Guilliman's escorts

[StrummersGhost]

Hey fellow astartes,

 

Apologies if this has already been discussed in numerous threads previously. I've only ever used Guilliman to buff a backfield gun line (to great effect) however I'm continually hearing that this is something of a waste of his talents in destruction. As such I want to try throwing him into the fray on the front line. What kind of unit is best to escort him? I was considering a vanguard veteran squad toting plasma pistols and chainswords.

[Tamiel]

Sad thing is, either way you are wasting some of his potential.
If you keep him back, you get to buff heavy hitters (pred tanks, devastators, twin-linked AC razorbacks) most of which want to stand still. (And yeah, 3+ to hit reroll is much better than 4+ to hit reroll, so you can't just say "Keep the devastators and tanks moving, it's okay you have Guilliman" they WILL miss more).
If you push Guilliman in, you are potentially making more use of his melee, but consider the following:

1) What if your opponent has a bubble wrap of conscripts/cheap daemons/cheap boys/cheap nids? Even if you start laying wounds down on these guys, he's going to take the casualties from wherever Guilliman is not, so that Guilliman will always have a wall of bubble wrap that he will have to break through. And his Emperor's sword is good, but it's a serious waste to use it on cheap cannon fodder.

2) You're exposing yourself to way more danger. In general, being closer to your opponent means both Guilliman (and the guys you have protecting him) are going to be under more fire.
3) You're not making as much use of Guilliman's auras. Bolters aren't that great, even with the reroll auras. Twin-ACs, Lascannons... those are the things you want to buff. Once you get into melee, you can buff the thunder hammers and what-not, but see point 1).

In short, getting Guilliman "in" is a lot harder than it seems. It's easier said than done. If you're facing any horde army at all, just forget about it until you can effectively get rid of the bubble wrap (which requires you to sit back and buff your twin-ACs).

It sucks to keep Guilliman hanging back, but sadly moving him forward not only opens him up to a lot of risks (including his guys protecting him) but also doesn't even guarantee a valid use of his melee prowess.

If you can somehow get Guilliman in on a high-value enemy target, without losing Guilliman or his bodyguard, then that is a really good situation. But being in a situation like that (or creating a situation like that) seems really difficult.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Tamiel

[Hopper21]

I stick some honour guard with gman and use him really aggressively. I normally park a fire raptor and stormtalon each side of him and delete units. Edited October 27, 2017 by Hopper21

[Captain Idaho]

Use assault units. Terminators with rerolls would enjoy Guilliman's auras. Terminators have guns also ;)

 

Surround him with a Terminator squad and Sternguard escort. Perhaps a Contemptor.

 

You'll get all the benefits of the rerolls plus Guilliman's killing potential isn't wasted.

[Brother Captain Ed]

I play Guilliman very aggressively. He may be mathematically best sitting back, but there's nothing in the codex that compares to administering an Emperor's Sword enema.

 

His posse is simple:

 

Tigurius is an auto include. His hard-to-hit ability helps both the bodyblockers and Guilliman himself when the time comes. His ability to Deny helps keep Smites and other powers in check. And his own powers are both formidable and very useful. Might of Heroes and Psychic Fortress are crucial, not just for Guilliman but for...

 

A Venerable Dread with an assault cannon. The assault cannon is great in Guilliman's bubble, as is his melee ability. It's also a hard target so small arms can't just sweep Guilliman's bodyblockers. While Guilliman still has blockers, the dread is a perfect target for Might of Heroes as it sends it to T8 with the 6+ FNP. Plus, it's an outstanding lightning rod for Smite. Psychic Fortress plus Armor of Contempt plus Venerable will give you a chain of 4+ then 5+ then 6+ against any mortal wounds it takes. The only downside is that is might explode and you gotta be careful to have a reroll for it or the whole bubble will suffer.

 

Aggressors. Aggressors are not good. But they are pretty solid with Cadillac rerolls and they can keep up with Guilliman who wants to be advancing as much as possible. Lots of times they take fire and die, but that's ok. They are there to shoot as much as they can and soak up bullets that would otherwise be directed at Guilliman. Also, if you find that you need to receive a horde of orks or tyranids, their double tap will do *work* in that bubble.

 

Finally, Honor Guard. It's 4 extra wounds for a pittance. Find the points.

 

Lately I've been toying with adding assault bolter Intercessors to the posse. I've used the rapid fire version and they were good at providing extra wounds but not as much at killing and it slowed the bubble. The assault version seems like it should fit.

 

Anyway, there you have it. It will get Big G there or the wall of bullets you're facing would have annihilated you anyway. There's no ranged anti tank because the whole point is to deliver Guilliman and the Dreadnaught into melee with those targets. There's a good volume of small arms though and it will pop all but the most stacked of bubble wraps.

 

Good luck! And don't forget to make sure you have rerolls for Guilliman's invuln and get up rolls as his guards begin to melt away.

[StrummersGhost]

Wow thanks for the well thought out replies everyone, that's exactly what I needed and exactly why I love this board.

 

There will definitely be times where I'll still be using guilliman in the backfield to purely boost shooting as it's extremely effective especially against horde armies (of which there are alot of in my little meta). But I'm now really looking forward to experimenting with an aggressive strategy with him now I have an understanding of what he needs to get across the board in one piece. I'll perhaps report back with a list and a wee batrep!

[Ishagu]

I only keep him back in the first turm or so.

Once you've damaged some of your opponent's ranged firepower you can start to advance him forward :-)

[Freman Bloodglaive]

I'd say Venerable Dreadnoughts make a pretty good bodyguard. While there are versions (twin autocannon, las/missile) that want to stay in the backfield, a Venerable Dreadnought with a close combat weapon and a big gun walking beside Guilliman will benefit from his re-rolls, and still provide him with some durable and deadly support.

 

For some cross chapter support, try some Space Wolves Venerable Dreadnoughts with storm shields. As noted above, having Tigurius to dispell, and dish out a psychic bashing is a good plan for keeping Smite spammers under control. I'd be slapping psychic fortress on whoever will be closest to the enemy Librarians every turn.

[beefeb]

I keep RG behind the main front. I usually park him up near primaris dread or other similar firebase. Once the initial few heavy fire exchanges are done i use him more aggressively to target hard to crack melee units. Aggressors are a great accompaniement to him in going forward or just keep the dread with him.

 

Yes the emp sword is great but his buffs to shooting make him essential in opening rounds and thinning out the enemy gunline...after that go nuts.

 

I love running tigurius with him as well.