Battle Report: Kehsuvall part 1

The campaign had not been going well for the regiments of Wake. The 423rd armored was routed in an early blitzkrieg assault from the enemy warbiker mobs and deffkoptas, leaving this sector without armored support. And more recently the 328th had been pulled back from the frontline after sustaining 74% casualties in but one week of heavy assaults. After a month of deadlock fighting against the brutal orks on Kehsuvall IV the men of the Wake 325th were also approaching their breaking point. In response to the increasing enemy forces in this sector the men have been working every night to prepare and repair the defenses for the coming massive assault.

2000 points
annihilation

deployment: I won the roll off and chose to go first, simply because we both had large armies, and troop placement here didn't matter nearly as much, seeing as no matter what, we would take up both sides of the table. So I deployed a core of my troops in the center with straken and an assault platoon of combined squads there. On the flanks, I placed a Basalisk and the majority of my heavy weapons teams in one spot. On the other end I placed my mortars and my more shooty platoon.

In typical ork fashion, my opponent simply placed alot of boyz everywhere, and put some lootas and his warboss in the center, and kept two truks of shoota boyz and a few warbikers in reserve.


Turn one:
I knocked out an entire mob of boyz who were mostly in the open by firing my basalisk in the knot of boyz cowering behind a large boulder, and then by using heavy weapons to smash the rest of em up. Most of my lads where out of range, except for Gunny Harker and his snipers and autocannon, who I used to blast another mob of lads, only managing to kill 5 boyz out of 20 though.

all the orks moved up, and the loota's shot at Harker who's men had the stealth rule, and made all their saves.

Turn two: basalisk missed, but the men where now mostly in range, and with a whole lot of FRFSRF goin on, we managed to wipe out the rest of the mob of 20 boyz and a few from a larger mob.

Orks moved up, one truk made it onto the table along with the bikerz both of which ran up the side that had the basalisk and heavy weps. The lootas fired at a larger mass of men and managed to kill five men from my combined squad of thirty.

I know this report so far seems like I shoot, he runs, I shoot, he runs, well yeah thats kinda how all Ork Vs. Guard start our, but I assure you its about to spice up.

Turh three: So by this time, he's making a notable shift towards two of my three sections, my basalisk and heavy weapons, and my core. Leaving my more shooty platoon, along with Gunny Harker. By the end of this turn I know that his shoota boyz will be tearing my heavy weapons teams a new one, along with his warbikers smashing up my basalisk. accepting the losses I fire all my heavy weapons and basalisk at the warboss in an attempt to bring him down before he can hit my lines. I only got one wound on him leaving him with two left. Firing the rest of my men with yet another FRFSRF we manage to wipe out another mob, leaving him with only one full strength mob and two half beaten ones, with the full strength mob and the warboss chargin up the middle, and the two half beaten ones along with the truk and warbikes headin up the left towards my bassy.

Ork warbikers smash my basalisk, and the truk parks right in front of my heavy weapons teams, while the boyz get out and pour fire into them. The warboss and his boyz end their turn exactly 7 inches away from my gunlline.

stay tuned for the epic conclusion!

grenadiers

Every now and then I am reminded that Imperial Guard are only supposed to be good at one thing, and that's gunlines. There's really no way around it, Imperial Guard are at their best when in a giant line, and all firing their guns.
However, I always have tried to find ways around it, from using a few stormtroopers to using mass assaults, from ogryns to rough riders, I've tried em all.
Today we'll be focusing on Grenadiers. Now there are a few ways to go about using regular guardsmen and the best way is to use veterans with the grenadiers doctrine. Now these men are double the points of regular Guardsmen, therefore you can only take half as many, but with increased BS and increased armor, you have a unit that can assault fairly well, just remember that the more of these men the better, however, don't skimp out on them either, because a unit with three plasma guns is more than worth it's point cost when it comes to Space Marines anyway.
As far as using them, if your opponent is a gunline, then run up the table using straken to give a well timed move move move order or two, using cover as you go, and when you finally get there, if its another IG army, get the regular guardsmen first, they should fold like paper, ifnore the heavy weapons for now, they are surprisingly resilient in assault, and shouldn't be firing at you since your in close combat. pretty much follow what can fold like paper first, other than that, you might want to consider dodging the tougher enemy troops, as they are likely to kill your guardsmen pretty easily. In the end these men should be well supported by heavy tanks and or artillery, use those supports to kill the things that you know your guardsmen will have the most trouble assaulting.

Using Stormtroopers

Lets face it, Stormtroopers are awesome, but they aren't the super-warriors they are cracked up to be. With a modest improvement in morale, and a minimal increase in ballistic skill, the only thing they really have going for them is their equipment, which is mediocre at best. And all this clocks in at 16 points a model. All that said, they do have their uses, mainly coming in the form of their Special Operations special rule. Basically you can either more accurately deepstrike, infiltrate/pin, or scouts. You have to choose these beforehand, but they make a world of difference. The other thing that makes a big difference is their loadout. Now for some odd reason they don't get as many special weapons as veterans, but they get more than standard guys, so go figure. With only two special weapons, you have to choose wisely. I either use plasmaguns, or nothing. See when you take plasmaguns you still get that awesome low AP and with higher strength. Now the hotshot has a lot of power on its own...well AP power...not really strength lol (would it have killed GW to have made it str4?) anywho, the whole point of this squad is to fight high armoured units so you want to take things that help you do that. I'd love to say there was more to it.... so I will... I posted an article earlier, and it has a few more tips...

semper gumbi (always adaptable)

Now I've never been a fan of jack of all trade units...on a large scale. While it's better for the unit, it's worse for the force as a whole. Because they end up effective at nothing or rediculously expensive in points. So I've done my best to avoid these type units.

That said, I have one in my list. See, having one unit that can do just about anything, is worth it as you always have a unit that's right for the job. Now I've done my best not to make this unit over powered, because that's just not fun to play against. So here's what I have and then what would be the best possible unit:

What I have:

sergeant Bastone

sniper rifle

heavy flamer

plasmagun

grenadiers

rocket launcher

best loadout:

sergeant bastone

3 plasmaguns

grenadiers

rocket launcher

Now what makes this unit so great? first of all, bastone can give orders, infact he's better than any lieutenant, and since he's leadership 10, he rarely fails. Now why grenadiers its so expensive in points? Well for starters, I wanted this unit to have some degree of survivability out of cover, because I've already invested a lot in them, and second, because with a plasmagun, there's now only an 8% chance of user death.

It's worth the high points to have the ability to do anything, granted they won't be going out and killing everything, but it's nice to have the option, and flexibility.

how to stop a WAAAGH!!!

A measly 5 orks on the charge, as long as one is a nob with a powerklaw, can kill around 15 guardsmen no problem. That's right, you pretty much have to kill the orks to the last one to prevent the death of your men. Well, the first row of your men anyway. So how do we deal with the onrush of boyz? First and foremost, they boyz are the greatest threat to a horde guard army, forget the killakanz forget the lootas, forget the deffkoptas, focus everything you've got on the boyz. The killakanz go down eazy with autocannons, lascannons, and tanks. The lootas are a bit of a threat, but in the end they won't make a big enough dent, as their BS is awful. And lets face it, who actually fears deff koptas?

So how do we kill the boyz? pinning won't work, with the mob rule. lasguns just aren't powerful enough. and autocannons don't have a high enough rate of fire. The answer? blast weapons. The basalisk and leman russ in particular, because they cause instant death, and are large blast. That said, it's still not enough, that's where the lasguns come in. Is there anything that can be done other than just shooting the whole game? well, not really. A thought however is to tank shock a unit of small boyz. see death or glory is kinda stupid, I always do it just cuz it's epic, but it's a terrible plan, and a great way to kill a nob with a powerklaw. And if they don't death or glory, then they are moving backwards, which is even better.

Terminators? ...fuck.

Of all the units in the game, one of the ones I fear the most is terminators. Should I really be afraid?

Statistically, if thirty five guardsmen each got two shots, statistically thirty five would be hits, 11 or so would wound, and then only one would manage to make it's way through the armor. So with that in mind, an entire platoon of guardsmen, firing rapid fire, will not manage to even put an actual dent in the terminators.

What's the answer? well, they were using lasguns, lets run those statistics with my current platoon loadout. The unit has quite a few plasma weapons, and other AP2 and AP1 weapons, meaning approximately four terminators would die from their fusillade. That's infinitely better, but still not enough. Those terminators are going to be in close combat next turn, where there is simply no hope for our guardsmen.

What can we do when Terminators deepstrike? First, back up. A lot. Then when the termi's move forward, they still won't be in range. So what you want to do is pour fire on them, and to prevent them from killing your entire force, surge one squad forward, so you still get all your killing power, and the termis don't get the charge, tying up one expensiveass unit for at least two turns, especially if you have a commissar, or a standard bearer.

In the end will you ever kill all the terminators? yes, but the key here is to feed them units to tie them up, on average they will come in on turn two or three. Meaning no close combat until turn four or five if you manage to back up fast enough. And then they can't really make a difference now can they? ...what? you mean they managed to prevent a platoon from firing for a turn? and still killed a few squads? yes, but hey, this is the only way short of loading up on lascannons (a pussy move btw) to prevent total annihilation, so get over it.

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.

Blood of Heroes

So lately I've been debating over whether or not to get Usarkar E. Creed. Jarran Kell is pretty useless, and with the powerfist, what the hell is the point in the powersword? sure you may want to get the first hit on a Guardsmen, but even if you do either way if he hits you're still dead. Usarkar isn't much better than Jarran, coming in at a whomping 190 points, and the only thing he's got going for him is ONE special order, and the ability to give one of your unit's scouts, DURING deployment. All this adds up to one question, why in the name of holy terra would you take them? Well, the answer is simple, fluff. Creed's look is taken right from the history books, and that man is one of my absolute all time heroes, Chesty Puller. A cigar chomping Marine who's won more real battles than you have fake ones. Now Creed is unfortunately a terrible model, but I can't resist the urge to take him. Now I will never replace Straken, who is everything Creed should have been, but I can take them both. One will lead the charge and the other sit back and give orders. Creed will more than likely give the scouts move to my Demolisher, or to my Priest so that the penal legion can take him and still do their goodstuff.

Caught in the Devil's Rope

Barbed Wire, Razorwire, Devil's Rope, Satan's Hedge, so many names, all given to one thing, and it's been relatively left out of warhammer. The rule's that are scattered about the books state that it acts as both difficult and dangerous terrain. Big whoop, one in six men should die, who cares? Well, I do.

For starters, how do you make it? Well, hopefully before noon tomorrow (Sunday), I can put a video up and instruct you guys how to make it, it's ridiculously easy, and undeniably useful.

Now, how do we use it? For defenders there is one concept I want you to grasp: Barbed wire is a tool to control your opponent with. Use it to effect his decisions, like where to assault, where to manoeuvre, and most importantly, where to avoid. People are just damn reluctant to trudge into barbed wire. Place barbed wire where you are weak, and if you did it right, and your opponent doesn't always think things through, he will either put too much, or too little pressure on that spot, either way, you win. In short, while it won't kill a lot of guys, it will affect your opponent's decisions, in a positive way for you. For example, if you place your trenches forward and center, and place a forest of razorwire in front of it, spread your line a little thinner than you would normally, but spread them out so they look bigger, your opponent will concentrate on this area with most of his forces. Leaving the rest of his forces spread thin, and unable to cope with the firepower of your remaining units. However, doing this will leave your center broken, plan for this, and you should make it out ok, just make your opponent split his forces again, each half going after the half of your army, and again, due to the way your forces will split, you will have the upperhand, and in the end, victory. The other option your opponent has, is to avoid the center all together, in which case, just sit tight in the trenches, and pour your forces to the weaker side of your opponent's battleline. At this point you control most of the board, if its annihilation though, your going to have to kill the rest, but life in the Guard isn't supposed to be easy.

Well, that's all nice, but what if I find myself heading into the hornets nest? Well, to be entirely honest, just keep on running in, razorwire will slow you down a little, but in the end it won't change the outcome of a battle, so if you're going through Hell, keep going!

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.

Youtubin'

For those of you (all two) who have been keepin up with my website, I now have a youtube channel, look for it, it's youtube.com/user/wake325th. Check it out, it's purty cool if I may say so.

For those of you who are new to the blog, and have watched a few of my youtube videos, feel free to wander around the blog, there is some really great material in there, and a lot of it is going to be covered in videos to come, but for now you can get a preview of future episodes.

Inner Conflict

One of the stranger things you will likely have to face at some point, is another Guard army, or whatever army it is you collect. I recently discovered a new pocket of wargamers, with the somewhat disheartening news that 2 or 3 of them, already play Guard. Which has spurred me into a, how to kick my own ass, lesson.

First off, lets talk about how I would kill me. If it's annihilation, then I have combined squads, don't bother trying to kill those straight up, pin them. With mortars, firing at compact units of Guardsmen pretty much guarantees a pinn. Then chip away the rest of my army, until you have to deal with the bigger formations. If it's objectives, place your objectives as far away from my army as possible, and in open ground. If it's firebase, then again, place it in open ground. In conventional warfare, you just can't beat Guard, they will hammer you into the ground, and then shit on the dust that were your remains. So that said, that's how I'd kick my own ass. No, I will not reveal my counterstrategies, there have to be some secrets, especially considering they will probably read this.

Second, lets see how to deal with treadheads. It should go without saying but, bring lots of heavy weapons. Second, there is an unexpected route Guard can take, and that is the priest. Now I've always been a fan of the priest, but it wasn't until recently I truly advocated vehicular destruction with him. all he needs to do is roll his 2d6 and get 5 or higher, and your vehicle is at the very least unable to fire. There is yet another, and even cooler way to take out tanks than those mentioned above. My personal favorite style of tank warfare, is, well, tankwarfare. That's right, tank V tank. I will almost always have the upper hand here, with my tank ace in my Vanquisher, good luck there with your Russes. Now if you want to have a vanquisher just for this, I recommend just the bare minimum here, camonetting, and that's it. No stubber, no sponsons, no heavy armor, just the tank ace and camonetting, this is pure tankhunting. Now how to deal with the tanks. First thing you want to do is target the single tanks, more than likely they aren't using squadrons, if so, probably just one. Then deal with the tougher nuts to crack, that way they can't target as many units, minimizing casualties, which is what my support vehicle (in this case my vanquisher) is trying to do the whole time. Now that you have one unit of a few tanks, close combat is best, denying them those coversaves, if you can run a squad with meltabombs out there, or use stormtroopers also sporting handy meltabombs, then you've got them where you want them.

Lastly, how to deal with mechanized, this is a piece of cake to deal with, first off, bring lots of autocannons (check), bring lots of grenade launchers, missile launchers, and meltabombs (check, check, check) and well, let them come to you (CHECK). I personally hate mechanized forces, it's a waste of points, especially for Guard. But there is another trick for wiping the floor with mech, and that is the killzone. Once you have destroyed/immobilised the transport, they will bring them out of the back, and the rest of your army, who can't Peirce tank armor, are just itching to mow them down. Now they are stuck, if you have barage weapons, now is the time to use them, once pinned, attempt to maneuver a small force to either finish them off, or force them to move into the field of fire provided by the rest of your force.

Spread the Word

Hey all two maybe three readers, I would appreciate it if we could spread the word a little, I will have a youtube channel up soon, covering all the usual stuff, and when I reach 20 subscribers I will post a daily blog entry, so SPREAD THE WORD. Please and thankyou.

Standard Bearer

To many the Regimental or Platoon standard seem useless. In some respects their right, big woop one extra wound in combat, who cares? I do. Against Guard, or Tyrannid it is a life saver. The regimental standard also allows re-rolling failed leadership (or is it morale, I can't remember) tests. Why not take these? especially in an army everyone calls cowards. For me, the standards provide so many things, from looking great, to helping me keep track of who's who, to providing actual bonuses on the field, simply fantastic.

I am the LAW (light anti-tank weapon)

I'm about to eat my own words. I have, as of about 6 hours ago, fallen in love with the missile launcher. I have always disliked it, and failed to see the practicality of it. Until today. During a lecture at one of my classes, I had the image of Imperial Guardsmen trudging through a jungle, and for some reason in my mind I pictured one of the Guardsmen having a LAW on his back. Then it hit me. Just having the rocketlauncher doesn't mean you have to fire it. With that in mind, I modeled my men accordingly. Now I can keep my previous strategy, but if the need arises, I have some anti-tank power too.

Now with my new found realization, comes some questions. First, when to use the LAW. Simply put, on defense. You see, part of my strategy is to forgo the whole static gunline, in favor of a torrent of Guardsmen pouring into the meatgrinder, or straight up outmaneuvering you. With the MMM! order (it's magically Delicious) Guardsmen are the fastest foot mobile army around, we don't need transports, and people don't expect that. So adding a heavy weapon greatly hinders this, because you can't fire it and move. Well, for some reason I pictured having a heavy weapon meant standing still, and I bet that's what my opponent will think too. Second, when is it good. Basically, against transports, and Space Marines, if you hit a Space Marine, he is dead, no rolling. That's one of the main reasons I brought the LAW on board, as a lasgun has a 13% chance of killing a Marine, I figured 15 points is enough to have a 50% chance.

Now finally, are LAWs right for your army? If you fight Space Marines a lot, yeah. Otherwise, not so much, but hey, when is a Light Anti-tank Weapon a bad thing?

The Punishment Due

As a fan of unused units, I find myself loving an unusual unit in particular, a Penal Legion Squad with a Ministorum Priest. You see, each benefits from one another's rules, where the priest can outflank and get scouts, the Penal Legion can re-roll fail to hits in close combat. Best of all, the Leggionares are actually good in assault. I prefer the knife fighter's rule, but physcopaths is also very good. Gunslingers is the only one that I don't appreciate, lasguns simply aren't good anyway you put it, so making them assault two does little for me. Legionarres are already stubborn, and all have leadership 8. The priest not only adds his Rigtcheous Fury to the unit, but also an Eviscerator which hacks apart battletanks, as well as swathes of infantry. Overall, I think you will find this a deadly combination and in some ways a very fitting one, who better to lead those who go astray of the Emperor's light, than the bringer of his light?

Recruiting

One of the things that I feel a little guilty about, is recruiting new players, but it's also damn fun, and keeps the hobby interesting. If you play this game, odds are, either you got someone into this game, or someone got you into it, there is just no way around it, it's a two person game.

Now you could argue that I am doing a good thing, bringing something this awesome into someone's life, but to be honest, I wish I had never heard of warhammer, because I am far more than addicted, its just so damn awesome.

Now recruiting new players means a few things, first it means, getting them to choose an army. Next getting them to buy the army. Then, getting them to assemble and paint the army. But wait, there's more, it means getting them to learn the rules. That is a lot of stuff, and certainly not for the faint of heart.

Getting them to choose the army, while difficult, is the easiest step, pretty much because it's free, and requires no commitment. If you're like me, then you spend countless hours simply finding ways to categorize armies, like comparing each army to a metallica song, or nation in world war two, or even shapes. I know that makes no sense, but I get bored easily. I personally find the person will automatically have a connection with the army, and choose pretty quickly on their own.

Next comes the big hurdle. The deal breaker. The heartbreaking point of no return. Breaking it to them how much this is gunna cost. I have spent more money then I dare look at, on this game. If you can get someone to buy an army, then you've got them.

Next comes the tender love and care they must put into their army. This is a process that will give them the personal touch, and the reason to fight. Sadly, this is the least paid attention to part. Please, care about your army, and give them a narrative.

Lastly, getting them to learn the rules, this is the fun part, but also a headache inducing part. For me, the rules are second nature, I simply don't even have to think about them anymore, but God forbid, I have to explain why it is the way it is. There is no way around it, you are going to have some long matches, that are filled with lots of re-reading rules. My first three matches were all over 7 hours long, and that was with only 1000 points, go figure.



Now all these steps, and procedures mean nothing if you can't hook the person to begin with. For me the easiest way to do this, is to show them your army. Just have a friend come over, to watch the big game, easy because the super bowl is coming up. While they are there, you will just happen to walk by your army on a grand display. Pretending to be embarrassed you attempt to hide your ode to nerd-dom. Seeing this as some dirt to get under you they pry further, however, they are inherently jealous, as they are impressed by your awesome collection. Then, after giving your story of how great the 41st millennium is, you can ask them if they want to play. They almost always say yes, so long as you smell nice. Then while you are playing, bend the rules. Bend the rules, a whole stinkin' lot. Trust me, they have no idea why they are rolling the dice, and they never remember the rules the first time around, they aren't invested that much in it yet. When they have the match of a lifetime, thanks to your impromptu rule changing, they will have had so much fun, that you can then begin spinning your web.

Of course that makes us sound evil, but who doesn't love being the bad guy every now and then?

Bit of a Rant on Armies

One of the harder things for me as a community player, is to recruit new players, and get them to play the army I want them to. Now, that probably came out as making me sound like a control freak, I'm not (at least I don't think I am lol). What I mean is, I don't want them playing the army I am going to collect next. I really want to collect space wolves, I love vikings, and I really wish space wolves were worse (really I'm not a band wagon hopper, as much as GW is trying to make me). Well, this guy wants to collect space wolves as well. I mean this guy is one of the guys who simply collects an army because it's the best. He trys to make his army as dirty as possible, in my opinion this is like raping the game. It's not right, you should collect an army because it fits your playstyle, or because you like it, not because it's the best. Anywho, my plan, is to try and push him towards tyrannids, they are new, and pretty powerful, and make a great opponent. Especially because 6 out of 7 players play for the imperium. I always end up being renegade guardsmen for the campaigns, oh well. Anywho, bit of a rant, but hopefully you enjoyed it.

Incoming Transmission

Vox casters, are simply no good. There, I said it. It's not that they are too many points, nor that I find them useless, simply that it requires two vox casters to make one work, so that's a man from the officer's cadre that doesn't get a special weapon. My officers are designed to stick it out with the lads, and get kills, a voxcaster only marginally helps, compared to taking out a tank or heavy infantry unit the Guardsmen can't do on their own. Orders are important, but shouldn't form the basis of your plan anyway. Orders are about squeezing the most out of a unit, and their impact is only seen after a few orders. One FRFSRF will rarely be the deciding factor in wiping out a unit.

Guerrilla, Gorilla, Biiiiiig Difference

Guerrilla warfare has always represented a challenge to any force, from the American Revolution to present day operations, guerrilla warfare has been a staple throughout modern history. In order to incorporate a few of these elements from guerrilla warfare, I will be giving you some house rules, and hopefully inspire you to create your own. So let's dive right in.

These may only be given to experienced units (like IG veterans, or SM sternguard):
outflank - 10 points
pinning - 3 points per model
infiltrate (but only into jungle or forest terrain) - 10 points
hit and run - 15 points
scouts (but no outflank, you have to pay extra for that) - 10 points
acute senses - 1 point per model
see through jungle (I don't remember what this rule is called, but its the one that allows you to see more than six inches through forests and stuff) - 10 points

These may be given to any troop choice infantry unit:
Move through cover - 10 points
defensive grenades - 15 points


And remember, this is by no means a strict list, feel free to make things more or less points, just make sure you both agree on it. Lastly, lets talk scenarios.

Imagine, your Guard platoon are on a patrol, and then tyranids (they seem to be the buzz the days) jump out at you! Same rules apply from the ambush scenario from the big book. Luckily for this scenario your Guardsmen hail from a deathworld, and may pick from the above traits (except outflank and infiltrate). Just keep it jungle themed, or forest themed, and you should have a great time, I know I do.