Using Guard as Allies/New Guard player help

[Exark]

Hi all ,

 

I ' m a long time Wolf of Fenris who ' s been looking at Guard for years and finally got around to getting them . My Wolves are primarily Mechanized at the moment and I ' m looking at using the Guard as a firebase however at the moment I ' ve no clue as to how that should look ( I ' ll show my current theoryhammer list below shortly ). Ideally I want to build up my guard as an infantry heavy list with armoured / artillery support .

 

From a fluff perspective they ' re meant to represent the Auxilia to my Marine company ( Iron Hands successor derived somewhat from the Wolves ).

 

So anyway , onto my current conundrum , the core of my 1500 point army is as below

 

Space Wolves CAD

 

Wolf Guard Battle Leader

Armor of Russ , Wolf Claw , Power Fist , Thunderwolf Mount

 

Grey Hunters Pack x 3

5 Hunters , Meltagun , Razorback

 

Predator x 2

Autocannon , Lascannon Sponsons

 

This clocks into about 815 points ,

so I ' ve got 685 to spend on the guard , +/- 235 depending if I bring a vendetta , this is where I need the help as this allied detachment is also going to be the core of my guard army

 

What I ' m currently thinking is :

 

Astra Militarum Allies

 

Company Command Squad

Plasma Gun x 2

 

Infantry Platoon

- Platoon Command Squad

- Infantry Squad x 2

- Heavy Weapons Squad x 2

-- Autocannons

 

Vendetta Gunship

 

Leman Russ Executioner

 

Alternately ,

 

Astra Militarum CAD

 

Company Command Squad

 

Veteran Squad x 2

Grenadiers , Plasma Gun x 2 , Autocannon team

 

Vendetta Gunship

 

Leman Russ Executioner

 

Wyvern

 

One thing to note is that Forgeworld is forbidden at the moment in my gaming group , however once I get it , would a battery of Medusas ( the artillery not the SPG form ) be worth it ?

 

Thanks in advance guys

[Myrkul]

I would say first, what do you need the guard to fill w/in your roster?

 

You can bring blobs with you as tarpit/obsec mass for pretty cheap with decent weaponry.

 

Somthing like:

Lord Commissar (HQ)

Priest

Infatry platoon (Troop)

-PCS w/ special weapons

-Infantry squad x3 w/ melta bomb and X special weapon

-30 man conscript blob.

 

Depending on special weapons that should clock in say 400-420 points range, gives you two big blobs that are obsec. Add in a pair of Wyverns and a vendetta and your good to go. If your really want you can toss the PCS in a droppod (as a FA slot) with 4 meltas or flamers and drop it where ever on board as a first turn anti tank or objective clearing suicide unit.

 

If you take Vets. I would pick a specific role(i prefer melta vets) and use them for that only, and keep them cheap. If i mount them in taurox/chimara I only take two guns. If pod them ill take three. I wouldnt take heavy weapons unless you planning on just leaving them in the back field shooting.

[Exark]

@Myrkul, I'm looking at guard to bring massed long range fire, and the body count that SM tends to lack

[greycat]

Myrkul's suggestion of having a platoon and conscripts is a pretty good one. Literally just put a commissar in each squad or a priest and sit them on home line objectives. Give the platoon autocannons or lascannons (personally I prefer lascannons) and just fire off shots while being a huge blob to contend with. Use the conscripts on another objective or as meatshields and literally just run them at the enemy. Yarrick is also a fantastic guy to have in your blob as he hits hard. Consider putting him in there. It also means you dont have protect your CCS as 5 guys is pretty fragile.

 

I wouldnt take a single wyvern as they are too fragile and in kill point games give up that point too easily and because they are so cheap at least two should be taken. Vendetta is a good option but I wouldnt run the executioner because overheat will likely kill it especially if you put sponsons on it.

[Exark]

Myrkul , greycat , thanks for the suggestions guys ,

 

Now Myrkul , why a Lord Comissar over a CCS in that setup , is it for Aura of Discipline ?

 

Would it be worth bringing a normal LR in sub-1500 points? My only concern at this point is a lack of other high-threat units to take the heat off of my other tanks and confuse my opponents target priority (hence the executioner, I regularly play a Tyranids player and a GK player)

[Myrkul]

I generally run my blobs as a tarpit/area denial unit with GL and melta bombs with a priest, and bubble rap my tanks with them. So i generally dont use orders much (the way I use my infantry).

 

The Lord Commissar is a cheap HQ choice (a melta bomb less then a tac squad) that also give stuborn and Summery execution keeping the blob there(negating needing to bring a priest or plain commissar).

 

That being said if youre looking to run a range blob or weapon teams with auto/lascannons, a CCS would be better for orders. (Psyker support would be a good choice as well if your running lascannons for prescience).

 

And I agree with Greycat, Ive found Wyverns are best in pairs. One is nice, two is amazing; three in a squad is a bit overkill.

 

As far as Russes go, its hit or miss. If you just running a battle cannon i dont see it drawing much attention. Demolisher is meh (and a vindicator is cheaper and does the same thing). The rest are niche roles. With wyverns punishers and eradicatora arent bringing anything more to the table, executioner is nice, but may kill iteself.

 

I would say blobs and a pair of wyverns bring nice support, and vendettas are still probably one of the best anti-air/tank/mc unit youll find. Start with that and see what else IG can bring to round your list after you play a few games.

[WarriorFish]

Welcome to the Guard :tu: For Marines especially Wolves the numbers and fire power of the Platoon is better. For good use of infantry a CCS is a better choice than a Lord Commissar unless you're keep to keep things cheap. Otherwise numbers and fire power is what Guard does best, so load up on the guns you need with plenty of troopers and they'll hold the line and offer some strong long ranged fire.

[Exark]

Thanks guys, so I've been using a Platoon blob of 2 squads and 2 autocannons and I absolutely love it. They've consistently wrecked their targets in every game I've brought them. Only thing I'm a tad worried about was morale when they ran off the table in one game, though the rest of my army had been wrecked anyway.

 

 

So my list is looking something along the lines of

 

Rune Priest

ML 2

 

Grey Hunters x 2

Dual Meltagun, Rhino (CCWs?)

 

Predator x 2

LC

 

Then the guard

 

CCS

Vox Caster if points allow

 

Infantry Platoon

 

Blob (two IS with 1 AC each)

 

HWS with Autocannons

 

Vendetta

 

Leman Russ executioner

 

 

So I just started fielding the Executioner yesterday and it nearly killed itself in one shooting phase, but it wrecked a GK squad and knocked a hull point off a Dreadknight

Wyverns are still a possibility but at the moment my list has a bit of a lack of AP2/AP1 shooting for TEQ and MCs (my current meta is a Nid player and a GK player with Chaos and Tau coming soon). Also I like Tanks

 

The Vendetta has so far underperformed so it MAY get replaced with a Stormwolf pending more testing, but one issue I'm facing now is on the front of Armor saturation vs. lack of long range fire.

 

I'm also worried about the HWS as they tend to require my RP to babysit them to soak up wounds with Runic Armor (aside from that when buffed they perform amazingly). Is there another alternative for Long range shooting I can consider?

 

I'm leaning towards a sentinel squad with Multilasers but would it be worthwhile?

 

That being said, I'm enjoying the Guard more than my wolves xD. Seeing the look on my friends face when I state the amount of shots I get from the blob after FRF SRF is priceless.

[WarriorFish]

You could attach a character to keep the squad holding, though if the rest of your army was going I wouldn't say that's a big issue. Guard have plenty of ways of getting big guns in, if you want alternatives then vehicles are the place to look. Sentinels can field mobile heavy weaponry without breaking the bank, with plenty of options to suit your need. Otherwise can't go wrong with a Russ variant or perhaps artillery but be wary of friendly fire if you take the AP3 weaponry!

[Myrkul]

Yeah priest/commissars are inexpensive and wilk keep your units there via fearless or execution. You can also attach a marine IC as well ATSKNF effects the unit a model is attatched to, so even if they break, theyll auto rally next turn.