Imperial Guard in Depth -- HQ

Posted by Ranillon on 9. May 2009 00:36

This is the start of a new series of posts where I go into detail about the various units within the new Imperial Guard codex.  Today I start off with Imperial Guard HQ selections (not counting special characters which I will deal with separately).

Company Command Squad

The more I examine this choice the more I like it – and the more I think it is a must have.

First thing to remember is that there is no listed limit for how many company command squads you can have.  So, in a normal force that’s potentially two.  That’s important when it comes to some of the goodies listed below.

The most important figure in the squad is of course the commander.  He is the only fellow in the group that can give orders – and at a range of 12”.  He also has good stats and comes with a refractor field.  He is also not an independent character, which in this case is a good thing as he can’t be targeted individually.  Feel free to give him a power fist and you’ve got a real hand-to-hand threat (well, at least for IG).

The usefulness of a Medi-Pack is pretty good, especially the more models you add to the squad.  It basically gives everyone an extra carapace armor save on top of everything else, something that will allow the group to last a while longer (and help avoid those frustrating “easy kill thanks to a lone missed armor save” nightmares).

A Regimental Standard is a steal at just 15 points.  The ability to reroll morale and pinning tests within 12” is worth the cost by itself, but you also get a bonus to combat resolution.

Beyond this I suggest a Vox and whatever extra weapons best fit your army.

Regimental Advisors

I give these their own listing despite always being part of the company command squad because they are worth discussing individually.

Bodyguards are handy for helping to protect your commander.  They can take a wound in place of him in any situation – a good thing since the commander is the only guy in the squad with a power weapon.

The usefulness of the Astropath depends on what sort of army you plan on playing.  If it has a lot of units coming in from reserve – especially flank marches – then you may want to have two squads just to have two astropaths.  That’s a +2 to all reserve rolls along with rerolling to see which flank you come in from.  For certain builds you’ll want to guarantee having your reserves arriving early and often.  This is the way to do it.

By comparison, the only use for the Master of the Fleet I can see is for special circumstances where you know you’ll be fighting a force that uses a lot of reserves.  Otherwise, he’s unlikely to be worth the points.

Without a doubt the best buy of the four advisors – heck, perhaps the best buy in the whole codex – is the Master of Ordinance.  For 30 points you get an (somewhat inaccurate) Earthshaker Cannon with unlimited range and a BS of 4.  For any IG force that otherwise can’t justify a lot of artillery this is a must have method to get just that for not very many points.  Even if you do have a lot of boom it never hurts to add one or two extra large blast templates to the mix.

Lord Commissar

Overall I like this character, although he does come with drawbacks.  For IG he is a bit pricey and as an independent character he is more vulnerable.  However, he has the best leadership in the army and can use it on any and all squads within 6”.  You can also load him up with a good power weapon and carapace armor, which (with his built in refractor field) makes him both robust and deadly (again, for IG).  I see him as a good choice for any army that needs a locus of leadership to offset otherwise mediocre stats.  Remember, while commanders can give orders they can’t use their leadership at range, so that is one bonus the Lord Commissar provides that no one else can.

Primaris Psyker

I am somewhat iffy about this character.  He’s as many points as the Lord Commissar and about as tough, but without the leadership.  He gets his powers instead, but I am not wild about them – at least not in relation to what else you can get with the same points and HQ slot.  Lightning Arc is respectable, but a bit random.  Nightshroud sounds like a nifty power, but leadership checks are comparatively easy to make.  It’s just too risky to put much faith in it if you ask me.  He does have a force weapon, but they aren’t as useful as they used to be (what with all those immune to instant death creatures going around) and, frankly, you don’t want to be throwing this fellow into close combat if you can help it anyway.

Ministorum Priest

This is my vote for weakest HQ choice.  For 45 points you get a normal trooper with a 4+ invulnerable save and the ability to allow rerolls to hit when he and his closest buddies charge (and only then) into combat.  You can give him an Eviscerator for an extra 15 points, but it is a wimpy strength six.  For sixty points I can get a full infantry squad with a power weapon wielding sarge, a better choice as far as I’m concerned.  If nothing else his single wound makes the Priest just too fragile.

Techpriest Enginseer

Where the Ministorum Priest is a poor use of points the Enginseer is far superior – and he costs the same.  He is just as fragile, but at least he gets power armor and, since he is not an independent character, you can better protect him if he is surrounded by servitors.  You can arm two of the latter with heavy weapons, but their strength eight power attacks are pretty good regardless.  Use the Enginseer with a tank heavy army to sit back with the vehicles and repair them when not otherwise directing his minions to fire at the enemy.  If the bad guys get too close he and his posse pose enough of a credible close-combat threat to be effective.

More to come...