Warhammer 40K: Astra Militarium Bring The Best Objective Control
Take a look at the new Warhammer 40K Astra Militarum Index – and how it will bring you objective control victory!
10th Edition is finally really, pretty much, mostly, here. We’ve seen the core rules. Now we are getting a first look at the brand new Card Indexes. These books re-write the rules for every single unit, still, in the game. While we don’t yet have the points for units, there is still a lot to unpack here. Earlier we took a look at the massive Space Marine Index. Now Lets dig into my other favorite army, the Imperial Guard. As before we can’t go over every unit, so here are some highlights.
Tanks Are Making A Bang
10th Edition is really looking to push tanks, and few armies are impacted as much by this as the Imperial Guard. Among the many obvious changes to takes is the removal of tank squads. Now all tanks come in units of one. To balance this out each type of Leman Russ is now its own datasheet. Meaning that while you can only take 3 Leman Russ Battle Tanks, you can take a lot of Leman Russes if you branch out.
And a lot of these tanks have gotten face lifts to be pretty decent. I think there are more good Russ versions than you can fit in an army. The basic Russ with its D3 cannon is really solid, and the Demolisher remains a strong choice. Most improved however has to got to the Exterminator. This tank has been a poor choice since around 3rd Edition. Now I think it might see some real play, as its main cannon is solid and its got a great special rule.
Can Creed Bring Units Back?
Astra Militarum got a very powerful stratagem in Reinforcements! For two CP you can bring a unit back to life. Getting a fresh 20 Guardspeople back isn’t bad. However it is a pricy option, but there might be away around paying for it.
This is one that likely will need an FAQ. Ursula Creed can once per battle round target a unit within 12″ with a free stratagem. It’s not clear however if she can use Reinfrocements! The stratagem does allow it to target a destroyed unit, even though the unit was destroyed. However it’s not clear that the destroyed unit counts as being within 12″ of Creed if its now removed form the table. If I had to guess I think they will rule it can be used, that seems to be the intent, but who knows. If she can use it this could allow you to bring back up to 10 units, or 200 models in a game. That’s not to shabby, even if GSC can beat it.
The Lord Solar Commands All
Speaking of CP, one sure way to max yours out is with the Lord Solar. He gives you a nice free CP each turn, which is pretty solid. He also allows you to redeploy some units, even putting them into Strategic Reserves. These are solid rules, but not too flashy. He’s OK in combat but doesn’t really bring anything super amazing. It could be easy to miss out on his real power on just a casual read. Possibly the most important thing he does is give out Orders.
“Yes Sir, Lord Solar!”
Now he can give out 3 a turn, which is great and makes him very efficient at issuing orders. Most importantly he can order any Astra Militarum units. All other officers are limited to either ordered Regiment or Squadron units. Not only can Leontus order both, but he can order units without those keywords. This means as far as I can tell he is the only way to give order to Super Heavies. +1BS to a whole Baneblade is nothing to scoff at. I think if he’s decently priced you’ll see him in almost every army.
Guard Get The Most OC
The Guard are able to cram just an amazing amount of OC into a unit. Lets start with your basic infantry Squad. The unit can start at 20 models, each with OC 2, giving you a solid 40 OC off the bat. However you can up that pretty quickly. Next lets take a Command Squad, and to this we can add both a Ogryn Bodyguard and the Regimental Attaché unit. This now 9 model squad can then be attached to the Infantry Squad. Let’s also pop a Commissar in the unit as well.
We’ve now got a 30 model with, with 20 models having OC 2 and 10 with OC 1 for 50 OC. However we can also assume that your Command Squad has a Regimental Standard in it to give all your models +1 OC. Thats an extra 30 OC, taking the Squad to OC 80. Now feel free to use the Duty and Honor! order on the unit for another +1 per model. Your one unit now has an OC of 110! Thanks to the Commissar you can re-roll battle shock and once a game just become un-battle shocked (using an Enginseer and Servitors you can actually get to 118 OC). Good luck taking an objective from that unit, and Guard can have a lot like this.
Don’t Sleep On Pyskers
Guard Psykers have always been a mixed bag. They never really see a ton of play. Now in the new Index the only Psyker unit has been removed, but the Primaris Psyker remains. And he has gotten a pretty solid glow up. They got two really great rules. The most important is, on a roll of 2+, the Psyker’s unit gets a 4++ save. If you’ve dropped them in a big, say 30 man unit, like the one we talked about above, that’s a lot of Guard getting a much better save than normal. Secondly they also give their unit a 4+ FNP vs Psychic attacks. While this is less likely to come up, it will randomly be amazing vs some armies.
But defense isn’t the only thing they are good at. Their Psychic Maelstrom attack is very solid. In particular the focused version is a real MEQ killer. With D6+3 shots and blast it can put out a lot of firepower. Add in a 3+BS, which will likely got up to 2+ with orders and it’s very accurate. S6, Devastating Wounds, -2 AP and D2 make it an amazing weapon. This guy can shred a Marine Squad on his own. Sure hazardous gives him a chance to kill himself, but fire off some plasma weapons and you can put any failed roles onto the Guardsmen. Drop him in A Krieg squad and you can just bring them back later! This guy is an amazing force multiplier, giving your unit both extra surviblity and damage output.
Let us know what you think of the new Guard Index, down in the comments!
