How to get into an IF army

[Berzul]

Hi everyone!

So, I have been a Dark Angels player since early 6th edition, but I have always found that the Imperial Fists are one of the best chapters in terms of fluff and backstory. After these years, I have decided to stop collecting my main army for a good while, and start assembling an Imperial Fist army for the forseen future.

 

But, having played such a "particularly" organized chapter like the Dark Angels, I am a bit lost on how to approach this new army.

 

What I AM planning is to make it very thematic, focused on fortification warfare. I plan on putting together an army that brings Bastions and the like along as often as possible, with aerial support and lots of heavy firing units, as much as I can.

 

Can you guys give me some pointers on the strengths and weaknesses of this chapter?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom you may be able to share.

[Mazer Rackham]

You will find many knightly sons amongst the warriors of Dorn as well Brother of the Lion!

 

I can really only give you some fluff nuggets I am afraid as I haven't really put them on the table since 5th Edition.  Rules and effect-wise I shall leave that to wiser brethren :)

 

I think you have a grasp of the IF flavour certainly, think along the lines of siege warfare, city fighting and the crucible of driving your men into the hellstorm of close quarters combat in the most lethal environment known across the stars: rubble smashed buildings.

 

The Fists in character are stoic, determined and selfless.  They are noble, not braggarts as a rule and love glory, value sacrifice. They uphold the institutions of the Imperium where they can.  They are well noted for their diplomacy - during the Reign of Blood, when the Imperium was at war with itself *again* the bastions and palaces of the Imperial Fists were untouched by both sides, because neither wanted to make enemies of them!   They can be proud and sometimes arrogant, but they will never give in - defeat or surrender are lies to them: this is both their blessing and a curse.  Anecdotal I know, but I can count on one hand when my Fists have failed a morale check through 3rd and 4th edition.

 

They bring death by Holy Bolter in disciplined, unrelenting volleys of accurate fire.  What is that?  Your enemy laughs from cover?  I'm sorry, I can't hear them over the sound of the Fists making it into a tomb!  Fortifications with combined artillery and air support?  Where does this Recruit sign?!

 

The Fists have heavy discipline, being based on the Junker model of behaviour, honour duels to first cut, the loyalty to the codex and the flexibility to theme your armies around strategies.  Heavy guns, Hammernators, (they also used to have a Thunderfire Artillery formation for Throne;'s sake!)  and the big man himself Lysander.  A dude so awesome he has a beard and a close mohawk and chews his way out of Iron Warrior dungeons for sport, murders them with his bare hands, starts a riot with a few friends, then steals their ships, comes back a hundred years later as captain of the 1st Company and wrecks all their stuff and kills them to the last man.  Then burns down their house.

 

A Proper Son of Dorn right there.

 

You will find more similarities if you played Greenwing with your DA, but the differences in attitude are there for you to exploit.  No secrecy here.  The Betchers Gland (acid spit) and Sus-An Membrane (hibernation organ) don't work in the Fists, but otherwise over a third of newly founded chapters (or thereabouts) use IF Geneseed as the Emperor's Juice of choice.  And did I mention our Homeworld is Terra?  You know, big E's Papa Pad?  Well it is and we have lots of bastions and the right to recruit there.  Exclusively.

 

Essentially the Imperial Fists can be summed up in a few quotes.

"I have travelled far and seen much, but nothing warms my heart like the sight of a gun big enough to shake the world"

"Do we bemoan such losses?  We are the Fists!  We do not need to hibernate or spit venom - we crush our enemies!"

 

The biggest downside to playing and painting Fists is the Yellow, but it is doable and there are many guides on the B+C on how to get that done, although my favourite is and always will be, spray 'em white, get the white perfect, paint the yellow on.

 

Oh and Iron Warriors are scum who steal candy from babies and punch old grannies.  

 

All I can think of now - no doubt other, greater minds than I will chime in shortly - I don't know if this helped, but I hope it at least entertained :)

 

MR.

[Berzul]

Thank you, very much.

 

Indeed, I have found through my readings of the Chapter, that the Imperial Fists are as you describe them. Makes me want to assemble an army even more. Your description of the Chapter was both helpful and entertaining, so thank you.

 

I have been playing around with possible lists. I am still reading more and trying to get a grasp of how the Imperial Fists differ in playstyle from my usual Dark Angels. Like I described in my original post, I want to form a very thematic army, with fortifications, lots of heavy support, and gunlines. Something that changes dramatically from the Terminators + Bikes style of the First Legion.

[Mazer Rackham]

You are welcome. :)

 

The way you've got it in your plan sounds good to me.

 

Basically if your IF army moves?  You're doing it wrong. 

 

MR.

[Dosjetka]

MR has gone over some good points. I shall try and add some more.

 

While Scouts are the more competitive Troops choice in this edition, your bread-and-butter should be Tactical Squads. They form a line and hold it, no matter the cost. Since Imperial Fists are masters of bolt weaponry and are largely static, a loadout I would suggest is: storm bolter and chainsword on the Sergeant, heavy bolter on the heavy weapons specialist, and boltguns on the remaining eight Tactical Marines. This also allows you to get the most out of our Chapter Stratagem: it's not great but if you want to use it, you might as well create the optimal conditions for its use. :tu:

 

HQ-wise, you can't really go wrong with any of the choices fluff-wise but my usual plan is: small games -> Lieutenant, bigger games -> Captain (with or without Lieutenant), and then whatever HQ tickles your fancy.

 

Now once you have that "core", I'd suggest taking at least one squad of Devastators. Since your Tactical Squads are kitted out to deal with infantry in the mid-to-short range, I'd suggest you kit the Devastators out with long-range anti-tank weaponry (i.e. lascannons). Take 1-3, depending on the points you have at your disposal, and one missile launcher (to be able to use the flakk missile Stratagem).

 

Since your Tactical Squads and Devastators are your gunline (which you can supplement with artillery such as Whirlwinds and Thunderfire cannons, and/or Dreadnoughts), you need some units who can go and grab objectives for you. You can go with minimum-unit-sized Tactical Squads in transports, Scout Squads for infiltrating and holding their position, or Bike/Assault Squads for some fast-moving units that can also serve as a counter-assault force if the situation requires it.

 

One thing I also like to do is take at least one Terminator Squad to drop wherever needed to boost the battle line, distract my opponent, or seize a far-flung objective. If you add Captain Lysander into the mix, your opponent is going to have to deal with those deep-striking Terminators before they lay down some serious damage in your opponent's back field.

 

I hope that helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)

[Berzul]

Thanks!

 

I have come to similar conclussions when reviewing my options.

 

It happens that I the whole idea behind getting into an IF army comes from an idea I got for a custom-made successor chapter, that I think would fit with their fighting style. But, it would not be a codex-compliant army, so I do not know how it would go about with their progenitors. As I understand it, IF are very much in line with the Codex.

 

But, the concept was an army formed in a single company of 100 battle brothers, that has no tactical squads, and an overabundance of Devastator Squads. Neophytes would go through the Scout Squads of the army, and when upon being inducted as full-fledged Battle Brothers, they would get placed directly into one of the army's Devastator Squads, then climb up the ranks into the company's 1st Squad of veterans.

 

My idea is to form lists that use lots of devastators (heavy bolters, missile launchers and lascannons all around), and scout infantry for frontline and advancement formations.