Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Death Korps of Krieg(8E)

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This is the current Edition's Death Korps of Krieg tactics. General Imperial Guard tactics can be found here.

Why Play the Death Korps of Krieg

If you love WWI and 40k, then you'll love the Death Korps of Krieg. They love trenches, attrition warfare, and everything that the Western Front had to offer. They don't waver when their mates drop dead, in fact, they get happier. Collectively, they want to martyr themselves as a messed up way of saying "sorry" to The Emperor. All in all, they are badasses who shell their enemies into a pulp, then mow down the survivors with hordes of infantry and armour.

On the tabletop, the Death Korps can be played like a normal Imperial Guard army, just with a few unit restrictions, an immunity to casualties taken in the shooting phase, and are strong in close quarters, be that melee, or short-range gunfights.

Pros

  • Versatile and strong vehicles.
  • Sgts who can actually take lasguns AND have BS3+ - apparently the DKOK are more reasonable than every other regiment (although odds are you still probably want the chainsword as well)
  • You have numerous advantages over standard IG - infantry that are immune to morale tests caused by shooting (which is especially useful in a shooty meta) and have WS3+, which means you are almost impossible to budge off objectives. You also have access to unique units like Combat Engineers, Grenadiers, Deathriders, and various flavors of artillery.
  • DKOK Field Officers are the cheapest HQ choice available to IG, bar none, and unlike normal JO's they don't consume a valuable Elites slot.
  • Deathriders are possibly the best assault unit available to IG, short of Bullgryns, and put Rough Riders to shame. Hell, they put even Death Company to shame.
  • Although legit models cost an arm and a leg recast DKOK are very easy to find online (and amusingly are sometimes higher quality casts than Forgeworld, with less bubbles, warping, flash, etc. YMMV). Thanks China.
  • DKOK make excellent visual stand-ins for Armageddon Steel Legion, or vice-versa. Which is great because one of your only sources of re-rolling 1's is Yarrick.
  • Hordes of infantry that can be buffed with force multipliers such as Commissars, Astropaths, Priests, and all Commanders.
  • Dirt cheap troops means you can laugh off the loss of cheap guardsmen whereas an elite army cannot.
  • The removal of platoons means you can get rid of some minor taxes. A little bit of points go a long way.
  • Laughably easy to amass command points in a brigade detachment or multiple battalions due to dirt cheap units.
  • The new Strength/Toughness and AP mechanics tend to favor hordes, as does the removal of templates. Your opponent won't get more than 6 hits from a flamer or heavy flamer, you actually get a save against both, and that heavy flamer only wounds your boys on 3s.
  • You're the best ally army in the Imperium, bar none. It doesn't matter if you're bringing Space Marines, Sisters, AdMech, or Genestealers: you open more doors for more armies than any other army in the game, whether with long-ranged fire support, cheap bodies, or badass flyers.
  • Let's state the obvious: Guard is by far one of the strongest armies in the game right now, right up there with Marines, Tyranids, and Death Guard. All those Eldar, Tau, and Necron players who cheesed their way through easy victories with Decurion detachments, Wraithknight spam, and markerlights are crying crocodile tears about how tricky Guard is to counter this edition. You're not invincible, but you are very point-efficient, and have probably the highest heavy-and-special weapon density in the game; there is almost no unnecessary purchase between you and your big killy guns.
  • You have arguably one of the best looking armies in the game, and with awesome fluff to go with it.

Cons

  • Overall flimsy infantry. What you have in numbers you do not have in resilience; your most common model statline is toughness 3 with a 5+ save. Still some of the toughest models point-for-point, but it practically forces you to buy in bulk.
  • DKOK lose access to FRFSRF and Take-Aim, arguably the most useful orders available to IG, and their replacements (Duty unto Death, Without Mercy) are seriously underwhelming.
  • Your standard infantry are slightly more expensive than vanilla IG, and can't take heavy weapons. Granted, you can still bring 100 models for only 500 pts. Amusingly the implication seems to be that the DKOK's lives are actually valued just a little bit more than a standard Guardsman.
  • Comparatively weak in assault. S3 with 1 attack each is not doing you any favor, even though you hit on 3+. Close combat can still work, but shooting is preferable. Our Infantry squads are still better in assault than Battle Sisters, Guardians Defenders, Termagants or even Tactical Marines point for point. That's before Priests, Fix Bayonets, and regimental standard shenanigans. But squads caught in melee alone will fail anyway because...
  • Individual units are weak without support from characters and other squads. Synergy is key.
  • Anti-infantry weapons will destroy your hordes in short order.
  • Anti-tank weapons will destroy your tanks in short order.
    • Now stop and think about those above three points. Together, they constitute a major challenge when understood in tandem. Enemies can reap bounteous rewards through good target selection against the IG, and it can be tricky to find ways to deny their efforts. Take a typical mixed-unit army, some infantry and some tanks. There will be times when the enemy can pull off a highly effective attack, pointing their dakka at your infantry and their blasta at your tanks. Some units may have to be sacrificed to an effective enemy - let's say a unit of Centaurs against enemy melta fire - if it means guarding a more important yet similarly vulnerable target - your Leman Russes - until you can wheel a more effective counter unit into place - disposable infantry squads. You can only anticipate so much! The standard wisdom when designing an army is to aim for a uniform defensive approach between units, to prevent easy target practice for the enemy. But the IG are very dependent on synergy, so taking an all-infantry or all tank army is also quite risky! Whether it's a mixed army that demands carefully positioning and tough sacrifices, all-infantry that runs the risk of weak output or all-tank brigades that struggle to shoot fast enough, you've always got a catch when constructing your wall of shooty death.
  • Playing Imperial Guard can be tedious. Whether its literally counting out hundreds of dice for shooting (bring bags, and expect to lose some) or spending more than half an hour just deploying your army (movement trays, learn to love them). Fortunately your turns will go by faster once you start piling up casualties.
  • Although your units are cheap in points, they're not that cheap in cash, especially since the Death Korps are a Forge World exclusive army..
  • You're not GW's favorite children, so not only are new models for your army very rare, but your infantry models are mostly outdated as fuck and are rarely in stock. Just thank the Emperor that you don't have to buy pewter models for everything like Sisters players do. (PLASTIC SISTERS COMING OUT B*TCH! YEEAAHH!)
  • Unless you keep everything in transports or a tank squad list (and maybe if you're playing against Orks), you're less likely to get the first turn by getting all of your units deployed first since during the roll-off the player who finished deploying first gets +1 to their roll (this is assuming you're using the new deployment method outlined in the Chapter Approved book and confirmed by GW, if you're using the old one you will rarely go first). Plan your strategy accordingly. Of course, you can get away with going tank and transport heavy better than most armies can.
  • A fair few Forge World options have been removed from the site, so you'll need to either kitbash, or do some lurking online for them.

Important Rules References

Games Workshop has been lax about propagating errata to their errata page, so FAQ links are included below. Current as of May 15, 2018.

  • Index: Forces of the Astra Militarum is your go-to. It has all the main rules for the Death Korps of Krieg and many of the units you can take.
  • Codex: Astra Militarum is your go-to for some options of your list..
  • The Big FAQ contains some point changes that are relevant for the Death Korps. You can find it here.

Special Rules

  • Defenders of Humanity: Leman Russes in a Spearhead Detachment, and all Astra Militarum troop choices, have Objective Secured in 8th edition.
  • Cult of Sacrifice: When taking Morale tests, ignore casualties inflicted in the Shooting phase. This applies to all Infantry units listed above, not just the Death Korps exclusive ones. This rule helps mitigate the punishing effects of morale, which is both fluffy and reduces their dependency on Ld-boosting aura effects.
    • Note that this is casualties inflicted in the Shooting Phase not By Shooting. So DKoK ignore casualties inflicted by Gets Hot!, which is good for Plasma and Carcass spam.
  • Death Korps can take laspistols, hotshot laspistols, hotshot lasguns, dual hotshot laspistols, dual laspistols, and dual bolt pistols as ranged weapons, heavy flamers, twin heavy stubbers, and the normal selection of heavy weapons as heavy weapons, and chainswords as melee weapons. They cannot take sniper rifles as special weapons however.

Warlord Traits

Unfortunately, you can't take any Regiment-specific Warlord Traits, because you're not a part of that regiment. You can however, have an Officio Prefectus character as your Warlord, such as Yarrick, or a Lord Commissar.

  1. Grand Strategist: Re-roll one failed hit, wound, or save per battle. More importantly, every time you spend a command point, get it back on a 5+. Quite powerful when you have an easy time making Brigades and other armies (SM) bring Vanguard. Beat the Smurfs at their own game!.
    • While the CP is gained on a 5+ (aka 1/3), that same CP you just got back can be regained yet again on a further roll of 5+ when it is spent. Since spent CP can be recovered once again after spending, if you spend your entire pool, recover as much as possible, spend it all, etc, the net impact is multiplying your pool by 1.5, not the 1.33 a naive approach would assume.
    • Note that Kurov's Aquila gives you a third of what your enemy spends, so the net effect of combining the two is that you have 1.5*(your starting CP + 1/3 of enemy's CP) - Kurov's will give you more the more your enemy spends, and this will give you more the more you spend.
  2. Old Grudges: At the start of the game, choose an enemy unit. All Astra Militarum units within 6" of your warlord re-roll failed wounds against that unit.
    • Better than "Bring it Down!" and affecting multiple units, but against a single enemy unit you have to pick up front. Powerful when nominating Magnus or models providing buffs, but Guilliman and anyone smaller can hide from anything more dangerous than a Ratling, unless you nominate a key element of your enemy's strategy instead, like a deathstar squad or their transport.
  3. Implacable Determination: When the warlord and one friendly unit within 3" of them advance, both add 6" to their move instead of rolling.
    • Note the lack of keywords on this one - you can use this to accelerate any friendly. At its most extreme, if you've been allied to Tyranids via Genestealer Cults, this will work on both a GSC unit or a Tyranids unit.
  4. Draconian Disciplinarian: Re-roll failed Morale checks for friendly Astra Militarum Infantry within 6" of the Warlord. Technically better than a Commissar, rerolling for free instead of at the cost of 1 execution.
    • If applied to an actual Commissar, Summary Execution takes precedence. If the Summary Execution re-roll is also failed, d3 models are slain but the test is considered passed.
  5. Bellowing Voice: Increase all data sheet ability ranges of the Warlord by 3 inches, aka 9" orders (which won't stack with a Vox-caster) or 9" Commissar auras of Discipline and Summary Execution. Remember named characters, Masters of Ordnance and Officers of the Fleet can't get this WT in the first place.
  6. Master of Command: Gain the Voice of Command Rule. If you already have it or Tank Orders, issue one extra order instead (Tank Commanders don't get infantry orders).
    • No longer an issue for Yarrick or Lord Commissars. The FAQ says Commissars can issue the basic orders to any <regiment> infantry units, regardless of regiment, still unclear on what happens if you give this trait to ministorum priests, enginseers, psykers, etc. This is more special if you have multiple detachments, as Company Commanders may order units only from their own Regiment. So it's not only putting your orders in more baskets, but it carries fewer restrictions (although the Warlord won't have a Regiment-exclusive order). Remember, the Commissar still won't have a <regiment>, so they won't be able to order themselves.

Orders

The Death Korps of Krieg has a different roster of Orders compared to standard guard and can order Cavalry as well as Infantry.

Infantry Orders

  • Re-roll Orders: Death Korps lose Take Aim! and thus only have Bring it down! as a Re-roll Order. However, except in the case of Gets Hot!, Bring it down! has the same effect as Take Aim!
    • Bring it down!: Ordered unit re-rolls to-wound rolls of 1 until the end of the phase.
  • Movement Orders: Same as standard Guard. Death Korps are mostly footsloggers, so a fluffy army will find these more useful.
    • Forwards, for the Emperor!: Ordered unit can shoot, even if it advanced in the movement phase.
    • Get back in the fight!: Ordered unit can shoot, even if it fell back in its movement phase.
    • Move! Move! Move!: Ordered unit must move as if it were in the movement phase, and it must advance and cannot charge.
  • Special Orders: Death Korps lose First Rank fire! Second Rank fire! and gain the orders Duty Unto Death! and Without Mercy!
    • Without Mercy!: Lasguns and Hot-shot Lasguns become Pistol 2. While lacking in the sheer number of shots FRFSRF can bring out, it can be quite effective at surprising a melee-happy opponent when your gunline can keep on shooting even in close combat.
      • This is basically your equivalent of FRFSRF, and unless you're under 12", actually gives the same firepower - no range change so you get 24" Pistol 2.
      • However, because you still have access to Get back in the Fight!, overall you're usually worse with these weapons than stock Guard - FRFSRF+GBITF together solve most problems as well as or better than Without Mercy + GBITF. This order is primarily useful on Objectives, where you dare not Fall Back or you'll cease to contest.
    • Fix Bayonets!: May only be issued to units within 1" of an enemy unit. Ordered unit may immediately fight as if it were in the fight phase.
      • This is more useful for Death Korps, as it can be given to their superior dedicated melee units, namely Death Riders.
    • Duty Unto Death!: Any INFANTRY or CAVALRY model in the affected unit slain in the Fight phase makes one last attack. Helps to wring out one last bit of usefulness from a unit that's losing a melee fight.
      • Compared to Fix Bayonets! this is useless, as Fix Bayonets! lets all of a unit's models fight twice with their full attacks, not just slain models fight with one attack, so it is mainly only useful with the laurels of command.

When using death riders, Duty Unto death is the only way to get extra attacks with the lances. Fix Bayonets can not be used the same turn you charge (shooting is before charging and thus you are not within 1"). Duty Unto death *can* give some extra attacks if some death riders are killed. Otherwise stick to the other orders.

Tank Orders

  • Gunners, Kill on Sight!: This gives your Leman Russes the ability to re-roll hits of 1. Pretty useful for an overcharging Executioner's main turret, or plasma cannons if your tank didn't move. This order is the one you will likely be using the most, as it increases your accuracy.
  • Full Throttle!: This is simply the Tank Order version of "Move! Move! Move!", and is identical in every other respect. Did you ever expect a Russ to move 27", outrunning Eldar skimmers?.
  • Strike and Shroud! (Tank Order): Allows the ordered Russ to both fire its weapons (including Grinding advance) and protect itself with its smoke launchers, as if it had two shooting phases. You can use this rule to get into a shooting position (you can see the enemy but it can see you too) and cripple the enemy while you survive the return fire. Smoke launchers are One Use, and so is this rule.

Psychic Powers

Guard Psykers are drawn from the Scholastica Psykana, and thus don't have a regiment; however they're the only Psykers with the Astra Militarum keyword, so if you want regiments, doctrines, and all that good jazz without adding another detachment, you're limited to the Psykana discipline. Fortunately for you, it's really good! The rules breakdown is here, but here's some tactical commentary.

  • Offensive Powers
    • Terrifying Visions (WC 7): One of the hardest powers to channel, with only a 58.33% base chance of success. This, combined with the fact that most of the units you'll cast it on - those with high points-per-model where Battleshock is most painful - are high leadership, have ways around it, or can just deny your powers to begin with, makes it highly situational, and while it's not useless, it's probably the least useful power in the discipline.
      • Before the IG Codex, it was the time of mixed Imperium armies. But multiple small detachments are still a thing, and -2Ld is less situational when you stack it: Sicaran Infiltrators can combine their own -1Ld aura with Metallica's -1Ld Stratagem, and appear wherever you need them to. 120pts & -1CP for an Auxiliary Detachment, or 212pts for a Patrol and the cheap HQ Enginseer can repair your vehicles too. Reivers also have -1Ld and may deepstrike, and Black Templar reroll charges (233-268pts for a Patrol with Jump Pack Lieutenand and Scouts), not to mention SM in general have powerful melee infantry to begin with (plus the Standard of the Emperor Ascendant for another -1Ld). 6 Maul Bullgryn cost 252pts, so it's not unreasonable. What we're saying is -2Ld is situational, but -4Ld not so much and you still have Crusaders, Bullgryn, Death Riders and disposable Korpsmen, boosted by Priests, Yarrick and Commissars. -4Ld renders expensive & resilient Plague marines as cowardly as Conscripts, but without a Commissar to "motivate" them. IG is & Imperium all about coordination, don't you restrict it.
    • Gaze of the Emperor (WC 6): With a 72.22% base chance of success and no save of any kind aside from a deny roll, this is also a TEQ-buster. It's model-count-dependent, so it's lousy against Characters, but it can wreck small units of high points-per-model troops, or densely packed blobs of cheaper models. Aim carefully - friendly fire is on - and beware the random range!
    • Psychic Maelstrom (WC 7): The other hard one to channel, but a hell of a lot more powerful. This can target Characters, and it's probably best used in this fashion; you've got a really solid chance of scoring at least one mortal wound if you pull it off. As-is, there's no way to add to the roll to wound, but the rule is future-proofed for it; if you do find a way, this power can become a lot stronger. Save a Command Re-Roll for this one - by re-rolling the lowest of two dice you can get it off about 84% of the time.
  • Defensive Powers
    • Psychic Barrier (WC 6): Channels relatively reliably and only benefits Astra Militarum units, for some reason. Best against poor AP attacks. The flat bonus to saves can make certain units stupidly durable; suggestions include Bullgryns, Korpsmen, Crusaders, and anything in the Baneblade family - it affects Invulnerable saves, too! Going from 3+ to 2+ outright halves wounds taken, before AP. Make sure to cast it on a unit that the enemy can't ignore so they don't just target something else. Good for Scions, since it protects against both ranged and melee. Stack it with Nightshroud on a Baneblade and make your opponent weep salt-water crocodile tears. One of the best powers on the list, right there with...
    • Nightshroud (WC 6): A new power added with the Codex, this is essentially a psychic smokescreen; all ranged hit rolls made towards the targeted unit (which, again, must be Astra Militarum) subtract 1. Best against low accuracy shooting, think Gaunts and humans. Psychic Barrier is better in about 70% of the circumstances you'd be using this, but by RAW it can cause enemy Plasma gunners to blow themselves up, and completely negates '6+ to hit' effects like Necron Tesla weapons. It also stacks with Night Fighting and similar rules. More importantly, the two powers stack. Get two psykers and pick a unit you need to stick around, as two thin psychic layers are better than a thick one. Don't waste it on something the enemy can afford to ignore, though.
    • Mental Fortitude (WC 4): AKA 'I'm the Commissar now!' This will go off more than nine times out of ten and makes the unit in question immune to morale. You don't even have to execute anyone! It's not an AoE, and it's Astra Militarum only, but it can be a nice ability if the enemy is debuffing your units' Leadership, as Commissars will run the risk of executing people simply to fail the morale test anyway. Limited far more by the Psychic Focus rule in matched play - you only get one.

Tactical Objectives

11 - Overkill
1 VP if a ASTRA MILITARUM VEHICLE destroyed an enemy unit this turn, d3 VP if the vehicle in question was TITANIC.
12 - Regimental Pride
1 VP if you slew an enemy CHARACTER with an attack made by one of your <REGIMENT> CHARACTERs this turn. Good luck with that, you're going to need it.
13 - Chain of Command
1 VP if you issued 3-5 different orders or tank orders this turn, which goes up to d3 VP if you gave 6 or more orders or tank orders.
14 - Troops on the Ground
Score d3 VP if you control 3-5 objectives with INFANTRY units. If you hold all 6 objectives with INFANTRY, it becomes d3+3 VP.
15 - Hammer of the Emperor
1 VP if you destroy an enemy unit that was controlling an objective at the start of the turn.
16 - Death from Afar
1 VP if an enemy unit wholly within their deployment zone at the start of the turn was destroyed by a unit wholly within your own deployment zone this turn.

Stratagems

Each new Codex grants its faction new Stratagems. Remember that some of these are irrelevant for the Death Korps, as they affect units that cannot be used for by your army, which sucks. These stratagems will stay here because you can technically use them, but it's a waste of CP.

  • Aerial Spotter (2 CP): Use at the start of the shooting phase. A Wyvern or Basilisk can re-roll failed hit rolls in this phase.
  • Consolidate Squads (1 CP): Use this stratagem at the end of your movement phase. Select two Infantry Squads (the unit named "Infantry Squad", nor just any Infantry units) within 2" of each other sharing the same <Regiment>, and they combine to form one big unit. Who didn't see this coming? Allows you to sort-of recapture the blob guard armies of yore and use less orders, but it'll now cost you valuable command points. Still nothing an extra Battalion Detachment can't fix, though. Also a good option to 'save' orphaned special and heavy weapons by adding them to less mauled squads.
    • The Stratagem doesn't have an explicit rule against combining a squad with a squad that's already been combined with this Stratagem, so in theory you could keep on consolidating them so long you have the CP...although you'll need 5 game turns to surpass 50 models when accounting for casualties. It does help if you're bent on having every single Guardsman listen to orders at all time; every Platoon Commander costs half an infantry squad after all. As casualties diminish each individual squad, your orders affect less and less models but this Stratagem fixes that problem just as the Munitorum pastes understrength Regiments together. Besides Orders, the primary benefit of this is that the defensive Psychic Powers (see below) get to protect more dudes, and that the other buffs you might have (again, see below) spread to more men.
  • Alternative view point: there also is another benefit to do so defense stance for you heavy weapon teams. First, you need a lot more guys before even getting to their heavy weapon teams. Second, and more importantly, with a flamer in each infantry squad, for your adversary is lot more risky to charge 20ish guys with two 2 flamers, or 30ish guys with 3 flamers. It's a risky procedure that endangers you greatly in the shooting phase, but can be an unsuspecting tactical advantage if you desire to remove the enemy spotlight from your most sensible units. Aside from this, it's still best used sparingly.
  • With the nerf to Summary Execution this strategem has gone from the only way to get big blobs of dudes like in 7th edition to a trap. If you combine units, you spend CP to make a unit that is more vulnerable to battleshock losses, not less (only in the Fight Phase) they can't be respawned anymore, either. The only thing you get out of this is order efficiency - which you can get by taking more officers, who are cheap - and Psychic Barrier/Nightshroud efficiency - which you can get with more psykers, who are also cheap. Of course this isn't really an issue since you're Krieg, but it still renders the unit a bigger target, thus increasing the efficiency of enemy fire - five men is a juicy opportunity, while one man is a waste of ammo. The only real reason to use it now is to keep a Watchmaster with a Power Weapon alive so he can keep hacking at the enemy.
    • Combine a squad that advanced into another squad that didn't. Order, shoot, and assault with the whole bunch as if they didn't advance.
  • Crush them! (1 CP): Use this stratagem at the start of the charge phase. A Vehicle may charge, even if it has advanced this turn. In addition, all attacks made by the vehicle will hit on a 2+. Remember how the Baneblade family has 9 powerful melee attacks that are reduced in effectiveness by WS 5+? This will fix that in an instant and make sure that even dedicated melee units won't want to get into its newly boosted charging range.
  • Defensive Gunners (1 CP): Use this stratagem when a charge is declared against one of your vehicles. When it fires Overwatch for the rest of the phase, it hits on a roll of 5 or 6. Vehicle formations can serve as a literal wall of iron in front of your infantry, as the enemy won't be able to slip through them without declaring multiple charges. And you thought charging a Leman Russ with heavy flamers was already a risky proposition.
  • Fight to the Death (1 CP): Any Imperial Guard unit can take a morale test on 1d3 instead of 1d6. You've got plenty of morale improving abilities already, but it's cheap and could be useful in an emergency. Now that commissars got the nerf this one got a lot more useful. You might want to use this stratagem if you’re using infantry or vets and need them to survive morale, and don’t have anything else to buff leadership nearby. It’ll help them survive losing 3-5 guys at once much more easily.
  • Fire on my position! (3 CP): Use when the last model is slain from an Astra Militarum unit equipped with a vox-caster, before removing it from the table; for each unit within 3", on a 4+ that unit suffers 1d3 mortal wounds. Note, specifies unit with a vox-caster, not model (you use it when the unit dies, not the specific model with the caster), and if several models all die together, you can choose which is the last to be removed from the table, to maximize the potential victims of this stratagem.
    • Hits all nearby units, friend or foe, but only up to once per unit, so a waste of CP against a single blob, but excellent if a bunch of MSUs have melee'd you to death.
  • Go! Recon! (1 CP): Use this stratagem at the beginning of your shooting phase; select a unit of Scout Sentinels. They immediately move 2d6", but cannot shoot or charge this turn. Useful for getting a Scout sentinel to an unguarded objective or out of trouble, but only applies to one unit, and can't be applied to an Armoured Sentinel; sacrificing a turn of shooting makes it extremely situational, and it doesn't even benefit a unit with a chainsaw blade, as they can't charge, either.
    • Note that, although you can't Charge, you are still allowed to use this move to move within 1" of a enemy unit and thus fight in the Fight Phase, due to the fact that the prohibition on moving with 1" of an enemy model is only in effect during the movement phase. Do note that this is likely RAW instead of RAI, and thus may be FAQed.
  • Grenadiers (1 CP): Use this stratagem before an Astra Militarum Infantry unit either shoots or fires overwatch. Up to ten models in the unit armed with grenades may throw their grenades this phase instead of only one- basically the AM rip-off of the Death Guard grenade stratagem.
    • This can be a powerful tool for any regiment in Overwatch on a roll of 3 or more. Beware gimped charge range against squishy distant enemies.
    • Extra powerful in Cities of Death, where grenades both reroll all failed wounds and get the maximum possible amount of hits. That's 60 for ten models.
    • Can also give Scions squads a nasty bite. Krak grenades will do a better job versus tanks than a hot-shot lasgun. 6 of them can supplement the squad's special weapons nicely, especially since scions are out of order range a lot more often.
  • Jury Rigging (1 CP): Use this stratagem at the start of your turn. Select a AM Vehicle in your army, that vehicle can't move, charge or pile in this turn but immediately heals 1 wound. Good for giving that little push into a better health bracket if an Enginseer isn't around (or it wasn't enough), and you can still shoot with the targeted vehicle.
  • Imperial Commander's Armoury (1/3 CP): One use only. Use "before the battle" and you may take 1 additional relic for 1 CP, or two additional relics for 3 CP; all relics must be different and given to different characters.
    • "Before the battle" means, suprisingly, "before the battle". Use it to get the Dagger of Outflank before deployment? It works. The Grand Strategist WT needs the Warlord to be already on the field (which won't happen until the deployment phase) to refund your CP, so that won't work. But enemy Kurov's Aquilas do work, since they only need to be written in the enemy's roster, not any "while this Warlord is on the battlefield" limitation. You spend CP and gain extra toys before the battle, simple as that.
  • Inspired Tactics (1 CP): An officer can issue 1 more order. You can only bring so many Platoon and Tank Commanders, after all, and not everybody is Creed, Pask or Kell.
  • Mobile Command Vehicle (1 CP): Use at the start of a turn; pick a Chimera, and until the end of the turn, an embarked officer may issue orders to units outside the vehicle, measuring range from the vehicle. He is also treated as having access to a Vox. Sadly it now costs CP to use Chimeras as the Command Vehicles they were...but under threat of enemy snipers, this Stratagem may be worth its CP. Unfortunately specifies Chimera only, so no Stormlord or Macharius command vehicles for you.
  • Opening Bombardment (2 CP): One use only. After deployment but before the first battle round, each enemy unit on the battlefield suffers a mortal wound on a 1d6 roll of 6+. Like Fire on my position, this can be useful against MSU, but less so if they hid themselves inside transports.
  • Officio Prefectus Command Tank (2 CP): Commissar Tank! Pick a Leman Russ at the start of the first round, before the first turn - it gives all Astra Militarum units within 6" of it Ld9 for the rest of the game. It also lacks the Summary Execution rule while granting a superior LD buff, so you should always consider taking this stratagem over a regular Commissar. "Drive me closer, I want to hit them with my sword!"
  • Take Cover! (1 CP): Use this stratagem in your opponents shooting phase if they target one of your Infantry units. That unit immediately adds 1 to their saving throws (including invulnerable saves!) until the end of the phase.
  • Vengeance for Cadia! (1 CP): Any Imperial Guard unit can re-roll failed hits and wounds versus Chaos. Scary, this can turn even basic Infantry into a major threat against Daemons and Heretics, especially if you combine it with FRFSRF since it surpasses both "Take Aim!" and "Bring it Down!" effects (supercharge that Plasma). It goes without saying Consolidated squads use it better than lone Infantry ones, but keep in mind it affects Vehicles too. From the humble Sentinel to the mighty Manticore and Baneblade, the Stratagem's effects are far more powerful than its cheap cost would suggest.
  • Vortex Missile (3 CP): Nuclear launch detected, for when targets require not so much strategy as a "fuck you". Use this stratagem when you get to fire a Deathstrike missile (pay after rolling the 8, before resolving the shot). You can re-roll all failed to-hit rolls with the weapon, and add 1 to the roll made to determine if nearby units within 6" of the target unit are hit (so a 3+, rather than a 4+). If a model is wounded but not slain by the attack, roll an additional die, on a 6 it suffers 1d6 additional mortal wounds. Makes the missile go from 5.25 mortal wounds dealt on the target + 1 to each nearby to 8.46 + 1.72 per each nearby, but the amount of variance is very high, and that assumes you're shooting a parking lot, as single-wound models won't trigger the stratagem's extra mortal wounds.

Wargear

Ranged Weapons

  • Laspistol: A lasgun Pistol. More of a placeholder than anything else, but it's free. Still find the points to get the bolt version.
  • Lasgun: Your trusty flashlight hasn't changed. What changed is the way strength rolls against wounds, allowing it to wound T5 on a 5+, and T7+ is no longer immune to them.
  • Bolt Pistol: 1pt for a real pistol. Only advantage over the boltgun is that it can be fired in close combat.
  • Boltgun: 1pt allows your Watchmaster/Character to actually contribute to a firefight instead of merely looking cool.
  • Hot-shot Laspistol: What says on the tin, but only 6" range means you may not even get to shoot it before a charge. Karis Venner has one, to balance out his sheer power in buffing your dudes.
  • Hot-shot Lasgun: Still sacrifices 6" of range for AP-2, but as the AP system itself changed this bad boy is ever so slightly worse at MEQ hunting now. Its short 18" range also makes it unable to rapid fire right after an Aerial Drop.
    • edit:This only applies to deepstriking units, so the most useful use of these can be achieved with a transport, in particular our good old friend Valkyries which can take a Commander to boot, just remember that if they don't die next turn, your guys will.
  • Plasma Pistol: An actual officer's weapon. Plasma can now be fired safely at S7 AP-3 to deal with infantry, and can be supercharged to S8 and D2 to deal with heavy infantry and even vehicles. However, a Gets Hot now outright slays the shooter, so reserve overcharges for your disposable Watchmasters instead. No longer overcosted at 5pts, so it's actually worth considering now.

Special Weapons

  • Flamer: A bit different in 8E. Templates are gone, so flamers do 1d6 Str4 autohits from 8" range. Thus, they may hit even single models several times and your flamers will never be out of position...but your enemy may bunch 20 gaunts together and you'll still only hit 3.5 on average. Due to its rate of fire being random regardless of the number of enemies, range so short it cannot be used right after an outflank and no longer ignoring cover while also lacking any AP whatsoever, you cannot depend on this weapon alone to beat hordes like it used to. Still, being an assault weapon that always hits, there's no penalty for advancing and firing, especially for Special Weapon Squads. It's also pretty useful insurance against charges as it always auto-hits during Overwatch and cautious opponents will position their charges at least 9" away to ignore its 8" range (making it statistically likely that they'll simply fail their charge to begin with).
  • Grenade Launcher: Not bad, but there are better things available. Krak grenades in particular took a big hit, with insufficient AP and Str. Furthermore, there is no more rear AV10 to target anymore. Frag grenades average 3.5 lasgun shots, make of it what you will.
  • Meltagun: Good against anything with lots of wounds, not just vehicles. 12" Assault allows it to be fired even if you ran. S8 AP-4 D1d6 makes it more powerful than supercharged plasma yet safe. Damage doesn't spill, so it's more efficient against singular huge targets of any kind. If you manage to get to 6" for melta range, the average Damage goes from 3.5 to 4.47, making it more reliable. However, it is expensive: 12 points for regular guardsmen and 17 for anyone with BS of 3+ or better. On a model with 3+ BS, the meltagun within half range has a slight advantage in terms of average damage dealt per point over a supercharged plasma gun in rapid firing range, but you have to be close to reap the maximum potential of metlaguns. The choice between plasma and melta should be based on what you want your infantry units to be doing. If your dudes are going to be sitting in a static gunline, plasma is probably a better choice. If you are getting your men close (preferably via a transport or Valkyrie) melta can be the better option.
  • Plasma Gun: See the Plasma Pistol, but in Rapid Fire. A bit less powerful than in 7E due to the new mechanics, but it can be fired safe so it's ok. You only need to supercharge against mean bastards, but against mean bastards, you need to supercharge. Curiously, it's about half as cheap for models with BS4+ (7pts) as it is for BS3+ models like Veterans and Scions (13pts). Given that you have a variety of ways to re-roll 1's ("Hero of Hades Hive", etc.) casualties from supercharging can be easily minimized.
    • Given it has the same 24" range and Rapid Fire profile as Boltguns and Lasguns, Plasma Guns are the default special weapon choice in most squads. Remember, it is only 7 points on BS4+ models. Point for point, plasma is the most efficient weapon for regular guardsmen at engaging tough targets. As for BS 3+ units (vets, Scions, etc.), there is room for debate between plasma and melta. The question should always be: "what is this unit going to be doing?"

Melee Weapons

Most of these are specific to one unit. The ones that aren't are listed below, and may be taken by sergeants and most characters. As of newer codex, Power Axe and Power Maul are no longer available options in Imperial Guard Armory, but you can simply field them using their Index entries. However, none of them will make you great at melee. Almost everything that can take something here gives up a chainsword to do so, although normal Commissars do not.

  • Chainsword: Some credit must be given to the old standby. In addition to being free, it gives an extra attack with it. This is why Watchmasters should give all of the other options here a complete miss, unless maybe they have a priest.
  • Power Axe: S+1 AP-2 looks good on paper, and it is, the only problem being it's 5 points instead of 4. But then again, so what? Generally the best option for killing T3, and not bad against T4, it's the take-all-comers option.
  • Power Fist: Sx2 AP-3, but forces a -1 to hit on the model using it. Korpsmen don't feel the impact of the downsides too much, given their 3+ WS. While expensive, it's cheaper than it was in the Index, and as a result, almost everything that can take this will see the best results from it.
  • Power Maul: At S+2 AP-1, this is the best choice if you're fielding a Lord Commissar but want to keep him cheap - it'll outperform the sword for the same cost.
  • Power Sword: At SUser AP-3 and 4 points, just not good enough for the S3 models that can mostly take this - and the S4 models prefer the Fist. You should generally avoid this unless you're looking for a budget choice, or you like the look of swords.

Heavy Weapons

  • Mortar: 48" Heavy D6 S4 AP0 D1, and may fire indirectly. At 8 points a gun team, it's a dirt cheap light and medium infantry muncher. Because of the revision to the way AP works it's in direct competition with the Heavy Bolter; this ALSO means it's in indirect competition with your entire motor pool. Consider this when the challenge of fitting half a dozen kits' worth of mortar tubes into your list is a daunting prospect.
  • Heavy Bolter: 36" Heavy 3 S5 AP-1 D1. It's still standard on every vehicle in your motor pool, and it's better than the Autocannon against T5 and less, but especially 4 and 2 where it hits 50% harder. It's gone way down in price (8 points), so the choice is a choice now, but it's still one of the weaker options.
  • Autocannon: 48" Heavy 2 S7 AP-1 D2. The 'Pom-Pom' is the all-rounder choice for heavy weapons. Its two S7 AP-1 D2 shots don't particularly excel against any one kind of target. The heavy bolter is generally the superior choice against infantry much like the lascannon is the go to for anything with high toughness and multi wound. The autocannon does, however, act as an the intermediate between those two. Because Guard has access to cheap platforms for weapons, it may be better to specialize your units. However, having autocannons can let your bolters focus on the infantry, your lascannons focus on the big guys so you aren't wasting those two on the intermediate targets like MEQs and Sentinels as well as 2-wound units like some Eldar Jetbikes, Nobz, etc.
  • Missile Launcher: 48" Heavy D6 S4 AP0 D1 or 48" Heavy 1 S8 AP-2 D1d6. Still the Jack of All Trades, still the Master of None. Lost the option for a flak missile (though you don't really need it, as fliers can be hit on 5s by guardsmen now, and 4s by Veterans and Scions) but kept the cost; at 20 points it's tied with the Lascannon for most expensive heavy weapon. Compared to Autocannons, it is better against the hordiest and heaviest units such as Guardsmen or tanks, but the auto cannon has a slight edge against MEQ, a decent edge against T5 and T6 MEQ and TEQ, and kicks ass against almost anything with 2 wounds, especially with light or medium armor like Nobz or Rough Riders (as neither frag nor krak missiles are fully effective against such models). While some armies you'll play against have a hard time fielding T8 units where you won't feel the decreased strength from the lascannon. With the Big FAQ that came out in April of 2018, the potential for limits of a single datasheet could be imposed which would restrict the number of heavy weapon teams one could take potentially making it harder to specialize units en masse making more versatile options more appealing. This and the possibility of facing few T8 units, however, is situational and by no means a sure thing. Lascannons still have superior strength and AP for the same cost and mortars do the same thing as frag missiles for one quarter the cost. You're playing Guard and your platforms for heavy weapons are cheap. It is often better to specialize units which makes the missile launcher less appealing. Some units may be better served having versatility though. The Avenger for example comes stock with purpose built AT (lascannons) and GEQ-eating (Avenger bolt cannon) weapons so having additional versatile weapons may not be a bad choice. Like everything else in Guard however, you need to ask yourself what you want your unit to be doing and give them the best loadout for that one job.
  • Lascannon: 48" Heavy 1 S9 AP-3 D1d6. The ever-reliable Imperial tank-buster. The improved strength over Missile Launchers is critical, as most tanks are T8, meaning krak missiles wound on 4s while the Lascannon wounds on 3s. The extra AP doesn't hurt, either; carapace armor is ignored entirely, and Land Raiders have to roll with a 5+. It's the same price as last edition, at 20 points, but the D6 damage lets it threaten heavy units, and it can now be used to snipe heavy infantry in cover.
  • Heavy Flamer: 8" Heavy 1d6 S5 AP-1 D1. Can only be taken by Grenadier Squads and Vehicles. This almost strictly better than a Flamer, with the only downside that it can't advance and fire and it is more expensive.
  • Twin Heavy Stubber: 36" Heavy 6 S4 AP0 D1. As it ties with the Heavy Bolter against MEQs and beats the Mortar against GEQs, take it unless you are low on anti TEQ. Models look quality too.

Vehicle Weapons

There are many weapons that are only available on vehicles, and other weapons that are also available to infantry have different tactics when mounted. (note, this list is currently incomplete)

  • Multi-Melta: 24" Heavy 1 S8 AP-4 D1d6. If you're within 12" of the target you roll 2D6 for damage and take the highest. Leman Russ Demolishers can find some use out of this to brawl with enemy heavy vehicles and monsters, although they'll take a penalty for firing on the move. Cost is unchanged from 7th, at the same 20 point cost as a missile launcher or lascannon, but because it's so difficult to get it into range for the increased damage, particularly without incurring a -1 penalty to hit, and due to how AP works in 8E, you're usually better off with a lascannon against T8 (or incredibly rare T9) targets; the Multi-Melta remains far superior against <-T7 with 3+ or better saves, but the big issue remains getting into range - lighter vehicles like that are faster, and you don't want to be fighting infantry hordes with either weapon - and it's not like you can rely on your opponent leaving his T8 at home. Plus, Multi-Meltas are hurt far more by invuln saves than lascannons are. Your more reliable anti-tank choice is always going to be the lascannon, for the same cost.
  • Plasma Cannon: 36" Heavy D3 S7 AP-3 D1 or S8 AP-3 D2 Gets Hot. Someone found the manual! If a korpsman overcharges it, it gets the more powerful statline, but a 1 on the hit roll kills you. Yes, that's correct - no armor save, you're just dead. The ones on Leman Russ sponsons have special vents to survive this, taking only a single mortal wound per 1 rolled. Cost is unchanged from 7th, though when buying just one, you only pay for one. Careful firing on the move or against Tyranids with venomthropes; those -1 to-hit modifiers now make it much more likely to roll that 1, at least until GW regains its sanity and makes it only a natural one.
    • When fired on normal mode, this is equal to or worse than an autocannon against everything in the game with 2 or more wounds, but often better against 1-wound targets, since the improved AP helps, while the difference in Damage doesn't matter. In overcharged mode, it completely puts the autocannon to shame - but even with re-rolling 1s to hit, you run a 5.45% chance every time you fire it of slaying the wielder, and the wielders you don't mind losing - heavy weapons teams - can't carry it. That's a whopping 29.78% chance to lose the wielder without the buff, incidentally. On top of all this, its only advantage over a plasma gun is range - its average rate of fire is the same as a plasma gun within rapid fire range, and a plasma gun can be carried by a Moving wielder without penalty, while costing less than half of what a plasma cannon does. By and large, avoid this weapon if you can.
  • Leman Russ Main Guns
    • Battle Cannon: The main gun of your standard Leman Russ. With the new rules of firing twice when moving at half speed with no penalty, the amount of fire this cannon can unleash is terrifying. Take aim at anything GEQ or MEQ, and this gun can level squads of 5-10 with ease, don't waste it on large swarms or blobs. Against T5-T7 multi-wound models, it can easily down a dreadnought, or if you feel lucky, can put a surprisingly decent smack on some T8 models with the right stratagem and a group of tank commanders (looking at you Pask). The Battle Cannon is very much a generalist weapon able to do most battlefield roles but will lose out to more specialized weapons. The main downsides are the variable damage, as you are relying on RNG against low multi-wound models whom you'll either kill outright or scratch them to death in a nonstop battle of attrition, and that it struggles against invulnerable saves which negate the cannon's AP advantage.
    • Exterminator Autocannon: Costs more than the Battle Cannon, which would be worth it for the (very slightly) improved rate of fire, except that its output is inferior against T4, T7, T8, anything with a 5+ or better save, and anything without exactly 2 wounds.
    • Eradicator Nova Cannon: Often overlooked. For 3 points more than a Battle Cannon, you lose 36" of range and only hit at S6. In exchange you ignore cover bonuses, which would have been negated anyway by the Battle Cannon's AP-2. This is perhaps the most specialized of all the Leman Russ options, so only consider bringing it against targets that depend on cover saves (Space Marine Scouts with camo cloaks, Eldar Rangers, AdMech with cover canticles, Poxwalkers, Vindicare Assassins, Imperial Guard, etc). Perhaps the best at straight-up murdering GEQs in cover (wounding on 2+ with no save), its extra 12" range edging out the Demolisher Cannon.
    • Vanquisher Battle Cannon: The Vanquisher, a dedicated anti-tank cannon, is proof that GW is incapable of statistics, as it performs worse against heavy armour than every Leman Russ turret except the exterminator, despite being one of the pricier options (doing 0.93 wounds to another Russ; every other variant manages at least 1 wound). Sad thing is, if GW had given it a flat 2+ to wound against vehicles or flat 2D6 damage instead of 2D6 drop the lowest, it’d perform better against most vehicles than other Russes. Never take this.
    • Demolisher Cannon: Statistically the best tank-buster of all Russ cannons, and easily the most powerful (and expensive) of all the Leman Russ options at 40 pts, the Demolisher is S10 AP-3 dealing D6 damage. Against units with 5 or more models the Demolisher Cannon jumps from Heavy D3 to Heavy D6. The caveat? It has the same range as a lasgun, a 24" bubble of pure unadulterated fucking murder. If you have to choose it's best taken on a Leman Russ rather than a Baneblade/Hellhammer (which won't benefit from "Grinding Advance").
    • Executioner Plasma Cannon: A plasma cannon with nearly double the rate of fire even before you use Grinding Advance to shoot twice and without a movement penalty, but only x1.33 the cost, and cheaper than a Battle Cannon, at the same price as a Punisher. If you fire it on Supercharge - which you should - it will outshine the Battle Cannon easily, dealing more damage to W2 models at -1AP for 9.1% (2) fewer points. That actually places this weapon in direct competition with the Demolisher Cannon, above - when Supercharged, the Demolisher's only improvement against most targets is +2S, which is of dubious utility, given that it costs 25% more and has 66.67% the range.
    • Punisher Gatling Cannon: Tank-mounted BRRRT. Statistically, your best friend against infantry, but it lacks range and struggles against heavy stuff. However, consider grinding advance. While the range is short if you give this vehicle track guards and maybe use full throttle on it the turn before it can easily be in range to do 40 S5 shots while maintaining a 29" threat range (24" plus half move) even until it only has 1 wound remaining. Getting scary yet? Remember that tank commander who ordered it to use full throttle? Now give it kill on sight to reroll 1s with all those shots. Virtually no INFANTRY units in the game can withstand that level of firepower. Additionally, because of the way AP works in 8e the sheer volume of fire can do decent damage against targets that might not immediately come to mind when thinking about a minigun on steroids. This is particularly true if you can get a punisher to hit more that 50% of the time... Looking at YOU Pask!
    • Annihilator Twin Lascannon: You know it, you love it. The same cost as a Demolisher Cannon that trades the flexibility against infantry for a reliable number of shots and twice the range. More exciting then most other army's version due to Grinding Advance and Tank Orders, amongst other things.
    • Conqueror Battle Cannon: A Battle Cannon with 2' less range that costs more. However, the gun itself is not important; it's the Co-axial Storm Bolter that is the real selling point here. When shooting the main gun at the same target as the Co-axial, you may reroll any and all hits made with the cannon. This makes the Conqueror one of the most potent and flexible Russ variants this addition, enough to make you ask yourself when trying to select which gun to bring 'Why SHOULDN'T I take a Conqueror?' Just keep in mind your Storm Bolter's range is half your cannon's, so you gotta get up close and personal to make the most of this; still though, you'll be performing identically to the battle cannon from 24-48", and significantly better inside of 24".
  • Earthshaker: The Earthshaker smacks units up to 240" away at with the same power as a lascannon, rolling 2D6 for shot count and taking the highest while ignoring LOS. It performs better against vehicles than troops, because its multi-wound power is wasted against infantry. Unless you're playing on a 20 ft board (or at a table across the room) the range on an Earthshaker is pure overkill.
  • Neutron Laser Projector: a cannon that hits plenty hard, fires more than one shot and gets damage rerolls vs vehicles (who also take a -1 shooting penalty if the shot damages them)
  • Macharius Vulcan Mega-Bolter unlike the stormlord variant, it retains the ability to spin up to maximum speed if the tank hasn't moved, doubling its rate of fire to 30 compared to the stormlord's 20. On a S6 AP-2 gun, that's some SERIOUS pain.

Vehicle Equipment

All of your non-Forge World vehicles on treads that isn't a Baneblade variant (i.e. not a Lord of War) has access to this list.

  • Augur Array: The vehicle may re-roll one hit die per game, at a cost of 10 points; with the vast array of other possible sources of re-rolls, this upgrade should be rejected out of hand. Perhaps the most useless thing in the entire book.
  • Dozer Blade: Adds one to melee hit rolls when charging. Not bad per se, at 5 points, for that rare situation where you want to charge with a Leman Russ (finishing off MCs, for instance). Can be combined with Crush Them! if you're trying to hit something giving you a penalty to hit, and has some synergy with Straken's aura. Or if you just want your tanks to look cool.
    • Actually crush them just forces a +2 to hit regardless of modifiers, probably not worth it considering how many CP you'll have.
  • Hunter-Killer Missile: This is a missile launcher with only the Krak profile that can only shoot once per game, at slightly more than 1/4 the points (i.e. 6). Not bad on Pask or a Tank Commander for a little extra punch on turn 1.
  • Pintle Weapon; one of:
    • Heavy Stubber: 4 points for 36" Heavy 3 S4 AP0 D1 is a bit more to think about it; you can't move and shoot it without being at Ork BS, and it's twice the cost of the Storm Bolter, while fewer shots out to 12" (relevant for e.g. Overwatch). Synergizes with the Stormlord which already comes stock with 2x Heavy Stubbers, while costing less than 1% of the tank itself.
    • Storm Bolter: 2 points for 24" Rapid Fire 2 S4 AP0 D1. A perfectly respectable option on just about everything, and particularly useful in Overwatch.
  • Track Guards: Easily the most useful of all the vehicle upgrades. Makes the vehicle ignore the damage table in respect to degraded movement range. This one does actually make sense to take as it will keep your vehicles agile even when they're on their last wound. As far as upgrades go 10 points is an investment - put it on a Hellhound and laugh as your opponent fails to escape its auto-hitting cleansing flames even when its down to 1 wound! Also useful on Leman Russes and short-range tanks like Demolisher and Eradicators.

Other Wargear

    • Platoon Standard: Can be carried by either normal Infantry Squads or Command Squads, and gives all Death Korps units within 6" of a unit with a model in it with one of these may add 1 to its Leadership when taking a Morale test.
    • Regimental Standard: Carried by Command Squads, all friendly Death Korps units within 6" of a model with one of these may add 1 to its Leadership and attacks.
  • Command and Infantry Squads, Engineers, and Grenadiers:
    • Vox-Caster: This machine is the beating heart of the Orders system. It's greatly simplified from previous editions; if an Officer is within 3" of a model with a Vox, and the target squad also has a Vox (and is of the same Death Korps), the range of the order is tripled to 18". The important thing to note here is that it means your Officers can improvise their command structure a lot more - any Vox can send, and any Vox can receive, as long as the Officer and target squad share regiments. It is entirely legal - and fluffy - for your Field Officer, his assigned Vox operator having been killed, to run to a nearby squad of Grenadiers and commandeer their Vox Operator to continue sending orders! This also means you don't need to rely on flimsy four-man Command Squads for your Officers to send orders out.

Heirlooms of Conquest

Relics return in the new Codex. Like Warlord Traits, the regiment-specific ones really are regiment-specific, so custom regiments can only use the Universal list, but once again, this list contains the best options anyway, Kurov's Aquila and The Laurels of Command.

  • The Blade of Conquest: Replaces a Power Sword. At S+2 AP-4 D1d3 it's better than a Relic blade...but if you want one why not take an actual Relic Blade on a SM? But if you're bent on demonstrating mortal hands are worthy of this Macharian blade, a Marshal, or Lord Commissar, could make something out of it, especially when supported by the usual retinue of Ogryn Bodyguard, Priest, Commissar Yarrick, Bullgryn and Crusaders. The Guard may be a shooty army, but mortals can still fight the good fight with blade, boot and bodies. Plus the sword is only 4pts, try having some fun.
  • The Dagger of Tu'Sakh: INFANTRY officers only, per the FAQ. During deployment you can set up the bearer and one INFANTRY unit of the same Regiment (if the bearer has one) in ambush behind enemy lines. At the end of any of your movement phases these units may launch their attack. Set them up within 3" of each other, more than 6" from any battlefield edge, and more than 9" away from enemy units. Surprise Special weapons are always welcome, especially when they're a part of a bigger plan instead of just them.
  • The Deathmask of Ollanius: Infantry only; the bearer has a 4++, and once per game, at the start of your turn, can heal 1d3.
    • An Ogryn Bodyguard with a Slabshield will now have a 2++ (Bullgryn Plate optional) to only ever worry about snipers fishing for 6s and the Mortal Wounds he'll get from doing bodyguard duty...risks that are both diminished by it suddenly healing 1d3W, helping the overwhelmed Quartermaster.
  • The Emperor's Benediction: Replaces a Commissar's or Lord Commissar's Bolt Pistol, giving it +2 shots, -1AP, and +1D. While it can also target Characters like a 12" sniper, it can't do so when the bearer is within 1" of the enemy, unlike the very similar Imperial Fists Spartean relic Bolt Pistol. Still, better than a Plasma Pistol.
  • Kurov's Aquila: Officers only (now including Tank Commanders!). Every time your opponent uses a stratagem, roll 1d6, and on a 5+, you gain one Command Point. Which you may regain once you use them yourself with the Grand Strategist WT, allowing you to farm more CP out of the already high amount you'll have. Damn solid relic. Punish Ultrasmurfs for their recycling command points!
  • The Laurels of Command: One of the better relics too! Officers with Voice of Command. When the bearer issues an order to a friendly Death Korps unit within 6" of them, roll a die; on a 4+, the bearer can immediately issue them another order, which does not count against the orderer's maximum, and can trigger Laurels again. Also the only way in the game to stack multiple orders on one unit, though the bonus orders can't be the same as the first (so no, you can't use Fix Bayonets like 10 times if you keep making the roll).
    • Death Korps of Krieg caught in melee wouldn't fall back because of their better WS: turn your Lasguns into pistols with "Without Mercy", but then go directly to "Fix Bayonets". Death Riders should instead "Fix Bayonets" and then "Duty onto Death".


Units

HQ

  • Death Korps Marshal: The equivalent of a Company Commander doesn't come stock with a chainsword (but can take one for free, so he might as well) or shotgun, but he does come with a Krak Grenade and a higher armor save. Additionally, the Momento Mori he can buy forces all weapons that normally roll for damage to treat the roll as a 1, giving him a bit more staying power than normal.
    • Marshal Karis Venner: Your named Character for the Death Korps, he comes with a hot-shot laspistol, powersword, and Momento Mori. He can issue three Orders per turn and lets friendly units within 12" to use his Ld value unless their own Ld is higher. With that Ld aura, you can combine Venner with a platoon and regimental standard for an Ld 11 bubble 25"+ in diameter (depending on what size base you put him on). Basically gives your guys fearless. A little something to remember: RAW states that all friendly units can use Venner's Ld, which means that all units in your army use his Ld. That's right. Terminators with Ld 11? Yes, please.
      • If you really want to be cheesy, get him to sit on an Imperial Defence Line for another +1 to his Leadership. This will result in units that need to take at least 7 casualties (and, if they're Death Korps, those loses can't be in the Shooting Phase) to even have a chance of losing models to Morale and, even after taking 9 casualties, will still have a 50% chance of the remaining model holding the line. Finally, if you use the Fight to the Death stratagem, they become immune to Morale completely. And remember, this applies to all friendly units. Have fun with those Leadership 12 Space Marines.
  • Death Korps Field Officer: The Platoon Commander equivalent, though he shares the improved armor save with the Marshal and comes with a Marshal's Ld score as well. At 23 points base, possibly the cheapest HQ choice in the game (other regiments have to spend a precious Elite slot on their version of this guy).
  • Death Korps Death Rider Squadron Commander: A Field Officer on a horse, with a boost to Toughness and Wounds to go with it. Having the same Augmented Mount ability as other Death Riders helps to increase his durability, and for obvious reasons he's the best choice for getting Orders to your cavalry.
  • Tank Commander: A single Leman Russ tank, with 3+ to hit and Tank Orders (as seen in their section) to boost a single fellow Leman Russ (the Codex doesn't say he can't order himself, but an earlier Index FAQ did. However the official facebook account of Games Worskhop for warhammer 40.000 confirmed that both Pask and Tank commanders can order themselves). As such, you're paying +45pts over a normal Russ for one order and BS3+, but it is an extra Russ in HQ as opposed to Heavy. There are ways to make it issue more orders, but is it worth passing the other Warlord Traits?. Still, with Warlord Traits, they can do different gimmicks. Plus, being Officers, they unlock Command Squads. In all other respects, it's still a Leman Russ: it gains Objective Secured in an Astra Militarum Spearhead detachment, can become an Officio Prefectus Command Tank, and has the same weapon options.
    • Unfortunately, RAW says they can't ride in a Leman Russ Mars Alpha, but if you're not at a tournament, who's going to tell you otherwise?

Non Regimental

Adeptus Astra Telepathica
  • Primaris Psyker: Gone are the days of making everything reroll hits. Compared to an Astropath you get a compulsory force stave, one more known power, and more durability. Can still only cast 1 a turn, so only bring him if you need HQs or are worried about snipers (he's tougher than an Astropath) or want to be able to smite like a big boy. Slightly okayish in close combat. Keep a Commissar nearby in case Perils kills him- he'll still die, but it'll prevent mortal wounds from spilling over to anyone else.
    • Note: These guys are probably the best cheap way to spam (unmodified) Smite in the game; on average he scores 1.79 mortal wounds per turn (assuming he's at full health - he gets a bit worse as his ability to survive Perils goes down), which likely is more damage than any other 40 point unit in this army will deal. Astropaths may be more efficient when it comes to utility, but being able to reliably get off Smite makes these a steal for their points. If you assume no one is attempting to Deny you, a Primaris Psyker's Points-Per-Wound with Smite is 22.33 (assuming he can live through Perils, which he can from full health, guaranteed); an Astropath's is 22.5 but their odds of actually casting Smite on 1D6 are abysmal. Psychic Maelstrom is generally much better than Smite, so consider taking it as your 2nd backup power.
Adeptus Mechanicus
  • Tech-Priest Enginseer: Not an Astra Militarum option per se, but you can field this guy using his Adeptus Mechanicus entry, where he is an HQ choice; per the rules in the AM Codex, he explicitly won't block your Regiment rules. Your Regiment will block his Canticles, but he doesn't get those anyway when fielded as an Elites choice. The benefit of doing this is that you can pay an HQ tax with an Enginseer, which you may have wanted anyway to keep your tanks repaired, in e.g. a Spearhead detachment, or better yet a Supreme Command Detachment with 3 of them; the major downside is that he won't have the Astra Militarum keywords, so you won't be able to convince him to get on any of your transports, and he'll cause other problems, like interfering with Stratagem access. Still, he's legal, just a poor choice.
Adeptus Ministorum
  • Uriah Jacobus: A Ministorum Priest on steroids who now has the Astra Militarum faction keyword and qualifies as an HQ despite being found in the Adeptus Ministorum portion of the index. For 65 points more than a standard Priest (100, rather than 35, and we'll be assuming the Priest took a Bolt Pistol and Bolter, since every other choice on a Priest is worse), you get: +2 Ld (which is irrelevant, but note that that's counting both his native Ld and his aura, which hits himself), +2A and +1WS, which is largely irrelevant, +1BS and the Bolter becomes Assault 2 and has -1AP, and is D2 on a 6+ to wound, which is nice, but not worth the cost, 1d6 Deny the Witch, which is nearly worthless, and +1 Leadership to nearby Adeptus Ministorum or Astra Militarum infantry. Finally, and most valuably, he occupies an HQ slot, simultaneously helping to pay your HQ taxes while avoiding occupying a potentially valuable Elites slot.
    • He's not worth his cost, which is nearly 3 normal Priests, but it's worth noting he does buff Commissar leadership - if you combine him with a Lord Commissar, units will receive 10 Leadership, not 9, which means they need to suffer a fifth casualty before Summary Execution starts making your life worse. However, it's far more cost efficient at that point to just buy more soldiers with your points - you have no units valuable enough for Uriah to earn his cost back this way. That said, if you're already bringing Yarrick, this can be a way to reduce the damage he'll inflict on your army.
    • Despite having the Astra Militarum and Ministorum Priest keywords, he is not listed as a unit you can take without breaking your Regimental abilities. GW has not updated the Guard FAQ because it might cause Primaris Marine or Nurgle/Death Guard production to fall below optimal levels, so unless your opponent is a reasonable sort, either leave him at home or take him in an Vanguard/Supreme Command detachment along with your Commissars, Psykers, Ogryns/Bullgryns, and Ratlings (or in a general Imperium detachment).
Officio Prefectus
  • Lord Commissar: A more expensive Commissar with a power sword, but improved in all key stats like not using up one of your crowded Elite choices, offense (BS & WS2+), resilience (4W 4+/5++) and, most importantly, Ld9 for his Aura of Discipline, which is important now Summary Execution became a mere (thankfully optional, as of the most recent FAQ) Morale reroll at the tax cost of one dude, as opposed to the outright morale near-immunity it used to be. With enough casualties, you'll just fail the reroll regardless of result. Still, Ld9 is hands down better than Korpsmen Ld6, and you'll lose fewer of them. He works best with squads small enough to benefit from Aura of Discipline without triggering Summary Execution, like Ogryn. Furthermore, he's the one with enough WS to properly use a Power Fist. Always replace his bolt pistol for a bolter; same price, double shots. His 2+ BS also makes a plasma pistol a tempting option since you're only paying 4 points more over the mandatory bolt pistol.
    • Company Commanders with Draconian Disciplinarian, and Kell, both allow optional Ld re-rolling without shooting up a guy, which is superior to Summary Execution, although they don't boost Ld by themselves. A Regimental Standard will get your Infantry Squads up to normal Commissar Ld8.
    • Post-FAQ the Lord Commissar has practically become an auto-include - for a mere 35 pts you get a LD9 aura, optional ATSKNF, insurance against Perils of the Warp, and a surprisingly decent melee character.
    • Officio Prefectus Command Tanks cost CP and aren't Characters (unless you choose a Tank Commander but even then he has more than 10 wounds, so moot point anyway), so they tend to last less despite being a damn tank. They get you Ld9, but also lack the reroll. Likewise, you can always pay 2 CP to auto-pass Morale, or 1 CP to take the test on 1d3.
  • Commissar Yarrick: Essentially a named Lord Commissar with a power fist klaw that costs more than double, but has a bunch of extra stuff on him. He's got three guns (Storm Bolter, Bolt Pistol, and Bale Eye Hot-Shot Laspistol), and even better, resilience, with T4, his 4++ Power Field, and FnP 3+ for his final wound (and he's legally healable with a medic). His main use, which GW thinks it costs something around +66pts to use, is Hero of Hades Hive, an aura of re-roll 1s to hit, re-rolling all failed hits against Orks instead. Not just "Take Aim!" for shooting, but in melee as well. Your infantry squads may not be so eager to be in close combat, but Bullgryn and Crusaders are. For the cost, you could buy two Company Commanders to order the actual "Take Aim!" to your units, in addition to the Lord Commissar (and get +1CP in a Supreme Command Detachment)...but Yarrick's buff can stack with other orders, like a Laurels of Command that isn't free but is reliable and even affects vehicles. Plasma, woo! Yes, he has Summary Execution despite him not executing anyone in Hades Hive. But now that Summary Execution is optional, you don't even have to use it if you don't want to.
    • Post-FAQ Yarrick is nearly 4x as expensive as a 35 pt Lord Commissar, and almost 9x as expensive as a regular Commissar. Hopefully GW will be reevaluating his point cost. That being said, he's an absolute tank in melee, regularly makes Marines crap themselves in terror, and sticks around a lot longer than other Commissars do. There's some trade-off.

Troops

  • Death Korps Infantry Squad: An odd change to basic Guardsmen, Kriegers lose the option to take Heavy Weapon Teams and their Watchmaster uses a lasgun like the regular troops (though he can exchange it for a chainsword and laspistol for free, so it's a non-issue). They also all have WS3+ and can buy a Platoon Standard which buffs all Kriegers within 6" LD by 1. They synergize particularly well with the Death Korps' unique orders - especially when dogpiling on an objective or bubblewrapping precious artillery pieces. Kriegers also come stock with Krak grenades; with the GRENADIERS stratagem you can throw 10 of them at once (though this tactic is more impressive when used on Grenadiers (no acid grenades for the grenadiers) or Combat Engineers' acid grenades).
    • Oddly enough the Watchmaster also has BS3+.(not so odd when you remember that all watchmasters serve in the grenadiers before returning to be promoted.)
  • Death Korps Grenadier Storm Squad: Scions with dicks that work. A Tempestus Scion squad with deep striking replaced by Cult of Sacrifice and no access to hot-shot volley guns. Unlike with Scions the number of Special weapons Grenadiers can take does not depend on the number of models in the unit so they can unfortunately only have two Specials max. Now with the FAQ update they can take Heavy Stubbers as special weapons, as well as the ability to form a Heavy Weapons team to tote around a Heavy Flamer.
    • Not as good as Combat Engineers in terms of points per wound, but they can get Objective Secured (as well as letting you farm up command points with battalions etc) which is probably worth their extra points cost and loss of acid gas grenades. Fundamentally fantastic MSU style, with a heavy flamer, 2 special weapons (probably plasma, maybe melta), and a Watch Master taking up 4 spots in a transport and costing very little points. Shove three squads in a Valkyrie and drop them onto an objective.
      • OR, if you don't want to spend the points on a Valkyrie, chuck these mean machines in a centaur. They are suprisingly mobile, thanks to the 9" scouting move you can do before the game starts. And a bare-bones centaur is only 54 points!
    • Hot-shot laspistols are garbage, so always have the Watch Master swap out his weapon - your best bet is probably a hotshot lasgun or bolter, unless you want to fucking commit and get a plasma pistol.
    • These guys are perhaps one of our best units; they are extremely cheap and customizable for almost any purpose.
      • Need AT? 2 Meltas, with 3 ambivalent bodies to eat shots for you. Shove them in a centaur and throw them down the field, they will either be ignored or attract fire away from your army.
      • Need some extra firepower to support your infantry line? 2 squads of 5 with 2 plasma guns each will only run you down just under 140pts.
      • Pesky melee units got you down? Take 2 Flamers and a Heavy Flamer! Position them just behind your front line just out of consolidation range. Chuck an infantry squad into the enemies path, retreat in your turn (then issue Get back in the fight to the unit that retreated) and then toast the fuckers with your flamers. This unit also works brilliantly shoved into a centaur as a suicide bomb/Distraction. No enemy wants to be hit with up to 18 auto hits (remember that you can do this after you advance as well).

Elites

  • Death Korps Command Squad: No heavy flamer, medi-pack, or heavy weapons teams in this command squad, but what you do get is the ability to use the Regimental Standard. It only affects Cavalry and Infantry, but grants an additional attack on top of the Ld bonus, making your troops more effective in close combat. They are very useful for providing that easy Ld buff, and I would recommend running them as bodyguards/buffs for your HQs.
    • These guys are surprisingly underwhelming compared to Combat Engineers, since you pay the same cost per model and don't get a 4+ save or acid gas bombs; furthermore, they obey the same 2 special weapons per unit limit as the Engineers. Even if you do spam them, you're not going to achieve anything you couldn't achieve only better with Combat Engineer spam; they're too slow to keep up with Death Riders, they can't be Medics.... really, there's just about never a good reason to field these guys over Combat Engineers. There is only ONE reason to take this squad. The regimental standard.
    • I feel that comparing this unit to Engineers is somewhat of a misnomer; this unit is not a combat unit, it is a support unit. Comparing these guys to engineers is a little unfair; they are not designed to kill things, their job should not be charging up the field to kill things. It should be staying in the back or moving up with your infantry providing them with some light special weapon support and a buff from the regimental banner. Stack beautifully with a priest.
  • Death Korps Combat Engineer Squad: Shotgun infantry with decent armour. Overall not super inspiring until you see their shotguns have Carcass Shot, which wounds anything (except Vehicles) on a 2+. Carnifex? 2+ Wound. Ogryns? 2+ Wound. You lose the model if you roll a 1 on the hit roll. BUT buff them with a nearby Guilliman (gross, or don't and have some class. You are a Guard player after all, not a WAAC Tau reject left over from 7th) Yarrik and say hello to rerolls of 1 to hit. Carcass Shot vs GEQs, MEQs and TEQs is basically a Plasma Gun with AP 0.
    • You can use the Grenadiers stratagem to toss up to 10 acid grenades at once.
    • These guys are incredible - they cost a point less than Grenadiers for what amounts to the same model with the addition of an acid gas grenade, although they are Elites and hence cannot get Objective Secured. You can keep their shotguns, which, unlike hot-shot lasguns, are worth spending a point on, or swap out for special weapons to demonstrate superiority over Grenadiers - 2 plasma gunners, a boltgun on the sergeant, and a heavy flamer team will get you the same output as a Grenadier squad with the same loadout, except your guys also have acid gas grenades and cost less. The plasma gunners can carry meltaguns instead, of course, and either way can be stuffed in a Valkyrie and dropped in sets of 3 squads directly into your enemy's lap.
    • A bit of MathHammer shows the following averages: 864pts of Combat Engineers will put out 216 shots, hitting on 3s and wounding GEQs, MEQs and TEQs on 2+ with a 5+/3+/2+ save respectively and 2 wounds, killing 640pts/160 models of GEQs, 1040pts/80 models of MEQs and 960pts/20 models of TEQs; while losing 288pts/36 Engineers in return. Thus, ignoring other factors the kills to deaths ratio will always be in your favour by a factor of 585:1300, 360:1300 or 390:1300 respectively and Carcass Shot is most productive when used on MEQs.
  • Death Korps Death Rider Command Squad: A must-have for any list focusing on Death Riders. Taking this squad along allows them and up to 5 other Death Rider units to deploy via outflanking at the end of any movement phase. Use in combination with the Death Rider officer, above, and a few squads of Death Riders, below, to outflank an entire detachment! Aside from this they're the same as an understrength Death Rider Squad, as they lost the ability to take a Standard.
    • As of the current FAQ, you may only bring one Command Squad or a Rider Command Squad per Death Korps officer, but any type of officer will do.
  • Death Korps Quartermaster Cadre: This is where the Command Squad's Medi-pack went. One creepy guy and up to 4 servitors wielding scalpels that wound non-vehicles on a 2+ and get buffed to WS/BS 4+ and Ld 9 as long as they stay close to him. They also grant nearby Infantry and Cavalry the ability to ignore an unsaved wound on a 6+, making it mutually beneficial for them to stay close to a big squad of infantry. This is a fantastic unit buffer, a bubble of up to 21" x 12" (if you position the unit in a line with 2" between each member) of 6+ FnP for 50-60pts is a really good deal.
  • Master of Ordnance: Gone is the hilariously inaccurate mini-basilisk of 7th edition; the MoO is now a fire support coordinator, which is arguably closer to the fluff. The fluff changed him very slightly; instead of buffing specific named units, he's now entirely keyword based - nearby <regiment> Basilisks, Deathstrikes, Manticores, and Wyverns can reroll 1s on the hit roll if this guy is about and the target is more than 36" away (because he can't really help if the gun is direct firing, apparently). If that isn't enough to justify his cost, he can call in a favor from a nearby battery once per game, dropping a basilisk shell anywhere on the map - though if he can't see the target, it hits on 4s. Unfortunately, thanks to his one-shot syndrome that one shell is going to do almost nothing (at least it won't kill your dudes now). Take this guy for his re-roll ability; that way, you're pleasantly surprised if the artillery strike does something instead of basing your strategy around such an unreliable, one-use attack.
    • As of the change he can now support an Armageddon Pattern Basilisk, but he still inexplicably cannot support the other Forge World variants, like Medusae (vehicle or either Battery), or the Battery variants for Basilisks, or Wyverns (that last meaning Heavy Quad Launcher Batteries).
  • Atlas Recovery Tank: Believe it or not, this thing is almost useful now. It's a standard "battle Chimera" tank (T7 W11 and a hull heavy bolter) with S7, but rather than a battle gun, it has an enginseer's ability to heal a vehicle (but not itself). Compared to the enginseer, it's more expensive (both in points and money), but more mobile and less vulnerable to sniper fire. Unfortunately, while being a tank means it can't be picked off by snipers, it's not a character, so it can be targeted by anything else. Still probably too expensive for what it does, but a lot better than what it used to be.
    • Important note: Unlike the Enginseer's Master of Machines rule, the Recovery Vehicle rule doesn't stipulate that a given vehicle may only benefit from it once. If you have a Lord of War on the field and want it to stay alive, an Enginseer and a few Atlases can give it a serious survivability boost. Highly situational, but potentially useful.
  • Hades Breaching Drill Squad: A Vehicle with a squad of "Veterans" (who all have Sergeant grade LD, but none of whom have Veteran grade BS, all with shotguns, AKA crazy... or very unlucky) that emerges anywhere more than 9" away from enemies. Once it shows up, the Drill and Veteran Squad become separate units entirely. The Hades Drill itself is a big 'fuck you' machine, with 1d6 WS3+ S10 AP-4 D1d3 melee attacks (D1d6 against Vehicles), and it has a 4++ invul in the fight phase thanks to its whirling blades. With T7, W7, and Sv3+, it's pretty durable, too. The Veterans are significantly worse than normal Veterans at shooting, with limited special weapons access on top of their nerfed BS, in that they can only take 2 special weapons in the squad, with no heavy flamer or heavy weapons team; the squad amounts to a tax on the drill, because it is so much worse than your other options, but it can still do ok with a pair of flamers. Makes for a delightful Distraction Carnifex; cackle with glee as your opponent shits himself trying to kill this thing before it crawls up his Gargant's ass and cores it like an apple!

No Regiment

Adeptus Mechanicus
  • Tech-Priest Enginseer: Found in the AdMech list as well as the new Guard codex alongside Servitors. Repairs D3 lost wounds on a single Astra Militarum vehicle or AdMech vehicle with the same Forge World keyword as himself within 3" of him. This opens up some interesting listbuilding ideas, such as combining mechguard troops with Skitarii snipers or Cult Mech deathrobots, as the Enginseer can repair whatever he pleases from either list as long as they share the same Forge World. An auto-include if you brought a Baneblade. He can also repair Questor Mechanicus Knights, albeit only for a single wound per turn.
    • Imperial Guard codex kept Tech-Priest as an Elite choice, and allows him to bring in his Servitors with him as another Elite choice.
  • Servitors: 4 Guardsman bodies which are slower, have poor BS of 5+, and have a 4+ save. Two of them can take a Heavy Bolter, Plasma Cannon, or Multi-Melta. If Tech-Priest is babysitting them, they increase their BS to 4+ and Leadership to 9. A poor choice all around, even with two Plasma Cannons.
Adeptus Ministorum
  • Ministorum Priest: Streamlined from 7th Edition, his War Hymns are now a +1 attack for every Astra Militarum infantry unit within 6". He also still has Zealot, though since it's not an AoE buff and only offers the first turn re-roll, he no longer assists with morale. Not a bad idea if there's a likelihood that your boys will charge or be charged. He synergizes well with Krieg, especially when taken with the regimental standard for A3 on your basic infantry during the fight phase. He's also great for any infantry units you plan on getting in close combat. He also buffs nearby Adeptus Ministorum infantry, too, so there's obvious synergy with their dedicated close-combat units as well.
  • Crusaders: A dedicated close-combat unit that, while not as tough or strong as Bullgryns, pack a 3+ invulnerable save (and that's before Psychic powers or stratagems) and Power Swords. They're identical to their entry in Index: Imperium 1 with the exception of the added Adeptus Ministorum keyword, including the otherwise Sisters-exclusive rule Act of Faith. At the start of your turn, roll a D6, and on a 2+, you can immediately move as if it were the movement phase, shoot as if it were the Shooting phase (which is hilarious because these guys don't have any shooting weapons, but the rule was lifted from the Sisters), fight as if it were the Fight phase, or heal a wound/bring back a dead model as if it were the Healing phase. You only get one Act of Faith per turn, no matter how many units of these guys you have, and you can't give them more using Celestine or an Imagifier since they aren't Adepta Sororitas and don't have an <ORDER>. Still, with base 2A and Zealot, these guys can easily overwhelm their points in MEQs on the charge, and they love taking Priests with them. They can be made even tankier by using Psychic Barrier, as unfluffy as it may be to have them tolerate the presence of Psykers. They're one wound wonders, but you can bring one back each turn on a 2+ so long as the unit hasn't been destroyed. They're not quite as points efficient as Bullgryns, but they can come back from the dead, andthey have an easier time fitting into your list, as they can be taken in groups of 2-10 and are cheaper per model.
Astra Telepathica
  • Wyrdvane Psykers: Very mediocre. If you have 6 you get to add 2 to psychic tests (getting them all the way up to succeeding two thirds the time for Smite, and one half to one third for the Psykana powers, ugh), but you only roll 1d6 for both Psychic and Deny tests (the bonus for having members only applies to Psychic tests, though). And without having the character keyword, expect them to die quickly. It is, however, impossible for you to peril.
    • Alternate take: If the Guard teaches us anything, it’s that cheapness and numbers have a quality all their own. Switching over to Power Levels for a moment, for simplicity, you can make a Vanguard Detachment consisting of one Primaris Psyker and three (3-model) Wyrdvane Psyker squads for 5 Power Level. In a typical 80 Power Level game, that means that you can take 16 of those detachments. Hitting on a 4+, your 48 Wyrdvane squads alone could potentially drop an average of 24 Smites (and roughly 36 mortal wounds) a round, with no Perils. Oh, and you’ll also have 16 extra command points to re-roll Perils on your Primaris. This is, of course, a terrible idea, but just imagine the look on your opponent’s face when you lay out 160 Psyker models and begin the longest Psychic Phase outside of the Thousand Sons.
  • Astropath: Only 1d6 for Smite (but you should be casting Psychic Maelstrom or Gaze of the Emperor for damage anyway), but astoundingly cheap at only 30 pts per model. Camp a few of these guys behind your gunline and deny powers. The only reason not to bring these guys would be if you ran out of Elites slots, because Primaris Psykers are HQs.
    • Unlike Primaris Psykers Astropaths lack the It's For Your Own Good rule, so Commissars are unable to stop them from blowing up in case they die from Perils of the Warp. However, it's also impossible for Astropaths to Perils while casting Smite (as they're limited to only rolling 1D6).
    • Players often forget about the Astropath's other special rule (note this is not a psychic power) - Astral Divination. Pick an enemy unit within 18" of an Astropath, and for the rest of the shooting phase that unit loses its cover save against IG models within 6" of your Psyker. A great way to fuck with Eldar Rangers, Space Marine Scouts, or anything that relies on cover saves.


Officio Prefectus
  • Commissar: His Summary Execution rule means that all Astra Militarum squads within 6" of him may re-roll (as of the latest FAQ, which also dropped their points cost considerably) their first failed Morale test in any given phase at the expense of a single model dying (the newly dead unit doesn't count for the re-roll), which means you should be picky about when you use the Summary Execution ability. Thanks to the Aura of Discipline ability, those same Guard squads will be given Ld8. Compared to his senior ranking Lord counterpart, he has one less wound, a 5+ save, WS and BS 3 instead of 2, and no Invulnerable save of any kind. However, he's much cheaper.
    • His ranged weapon should always be a bolter; you shouldn't buy him a melee weapon, as he should be staying out of melee and providing buffs instead.
    • The cheapest Commissar you can take is 15 points (16 with a Bolter), while Lord Commissars have to take a Power Weapon as well, raising them up to 34 (35 with a Bolter). They're Characters, so what you primarily need them to live through are sniper rifle shots; their points divided by how many ratling sniper rifle shots it takes to kill them are 76 and 165, respectively (using the versions that took a Bolter). The Lord Commissar fills up an HQ slot, which is better, and if you do take one, higher Leadership is better, to try and minimize losing models to Summary Execution.
    • Now that you don't have to use his ability, he's gone from being a hindrance to a situational buff.
    • Consider using the Officio Prefectus Command Tank stratagem instead of taking a Commissar. For just 2CP you get a 6" LD9 buff with a much better version of Summary Execution... in addition to being a goddamn tank.
      • Other Stratagem options include paying 1 CP to take a test on 1d3 or 2 CP to auto-pass; if you're low on CPs, you're playing Guard wrong, especially now that a Brigade nets you 12 goddamn CP.
    • Other superior choices, provided you can get them in, include an Inquisitor or Guilliman (who will both need their own detachment to avoid breaking Doctrine, which isn't hard for Guilliman since he's a Lord of War choice), or an Astropath or Primaris Psyker using the Fearless power (which the Inquisitor also has).
    • 4/16/2018 FAQ notice: In case you have missed it, Summary Execution is an optional re-roll now. Commissars also faced a steep price decrease, now being 16 points instead of 31 at base.
  • Death Korps Commissar: A basic Commissar. Given all the buffs to Ld you can get with the Death Korps along with their Cult of Sacrifice rule, you can skip him. The models are pretty nice though.
    • As of April 2018, the cost of a Death Korps Commissar has gone down to 15 points, from 30. They’ve become a pretty handy Ld buffer for melee.
  • Death Korps Death Rider Commissar: See above, but with a horse. Forge World doesn't seem to make these models anymore so you'll have to kitbash them.
    • While the Death Korps Commissar and the other Forge World Commissars were FAQed to have the new Summary Execution Rule, the Death Rider Commissar was overlooked. While this is an obvious RAW interpretation, the Death Rider Commissar therefore still only allows a maximum of 1 model to be lost to morale.
    • Same as the foot-slogging Death Korps Commissar, this Commissar got a point reduction to 35 points. They’ve become useful, if not viable, as your Death Riders will be getting stuck into melee.
    • Remember that while your army is immune to casualties caused by shooting it can still be battleshocked by losses incurred in melee - which is exactly where you want your LD6 Deathriders (even MSU squads aren't invulnerable). Deathrider Commissars are essential for keeping your horses on the table.

Dedicated Transport

  • Death Korps Storm Chimera: The Krieger approach to warfare is obvious in this armored vehicle's loadout. It gets an autocannon as its turret gun and the option to buy improved armor, which gives it a 2+ save vs weapons of S4 or less and lets it ignore the effects of land mines on a 4+. It's a price hike on the standard Chimera, but it's worth it. Note that it doesn't necessarily have to be used with Death Korps; although it has the DEATH KORPS OF KRIEG keyword instead of REGIMENT, it specifically says it transports ASTRA MILITARUM INFANTRY, and even mentions it can take Ogryn, so RAW, it's legal to use these to transport regular guardsmen, or even storm troopers.
  • Death Korps Centaur Light Assault Carrier: Hoo-boy. This little bugger is magnificent. Sure, it's not as tough or as shooty as a Storm Chimera, but if you pop 5 grenadiers with some meltas or flamers, or 4 (how are you getting a squad of 4 grenadiers? Min is 5(ruled as written, a Grenadier Weapons Team doesn't take up two slots in the vehicles. Only Heavy Weapons Teams are mentioned.)) with heavy flamer/melta or flamer/melta or flamer/sergeant and, optionally, a fifth rider of your choice, such as an Astropath or Primaris Psyker for Smite, you can send this off towards the enemy up to 9" before the game even starts. Imagine your opponent's face when they see this little bundle of hurt rolling towards them. They can ignore it, and have some grenadiers kick them in the arse, or shoot it and ignore the vast majority of your army.
    • Pretty cheap, at 54 points, and 6 wounds in it's still Movement 12, unlike a Chimera, which has dropped to 8 by then. Plus, like the DKSC above, this transport carries any Imperial Guard infantry, not just <REGIMENT> ones.
  • Centaur Light Carrier: "Light" is sort of an understatement - with only a 5-man capacity and two heavy stubbers as its weapon, the thing is barely a transport. Its real role is to haul around your otherwise-immobile Krieg artillery batteries, taking them along for its move. The artillery in question can't fire that turn, but it's useful enough to keep them out of range of opponents. Best used for 4-man command squads with their Officer; its big benefits are that ti's cheaper than any other transport you have access to, and while it has -1S, -1T, -3W and -1A compared to a Chimera, but you don't care about the S or the A. One benefit of the lower wound count is that it carries the vehicle below the threshold for stat deterioration, which is a huge boon in 8th. After suffering 5 or 6 wounds, the Centaur actually has higher M (assuming the Chimera hasn't got Track Guards) and BS than a Chimera, and equivalent A. It's pretty even, as by the point a Centaur would be dead, a Chimera's so crippled it doesn't matter anyway.
  • Trojan Support Vehicle: This Forgeworld model was updated to be effectively a very cramped (Transport Capacity 6) Chimera for a rather stunning tripling of its original base cost to a painful minimum of 98. In return, however, it brings the one and only source of full failure re-rolls in the Guard, granting one tank within 6" re-rolls to hit in the shooting phase. If you're not using this as the portable love slave of your Stormlord or Shadowsword, you're doing it wrong.

Fast Attack

  • Death Korps Death Rider Squadron: A big step up from the basic Rough Riders. +1 to WS, T, A, and Sv, although the +1A evens out in the wash when you don't charge, as you lack chainswords; regardless, you're much less likely to die before you reach your target, particularly since the Augmented Mount special rule gives you 5+ FNP against S4 weapons and below. Your steed gets 2 extra attacks instead of one and hits as hard as a bolter; this is particularly noticeable when not charging, giving you 4 attacks to a normal Rough Rider's 3, and 2 of those are at +1S. While you don't get a chainsword, you do get krak grenades, which will benefit one model in the unit. While you cannot outflank with this unit (unless you take the Death Rider Command Squad), it is not slowed when charging through terrain, making it easier to attack cover campers. With no access to special weapons, they're much better suited as frontline brawlers - with access to orders, they can be just mean with Fix Bayonets! and Duty Unto Death! (although Fix Bayonets is better in basically all circumstances). Like with most DKoK, they have Cult of Sacrifice as a morale buff.
    • The fact that Death Riders trade their Chainsword for +1 Attacks is a bonus, because they can hit twice with their lance on the charge, instead of the one lance and one chainsword hit that standard Riders get.
    • Use Duty Until Death when you charge, because that's the only order you will get use out of by doing so. If your opponent decides he doesn't want to get slowly pounded down by hard to kill horsies, use Fix Bayonets! to make him understand that melee guardsmen just work.
    • Deathriders have a shockingly bad LD6, and considering that they're supposed to be taking most of their casualties in melee they will be vulnerable to failed morale tests. You NEED to take a Deathrider Commissar if you're going to commit to large squads of Deathriders.
    • Rough Riders cost 10 points apiece, compared to the DKoK Death Rider cost of 16, which pays for itself in the improved attack volume alone, let alone their many other improvements, like ability to obey orders; their only substantive downside is their inability to take special weapons. Even their sergeant is buffed, as he drops his lance to buy a melee weapon if you want to change his melee up, as opposed to stock, which is forced to carry both a lance and a power weapon if you want that. Consider said swap, as a power axe brings the sergeant pretty close to the lance, but usable in the event you get stuck in. Fix Bayonets!, and you're possibly hitting 6 times with that axe in one turn. Ouch.
  • Hellhounds: The medium tank of the Guard motor pool has been favored in 8th, with increases in speed and toughness and decreases in price all around. The chassis actually covers three vehicles, but they're all the same power, so they all get one entry. Regarding the chassis itself, the wounding rules make it genuinely tough in 8th - your average lascannon has to hit it six times to kill it, which is a very welcome increase over the 4.5-if-it-doesn't-just-explode of 7th - and they can't outright lose their weapons, either. Track guards were basically made for this vehicle as the majority of available weapons ignore ballistic skill. Unless your bringing the devil dog, your tanks will pretty much never degrade.
    • The basic Hellhound is armed with the infamous Inferno Cannon, a more powerful heavy flamer with double the range, double the rate of fire, and +1 strength, at S6. A nasty infantry muncher, capable of eating guard-equivalent models with 2s to wound and a 6+ save from up to 16 inches away; due to good strength and rate of fire it's not too shabby against vehicles either (who knew setting things on fire could be so effective?). Use it to hunt down the other Guard player's Heavy weapons teams, or just chew through his conscripts at a healthy pace from safely outside of rapid fire range. Still not convinced? Mathhammer says it will outperform a Battle Cannon versus anything that's not T7 3+ and better, and it can still score a few wounds besides. Let 'em burn!
      • Because the Hellhound is BS4+ and can't mitigate the movement penalties for heavy weapons, you would be wise to try for a Heavy Flamer on the hull mount, but on the Hellhound that means you need to get in very close to use it, negating the Inferno Cannon's range advantage. The Heavy Bolter is cheaper and more consistent, but at BS5+ on the move, it won't hit anything at all - you choose it to keep the tank cheap, not to actually kill anything with the gun. Take the Heavy Flamer if you want the gun to actually kill anything.
      • Because Hellhounds always explode on 4+ they make excellent suicide tanks, useful for disrupting gun lines and charges (especially considering their relatively short range). Artemia-pattern Hellhounds are better at this though as they deal D6 mortal wounds instead of D3.
    • If your foe is made of tougher stuff, swap out for the Bane Wolf, whose vicious (and cheaper) Chem Cannon wounds everything that's not a vehicle on 2s, with an improved AP-3 (at the cost of range, only 8", and shot count, only 1d6 vs the Hellhound's 2d6). Between the wounding improvement and the AP improvement, this will outperform the Inferno Cannon against MEQ even before you account for its reduced cost - the range is the primary issue, as 8.1" charges will ignore it on Overwatch, and the secondary issue is that while it's obviously incredible against monsters and Primarchs especially, it's absolute garbage against vehicles, and utterly inferior to the Hellhound versus anything not MEQ or MC. While by itself the Bane Wolf may not actually do a lot, its potential will scare many opponents into focusing it down like the plague after a turn or two. This is probably the best distraction carnifex you will ever find in this codex outside of a deathstrike (and this is cheaper, too).
      • Here the use of a Heavy Flamer is more obvious, since it has the same range as the Chem cannon. With two auto-hitting weapons, this thing will take a big bite out of attacking forces in Overwatch.
    • Finally, if you want to take on vehicles, the Devil Dog closes the gap with the mighty melta cannon, which is much better than a multi-melta for the same cost - on average, twice the shots, and assault now, rather than heavy. It's specialized, but powerful - it outperforms even the revised Inferno cannon against pretty much anything tank-shaped (specifically, T7 with a 3+ save and tougher). Making the melta cannon assault has brought the D-Dog up from garbage to actually being a very solid tank buster. With D3 shots rerolling damage within melta range, you have one of few weapons potentially capable of blowing up a tank every time it fires. It's also the longest ranged melta weapon short of the Imperial Knight thermal cannon, and is mounted on your fastest ground unit, making range a non issue.
      • Sadly, the Multi-Melta you'd usually strap to the hull to supplement its tank-busting is still Heavy, and still shoots like an Ork, so give thought to alternatives. A heavy flamer will go a long way to deter the counter charge you will almost definitely be staring down after you shove that melta in your opponent's face.
  • Salamander Scout Tank: Cute little light tank, with guns otherwise found on sentinels or heavy weapons squads. Pricier and tankier than either; great if you have the points and are not otherwise concerned about getting bogged down in melee, as these things will get bogged down in melee.
    • Given that Forge World doesn't make the Salamander model anymore, a good proxy is a Hellhound hull with the Chimera Autocannon Turret.

Flyers

The following weapon options are exclusively available to the flyers at your disposal:

  • Hellstrikes: Hell yeah strikes! Does a good job against any armor, but they come in at a price of 20 points each. This is a go-to on both Lightnings and Thunderbolts. Heavy 1, S8, AP-2, roll 2d6 pick highest for D, which means at an average of 4.4 damage for each unsaved wound, this is the go to monster/tank/aircraft killer.
  • Skystrikes: Cheaper at 15 points each, but only Heavy 1, S7, AP-2, D3 damage. Your dedicated anti-air missile, it gets +1 to hit against flyers but -1 against everything else. The strength here seems to be that you get to take 6 instead of only 4. But the damage for each unsaved wound is an average of 2 compared to Hellstrikes' 4.4. Statistically, they are worse unless you are shooting at very specific targets like jet bikes or battle suits.
  • Hellfuries: Anti-infantry missiles that are expensive for the amount of shots you get. They haven't found their niche yet.
  • Tactical bombs: Pretty cool. They are cheaper than the missile options and do some serious damage. May be a valid option on a aircraft that can hold its own without extra missile firepower.

No Regiment

Aeronautica Imperialis
  • Valkyrie: The original badass of the skies can hold 12 Astra Militarum Infantry; Ogryn count as 3 models. Any infantry with the Astra Militarum keyword (and Inquisitorial models with the Authority of the Inquisition trait) count. Transports can hold multiple units now, so 3 Command Squads each with 4 meltaguns for 12 meltaguns at BS 3+ in one Valkyrie? Nice! Even better, Grav-Chute Deployment allows you to put anybody it can carry 9" away from the enemy...after the Valkyrie's 20" minimum move. Can you say 'turn 1 charge with ogryns?' And to top it all off it has 2 MORE wounds than a Leman Russ tank (though 1 less toughness). Cue the music!
    • Note: On the firepower side of things, hellstrike missiles are no longer one-use only (but you can fire only 1 per turn). In addition, the codex added the Roving Gunship rule, which adds 1 to hit rolls if you're in Hover mode. When standing still, you hit on 3s. Between the multilaser, rocket pods, and heavy bolters, that's a LOT of infantry mulching!
    • Other Note: The Grav-Chute deployment still only counts as a disembarkation from a transport, allowing you your normal movement afterwards with your 12 melta vets, or your 4 Bullgryn for that 3+ charge... Ogryn can fit in Valkyries.
    • Note: The new FAQ just stated that you now must have 1 officer per Command squad; while not game breaking, this does mean that you need 3 officers per Valkyrie 3 CC squad combo. Something to keep in mind when you start getting tight on points.

Chapter Approved 2017 hiked the price on most of the base airframes and with the ridiculous price increase on hellstrike missiles (30 points per missile now) makes most of these models very inefficient choices in terms of damage dealers. The models are still pretty great though.

  • Aquila Lander
  • Arvus Lighter (FW Index: Astra Militarum): This thing went from completely useless to pretty useful. It is pretty expensive at 115 points barebones, but thanks to advanced clown car physics you can somehow cram 12 models into it now (no Ogryns though). With T6 and 8 wounds it is more fragile than a chimera but it can fly and move 30"/20" when hovering. It also has the ability to regain a wound on a 6+ and has no characteristics modifiers. It can also deepstrike, so just put it behind some LoS blocking terrain and unload your flamer/melta/plasma squads on the next turn. It can also take one or two additional models in the same slot thanks to the squadron ability. It must be purely by coincidence that Forge World started producing this model again, and they were even kind enough to jack up the price a good bit.
  • Avenger Strike Fighter (FW Index: Astra Militarum): The ground attack beast rocks on in 8th edition. With T7 and 14 wounds it's pretty tough and will probably stay on the table a while. Comes stock with two lascannons, an 8 shot S6 AP-2 D1 bolt cannon, and an 8" heavy stubber that rerolls hits against FLY units. The weapon upgrades now cost double but you'll also get twice the shots so it's only fair. Missiles lost their "one use only" rule so feel free to load up on anti-infantry or anti-vehicle fire power. Like the other non-hover fliers it hits on 3+, but since it always has to move you hit on your regular 4+ (still better than the Ork BS of the Valkyrie/Vendetta).
  • Lightning Strike Fighter: Hard hitting little thing that brings a ton of anti-tank for a reasonable cost. The Thunderbolt is generally the more cost effective choice, with a better airframe for a marginal cost increase and comes with 2 twin autocannons instead of 1 long barreled piece of crap. The Lightning finds its niche as the cheaper option with slightly more expansive payload options. The most interesting one is loading it up with anti-tank missiles. This is assuming that leaving out one-use only is not altered in a future faq since they would go from "we could pay that" to "no way in hell are we paying that". You can fit the Lightning with anti-air (could be good) or -infantry missiles (much worse than vultures). The anti-air missiles are not much better than the anti-tank missiles at shooting aircraft (or even worse) and the anti-air missiles are A LOT worse at engaging tanks. With that said, you do get 6 anti-air missiles for only 10 points more than 4 anti-tank missiles, and they do a nice job against things like battle-suits and landspeeders. The anti-infantry version may seem tempting, but vultures do this job much better at a cheaper cost. 235 points buys you a Lightning with 4 anti-tank missiles and 245 for 6 anti-air missiles.
  • Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter: The frame itself costs 5 points more than a lightning and for those 5 points you get 1 more wound and 6+ repair. Not huge additions, by any means, but quite good value for 5 points. This guy also carries more guns, 4 autocannons and two lascannons. That is 3 more autocannons than the Lightning, and since they are twin autocannons instead of a long barreled one they are far more cost effective. Has slightly more restrictive payload options than the Lightning, though the only option you miss out on is anti-infantry missiles, so no-one cares. Basically you get more effective firepower, but you need to invest more in a single model to get there. 335 points buys you the thunderbolt with 4 anti-tank missiles and 305 buys you the thunderbolt + 6 anti-air missiles.
    • Against multi-wound models, the anti-tank missiles are definitely better, doing more than twice the damage per shot with 2/3 the shot volume and 8/9 the points; even after accounting for the BS3->BS4 or BS4->BS5 penalty, the anti-tank missiles are going to be better in general against whatever flyers you are trying to bring down. Against single-wound models you should be fielding a Vulture instead.
  • Vendetta (FW Index: Astra Militarum): She's back, boys and girls! The premier tank-hunter of the galaxy is back, and she's pissed. Carrying half a dozen lascannons and a nice, fat troop bay for 12 models (even keeping Grav-Chutes!) the Vendetta is a fine transport and gunship both. You pay a premium for her - you have to buy every one of those six lascannons - but it's worth it. God-Emperor, is it worth it. Keep in mind that Heavy Weapons impose a -1 penalty on a roll to hit if you moved, and you must move as a flyer unless in Hover mode. This means your beautiful (and expensive!) lascannons are fired with an Ork BS of 5. If you feel safe from assaults or you have already disembarked its cargo, go into Hover mode and unleash hell. Take the slap on the wrist; with the miracles it can pull in the field of transportation the lousy shooting is the only thing keeping this from being outright cheese. Alternately, keep the Vendetta as a scary bastard zipping around the board. It's expensive, but when you roll good, it's damn good. Or go Hover early, wipe something out, then zip around soaking fire for the rest of the game. Heavy bolters are fun to throw some extra dice out to keep attention on your Vendetta.
  • Vulture (FW Index: Astra Militarum): Sorry, did we say the Vendetta was a fine gunship? Well, okay, it is, but this is the exemplar of the role. A Valkyrie's statline with a tasty Strafing Run rule (+1 on roll to hit if target has no <Fly>) and 4 weapon pylons, carrying rocket pods, missiles, autocannons, multilasers and tactical bombs (a special one-time use ability that's great against units with lots of models and deals mortal wounds on a 5+)... yeah, okay, fine. We know why you're here. The Twin Punisher Cannon, a Heavy 40 S5 dual-minigun man-muncher that will turn anything you point this bird at into paste. Scratch the paint and make sure it's not an Ork...
    • In terms of weapons, the Twin Punisher Cannon is better than every other weapon vs most units and is only worse than the Skystrike Missiles vs units that can FLY. Hunter-Killer Missiles are also almost always better, but are one use only; while Tactical Bombs are rather gimmicky. If for some reason you aren't taking the Punisher, the following loadouts are best for the following roles:
      • Pure Anti-Tank: Twin Lascannon and Two Hellstrike Missiles
      • Pure Anti-MEQ/TEQ: Twin Autocannon and Two Missile Pods or Four Missile Pods
      • Pure Anti-GEQ: Twin Multi-Laser and Two Hellfury Missiles
      • Mixed Anti-Tank and Anti-MEQ/TEQ: Twin Lascannon and Two Missile Pods
      • Mixed Anti-Tank and Anti-GEQ: Twin Lascannon and Two Hellfury Missiles
      • Mixed Anti-MEQ/TEQ and Anti-GEQ: Twin Autocannon and Two Hellfury Missiles or Two Missile Pods and Two Hellfury Missiles
      • Anti-FLY: Take relevant loadout and swap the Hellfury/Hellstrike Missiles or Missile Pods for Skystrike Missiles.

Heavy Support

  • Death Korps Heavy Weapons Squad: Other than the higher WS, Krak Grenades, and Cult of Sacrifice, they're identical to the vanilla HWS - with the additional option to take heavy flamers. You might need to bring a couple along anyway though since you can't take heavy weapons in your regular infantry squads.
    • Heavy Flamer teams are drastically the most cost effective way to get heavy flamers into your army, so much so that they are actually competitive with flamers (which does not usually happen, due to a heavy flamer costing more than two flamers). This gives them a radically dofferent role from what HWSs are used to, but they can be very effective when carried in a Valkyrie.
    • Heavy Bolters and Twin Heavy Stubbers may compete with each other, as they both cost 8 points each, and are both direct-fire anti-infantry options. Against TEQs (T4 2+), Heavy Bolters win (0.9801 wounds on average vs 0.765 wounds on average). Against MEQs (T4 3+), either option is viable (1.485 wounds on average). Against GEQs (T3 5+), Twin Heavy Stubbers are better (3.9204 wounds on average vs 2.4948 wounds on average). Ultimately, Heavy Bolters are better against enemies with better saves, and Twin Heavy Stubbers are better against enemies with worse saves. The models for either weapon choice are very nice, so you can't lose there.
    • A full squad of mortars actually costs 3 pts less than it does in the AM Codex, although sadly they don't really benefit from Krieg's doctrines
  • Death Korps Leman Russ Mars Alpha Battle Tanks: Your favorite battle tank, customizable into any configuration of Russ as you see fit (though the Vanquisher Cannon comes with a heavy stubber instead of a storm bolter as its coaxial weapon), but now with the ability to trade the stock hull-mounted heavy bolter for a multi-melta or a plasma cannon. As an added bonus, its armour save becomes a 2+ against weapons of S4 or lower, so bolter shots won't even faze you. Like the other Forge World Russ variants, it too now benefits from Grinding Advance and Objective Secured (in a Spearhead Detachment).
The Leman Russ can be divided into two categories. The four 'Battle Tanks' (Battle, Eradicator, Exterminator, Vanquisher, Conqueror, Annihilator) have more range but less firepower than the three 'Siege Tanks' (Demolisher, Punisher, Executioner).
      • Battle Cannon: Heavy D6 S8 AP-2 D1d3. The Battle Cannon has taken some big hits compared to past editions. Since losing its large blast template it only gets an average of 1.75 hits, though "Grinding Advance" buffs this to a less disappointing 3.5. MEQ now get a 5+ save, but it is now more effective against TEQ. Surprisingly the cheapest of the 4 options...and easily the best. Though it faces stiff competition from its Demolisher cousins.
      • Exterminator Autocannon: Costs more than a Battle Cannon which would be worth it for the (very slightly) improved rate of fire, where it is worse), except that its output is inferior against T4, T7, T8, anything with a 5+ or better save, and anything with 3 or more wounds.
        • Alternate Opinion: The Exterminator really shines against units with 3+/4++ save, particularly T5 and 6. Furthermore you'll consistently put out a lot of firepower without the need of staying in range of a Tank Commander. It's not that the Exterminator is better or worse compared to the Battle Cannon, it's just designed for a different purpose. Put a lascannon, multimeltas and track guards on your Leman Russ Exterminator and for 217 points you'll have a very good, mobile all rounder unit that can react to almost everything on the battlefield. It will still deal less average damage than a battle cannon, but it will do so more reliably.
        • Continued: As above, this is a particular gun for particular targets. In most cases you’re better off taking one of the other options, but there are cases to be made for this one. The Exterminator excels against high-toughness multi-wound monsters and elite infantry, particularly Tyranid Monsters and Ork vehicles/nobs, against whom it generally performs better against than the “burst” damage of say a battle cannon. The Exterminator’s consistent shot volume and damage seems tailored towards these units, where you’re getting 4/8 shots instead of a potential 1/2. Also consider using on CSM and SM bikers (particularly scout bikers if you know people who use them) where the -1 AP and 2D can be a nasty surprise.
      • Eradicator Nova Cannon: Often overlooked. For 3 points more than a Battle Cannon, you lose 36" of range and only hit at S6. In exchange you ignore cover bonuses, which gets you that guarenteed -2 to Armor save. This is perhaps the most specialized of all the Leman Russ options, so only consider bringing it against targets that depend on cover saves (Space Marine Scouts with camo cloaks, Eldar Rangers, AdMech with cover canticles, Poxwalkers, Vindicare Assassins, Imperial Guard, etc). Perhaps the best at straight-up murdering GEQs in cover (wounding on 2+ with no save), its extra 12" range edging out the Demolisher Cannon in this particular niche.
      • Vanquisher Battle Cannon: The Vanquisher, a dedicated anti-tank cannon, is proof that GW is incapable of statistics, as it performs worse against heavy armour than every Leman Russ turret except the exterminator, despite being one of the pricier options (doing 0.93 wounds to another Russ; every other variant manages at least 1 wound). Sad thing is, if GW had given it a flat 2+ to wound against vehicles or flat 2D6 damage instead of 2D6 drop the lowest, it’d perform better against most vehicles than other Russes. Never take this.
        • It is statistically worse than a Battle Cannon at -everything-. It actually costs less, thanks to Chapter Approved (20 points to the battle cannon's 22). And "never take it" in a tournament or if you're a win at all costs player. If you're playing for fun, or love the model and look more, it's entirely up to you.
    • The three 'Demolisher' variants hit much harder at the expense of range; only one of them beats two feet.
      • Demolisher Cannon: You can fit a man in that gun barrel! Statistically the best tank-buster of all Russ cannons; nearly doubles (x1.82) the cost of the Battle Cannon, but deals x1.75 the Damage against targets with enough Wounds to suffer it, on top of +2S and -1AP, making it far superior against T5 and T8 in practice. With 2 Multi-Meltas and a Lascannon on a tank, this will munch through most enemy armor, if you can bear the cost of 222 points. It gets larger dice rolls versus units of 5 models or more, letting it outpace the Battle Cannon - though using such a short-ranged and expensive weapon against anything but TEQ is a mis-allocation of resources.
      • Executioner Plasma Cannon: A plasma cannon with nearly double the rate of fire, even before you use Grinding Advance to shoot twice and without a movement penalty, but only x1.33 the cost, and cheaper than a Battle Cannon, at the same price as a Punisher. If you fire it on Supercharge - which you should - it will outshine the Battle Cannon easily, dealing more damage to W2 models at -1AP for 9.1% (2) fewer points. That actually places this weapon in direct competition with the Demolisher Cannon, above - when Supercharged, the Demolisher's only improvement against most targets is +2S, which is of dubious utility, given that it costs 25% more and has 66.67% the range. Speaking of range keep in mind the Executioner is the longest range of the "siege tank" variants, at 36", nowhere near as good as the battle cannon, but a step up from the dangerously short range of the Demolisher and Punisher to a more middle of the road range where you can stay reasonably safe from enemy melta weapons while still laying down plasma fire.
        • Real Talk: outside of penalties to hit, this will only deal 0.583... mortal wounds to you, on average. You should not be feeling scared to fire it, even without re-rolling 1s.
      • Punisher Gatling Cannon: Tank-mounted BRRRT. Statistically, your best friend against infantry, but it lacks range and struggles against heavy stuff. With 3 heavy bolters (166 points), it can wreak impressive amounts of havoc for a single model.
        • You can also combine it with lascannons, multi-meltas, and plasma cannons freely under them, for the same reason. Note that if you are moving away from heavy bolter sponsons, a lascannon is a better idea than a multi-melta for the hull weapon (especially since multi-meltas can't be taken as hull weapons), as it will outperform the multi-melta against a Land Raider even before you realize that if you've driven up next to infantry for the Punisher, good heavy targets might be farther away; likewise, the Plasma Cannons will do better if you're willing to supercharge, but without an accuracy buff like Yarrick or Guilliman along, both of whom will slow you down, that's a risky click.
      • Conqueror Battle Cannon: Actually pretty useful now. No longer the cheaper version of the vanilla, as per the Forgeworld 1.0 FAQ, it is now TEN points MORE. The Conqueror cannon has the same statline as a regular battle cannon, just with a 48" range. The co-axial weapon is only a storm bolter though, rather than the much more logical heavy stubber, but Forgeword are bound to go derp somewhere. Actually while the Storm Bolter is shorter ranged (its max range is half the main gun's, rapid fire is 12) due to not being a heavy weapon it fires at full BS on the move, and it grants rerolls to hit with your Conqueror cannon if you fire on the same target, it doesn't even have to hit anymore. Slap a pintle mounted storm bolter on there and you'll be putting out 8 S4 shots on overwatch.
      • When you do some math you will quickly realize, that this baby is one of the best Russ variants in the game right now. Reroll every (not only failed) shots on the main gun gives you MASSIVE powerboost, almost doubling your hits. Find the path to reroll that random attack D6 roll end enjoy tearing everyting up to a land raider to pieces. Trust me, this tank gonna CONQUER your battlefield.
      • Chapter Approved has added another 12 pts to its cost. GOD DAMN IT, GW, YOU HAVE ONE JOB!.. - not sure what's going on here, but Chapter Approved lists the Conqueror as 122 points, the same as a Leman Russ Annihilator and dropping 10 points after the Forge World 1.0 FAQ. Where the additional 12 (+10) points came from, I have no idea.
      • Annihilator Twin Lascannon: In past editions, this was indisputably the most underwhelming Leman Russ variant. However, with the changes to the twin linking rules, compounded by Grinding Advance, it’s the only Leman Russ that has increased in firepower rocking, effectively, 4 bs4 lascannons. Against another Leman Russ, this thing will put out 1.94 wounds, matching the Demolisher but with more range. Expect to see this eclipse the “anti-armor” Vanquisher, which only puts out 0.94 wounds a turn against another Russ. In an edition where vehicles tend to stick around, loaded for bear (multi-melta sponsons and a hull lascannon), this tank has the potential to take out a vehicle per shooting phase.
      • With that cool new Grinding Advance rule, this tank became our one of the best options, matching even Demolisher in sheer amount of hard hitting hatred it can bring to our enemies, even matching Demolisher in his own field, while been miles away from the fight.
      • Chapter Approved has been kind to this laser shooting behemoth, dropping his cost by 10 pts, maybe GW doesn't hate us that much...
  • Stygies Destroyer Tank Hunter: A Leman Russ chassis with no turret and a Heavy Laser Destroyer Array for a hull gun. It's not twin-linked anymore, instead acting a bit like a small blast weapon - D3 shots at a Lascannon statline, except it rolls 2d6-pick-the-highest vs vehicles on damage. Unlike any other vehicle build on the Russ chassis, it must hold still to get its full BS. Easily overshadowed by the Annihilator.
    • Stygies Thunderer Siege Tank: 10 points more than a Vindicator for one additional wound and 1 lower BS...which only counts when you're standing still, because this vehicle ignores the heavy penalty. Sadly not particularly worth it due to the general nerf to blast weapons, but can be a fun distraction vehicle or tank-buster nonetheless.
    • The Index FAQ deliberately avoided giving this vehicle the buff given to all Leman Russ tanks, for whatever reason, while also making it cost 40 points more than a Demolisher. Take a Demolisher.
  • Cyclops Demolition Vehicle: 40k's version of the Goliath, a bomb on treads controlled by remote. Magos Cawl figured out how to encrypt the controller signal, so the operator doesn't have to walk around on the field next to it, but putting it in transports disrupts the signal...so you can't drop it out of a Valkyrie anymore. In exchange, it's much faster (10" move, though advancing prevents you from setting it off) and its payload is one of the few blast weapons in 8th edition that's actually a blast - you set it off in the Shooting phase, and it hits everything, friendly and enemy, within d6" like an Earthshaker shell. Oh wait, no, it actually hits much harder, rolling a flat 2d6 for shots instead of 2d6-take-the-highest, and it auto-hits. This is the single worst thing to roll into a deathstar of characters at the center of your opponents' army - no more Look Out Sir! to slough off the pain it can bring, and every unit within the effect radius is hit the same. It's not very tough, but it's small and easily concealed behind bigger, bulkier units, and at 40 points it can be a powerful disruptor of enemy formations.
    • Note that this little ball of hate explodes on a 3+ when killed, and that's your die to roll. You, the Guard player, with the giant pile of command points. Take a reroll, hand out some mortal wounds, and get a glass for the tears of your opponent.
    • Chapter Approved has increased its cost to 60 points from 40.
  • Malcador Tank Family (Forge World Index: Astra Militarum): Down(?)-graded from Lord of War to Heavy Support, the light-super-heavy tanks of the Malcador family have been smiled upon in 8th by the removal of weapon facing. This means the bizarre fixed-transfer casement the main gun sits in (and the fact that the sponsons can't train forward) no longer limits its shooting ability; also gone is the chance to break down every time it moves, apparently they finally fixed the engines on these things. The Demolisher cannons have Grinding Advance, as well. Note: The Valdor tank destroyer is still taking a Lord of War, so no spamming Neutron Lasers (not that you could spam a tank this size anyway).
    • Malcador Heavy Tank: The basic Malcador is a Russ on a steroid binge - 18 wounds instead of 12 (this is standard across all Malcadors), and it can carry autocannons or lascannons in the sponsons.
    • Malcador Annihilator: The Malcador's version of the Leman Russ Annihilator. Two lascannons in that weird turret and a Demolisher cannon in the hull.
    • Malcador Defender: Now we're talkin'! In a remarkable display of foresight, the Defender eschews the nerfed turret weapons of its brothers for an interwar-style turret fitted with five heavy bolters. Two more on the sponson mounts make for a bullet hose to rival the Stormlord - at 21 shots, it can chew through blobs for breakfast. It also adds 1 to its overwatch hit rolls. A demolisher cannon is still present on the hull for tougher targets.
    • Malcador Infernus: The Malcador's version of the...Hellhound? Apparently someone saw the need addressed the requirement to set entire city blocks on fire at once. This vehicle carries the Inferno Gun, which rolls 2d6 automatic hits with a strength and damage that resembles an Autocannon (with better AP). If that and the 16" range weren't enough the prometheum fuel can be swapped out for Trooper Duffy's special soup recipe a toxic sludge that wounds everything that isn't a vehicle on 2s, and has AP-3. It's a big pile of points and tends to violently explode, but it can be very fun to run! And if it does blow up, try to have it do so next to those heretics. It WILL hurt.
    • Rapier Laser Destroyer Battery (Forgeworld Index: Astra Militarum): Got nerfed hard and went from auto-include to almost-nope. Twin-linked is gone but it still fires only one shot, so there is no chance to reroll that 4+ except CPs (or a Trojan, see above), as the Rapier can't take orders any more. Still, the gun is S12, and if the shot hits, on a roll of 3-5 it does 2D6 damage, and on a 6 it's upped to 3D6 (so you could hypothetically one-shot a Land Raider, but it is highly unlikely) - the overall expected damage roll is 6.42, slightly better than 3d3 but slightly worse than 2d6. The price got almost doubled ,to 74 points for one gun and a crew of two. The rapier has 3 wounds now, but unfortunately is only T5. Mathhammer says it will only beat out a team of lascannons (of similar cost) against 2+ models, models of T6 and below, and 3+ models of T9 and above. If you have it, save it for the really tough stuff.

Mobile Artillery:

  • Hydra: The original AAA is back in action! The red-headed stepchild of the Chimera-chassis Heavy choices, this is the only one a Master of Ordnance can't help you with. The Hydra can hit ground troops on 5s and FLY units on 3s, and with its 6 feet of 8 S7 AP-1 D2 shots, it's a potentially good investment even if you didn't expect FLY from your opponent. The power comes at a price, though: 108 points after the compulsory heavy bolter, up from 75. Fliers will learn to fear it, though; it puts out enough power to statistically guarantee damage versus most aircraft. There is a bit of a cost disparity on this vehicle between points (108) and power rating (7), leading to the situation that it's better value for money under the former than the latter, as the "standard" power cost for it should be 5 or 6.
    • There's a surprising number of units with FLY, like jetbikes, jump troops, anything that used to be a skimmer in 7th, Monoliths, half of the Dark Eldar and Tau Army Lists... it's really quite staggering. Make sure you check the tags on your target's datasheet before opening fire, and do take a picture of your opponent's face when you inform them of this.
    • This will outperform a Basilisk against its chosen targets.... but needs LOS to do it, and against anything else, it won't do so well. Since it needs LOS, and needs to remain static, it's in direct competition with your Heavy Weapons Squads; at cost, you can field 4 lascannon teams in HWSes (with 4 points left over), which will outperform it against the enemy air you were presumably worried about.
  • Griffon Mortar Carrier: The Griffon Mortar Carrier occupies the niche of cheap medium artillery support compared to the other big guns available to the Guard. The Griffon Heavy Mortar has a range of 48" and strikes at S6 with AP -1 and dealing D3 damage per wound and this Mortar ignores cover saves. In previous additions, the Griffon used to have the ability to re-roll scatter, and thanks to the way the bombardment and artillery squadron rules worked meant that you could use it as spotter artillery for your bigger guns. These days however, much like its larger cousin the Basilisk, it rolls 2D6 and takes the highest to determine the number of attacks it makes. This all clocks in at a measly 78 points after purchasing the mandated Heavy Bolter, though this can be swapped out for a Heavy Flamer for extra charge defense and it can also take a pintle mounted weapon and/or Hunter-Killer Missile. Unlike the Medusa and Basilisk who's preferred targets are TeQs, MeQs and Vehicles, the Griffon is best used to rain hate on cover camping units with a 4+ save or worse, though it can also be used to hunt light vehicles and low save, multi-wound models thanks to its D3 damage. It doesn't re-roll wounds like the Wyvern, but since both mortars main targets tend to hide in cover, any time you would take a Wyvern, consider the Griffon instead. Probably not as competitive as either the Medusa or the Basilisk, but a solid artillery piece for the price. Note: Forgeworld no longer sells a model for this unit, but the conversions are super easy.
  • Basilisk: Fluffy is back! The Earthshaker gun motor carriage smacks units up to twenty feet away at with the same power as a lascannon, rolling 2d6 for shot count and taking the highest and ignoring LOS - and it's down in cost too, to 108 points base (after the heavy bolter, which you can pay to upgrade to a heavy flamer if you're an idiot). Better against vehicles than troops, because its multi-wound power is wasted against infantry, but powerful and long-ranged for its points nonetheless. The Basilisk is brutal and very point-efficient, with the only problem being the Guard's BS of 4+ (and there's a stratagem for that). Welcome in any list. It is also "Webstore exclusive" - what a funny coincidence. There is a bit of a cost disparity on this vehicle between points (108) and power rating (7), leading to the situation that it's better value for money under the former than the latter, as the "standard" power cost for it should be 5 or 6.
    • Keep in mind that it is just a T6 vehicle so use the ignore LOS ability or see it explode.
  • Armageddon Pattern Medusa: Your only mobile source of the Medusa Siege gun.

This one is an odd little box. What you get is a vehicle that wounds like a Manticore (S10) and is just as tough (T7), ignores armor like a basilisk (AP3) and has a similar point value (111), has the wounds and armor of a Leman Russ (12W and 3+save) but can fire without line of sight. So far so good. However, you trade all this for the lack of ability to fire after moving without a penalty to hit (and have a poor range of 36 inches), the lack of T8 to survive plasma and anti-tank firepower that is usually S7 and above, and worst of all, you score less hits than a basilisk, Manticore or most Leman Russes with grinding advance with your single D6.

  • Colossus Bombard: Finally gaining the toughness of the Leman Russ chassis it's mounted on, the Colossus still ignores cover, though that doesn't do as much now. Downside, it costs as much as a Leman Russ, too. The mortar itself has gotten a HUGE range increase (In fact this might be a typo - 240 inches), and hits like a Heavy Mortar with slightly better AP. It fires twice as many shots, too. All in all, it's a damn fine artillery piece.

Static Artillery:

  • Heavy Mortar Battery: The Heavy Mortar hits like a midway between a normal mortar and the Earthshaker Cannon. Unfortunately it takes after the latter in price - 72 points for a 3-man team and the gun carriage. Potentially viable if you've got the models, but nothing special.
  • Heavy Quad Launcher Battery: Also known as the Thudd Gun. Invented by a race of abhumans whose worlds were lost to the Tyranids sometime in the mid-M40s (it's not clear) and much beloved by Kriegers, 8th Edition's Thudd Gun behaves like a Wyvern's quad-gun, without the rerolls to wound (perhaps it doesn't use airburst ammunition?). It's also only 10 points cheaper as a Wyvern, sans the heavy bolter the latter gets with its Chimera mobile platform.
  • Earthshaker Carriage Battery (Forge World Index: Astra Militarum): The Earthshaker Cannon mounted on a Krieg-style wheeled gun carriage. Unlike the above, the crew is separate, and thus can defend the gun in melee. You get 4 crewmen a gun, which essentially means a full battery comes with a free Infantry Squad. And they can take orders, though re-rolling 1s won't work the miracles that ignoring all cover saves once did. With a slightly-lower-damage version of the lascannon's gun profile and an average of 2.24 hits to a lascannon team's 1.5 for a marginal increase in cost, it's more point-efficient than a lascannon team for tank-busting, and thanks to the high shot count and lasgun-armed crew, better at fighting crowds, too. Not bad.
    • Forget about it. Chapter Approved has killed it to death. Now base cost for this poor boy without legs (tracks) is 105 + 16 points for 4 crewman. Stick with a vanilla Basilisk, that costs only 108 points and still can move, while also having a heavy bolter. I would still recommend running it simply for fluffy reasons and that the model looks amazing.
  • Medusa Carriage Battery (Forge World Index: Astra Militarum): The Medusa Siege Gun returns, mounted on a wheeled gun carriage. Got a few buffs - the standard siege shells are ballistic, and may be fired out of line-of-sight now, while the still-direct-fire Bastion-Breaker shells may be used without losing the ability to fire standard shots. The 36" range may chafe on an immobile platform, though.
    • The Bastion-Breacher shells can deal some serious damage to fortifications, but at the cost of no longer being able to fire indirectly.

Lords of War

Forge World, with its unbridled fetish for treads, guns, and engines, has provided the Guard with the largest selection of Lords of War in the game, bar none. You can't take Titans in here anymore, but you could be forgiven for not noticing. The overwhelming majority of these are tracked vehicles of one variant or another, and most of them have the Steel Behemoth rule, allowing the vehicle in question to shoot and charge normally if it's fallen back that turn, fire heavy weapons with no penalties to hit, fire twin heavy flamers or twin heavy bolters into melee combat as if they were pistols, and fire the larger guns normally even if there are enemies within 1" (but not at those same enemies). Who said the conventional army fighting spooky paranormal activity was being screwed? Here's the hint: That daemon is not

  • You won't be able to use Regimental Doctrines for these in a Superheavy Auxiliary Detachment, which means that in order to pull off this level of cheese, you would need to take a Superheavy Detachment or Supreme Command Detachment of the same Krieg (no plopping in Guilliman in order to achieve this). In other words, if you want a Lord of War that benefits from a Doctrine you'll need to either take several Lords of War, all with the same Krieg keyword, or a bunch of extra HQs (you could take Yarrick or some Lord Commissars, though). Still, the Imperial Guard is perhaps one of the few armies that can pull this off without too much of a HQ tax since ours tend to be cheap. As of the new Codex, Primaris Psykers as HQ, and Techpriests and regular priests as Elites count towards this HQ quota (and you'll want a techpriest anyway if you are bringing a member of the Baneblade family) without disrupting your regimental doctrine.
  • Minotaur Artillery Tank (Forge World): One of the two variants of the Malcador chassis that retains the Lord of War title...though you could be forgiven for not noticing, since it's had two Earthshaker cannons mounted on it. Backwards. Simultaneously the coolest thing on treads and an ungodly abortion only Hereteks could love. Has two heavy bolters mounted on it...somewhere. As a side effect of mashing two Basilisks together it gains Steel Behemoth and a 5+ Invulnerable save against shooting attacks (which is copy-pasted from the Gorgon's entry, because the two are such similar machines...bravo, Forge World). The durability comes at a cost: for the firepower of two Basilisks, it's almost as expensive as three.
  • Gorgon Heavy Transporter (Forge World): Want to haul an entire platoon of Korpsmen? Here's how. With an unmatched-anywhere transport capacity of 50 models, the Gorgon can move more men safely than anything else. The Gorgon Mortar is no longer one-shot, too, letting this vehicle function as a pseudo-Land Raider...until you realize you're transporting 4 point models in a Lord of War, and they can't shoot out of it.
    • Don't view the Gorgon as a mobile dakka vehicle like the Stormlord. View the Gorgon as a mass transporter to move your Korpsmen into rapid fire range.
    • Want to use monster? Well too bad. Forgeworld no longer makes the kit, and is difficult to find on the secondhand market. So good luck.
  • Macharius Family (Forge World: the middle child of the super heavy tanks, the Macharius series starts to wield titan-sized guns, while the non-tank variants of the chassis bring to the field some of the largest transport capacities in the game.
    • Macharius Heavy Tank: Suffers from a lot of the problems that the Leman Russ suffers from. It has the potential to deal a lot of damage, but like the Leman Russ battle cannon, the likelihood of it actually doing anything isn't that high. If you really have your heart set on this tank, consider the Macharius Vanquisher as an alternative.
    • Macharius Omega: Its plasma blastgun is pretty amazing, especially if you can keep it still. Only 1 mortal wound per to-hit roll of 1 on the supercharged firing mode, and even if you play it safe, each shot is still doing as much damage as a normal supercharged plasma gun shot, but with much better range. Consider this if facing big squads of MEQ... now, if only FW still made the model for it.
    • Macharius Vanquisher: Two Vanquisher shots are better than one, and if all else fails, you can fire this as a slightly less potent version of the twin battle cannon that the Macharius Heavy Tank has, making this a more versatile choice. It's still nothing to write home about in the grand scheme of things, but at least you get two shots for the Vanquisher cannon instead of 1.
    • Macharius Vulcan: The Vulcan Mega Bolter retains the ability to spin up to maximum speed if the tank hasn't moved, doubling its rate of fire to 30. On a S6 AP-2 gun, that's some SERIOUS pain. With 15 hits on average, you'll be mowing down entire GEQ squads with an average of 12.5 wounds per shooting phase. This is a nice tank to have up your sleeve when that Ork player floods the board with Boyz.
  • Baneblade Family: The galaxy's premier super-heavy tank has been lucky this edition, with almost-universal reductions in points, retention of fire points, amazing toughness, and the addition of the Steel Behemoth rule. The Steel Behemoth rule is especially powerful on Baneblades; Versus targets in melee it may fire its twin heavy flamers and twin heavy bolters like pistols, targeting foes within 1" - this makes a fully-armed Baneblade variant one of the meanest models in the game in close quarters, dealing out an average of 31 hits, at S5 AP-1 - and that's before it uses its adamantium tracks, which swing at s9 ap-2 for d3 damage up to 9 times. And those flamers hit on overwatch, too. All variants have a twin heavy bolter on the hull, and may take up to 4 sponsons, each with a lascannon and a twin heavy flamer/twin heavy bolter.
    • The choice between twin heavy bolters and twin heavy flamers on your sponsons is a tricky one. The bolters deliver a lower average hit count (3 instead of 7) but are much cheaper and have more than four times the range of the flamers. If you're thinking of getting in close and can spare the points, a giant tank that's more painful to fight in melee than a bloodthirster versus most targets can be a lot of fun (and it's even more dangerous in conjunction with the Crush Them! Stratagem to give it WS 2+ and a boosted charge range), but if you plan on hanging back (and have a Trojan around), save yourself the points.
    • Codex changes, several members of the Baneblade family have seen a reduction in points cost of up to 40 to their hulls, their main weapons have all been buffed to do an extra D6 shots (e.g. if it fired D6 it now fired 2d6, if it fired 2d6 it now fires 3d6) with the exception that the Stormlord is still a flat 20 and Shadowsword went from 1d6 to 3d3. This has resulted in some changes to power cost though; Baneblade -2, Banehammer 0, Banesword +1, Stormlord -1, Stormsword +1, Shadowsword -1, Doomhammer +1.
    • As with all superheavies, carefully assess if your needs would be better met with 2-3 of the smaller versions (in this case Russes). Firepower, board control, damage control, ease of support, and vulnerability to burst damage need to be considered when comparing.
    • Baneblade: First of the turreted variants (though with the removal of facing that's not as relevant anymore), the original Baneblade packs the mighty Baneblade Cannon, a dual-linked heavy bolter, an autocannon, and a hull Demolisher Cannon. Oldies but goldies.
    • Shadowsword: Arguably the most famous aside from the Baneblade itself, the 'Titan-Killer' mounts the incredibly powerful Volcano cannon, still capable of one-shotting Land Raiders even in an edition rife with tough vehicles and monsters with an impressive Strength of 16. Versus Titanic units it gets +1 to hit with everything and the Volcano Cannon re-rolls wounds. Very little can hope to survive a duel with this beast.
      • The Volcano Cannon is 120" Heavy 3d3 S16 AP-5 D2d6, re-rolling wounds against Titanic, so on average it is 120" Heavy 6 S16 AP-5 D7 - the highest damage*rate of fire gun this line can field, so high it even accounts for lacking a Demolisher Cannon when attacking low-model units. On average, one shot from this gun will kill a fellow Baneblade variant with 1.22 wounds to spare, or a Land Raider with 1.5 wounds to spare. However, it won't kill a Knight in one shot, on average dealing 18.15 wounds - enough to cripple all the way, usually, but you'll want the lascannon sponsons to finish the job.
      • Alternatively, give shadowsword-senpai some minions! A Salamander Command Vehicle and a Trojan Support Vehicle can beef up the Volcano Cannon's firepower considerably, taking its average hit count from 3 to 5.33 - which makes for 23.5 wounds after damage rolls and the knight's invulnerable save. This means you can finish the job with the hull bolters, and sponsons with lascannons will make the kill a virtual certainty. You will need to take it in a Supreme Command detachment to assign your Shadowsword to a regiment, which means 3 HQs, but you were going to take those Primaris Psykers and Lord Commissars already, right?
      • Funny little update in the FAQ; if you so desire, you can now nix the Lascannons off of your weapons sponsons and just take the Twin Heavy Bolters to represent the Forge World Shadowsword model. A bit weird, but it is a cost saving measure if you're really trying to fine tune your points.
    • Arkurian Pattern Stormblade: One of the few variants without a twin heavy bolter stock, this one comes with a plain heavy bolter instead, as well as a plasma blastgun. The Plasma Blastgun's 2d6 MEQ-vaporizing blasts will wipe out any infantry near it. Supercharging it boosts its range from 72" to 96" and boosts the shots' strength and damage by 1, but as always you'll want something nearby to ensure that it doesn't risk damaging itself in the process.
      • The Plasma Blastgun is 72" Heavy 2D6 S8 AP-3 D2 or 96" Heavy 2D6 S9 AP-3 D3, 1 mortal wound per 1 rolled to hit, which averages to 72" Heavy 7 S8 AP-3 D2 or 96" Heavy 7 S9 AP-3 D3 and take 1.17 mortal wounds, which would still be underwhelming even if it didn't inflict the mortal wounds, largely because this is a Forge World gun that didn't get up-gunned, so the Codex variants are deeply superior.
    • Stormsword: Formerly one of the cheapest variants (though still a list-buster at 390 points before its weapons), the Stormsword carries the Stormsword Siege Cannon, a massive gun that ignores cover and all but the strongest armor to boot. Lead the charge and smash the foe. Lost a lot of its thriftyness with the Shadowsword, Banehammer, and Banesword now matching it in price.
      • The Stormsword Siege Cannon is 36" Heavy 4H2d6 S10 AP-4 D1d6r1, Ignores Cover, or on average, 36" Heavy 9.34 S10 AP-4 D3.92. Its relatively shabby gun is only comparable to guns carried by cousins with transport capacities and firing decks, so you probably want to shop around the other choices before settling for this one.

Death Korps of Krieg Tactics

  • Deathriders are perhaps the single greatest edge you have over any other IG regiment, Rough Riders simply cannot compare (although they do make excellent tank hunters).

Use Flanking Maneuvers to put up to 50 horses in your opponent's backfield for every Deathrider Command Squad in your army. An all Deathrider army is perfectly feasible and highly competitive, though it works best when supported by a horde of infantry and mortar artillery.

  • Combat Engineers' Carcass Shot and Acid Grenades make splinter rifles look tame by comparison. If your Engineers get locked in melee (and with a 12" threat range it's going to happen) fall back 6", Get Back In the Fight!", and then use the Grenadiers stratagem to lob 10 Acid Grenades at your opponent.
    • Your Engineers will need a transport, either a Centaur if you're running them in MSU or a Chimera for a full squad and a Field Officer.
  • Kriegers are practically fearless thanks to Cult of Sacrifice which makes them immune to morale tests caused by shooting. Put Marshal Karis Venner in range of a regimental standard - he becomes LD10...and so does every infantry/cavalry model within 12" of him. This makes Consolidate Squads not such a terrible idea as morale tests are irrelevant if you're fighting a shooty opponent (Tau, IG, etc).
  • Krieg is perhaps the best IG regiment when it comes to melee (other than Catachans). You are also one of the toughest - ultra-high LD + Cult of Sacrifice, Storm Chimeras, Deathriders, and (relatively) cheap infantry hordes mean Kriegers are surprisingly hard to table even against horde-optimized armies.
  • Krieg excels in games with heavy terrain like few other armies. Deathriders aren't impeded by charging through cover while mortar artillery ignores cover saves completely. And Combat Engineers are even in better in Cities of Death where they can benefit from Fire In the Hole.


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