Commissar's Lounge

How to Build an Imperial Guard Army

First of all, the Imperial Guard is not a good army for a 40K beginner to start with. I did, but I don't recommend it. I recommend starting with Space Marines. But, if you are IG crazy, keep reading...

I have been into Warhammer 40K for over 5 years. In this time I have strayed very little from the Imperial Guard. I went from nearly 2 years of losing a lot, to winning about 3/4 of my games. From my experience, the army often does not work well until it is "you". For instance, I started with a kind of run-of-the-mill mostly shooty army (which is what the Guard is really good at). But I realized that sitting and shooting was not for me, I was not happy with it. It was not "ME" to use such tactics. Don't get me wrong, many people do wonderfully with it. I did not. I did not like the army much after a while. So I discovered the joys of assault (hand-to-hand, close combat). Now, this is not the high point of the Guard, in fact, the only thing the the Guard seems to have going for it as far as assault goes, is superior numbers most the time. People thought I was crazy for doing this, or just plain trying to kick my own ass. The fact is, I made my army as assaulty as possible for the original book Codex, and I did lose for a while... but I LOVED it! It was so much more fun, and significantly more "ME". So I worked it and worked it. To me, I was making it more enjoyable. I also learned the tactical benefit of not changing the army much, and using pretty much the same army over and over: you learn how to use every element of your army to it's greatest effectiveness. Some people like to change their army every time they play, or occasionally, or to increase their chances in winning against a particular enemy in a particular game. I found it more enjoyable to keep pretty much the same army and just learn to use it better. I would only change one or two squads every few months, maybe move some wargear around, but have kept pretty much the same army for years. I know exactly what each squad can do, and what it can't do. Some people prefer to have numerous exchangeable options with their IG army, and that's fine, it's all up to the individual, I'm just imparting my personal opinions and experiences.

ORIGINALITY:

Whatever you do with your army, do yourself a favor : make it original. Make a theme, and stick with it. For instance, you could make the "102nd Cadian Missile Battalion", and build the army with as many ranged missile weapons as possible, like Missile Launcher Anti-Tank teams, put a Missile Launcher team in each squad with one of the soldiers packing a Grenade Launcher, and put Hunter-Killer missiles on all the vehicles, etc. Or a Catachan Stealth Force, with a black color scheme, and lots of snipers and Sentinels with spotlights, etc. It's so much better with a theme, trust me. Other people (gamers especially) love theme armies. There is a lot of respect for originality in the history of the game. Be original, and kick ass in an original way.

TASTE:

No, I'm not talking about making a tasty snack for the Tyranids (bugs) to munch on. What I'm going to talk about in this section, is not being a powergamer. Don't build an army that pisses off other players. Don't cheese-out and build an army that with so many big tanks and big guns that it obliterates everyone and people would have to practically cheat just to beat you. Keep in mind, that if you go to formal tournaments, they commonly rate you in score by how well-balanced your army is...

TACTICS:

Much of building your army will depend on what kind of tactics you use, or want to use. In my army (when I was using Steel Legion), I had 7 tanks roll out, which left my opponents really worrying and wondering. They are all transports, but they have a hard time figuring out which one to worry about, they forget what's inside, etc. One of the best tactics you can pull on your opponents is this: MAKE THEM THINK. Ponder what you are making them think about, and give thought to the outcomes of what he chooses. Do this before making moves, realize what choices you are forcing your opponent to make by the move you are about to make, and what his reaction will be, then do the same with the next unit. Use this progression of thought and you can do very well with the Imperial Guard. So, in building your Imperial Guard army, choose an expensive tank, but know that it will be the focus of fire. Choose a basic infantry unit, knowing that it will be ignored for the most part unless you make a nuisance of it. Choose a Sentinel, but understand that it is eye-attracting, and can be brought down by a single good shot from most of the common infantry-carried weapons in the game. Choose wisely, and use your units knowing these factors that I have mentioned.

THE ELEMENTS OF AN IMPERIAL GUARD ARMY:

Imperial Guard armies have a required army structure. They are one of the most complex armies to build because of that, if not THE most complex. So, let's take a look at the units available:

H.Q. (HEADQUARTERS) UNIT