fields of armor

I usually am not a fan of playing treadhead type units. Hell for the longest time I only fielded one tank, and that was just because the original guard starter box had it. Well, know as my army nears it's zenith in size, I find myself wishing for more armor. See, the leman russ has amazing capabilities for the cost, however, that makes it a bitch to play against. My solution? squadrons. Fielding 3 tanks as one unit of beastemodeness. My squadron commander will be my older tank, so that it stands out, and my two new tanks will be the regular units in the squadron.
commander loadout:
stubber
bolter sponsons
lascannon

standard loadout:
....what? I didn't change anything from the normal russ.

so together they clock in at exactly 500 points, which is my limit for what these guys could cost. So why field this unit in the first place? other than just being badass, and pretty fluffy too, there are benefits to squadrons. Primarily crew stunned now = crew shaken. Other than that, you have to fire at the closest tank, so if you work that tank into cover, the rest don't even need it and they still benefit from it. Not to mention if you field these tanks separately they can't see or shoot through one another, as a unit they no longer have that problem.

So what's the goal of this unit? three things:
one: soak up fire. They are going to be the most obvious threat on the table, so the enemy is going to go apeshit on them, luckily they have the balls to take it.

two: versatility, these guns can kill infantry, tanks, buildings, you name it, they can kill it, and the crappy ballistic skill of guardsmen is negated by the fact its a large blast weapon.

three: space marine killin'. At strength 8 and AP 3 this thing is practically made to kill space marines, so that fills a much needed role in my army.


lastly, why the switch to treadhead lovin all the sudden?
well, first off, I was watching full metal jacket (favorite movie btw) and I saw the guys marchin' behind the tanks and just thought for a moment about how awesome it would be to see guard doin that. Secondly, I recently bought a new army case (a tackle box) and realized the motor pool at the bottom was sadly only filled with a few vehicles, with plenty of room to spare, so that's just begging for more tanks. All in all, I'm not switching to treadhead, or mech, and I'm fielding a lot of heavy tanks, in a manner that isn't overpowered, and still looks cool to play with or against.

Hunting Rhinos

Imagine stalking the crater pocked battlefield with a rocketlauncher pressing it's weight into your shoulder. The seemingly quiet moments before you hear the low growl of your prey. Totally ignoring the rest of the battle as you take a knee. Squinting as you press your eyes to the viewfinder and aim, slowly, deliberately...

Now here we have a unique dilemma for any army, how to deal with the rhino rush. Simply outmanoeuvre it, and present it only with options you preplanned. For example, lets pit two squads, a platoon command squad, and an autocannon heavy weapons team, against ten Space Marines in a rhino. Set it up with the autocannons a little further back in the center, the squad on your right with the platoon command squad, and the other squad on the left, but within four inches of the autocannon team. Alright, the rhino should play like Space Marines, and attempt to crash into what looks like a gunline. Once he is approximately one turn away, I'd say about 14 or so inches, use the command squad to give the MMM order to the squad next to it and run them up the right, trying to get in range of the side armor. Then use your squad on the left and run them forward and a hair left getting very close to the rhino. If your like me and have grenade launchers in your platoon command squad fire all of them at the side, seeing as they used their MMM order on the other squad. Now the rhino has an interesting choice, do I disembark? move in any particular direction? stay put? Well, if he runs away, you win. If he gets out, he has to wait to assault, so you can now out manoeuvre him or shoot him down if you've got the chops. If he stays put, no matter what direction he turns the rhino, its side or rear armor will be available to one of your forces, which should at the very least have a grenade launcher, though I highly recommend bringing rocket launchers, at least one per platoon. There is no right answer for the Space Marine Player. You have provided him with the illusion of coming within a hair's width of breaking your line, and replaced it with him naked and in the open.

Facing the Swarm

When I started playing Warhammer 40k, I was originally 3rd edition Tyrannids, and I hated it. I always lost, ALWAYS but I persisted because I knew that I wanted to play Guard, and could win with them, because I knew a lot of real life strategies and tactics. So I returned my friends army as soon as possible, which was my 17th birthday, and got my own army. However, thanks to having played Tyrannids I know what its like to be on the other side now. Granted, a good bit has changed since 3rd edition Tyrannids, but it looks like it hasn't changed too awful much. That said, Tyrannids are a bitch to fight as Guard. Our men are too soft compared to the onrushing hordes, and we really have to use thought if we want to win.

The major problems when fighting Tyrannids are, charging 12", Genestealers, and Carnifexes. That's pretty much it, but those are big problems. Not only are Hormagaunts slightly better than Guardsmen, but they are way faster, and equipped with the right things they can crush Guardsmen.

There are a few units that really shine against Tyrannids though, those units mainly being Commissars, and wait for it... Priests. Priests, who uses those? Well with the coming of the new Tyrannid codex, you might want to stock up on them. For 60 points you get a man with an eviscerator (one of my favorite weapons in the game) rosarius (4+ invulnerable save), but best of all, he and any unit he is with may re-roll failed closecombat attacks. Used with a unit of 20 or more Guardsmen, with a Commissar and a Priest, these lads will actually win close combat, which is important against Tyrannids. Now Commissars are necessary as well if you want to stand a chance, their enhanced leadership, combined with stubborn will prevent your men from breaking. Also they are good fighters, and sure to get a lot of kills.

Now one of the keys to killing Hormagaunts is to time your step forward. Your average table is 4X6, and naturally he is going to place his Hormagaunts as close as possible making them 36 inches away from your table edge. He will move up 12 inches, making him 12 inches from your advancing line, here is where you spring your trap. Take 2nd turn, deploy your men about 8" from your table edge, and they should end up around 16" away. Now simply step forward 6" and fire at full auto with a FRFSRF, which is just about the only order you want to be giving throughout the battle anyway. With a standard of 30 Guardsmen and an officer's cadre that's almost one hundred shots. You are going to get charged anyway, and those 30 or so extra shots, are definitely worth their weight in gold. Now when you get charged is when the Commissar, Priest, and Platoon Standard, come in handy. Each of those three models is designed to help hold the line and win closecombat.

Genestealers are worse to deal with than Hormagaunts, assuming you have taken second turn, its a good idea to castle up against Tyrannids, not only does it make the battle look cooler, but it really is a good idea. However, Genestealers are going to make you think twice about it. With scuttlers, they can outflank, and if they have a Broodlord with them, well, lets just say it's gunna get nasty. Now Priests and Commissars will help with this, but they are needed at the front line where they will stem the tide against the Hormagaunts and Carnifexes. So when you castle up be aware of what units you want to fight the Genestealers. I like to use my mortar team and stormtroopers for this. My mortars which naturally are in the back, are of no use against Tyrannids, they may kill a few, but in reality, they are worthless, but they do provide a nice target for the Genestealers. Best of all, they are almost assured to die in the attack, being only 3 models with 2 wounds each. So when the Genestealers come in, slam down your stormtroopers, and let their flamers and hotshots do the talkin. Also worth noting, is holding units in reserve, a nice unit of veterans with shotguns ought to be able to deal with those pesky Genestealers.

And last, but the furthest from least, is the Carnifex. These monstrosities soak up Autocannon fire like they like it, and smash through helpless lines of Guardsmen who can't even scratch them. So how do you deal with these? I focus my Autocannons on them, and my tank, which should kill at least one per turn, so long as you give your Autocannons the Bring 'em Down order. Then when they get close, either have my Vendetta finish em off if possible, or have Straken bring em down personally, with a plasmapistol and like 5 str 6 AP1 attacks, he is bound to kill one himself. If you don't have those models, then perhaps a battery of tanks or chimeras could do it, but short of that you will be hard pressed.

Just remember, let them have first turn, and deploy accordingly, if your line is stretched it will break.