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Offline Lord Commissar Spiteful

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Imperial Guard FAQs
« on: March 7, 2011, 11:46:16 PM »
FAQs
Some frequently asked questions and answers regarding the IG Tactics and Armylist forum.
Many thanks to GreatBig Tree for helping me extensively in compiling this. - Spite


How do Infantry Platoons Work?
The description of Infantry Platoons can be found on pages 96 and 97 of the Imperial Guard codex.

An Infantry Platoon is a collection of units, purchased under a single FOC selection. The entire platoon rolls for reserves on a single roll,  but the individual units act and deploy independently when  they arrive. An exception to this is “Combined Infantry Squads”, described later.

At minimum, an Infantry Platoon consists of a single Platoon Command Squad, and two Infantry Squads. Infantry Squads are a unit type, chosen as part of an Infantry Platoon, as described at the top of page 97. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but when described properly, they have two different meanings.

Additional units may be purchased as part of an Infantry Platoon, as described at the top of page 96. It is important to note, that these optional units may only be purchased after the minimum choices of a Platoon Command Squad and two Infantry Squads are paid for. Every unit purchased acts independently and may not be combined, with the exception of Infantry Squads.

It is worth noting that for Dawn of War deployment, the entire Platoon is NOT a single unit. Deploying two separate Infantry Squads, or a Platoon Command Squad with a Chimera would fill your two available Troops units. Dedicated transports count towards your unit selections in Dawn of War, as described in the box in the bottom right corner of the 40k RB, page 93.

Infantry Squads, and only Infantry Squads, may be combined as described on page 37 of the Imperial Guard codex. The decision to combine Infantry Squads is made at the time of deployment.

Many lists posted on this board will describe the units as being purchased “combined”. This is a communally accepted way to quickly describe the typical way the army will deploy for battle, to save time describing the army's expected tactics. In fact, each Infantry Squad is purchased separately, and the player is free to choose to combine the squads or not each game, as his fancy takes him.

There are several reasons to plan on combining squads, primarily the ability to gain increased benefit from a single Commissar,Vox unit, or potential Orders issued from Officers, and thus not spend points unnecessarily to gain little or no benefit from multiple identical upgrades. Individual tactics will vary, so this is far from a hard and fast rule.

A combined Infantry Squad is considered a single unit, as they may not separate through the game, so takes up only one of the available Troops slots in a Dawn of War deployment.



Are the Guard Any Good
This kind of question is to be avoided for many reasons.
  • 1: It's in the wrong board, try the general 40k discussion, or the IG board.
  • 2: All of the armies have their place, their strengths and weaknesses.
Currently, some are harder to master than others and some are difficult to use in tournaments, but all armies essentially have their merits.

However, currently the guard are pretty good, combining heavy firepower, with decent mobility and resilience. A good choice of units means that the guard can negate most of their weaknesses, while building to their strengths. Just don't expect to win many games in close combat. [/i]


Are XXXXX unit Worth it
YES  -  And please don't ask this kind of question.

Generally every unit in the IG codex is useful and a valuable addition. We have a new (and therefore strong and favourably-balanced) codex, meaning that most of our choices are worth their weight in points. Rather investigate how to use certain units, as the best use may not be obvious from the codex entry. Search for older posts regarding the unit using the search function, or look in the tactica thread for clarification on their use. If you still can't find anything go ahead and post asking how to use this particular unit.



What's the difference between a Heavy Weapons Team and a Heavy Weapons Squad?
How do Heavy Weapons Teams work inside a unit, such as an Infantry Squad?

A Heavy Weapons Team [HWT] is a single model, with an extra wound and attack, compared to a normal Guardsman. They are usually modelled on a large base, with a Lasgun armed Guardsman, and a Heavy Weapon armed Guardsman. In the shooting phase, the model may choose to fire either the Lasgun or the Heavy Weapon, but not both. Firing the Heavy Weapon is subject to normal movement restrictions.

A Heavy Weapons Squad [HWS] is a stand alone unit composed of three HWT. They are typically armed with the same heavy weapon, but that in not a hard and fast rule. A HWS is an optional unit that can be purchased as part of an Infantry Platoon, as described at the top of page 96 of the Imperial Guard codex. It is worth noting that any weapon upgrade cost must be paid for each HWT, not just once for the entire squad. It is also worth noting the last line on page 97 of the Imperial Guard codex, which I now paraphrase: Units on these two pages may not be purchased individually, only as part of an Infantry Platoon. You must buy the minimum required units from the platoon before you can purchase any HWS. HWS are never “attached” to another unit, and remain a separate entity from other pieces of a platoon.

Many units have the option of replacing two members with a single HWT. Some units instead have the option of replacing two members with a “Veteran” Weapons Team. In both cases, you remove two members of the squad, pay the upgrade points, and replace them with a single HWT, armed with whichever weapon was paid for. “Veteran” Weapons Teams have better Ballistic Skill, as befits their Veteran status. The HWT is a part of the unit it was purchased for, and may not leave it.



How do Commissars work? Why would I take one?
This section describes Commissars, and should not be confused with Lord Commissars, which are a different model with different abilities. Information on Commissars can be found on pages 32, 96 and 97 of the Imperial Guard codex.

Commissars are upgrade characters that can be purchased for Platoon Command Squads and Infantry Squads. In both cases, a Commissar will raise the Leadership of the unit he's purchased for, and also adds two Leadership effecting rules, specifically Stubborn and Summary Execution.

The rules for Stubborn can be found on page 76 of the 40k RB. A key phase is the term “Morale” test. There are only three “Morale” tests, as described on pages 43 and 44 of the 40k RB. Stubborn applies to them, and no other Leadership tests.

Summary Execution applies only to “Morale” tests as well, and provides no benefit nor drawback when taking other Leadership tests, such as a “Pinning” test.

The increased Leadership is useful for any Leadership test, such as when receiving an Order from an Officer.

If you're interested in combining Infantry Squads, then taking a Commissar in the group helps to reduce the chances of a single failed morale test destroying your entire investment. A Commissar reduces the risk of, “Putting all eggs in one basket.”

In particular, the Stubborn rule, combined with Summary Execution, allows an Imperial Guard player to [often] lose several rounds of close combat without fleeing. This can be effectively combined with Power Weapons to grind down elite forces over several turns, relying on superior numbers to outlast the limited supply of , for example, Space Marines.



Can the Basilisk Fire Directly on the Enemy
In short, Yes it can. See the entry in the codex. I will update this as soon as i get home to my codex + rulebook


Giving Orders from a Chimera and Regimental standards in vehicles
Page 29 states that an officer can give an order unless
  • he is locked in an assault
  • embarked on a transport vehicle
  • falling back
  • gone to ground

The chimera entry on page 39 states under "Mobile Command Vehicle that an embarked (in a chimera) officer may still issue orders to squads with the range and LOS being taken from any point in the chimera's hull.

This allows for an exception to the rule above.

Of course one cannot give orders to squads inside a chimera under the rule upon page 29.
"To issue an order an officer must declare which order he is attempting to use and select a single friendly non-vehicle unit within the command radius to carry out the order. This can be the officer's own squad if you wish. Orders cannot be issued to squads that are embarked in a  transport vehicle.

Basically stating that when you are in a chimera you can give orders to other units, but not yourself, or other units in a chimera (or other transport), or, when disembarked, can give orders to yourself, but still not those in another chimera (or other transport).

The rules for Regimental Standards can be found on page 71 of the IG codex, bottom right under "Other Equipment".

As to a unit being able to benefit from a Regimental Standard while the CCS is embarked, pg 66 of the 40k RB under "Embarking" says, "If the players need to measure a range involving the embarked unit (except for it's shooting), this range is measured to or from the vehicle's hull." So any unit within 12" of the Chimera's hull should be able to benefit.

Side Note: Unlike a Commissar, the Reg Standard allows re-rolls on Pinning tests.


If I mix vehicles in my Artillery Squadron, can i use the griffon's Accurate Bombardment rule to improve Colossus Accuracy
Indeed you can. It is of limited use though due to maximum and minimum ranges.  - rules lawyers, please PM me :D
Look at this discussion


Can PCS with flamers, in a Chimera, fire their weapons from the hatch?
[This also Applies to any other unit with flamers in a Chimera. ;)]

Yes.
According to the current 40k FAQ, on the bottom left of page 4, available here - link -
Embarked troops may fire template weapons, such as flamers, from the firepoints of their vehicles, without hitting their own transport. In this case, the firepoints on the Chimera are measured from the top hatch, so yes, Guardsmen may fire template weapons from the top hatch without worry of setting their transport on fire.



Can Heavy Weapons Teams fire from the hatch of a Chimera?
Yes.
So long as the Chimera didn't move, and isn't affected by a damage result that would disallow shooting by passengers, a HWT may shoot from the top hatch of the vehicle, using one of the Chimera's firepoints.



Does an infantry platoon count as one unit for purposes of killpoints, or is each infantry, special weapon, and heavy weapon squads counted individually?
Every unit in a Platoon counts as a single Kill Point. As Infantry Squads may be combined into larger units, a Combined Squad is worth only one kill point. KPs are scored whenever an individual unit is destroyed, the entire Platoon does not need to be destroyed to earn KPs.

If it was entirely destroyed, a Platoon consisting of 1x PCS, 4x Infantry Squads, and 2x HWS, could be worth between 4 KPs [if all Infantry Squads were combined] and 7 KPs [if none of the Infantry Squads were combined].

You may make multiple combinations of Infantry Squads, so long as they are combined from the same platoon, so you could have a platoon worth up to 5 KPs, if you made two Combined Squads of 20, for example.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2011, 06:28:46 PM by Lord Commissar Spiteful »
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Re: Imperial Guard FAQs
« Reply #1 on: March 7, 2011, 11:49:01 PM »
« Last Edit: March 8, 2011, 11:06:05 PM by Lord Commissar Spiteful »
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Re: Imperial Guard FAQs
« Reply #2 on: March 8, 2011, 09:55:46 PM »
Imperial Guard Jargon

A guide to the many abbreviations in the Imperial guard, as well as some of the slang and specialist terms.

AC - autocannon
Air Cav - (Normally) Veterans mounted in a Valkyrie (or Vendetta)
AP - Artillery Pieces
AS - Armoured Sentinel
ASent - Armoured Sentinel
AT - antitank
Bane - Bane Wolf
BiD - Bring it Down
Bolter Boat - LRBT with Hull Heavy Bolter and sponson Heavy Bolters
CC - close combat
CCS - Company Command Squad, An HQ choice from the IG Codex
DDog - Devil Dog
DevilD - Devil Dog
EFT - Leman Russ Executioner with hull Lascannon and Sponson Plasma Cannon, normally with more upgrades
FomT - Fire on my Target
FRFSRF - First rank fire, second rank fire. An order
GEQ - Guardsman equivalent
GL - grenade launcher
GLAC - grenade launcher & autocannon, a common infantry squad loadout
HB(S) - heavy bolter (sponsons)
HF - heavy flamer
HHound - Hell hound
HWS - Heavy Weapon Squad
HWT - heavy weapon team (a HWS is composed of three HWTs)
IS - infantry squad
LC - usually lascannon, sometimes Lord Commissar
LRBT - Standard Leman Russ Battle tank
LRDT - Leman Russ Demolisher
Mech Vets - Veterans mounted in a Chimera
melta-vets - veteran squad with melta guns
MEQ - marine equivalent
ML - multilaser or (especially on other boards) missile launcher. See below
MLaser - multilaser. Preferred (unambiguous) Abbreviation
MLauncher - Missile Launcher. Preferred Abbreviation
OotF - Officer of the Fleet
Paskisher - Leman Russ Punisher commanded by Pask
Paskquiser - Leman Russ Vanq commanded by Pask
PCS - Platoon Command Squad, a troops option from the IG Codex
PBS - psyker battle squad
PIS - Platoon Infantry Squad, ( also see IS)
PF - powerfist
plas-vets - veteran squad with plasma guns
Power blob - Combined Platoons tooled for CC with at least one Commissar, normally with as many power weapons as possible
PP - Primaris psyker
PW - power weapon
RR - rough riders
SSent - Scout Sentinel
SS - Scout Sentinel
ST - stormtroopers
SWS - Special Weapon Squad
TEQ - terminator equivalent
Vanq - Leman Russ Vanquisher
« Last Edit: March 11, 2011, 01:16:12 AM by Lord Commissar Spiteful »
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Re: Imperial Guard FAQs
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2011, 02:58:54 AM »
Army Types
Described here are the concept around certain army play styles. These are not lists, nor are they guides on how to play, but rather are a basic summary of an army archetype. Should you stumble upon an armytype that you are unfamiliar with, this is the place to find out more.

Air Mobile

All infantry

SSAFH, (supershooty Army from Hell)

Gunline

Mechanised

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Offline Lord Commissar Spiteful

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Re: Imperial Guard FAQs
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2011, 11:29:21 PM »
Are they Worth It?
The next soldier to post a "are they worth it" thread without having a damn good reason will be sent on mine clearing duty! With A HAMMER!

In the interest of helping those out who do want to ask these questions though, here are a list of these questions as they were asked before. Some are actually useful so read these before asking.

« Last Edit: March 24, 2011, 06:52:48 PM by Lord Commissar Spiteful »
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