Well at first I had decided to play strictly Deathworld Veterans with Kroot Mercenary allies indigenous to the planet where these Deathworlders are from. But then I read in despair that the Deathworld Veterans list cant take ANY sort of vehicle whatsoever.. not even a chimera.
Now I know when your entire army infiltrates to varying degrees or start off the game hidden/in hard cover vehicles arent a priority, especially in jungle terrain. But GW got one giant glaring thing wrong here..
..not ALL deathworlds are full of vast jungles!! Just Catachan & others like it, but there are just as many that are toxic wastelands, freezing polar planets, planets where the nearest sun light only shines for a few hours each day, volcanic mountanous planets full of caves and rocky debris, etc. On plenty such worlds troop transport and even so much as a fighting tank could have its obvious uses.
Because of this, im playing the regular Imperial Guard list with the doctrines of light infantry & jungle fighting, and the rest i've yet to choose because i dont have a codex at the moment. Very possibly that one "weapon warriors" or something that helps you somehow in close combat? Lol.. which brings me to my question.
Do you think Imperial Guard can make a decent hand to hand "detachment" or platoon, not entire force, that is competant and good in close combat against at least half of the other race's conscripts and low caste fighters? What Im thinking about is two Chimeras loaded with 2 squads equipped for hand to hand combat and influenced by the best doctrines. Accompanying these brave 18 young men will be three Catachan-issue Sentinels, with the Heavy Flamer & "Chainsaw addition", giving it an extra attack in close combat, which makes 2 WS4 STR5 attacks from the senintel -- not great but not too terrible i suppose. I figure the chimeras and sentinels will all go down 1 flank, or all down the center if forced, all acting on the same targets in coordination. Up close im having the feeling that 3 heavy flamers would really help those poor Deathworlders out fighting / about to fight for their lives. The Sentinels could also enter a combat, if it's a good idea at the time. What do you think about this as a close combat platoon if you will? Will it work or will i get my ass handed to me repeatedly? I plan on using the options for the Veterans of bringing plasma guns or melta guns if im facing someone with lots of armor. If the combat is an obvious loss, I could roast them & the enemy up alike with the heavy flamers, lol. Hey, they're piloted by Commissar cronies.
Just so you know, the rest of the army (1500pts total for the entire army) would consist of a 2nd platoon outfitted for more ranged combat (again, just 2 squads, minimum for platoon) with plasma guns and maybe even a heavy weapon. This will be my Human Deathworld force, mostly indiginous Humans from this particular Deathworld, but led by a small elite force of Imperial Guard from a neighboring Deathworld which has already been claimed for the Imperium. Kroot Also inhabit this world, and have been warring with the human tribes and their own tribes since the dawn of their creation, whoever came first. The reason for Imperial interest in this Deathworld is the fact that the Tau already have a base colony in place on the other side of the planet & have befriended tribe upon tribe of Kroot for labor & combat against rebelious tribes. One of the Shaper's from the tribal inner council refused to join the Tau and defected with 1/3rd of the Kroot tribes on the planet. Since then, they've found themselves alongside Human warriors frequently, even learning basic ways to communicate from race to race. They do have a lust for organism flesh, but they're kept under control by the Shapers, not to mention they have to kill their opponent in combat before partaking on their flesh, for that is very taboo in this kroot society.
Anyways, thats how Deathworld vets under Imprial Guard rules with Kroot allies will work out, some fluff (hey I wanted to brainstorm my story into a better one) on how this unlikely pair joined up as allies on this dreaded, near-toxic volanic world, and a couple of requests for your opinions on the close combat platoon. thx for reading my long ass post.
