Editing Warhammer 40,000/6th Edition Tactics/Imperial Guard (section)

===Fast Attack=== 
*'''[[Sentinel|Scout Sentinel Squadron:]]''' With such weak armor, most likely they are going to die on the second turn. Fun choice of weapons. Key part here is that they have Scout - so three Sentinels outflanking from the side or scouting into cover blasting away, causing havoc in the enemy ranks, is a good idea. But still - they are going to die. They are open topped. They are going to die. They have 10 armor. They are going to die. But they may as well take a tank or two down with them. If you want to be insane, having Heavy Flamers all around can result in hilarious infantry murder. Otherwise, most of the time you'll take them as a 40 point autocannon on legs since they are cheap and effective against most things.

*'''[[Sentinel|Armored Sentinel Squadron:]]''' Armored Heavy Weapons Team, practically. Can move around and fire, unlike Heavy Weapon Teams, but you only get one for the price of the whole squad. Can do decent in close combat, stomping on or bogging down the enemy. Now this works only with fearless units without krak grenades or other S6+ weapons (like, say Thousand Sons, gaunts, or Ork boys without klawnob). Even better choice of awesome weapons when compared to Scout Sentinels, such as plasma cannons - though, you can overheat and lose one of the two Hull Points you have, making you even more dangerously paper-thin. Use Lascannon against vehicle, Rocket Launcher or Autocannon if you can't decide what you want to do with them. Never hurts to take Hunter-Killers in case you end up fighting vehicles. Take in threes so they can be generally more efficient in anything you want them to do. 6th ed preview pictures show little change, besides a significant price drop to the unit and weapon upgrades. Officially made amazing (150 points for three Armoured Sentinels with Plasma Cannons.)
** Forge World allow both scout and armored Sentinels to take Multiple Rocket Pods. Big frak blasts does horrible things to infantry blobs, but with 24" range it's too risky even on armored.

*'''[[Sentinel|Drop Sentinel Squadron:]]''' Scout Sentinels lack of survivability with Armored Sentinel point cost. Why? Because they can deepstrike! Or for even more hate, ride on Sky Talon Valkyrie. Skip all weapon choices and take Multimelta - Scout Sentinels and Tauroses are better at killing things with fire.

*'''[[Tauros]] (Forge World):''' Dirt cheap buggies with twin heavy flamers and Scout USR. If you want to scout flamer sentinels to ruin someone’s day, this guys would do it much better, for they are faster and deadlier for only +5 pts each. Though, don’t expect them to survive any longer: with AV10 all-round, open-topped and only two Hull Points, they are dead men riding. The Tauros can be upgraded to a Tauros Venator, adding two extra wheels, +1 front armor and a twin-linked [[Multilaser]] or [[Lascannon]]. You are likely to be able to trick enemies into running after you, while you are blasting a Lascannon at them. Then you die because even AV11 is still laughable.
** '''Alternate Take:''' The Tauros Venator is a damned fine fire-support unit. Being fast, and coming with 2 Hunter-Killer missiles as part of the bargain, it can act as a fire-support annoyance for targetting vulnerable rear armor or for sniping a pesky independent character. Lascannons and high mobility make for a fine combination too - if you exploit the max range of the Lascannons, something is going to get cooked in short order. Keep it away from enemy fire and use its mobility and range, and you'll find it hilariously good at taking out specific targets.

*'''Rough Rider Squad:''' Poor misbegotten Rough Riders. Yes they're cavalry, yes they're dirt cheap, yes they might end up with a 24' charge range, if they get extremely lucky... but they are ultimately a one-trick pony that is difficult to hide in cover, is fragile in close combat (statline-wise, basically being Guardsmen... and that's it), near-useless against actual dedicated assault troops (go ahead and charge Genestealers with them), and should they be tarpitted, tard out in moments and die painfully. Perhaps the only way to reliably use them is with Creed, Glory for Cadia and all - and even now, they don't get extra initiative from Furious Charge, rendering them last to hit in combat. And for that investment, couldn't one buy another Hellhound? Alternatively, you can use them as a one-time anti-vehicle suicide squad, since Sergeant can carry Melta Bombs. Still, you can probably find a much better Fast Attack slot choice. 6th edition makes their Hunting Lances power weapons, but having a chance to kill half a squad of marines '''ONCE''' is not worth it. 
**The new codex has not been good to the Rough Riders; Imagine going from being stabbed to death, to being shot. For some retarded reason, RRs have become more expensive and have lost the only thing that made them good with the last codex, MOGUL KAMIR! Avoid like the plague. 
** '''Alternate Take:''' Rough Rider Lances actually now give a +2 boost to the initiative of the Rough Riders,this means that RRs are actually BEFORE MARINES in combat, on top of that they get Hammer of Wrath and a nice +2 Strength buff on that first charge. An Example: a unit of 10 RR gets 11 attacks base, 22 on the charge at S5 AP3, + 10 Hammer of Wrath before hand. for 110 Points that's nothing to be sniffed at, while they are not the most competitive choice they are still not as bad as they are made out to be.

*'''[[Hellhound Tank|Hellhound]] Squadron:''' The Hellhound tank variants give you access to Fast Tanks. This has a lot of advantages, as you use them for movement-blocking, tank-shocking, or simply blasting enemies to oblivion. A low profile makes finding cover for it relatively easy, though cover-hugging isn't exactly the best use of this tank. There are three variants, each with a unique turret weapon, and the choice of hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, Heavy Flamer, or Multi-melta.
**The standard '''[[Hellhound Tank|Hellhound]]''' is a very handy infantry-killer. If they're not Marine-equivalents (and even they will be hurting once the wounds pile up and they start failing saves), and not in a transport, they will die. What's that? You opponent has Rangers/Heavy Weapons Teams/snipers holed up in a building somewhere giving your commanders and high-value units a hard time? The Inferno Cannon laughs at cover. The range of the IC means that you can expect them to hit enemy infantry starting on turn 1 (move 12", fire 12", cover another 8" with flame template). Run in support of longer-ranged anti-tank weapons for popping enemy transports, Hellhounds can also serve to finish off units from disembarked vehicles. In 6th edition fast vehicles can now fire 2 weapons at full BS at cruising speed, so enjoy the possibilities of hull weaponry combinations. Using Creed to outflank a squadron of these is hilarious against horde armies. Do it - that's an order.
**The '''[[Hellhound Tank|Banewolf]]''' sacrifices the extra range of the Hellhound's template for its own poisoned AP3 flamer template. Banewolves will kill any infantry short of Terminators or similarly well-armored units. Their armor and speed give them unparalleled ability to be used for flushing enemy infantry from cover. This said and done, this may be the one variant you can afford to specialize; having a hull mounted flamer gives you the chance to throw two really mean flame-templates. This tank is the epitome of offence over defense - on one hand it can destroy an entire SM tactical squad in one turn. If there is an independent character in the squad, force them to take all the hits for the squad by attacking from their side, melting them alongside anyone else who "Look Out Sir" into their own gooey death. On the other hand - it can easily be put down by a Lascannon head-on. They are well known for making Tyranid and Chaos daemon players cry as you gib their monstrous creatures with as much ease as their cannon fodder. But then again, what doesn't make Tyranids and Daemons cry in 6th edition?
**The '''[[Hellhound Tank|Devil Dog]]''' is the last one out, eschewing a short-range flamer, for a Melta Cannon, a blast weapon with the Melta rule. These tanks are great for sending into the center of an enemy armored formation and intimidating your opponent into breaking up, lest he find himself losing multiple tanks! Alternatively, assuming one has reliable long-ranged anti-tank, the Devil Dog can be used for finishing off survivors of destroyed enemy transports. Add a hull-mounted Heavy Flamer, and the Devil Dog can flush troops out of cover (though not as efficiently as the Banewolf). While not a flashy vehicle, it gets the job done. Probably the best variant for most games that includes vehicles on both sides.

*'''Centaur Carrier Squadron (Forge World):''' Fast small transports, they can fit only 5 men inside each, and are designed to quickly move immobile artillery and it's crew through the field. Sadly,you don't need to move your artillery carriage that often and keeping a squadron of towing machines totally compromise a whole point of ''cheap'' ordnance.

*'''Salamander Recon Squadron (Forge World):''' Fast scouting tanks, they comes with AV12/10/10, Autocannon and HB. Being Fast, they can fire both on cruising speed, so a squadron of them can threaten any light vehicle in great range. Being Scout and Fast they as well as AV12 they can do Sentinel job - but unlike sentinels they are better riding in the open rather then wandering through terrain.

*'''Fliers:''' With the new IA:Aeronautica book the IG is the most flier-happy army in the game, with only the Orks seriously threatening their title. Fliers can be divided into two categories: "Gunships" and "Jetplanes" - Gunships get a beefy AV of 12, Hover Mode and Vector Dancer USRs, while jet planes get supersonic. In 40k games it is best to stick with gunships as the extra mobility of Jetplanes mainly comes into play only in abnormally large or apocalypse maps.  
**'''[[Valkyrie|Valkyrie Assault Carrier Squadron:]]''' Goddamnit, why don't you have one (because it's inferior to Vendetta, below)? Valkyrie seems like a relatively expensive flying Chimera, but it is well worth it. It has BY DEFAULT Extra Armor in its profile, which means the bad bitch can never be stunlocked. If you keep your Valkyries zooming around the table, it's rare for them to die. Keep them alive to support your armor with a hard-hitting blast from its Multiple Rocket Pods. Valkyries eat infantry and shit brass and work best with Stormtroopers or Veteran Squads, deep-striking the squad in the most annoying place possible, and then flying off to rain hell on the enemy. Unfortunately, it's totally outclassed for anti-infantry by the Hellhound. That said, it does upgrade (sort of) to the...
**'''[[Valkyrie|Vendetta Gunship Squadron:]]''' As of the new book, the points cost of the Vendetta went up, so it isn't the glorious auto-include it used to be.  It's transport capacity also dropped to 6 because while you could clearly fit as many in there as you could a Valkyrie, the Machine Spirits will sodomize you if you do so.  In the end, it's still basically a flying Predator.  Will you still use it?  Depends on how you like your anti-air.
**'''[[Valkyrie|Valkyrie Sky Talon (Forge World):]]''' Dedicated flying transport for Tauroses and Drop Scout Sentinels. For 70 pts each they are cheapest fliers in the entire game, and they don't even take any force chart slots, as they are treated as dedicated transports. Swap their rockets for MRLs, and mow down infantry. Just remember, that you probably should not deploy them with their cargo inside.
**'''[[Valkyrie|Vulture Gunship (Forge World):]]'''Essentially a 40k Apache Gunship, comes with strafing run USR, nose mounted heavy bolter, and 4 wing pylons that are divided into two sets of 2 pylons that give space for one twin-linked weapon (one pylon on each side) and one set of missiles. This machine is very modular, able to adapt to ANY situation; Green Tide getting you down? Well, instead of two twin-linked weapons, you can actually attach a twin-linked punisher cannon! The ammo boxes do take up the other missile pylons, but twin-linked and BS4 against ground targets means 18 shots hit instead of Leman Russes 10 (on average without Pask). I would personally recommend <s>buying</s> spending too much on all possible weapons and not gluing them in place - maybe use magnets or some other such method, just make sure you can change the Vulture's armament easily to ensure it is never left wanting in a battle. Because the main strength of the Vulture is its adaptability.
**'''[[Thunderbolt Fighter]] (Forge World):''' The Imperium's standard for Fighter craft, this workhorse of the Imperial Small Craft Fleet is meant to be able to do any job asked of it, whether it be bombing, ground attack, interception, or air superiority. But it is a bit pricey, and properly kitted Vendetta or Vulture could do ONE of it's jobs better. But this neglects the true strength of the Thunderbolt, sheer immediate versatility, while the Vulture can claim to be versatile, it's likely going to be kitted out to do one role on the battlefield, while a Thunderbolt can do four simultaneously. But the place where Thunderbolts really shines is in Apocalypse, where they are the bane of superheavy fliers (be wary of Harridans, they'll laugh at your Autocannons and the Lascannons are at best only going to take one wound off.)  
**'''[[Lightning Fighter]] (Forge World):''' A nippy little air fighter, it defines the trope of "fragile speedster" with a small armament, paper-thin armor and only two HP. It is supposed to the cheaper and longer ranged companion of the Thunderbolt, carrying more missiles to compensate for a fewer number of guns to allow it to (briefly) pack the same amount of firepower, it does however, has serious survivability issues, and even the Big Shootas on an Ork Bomma will send one crashing down. And of course once it blows it's missile load it's firepower drops dramatically, but hey - do you expect this thing to last for much more than one turn?  

**'''Aquila Lander (Forge World):''' Who the hell designed this piece of shit? For 10 points more than Valkyrie you get an all around worse transport flyer with pathetic armor, weak guns and a claustrophobic transport capacity of 7. It could be taken as dedicated transport for a Company Command Squad, but without the "Command Vehicle" rule there is no reason to do so. Conversely, can be used as a very immersive (expensive) objective marker, along with the Arvus Lighter below, for an 'evacuation' scenario or similar.
**'''Arvus Lighter (Forge World):''' Oh, you thought the Aquila was a piece of shit? Meet the Arvus: No armor. No weapons. No supersonic. And no fucking role on the battlefield - it is quite literally the worst flier in the whole of 40k. It looks pretty however, so it's likely meant to be more of a shelf-warmer/display piece than anything you would actually bring onto the battlefield. Again, can also be used as a pretty objective marker for specific scenarios involving having to get people/objects off-planet.