1750 Rookie Guard Army

[fortiery]

Hey BoLS! I'm a returning 40 player from 3rd edition, and I've pulled out my guard army and picked up some extra stuff. Looking for some C&C on this list I'm leaning towards.

HQ

CCS
4x plasma gun
Chimera with HHB

Troops

PCS
3x flamer
1x heavy flamer
Chimera with HHF

3 x infantry squad, Autocannon + Grenade Launcher, 3x Chimera with HHB

2 x vet squad with 3x meltagun each, 2x Chimera with HHF

2 x vendetta

1x LBBT with HHB and HB sponsons
2 x Demolisher with HHB (no sponsons)

Now i haven't assembled the second vendetta or the demolishers yet. I am magnetizing everything, so I can field 2 valkyries instead of vendettas, and I can look at excecutioners instead of demolishers, or 1 and 1 or whatever the case may be. I do have enoug chimeras to field all 7, or I can hold off on a couple to save points (say for plasma sponsons). I have a few sentinels kicking around, a few more heavy weapon teams to assemble and am definitely looking at a hellhound variant for the future. Now I have't played a game in 5th edition yet, so please tear this list apart. I'd appreciate if any suggestions could be in line with the models I've listed above. Anything else might have to wait til I get my tax return.

Oh , and I'd like to make an all comers list.

[Lord Azaghul]

List looks pretty solid.
I do think you’d be better of changing one of the demolishers to an executioner w/ sponsons.
Chimeras: my personal favorate load out is Multilas turret, HF hull.

All mech is fine. But you can always field more troops if you drop a chimera or 3!

Hellhound variant: I honestly wouldn’t bother. Mine rarely live past turn one. I think sentinals (outlflanking) are the way to go.

[Sir Biscuit]

Generally, you'll want to have the multilaser turret instead of the heavy bolter turret, as it's better against most armies in the game. Also, the heavy flamer tends to be a better hull mount, as having a "panic button" when enemies close is nicer to have than three more shots at range.

Hellhounds are quite nice, and really really underused. The trick with them is to not rush them out ahead of your army, but keep them back until they can strike. Make sure you give yours the hull-mounted multi-melta, the versatility is well worth it.

You've spent a massive 480 points on your infantry platoon, as far as I can tell. That's too much for a mechanized platoon. You're better off turning those four platoon squads into three melta vet squads in chimeras, and putting extra armour on your command chimera with the 15 points left over, or equip one with plasma instead. It'll be much more effective, and those BS4 meltas will be a godsend when the opponent closes in on you. In addition, it's easy to pick up melta's, since you can direct order sprues of them from GW.

If you do keep the platoon, grenade launchers are, unfortunitly, not a good choice. Their blast is too weak to really hurt anything but the lightest of infantry, and most tanks could care less about a single BS3 S6 shot. You're much better off with a flamer for the same cost, but really you should spend the five extra points and grab a meltagun.

I've played a lot of guard, (mostly against them!) and one trend is remarkably clear: Vendettas that start on the board=dead, vendettas that outflank=IMMORTAL. This is mostly due to the fact that if they show up later, and preferably far away, the enemy doesn't have the time or resources to deal with them. If they start on the board, they're the first things to go down, since they make great first turn targets. Find the points for an Astropath, outflank them, and make them come in on the board edge furthest away from the enemy. They'll be too far away for the enemy to deal with, too high up to let anyone hide form them, and laughing all the way home as they nail side armor.

I would also recommend dropping a demolisher for a Manticore. The Manticore is a shockingly deadly tank, and a fantastic answer to AV14 at range, and it absolutely DECIMATES foot mobs. Since you already have 2 Valkyries, you can use the big missiles they came with and convert one easily from a chimera. Honestly, the Manticore is one of the only units I've seen in 40k which is ALWAYS valuable.

I honestly think executioners are overrated. It's too expensive to field one with plasma sponsons, a whopping 230 points, or 245 with the lascannon as well, which most people do. A demolisher, I find, is only slightly less effective and costs WAY less.

As for heavy weapons teams, make them autocannon. It's unfortunite, but the other options don't give you the same return for their cost.

Overall, you've got the start of a good all-comers list. The options I gave will make it stronger, but it's not necessarily the best build. I recommend a lot of proxy with your friends, try out every unit in the codex. (Erm, maybe skip Rough Riders...) It's the best way to find out which units work for you, and support the kind of tactics your best at. Best of luck!