Rambo

Sorry, not gonna call the guy by his official name.

It's Rambo.

He's pretty funny really, but is he effective?

Well, for 65 points--I won't complain about anything but his useless pistol.

Deploy him in cover, pretty much always. That's his whole point, to drive people from cover so you can kill them. See that whole Stealth, Fleet, Move Through Cover section? Yeah, he's built for cover busting, so use him that way.

The turn he arrives, he throws his demo charge at something and hopefully kills it. Note due to his small size he can get rear armor shots on tanks, but his best use is dropping that charge on infantry in the open.

When you are done zapping someone, and if you don't in turn get zapped; he's a decent assault unit. He'll never take on anyone capable in a fair fight, as his defenses are crap and he's easily killed. However, with 6 poisoned attacks that wound on a 2+, he's a son of a bitch for killing weakened units (or just weak units). Remember if they are T3 or less, you get to re-roll those poisoned wounds. As he hits most infantry on 3+, he's a bad mama jama. Now the best part is, if you can actually assault a C'Tan or a Wraithlord...he can take them down. It's not super likely, but it does happen and it is funny. ;)

Add in on Astropath and Rambo will be coming out of his cave right about...NOW!

Having Hit & Run makes him even more dangerous, as you can lockup a squad with another unit and have Rambo fuck them up on the side. With limited attacks, it won't be easy to drop him in CC. If you have 65 points to spare and an elite slot free, you really should consider Rambo.

He's fun. He can also be horribly effective (or ineffective). It's all about playing him correctly.

Al'Rahem

The Desert Dog.

Is he a good dog?

Well, let's see what kind of abilities he has.

Stalk the Enemy:

Everyone has to outflank. Combined with Astropaths, this can be a decent ability.

Orders:

He can issue Bring it Down, and Like the Wind.

Like the Wind is crafty, allowing you to move D6" and then assault. Yeah it lets you shoot, but who cares really? It's for assaulting.

So, you can make a decent CC unit out of Guard--we all know that already. What about being able to outflank said unit and assault with it the turn you come in?

It's not a bad thing, but...much like Genestealers coming in from the sides, who is really scared of it?

I think Al'Rahem will appeal to players who like his fluff and believe outflanking doesn't suck.

Now since everyone is going to miss this, please note you do NOT gain scouts. You just gain outflank. It will only come into play in a few crazy builds, most notably DH with Allied Guard (using GK Land Raiders). The GK LR won't be able to outflank as you don't have scouts.

All in all, while he's interesting...he's not somebody I'd run.

Chenkov

Hey the Russkies get a special character too.

What good is he?

Well, he does 2 things:

1) He gives everyone within 12" Stubborn.

2) He gives Conscripts the human wave ability, able to come on endlessly.

Note it might be illegal to remove said unit if there are any IC's attached. The special rules section, p48. I think it's ok personally, as the IC won't get removed.

Anyway, while I'm sure people will get a big kick out of recycling 50 guardsmen...with their ability to swamp the enemy on their side of the board...

I just don't think it's worth it. The unit is easily taken apart and will only really 'save' you late in the game.

So while I think you can get mileage out of this guy, in the end...I think the price is too high.

Mogul Kamir

Crazy horse...Mogul Kamir.

So, he's a Rough Rider upgrade character.

He gives Fearless, Rage, and Furious Charge to his Riders.

Big woop.

Rage is great, until you rage into the open and eat heavy bolters to the face.

Fearless is great, until your power weapons are gone and you get poofed in a single fucking turn by a tactical squad.

Furious Charge isn't bad, it does give you S6 and I6. See, I know a lot of players are 'confused' over how the Lances + Furious Charge works. The lances give you S5 and I5. Furious Charge adds to that. There's no reason for it not to, people.
All the arguments I've seen have nothing to do with GW's rules system. It's just not that fucking complicated. lol

Anyway, he's not horrible. Sadly, Rough Riders are.

If you just have to have a counterattack unit and you've chosen Rough Riders as your fail unit...fine, just don't expect them to counterattack much when raging around.

If you really just gotta have this work, then don't forget to box in the Rough Riders between some vehicles so they can't really rage anywhere.

I'll be leaving this guy at home, myself.

Harker

Gunnery Sargent Harker.

He's a heavy bolter that can move and fire.

Big woop. His real reason for existing is to stick his ass with some Veterans in the back and hold your objective while putting some heavy bolter fire into the enemy (never a bad thing).

See, all that matters is he has infiltrate (so he goes down last) and has Stealth for a 3+ or 2+ cover save.

Handy for foot armies that want a solid troop to sit on an objective and (hopefully) not die. Having 2 meltaguns available for point blank defense is of course a nice touch, on top of the two heavy bolters you should be giving his squad.

I'd only take him in this instance, he's not worth it in other army types.

Creed + Kell

Hey I sucked last edition, but looked boss...can I play?

Yes you can!

Except you Kell, you still suck. You look pretty, so you can be a 'dude' in my command squad.

Creed is what foot armies will run, and I can see him being in many a semi-mech force. He's bleh in a full mech force, as you don't need lots of orders (and can't order vehicles, damn those rebellious tank crews why didn't we give them fucking radios?!).

He has...well, he has the order you want.

See that foot army?

Scout something fun forward.

Move them, then give them Incoming.

His turn, if he shoots you...you take your 2+ cover and giggle.

Your turn, you Get back in the Fight, then For the Honor of Cadia them into action.

Oh and he still can issue 2 other orders, so he can...do it twice.

Talk about bullshit. ;)

If you want to run a shitty foot guard army, make sure you don't bring Creed!

He'll unsuck your army faster than a 2 dollar ho.

Oh and Kell sucks because he costs too much, and my autocannon teams don't need +3 LD that fucking bad.

Sergeant Bastonne

My Veterans don't suck.

He can issue Orders to Veterans. What's not to like?

I think I'd rather have more men than him, but I can see the attraction others have to him.

When you really really really need a unit taken care of, Bastonne's Veterans are the final ones to call upon for the task.

Note it's still a single fire unit, easily destroyed by your monkey's uncle in CC or via shooting.

Just something to keep in mind.

Straken

Hey I'm a relic blade space marine in a retinue, you want me?

I do all sorts of neat things...

I crush your vehicles with my MC status.

I can issue orders like any other command squad.

I am fearless as is my command squad.

Everyone within 12" has Counter-attack and Furious Charge.

Welcome aboard!

Straken is very much a master of bs. No, not bachelor of science! He's a master of bullshit.

Shiny, new to the Codex...where ya been? ;)

To add insult to injury, when you tool his squad up a bit with carapace armor and medi-packs...man, it's annoying when Guard win combat. lol

Against specialist CC troops, he'll last one round as his retinue and bodyguards get dragged down...then get smoked.

Sorry, he's good but not THAT good.

If you want a CC HQ, obviously Straken is it.

Techpriest Enginseers

Blessings of the Machine blah blah. Roll a dice, add 1 for each servo arm servitor, 5+ you fix a weapon destroyed or immobilization result.

Mindlock. Same as in the marine dex, the servitors are stupid without a tech guy around.

Now look at the statline.

Do you really need a S8 power fist attack?

A guy in power armor?

I call those grey knights.

For 45 points, I guess you can be 'haha funny' and stick them near a LR squadron for repair work or inside a Valkyrie squadron (go ahead, try air-to-air repairs smartasses).

I just don't see the point of this guy. Why spend points on being defensive (if they get ya) instead of more killy (so you get them before they get you)?

Might even fail.

Even for some extra plasma cannon or heavy bolter action, I just don't think it's worth bringing unless you are going all foot and you think these are better than heavy weapon teams...does give you plasma cannons. On a very fragile unit for a very expensive cost.

Ministorum Priests

Another GW failure.

A great in-game addition, and no freaking model to buy.

If there was a 20$ metal priest (or two) people would be snapping that model up left and right.

Grey Knights will be taking this guy every day.

Re-rolls to hit and an eviscerator? Why yes please, can you give me the re-rolls and take care of my problem with Dreads at the same time?

Hey thanks buddy!

Here, have a Shrouding. Feel better?

There's a Valkyrie. Let's scout and assault turn 1, how's that sound?

Straken, you coming? ;)

If you are gonna bring a CC unit, give them a Priest!

Primaris Psyker

The guy who trained really hard found some shitty powers, while the scrubs in a group found the good ones.

Really? Well, think about it...I guess you could use him as a very expensive and easily killed force weapon guy. He does have 5 WS4 S3 I3 attacks when he charges! Talk about Gumbi.

His powers are kinda meh, like someone had 2 good ideas and 2 shitty ideas...and this guy got the shitty ideas during playtesting. ;)


Lightning Arc: A magic missile. It's S6, 2D6 shots. Not really scary. At least he's BS4, I guess, so he's more accurate and might drag some people down with decent rolls.

Nightshroud: Have to pass a LD test to shoot the psyker or his squad. Well, woopdeedoo. How is this a good thing again? That means most of the time, people can shoot you. This power is no Changeling, that's for sure.

My final view on this guy is...he's meh. For 20 more points you get a company command squad with 4 meltaguns. I don't know about you, but having a psyker with limited potential for 70 points when a GK Hero is 61 points...I just don't see it.

Nork Deddog

Finishing up the Regimental Advisors and Commissar affected areas of the IG Codex, we have Nork.

Loyal to the End: So if you missed the whole point of NOT attaching your Commissars to your Company Command Squads, Nork will teach you the stupidity of your ways.

Oh and he counts as a bodyguard. Yay for him.

Heroic Sacrifice: Kill Nork, take D6 S6 wacks for your trouble.

Nork is also Stubborn, has FNP, decent stats, and Furious Charge (for when you want to suicide your Company Command Squad, I guess).

The most important thing about Nork is, he is NOT an independent character. So if you take Nork, your command squad will never run away from anything on a 8 or less. That's not too shabby really.

All that said, he is overcosted. 110 points for an Ogryn without a power weapon? Well, thanks but...no thanks. I love his fluff, how he beat a Warboss up and his Meganobz bodyguard ran away (instead of pulping the command squad). In game 64,218 when you actually duplicate this feat, write in!

All the CC guys for Guard seem to have a hefty price penalty for their so-so'ness. Overall, Nork isn't a bad choice but I'd rather have a Veteran squad for the points.

Call me crazy.

Yarrick

Inspirational Hero: So he's a priest and a commissar all rolled into one.

Iron Will: On a 3+, I'm never dead!

Bale Eye: Gee he can fry a Marine before he charges into CC. Maybe.

Force Field: Re-rolls to wound. Sounds like some Fantasy armors much maligned across the universe, eh?

He also has Eternal Warrior, Aura of Discipline, and just like a Lord Commissar...he can take a Chimera as his own personal ride.

His defenses are on paper just as inadequate as those of his peers, except for that Force Field. Man that makes him very annoying for the S3-S5 crowd.

His offense isn't bad, he should drop slightly less than 2 marines a turn (and tacticals don't like him one bit).

In the end though, his cost is excessive. 185 points for this guy? Is he really worth more than 10 guys and a Chimera + more guys?? lol I certainly don't think so.

Just something to remember--if you just have to bring him along, send him into CC alone. Never send him into CC with regular Guardsmen. They'll make him lose, and he won't be coming back from sweeping advances.

Commissars

Well, we've all been here before.

Another human rated character that's supposed to be a CC monster.

Well, I like to call them Inquisitors. When was the last time you had your ass kicked by one?

Right, you didn't. And they are ostensibly 'better'. Hidden in a unit, more options, etc.

Still suck.

Carapace armor means they will get dropped by everybody (and their mom).

Summary execution. Stupid rule. Yes please let me buy a guy that kills my unit leader off whenever my low LD ass fails a fucking test. First time I see one of these guys assigned to a command squad, I am gonna have a serious laughing and pointing fit.

Aura of Discipline. Finally, a semi-useful skill. Stick the Lord with one squad (not a HW squad, geniuses--reread the Summary Execution rule, thanks!) and give HW squads LD10 for passing command squad orders.

Is that worth 70 points? Well, I guess it could be if you are also running Creed; since taking one commissar means you only get one company command platoon.

If however you really have a burr in your bonnet for running Foot Guard (yeah that means you Chris) then you bring a commissar and stick him in a X pattern with HW teams at the 4 points of the X.

Protip: Don't forget to add say a 20 or 30 man infantry squad for the Commissar to hide in, deployed in a T formation across the X. So the HW squads get cover saves, yes? Just don't forget to give your 'gunner' a clear line of fire out. It's time consuming but works when done right.

Anyway, I can't see a Lord Commissar not getting his balls ripped off in CC, so he's a support unit.

In my view, modifying 4 HW units LD to 10 is pretty much his only role.

So if you are running Mech Guard, leave him at home.

Knight Commander Pask

Before I begin going over Pask...I've had quite a few players ask why to bring an Executioner Russ. Plasma is dead, so I hear.

In 2000 points, you can't really afford to bring 2 of the beasts (as they are very pricey).

You can bring one. Is it better than bringing along say a full Hydra battery? To be honest, it's just a different choice.

Now to understand this, we need to look at Knight Commander Pask.

Tank Ace: Makes his Russ BS4. Remember he can ONLY be mounted in a Russ.

Crack Shot: When standing still, add +1 to any armor pen rolls (or re-roll to wound against MC).

Is it, however, that expensive to bring along Pask? He does make even the cheapest Russ cost 200 points. Do you really need a dedicated tank killing tank, or a dedicated infantry killing tank?

As ever, you want a vehicle that does well in both roles.

Bring along any of the single shot Russes (Eradicator, Vanquisher, Demolisher, Battle) and if you scatter badly...you've just paid for a very expensive miss.

So, not only do you need Duality--you need Redundancy.

What vehicle offers both? Yep, the Executioner. With 5 templates, and BS4...you will hit your target unit (and your scatters are dangerous).

It also offers decent range, good enough for most games of 5th edition.

You also bypass every armor save, which is what makes the Executioner so nasty. Marines are the new cover save, but with a 36" 'WHY HELLO!' unit around, they'll think twice before they get out of their Rhino. Being obliterated isn't what they want to gain with being able to move around freely. ;)

Speaking of Rhinos, while the Guard have a bunch of ways to take down armor...having 5 S8 templates isn't one of them. Oh yeah, unless you add Pask to the equation. All of a sudden, even Rhinos aren't exactly thrilled when you start firing at them. It's not great, but it is dangerous. Sure you can run Pask in other Russes, but those only give ONE shot. I'll take FIVE shots instead, thank you. :) Don't forget when firing at vehicles, to put the hole on the vehicle (anywhere you want within range) and put the template onto infantry nearby. If you hit, you get the shot at the vehicle and you get to hurt the infantry too. Lots of people forget this, so I'm reminding you. lol

Versus most MC, S7 Plasma wounds on a 3+. With re-rolls to wound, you should be able to put wounds onto every MC. Now let's examine the wording for the rule. "When firing...any hits that failed to wound may be re-rolled." Think about it. Go read it before you EMO on me. If I fire at your Fex, but I scatter onto your Stealers and roll a bunch of 1's...yep, I get to re-roll them.

So, that's how I'd run Pask.

Don't forget to give him another tank in his squadron, to absorb hits on. Personally I'd run an Eradicator with triple Heavy Flamers.

Reason why: Pask dumps wounds into the enemy, but the Eradicator removes cover saves. It's a nasty 1-2 punch people won't like.

Bodyguards

Oh yes, let's not forget Bodyguards.

These are good for pumping your squad size up, but in my view...you should ONLY take these in conjunction with a medic in the squad.

Also, only take these if you are running a foot guard army (or semi-mech). The command squad can take quite a pounding from long range fire this way.

The important rule here: You can allocate two wounds from your company commander to bodyguards.

This lets you make the command squad a stand there and get shot squad (people will stop firing heavy bolters at you after a while), alternatively you can make it a semi-CC squad. It's not the awesome pure win, but against things like Tactical Squads...it can tie them up for quite a while.

Anyway, the bodyguard rule is useful for making you able to redirect say two autocannon shots into one bodyguard. It'll probably kill him, but that's ok. That's what he's there for. If you have a big command squad, while not immune to small arms fire...it's a pain in the ass to get rid of with lots of advisors, bodyguards, and 'extras'. Things like GKT heroes with FNP is just shit. lol

Oh, and while it's on my mind--a GKT hero does not confer the Shrouding to said Command squad. You aren't shooting a GK unit, you are shooting a IG unit. Thanks for playing!

BTW remember how this unit works:

I get hit with 2 powerfist attacks on my command squad.

I assign 1 to a bodyguard.

I assign 1 to my company commander.

I re-assign the wound on my company commander to my bodyguard.

Bodyguard dies. I suffered ONE wound because of wound allocation and no overkill credit in 40K.C

Officer of the Fleet

Intercept Reserves: Your enemy must take a -1 to your reserve rolls, and I can make you re-roll where your reserves enter.

Much like the Astropath, taking a second Officer doesn't do a whole lot for you. In fact, it can blow up in your face if you take a second one. Really think about it. See, unlike the Astropath where you can turn it on or off...you can't turn off the Officer of the Fleet. He WILL force the other guy to take a negative to his roll until he's dead.

Normally, reserves work like this:

Turn 2, 4+.
Turn 3, 3+.
Turn 4, 2+.
Turn 5, auto enter.

Look at it when it's -2.

Turn 2, 6+.
Turn 3, 5+.
Turn 4, 4+.
Turn 5, auto enter.

People aren't going to be entering piecemeal. With an Astropath up, odds are your entire army will be on the board. If you use two officers, not only is the Astropaths worth greatly diminished...you are opening yourself up to two things:

1) Bad sportsmanship score. Nobody likes playing 1 turn of 40K. Much like the 'Ninja' Tau concept, while totally legal...deciding as your choice of strategem that you won't play for possibly the entire game, will net you max bad scores and plenty of bad feeling. Do it to your friends, and you won't have friends willing to play you.

2) More importantly, given how unlikely it is for armies to arrive before turn 4 (and even then, what little shows up will probably hide from your army)...you open yourself up to an Alpha Strike. What if he's playing a fast mech army? Comes in, and blows half your shit up. Or you went first, and half of his army is automatically coming in on turn 5? What if he's fast, and able to contest every objective? Or able to blow you off one objective, and contest the rest? Losing because you didn't want to play the game, will teach you the lesson that the designer of this Codex apparently didn't--that good armies led by good players will STILL crush you, especially if you are running a shooting army and decide not to shoot for 3 turns.

Anyway, the secondary effect isn't improved when taking a second Officer. Skipping a 2nd Officer is wise in my view. Really only works in custom Dawn of War-style scenarios anyway--the ones where you start in reserve but do not auto-enter on turn 1. Ones you'll find at GT's.

Having one Officer will force the other guy to consider keeping things in reserves, which is a good thing. Sadly, against most armies with reserves (Drop Pods, Demons) you'll not have ANY effect (first wave) and just enough 'slow' on the other waves to let you beat their first wave handily--which you should have been doing anyway, you are running Guard and those armies should make you giggle (you are mech, right?).

Combine one Officer with one Astropath, and you'll end up with a reserve table like this:

You:

Turn 2, 3+.
Turn 3, 2+.
Turn 4, auto enter.

Even better than I originally thought, you will always have all your army on Turn 4 with this.

Note with 2 Astropaths you will always have your entire army by turn 3, you no longer autofail reserve rolls on a 1. (Nice catch, Anonymous. Post your name next time and you'll get credit where credit is due.)

Him:

Turn 2, 5+.
Turn 3, 4+.
Turn 4, 3+.
Turn 5, auto enter.

Good enough to make it highly improbable he gets his reserves in before you do.

Master of Ordnance

Continuing the Regimental Advisor theme...the Master of Ordnance.

When you don't want your command squad to be just a super veteran squad (4 BS4 meltaguns) but you want the squad to actually DO something--bring along a Master of Ordnance.

It's a highly inaccurate attack, that's for sure. When you put it into a template spamming army (like the one I put forth a while ago) it makes your opponent play differently. Nobody wants 10 big templates being dropped on their head, after all.

Even if you are likely to miss (and you are with this attack) if templates are your cup of tea, combined with some judicious Chimera / Valkyrie / Russ secondary fire (multilasers, heavy bolters) you can drop lots of them. Who cares if you miss if you are firing 10 templates a turn?

A 'miss' can still hit things, especially if the opponent is spread out (laugh at him if he isn't). Combined with Russes (Ordnance pen rules) and S9 (Master, Psyker Battle Squads) you can take out vehicles in large numbers. What's the draw of the Master of Ordnance?

Unlike the Psyker Battle Squads or Valkyries or Russes, the Master drops an Ordnance barrage. So if you get a hit, you can take out enemies hiding in the back behind cover.

Nothing is perfect, and the Master misses far more than he hits. What's wrong with giving your command Chimera a barrage Russ shot? Since when is that bad?

Just remember, Mortars don't help--the Master's attack is not a weapon, and so does not gain the spotting round bonus from the main rulebook.

The Astropath

Telepathic Relay: Add +1 to any reserve rolls (or none). When outflanking, re-roll the dice to see where you come in.

Pretty good stuff. In most Guard armies, I'd recommend one Astropath.

I don't think you really need +2 to reserve rolls for a standard Guard army, although it does help in Dawn of War and in certain army builds.

The second effect, outflanking re-rolls...is nice but adding a second Astropath doesn't add anything to it. Much like the Eldar conundrum of Farseer or Autarch, where an Autarch has dubious other abilities...same thing here.

Just one gives you a big advantage. Two only gives you a big advantage some of the time.

So bring one along. He's useful enough to warrant 30 points, but not so useful to warrant 60 points (as much of the time, he doesn't do anything).

When coupled with the Officer of the Fleet, hopefully you'll see why +1 to reserves is good enough in Dawn of War. More on that guy in a post later today. :)