Some Thoughts on Imperial Guard (Astra Militarum)

[Chris*ta]

Additional: Krieg death corps would be awesome as a whole as a standard plastic set.

Best I can do you:



From [URL="http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/Miniatures-of-the-North/Imperial-Borderers"]Anvil Industry[/URL].
And no, I don't know why they haven't expanded the line, that would be a license to print money.

[odinsgrandson]

They look good. I like the proportions they have as well.

[Haighus]

IIRC, it isn't actually Anvil's model line, I think they produce the miniatures for someone else. Can't remember exactly though.

[Filthy Casual]

Miniatures of the North, the guy doesn't seem overly interesting in 28mm Sci Fi right now, according to his blog anyway

[odinsgrandson]

That is a shame, since these guys look so good.

I'm not sure that making more would necessarily be printing money, but they definitely look good.

[Da Gargoyle]

I rather think that the decision to tie everything into the command squad was a bit short sighted. For example, its logical that a Commissar would start off with the command squad, but it is as logical that if he sees a unit wavering he would detach himself to visit said unit to provide a bit of moral fibre and intestinal fortitude, (Plus firing some warning shots into the closest head).

Vox casters were a lot more flexible in the old days and as was pointed out, a heavy weapons unit is exactly the unit you want minute fire control with and ideal for the old VC rules. Like forward observers with the rifle platoon calling the heavy weapons teams for fire where it is most needed.

And finally, the regimental advisers are more like the Warlocks are to Eldar HQ. A unit relevant to HQ but one that should be able to operate independently. Like the Master of Ordnance, again really a FOO calling the heavy stuff down. And even a Commissar would think twice about telling Psykers their business.

[Ang56]

I still don't know why Command Squads can't blob up with the rest of their platoon ... It's just so utterly strange as an idea to have the platoon in one mass, except for the officer and a few men.

I also badly want Sergeants to be able to take a lasgun instead of their laspistol. Purely for fluff reasons. I can't think of an army that issues pistols to NCOs. Arguably it should be extended so officers can have lasguns too. It's common in the modern day (with which I include most of the 20th C) for officers to carry a rifle to avoid the attention of enemy snipers.

I was issued a sidearm from the time i was an E-5 onward (US Army). And I think officers with rifles is less about snipers they'll spot you if they want either way. Giving them rifles makes them not useless, pistols are pretty terrible when compared to rifles in almost any situation as anything more then a back-up or for remaining armed in fairly secure locations when you don't want to be packing around a rifle.

As to 40k though I agree it's a bit crazy you don't have the option to lasgun equip sergeants and officers though I just pay the 1 point and toss Boltguns on them all. I actually think the boltguns look good on the models and they are better then lasguns, they are about as effective as first rank second rank so you don't really lose anything on the order either. like 10-15 points for the whole army and your sergeants and officers contribute instead of having pistol / ccw.

[Ang56]

On #1

Price of X item is actually something GW's designers have considered benefits or weaknesses of factions. Basically, if your army is supposed to be bad at something, but still have some access to that something, then they just give it to you way overpriced.

The Imperial Guard have always had something like that going on. Basically, the weapons that the designers don't want the Guard to rely on are overpriced. Especially melee weapons.

In one edition (I think it was 4th, but I forget) they even overpriced the Lascannons in hopes that more guard would use missile launchers.

Agree with you on that several editions ago but everything is fairly standardized for the last 2 editions with everyone paying the same for the more universal weapons and wargear. They don't really tweak the prices at all.

I wouldn't want to see power weapons and fists as commonplace in guard but they are pretty worthless at the current costs, they should reduce the price to be viable then limit them to specific units (probably senior officers, commisars maybe storm trooper platoon leaders (not squad leaders)). I'd throw a fist on those guys sometimes if it was 10-15 pts, it'd still suck and be unreliable, but i'd like the models and not feel it was a total waste.

[odinsgrandson]

Well, whenever they standardize the weapon costs, the models with poorer stats end up paying more for their weaponry than they can expect to get out of them.

They've gone back and forth about that in different editions (in the Rogue Trader days, everyone used the same wargear lists, and you had odd things like Marines with Shuriken Catipults). In 2nd ed, they made marines who hit on 2+ pay more for their heavy weaponry than the orks that hit on 4+. Then in 3rd ed, they made the devastators pay more than tactical marines for the same weapons.

The Imperial Guard have always been something that GW had very specific ideas for how they 'should' play- but they also tend to believe that the imperial guard should be super diverse and have loads of irregular tactics available to them.

In the 4th ed codex (or maybe it was late 3rd) they gave you the option of swapping out everyone's lasguns for laspistols and CC weapons- or two close combat weapons. But they charged you 2 points each (on 6 point models) to do it- so you ended up paying out the nose to have your infantry be less effective than ever.