[chilledenuff]

Hello everyone, this is my first attempt at a guard list, let me know what you think:

HQ:

Command Platoon

Heroic Senior Officer with Power Weapon, Refractor Field, Medallion Crimson, Power Weapon and Bolt Pistol
His command squad has Master Vox caster, Grenade Launcher and 2 Veterans armed with Bolters
153 Points

Antitank Squad with 3 Lascannons
110 Points
Antitank Squad with 3 Missile Launchers
95 Points
Fire Support Squad with 3 Heavy Bolters
80 Points
Fire Support Squad with 3 Heavy Bolters
80 Points
Mortar Support Squad
80 Points
Mortar Support Squad
80 Points


Commissar armed with Power Weapon and Bolt Pistol with a medallion Crimson
61 Points

Troops

Infantry Platoon:
Junior Officer (no upgrades)
His squad has a Grenade Launcher and vox
3 infantry Squads with Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher and Vox
282

Infantry Platoon:
Junior Officer (no upgrades)
His squad has a Grenade Launcher and vox
3 infantry Squads with Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher and Vox
282

Heavy Support:

Heavy Weapons Platoon
Junior Officer (no upgrades)
His squad has a Grenade Launcher and vox
3 x Antitank Teams, Each with 3 Lascannons
383

Heavy Weapons Platoon
Junior Officer (no upgrades)
His squad has a Grenade Launcher and vox
3 x Fire Support Squads, each armed with Heavy Bolters
293

Total:1979

As I say this is a first attempt at a list, I like the idea of all infantry (shocking behavior I know!!) hence the lack of tanks... should be Ld 10 all round hopefully (squeeze those models together to get the most out of the Voxes!)
It contains 9 Missile Launchers, 11 Grenade Launchers, 12 Lascannons and 15 heavy bolters, my thinking here is shear numbers of heavy weapons spread across the board should (ever the optimist!!) stop them all being fried in turn one! Also there are 158 men on foot in total which should at least demoralize my opponent in deployment
I'm tempted to drop the commissar and the 2 mortar squads to give all of the army Light Infantry (158 infiltrating guard!!!! how upsetting could deployment get?)or sharpshooters doctrines (only a temporary thing as Doctorines is going when Guard get rewritten)

[Fingon]

For starters: strip a lot of stuff from you officer, he needs to live(vox) so he wont be seeing much action.
Second: Dont take so much support squads, they will draw much attention ands will be shot very fast, i would suggest to keep it at 2 support squads at the max,
Third: buy some leman russes, if you don't want tanks i would suggest more infantry squads with a few mixed in lascannons.
Fourth: I would suggest a roughrider squadron for mobilty

Your majour issue is that you have to many support squads, those squads are way to Easy to kill. these squads only have 6 guardsmen in em so the enemy player will shoot them quite quickly.

[Fingon]

Originally Posted by Chilledenuff

It contains 9 Missile Launchers, 11 Grenade Launchers, 12 Lascannons and 15 heavy bolters, my thinking here is shear numbers of heavy weapons spread across the board should (ever the optimist!!) stop them all being fried in turn one! Also there are 158 men on foot in total which should at least demoralize my opponent in deployment
I'm tempted to drop the commissar and the 2 mortar squads to give all of the army Light Infantry (158 infiltrating guard!!!! how upsetting could deployment get?)or sharpshooters doctrines (only a temporary thing as Doctorines is going when Guard get rewritten)

They will get fried quite easly because the enemy has not much else dangerous to shoot at.

[chilledenuff]

Hello again, thanks for your thoughts...something that was also mentioned is that my hq has too many support choices (max of 5... i have 6... i'm such a noob!!! :-[)
So the missile launcher support squad will be dropped (freeing up 95 points to spend on other stuff!)

With regards to my officar and comissar...I'm too lazy to convert and i believe in wysiwig armies meaning that i'm kinda stuck with thier weaponry (I know...i'm my own worst enemy!) Beyond that the refractor field and medallion crimsons are there to give some longevity to thier lifespans.... I'll ponder over everyone's musings on this though!

Support squads.... granted in 4th edition they had the lifespan of a paper tissue in a furnace BUT 5th edition gives them some bonuses... you get cover from the rest of your army and/or the scenery you hide 'em in and the idea of so many support squads is that they can't all die in turn 1 (as i said in my first post, i'm an optimist!) As i don't want to splash out on buying some tanks (until the new codex arrives at any rate!) they bolster the firepower of the squads.. 6 squads of basic grunts with missile launchers (not including command squads!) means that each squad can help with popping stuff... now that 95 points have been freed up by losing one support squad may mean that i can upgrade some to lascannons though.. again i'll ponder

Rough Riders were always tempting with this list for 2 reasons:
1. They are a good 'clear your lines unit'
2. I'm using steel legion models and the new forgeworld chem dogs cavalry look awesome and would fit in quite nicely
Now, I didn't originally include them for 2 reasons... points cost and if i went down the light infantry route they'd be the only squad deployed at the start!

Now i've explained the way my mind works (or doesn't! You decide ) i'm going to take on board all of the points made so far and revise my list... i'll post an updated version soon!

NB: If anyone wants to say anything else about the list please do! As I said I'm a newbie to guard lists and i am willing to learn... Just remember i'd rather not tank at the moment!
Thanks again

[Zen]

Important; you need more Guardsmen. At 2000-points, you should have a full platoon that consists of a command squad and 5 10-men Infantry squads. And get at least 2 Leman Russes. The rumors only say (up to now) that the new varient is the Leman Russ Exterminator (Autocannon turrets). The Leman Russ Battle Tank is overall the best tank with a reasonable range as well as Strength and AP.

And don't depend on Support Squads too much. Use the points to get 2 full infantry platoons reasonably equipped first then onto tanks and/or elite units. Don't put Lascannons in Support Squads; too vulnerable and expensive. Only up to Missile Launchers and Autocannons. Put the Lascannons with the Infantry Squad or if you have; Hardened Veterans.

Rough Riders; one of the best counterattack and line-breaker units. From your list, it's pretty much a standard Static Gunline. So, use your Rough Riders as counterattack units.

Drop the Heavy Weapons Platoon. Too vulnerable. So, use those point for tanks or another Infantry Platoon.

OK, that's enough from me so I'll come back when I thought of something else :P Hope this helps

[Hoarday]

Time for the alternate opinion. :P As has been said, your HQ is suffering from Shiny Stuff Syndrom. Give him a powersword maybe and lose the squad veterans. I'd either leave his squad barebones or give them 3 grenade launchers to keep enemies at a distance. As for support squads, I think it's not that bad. I'd keep the mortars and lascannons (Lascannons, unlike the other weapon options are actually the same prices as they are in infantry squads.).

If you've got a lot of support squads, and they start on the board with your whole army, then they're not a bad choice because it's going to be harder to single them out. The heavy bolters though, I'd get rid of in favour of more infantry squads and some more weapons in your platoon commands.

Speaking of platoon commands, here are some builds you might wish to consider (but toss the vox in them, ya don't need it):

Heavy bolter and 2 grenade launchers - Puts down alot of dakka that will seriously damage 4+ saves with krak grenades, or 5+, 6+ and no save units if you use frags instead.

Grenade, melta or plasma spam - take 4 of each of those weapons and you've got a dedicated support unit. Grenades are nice for mobile light tank work and harassing infantry. Meltas, if kept hidden for most of the game are a nice counter assault unit against MEQs, and if you're feeling adventurous, are devastatingly threatening against tanks if you can get them in place. Plasmas are a nice multi-tasker, capable of long range threat if stationary, or a ridiculous amount of high powered output at close range. They're kind of self-destructive though. Melta and plasma spam units are a bit of a fire magnet though.

Melta/flamer x2 with 2CC vets and Powersword officer - Another counter assault unit. The special weapon is dependant on your likely enemy, but you toss this unit into the fray against a dedicated CC squad thats about to hit your lines as a speedbump to hold them up. They're also not bad for picking off the stragglers of a unit that's been crippled already.