Warhammer 40K: Three Example Astra Militarum Armies From GW
Games Workshop shows off three ways to play the Astra Militarum with some example lists. How effective are they? Let’s take a closer look.
Every now and then Games Workshop drops the curtain and shows us example lists of how you could play particular armies. These could be interpreted as how the armies were intended to be played by GW themselves. Or they could just be extreme examples to show what’s possible with these lists. Today, we’re getting a look at 3 army lists for the Astra Militarum with some special rules to show how they function. If these are showing “how they are meant to be played” then these examples are three very different lists.
Infantry Wave
Kicking things off we have the classic tide of bodies Astra Militarum list. This one focuses heavily on manpower. With 12(!) Cadian Shock Troop squads and lots of HQs to toss out orders this army is just a wall of lasguns ready to melt everything. But what really gets this army to function is the Regimental Doctrine: Born Soldiers.
It feels like the first two bullet points are really just “bookkeeping” things. The last bullet point is the “secret sauce” that isn’t so secret…
“Each time a model with this doctrine makes a ranged attack, an unmodified hit roll of 6 automatically wounds the target.”
And for good measure the to-wound roll counts as a 6. I feel like we didn’t learn anything from last time this was a rule…but maybe it won’t be as hated. Anyhow, that’s a LOT of shots coming at…whatever they want to point their laser-pointers at to melt them down. Does that mean a Lasgun can wound a Knight on a 6 to hit? I mean…I guess so. Line-up guardsmen, it’s flashlight time!
Of the three options, I think this is probably the strongest list…if you can manage to move all your models and roll all of your dice in a timely manner. Good luck with that part because you’ll need it.
Armoured Company
Do you want a small model count but lots of firepower? Then the Armoured Company is for you! And if you were worried about taking objectives, don’t worry — there’s a Regimental Doctrine for that.
Roll out with your tank company and smash-n-blast your enemies off the tabletop as you score on those objectives. I think this army can be pretty effective as each vehicle pumps out a lot of shots. Depending on how you kit your Leman Russ tanks you could blast armor or cut down infantry — or mix and match for both! The Banesword is…ya know, a Banesword. So it can drop most hard targets. And the Rogal Dorn pumps out the damage, too. The biggest flaw is that each loss is really going to sting. But this army wins big or goes home.
Oops, All Characters!
“The history of the Astra Militarum is littered with legendary heroes like Commissar Yarrick, Commissar Cain, Commissar Gaunt, and some other people who aren’t commissars. Now that you can mix and match regimental units, it’s finally possible to have your special characters all fighting together for the good of the Imperium! Let’s see what that looks like…”
So yeah…that’s a lot of characters! I do appreciate how they also managed to squeeze in 6 troop options from various different Astra Militarum Regiments, too. But yeah…that is a LOT of characters. How good is it? Eh…That’s a lot of special rules to remember and not a whole lot of actual bodies on the table (relative to something like the infantry wave from above). That said, those characters do tend to pack a punch but at the end of the day they are still guardsmen.
I think this list could probably score some wins but I don’t think it’s going to be the top of the tournament scene. Build this one if you’re just looking for a meme time.
Pre-orders for the box set went up this weekend. Did you snag your copy?
