TACTICA: IG Buildout and Deployment in Fifth Edition
I am only discussing unit builds, uses thereof, and deployment in this article. Game tactics will be later in this series.
HQ
High Command – With the advent of true LOS, this needs to be in cover if you want it to survive. I admit to being somewhat old fashioned and insisting on having an HSO, so I use medic and standard and a mortar and hide them. A probably more cost effective use is to treat this unit as simply another Platoon Command, and arm it similarly. Iron Discipline is a no brainer for 5e.
Advisors – None are worth the points for 5e.
Commissars – Loved them in 4e. In 5e, counter shooting is more cost effective than counter charging, and they were too expensive anyway, so they’re out.
Priests – Too expensive and of limited use for a Guard army, even in 4e. In 5e, they are just a point sink.
Sanctioned Pyskers – I have honestly not taken one of these since 3e, except in weird scenarios that bigred and I dreamed up.
AT Support – Deploy AT to either have side shots against vehicles facing your tanks or into the lines. If going for the side shots, it is best to remember to go to ground.
Lascannon – At 36 points a platform, these are 18 points per hit if they get 4 turns of shooting per game. Pricey and always a high priority target, I find them to be a bad choice.
Missile Launcher – Dropping down to only 31 points a platform, these seem to be a worse choice than the Lascannon. I have found that they are a far less attractive target than the Lascannon teams, and thus wind up doing a lot more damage for me during a game. Never use them against AV 14, unless there is nothing else to shoot at. If you face tight formations of enemy troops or the enemy has cover, fragmentation missiles can do wonderful things.
FS Support – Deployment is very dependent on enemy forces. Generally these are just strengtheners for your gunline.
Autocannons – The best direct fire support weapon of the lot. Great light vehicle killers and they reliably put wounds out on nearly everything all game long. Deploy centrally so that they have targets every turn.
Heavy Bolters – Very good for hosing down enemy speeders and assault forces. Good to have in your force, and best in support of your main concentration, wherever that may be.
Other –
Mortar Squads – These are fantastic killers in 5e. The ability to ignore intervening cover makes them murderous from behind your own troopers in the gunline, and they can pin as well. 80 points is a bargain for these relative to other weapons for 5e.
Sentinels – If you are going to take Sentinels, I would take them as an HQ squadron.
Special Weapons – Not worth the slot, in my opinion. If you take them, the Demo Charge is a given, and I would take Flamers. Also, you almost have to go with Drop Troops, as the scatter of the Demo Charge makes these very dangerous for counter shooting purposes.
Elite
Hardened Veterans – These are great as a small squad with 3 BS4 Meltaguns. Use them either to flank/deep strike and blow up vehicles, or hold them in reserve to counter shoot enemy assaulters. Give them Shotguns to replace Lasguns.
Ratlings – These little buggers draw a lot more fire than their damage output merits, but against anything that isn’t fearless a chance to pin is a chance to pin. Take them in squads of 8 or more, and place them in cover.
Ogryns – Sadly, Ogryns still have no place on the field. They are too expensive, too fragile, and too ineffective in killing MEQ to be worth fielding.
Storm Troopers – Taken in small squads with two BS4 melta/plasma guns, these are many players shooting units of choice. Grenadiers are best done mounted in Chimera, whereas normal Glory Boys make good flankers. I avoid deploying them as simple gunline units, as their lack of range means that take too many hits before they get to do anything. It is better to keep them in reserve than start them on the field.
Techpriest Enginseers – I had to open the book to even remember these exist. I guess 5e vehicle survivability makes them better, but going from abjectly horrible to just really bad doesn’t make them a good purchase. If you intend to use one, place it so that it is in BTB with a couple of Russes (or triangle it to a Basilisk as well) and give him 3 or 4 technical servitors.
Troops
Infantry Platoons – Never underestimate the good old Lasgun. In 5e, these are your objective takers, so keeping one or two in reserve to move towards objectives on your side late in the game is a good idea. Flanking or deep strike are your best options to threaten enemy objectives, as marching across the field just provides most enemies with free assault and consolidation moves. Always build them with a special weapon, and remember that 3 squads getting a Lascannon mean that you are not taking a 4th squad with a Meltagun.
Infantry Platoon Command – The ability to concentrate special weapons in these squads gives them a lot of value as counter shooters. I’m particularly fond of the 4 flamer squad in a Chimera. After the enemy assaults the smoke Chimera that is blocking their advance, they are nicely piled up to take enormous numbers of flamer hits. Officers always get power weapons, as these are the only bargain weapon in our Armory.
Armored Fist – Grenadiers or command squads in Chimeras are better for the purpose, and we need more Troops infantry units, so these are unattractive in 5e.
Conscripts – If you really want to see something funny, watch what happens to a 50 man Conscript squad with attached Independent Commissar that is hit by a 20+ mob of Slugga Boyz. Their use as tar pits is sharply reduced by the 5e morale rules, they are a lot easier to massacre with the 5e blast, multiple template, and casualty rules, so you are better off with more infantry squads.
Fast Attack
Hellhound – True LOS means that these monsters have more targets. I’ve found that one of them is an enormous fire magnet, and more is a good thing.
Sentinels – These are not as good as Hellhounds for the FA slot, but still a great choice. If you take drop troops, these can be used to deep strike as well as to flank, and a well-positioned Multilaser or Autocannon equipped Sentinel stands a fair chance of popping a key enemy vehicle, or at least shaking it on those crucial turns 2-4. Another great use is flanking into large enemy infantry units from the rear and pulling them away from their advance. A Heavy Flamer Sentinel kills Orks with the weapon and likely kills more from the explosion, and even more critically pulls them away from where they want to be. Great choices if you do not have the points to buy Hellhounds for the FA slots.
Rough Riders – As a counter charge unit, these are the best the IG has for 5e. With true LOS, they can be hit almost anywhere on the board, so keep them in reserve unless you have a heavily urban board with intact walls to hide behind. I don’t take these as they are less survivable, less threatening, and less deadly than a Hellhound in almost all cases.
Heavy Support
Basilisk – True LOS means these are easier to shoot at in 5e, so park a Russ in front of them, and/or get them behind a hill. True LOS means they can also see most of the board, which means they can fire in LOS and indirectly outside of 36”. This means they are as accurate as firing directly, but ignore intervening cover and hit vehicles on the side armor. Shooting Predators in this fashion makes them expensive Rhinos, so the Basilisk is very good.
Leman Russ Battle Tank – The removal of partials and downgrading of defensive weapons transformed the LRBT from a Heavy Bolter platform to a Battle Cannon platform, so peel off those sponsons and let the Ordnance fly.
Leman Russ Demolisher – Oddly, the rear 11 AV is more important to this vehicle that the great cannon. Fearlessly drive Demolishers towards opposing Land Raiders and Terminators, and watch them scramble away.
Heavy Weapon Platoons – I would only taking these if I were restricted from taking tanks for some reason. They are expensive and inefficient.
In terms of Doctrines, Drop Troops, Light Infantry, and Iron Discipline give you the most bang for your buck, as they provide a lot of maneuver options and let small units recover. Cameleoline is a good choice as well, but tends to be much less effective as the game goes on. All the others are personal choice issues.
As far as allies go, an Inquisitor Lord or GK with psychic hood are reasonably common and useful choices. Placing a Daemonhunter Inquisitor with Mystics in a transport behind your Demolisher tends to scare off those pesky Terminators. There are too many solid DH/WH ally choices to consider in this already overlong piece, so I’ll leave it at that.
