New 30k Player - 3 Imperial Fist Variants

[Stofficus]

Alright folks, I know there's already an IF list set under review, and after having looked it over I figured I'm sufficiently different as to not be too redundant. 

So, I have three different lists I'm trying to settle on - they're all 3k, and are designed to cost, roughly, the same amount of actual money. 

Variant 1: Flexible Infantry

 

HQ:

 

Sigismund (No Rite of War) 230

 

Master of Signals 95 (naked)

 

Troops

 

Legion Tactical Squad 270

 

19x Marines

1x Sgt

Nuncio Vox

Legion Vexilla

 

Legion Tactical Squad 270

Same as above

Templar Brethren 360

 

10x Combat Shields

Champion w/ Solarite Power Gauntlet
 

Elites:

 

Legion Apothecarion 155

 

3x Apothecaries

 

2w/ Augury Scanners

1w/ Artificer armour

 

Legion Contemptor Talon 215

 

1x Contemptor w/ Kheres Assault cannon, chainfist w/ melta gun

 

Legion Terminators 550

 

5x Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers and Vigil Pattern Stormshields

 

DT: Land Raider Phobos

 

Heavy Support:

 

Legion Heavy Support Squad 290

 

10x Marines w/ Missile Launchers

Sgt w/ Augury Scanner

 

Lord of War:

 

Legion Fellblade 565

 

Space Marine crew

Armoured ceramite. 


This is the core I have developed for my variants; Apothecaries join the Templars and the two 20 man blobs. Mobility is somewhat limited, and the general idea is gradual advance against defensive foes using volume of BS5 bolter fire and missile/fellblade fire support. Templars go after chief objectives behind the Raider, and act as counter-assault against more melee focused armies. Chief weaknesses are speed in maelstrom versus non-30k armies (Eldar, Tau, etc) and Anti-Air firepower is limited to snapshot weapons. 


Variant 2: The Stone Gauntlet

Uses much of the same as above, so will only list differences here

HQ: 

 

Sigismund (The Stone Gauntlet RoW)

Troops

 

Legion Breacher Squad 335

 

14x Marines

Vexilla

Nuncio Vox

3x Volkite Charger

Sgt w/ Breaching Charge

 

Legion Breacher Squad 335

 

Same as above

 

Phalanx Warder Squad 400 

 

9x Warders w/ Power Axe

Sgt w/ Artificer + Thunder Hammer

 

Elite:

 

Apothecarion 135

 

3x Naked Apothecaries

 

Heavy Support

 

Heavy Support Squad 340

 

10x Missile launchers w/ Flakk Missiles

 

 

Fellblade is cut, and Land Raider could be used for Warders instead of Terminators. Tacticals swapped for breachers. Templars, Master of Signals and Contemptor still present. 

 

This list is much more durable, and has quite good assault potential and general assault resilience, but would do, I feel, very poorly against 40k lists which will remain, at the very least, half of my regular opponents (and xenos at that; I'm the only IG player, and there is only one 40k Loyalist marine player aside from myself, the rest are Tau, Eldar, Tyranid, necron, CSM, Daemons, etc). The poor mobility versus 30k armies won't be as keenly felt versus others, and the reliance on close range weapons and melee potential will fare quite poorly versus them. However, I do like the idea of a bunch of shield-armoured IF legionnaires grinding down the enemy in close order formation. 

Also, Phalanx Warders are a very odd unit, I went with power axes as that's what the kit provides, but the rules push them in several directions. 

 

Variant 3: Mechanised (no RoW)

Not really the IF`s standard cliché, but, you know, vehicles! Again, using Variant 1 as template, only listing differences

Troops

 

Legion Tactical Squad 235

 

9x Legionnaires

Nuncio Vox

Vexilla

Additional CCW

 

Rhino APC w/ Heavy Bolter

 

Legion Tactical Squad 230 (same as above, Rhino with TL Bolter instead of HB)

 

Templar Brethren Squad 555

 

7x Templars

8x Combat Shields

Champion w/ Solarite Power Gauntlet

 

Land Raider Phobos

 

Elites:

 

Apothecarion 110

 

2x Apothecaries

1x Artificer armour w/ Power sword

1x Naked

 

Terminator Squad 310

 

Teleportation Transponders

4x TH/SS Terminators (including Sgt)

1x Iliastus pattern Assault Cannon + Power Fist

 

Heavy Support

 

Legion Heavy Support Squad 340

 

10x Missile launchers w/ Flakk Missiles

Sgt w/ Augury Scanner

 

Predator Squadron

 

1x Predator w/ Lascannons

 

 

Fellblade stays in, as does Contemptor and Master of Signals and Sigismund. MoS sits with heavy support squad and naked apothecary, Sigismund joins upgraded Apothecary in the Land Raider. 

This list is simultaneous both more gunline-y and more mobile, but has lower infantry firepower. With only 45 infantry models, losses would be keenly felt, but I have the most potential to challenge Maelstrom missions, and would be slightly faster to play. Chief weaknesses would be against deep-strike heavy armies (loss of augury scanners and volume of models - vehicles extra vulnerable) and melee-centric builds. Templars and terminators can fight quite well in close quarters, but vehicles melt and I don't have weight of tacticals to hold off melee forces. Especially strong against vehicle lists, and more able to break through gunlines. 

 

Some of these choices are influenced by me having a surplus of currently unused Marine models to cut costs down; I have one land raider, 5 Assault terminators and 10 tacticals (5 Dark Vengeance, 5 generic, I'd used the generic here), about 30 Mk 7 marines, 7 missile launcher marines (can easily rustle up 3 more from the local group) and one Predator with lascannons. I do have lots of spare special weapons, so support squads are a very real possibility (mostly plasma and flamers; meltas heavily used in my Minotaur army). There is also one local player with a box of 47 Rhinos which he's partial to throwing at people who so much as hint they might need a Rhino (he had 52), they're not in great shape but certainly salvageable, so transports don't really increase costs for me. 

My opponent pool is split about 60/40 in favour of 40k, with the 30k players also having 40k armies. World Eaters, Iron Warriors, Night Lords and a nascent Mechancium on the 30k front, and as mentioned early, overwhelmingly Xeno + Chaos on the 40k front; Farsight Enclaves, Eldar, regular Tau, Tyranids, Necrons, Orks, Thousand Sons, Daemons, Daemonkin, Dark Eldar and a single Dark Angels player who's mostly given up in favour of BFG (we have some grand naval battles), and a single Crimson Fists player. Some of these guys only bring the most powerful stuff imaginable, taking full use of multiple detachments, formations, superheavies, summoning. While I don't have much interest in being hyper-competitive, I'm also simultaneously a little bored of being rocked again and again with my Death Korps and Minotaurs, so I'm looking for advice on efficiency, but I don't need, per se, the "optimal" list to be happy, especially as it isn't key versus the 30k crowd which is much more relaxed (as are the Tyranid and Orks, so Flyrant spam isn't something I need fear). 

Any feedback would be appreciated. 

 

 

 

[jeremy1391]

Apothecaries can't join Templar squads sadly.

 

I like list one. However I'd give the land raider from the terminators to the Templars and give the terminators the tele transponder.