaulted in the turn they Deep Strike they get +1 Leadership and Initiative. Take it if you don't have any other Doctrine you might want.
- Veterans are another favourite, load up with minimum veterans in a squad and the maximum amount of special weapons (as you can't fire heavy weaponry when you Deep Strike). They die quickly but can take out a target or inflict heavy casualties before they do.
- Flamers and standard infantry squads. Nothing fancy, just swarm the enemy with numbers and flame templates. Works as fodder for Veterans too.


Carapace Armour

Do not dismiss it out of hand. Suddenly those Space Marines that were carving up your Guardsmen with their Bolters are only killing half as usual a turn. This is a weighty decision, not all armies can put Carapace Armour to good use and not all points are best spent with it.

This just means you can save against Bolters, Storm Bolters, and Bolt Pistols, Flamers. Facing the Tau? Well now you save against the Burst Cannon and their Pulse guns too. Fighting the resurgent Eldar? The ubiquitous Shuriken can now be withstood! Ditto that nifty Assault 6 Sunrifle and the more common Lasblasters.

It does not suddenly turn you immune, don't think of it in terms of increasing your Guardsmen's survivability. Because after all, they are Guardsmen.

Think of it as investing into making your enemy's most common weapons 50% less effective. Then tell me it's never worth it. It's not a piece of junk but it's not invulnerability either, you'll love it in the right circumstances.

Give it a shot. It requires careful consideration and not a little sacrifice. If you're getting your butt handed to you by some Space Marines with Landspeeders then this isn't for you; the Heavy Bolter and AssCan will still chew right up and you're better off investing in more heavy weaponry.
 
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