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

===Heavy Support=== 
*'''[[Leman Russ Battle Tank|Leman Russ Squadron]]:''' Leman Russ. It's a big tank.For you. Holds the proud title of best tank in the galaxy for its size and cost. Side effects include: Templates, lots of dice, lots of AV, lots of choices.In 6th edition, Leman Russ lost "Lumbering Behemoth" rule, and became a Heavy vehicle, instead. This means that you are limited to only 6 inches of movement. However, you can fire all your non-ordnance weapons at the same turn, as if you haven't moved, meaning that non-ordnance Russes (Exterminator, Punisher, Executioner, Eradicator, Vanquisher) are made even more rapetastic, at slight disadvantage of Ordnance ones (Battle Tank, Demolisher). For some reason the non-ordnance Russes have seen some points cost decreased in the new codex, while others stayed the same (or even gotten a points increase as is in the case of Demolisher). Remember this, and kit out your tanks accordingly. 
**'''Leman Russ Battle Tank:''' Though it comes in many flavors, the basic tank is the most useful. With its S8 AP3 72" gun and thick armor, it is good against anything for decent points. This is your runner-and-gunner, your go-to tank, and the majority of your Leman Russ pool at any time should be these or Executioners. Kit 'em out with heavy bolters all around, since you are going to be forced to snap fire non-cannon weapons, so up the volume of fire.In addition, the new codex has granted Tech Priests the ability to give vehicles power of the machine spirit, this could go some ways to allow the vanilla Russ to fire at least one other weapon at full BS. A Leman Russ firing a battle cannon and lascannon at full BS with snap-shots from sponson heavy bolters can be threatening to infantry, vehicles and Monstrous creatures respectively.
**'''Leman Russ Exterminator:''' Armed with a 4 shot twin-linked Autocannon means this thing is death incarnate for 4+ armour and light vehicles. Kit it with 3 extra Heavy Bolters for beautiful infantry shredding. If you feel like it, add Pask - and watch it destroy Predators and Falcon grav tanks with ease, while standing a chance to <s>glance</s> rendingly penetrate Land Raiders ('''!'''). While twice the points and not as long-ranged as a Hydra, it's got better front and side armor and isn't hindered by the lack of the Interceptor special rule (so it can shoot at things on the ground, where majority of enemy forces usually are). It doesn't have Skyfire or a Targeting Computer, so it may be lacking in roles usually occupied by Hydra, but you will still put a big dent on anything you do end up hitting.
**'''Leman Russ Vanquisher:''' A Melta (which always provides +1d6 armor penetration) with a devastating range. Thus a bit costly for 1 shot at BS3 (works well with Pask, but only useful against vehicles). Not very useful really considering the amount of melta you should already have, if you use it primarily against vehicles. Give it a Lascannon as well as Plasma Sponson - and you get a unit perfectly fit to fight against Heavy Infantry. Combine with Pask for instant Monstrous Creature solution. Because you are firing 4 guns that get reroll to Wound, at BS4. Don't forget to take a Heavy Stubber to remove that last wound off the enemy Trygon.
**'''Leman Russ Eradicator:''' Kind of a Hellhound that hits worse, is slower but better armored. And you can add a Lascannon for versatility. Strange tank that has a weaker version of Battle Cannon that eats your enemies' cover saves. Consider for Cities of Death games or when fighting cover-camping Tau/Eldar. Can be useful for gunline enemies hiding behind fortifications as well. Now at 120 points making it cheapest Russ off them all. (If you're thinking of taking this for shooting horde units behind cover, scroll down and take a look at the Wyvern. In exchange for 2 less S and AP and a smaller blast, you get 4 shots that reroll to hit ''and'' to wound). However, the Eldar Fast Vehicled and Bikes will suffer dearly if they get hit - Eradicators make Dark Eldar cry (as they at best get a 5++ to protect themselves).
**'''Leman Russ Demolisher:''' For +20 pts. to the basic Russ you get a cannon that lays waste of everything on the battlefield and immunity vs S4 melee units - though sometimes 24" is too close to the enemy. The Demolisher is tried and true, and should ALWAYS lead the armored charge into the enemy. Works great alone, works even better in threes. You don't really need to upgrade it, since fucking '''DEMOLISHER CANNON''' doesn't get much assistance from other weapons, but being able to finish off the scattered survivors by hail of ill-aimed gunfire can also be useful.
**'''Leman Russ Punisher:''' Shares the cons but only few of the pros with the Demolisher (it does keep the additional back armor, which helps). Heavy 20 may sound cool, but on average, you end up with 10 S5 hits with no AP (making it difficult to even glance vehicles to death, but why would you target vehicles anyway?). Everything except Grots is butchered better with the cheaper and better ranged Battle Tank. However, unlike most Russes, it gets better if you sink the points in it: Add a tank commander, and now 13 and 1/3 of those shots hit.  Have a psyker and divination nearby, and that goes up to 17 and 7/9ths hits with a commander, 15 without. Add Pask and now you have rending and the ability to reroll penetration, meaning it is easy to glance AV 12 to death. Add on a full triple Heavy Bolter set and a Heavy Stubber, and the machine will reduce to dust anything, from Terminator Squads to full-size Ork Mobs every turn, and will stop 'Nidzilla in it's tracks through sheer dice output. Well, that or you'll be killed by the enemies anti-tank and waste 250 points on something the rest of your army should be doing anyway. Also, by far the coolest looking Russ.
***Can also be a fun choice against fliers, if much less cost-effective than the Hydra or Fortifications' Emplacements. When driven by Pask the Punisher becomes an extremely versatile machine, able to successfully engage just about anything, and on average, glance most things AV14 to death.
**'''Leman Russ Executioner''' Not quite as god tier as it once was because the main cannon now has Gets Hot (a 50% chance to remove one of your own hull points (since vehicles have a 4+ saving throw vs. Gets Hot weapons) on a tank that fires between three to five blasts of plasma is still much riskier than it once was, saving throw or no saving throw), but still capable of chucking down sizable amounts of Anti-TEQ hate. However it's now only 155 points, a significant reduction from the last book. Pair with Pask for a blinding plasma blast (see Pask above) for even more hate and to re-roll 1s (for the whole squadron), making Gets Hot! a lot less of an issue (though this is ill advised, given your HQ will easily bloat itself up to (and possibly past) 500 points since Tank Commanders must take a Squadron of Russes with them)  All that said, while no longer the auto-include Russ anymore that it was in the last book, it is still capable of making TEQ heavy armies weep. To be taken with caution as part of a healthy balanced diet of Russes. 
***Combine with Kurov's Aquila to have them a re-roll on Gets Hot. Has the bonus of applying to a full squadron, so long as they are within 6 inches. 

*'''Leman Russ Conqueror Squadron (Forge World):''' It's kinda light version of Leman Russ Battle Tank - Conqueror turret cannon comes with less range, less blast radius and less strength, but it is heavy and has in-built co-axial storm bolter to boost accuracy in the short range firefights. And unlike regular Lemans it's not heavy, meaning it is not slow as hell. Overall not a good choice, unless you have a lot of BLoS terrain pieces in the table. Though, due to its speed and non-ordnance nature of main gun it totally rock in Cities of Death missions, where regular Ruses tend to stuck in deployment zones doing nothing.

*'''Leman Russ Annihilator Squadron (Forge World):''' Another "non-heavy" Leman - this time with twin-lascannon turret. Just like his Predator namesake tend to be overpriced for what it do.

*'''Destroyer Tank Hunter Squadron (Forge World):''' IMMA CHARGIN MAH LAZOR! Ordnance 60" twin-linked lascannon seems tempting, but like LR Annihilator it's just too expensive. Just take Basilisk instead - its tank busting is almost the same, backed with indirect fire and ability to rape infantry blobs. Has a slight advantage over the Vanquisher against all armor values except 14, and is more durable (though significantly less flexible) than a Medusa with breacher shells. Cool and fluffy as hell, but not really worth taking in serious games.

* '''Thunderer Siege Tank Squadron (Forge World):''' It's Leman Russ chassis with hull-mounted demolisher cannon. Unlike LR Demolisher it has no front/side sponsons, but for some reason it's also NOT heavy - meaning you can move it 12" and even flat out another 6" to get round two shot. Obviously this is your Vindicator, and like all IG vehicles its all around better then his SM analog, due to the combination of superior armor and sufficient speed.

*'''[[Imperial_Ordnance_Pieces|Ordnance Battery]]:''' "Infantry win firefights. Tanks win battles. Artillery wins wars," or so the old saying goes. The Imperial Guard is noted for being able to bring really big guns to the battlefield, their firepower able to remove small sections of the opponent from the playing field. This said and done, the Imperial Guard artillery units are slow (sometimes outright static) and fragile for their cost due to being Open-Topped, a drawback which becomes increasingly noted should one wish to take artillery in a Squadron (and with the exception of the Griffon, Ordnance has the same cost issues with squadron up vehicles); this said, one can remove the Open-Topped Status. Artillery in itself will not make a Guard army due to its fragile nature, but they provide excellent firepower should the rest of the army be able to protect them. There are numerous artillery-pieces available, including the following:
**'''[[Basilisk]]:''' Jokingly called the penis-enlargement gun by veteran Guard Players, the Basilisk is noted for having a really big gun. This gun is also known for being long-ranged, having the option for direct or indirect fire, and having AP 3 (meaning it can kill Marines in the open, or pummel Crisis Suits). However, having the worst minimum-range requirements has the potential to often relegate the Basilisk as a direct-fire weapon, a task the Medusa tends to do better in most cases for a marginal upgrade in cost; this said, the Basilisk's direct-fire does have a longer range than the Medusa. Unless it's apocalypse, you don't need more than 36" though, so get a Medusa, or a Leman Russ Battle Tank, which can do the same or even better job, considering that either way, you are dropping S8 AP3 Big Blast at the enemy within '72 at most. Now in new codex earthshaker cannon has a range of 36-240" enabling you to hit kids at the next table.
**'''[[Imperial_Ordnance_Pieces|Colossus]]: (Forgeworld IA:1)''' Games Workshop has a checkered history when it comes to Marine-Killer weapons. Their emphasis on certain units being designed for killing Marines in the open, has lead to horridly inflexible units like Vespids, Flash Gitz, Thousand Sons, and now the Colossus. At first glance, the Colossus looks like a fun gun. With the ability to ignore cover, and Marine Power Armor saves, it will utterly devastate Marines should it land properly. On the other hand, having a wide minimum range and the inability to fire directly means the Colossus falters against a lot of Marine Armies. With the exception of some foot-slogging Space Wolf armies, many Marine armies are very fast, and noted either for operating as a mechanized army, fighting by Drop Pods, speeding forth towards your lines on Bikes, deepstriking in by Jump Packs, or otherwise excelling at fighting at short range. While the Colossus can be used for indirect-combat if kept isolated from the rest of the battleline with an infantry unit or two to watch over it, it isn't too popular in tournament armies for this reason.
**'''[[Imperial_Ordnance_Pieces|Griffon]]: (Forgeworld IA:1)''' The cheapest artillery-piece the Guard get, the Griffon is also the most accurate on most accounts; the ability to reroll Scatter Dice is a handy ability in most cases. Like the Colossus, the Griffon is unable to fire directly, yet its shorter minimum range makes it more usable against rapidly advancing armies. Should a player wish to take a Griffon (or a pair of them, which isn't as point-intensive as squadding other artillery), they work as part of a handy one-two combo for finishing off infantry from a destroyed transport, or in support of Hellhound-equivalents being used to Tank-shock enemy infantry into clustered formations.
**'''[[Medusa_Siege_Gun|Medusa]]: (Forgeworld IA:1)''' A pure direct-fire weapon, noted for having Strength 10 and AP 2, the Medusa is arguably the most popular form of Ordnance on account of its raw firepower. While having the same issues with accuracy most blast weapons have, whatever it hits will suffer on account of it. For those who wish to trade accuracy and flexibility for raw tank-busting firepower, the regular firing mode can be replaced with Siege Shells, turning the Medusa into a heavy tank hunter. With an AP 1 blast template, and the normal Ordnance bonus replaced by rolling 2d6 for armor penetration, the potential to kill enemy vehicles is incredible, and the threat of losing multiple vehicles to a well-placed shot does a lot to intimidating opponents into spreading their vehicles out. This said, like with the Devildog's Melta Cannon, the accuracy issues inherent with the Medusa mean it tends to work best in support of, rather than being the primary source, of ranged anti-tank.

* '''Heavy Artillery Battery (Forge World):''' This is artillery variants of Basilisk and Medusa and in 6th edition, artillery is awesome (until someone charges it). They are immobile and need crew, which could be killed (though, they use gun's Toughness 7 against enemy shots), but they are also cheap. And for being non-vehicles, they ''can'' take orders. Earthshakers and Medusas with "Bring it down!" and "Fire on my target!" could make for miracles on the battlefield if used properly. Or die pointlessly, if used incorrectly. Oh, and don't forget that they only have ld7 with no Sergeant or Commissar options, so you NEED a Lord-Commissar or Kell to make them listen to your orders most of the time.

*'''[[Hydra Flak Tank]]:''' The tank offers 2 Twin Linked Hydra Auto Cannons [72" range S7 AP4 Heavy 2 Skyfire] and a hull mounted Heavy Bolter (or HV Flamer) on an Open Topped Chimera frame. For 5 bolt pistols more than a Chimera. There is contention as to whether Skyfire is a benefit or not within the community to a degree that boils down to differences in local meta. It is good at hitting Flyers and FMCs, Average at hitting Skimmers, and bad at hitting everything else [4 TL BS 1 = 1.22 hits]. No longer ignores Jink. Extended [72"] Range is nice for 2 out of 3 deployments.
**'''Tactical Thought:''' Combined with an Techpriest a single hydra [total points 110] can have a nearly guaranteed chance [avg 1.5 hits] of forcing grounding tests on two enemy FMCs. Seeing that each said test should fail roughly 1/3 of the time and the fact that a 72" turret weapon can aim nearly anywhere on the board gives this unit some use.

*'''[[Wyvern Suppression Tank]]:''' BLOB ARMIES BEWARE! The new tank for 6th edition. Shoots two twin-linked Stormshard Mortars: 48" Str 4 AP6, Heavy 2 with Blast, Barrage, Ignores Cover, and Shred. That's right, rerolls to hit AND wound.  And for even more fun, they can come in squadrons of 1-3! Gaunts/Boyz Beware!
**'''Tactical Thought:''' Before thinking the Wyvern is only useful against blobs, remember what this tank brings to the field. A single tank fires 4 blast templates that are twin-linked and shred. Even with their saves, MEQs will have to roll real well to not loose a large number of troops. A well spread out MEQ Squad will probably lose 2-3 wounds per tank, making the Wyvern redeem its point cost by turn two.

*'''[[Manticore Rocket Launcher|Manticore Launcher Tank]]:''' Mixed-bag. Good for the points, bigger blast range then hell, but can't deal with marines. Drop it back by your Basilisks or Heavy Weapons, since it's not gonna do much good at the front lines. Good points are simple: They're not open-top, compared to artillery. They have HUGE blast ranges and they can virtually ensure that you're going to be making people spread out their firepower - great for you to focus on one group at a time. Downsides are just as bad as the upsides, though. Limited ammo CAN be a problem (rarely, either because either Manticore or the enemy ends up demolished). If enemy is spreading their units out, it causes you to lose a lot of rocket's effectiveness. Seriously, it can only shoot 4 out of 5-6 turns (unless your opponent isn't retarded, in which case it'll be gone a great deal sooner). Overlooked a lot, but can be powerful on those first few crucial turns. On a high note, Manticores DEMOLISH Necron Warrior elements or Ork/Nid/Guard blobs.
** Forgeworld finally allow to squadron Manticores up to 3. Not like it's always a wise decision, as squadron must fire at one target, which can lead to overkill. 
** Standard Storm Eagle rockets now can be swapped for Manticore Missiles and Sky Eagle Rockets - both come with 15 pts discount. First are the massive S9 AP2 7" blasts of pure rape, which is almost as devastating as Medusa, have Basilisk range, and one of the few 7"-blasts outside of Apocalypse. Second are crunch wise long range twin-linked ordnance lascannons - great for busting [[Caestus Assault Ram|heavily armored flyers]], otherwise almost invulnerable to Hydra fire.

*'''[[Deathstrike Missile Launcher|Deathstrike]]: ''' The Deathstrike Missile Launcher tends not to be taken in a lot of tournament builds, being viewed as too unreliable a weapon. Its main selling point is that it (eventually) fires a Strength 10 AP 1 APOCALYPTIC BLAST (y'know, the type of thing you would expect from a Titan), ignoring cover, and operating at full Strength against any and all vehicles caught in the explosion; should it go off, it has a high chance of devastating the opponent. On the other hand, it's chances of properly firing are random at best, it won't be firing on turn 1, and the Deathstrike is a one-shot weapon. It mostly gets used either for casual games on account of this unreliability, as a gamble, or for psyching the opponent out into spreading his forces out. But if you're a favored champion of the dice gods, received the blessing of Admiral Awesome, the benediction of Lady Luck and have balls of ceramite, you might just hilariously wipe half of your opponent's forces early in the game. In 2k+ games, combine 3 Deathstrikes with 4 units of Demo Charge-packing Special Weapon Squads in Vendettas, and watch your enemy's face drop as he realizes the the might of pie plates - as he has to deal with either 3 nukes or <s>12 S9 AP2 large blasts + 12 twin linked Lascannons on turn one</s> Vendettas are flyers, Flyers won't show up until turn 2 at the earliest. Unless you get first turn of course, in which case he has to deal with 3 nukes having already been hit by 12 large blasts. And from then on, it only gets better...

*'''Gun Platforms:''' Short was our rejoicing with unstunnable and durable automated artillery - now they are back to AV10-round 2HP immobile vehicles, and suddenly all stops buying Hydra Platforms. Though there is still saving grace - platforms got cheaper camo-netting, so they can be nearly as tough as they was before if parked in thick cover or behind fortifications.
**'''Earthshaker Artillery Platform (Forge World):''' Cheaper Basilisks. Good as long as they are away from enemy, but if you don't feel enough tactical foresight to keep enemy in distance, stick with old mobile Basilisks.
**'''Hydra Flak Platform (Forge World):''' No more interceptor, so this is just more fragile immobile discounted Hydra. Low model height now become a big problem, as it would cause LoS problems, and when now you need to keep platforms in cover, you can not solve LoS problem just by putting platforms on top of the hill.
**'''Manticore Rocket Platform (Forge World):''' Unlike Regular Manticores, this comes stock with Manticore Missiles, and can only swap them for Sky-Eagles. Use them to spam 7" blasts of hell, as this platforms comes with the biggest discount. With such a devastating power it's even worth it to hide them behind Bastion for camo net improved 2+ cover save.

*'''Tarantula Sentry Gun Battery (Forge World):''' - You get a battery of three immobile twin linked Heavy Bolters, with the option to add three more and swap them for a Multi-melta for free, or pay for TL assault cannons or TL Lascannons. Being automated, you have very little control over what they actually do in the battle, they select their own targets based on pre-set criteria, you basically just get to choose at deployment what their arcs are: 360 degrees but at 18" range, or 90 degrees at 36" range, so you're rarely going to be blasting things across the table with these things. Unlike gun platforms they remain to be automated artillery, but got their toughness lowered to 6. Overall a terrible choice, as while cheap it packs very little firepower yo don't even control, and competes with much more potent choices for HS slot.

*'''Rapier Carrier Battery (Forge World):'''- This IS the shit. Cheap in both points and money, it is treated as Extremely Bulky infantry like the Cyclops, but is a lot more fun. You DO want this in a Chimera, and you want it to fucking STAY there, because it can still fire its 36" S9 AP2 Ordnance 1 Laser Destroyer when inside. And the best part? The Destroyer is ''twin-linked''. At 40 points and £25, why in the name of Slaanesh's self-removing pants are you not taking at least 1? You want to reliably kill tanks from inside a safe little Chimera?! Knock yourself out.

*'''[[Sentinel|Sentinel Power Lifter Squadron]] (Forge World):''' Assault sentinels... wooo! They are the cheapest of all sentinels and comes with basically close-combat autocannons. Funny and fluffy, but it's not really worth spending HS slot on them.

*'''Cyclops demolition squad (Forge World):''' Small kamikaze remote controlled tanks. They count as infantry (but extremely bulky), so you can put yo tanks in yo tanks, to play mech while yo play mech. For extra lulz find some homerules for Capitol Imperialis and put Chimera with Cyclops in it into Capitol. Not like it's a valid strategy - Cyclops are fragile and their operators are even more fragile (thank [[Emperor|god]], you can hide them inside Chimera). If you get lucky enjoy suicide-bombing cover-ignoring Basilisk shell into some Space marine squad, but otherwise stick with more conventional big guns.

*'''[[Avenger Strike Fighter]] (Forge World):''' Your dedicated AtG Jet Plane with a tasty Strafing Run rule. It comes stock with an absolutely useless defensive rear-mounted Heavy Stubber (can help knock a flying monster out of the sky tho...), two Lascannons, and the AVENGER BOLT CANNON, which is basically half of a VULCAN MEGABOLTER. This means it packs SEVEN Megabolter and two Lascannon shots at BS4 for only 150 pts, to ruin the day of anything with less than AV14 or a 2+ armour save. And if it's not enough, you could fit additional guns, missiles or bombs under it's wings. Do you really need any other reason to buy it? (It's also a sexy model on the table.)