Some Imperial Guard Advice

[Dorsai]

For fast attack, you cannot beat the Vendetta. Outflanking with 3 twin linked lascannons. With the transport capacity, it make for a very effcient way to drop melta or plasma vets on a back line to threaten enemy vehicles.

As to Straken, I definitely support taking him, though I field him with Nork, two melta's and a medic. In carpace armor it is a mean combo. Nork being toughness 5 means you have something that you can put s8 and s9 wounds on without losing an entire model. His ripper gun is also mean. And on the charge, he is s6 and so can do some damage to light armor as well.

The Manticore is a great weapon to use against clusters of troops or vehicles. Always look for clumps. Try to find someplace that mean you will hit something no matter how it scatters. I have managed to pop three rhinos with one missile once. Doesn't happen often. but when it does, you opponent tend to just look in horror at the wreckage you just incurred on his line.

[Grenadier]

The thing is the Valkyrie kits doesn't allow you to make a Vendetta does it? When I built mine it didn't seem possible to do so for lack of the right bits. And I customized mine just for fun to have a big GAU 8 Avenger cannon sticking out of the nose like the almighty A-10. It doesn't really do anything new in a game. It just makes it look mean.

To be honest my Straken and Nork have never gotten to do anything in a battle except stand there and bark orders. I keep my command squad to the rear and pray someday my opponent gets close enough to assault them. However, my shooting means they never do.

But you gotta love Nork! He's an Ogryn! Big, bad, ugly, and a brute at that. The ripper gun is impressive to say the least having been able to use those my other Ogryn's carry. Gotta love guns that can score glancing hits on armor 10 and chew up lightly armored troops effectively.

If the past is any indication I shouldn't have trouble hitting clumps of vehicles and troops. My opponent has a habit of crowding his stuff. Due in part to the fact we often play very high points totals and so he has lots out there. And due in part also to he really really sucks at deployment! Often his deployment seriously hinders his movement phase! So I'm confident my Manticore and Basilisks, as well as Russ tanks will rip huge hunks out of his army each game.

And so, as ever, with my Guard I shall rely on the glory of overwhelming firepower to beat Chaos and those daemons I fear so much. When in doubt: shoot the crap out of it!

[Dorsai]

It is true that the kits don't have the stuff to make Vendettas, (what the hell GW?), but if you have lascannons left over from heavy weapon teams, you should be able to whip something up. That is what I did for my two.

See, if I want to issue orders, I take just a regular CCS and have it sitting there to bark orders. Straken's squad is usually in a Chimera that runs almost full bore at enemy vehicles. I tried keeping him in the back, but he never gets his points back that way. Up front, he can wreak havoc. Last game I played, he destroyed a BA dred with blood talons that wiped out the rest of his squad. Moved on to destroy the Vindicator then tried to kill a land raider. Just the two that he killed made up the points for him. Straken is not meant to sit in back; he should be up front where the action is. Also fits his character fluff that way too, I think.

[Grenadier]

I'm glad you're telling me this. In some aspects I've failed to use some of Guard units to their fullest. I chose Straken for his stats and rules. He appears to me to be the best hand to hand guy in the Guard. With Nork a close second. Yarrick third, though I feel his past rules were better than these new ones. I'm going to try it though. And send Straken out on his on. I think I'd have to leave Nork with a CCS or make another assault oriented one for Straken as you suggested. As for Yarrick I don't know what to do with him. Would assigning him to some Stormtroopers be a good idea?

I've had an idea bout how to do a Vendetta without going for FW. My bits box has tons of various lascannon types left over from various kits. Personally, the heavy weapons teams weapons look best I think. And I have tons of those little rails for the HK missile. I'm thinking those little rails, if bulked up properly, would make good hard points for the lascannons. And that little cable bunch for the lascannon battery could complete the look by positioning in such a way the cables go up inside the wing.

[Brymm]

Simply gluing two heavy weapons teams lascannons together will get you one awesome looking twin linked lascannon. The little gap between them fits perfectly onto the mount the missile pods would hook to.
For the third t-l-lascannon, I attach the one to the front right next to the cockpit. In the side opposite that, instead of putting the little gauge/sensor/light thing, cut down a lascannon from a sentinel kit and glue it in there. Viola, you have a Vendetta.

This also works because Lascannon heavy weapons teams are over priced compared to the bargin that is the autocannon heavy weapon team... and aren't sentinels supposed to be run stock at 35 points or upgraded to armored with the plasmacannon, amirite??

[Brymm]

Oh and you can use those now useless missile/rocket pod things and make yourself a cheapo Manticore turret for one of your chimeras! YES!

[Grenadier]

Indeed. The rocket pods look nice but I've yet to feel they justify themselves being on my Valkyrie. As it is my Valkyrie has consistently let me down. It's basically relegated to swiftly moving one squad to one location. After that it's only useful to me as a sacrificial unit. However, I did customize mine to make it look cool. Stuck a gatling looking cannon in its snout so it looks like an A10. Since I love doing VDR I've wondered what to treat this weapon like. I've considered just making a 40k version of the A10 out of it. To that end I need to make it a tank killer with a good payload. But the cannon? The first choice is the assault cannon. But I feel it should be treated as a gatling autocannon to be more in tune with the A10.

[Mr. Pickles]

One strategy that is under used is the ability to direct fir your artillery. The manticore will suffer from multiple barrage rule. This may help or hurt you. Direct fire it for concentrated firepower.

As for your troops, use your veterans and storm troopers as front and flank line units. Mob up your regular platoons and keep them center of your formation, so they have multiple firing lanes. If you screen properly to protect your real firepower (your artillery) you should be able to have an effective counter attack in place.

I played in an apocalypse 3v3 battle using this tactic. I was also demon bombed, but I carried my team. They will kill your artillery if they can, but the platoons are what will win the day holding those objectives. Just use your MSU squads for assault bait and you will be fine.

[Grenadier]

I do tend to mob up my regular infantry in something like a fire base in the center of my deployment zone. And my method is the same regardless if I am the attacker or the defender. Generally I form a hard knot of shooty death in the center with my heavy weapons teams and then place infantry squads around them to screen. Exactly how this is done of course is dictated by the terrain. But in general I always form a powerful center that can unleash a lot of firepower. And I do protect my flanks but not in the manner you suggested with my Stormtroopers or veterans. I will try that though. I always put some stuff on my flanks since my opponent likes to come in to outflank a lot.

My big guns come in the form of 3 Basilisks and a Manticore. The latter has yet to be used in battle. But the Basilisks are always deployed in a spot that blocks line of site to them so they can indirect fire. I have never thought about direct fire with them. So I will give this a try.

As for my armor, their role is dictated by if I am attacking or defending. If defending it's just a matter or spreading them out along my lines and avoid moving them to maximize their firepower. I always have them as my "front line" since their firepower is so good at stopping my enemy's assault. My Sentinels usually linger about and pick off things or respond to emergent threats.

On the attack most of my infantry remains in my deployment zone holdin' down the fort so to speak as my armor rolls ahead with the Basilisks softening everything up in front of them. And then the units I selected for taking ground roll in behind the tanks. I only have 4 Chimeras so I really can't put many infantry into this task. I will deep strike my Stormtroopers in to support them though.

[Sure]

Don't discount those rocket pods, especially if they are going to be daemons crawling all over the place. Not only does it give you two large blasts, it gives you two large blasts as defensive weapons due to their low strength.