Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Imperial Guard (section)

==Why Play Imperial Guard==
When recruits are inducted into the Imperial Guard, they are given four things: their regulation flashlight (commonly referred to by the troops as "lasguns" for some reason,) their regulation cardboard box (which certain regiments have taken to cutting up and wearing into battle, calling it "flak armor,") a large stack of toilet paper (which the recruiters refer to as the "Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer,") and a regulation extra large wheelbarrow that allows them to cart their ''massive brazen balls'' into battle.

From a gameplay perspective, the Imperial Guard is a flexible force known for having either hordes of cheap infantry to blast the heretic swine, waves of tanks to flatten the bastards, or both. The army is easy to learn while having a lot of options and tactics being discovered frequently, (Conscript spam is not the most viable option in the Guard army, after all). That's why you play the Imperial Guard. 

===Pros===
*Versatile and strong vehicles.
*Hordes of infantry that can be buffed with force multipliers such as Commissars, Astropaths, Priests and Commanders.
*Dirt cheap troops means you can laugh off the loss of cheap guardsmen or even 30 man conscript squads whereas an elite army cannot.
*Laughably easy to amass command points in a brigade detachment or multiple battalions due to dirt cheap units.
*Most Special and Heavy weapons are discounted for you in comparison to other Imperial armies, which is great considering how many you can cram into a list. 
*Scions, with the help of numerous powerful long range IG options, will easily fill up brigade detachments and will out gun any army at any range. You will rarely see an army with more special weapons than Scions.
*Most HQ choices are very affordable which helps mitigate the "HQ tax" of multiple detachments.
*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 have way more opportunities to make your army look distinctive than most other armies. Space Marines might get to make themselves feel special by slapping different colors of paint on their armor or putting different emblems on their pauldrons, but you've got entirely different model options for your guardsmen. This is pointed out in the Codex, with Guard/Admech/Genestealer Cult kitbashes now being canon (as well as Chris Peach’s Empire chaps from White Dwarf). 
*You're the best ally army in the Imperium, bar none. It doesn't matter if you're bringing Space Marines, Sisters, AdMech, or [[Brood Brothers|Genestealers]]: you open more doors for more armies than any other army in the game, whether you need long-ranged fire support, cheap bodies, or badass flyers.
*Your primary strength is your versatility, so you're not reliant on a single gimmick.
*Guard is one of the strongest armies in the game thanks to high point efficiency, versatile units, and high special/heavy weapon density. Between Scions, Leman Russes being able to secure objectives, and lots of cheap bodies, you'll do quite well when board control is the name of the game (like CA2019 missions).
*The Imperial Guard is the true hero of Warhammer 40,000.

===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.
*None of your ground vehicles, (with the exception of super heavies,) can fall back and shoot. This makes tank heavy armies extremely vulnerable to assault. 
*Comparatively weak in assault. S3 (S4 for Catachans) with 1 attack each is not doing you any favors. Avoid close combat like the plague, unless you can mob a single enemy squad with models, buff your dudes to the point of competence, or you're using dedicated melee units like Ogryns/Bullgryns. 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 (the single best rule in ALL of the 40K universe!), and {{W40Kkeyword|Catachan}} shenanigans. However, individual 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 faced 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 Sentinels 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 [[Grimdark|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, ''particularly'' if you buy from Games Workshop, instead of a cheaper source; four maxed out conscript blobs will run you $160, not to mention the difficulty of painting and hauling around 120 3 point bodies, and that's far from the most expensive option.  You ''will'' want to find a cheaper, alternative source of models, unless you're interested in supporting your FLGS - store owners ''love'' new Guard players.
*You're not GW's [[Space Marines|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. 
*There are many Guard units (mostly Forgeworld) that are out of production. If you want to take those you'll either have to buy used or kitbash. If you're into conversions this won't be a big problem.
*Your units are either a steal (most of your troops, most of your tanks) or completely overpriced compared to what other armies get (almost all named characters, Baneblades).
*If you're playing ITC, good luck. Guard are built to take and hold objectives regardless of heavy casualties, but ITC primary and secondary objectives will really screw you over in particular due to the squishiness of your army.
* As of mid 2020, if you're not Space Marines, then you're already well behind the competitive power curve. Sure, Guard have it easier than other armies like Tyranids, but our Psychic Awakening entry feels lackluster unless you invested in Scions. Here's to hoping 9th edition is more balanced as a whole.