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Hey man, looking through my guard army and how various units have performed in past outings i'm having some difficulty in bringing the list down to the god awful size known as 1500 :( ordinarily i'd leave things till last minute but if i'm going to a tournament where things have to be painted i guess i should get a settled army and then begin the painful process of painting it all.

Anyway Ideas of what to tweek, add or take away from the various ideas i'll post would be appreciated

List 1.

HQ : Company Command w/ Strachan, 1 bodyguard, medic 190pts Chimera w/ extra armour 70pts

Troops : Veterans, 2 melta guns 90pts Chimera w/ extra armour 70pts

Troops : Veterans, 2 melta guns 90pts Chimera w/ extra armour 70pts

Troops : Veterans, Harker, Autocannon/H Bolter 135pts

Fast : Vendetta Gunship 130pts

Fast : Vendetta Gunship 130pts

Heavy : Leman Russ Battle Tank w/lascannon 165pts

Heavy : Leman Russ Demolisher w/lascannon 180pts

Heavy : 2 Hydra's w/ extra armour 180pts

Total = 1500pts

the flip side would be a more infantry based force which is then backed up by tanks and thus able to go and do a bit of everything. I tried to write a list as such but failed in that respect so i thought i'd ask your opinion and help on just such a list and which one would be more likely to work as i can see problems inherent in both but is the part infantry part tank list more reliable/versatile than the mech list.

thanks in advance

Reply :

Lets have a look at the list a unit at a time then,

HQ: Company Command Squad (7#, 260 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 260 pts (Medi-pack; Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken; Bodyguard)

1 Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken

1 Bodyguard

1 Chimera (Extra Armor)

I'm not a massive fan of Straken but he does provide a useful counter-assault unit. So this seems fine apart from the Extra Armour which I think you can do without. Also if this unit is moving about you'll probably never use the 'default' Heavy Bolter on the Chimera so I'd swap it for a Heavy Flamer. If we have enough points spare we'll maybe 'beef' this unit up a bit with an extra bodyguard at the end.

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 160 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 160 pts (Meltagun x2)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Extra Armor)

If your going to make your Veteran Squad a 'Melta' unit you might as well give them the maximum 3. A Heavy Flamer is also a nice option as it gives the unit a dual role, however as we can give the Chimera a Heavy Flamer instead of It's Heavy Bolter I'd do that instead.

Troops: Veteran Squad (10#, 135 pts)

7 Veteran Squad @ 135 pts (Gunnery Sergeant Harker)

1 Veteran Heavy Weapon Team (Autocannon or Heavy Bolter)

1 Gunnery Sergeant Harker

Not sure what your thinking behind this unit is, If it's going in a Vendetta then the Upgrades are wasted, if it's infiltrating to get close to something then why has it got a Heavy Weapon Team which is obviously long range. With the points we've saved so far we can probably make this into a 3rd Veteran Squad in a Chimera, which is what I would do.

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts

1 Vendetta

Nothing wrong with this choice at all.

Heavy Support: Leman Russ Squadron (1#, 165 pts)

1 Leman Russ Squadron @ 165 pts

1 Leman Russ Battle Tank (Lascannon)

Not sure about the Lascannon, other than that It's okay if you like the Leman Russ. I'd rather have a Medusa for it's high strength, low AP, fairly long range, large Blast or a pair of Hydras myself. Admittedly they're less survivable but 3 guesses where all your opponents Melta weapons will be heading...

Heavy Support: Leman Russ Squadron (1#, 180 pts)

1 Leman Russ Squadron @ 180 pts

1 Leman Russ Demolisher (Lascannon)

Same comment as above really with the addition that it's to short range if your going for shooty or too dangerous for your own units if your getting 'stuck-in'.

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (2#, 180 pts)

1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery @ 180 pts

1 Hydra Flak Tank (Extra Armor)

1 Hydra Flak Tank (Extra Armor)

Nothing wrong with this choice either (other than the Extra Armour which we can do without). 8 twin-linked Strength 7 shots for 150 points is fucking awesome. You can leave the Heavy Bolters on these if you prefer as they'll hopefully be safe in a corner somewhere.

So lets keep the good stuff, tweak the okay stuff and see what points we have left...

1500 Pts - James 1500 IG list - tweaked (no russ's for now)

HQ: Company Command Squad (8#, 260 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 260 pts (Medi-pack; Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken; Bodyguard; Bodyguard)

1 Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken

1 Bodyguard

1 Bodyguard

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Just added a bodyguard for now but you might want to give them some weapons upgrades as well (Melta's, Heavy Flamer, etc.) as there will be spare points at the end ;-)

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 155 pts (Meltagun x3)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 155 pts (Meltagun x3)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 155 pts (Meltagun x3)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts

1 Vendetta

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts

1 Vendetta

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (2#, 150 pts)

1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery @ 150 pts

1 Hydra Flak Tank

1 Hydra Flak Tank

Total Roster Cost: 1135

So we have 355 points left to fill out those heavy support slots amongst other things.

Personally I like the idea of,

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (2#, 150 pts)

1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery @ 150 pts

1 Hydra Flak Tank

1 Hydra Flak Tank

Yes I know you already have a unit of these but another 2 units would be even better. With 3 of these your as close as possible to guaranteeing the crippling of 3 light vehicles a turn or putting a serious dent in most infantry units. Even tyranid MC's will be worried ;-)

I'm also a fan of,

Heavy Support: Ordnance Battery (1#, 135 pts)

1 Ordnance Battery @ 135 pts

1 Medusa

36" Range, S10, AP2, Large Blast. Pops vehicles and kills infantry with equal efficiency . Not the most survivable of weapon platforms but it's dead easy to hide behind a Chimera which (as long as you position it correctly) will give you a cover save anyway.

As I'm not sure how your finances are i'll leave you to decide on what you wan't to take/can afford (6 Hydras aren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination but you can make passable Medusa's from the Basilisk kit).

Both of those options leave you with enough points left over to upgrade your command squad a bit more.

Of course if you've got your heart set on them you can have those Leman Russ's you put in originally though I'm not convinced that they're anywhere near the optimum choice.

There are so many viable IG lists it makes the Chaos player in me a little bit sad. Taking the units you like and the ones I do, stir in a little flavour and I'd probably give the following a go,

1500 Pts - 5th Edition Roster - James 1500 IG list - tweaked

HQ: Company Command Squad (7#, 220 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 220 pts (Flamer x1; Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken; Bodyguard)

1 Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken

1 Bodyguard

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (8#, 135 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 135 pts

1 Overseer

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 155 pts (Meltagun x3)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 155 pts (Meltagun x3)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)

9 Veteran Squad @ 155 pts (Meltagun x3)

1 Veteran Sergeant

1 Chimera (Heavy Flamer)

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts

1 Vendetta

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts

1 Vendetta

Heavy Support: Ordnance Battery (1#, 135 pts)

1 Ordnance Battery @ 135 pts

1 Medusa (Heavy Flamer)

Heavy Support: Ordnance Battery (1#, 135 pts)

1 Ordnance Battery @ 135 pts

1 Medusa (Heavy Flamer)

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (2#, 150 pts)

1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery @ 150 pts

1 Hydra Flak Tank

1 Hydra Flak Tank

Total Roster Cost: 1500

Comments, advice or other helpful input will (as usual) be gratefully received.