Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Imperial Guard

This is the current [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics_(9E)|9th Edition's]] [[Imperial Guard]] tactics. [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Imperial_Guard(8E)|8th Edition Tactics are here]].

==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.

If you play Imperial Guard then you play as the [[Ollanius Pius|true hero of Warhammer 40,000]]. You do not lead [[Tyranid|lethal]] [[Ork|aliens]] or [[Space Marines|unstoppable]] [[Chaos Space Marines|super-warriors]]. You lead the conscripted farmer, the gangbanger or the factory stiff with their [[Flak Armour|bulletproof vest]] and [[Lasgun|clunky laser rifle]] and what is implied to be an [[Leman Russ Battle Tank|armoured tractor with a turret bolted to the top]]; you lead ordinary men and women up against a galaxy that is literally Hell ''(and in fact it has one; and you'll be spending a lot of time flying through it)''. Your victories are spectacular, and your greatest defeats are still moral victories. Imperial Guard-focused stories like [[Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt|Gaunt's Ghosts]] and the [[Tanith First (And Only)|Tanith First and Only]] are testaments to [https://youtu.be/qyGDo1ARpjI the very human yet also superhuman bravery and acts of incredible sacrifice Guardsmen perform in the line of duty every day across the galaxy]. And if you play Guard then you can play out your own stories too[[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Wargames_Atlantic#External_Links|Wargames_Atlantic]].

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 no more, [[Skub|they're no longer an option in 9th edition]]). That's why you play the Imperial Guard. 

===Pros===
*'''Buffing potential:''' Hordes of infantry that can be buffed with force multipliers such as Commissars, Astropaths, Priests and Commanders.
*'''Cheap Units:''' Dirt cheap troops means you can laugh off the loss of cheap guardsmen squads whereas an elite army cannot. On that note, HQs are also cheaper than their counterparts in other armies making them less of a tax in your lists.
*'''Quality and quantity of weapons:''' Guard is iconic for filling lists with special and heavy weapons. Leman Russes were gunboats before [[Repulsor Executioner|It]] [[Hekaton Land Fortress|was]] [[Boomdakka Snazzwagon|cool]]. Unfortunately our infantry shooting game isn't as cool as other editions.
*'''Strong Shooting:''' Cost-efficient high-strength firepower from Leman Russ Battle Tanks, the new Rogal Dorn Battletank, free Heavy Weapons in basic Infantry Squads, and more. Many armies pay through the nose for their equivalent firepower.
*'''Excellent from a modelling standpoint:''' 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 [[Indigan Praefects|Guard/Admech/Genestealer Cult kitbashes]] now being canon (as well as Chris Peach’s Empire chaps from White Dwarf). 
*'''Versatility:''' Unlike other armies, Guard are often not reliant on a single gimmick.
*'''ObSec on Demand:''' With orders, you can give so many units ObSec and even have a specific regimental trait to make Vehicles better at it. 
*'''Fun''': Guard Armies are very thematic, so they're always fun for you and your opponent, because even if they lose they'll always cause a lot of casualties.
*'''[[Sly Marbo]].'''
*'''Regimental Tactics:''' Some of the Orders can now jump to ALL infantry in 6 inches, allowing for astonishing Rapid Fire on Infantry and devastating mortar fire from Mortar Heavy Weapon Squads.
*To help offset the fact that Games Workshop models are pricier than crack, Imperial Guard is an ''extremely'' proxy-friendly army. World War II tank models as Russes, Napoleonic French cavalry as Krieg, infantry models from Bolt Action, etc. If it looks human and holds a gun, it's in the Guard now son. Saves you a bit of cash.
*New Models!
** So far, the Cadians are making a grand return and are bringing with them new Kasrkin Squads, Shock Troop Squads, and some new field artillery along with a whole slew of new models. It would seem that the Guard model line is slowly being reduced and streamlined, however, the new hardware is certainly looking great thus far!
**Also, the new Krieg infantry look great, and in all honesty, those are the only units required to make a thematic and accurate army from there (or Armageddon if you’re good with a knife and yellow paint). With the reintroduction of Rough Riders, you don’t even need to visit Forgeworld for 40k’s most charismatic cavalry.

===Cons===
*'''Cadia Centric:''' Changes to Regiments aside, '''BORN SOLDIERS''' is so powerful that taking anything else almost seems like a mistake. If you're a Cadian player, this isn't a Con, but if you shelled out for Krieg or still have the metal Armageddon or Tallarn models, your either playing them as counts-as Cadians or going all in on certain builds.
*'''Flimsy Obsec infantry:''' T3 and a 5+ save is nothing in an edition so full of AP that they had to give the posterboys a rule to stay competitive. If something aims at a Guardsman squad, [[Fist of the North Star|they are already dead]]. 
*'''Too many options, too few slots''': Building on the above point, Guard lists are always about quantity and redundancy. If something does something important, you need ''at least'' ''THREE'' of them, and in an edition where detachments cost a third or more of their CP allotment, Guard players will struggle to fit their armies into a detachments, and taking a Brigade means a mandatory tax. 
**It's not like [[Dark Eldar|detachment refunds]] is [[Primarch|broken or anything]].
** Less of a problem with the Arks, as you get to choose where your mandatory slots are without having to spend CP.
*'''Horde Nerf:''' Grognards were hyped when they learned PLATOONS and SQUADRONS (letting you fit multiple units in a single slot) would be coming back, only to be disappointed when it turned out to just [[Fail|be a fucking keyword]]. Even worse, they significantly reduced the number of units that could squad up and removed [[Whiteshield Conscript|Conscripts]]. If you want ObSec units to survive to the late-game, transports or deepstriking is necessary.
*'''Gun Control:''' GW came for our infantry's special weapons, just like they did with the Chosen and Chaos Terminators. Special Weapon Squads are [[Squatted|gone]], and you can only take at most 2 of a gun. Partly this is because GW is getting a hardon for keeping options limited to "what's in the box"...except Guard players should have a fuckton of bits on principle. 
**This is particularly egregious because they sell [[Horus Heresy Tactics|upgrade sprues]] ''and'' [[Eradicator|weapon spam units]]. Textbook Astartes Posterboy Syndrome.
*'''Weak Melee:''' Comparatively weak in assault. S3/T3 with 1A and 1W each is not doing you any favors. Avoid close combat like the plague, unless you're using dedicated melee units like Bullgryns and Rough Riders. 
*'''Playing Imperial Guard is 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.]]
*'''Massive Footprint:''' The board sizes are significantly smaller in 9th, and that affects you on a fundamental level, because Guard is all about ''lots of vehicles''. Certain deployments (Abandoned Sanctuaries/Tide of Conviction in Nephilim) are only 10" deep which can fuck you over if you bring Tank Squadrons or [[Rogal Dorn Battle Tank|massive]] fucking [[Baneblade|tanks]]. It also makes your artillery more vulnerable than before.
*'''Expensive Collection:''' Although your units are cheap in points, they're not cheap in cash, ''particularly'' if you buy from Games Workshop, instead of a cheaper source.  You ''will'' want to find a [[Proxy|cheaper]], [[3DPrinting|alternative source of models]], unless you're interested in supporting your FLGS - store owners ''love'' new Guard players.
**If you want to proxy, currently wargames Atlantic offer some of the cheapest guard building options with models that could be a convincing stand-in for Krieg, Vostroyan and Steel Legion, £25 for 24 men, yes please[[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Wargames_Atlantic#External_Links|Wargames_Atlantic]]
*To tie in all these reasons why there's a lot of caveats to playing Guard? You're not GW's [[Space Marines| favourite children.]] Even [[Sisters of Battle]] and [[Squats|the Dwarfs]] get attention before you.
*Jury is still in on whether or not the Guard Codex fixes a lot of the big issues Guard players struggled with from mid-8th to well into 9th (flimsy ObSec units, unhelpful faction abilities, mediocre secondaries, lack of extreme AP). The Ingrained Precision + Overcharged LasCell combo is pretty broken, being a weird mix of Votann Grudges and AdMech Wrath of Mars. Considering the changes to Grudges, a nerf seems likely, [[Games Workshop|but most nerfs are being rolled back anyway.]]
*Congrats, the Imperial Guard Codex is coming in....[[Derp|Winter 2023]]. You can get the codex now if you want to drop a few hundred bucks on an army box, but you also won't be able to play it in Official games until the New Year. 
*[[FAIL|10th edition is coming, and it means your 60 dollar codex has a lifetime of ''months'']]. Seriously, the fucking SQUATS came back before you got your 9th edition codex.

===Changes from 8th Edition===
On paper, the coming Guard Codex is a litany of bizarre design choices that veteran Guard players have waited five years to see. Infantry-focused builds have been shafted quite a bit, and the new rules are clearly designed to push new models over the old ones which is a common trend throughout Games Workshop's history but doesn't make it any less annoying. Once there's been games under belts and results, then we will know whether the Codex was worth the wait. 
*Regiment rules were shaken up in that they're no longer subfactions with their own unique WLT, Relics, and Strat, but more like the custom doctrines of other armies. While it's easier from a list building perspective because, theoretically, you can use everything in the book, it can be argued that a bunch of soul and fluff has been removed from the army, and [[Cadia|some]] [[Armageddon|fared]] [[Krieg|better]] [[Tempestus Scions|than]] [[Tallarn Desert Raiders|others]]. It's also really unfair when you have [[Space Marines|factions]] whose [[Blood Angels|subfactions]] are so [[Harlequins|powerful]] at their [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Eldar_Harlequins_(9E)#Light|specialty]], [[Tyranids|they]] preclude the need to [[Hive Fleet Leviathan|use anything else]]. See the Regiment Traits content further down.
*Crusade Rules for Guard are released, giving Narrative play and Tempest of War game modes some meaning for Guard players.
*Stratagems organized into the four main categories (Battle Tactics, Heroic Deeds, Requisition, Wargear) and consolidated. This is good considering the rules bloat that has plagued 9th Edition. 
*Orders received a shake-up, it takes place in the Command Phase and is tied to the Officer's keyword and the ordered unit's keyword. To honest, when 9th Edition added the Command phase it was only natural that this would happen in the first place so this is a welcome decision.
*Odd choices for the Core keyword. Looking at you nu-Sentinels, [[Games Workshop|new model syndrome is doing you well]].
*Leman Russes and Rogal Dorns can fire turret weapons at range even if they're locked in engagement range, like how Baneblade variants could in 8th edition (and still can in 9th their main weapons count also). This at least solves the problem that plagued guard since 8th began by tanks getting shut down by throwaway units high-fiving the hulls. Sponson and hull weapons still have to target units in engagement range ala '''BiGNuT''', though.
*Every vehicle that isn't a Russ or a Sentinel has lost the ability to take a squadron of up to 3 in a single slot. No more Basilisk, Hellhound, Hydra, or Wyvern Squadrons. This has just cluttered the Heavy Support and Fast Attack slots even more.
*New models and units! See below for details.
**Lord Solar Leontus ON A HORSE, Lord Castellan Ursula Creed, new Cadian Castellan model, the Rogal Dorn Battle Tank, new Cadian Shock Troopers, Kasrkin triumphantly return, Attilan Rough Riders make a surprise return, updated Sentinel models, updated Commissar model, and new Field Ordnance Batteries. Catachan Jungle Fighters and Death Korps of Krieg have their own exclusive datasheets and keyword to match.
*On the flip side, multiple units were [[Squatted|removed]] from the Codex. It's like the 6th Edition mass-deletion all over again. See below for details.
**Commissar Yarrick, Lord Commissars, Lord Castellan Usarkar Creed, Colour Sergeant Kell, Knight Commander Pask, Commissar Raine, all named Guard models from Blackstone Fortress and expansions, Conscripts, Veterans, Wyrdvane Psykers, Special Weapons Squads, and Crusaders. While this does unclutter some unit slots a bit, this was a really tough one for older guard players.
*Tempestus Scions, a niche sub-faction, received multiple bizarre nerfs. 
**Are now Elites unless they're in a detachment comprised entirely of Militarum Tempestus and Infantry Prefectus units.
**Don't benefit from Born Soldiers or Regimental Traits AT ALL.
**Still 2/4 special weapons for every 5/10 guys, but you can only pick an option once for 5, or twice for 10. So no more deep-striking 4 meltaguns or 4 volley guns. 
**Add all this up, and Kasrkin are better in every way except for a lack of inherent deep strike. Hugely ironic considering Tempestus Scions originally replaced Kasrkin in 6/7th, and now THEY'RE being shafted when Kasrkin return. Pushing new kits at the expense of old ones, much?

==Important Rules References==

*'''Codex: Astra Militarum''' is obviously your primary go-to for rules.
**The FAQ is [https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/rLPei6snULK8OoF7.pdf here].
*'''Warhammer Legends''' contains any models that have since been outmoded after the codex and Psychic Awakening book. Just beware that these aren't automatically allowed in all games so you'll need to ask before you can take any options present.
**The file is [https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/b8a09e3d.pdf here].
*'''Imperial Armour Compendium''' also contains options of substantial interest, including rules for Death Korps of Krieg and Elysian Drop Troops - this is your source for Forge World rules.
*'''Balance Dataslate''', includes the new changes to AIRCRAFT that says they must start the game in reserves.
**The FAQ is [https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/3L0GNWfXu9HzCaH0.pdf here]
*'''Nachmund 2022 ''', clarification that Tempestus and their subfactions can still be taken without breaking faction rules..
**The FAQ is [https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/l7HMwjs20r7R53Gx.pdf]

==Special Rules and Keywords==
{{W40Kkeyword|Core Rules}}: Rules that are universal, but will come up for you often. 

*{{W40Kkeyword|Big Guns Never Tire}}: Vehicles can move and shoot Heavy weapons without penalty; Vehicles can still shoot within Engagement Range, even if there are friendlies in melee with you, and can pick targets that are not within 1", but with caveats:
**Heavy Weapons are at -1 to hit
**Weapons can fire at enemies outside of engagement range, but only after all enemy units within 1" are slain
**BLAST weapons cannot be used against enemies within Engagement Range, BUT as with the above, if you manage to kill everything within melee, your Blast weapons may fire at an outside opponent
**Remember, you must declare all your shots *before* rolling. That means you pick targets, then resolve attacks made by weapons one at a time. If your non-Blast weapons fail to free you from combat, the Blast attacks are lost.
**An example: Leman Russ with 3 HBs, a Storm Bolter, and a BC is in melee with 3 MEQs. The IG player declares all Bolters into the MEQs, and the Battle Cannon into a Gladiator 6 inches away. They roll for 9 HB shots at -1 to hit. It fails to kill the last MEQ, but the storm bolter (4 shots) hits at regular BS because it is a Rapid Fire weapon. Taking off the final wound, the Leman Russ is now free to fire its Battle Cannon at the Gladiator. 
*'''Turret Weapons:''' All Leman Russ turret weapons, the Rogal Dorn's main gun, Chimera turret weapons, and most Baneblade variants have weapons with this rule. The following applies:
**Weapons with this rule can still make shooting attacks against enemy units, [[Awesome|even if it is within Engagement Range of another unit]]. Only caveat is, similarly to ''Big Guns Never Tire'', the Turret Weapon fires at -1 to hit. That's okay, because...
**Each time a model makes an attack with this weapon, add 1 to its hit roll. Applies only to the Turret Weapon. That's right, basic Leman Russes can hit on 3+ without any other interference. Also cancels out the previous caveat, check that order of operations.
*'''Indirect Fire Weapons:''' A rule that the Q1 2023 Balance Dataslate has confirmed applies to all armies and Guard, this makes any weapons that can fire enemies they can't see (for us that's Mortars, Basilisks, Wyverns, and Manticores) suffer not only a -1 to hit but also gives a +1 boost to the enemy's saving throw. That makes most artillery weapons a little less desirable without a shitton of attacks to flush cover-campers out.
*'''Defenders of Humanity:''' No longer called this, but Troops in an Astra Militarum detachment have Objective Secured.

==Regiments and Regimental Doctrines==

[[what|{{W40Kkeyword|<Regiments>}} are no longer specific subfactions, so that means all the subfaction-specific add-ons are gone]]. Instead, you will now have the default trait {{W40Kkeyword|BORN SOLDIERS}}, which can be replaced with a custom combination of two different Regimental traits (which also means you can treat Born Soldiers as a custom trait that costs double). The new traits will apply to all {{W40Kkeyword|REGIMENTAL}} units, and some will also give additional {{W40kKeyword|keyword}}s for Stratagem use. The stratagems themselves are either locked to certain units or to certain keywords, so take note who has what.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

*Each of these traits can only be taken by themselves, i.e. they cost double what the others do.
**'''Born Soldiers:''' Unless you change your trait, this is the one your army starts with (which is also a thing in Crusade). Unmodified ranged Hit Rolls of 6 auto-wound (and count as Unmodified Wound Rolls of 6 when doing so). All officers get to pass on their Ld to {{W40Kkeyword|PLATOON}} units within a 6" aura.
***{{W40Kkeyword|Born soldiers}}: The keyword enables the use of the 'Ingrained Precision' stratagem (1 CP to improve the auto-wounding ability so it procs on unmodified 5+ to hit). You do not have Magnarails, but you do have stratagem and combo cheese...
**'''Trophy Hunters:''' Attacks against monsters or vehicles gain +1S.
***The only time you'd use this is if you break its own rule by taking it as an extra Regimental trait for Kasrkin or the Veteran Commander Tank Ace on top of whatever you already have. +1S is a conditional +1 to wound against specific targets when your Str is right on the break point for the wound roll. The most important break points are for Str 7 weapons (plasma, autocannons) against medium vehicles letting you wound Rhinos and Chimeras on a 3+ rather then a 4+ and heavy vehicles letting you go from wounding a Land Raider, Leman Russ or Knight on a 5+ to 4+ and Str 8 (melta, battle cannons) letting you wound the aforementioned russ and knight on a 3+ and a lot of lord of war on a 4+. As for the rest of your lasgun-wielding army, only against the T6 Dark eldar papier mache monsters and kites would +1S take them from wounding on 6+ to wounding on 5+. This does also buff your melee troop force, and while the guard are not a melee army: Rough Riders with this trait on the charge go to strength 9 against vehicles with AP 4 which can be a nasty surprise to even Baneblades. So go out there and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_pegging peg] some monsters!

*You can take any 2 of the traits below.
**'''Armoured Superiority:''' The doctrine for your Armoured Fist lists! Makes {{W40Kkeyword|sentinel}} models count as 3 for capping points, makes {{W40Kkeyword|titanic}} models count as 10, and makes all other {{W40Kkeyword|vehicle}} models count as 5.
***{{W40Kkeyword|Armoured Superiority}}: The keyword makes the Vengeful Salute stratagem cost 1 CP rather than 2. That lets you shoot with turret weapons when you die at BS5+
**'''Blitz Division:''' Not quite the sort of thing to emulate the [[Elysian Drop Troops]]. When you reach turn 2, your non-{{W40Kkeyword|sentinel}} {{W40Kkeyword|vehicle}}s can deploy as if you were in turn 3, helping out with surprise assaults. You halve the power level of all units for the sake of CP costs when throwing things into reserves. Unless you play with Arks of Omen (''you do''), as that doesn't need CP for Strategic Reserves, making half of this trait meaningless. Yep, [[Fail|the codex is already outdated]]. Reminder that this is the second edition in a row claiming to fix Codex creep...
**'''Brutal Strength:''' This is where the Catachan trait went. {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} ignores penalties for moving with Heavy weapons and also gains +1S on the charge. ''"Why yes, give me that Heavy Bolter to go"''. Also lots of synergy with FRFSRF!, since it is now Heavy 3.
***As with last ed, you're still just Guardsmen, <u><b>''[[Tau|you don't want to be in melee]]''</b></u>. That being said, you could combine this trait with the following, to enhance the melee on your effectively relentless army:
****Characters: Straken gives +1S to the ordered unit and punches like a fucking devil, on top of giving re-rolls of 1s to hit for being a COMMANDANT. The Catachan named characters already have their S bonus baked into their profiles, but they can still benefit from this plus any other trait you pick. Regimental Preachers can give a unit +1" to charge and full melee hit rerolls. Even Command squads can help by having lots of chainswords and useful gizmos. Furthermore, they all have access to Ogryn bodyguards, some relic blades and the 'Frontline Commander' WT.
****Fix Bayonets! for +1 to hit and a pip of AP. Do remember {{W40kKeyword|Sentinel}}s can take {{W40kKeyword|platoon}} orders, and they have big chainsaws now.
****Kasrkin squads: They have 2A base, and their hot-shot lasguns are the best gun to order FRFSRF on. Outside of characters, their 3A sergeants are the best wielders of the relic blades.
****Catachan infantry squads: Kinda for the theme. A troop with extra hits on 6s to hit in melee can be useful
****Ogryns and Rough Riders don't benefit from the doctrine, but you should consider them if you're going to melee.
**'''Cult of Sacrifice:''' The [[Death Korps of Krieg]] doctrine and gives all units a keyword of the same name. Any unit below starting strength gets +1 to hit. Having models die is a fairly common occurrence. Your enemy can simply focus on completely destroying your units one at a time in order to deny the survivors (oft the special guns) the buff. However, that alone is already a benefit; you'll use stratagems on bigger units instead of using them on mauled survivors, and it can make your opponent waste damage in overkill.
***{{W40kKeyword|Cult of sacrifice}}: Makes the 'Fire on my Position' stratagem cost 1 CP instead of 2. That's the one that lets you output an average of 1 MW to each unit (friend or foe) within 3" of a dying vox-caster or master-vox model.
**'''Elite Sharpshooters:''' Units with this trait can re-roll one hit. While the Guard relies on massed fire, infantry squads get an important part of their damage output from one or two special guns in the squad, which is where you'll use the re-roll on. Especially noticeable on single shot weapons like lascannons, but it can also save a lucky plasma gunner from blowing up, as the ONLY source of re-rolling 1s to hit ''for infantry'' comes from the SINGLE COMMANDANT in your army (if at all). Also useful for Vanquishers cannons.
***{{W40Kkeyword|Elite sharpshooters}}: Non-Kasrkin {{W40Kkeyword|core}} units with that keyword can use the 'Experienced Eye' strat, paying 1 CP for -1 to ranged AP. 
**'''Expert Bombardiers:''' All {{W40Kkeyword|Artillery}} units gain +1 to hit when shooting an enemy within 12" of a {{W40Kkeyword|Vox-Caster}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Sentinel}} unit. Easy to use, as sentinels are agile and vox-casters are now literally free, though all your non-artillery units will gain is front row seats to an explosion. 
***{{W40Kkeyword|Expert Bombardiers}}: The keyword lets your {{W40Kkeyword|officer}}s use the Artillery Strike Requested stratagem as if they were Masters of Ordnance.
**'''Grim Demeanour:''' Taken from the [[Valhallan Ice Warriors]]. All units ignore penalties to combat attrition checks. ''The Commissar can't be everywhere, I gue-{{BLAM}}''.
***{{W40Kkeyword|Grim demeanour}}:  The keyword lets the Acceptable Losses strat work on non-{{W40Kkeyword|platoon}} units, aka Tanks, which won't mind a few stray shots.
**'''Heirloom Weapons:''' The [[Vostroyan Firstborn]]'s trait. Your non-relic guns get +4" range. That means:
***Squads get an easier time using 16" flamers and meltas (and pistols), and melta range grows to a more manageable 8".
***Rapid fire range grows to 14", making enemy charges a bit more difficult. Or have 28" range lasguns and outrange most infantry.
***Russes armed with "long range" 28" Demolisher cannons with 28" Multi-melta sponsons.
**'''Industrial Efficiency:''' Taken from the [[Armageddon Steel Legion]]. Negates the AP of any AP-1 attacks and stacks with Armoured Tracks (+1 to save against D1 weapons). With the number of AP-1 anti-infantry weapons out there, this will let your infantry pretend they're survivable.
**'''Mechanised Infantry:''' Troops with this trait can disembark after their transport has made a normal move. Neither the disembarked unit nor the transport can move again or charge after doing this move. Can use transports to slinghshot your infantry to objectives (and your flamers/melta to your enemy's face). Obviously, completely useless without transports.
***{{W40Kkeyword|Mechanised}}: Allows non-{{W40Kkeyword|militarum tempestus}} to use the 'Mount Up!' strat, which lets you pay 2 CP to embark one unit after shooting.
**'''Parade Drill:''' A doctrine best trying to emulate the [[Mordian Iron Guard]]. If this unit did not move on this turn, their lasguns and hot-shot lasguns become Heavy 2 for extra efficiency in firepower. Useless for tanks and artillery.
***This trait is redundant when you have FRFSRF to turn lasguns to Heavy 3. So INSTEAD use your orders on HWT/Field Artillery. Or use 'Take Aim'/'Supression Fire' on the squads that didn't move, order 'Forwards For The Emperor' to squads that did move, and let unattended squads show you they can still be disciplined without a nanny, freeing your officers.
**'''Recon Operators:''' Your {{W40Kkeyword|infantry}}, {{W40Kkeyword|sentinel}}s, and {{W40Kkeyword|cavalry}} that start the game wholly within deployment get a pre-game Normal Move of 6", [[FAIL|regardless of the model's M]].
***Because this adds a flat amount of movement, better on your 6" infantry than your 12" cavalry; terrible on 12" scout sentinels because their built-in deployment ability is better, but remarkably useful on your 8" armoured sentinels because they have {{W40Kkeyword|squadron}}, allowing for rapid expansion of your order bouncing like scout sentinels are good for, but on a more durable chassis.
***It's also worth noting that there are missions that prevent you from scout-moves and scout-deploying, which is a pretty big situational fuck you. 
**'''Swift as the Wind:''' {{W40Kkeyword|infantry}} and {{W40Kkeyword|artillery}} units gain +1" M, everything else gets +2" M, and all units gain +1 to Charge rolls.
***Bit of a nerf, though it can be combined with other traits like Mechanised or Brutal Strength, as well as further increase the bonuses with a Regimental Preacher or the 'Move Move Move' order.
**'''Veteran Guerillas:''' Their attempt to emulate the [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]] and grants a keyword of the same name. All {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} and {{W40Kkeyword|sentinel}}s ignore cover when shooting enemies within 18", which can make those walls of flashlights very annoying.
***{{W40Kkeyword|Veteran Guerillas}}: Non-{{W40Kkeyword|Catachan}} units gain a +1 to the roll to see how many MWs the 'Vicious Traps' strat deals.

There are options for many interesting themed lists, but Born Soldiers is likely to remain the standard all-comers option. However, Kasrkin can get an additional doctrine, and you can give one to a tank with the 'Veteran Commander' Tank Ace, so keep that in mind.

==Warlord Traits==
If your Warlord is an {{W40Kkeyword|Astra Militarum Character}} then they may select a Warlord Trait below. If your Warlord is not an {{W40Kkeyword|Officer}}, they must take Front-line Combatant. {{W40Kkeyword|Brood Brothers}} can never be the warlord, so don't get any ideas there. 

#'''Front-line Combatant:''' Each time this Warlord makes an attack, an unmodified hit roll of 6 scores 2 additional hits, and add one to wound rolls. Your generic HQ is a T3, 4+/5++ model base. Good luck. Straken however Starts with this one, and he actually benefits quite handily from it.
#'''Master Tactician:''' At the start of the first battleround, select up to 3 friendly non-Titanic {{W40Kkeyword|Astra Militarum}} units and set them up anywhere on the battlefield wholly within your deployment zone. If your mission uses strategic reserves, they may all enter strategic reserves instead. Ursula [[Creed]] starts with this one, keeping her father's traditions alive.
#'''Grand Strategist:''' Arguably the best Warlord Trait available to us. Every time you use a stratagem, roll a d6 per each command point spent, get it back on a 5+. Quite powerful, though you're limited to only refunding 1 per battleround in matched play. Lord Solar Leontus starts with this one.
#'''Superior Tactical Training:''' This warlord may know an additional order table other than what they can usually pick from. So, Castellans can take the Prefectus orders for example. Notably does not get additional uses of those orders, like the Steel Commissar Tank Ace does.
#*May have some interesting synergy as a secondary trait. Because a Command Squad is the only way to get orders with the {{W40Kkeyword|Voxcaster}} keyword, this can give a backline Command Squad the ability to issue Prefectus orders at 24". This could be useful if short on points for a Commissar or yours gets sniped out. Does not work with Mechanized, because no vehicles have the keyword.
#'''Old Grudges:''' At the start of the game, choose an enemy unit. Gain the following {{W40Kkeyword|AURA}}. All {{W40Kkeyword|Astra Militarum PLATOON}} or {{W40Kkeyword|TANK SQUADRON}} ''units'' within 6" of your warlord add 1 to wound rolls against that chosen unit. One of the best choices for a Tank Commander thanks to a bigger aura (remember, measure from the hull!).
#*The FAQ rules that this WLT is useless for the Field Promotion stratagem: the target can only be picked out start of the game.
#'''Lead by Example:''' The Warlord can issue Orders to its own unit, even though Officers usually cannot order themselves.
#*Pretty good on a Tank Commander, almost useless on anyone else.

===Militarum Tempestus Warlord Traits===
If your Warlord is a {{W40Kkeyword|Militarum Tempestus Character}} then they may select a Warlord Trait below instead.

#'''Drill Commander (Aura):''' Friendly Militarum Tempestus Infantry units within 6" of the Warlord make double the amount of shots with Rapid Fire weapons instead of following the normal RF rules.
#* For players that want to keep their distance: considering how squishy Scions are on the counterattack/charge, there's validity in keeping your distance while still doubling shots to proc exploding 6s. Obviously most worth it on Volley Guns and Plasma after ordering '''Take Aim!'''
#'''Precision Targeting (Aura):''' Each time a friendly Militarum Tempestus Infantry unit within 6" of the warlord makes a ranged attack, the target does not receive the benefit of cover against that attack.
#* Emulate Veteran Guerillas, sans better use of the '''Vicious Traps''' stratagem. Ignoring cover is great, because it denies both -1 to hit and +1 to save, and can be infuriating for opponents that rely on it. 
#'''Uncompromising Prosecution (Aura):''' -1 to AP for ranged attacks made by friendly Militarum Tempestus Infantry within half range of their weapon profiles.

==Tank Aces==
Got a shake-up in 9th Edition, instead of paying CP you now pay with both points and power level for Tank Aces. Any {{W40Kkeyword|Battle Tank}} and/or {{W40Kkeyword|Superheavy}} models may take upgrades from this chart (Commissar Tank is restricted to Officer keyword only). Sadly, your artillery no longer gets any use from this. {{W40Kkeyword|Super-heavy}} models pay more. You can take any number of them, but can only take each one once. There are some definite good ones, but you should build your list first and add upgrades on those who would benefit the most.

*'''Knight of Piety:''' 25/35 points. Grants a 5++ and a 5+++ against mortal wounds, both very vital for keeping it running. Probably the best option for Executioners to shrug the MW from overcharged plasma, and for the additional survivabiliy of an invuln.
**The 5++ invuln has some use now that Armor of Contempt is gone and AP is relevant again, but because all your tanks have a 2+ save, it'll only come up against AP-4/5. If you're facing off against Railgun equivalents, take Mechanical Pack Rat: not only do railguns ignore invulns, but the flat 50% chance to fail to wound does better than a 33% chance to shrug the additional MWs. 
*'''Master of Camouflage:''' 25/35 points. Enemies shooting from over 12" (18" for superheavies) count as if they're shooting through light cover, which can help against early bombardment.
**Gives you a 1+ save from 12" away, which is kinda like Knight of Piety until AP-5. It's also better than what Raven Guard get (18" for vehicles), but is useless against enemies that [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau_(9E)#Support_Systems|ignore]] [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Necrons_(9E)#Mephrit|cover]].
*'''Mechanical Pack Rat:''' 20/30 points. Enemies cannot wound on anything lower than a 4+, which mostly helps avoid anti-tank weaponry, ''including melee''. 
**20 points on a {{W40Kkeyword|BATTLE TANK}}, try to avoid the temptation to put this on your fully-kitted out Demolisher/Multi-Melta Tank Commander Russ, because even transhuman won't guarantee it can avoid blowing up if the opponent tries hard enough (or [[Imperial Guard|they]] [[Leagues of Votann|autowound]]); put this on a Russ with the Battlecannon or Executioner and make it a choice: either shoot everything into this Russ that could possibly survive, or [[Distraction Carnifex |this Vanquisher with reroll to hit or Demolisher with Meltas]]. 
**Of course, 30 points is nothing compared to the cost of the Baneblade, but a Baneblade is also T9. Mechanical Pack Rat helps you against the [[Demolisher Cannon|big guns]] [[Imperial Knight|that rely on]] [[Railgun|overkill]], but against the common Lascannon equivalents, they're still only wounding you on 4s and 5s anyway.
*'''Meticulous Calibrator:''' 20/40 points. Ignores the benefits of cover (-1 to hit, +1 save), which is incredible the more guns the tank has, especially sponsons, or if you're using it as a tank hunter. 
*'''Steel Commissar:''' +25 points and only applicable to {{W40Kkeyword|Officer}}s, so just the Tank Commander. This gives you Prefectus Orders, which you can issue to {{W40Kkeyword|Platoon}} {{W40Kkeyword|Abhuman}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry Officer}} units, though Officers and Abhumans won't benefit from regimental tactics. 
**This allows you to give a second order - one Mechanized and one Prefectus: this upgrade is cheaper than a Commissar and lets you buff your Tank Commander's bubblewrap.
**[[Derp|Can't be taken on the Rogal Dorn or a {{W40Kkeyword|Superheavy}} because they can't get {{W40Kkeyword|Officer}} without the below Tank Ace upgrade]]. [[Fail|So only normal officers can ride them, not the political officers]]. Guess now that Commissars can take their bodyguards in the Taurox Prime that they had to be cucked out of riding some other vehicle in return. Or maybe despite being dead, [[Fortress of Arrogance|Yarrick still has dibs on being the Commissar with a Baneblade]]
*'''Vaunted Praetorian:''' 15/30 points Rogal Dorn or {{W40Kkeyword|Superheavy}} only. This tank gains the {{W40Kkeyword|Officer}} keyword and can issue mechanized orders. Superheavies can also issue orders to other {{W40Kkeyword|Titanic}} units.
*'''Veteran Commandeer [[Games Workshop|<sup>[sic]</sup>]]:''' 20/30 points. Grants the tank a separate doctrine the rest of the army doesn't have, which can help out cheesing out combos. And yes it's spelled "commandeer", it's unlikely the intent by the writers was that a Veteran had [[Blood Ravens|commandeered the tank]].
**This allows you to take {{W40Kkeyword|trophy hunters}} on top of your chosen Doctrines, or lets you stack {{W40Kkeyword|elite sharpshooters}} with Born Soldiers on a Vanquisher.

==Orders==
You now have '''three''' sets of orders to choose from. So there's more tools now, but unless it's the Lord Solar, Officers can often only use one set (and the authority to order only some units), listed on their datasheet. Still, bringing officers is cheap enough, and there's many ways to give officers/tanks/''Baneblades'' options to access other tables.

Of note is that, albeit officers now issue fewer orders, they can potentially order even more units than before by bouncing orders off units with the '''Regimental Tactics''' ability: {{W40kKeyword|Platoon}} units within 6" of another unit issued Regimental or Praefectus(*) orders can also be affected, same for {{W40kKeyword|Squadron}} units within 6" of another unit targeted with Mechanized orders.

Orders have a range of 6", unless a Command squad's Master Vox issues them at someone with a Vox Caster, in which case range is 24". Do note no one but Command Squads have access to a Master Vox. Mechanised orders have a range of 12" instead.

Units are only affected ''by the last order that targets it.'' This can lead to some interesting things depending on what you want to do. You could bounce orders past their range so long as all recipients are within 6" of the original; you could individually target 3 units to activate Ms. Trunchbull's +1 S to shooting, then rewrite the order (but keep the buff) with the last order (imagine her literally nagging them all, karen-style), and so on.

Also, this counts as your monofaction bonus. Yup, that's it. No Round 1-2-3 space book/army-wide canticle progression, it's just ''a fraction'' of your army going "monkeigh see monkeigh do". On ''your'' turn. On the plus side, if you soup, that's all you lose.

Orders are declared in your Command phase, but Officers in transports can still issue orders when they disembark (or one from inside a Chimera) as to not miss out. However, ''they will not be able to bounce orders off when disembarking'', meaning [[Fail|using transports destroys your monofaction bonus]]. So get the measuring tape, to see who is in range of who. Also a big "???" for Tempestus, who will be in deepstrike until the end of your movement phase: do they follow the transport's restrictions in that case? The answer is "it doesn't matter; 10th Edition is coming soon anyways".

Mind your keywords here, because {{W40Kkeyword|platoon}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Squadron}} keywords determine who obeys what:

<tabs>
<tab name="Regimental">
Issued by Regimental officers, these orders apply to anyone with the {{W40Kkeyword|platoon}} keyword. Do keep in mind this also means {{W40kKeyword|Sentinels}} this time:
#'''First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!:''' Your bread and butter. The ordered unit's Lasguns and Hot-shot Lasguns become Heavy 3. 
#*A bit of a downgrade compared to the old Rapid Fire 2 when within 12", especially when moving. Mathematically equal beyond RF range *whilst* moving (2 BS4+ RF2 shots = 3 BS5+ H3 shots = 1 hit), but better when staying still beyond RF range (3 shots vs 2), which helps squads contribute to the fight whilst keeping their distance or from backfield objectives.
#*Do take in mind that a lot of an infantry squad's damage output comes from its heavy/special guns, which aren't affected by 'FRFSRF'. <u>'FRFSRF' works better than 'Take Aim' when using the range advantage</u>; if you're at close range/moved, 'Take Aim' may help you better.
#'''Fix Bayonets!:''' +1 to hit and -1AP for Melee Attacks. ''For when you can't escape melee'', as unlike 'Take Aim!' this will also be active during your enemy's turn.
#'''Move! Move! Move!:''' The ordered unit gets M+2" for Normal Moves only, ''or'' they can Advance and get an automatic 6 instead of rolling. ''The First Axiom of Victory is to be other than where the enemy desires you to be''.
#*Normal flamers and meltaguns are the only assault weapons from among the units who can obey this order. This is for repositioning.
#'''Suppression Fire!:''' In your next shooting phase choose an enemy {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} unit ''that is visible to this unit'' (so it's direct fire only for Mortar and Field Ordnance teams). The ordered unit may only shoot that enemy unit, no split firing. If 5+ hits are made, the enemy unit takes a -1 to hit until the end of your opponent's next turn.
#*Powerful against big squads, trashing the aim of the entire enemy blob.
#*This can also be used in conjunction with 'Set to Defend' (which does NOT stack with 'Fix Bayonets!') for melee, to hit the enemy on 3+ while they hit you on 4+.
#'''Take Aim!:''' +1 to hit and -1 AP for Ranged Attacks.
#*Unlike 'FRFSRF', this does affect the squad's special weapons (or HWTs). <u>Use it instead of 'FRFSRF' when the squad is in RF range OR if it moved</u>.
#*Bonkers on Kasrkin and Scions, who end up hitting on 2+ with AP-3 Hotshots. Though with Armor of Contempt gone, even your basic lasguns can threaten armored targets, as the first point of AP is the most important one.
#'''Take Cover!:''' Ordered unit immediately gains light cover (+1 save to ranged attacks), or dense cover (-1 to being hit) if you already have the former.
</tab>
<tab name="Prefectus">
It was weird that Commissars could execute people but not actually order them around, wasn't it? These orders can only be issued by someone who went to space military college, such as Commissars (on foot or on tank), Tempestor Primes with the order stick, and normal officers who took a semester of 'Superior Tactical Training' as their WT.
It bears mentioning that, while these orders are issued to {{W40kKeyword|platoon}} units (remember {{W40kKeyword|sentinels}}), Commissars have the authority to issue them to {{W40Kkeyword|Abhuman}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry Officer}}s (they won't bounce off them however).

#'''At All Costs!:''' The selected unit gains ObSec, or counts as +1 model per model if it already has it.
#*Clutch, and reason why you should always have a commissar. Makes Auxilia (Bullgryns) and Sentinels ObSec. Can also be used on and bounce off Scions and double-up troops. 
#'''Duty and Honor!:''' The selected unit can perform actions even if it fell back or advanced. Not only that, but they can also shoot without failing their action. Meaning your units can dash to the objective to start the action, or you could do actions with backfield HWTs without giving up their shooting.
#'''Forwards, for the Emperor!:''' Ordered unit can move or advance and still shoot as if it didn't move. ''Run with heavy weapons!''
#*Better than 'Move! Move! Move!' for repositioning HWTs and Field Ordnance, should you need to. This also lets 'Parade Drill' regiments count as stationary at full sprint; it's a running parade.
#'''Get Back in the Fight!:''' The selected unit can shoot or charge after it falls back in its movement phase, ''without penalty, unlike Ultramarines''.
#'''Remain Vigilant!:''' Enemy reinforcements cannot set up within 12” of the selected unit. In addition, they hit on 5+ in Overwatch.
#* Orders can bounce to other units within 6" of the ordered unit, not the officer, so this means that if you position yourself right, you can get ''18" of denial'' just by bouncing the order, not even counting Vox range.
#'''Show them Steel! Show them Contempt!:''' The selected unit gains +1 Ld and a 5+++ against any Mortal Wounds.
#*This is one you'd actually use on Officers. FnP5+ vs MW helps against snipers/witches, and nearby 'Born Soldiers' will be affected by the officer's boosted Ld. It'd also help Plasma Sentinels not hurt themselves when they don't have access to re-rolls of 1s to hit.
</tab>
<tab name="Mechanised">
They have a range of 12" unlike the other orders, though there's also no target that has a Vox either. They affect ANY vehicle with the {{W40Kkeyword|Squadron}} keyword, not just other Russes. Meaning you can order a {{W40kKeyword|Sentinel}} and have it bounce onto both a nearby Russ ''and'' a Chimera. Commonly issued by Tank Commanders, a 'Superior Tactical Training' warlord could also use it on transports or nearby sentinels.
#'''Blitz Them!:''' +1 to charges. After charging, you roll a d6 and deal d3 mortal wounds on a 4+. If the vehicle has a {{W40kKeyword|dozer blade}}, the result happens on a 3+.
#'''Full Throttle!:''' +2" move and get to advance and count as stationary.
#*Your Hellhounds aren't Assault anymore, and your Melta-sponson Demolishers could always use some help closing into range. Lets Sentinels get the effects of both Move! and Forward! at the same time.
#'''Gunners! Kill on Sight!:''' The selected unit rerolls 1s to hit. This is the sole source of re-rolling 1s to hit outside the Commandant's aura. Can't really use vehicle plasma without it.
#'''Pinning Fire!:''' A selected unit shoots at a ''single'' (no split fire) ''visible'' (direct fire only) enemy {{W40kKeyword|infantry}} unit. If 5+ hits are scored, that unit takes a -2" to move.
#'''Pound them to Dust!:''' All blast weapons count the enemy unit as double the models in the shooting phase. Anyone with 1 extra marine in their MSU is guaranteed to get all of a Battle Cannon’s shots off.
#'''Shock and Awe!:''' The selected unit gains ObSec. Great for 'Armoured Superiority' regiments, as vehicles counting as extra models does little without it.
#*While the defensive use of this order is obvious (you weren't able to keep the enemy away from your stuff), it can also be used on the offensive, by activating ObSec on a speedy Sentinel unit and sending them to steal an objective.
#*ObSec also matters for some Arks of Omens actions, being completed at the end of your turn instead of at the beginning of your next one.
</tab>
</tabs>

==Psychic Powers==
Guard Psykers are drawn from the {{W40kKeyword|Scholastica Psykana}}, and thus don't have a regiment; however, they're the only {{W40Kkeyword|Psykers}} with the {{W40kKeyword|Astra Militarum}} keyword, so if you want regiments, doctrines, and all that good jazz without adding another detachment, you're limited to the '''Psykana''' discipline. [[Robin Cruddace|Fortunately for you]], it's really good! Unfortunately, however, Astropaths in your Command Squad are only allowed the first half shown below; Primaris Psykers are required for the full selection.

#'''Terrifying Vision (WC:6, 18"): ''Malediction''''' Until the start of your next Command Phase, target suffers -2 Ld, can't re-roll morale, and can't use Insane Bravery.  In addition, roll 2d6 and compare to the target's Ld after this power modifies it; if you equal or exceed, the target immediately fails all actions and can't perform actions until the beginning of your next Psychic Phase.
#* Note that the duration ends when your Command Phase begins, rather than end-of-turn or beginning of your Psychic Phase as are normal for Psychic Powers.
#'''Gaze of the Emperor (WC:6, 12"): ''Witchfire''''' Draw a straight line from the caster's base/hull to the target's base/hull; roll 1d6 for the target's unit and for any other unit the line "passes over": the rolled-for unit takes 1 MW unless you roll a 6, in which case it takes 1d3 (average 7/6 or 1.17 per unit after casting).
#*"Passes over" is not a defined game term for units; in particular, if your line goes between two models in a unit, has the line crossed the unit? [[skub|Discuss with your opponent before the game begins.]]
#*Because friendly fire is on, you can use this, if you're desperate, to try and detonate your own Hellhound(s).
#'''Psychic Barrier(WC:6, 12"): ''Blessing''''' Until the start of your next Psychic phase, target gets a 5++.
#*Unlike Nightshroud, you can readily apply this to your Baneblade with Mechanical Pack Rat to have a scarier tank on the battlefield.
#'''Nightshroud(WC:6, 12"): ''Blessing''''' Until the start of your next Psychic phase, unmodified hit rolls of 1-3 automatically miss, regardless of target abilities that would make them hit.
#*Protects you more against more accurate attackers ''without'' protecting against perfect accuracy (BS/WS 4+ and flamers will ignore the power), but works in both range and melee.  Put this on whatever you expect your opponent to attack next with their biggest guns/swords.
#'''Mental Shackles(WC:6, 18"): ''Malediction''''' Until the start of your next Psychic Phase, the target suffers -2M and -2 to Advance and Charge rolls.
#*Does not modify Advance distances for targets that do not roll to Advance.
#*Combine with pinning fire (and enough shots to make it happen) for -4M, which on slow targets will mix with a deathstrike missile can ensure your target cannot escape the Emperor’s Fury.
#'''Psychic Maelstrom(WC:6, 18"): ''Witchfire''''' Roll Xd6 where X is the result of your Psychic Test; for each 5+, the target suffers 1 MW.
#*This deals about 1.96 MW on average after the cast, so 1.42 net including your casting odds, meaning it's strictly worse than Smite.

==Secondary objectives==

9th Edition Warhammer 40,000 places emphasis on scoring and holding points, primaries will always be your most consistent source of points. You score 5 points per turn for holding an objective, 10 points for holding two or more objectives, and 15 points if you meet the other two requirements and hold more objectives than your opponent (4 points, 8 points, and 12 points in Nachmund or Nephilim) However, you can tailor your secondary objectives based on the scenario and the opponent's army composition. The following secondary objectives are updated with the new Nephilim book that axed and re-wrote a bunch of secondaries for matched play.

Arks of Omen has added some new changes, along with the new detatchment, the "default" objectives- Assassination, Grind them Down, and Behind Enemy Lines- all grant CP if you achieve their conditions using a Troops unit. 

<tabs>
<tab name="Purge the Enemy">
*'''Assassinate''':  3 VP for each {{W40kKeyword|Character}} you kill, +1 for their warlord. Not the best thing we've got going for us. Yes you can probably pick off an enemy if they over-extend, but we don't have the melee or sniping potential we need to make the greatest use of this. Side note, expect a lot of people to take this against you. 
**With Arks of Omen, now grants an additional CP if an enemy character is destroyed by a Troops unit.
*'''Bring it Down''':  1 VP for any {{W40kKeyword|Monster}} or {{W40kKeyword|Vehicle}} you kill with 9 or less wounds, 2 VP for 10-14, 3 VP for 15-19, and 4 VP for 20+ wounds. Now this is more up our alley. The guard has plenty of ways to kill tanks, including a few tanks of our own, or the ever-reliable Lascannon. Side note, enemies will take either this or Assassinate against you for their PtE choice depending on your army composition.
*'''For the Emperor! (Warzone Nachmund)''': Score a VP for each unit you kill to a max of 3. A very reliable pick, especially when Bring it Down isn't viable. 
*'''By Lasgun and Bayonet (Warzone Nephilim and Arks of Omen)''': Score a VP when you blast a unit off an objective. So-so. You'll want to try and do this anyways but you usually won't score too many points here.
</tab>
<tab name="Warpcraft">
*'''Psychic Interrogation''': This one is okay. However, your psykers are already going to be stretched fairly thin casting buffs or using Divination to farm CP, so this may not be a great option. With Arks of Omen, also gains a CP if your psychic test result beats the Ld of any enemy Characters within 24", giving some extra utility if you are running several psykers.
*'''Abhor the Witch''': This isn't one you want to take much unless you plan on running Krieg. The main reason being that it can only be taken if you haven't brought any psykers, and even after the cost increase on astropaths, their buffs are still crucial for keeping your infantry on their objectives. If you want to leave your psykers at home, this is a great pick against Grey Knights, Thousand Sons, and Chaos Daemons.
**On the other hand, Guard psykers are very expensive and limited by the fact that units are cheaps, so it may not be worth it to buff them. Just remember that not taking psykers gives you the option to take this objective.
*'''Warp Ritual''': A Psyker character can attempt to do a WC4 Psychic Action if it is within 6" of the center; score 3 VP if done once, 7 if done twice, and 12 times if done three or more times. 
**Very few players actually bother with Warp Ritual because Psychic Actions can still be denied, and Stratagems like Khorne's '''Scorn of Sorcery''' can deny on a 4+ regardless of what you rolled. If you were planning on camping the center with '''Boots on the Ground''', an attached Astropath can attempt to do this for three turns while you score '''Boots''', but the risk of getting shut-down is far too great. 
</tab>
<tab name="No Mercy, No Respite">
*'''Grind Them Down''': At the end of each round, you win 3 VP if you have killed more enemy units then the enemy killed your units. The worst secondary choice for this army, for the obvious reasons. Exception though if you're running an all Leman Russ detachment like a madman. Side note, expect a lot of people to take this against you.
**With Arks of Omen, gain 1 CP if a troops unit destroys an enemy unit.
*'''No Prisoners''': Essentially 1 VP for every 10 wounds worth of stuff you kill. An extra VP at the end of the game for 50-99 wounds destroyed, and 2 VP for 100+ wounds killed. Potentially a good pick against Orks and Tyranids if they lean into hordes of Boyz and Gaunts. Blows ass against Custodes, Imperial/Chaos Knight armies, and other elite builds.
*'''Inflexible Command (Warzone Nephilim and Arks of Omen)''': Score two points if every {{W40kKeyword|Platoon}} unit is within 6" of an officer; {{W40kKeyword|Platoon Vox-casters}} within 24" of a {{W40kKeyword|Officer Vox-caster}} counts as being within 6", and if an {{W40kKeyword|Officer}} is embarked on a {{W40kKeyword|Transport}}, the Transport itself counts as an {{W40kKeyword|Officer}} (but doesn't say it counts as having a Vox)
**Score another one if every {{W40kKeyword|SQUADRON}} is within 12" of any {{W40kKeyword|Officer}}. 
**Score 2 VP if a unit that took an order destroys an enemy unit for a maximum of five points a turn at the end of your turn. 
**Significantly easier now that you don't have to take Tank Commanders or upgrade a Rogal Dorn to gain VP off Tanks. Take Command Squads to spread the Vox-aura, and Commissars for ''anything'' guarding your flanks. 
</tab>
<tab name="Battlefield Supremacy">
*'''Engage on All Fronts''': Score 2 VP if you have units totally within 3 table quarters and more than 6" away from the center of the board. You instead get 3 VP if you have units totally within each quarter and more than 6" away from the center of the table. Nephilim nerfed this, and Arks of Omen continues it, to only count if also more than 6" from other table quarters, making the "scorable area" much smaller. Look down at Boots on the Ground for the much better Guard option.
*'''Linebreaker''': Replaced by Behind Enemy Lines in the GT books. 2 VP for one unit in the enemy deployment zone, or 4 VP at the turn's end if you get 2+ units (excluding {{W40kKeyword|Aircraft}}). This doesn't play to our strengths quite as well unless you're running Scions. The Imperial Guard is a strong shooting faction, even if we do have nippy vehicles like our Hellhounds and buff Schwarzenegger men to go punch the enemy to death with. If you're punching the enemy back all the way to their deployment zone great! But by that point you were probably winning anyways, and hats off to you for beating those odds.
*'''Behind Enemy Lines''': 3VP at the end of your turn if you have one unit in the enemy's deployment zone, 4VP if there are two or more (excluding {{W40kKeyword|Aircraft}} of course). Bonus CP if any of those units are troops in Arks of Omen. Still not a great choice for Guard, but '''Mechanized Infantry''' or '''Blitz Division''' could make this work if you're feeling up to it.
*'''Boots on the Ground (Warzone Nephilim and Arks of Omen)''': One point for each table quarter you have an infantry unit in and possible point if a unit with a regimental standard is within 6" of the center, or wholly within the enemy's deployment zone. With the nerfs to Engage on All Fronts this is just better for us except for the fact it doesn't score on round 1. Even so easy points and outscores Engage on All Fronts post round 1.
**Arks of Omen changed the central null zone from 6" to 3", allowing you to better contest the center. The {{W40kKeyword|Regimental Standard}} still only needs to be within 6" of the center, so could theoretically double-count this one. 
**Some synergy with '''Inflexible Command''', since a Command Squad with the Vox-Caster can (theoretically) camp the Center and still be within command range of Infantry squads.
</tab>
<tab name="Shadow Operations">
*'''Raise the Banners High''': Similar to Domination, this one is good if you plan on doubling down on take and hold. Guard is one of the best armies for these missions, as we've got plenty of bodies we can leave to handle the actions. Taking a single guardsman squad out of the action for a turn won't hurt us nearly as much as some armies, though most armies (due to power creep) have access to special abilities and stratagems that allow them to perform actions and shoot anyway.
**We have those options now with the Prefectus Order Duty and Honour!, or using command squads for the action. 
*'''Retrieve Nephilim Data (Warzone Nephilim)''': One infantry unit performs an action on an objective you control that's not in your deployment zone and completes it on the turn, expunging it. End of game, one expunged objective earns you two points; two objectives, five; three objectives, ten; four objectives, 15. Only worth it if there's four objective markers in no man's land. Even then scoring the ten points will be as difficult as holding a middle objective.
*'''Retrieve Battlefield Data (Arks of Omen)''': Now with a more generic name! Gives an action that an {{W40kKeyword|Infantry}} or {{W40kKeyword|Biker}} unit can perform while wholly within a table quarter, 6" away from all other quarters, and in a quarter that this action has not been successful in. On completing, roll 1d6, -1 if a Troops unit. If the result is less than or equal to the number of models currently in the unit, add 1 to the retrieved data tally. At the end of the game, 2VP for 2, 8 VP for 3, 12 VP for 4.
**Has some synergy with Boots on the Ground, although it does have more restrictions on where it can be scored. 
</tab>
</tabs>

==Stratagems==

Standard stratagems pending updates for the 9th Edition Codex.

<tabs>
<tab name="Battle Tactics">
*'''Armoured Fist (1 CP):''' {{W40Kkeyword|CORE}} only. A Guard unit that disembarked that turn can reroll ''all wound rolls'' in the shooting phase, but they need to be shooting at the closest eligible target. 
**Save this for Kasrkin for that sweet AP-2.
*'''Vengeance For Cadia (1 CP):''' Whenever a {{W40Kkeyword|cadian}} unit, or a {{W40Kkeyword|platoon}} unit within 6" of a {{W40Kkeyword|cadian officer}} attacks a {{W40Kkeyword|chaos}} unit, they gain +1 to the wound roll.
**Even on 10 Kasrkin in RF range, this takes them from killing 1.5 marines to kill 2. <u>1 CP isn't worth *half a marine*</u>. Could help Sentinels, HWTs and Field Ordnance maybe, especially against chaos vehicles.
*'''Cadia Stands! (1 CP):''' Pick a single {{W40Kkeyword|Cadian Infantry}} unit. Unmodified wound rolls of 1-3 fail regardless of the attacking weapon's abilities. Conditional Transhuman on Shock Troopers, the Cadian Command Squad and Kasrkin. Considering the ubiquity of weapons that wound T3 models on 3+, this is incredibly powerful on a linchpin unit in an important location. This must be why Conscripts got squatted, aside from GW's hatred of non-Xenos hordes it was probably to prevent buff/stratagem abuse. 
*'''Ingrained Precision (1 CP):''' BORN SOLDIERS proccs on 5+ rather than unmodified 6s, and all hits count as UMWR6s. 
**Bonkers on its own considering that a third of your shots are now autowounding and proccing any additional abilities, outright broken when combined with Overcharged Las-Cells (see its section)
*'''Overlapping Fields of Fire (2 CP):''' In the shooting phase, when an enemy model is destroyed by a {{W40Kkeyword|Platoon}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Squadron}} unit from your army, your entire army gets to re-roll wound rolls of 1 and unmodified 6s to wound increase the attack's AP by 1 when you target that enemy unit. Stacks with Born Soldiers so unmodified 6s to hit increase AP by 1.
*'''Volley Fire (2 CP):''' Used in the shooting phase. Pick an infantry squad that remained stationary in the movement phase - it can fire again.
*'''Experienced Eye (1 CP):''' Kasrkin or {{W40Kkeyword|Elite Sharpshooters CORE}} units only. In the shooting phase, increase the AP of all ranged attacks by 1. On Kasrkin with Take Aim combines to AP -4, or gets them to AP -3 with FRFSRF.
</tab>
<tab name="Epic Deed">
*'''Relentless (1/2 CP):''' Used in the Command phase. A single vehicle is treated as being at its full health bracket until the next Command phase. Costs 2 CP if used with {{W40Kkeyword|Titanic}} units.
*'''Field Promotion (1 CP):''' Can only be used once per game. When your warlord is slain, select a non-unique {{W40Kkeyword|OFFICER}} unit in your army and generate a new warlord trait. For the purposes of secondary objectives and missions, the new warlord is now considered THE warlord. Situational but useful for denying enemy secondaries.
*'''Battlefield Surgery (1CP):''' A '''MEDIC''' unit regains 1d3 non-{{W40Kkeyword|OFFICER}} models.
**This means you can return an Ogryn Bodyguard.
*'''Vengeful Salute (1/2 CP):''' Used when a single vehicle unit in your army is destroyed but doesn't explode. It may fire any Turret Weapons it has before being removed as a casualty, but is considered to be Ballistic Skill 5+ (So hitting on 4s with the Turret Weapon). 1 CP for a final "Fuck you!" to your opponent. Costs 2CP, but only 1 for {{W40Kkeyword|Armoured Superiority}} or {{W40Kkeyword|battle tank}}  units
**Reminder that Hellhound turrets such as the Inferno Cannon and the Chem Cannon automatically hit; bypassing the 5+BS limitation.
*'''Crush Them! (1 CP):''' When a single friendly vehicle unit in your army makes a successful charge, it becomes WS4+. {{W40Kkeyword|Armoured}} units become WS3+. In addition, all unmodified wound rolls of 6 inflict 1 mortal wound in addition to normal damage.
*'''Fire on my Position (1/2CP):''' When the last model in a unit with a Vox-caster is destroyed, roll a d6 for every unit within 3". On a 4+, take D3 mortal wounds. Costs 1CP if used with a {{W40Kkeyword|CULT OF SACRIFICE}} regimental unit.
</tab>
<tab name="Requisition">
*'''Officer Cadre (1 CP):''' Standard "give a non-unique character a warlord trait that hasn't already been chosen" stratagem.
*'''Imperial Commander's Armoury (1 CP):''' Standard "give a non-unique character a relic that hasn't already been chosen" stratagem. Also, specifically allows the Clarion Proclamatus or the Finial of the Nemrodesh 1st, so may slightly limit the relics you can take in total.
*'''Battlefield Bequest (1 CP):''' Give a single Sergeant or Watchmaster the Legacy of Kalldus, Claw of the Desert Tigers, the Barbicant's Key, the Emperor's Fury, or Relic of Lost Cadia.
</tab>
<tab name="Strategic Ploy">
*'''Acceptable Losses (1 CP):''' "Use this stratagem in your Shooting phase. Select one Guard unit from your army that isn't within Engagement range, and one enemy unit. Until the end of the phase, your selected unit can target the enemy unit ''even if it within Engagement Range of other friendly {{W40Kkeyword|Platoon}} or {{W40Kkeyword|GRIM DEMEANOUR}} units'' but each time a model makes an attack against it, the hit roll cannot be re-rolled, and UMHR of 1 are resolved against the friendly unit it is engaged with. Resolve any attacks against your own units after resolving against the enemy.
**The wording is needlessly complicated, but this isn't locked to {{W40Kkeyword|GRIM DEMEANOUR}} per se. Any regiment can use it whenever you have a {{W40Kkeyword|Platoon}}  (so Regimental infantry) unit within engagement range, but if you're {{W40Kkeyword|GRIM DEMEANOUR}}, it can be any unit with the keyword (so tanks, who probably won't care being hit by a stray lasgun shot).
**As always, feel free to cleanse the [[Cultist-chan|heretics]] with [[Catachan Jungle Fighters|fire]], or bathe [[Death Guard|them]] in [[Savlar Chem Dogs|industrial solvent]], because you'll never miss.
*'''Orbital Interference (2 CP):''' Can only be used if you have an Officer of the Fleet in your army and on the battlefield. Pick a single enemy unit during the Reserve step of the movement phase. It cannot enter the Battlefield this turn. One use only, by the way. This is CP-intensive, but insanely powerful if your enemy forces are relying on timing.
*'''Artillery Strike Requested (2 CP):''' Once per game only, used in the Command Phase. If your army contains a Master of Ordnance or an Officer with the {{W40Kkeyword|EXPERT BOMBARDIERS}} Regiment trait that's on the battlefield, pick a single spot on the battlefield. At the start of your next command phase, roll a d6 for all units within 6" of the marker. Add 1 if the unit is within 3" of the marker, subtract 1 if it's a character. On a 1 nothing happens, on a 2-5 the unit takes D3 mortal wounds, and on a 6 it takes D6 mortal wounds. 
**Same tricks that apply to new Deathstrikes apply here. Try and reduce a key enemy unit's move or place it on a critical objective to try and force a bad choice for your enemy. Unlike the Deathstrike, once the barrage has been called there's no Action to cancel it if you wish, it MUST land.
*'''Maverick Maneuvers (1 CP):''' Once a Sentinel unit has resolved its shooting attacks, they may make a normal move of up to 6". Duplicate the Ratling's Move-Shoot-Move tricks for 1 CP. Has good potential, as usual with 9th Edition Nu-Sentinels.
**Note that it can move in any direction, and remember that Armored Sentinels especially can be good for bullying an enemy unit off of an objective with their saw and a heavy flamer.
*'''Mount Up!(2 CP):''' {{W40Kkeyword|Mechanised Infantry}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Tempestus Infantry}} can embark a Transport (with the usual caveat that every model should be within 3") immediately after shooting. 
**Doesn't say they can't jump back in an idling Valkyrie. 
*'''Vicious Traps (1 CP):''' Use in the opponent's charge phase, when an enemy unit finishes a charge move within engagement range of one or more Guard units that are wholly within terrain. Roll one d6 and apply the following modifiers:
**+1 if they're Catachan or {{W40Kkeyword|veteran guerillas}}
**+1 if they brought along their {{W40Kkeyword|melta mine}}
**+1 if {{W40Kkeyword|[[Sly Marbo|Sly marbo]]}} is on the battlefield.
**On a 2-5, the enemy unit suffers d3 mortal wounds. On a 6+, that enemy suffers 2d3 MWs. Having any one of these guarantees the roll, but so does just having Sly Marbo anywhere on the field, representing the fact that he can be anywhere, at any moment (even when he's taking the Swarmlord solo)
*'''Feinting Strike (1 CP):''' Used when a Rough Rider unit falls back. It may shoot and charge this turn. I mean, Rough Riders die to a stiff breeze but if they survive for some reason, then keep them useful. Like the Blood Angels say, Always Be Charging!
*'''Flakk Barrage (1 CP):''' Intercept stratagem performed by a single Hydra unit in your army. Target an enemy Aircraft unit the instant it shows up from Reserves.
*'''Shield of Flesh (1 CP):''' Used in the enemy shooting phase. If an Infantry unit is targeted by an enemy attack and is within 3" of an Ogryn unit, they can claim -1 to hit.
</tab>
<tab name="Wargear">
*'''Smokescreen (1 CP):''' If a unit with a smokescreen is shot, they can pop their smoke and force the enemy targeting them to take a -1 to hit them. Give a Baneblade smoke launchers and keep slapping -1 to hit on it once the enemy turns on it.
*'''Overcharged Las-Cells (1 CP):''' Used in the shooting phase. Pick a single {{W40Kkeyword|Militarum Tempestus}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Kasrkin}} Infantry unit, until the end of the phase all Hotshot weapons in the unit deal 1 mortal wound in addition to any normal damage on UMWR of 6, and up to a maximum of 6 mortal wounds proceed this way. Again, the basic Born Soldiers will greatly help max out MW output, on Kasrkin only. [[Fail|Scions don't ever benefit from it,]] but they at least get exploding 6s to hit to maximize the number of wound rolls you're making.
**RAW, you can split fire against multiple units to procc as many MWs as you can. Considering how many shots you can deal with hotshots and volleyguns, splitting fire is a legitimate tactic. Combined with Ingrained Precision, your Kasrkin are dealing MWs with a third of their shots. Because of the potential for absolute cheese, there's a chance it'll be nerfed in the future, but who knows how.
*'''Ablative Plating (2/3 CP):''' Used when a friendly {{W40Kkeyword|Battle Tank}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Armoured}} vehicle unit is the target of an attack, subtract 1 from the damage characteristic of all wounds allocated to the vehicle to a minimum of 1. Costs 3 CP for Super-Heavy and Rogal Dorn tanks. Worth it
**Can further combine with the Armoured Tracks/Cockpit benefit to grant an additional +1 to the armor save.
</tab>
</tabs>

====Rulebook Stratagems====
Just in case you forget, the following stratagems can be just as crucial as the ones above, if not more so. 9th Edition changed up some stratagems, while adding in several new ones. Prepared Positions was deleted.

*'''Command Re-roll (1 CP):''' Changed up a bit from 8th Edition. Re-roll a single Hit roll, Wound roll, Damage roll, Saving throw, Advance roll, Charge roll (this means you re-roll both dice), Psychic test, Deny the Witch test, or a roll to determine the number of attacks made by that weapon. It's much more narrow in its application, as you can tell. No more re-rolling shrugs or objective-based rolls.
*'''Counter-Defensive (2 CP):''' Used in the combat phase after an enemy unit that charged has fought. Pick one of your units to immediately attack.
*'''Cut Them Down (1 CP):''' Used when an enemy unit Falls Back, before models are moved. Roll a dice for each model in your army that is within Engagement Range (0.5") of that unit. For every roll of a 6 that enemy unit suffers 1 mortal wound.
*'''Desperate Breakout (2 CP):''' Used in the movement phase. Pick a single unit in your army that is within Engagement Range of an enemy unit. Roll a dice for each model in your unit. On a 1, the model is slain. Then, they may make a fall back move, passing through enemy models as if they weren't there. At the end of the unit's fall back move, if any models still remain within Engagement Range of an enemy unit they are automatically destroyed. The remaining unit may not perform anything else this turn, even if they have an ability to do so. So, you cannot give them the Prefectus Order "GBITF". The value is in freeing up the enemy unit for the rest of your army to shoot.
*'''Emergency Disembarkation (1 CP):''' Used when a Transport model in your army is destroyed. You can set up disembarked units within 6" of the Transport model, but now are destroyed on a 1 or 2. Again, wager a 1/3 chance of dying (risky but acceptable) vs being auto-deleted by a bubble-wrapping horde unit (which is quite infuriating) trapping you inside of your transport.
*'''Insane Bravery (2 CP):''' This stratagem can only be used once per game. Used at the start of the Morale Phase. Automatically pass a morale test for a single unit of your choice.
*'''Overwatch (1 CP):''' Used in the Charge Phase. Pick a single unit that an opponent's unit declared as the target of a charge, it may fire Overwatch. It's now a stratagem, goodbye shenanigans.

==Wargear==

===Melee Weapons===
As a rule of thumb, all of the following are available as options to Sergeants and Characters. The Guard do have a few other melee weapons (Ogryn and Rough Rider units mostly), but they'll be detailed in their unit entries later on. 

*'''Chainsword:''' SU, AP0, D1, +1A. Some credit must be given to the old standby. In addition to being free, it gives an extra attack with it. Infantry Squad Sergeants should give all of the other options here a complete miss, unless they have several buffs (Priests, Fix Bayonets order, Brutal Strength Doctrine, etc). 
*'''Power Sword:''' S+1, AP-3, D1. +5pts for Sergeants, free for Officers. Even with 9th edition's +1S, it's not enough for your S3 models - and the S4 models prefer the fist. You should generally avoid this on Characters unless you plan on taking one of the numerous relic swords the Guard get.
*'''Power Fist:''' Sx2, AP-3, D2, -1 to hit. +5pts and available to Officers and Tempestus Scion Sergeants only. Worthwhile on a melee-built Officer, but not as great on your WS4+ Scion Sergeant. 
**Brutal Strength Commanders are the most obvious choice for a power fist, and they become S7 (because the regimental trait is +1S rather than setting S to 4, the fist doubles before the trait adds) with Brute Strength.
*'''Power Maul (Legends):''' S+3, AP-1, D1. +5pts for any model that can take a melee weapon above. The new 9th edition S bonus is effectively Sx2 for you, making this a budget powerfist. Best against other T3 targets. 
*'''Power Axe (Legends):''' S+2, AP-2, D1. +4pts for any model that can take a melee weapon above. Your best bet against Marines, since every bearer goes up to at least S5.

===Ranged Weapons===
Weapons unique to a specific unit will appear in that unit's entry, as a general rule.  This list is for weapons that repeat across multiple units.

====Basic====
*'''Lasgun:''' 24", Rapid Fire 1, S3, AP0, D1. Your trusty flashlight hasn't changed. The sheer number of these you can field and combined with FRFSRF will make even Terminators shit their ceramite-plated pants. 
*'''Boltgun:''' 24", Rapid Fire 1, S4, AP0, D1. No longer available to EVERY Sergeant and Officer. Only Cadian Castellans, Platoon Commanders, Infantry Squad Sergeants, and Krieg Sergeants (and it replaces both weapons on them). However, it does allow them to actually contribute to a firefight instead of merely looking cool. You can somewhat kitbash these by clipping off the lasgun magazine and barrel and replacing with a boltgun magazine and flash hider. 
*'''Hot-Shot Lasgun:''' 24", Rapid Fire 1, S3, AP-2, D1. Available to Scions and Kasrkin. It got a range buff, so now it can be rapid-fired after deep striking! Having massed mid-AP weapons would usually be a reasonable counter to MEQs, but you still wound on a 5+; that's where the Born Soldiers default trait can save your ass.

====Pistols====
*'''Laspistol:''' 12", Pistol 1, S3, AP0, D1. A lasgun that's a pistol. More of a placeholder than anything else, but it's free. Just about anything in your army that can take something better should, but some things are stuck with one (Primaris Psyker, Master of Ordnance/Fleet, Enginseer, and Catachan Sergeants). 
**It has one (and only one) niche advantage over the Bolt/Plasma, and that's the fact Cadian Shock Troops get 2 hits on UMHR6s with the laspistol. Of course, you're always going to be taking the autogun anyway.
*'''Bolt Pistol:''' 12", Pistol 1, S4, AP0, D1. Anyone who can't take a boltgun can take this instead of a laspistol, and you're lobotomised if you ever decide on the laspistol. The only advantage the bolt pistol has over the boltgun is that it can be fired in close combat, if you expect your squishy meatbag Guardsman to be fighting there for some reason. Worse than the boltgun, better than the laspistol. 
*'''Hot-Shot Laspistol:''' 12", Pistol 1, S3, AP-2, D1. Buffed laspistol only Kasrkin and Scion sergeants get. Now can actually be shot instead of never being used in favour of a Krak grenade. The plasma pistol is still superior to it, though.
*'''Plasma Pistol:''' 12", Pistol 1, S7, AP-3, D1, may gain +1S and +1D but hit rolls of unmodified 1 kill the bearer. An actual officer's weapon, it's a toss-up between this or the boltgun for most models, but you can usually find a better use for 5 points.

====Grenades====
*'''Frag Grenade:''' 6", Grenade 1d6, S3, AP0, D1, blast. Damn near every Infantry model in the Guard carries them. 
** Your Sergeant will never do worse with a frag while in range when compared to his laspistol, and with the change to FRFSRF, any time that you are in range to throw a frag, it's a good choice.
*'''Krak Grenade:''' 6", Grenade 1, S6, AP-1, D1d3. A rarity in the Guard, available only to Scions, FW Kriegers, Kasrkin, Iron Hand Straken, and (weirdly) Priests.

====Special====
All non-legendary squads get these for free, so your choices usually boil down to plasma or melta. 
*'''Flamer:''' 12", Assault d6, S4, AP0, D1, automatically hits. This is your default special weapon for a squad that you plan to have in Rapid Fire range (and thus within 12"), so your squads that are intended to be claiming objectives and/or getting in the enemies face and disrupting their plans. 
** Squads with flamers will need high mobility via doctrines, orders, or dedicated transports to be effective, but if you can keep them in the right range a flamer Guardsman is over four times as effective as a lasgun Guardsman at clearing other GEQs.
*'''Grenade Launcher:''' 24", Assault d6, S3, AP0, D1, Blast or 24", Assault 1, S6, AP-1, Dd3. In contrast to the flamer, this is your default special weapon for a squad that you plan to have ''outside'' Rapid Fire range (so from 12" to 24"). AKA it's for your squads that'll be hunkering down on your own objectives or following up the flamer squads to hold objectives you've taken from your opponent. For this role, the grenade launcher is better than the flamer, a Grenade Guardsman may 'only' be around 1.5-2 times as effective as a Lasgun Guardsman but the important part is he can fire his weapon at the squad's preferred engagement range. 
** While the grenade launcher also has the Krak profile it's...meh, to say the least. Unless your meta has a glut of light vehicles, you'll be taking grenade launchers for GEQ sweeping and the Krak profile will be a fun "bonus".
*'''Meltagun:''' 12", Assault 1, S8, AP-4, Dd6, gains +2D if the target is within half range. It's good against ''anything'' with lots of wounds and as such is your replacement for the flamer on a rapid fire squad you want to be able to also hunt your opponents [[Iron Hands|tanks]], [[Adeptus Mechanicus|big robots]], [[Tyranids|monsters]], or [[Ultramarines|mary]] [[Cato Sicarius|sues]]. 
** Same logic goes as above for the flamer as to the squad's role, though if a meltagun is in a squad the other Guardsmen quickly transform from backup firepower as with the flamer to having the job of chaff clearing and bullet catching.
*'''Plasma Gun:''' 24", Rapid Fire 1, S7, AP-3, D1, may gain +1S and +1D but hit rolls of unmodified 1 kill the bearer. The alternative weapon option to the grenade launcher squad and, like the meltagun, it allows the squad to kill MEQs and up. Also like the meltagun, a squad with a plasma gun will be putting the lasgun Guardsmen on support duty.
**Given that you have a ''huge'' variety of ways to re-roll 1's, this is a worthwhile option.
*'''Sniper Rifle:''' 36", Heavy 1, S4, AP-1, D1, Ignores Look Out Sir, and wound rolls of UM6 inflict a mortal wound in addition to any other damage. This is your Ratling's default weapon. 
** Has some merit taken en-mass in your Infantry Squads against Character-heavy armies, but Ratling's are cheap, hard to shift if they're cover camping, and it doesn't eat up a plasma gun/grenade launcher slot. 
*'''Hot-Shot Volley Gun:''' 30", Rapid Fire 2, S4, AP-2, D1. Tempestus Scions, Kasrkin, and Taurox get this. The changes to this gun are great, because rapid fire means you're no longer taking movement penalties, and with 15" of range to proc double-tapping, you can hang a bit further back. 
** Unfortunately, though the gun was improved, the Scions who carry it have been gutted, and with the changes to special weapons, the glory days of four volley guns deep striking with AP-3 and shredding GEQs are over.
** On the Taurox, the two volley guns are RF3, giving you 6/12 shots at AP-2

====Heavy====
*'''Autocannon:''' 48", Heavy 2, S7, AP-1, D2. A former mainstay of your Infantry Squads because it split the difference between the heavy bolter and the lascannon, but 9th edition ended that. With heavy bolters at D2, autocannons are worse against anything within 36". Its only use is against targets in the 36"-48" range and T5-7 targets. 

*'''Heavy Bolter:''' 36", Heavy 3, S5, AP-1, D2. It's still standard on every vehicle in your motor pool and it's better than the autocannon against almost everything due to the extra shot.
** With Armor of Contempt gone, this returns to being a solid default choice.
** Only 5pts each on a Leman Russ now, hopefully you kept the sponson bits. 

*'''Heavy Flamer:''' 12", Heavy d6, S5, AP-1, D1. Can be taken on most Vehicles in place of the heavy bolter, as sponson weapons for the Leman Russ, and in Platoon Command Squads. This almost strictly better than a flamer, with the only downside that it can't advance and fire. 
** Not a bad choice on Leman Russes and Chimera, especially if they are expected to be close to the fight. Suicide Demolishers are still viable, and Armoured Sentinels can make for a great wall against armies that want to get close to you. 

*'''Lascannon:''' 48", Heavy 1, S9, AP-3, Dd6. The ever-reliable Imperial tank-buster, the improved strength over missile launcher is critical; krak missiles wound on 4's while the Lascannon wounds on 3's against T8 targets and the extra AP doesn't hurt, either.

*'''Missile Launcher:''' 48", Heavy d6, S4, AP0, D1, blast, or 48", heavy 1, S8, AP-2, Dd6. Still the Jack of all trades, still the master of none. Since heavy weapons in Infantry Squads are still free, take the lascannon over this every time.

*'''Mortar:''' 48", Heavy d6, S5, AP0, D1, blast and does not need line-of-sight. Not worth it, because direct-firing with a missile launcher is always better than indirect firing due to the new rules. 
** The only way to make Mortars worthwhile would be the {{W40Kkeyword|EXPERT BOMBARDIERS}} Regiment trait ''and'' getting a vox-caster or Sentinel unit within 12" of the target to negate the -1 to hit penalty. And the target still claims +1 to their saving throws. So it's still trash.

===Other Wargear===

*'''Master Vox and Vox-Caster:''' Your only Infantry wargear in this section. This machine is the beating heart of the Orders system. If an Officer is in a unit with a Master Vox (meaning only the Command Squads), it can issue an order to a unit 24" away as long as it has a Vox-Caster. Both are free options to any unit that can take them.

*'''Dozer Blade:''' Gives you the keyword, but more importantly lets you ignore all modifiers to movement/advance/charge, because mind magic that traps you in a temporal anomaly is meaningless against big tank.
** Unlike track guards of 8e, this doesn't avoid movement debuffs due to bracketing. Brackets change your characteristic itself.
** Doesn't do anything for the CRUSH THEM stratagem, but lets you deal D3 MWs on a 3+ with the Blitz Them Order.
** Currently free on standard Leman Russes, because proofreading.

*'''Hunter-Killer Missile:''' 48", Heavy 1, S10, AP-2, Dd6, one-use. 5pts spent on most of your Vehicles for an excellent turn 1 mass targeting of a couple of heavy enemy units. 
** Sentinel Squads can spam these like no-ones business; three Sentinels with lascannons/missile launchers and a hunter-killer are an effective "fuck you" and can easily escape retribution with a 1CP to move after firing.

*'''Pintle Heavy Stubber:''' 36", Heavy 3, S4, AP0, D1, 5pts. With Vehicles being able to move and shoot heavy weapons without penalty, take this over the storm bolter every time. 

*'''Pintle Storm Bolter:''' 24", Rapid Fire 2, S4, AP0, D1. 5pts. Only of use against targets within 12" compared to the heavy stubber, right where tanks don't like to be. 
**When considering whether you should take the heavy stubber or the storm bolter, it comes down to how far you expect the enemy to be in relationship to your vehicle, specifically if you think they will or won't be within 12" of you. The heavy stubber has an extra shot over the storm bolter outside 12" as well as having a longer range. Against targets within 1", *only Heavy Weapons suffer the -1 to hit,* so the storm bolter not only shoots more, but more accurately in melee. 
** The Turret Weapon rule allows the main guns to shoot out of melee, so you can stay in melee and hope your other weapons clear out the tarpit. A storm bolter is an ok way to kill an extra cultist.

*'''Armoured Tracks:''' Grants the armoured keyword, and gives you a +1 save against D1.
**Funnily enough, this gives you better synergy with the CRUSH THEM stratagem, [[Fail|not the Dozer Blade]]. Just because we were the second to the last codex doesn't mean GW proofread it.
**Also gives you access to another -1 D strat, which lets you procc Armoured Tracks' +1 to save against autocannon/heavy bolter equivalents.

===Heirlooms of Conquest===
Relics return in the new Codex; they are all now General. Some of them can be given to a sergeant like some other Codices. There is very little unit lock for these so yeah! You can take them on any regimental character, but at the cost of fluff, boo! Keep in mind under Nephilim rules you must spend a CP to even claim your first relic (this was done principally to curb Space Marine, Tau, and Sisters of Battle armies that spammed relic and warlord trait combos), so choose wisely for competitive builds.

*'''Armour of Graf Toschenko:'''  Formerly a Vostroyan exclusive Relic, +1W and Sv2+. If for some reason you were really obsessed with keeping a Regimental Preacher alive, this would do it, but its legality on Tank Commanders isn't useful (they're already Sv2+ and the +1W doesn't matter much) and anything else you care enough about to invest in with this would be better off with an Ogryn Bodyguard and another relic. The best use for it is putting it on your 4++ Bodyguard when attaching it to an officer or command squad that already has another relic: Imperial Commander's Armory happens during muster, which is the same time during which you assign Bodyguards, meaning you can choose the order they happen in, allowing you to circumvent ICA's ban on getting 2 relics into 1 unit by having ICA occur first.  This works with any relic, of course, but this is the only one you want on the bodyguard specifically (e.g. the Deathmask of Ollanius is better but you don't want it on the bodyguard, and the Barbicant's Key you probably want on a sergeant).
*'''Clarion Proclamatus:''' Replaces the Master Vox in a {{W40Kkeyword|Command squad}}. Unlimited Order range for the Squad Officer. This is how Vox-casters should be normally. Useful, but on 9th edition boards, 24" will usually handle what you need. Unless you have a very specific plan, not really worth the CP.
*'''Deathmask of Ollanius:''' Using this relic keeps the tradition of Ollanius Pius alive in story and on the tabletop, props to you for using it. Gives every model in the {{W40Kkeyword|INFANTRY}} bearer's unit a 4++. 
**If it's going on a Cadian Castellan with accompanying Bodyguard, this will work nicely. For Command Squads, the Nemrodesh Banner is just better.
*'''The Emperor's Benediction:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Commissar}} only relic. Trades his basic bolt pistol for a "Look out, sir!" ignoring 18" 3-shot S4 AP-1 D2 bolt pistol that deals a mortal wound in addition to normal damage on unmodified 6s to wound.
*'''Finial of the Nemrodesh 1st:''' Replaces the Standard in a {{W40Kkeyword|Command squad}}.  6" aura of ignore modifiers to hit and ignore rules that ignore wounds for all {{W40Kkeyword|astra militarum CORE}} units. Easily the best in the list.
**Top-tier relic, honestly. Ignores one of Guard's biggest weaknesses (Hit modifiers) and strongly reduces enemy durability. Really tempts you to keep '''Born Soldiers''' to make the most of those 6s to hit. The ignore wounds applies to Feel No Pains, damage halving and reduction abilities, and wounds-per-phase capping abilities.
**Because this is such an auto-include, go ham. Death Guard, Tyranids, and Chaos Daemons will hate your guts. 
*'''Gatekeeper:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Tank Commander}} Relic Battle Cannon, now no longer limited by the Cadian keyword. 72" Heavy 6+1D3 S9 AP-3 D3, Blast, Turret Weapon. 
**It's a straight upgrade from a Battle Cannon, and should be your relic pick if you're rocking at least 1 Tank Commander. Tie between this and the Nemrodesh Banner for best relic in the Codex.
*'''Kurov's Aquila:''' Once per game, when your opponent uses a stratagem (excluding the Command Re-roll stratagem), increase its cost by 1 for the rest of the battle. This is honestly REALLY punishing, especially under Warzone Nephilim's competitive CP starvation. Identify your opponent's key stratagem and make it even more of a hassle to pull off.
**This of course plays into one of 9th's biggest problems where it's not enough to know your own increasingly convoluted and bloated rules, but also know your ''opponent's'' increasingly convoluted and bloated rules.
*'''Laurels of Command:''' {{W40Kkeyword|officer}} only, 1/battle at the start of any of your opponent's phases, issue 1 order from this list provided you didn't already issue it this round (you don't need to know the order, the relic provides it): Fix Bayonets!; Take Cover!; At All Costs!; Show Them Steel, Show Them Contempt!; Remain Vigilant!; Shock and Awe!
*'''Null Coat:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Tempestor prime}} or {{W40Kkeyword|Commissar}}, 1 Deny the witch with +1  to roll. Pass.
*'''Order of the Bastium Stellaris:''' Infantry unit gains Transhuman. 1-3 fails to wound. Definitely not sponsored by Paradox Interactive.  
**Since it's limited to {{W40Kkeyword|INFANTRY}} only, it's a hard pass because Command Squads aren't worth keeping around with a CP. Take an Ogryn Bodyguard instead. Enemy units must compare attacks against its T5, 6 wounds, and -1 damage reduction. That's all the durability you'll ever need. 
*'''Psy-sigil of Sanction:''' Know and cast one extra power for a {{W40Kkeyword|psyker}}. 
**Hard pass, Psyker spam isn't the Guard's strong suit, especially with the removal of Wyrdvane Psyker support.
*'''Refractor field Generator:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Tempestor Prime}}. 6" aura of 5++ to Scion Infantry. Was 133rd Lambdan Lions archo-tech, [[BLAM|but they were compelled]] to [[Blood Ravens|share]]. Actually good, take it if you're running all-scions.
*'''Tactical Auto-Reliquary of Tiberius:''' {{W40Kkeyword|officer}} only.  Issue +1 order per Command Phase.

====Sergeant====
The following can be given to a Watchmaster or Sergeant using the Battlefield Bequest strat:

*'''The Barbicant's Key:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} only; once per game, the bearer's unit gets to leave the table, immediately deep strike, and re-roll charge rolls when they do.
**The biggest strength is that you can set up orders and buffs in the Command phase before repositioning. A Born Soldiers Kasrkin squad with Lord Solar's full re-rolls, FRFSRF, Overcharged Las-Cells and a pair of volley guns can, mathematically, max out mortal wounds to two separate targets. You may have to build around it, but it remains a potent threat your opponent will have trouble ignoring.
*'''Claw of the Desert Tigers:''' Replace Power Sword/Sabre S+2 AP-3 D2, +2A with it. Pass on it if you can, unless you truly want a melee-build character. You can give it to a Rough Rider Sgt, if you want.
*'''Emperor's Fury:''' Replaces Plasma pistol, 12" Pistol 3 S8 AP-3 D2. Was the 43rd Itoan Dragons' former relic. 
**If this wasn't CP starved mode, this would be great in addition to Gatekeeper or the Finial, but relics and warlord traits cost valuable CP. Pass on it if you can.
*''' Legacy of Kalladius:''' Replaces Chainsword. S+1 AP-2 D2, +3A with it. 
**If you want a fun melee character, take an Officer with the Brutal Strength regiment trait, the Front-line Combatant trait, and this relic in place of a free chainsword. 7 Attacks at an effective S6 that get 2 additional hits for every UMHR of 6.
**Building on the above, Commissars can take Chainswords now. [[Ciaphas Cain|Did someone say '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM''']]?
*'''Relic of Lost Cadia:''' {{W40Kkeyword|Cadian}} only. Once per game gain 6" aura that affects {{W40Kkeyword|Cadian}} units only, providing improving Ld, WS, A, and BS by 1, in ascending order of importance to you. Bonuses to BS and WS are not hit roll modifiers so it stacks with orders. Suddenly with the Take Aim!/Fix Bayonets! order your regular guardsmen hit on a 2+

==Unit Analysis==
*''Keywords:'' Your faction keywords are {{W40Kkeyword|Astra Militarum}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Imperium}}. Aside from that, you have a metric shitton of keywords to keep an eye on due to the dissolution of your single-regiment armies. Not helping things is the fact that you can build detachments out of {{W40Kkeyword|Cadian}} units, which can also have the {{W40Kkeyword|Regimental}} alongside your generic squads.
*''Sergeants:'' Like most armies the Guard's infantry (and cavalry) squads have non-commissioned officers leading them. These Sergeants (or Bone'Eads, if you're an Ogryn) have +1 Attack and Leadership over the rest of the squad, and in Infantry squads they swap the longarm of the rest of the unit for a laspistol and chainsword. Infantry Squads, Scions, Veterans, Rough Riders, Ogryns, and Bullgryns all have sergeants in some form, none of whom cost more than the non-Sergeants in the squad with them.

===Bodyguard===
Bodyguards don't take up slots but must be assigned to any unnamed {{W40Kkeyword|infantry officer}} at a maximum rate of 1 per unit, so they can be added to single-model Castellans or Commissars, as well as Command Squads of any flavor. Bodyguards '''must''' absorb any abuse that the officer may come across - all incoming wounds must be allocated to them.  In exchange, you get to use their Toughness when something tries to wound the unit.  In practice all {{W40Kkeyword|bodyguard}}s are {{W40Kkeyword|militarum auxilla}}.
*'''Ogryn Bodyguard:''' Generic variant. Starts with basic Ogryn kit but can trade up for the Bullgryn kit. Recommended to take the Power Maul and Slabshield for a 2+. If something's sniping your Commander, it's best to keep the base save at 2+ and account for the rend instead of banking on a 4++. Being T5 W6 and the ability to reduce damage taken by 1, they can certainly save your life from quite an array of threats while your officer lays out the orders. As an added bonus, they can shoot their Ripper Guns in melee so you can pretend you're playing [[Warhammer 40K: Darktide|Darktide]]. 
**[[Derp|Their Slab Shields override their Bullgryn Plate, so you shouldn't pay for the latter if you take the former]].
*'''[[Nork Deddog]]:''' The Unique one, only has a 4+, but comes with 2+ WS/3+ BS, an extra wound, and deals a MW with every UMWR of 6. Take him if you're expecting the Squad to get into melee, otherwise stick with the Bullgryn Bodyguard for tanking sniper shots. Has a Large Knife and Ripper Gun.

===HQ===

====Regimental====
*'''Cadian Castellan:''' As it turns out, Creed didn't have a singular stranglehold on the title. Of course, he's able to issue two Regimental Orders each turn like the Company Commanders of 8th Edition. He interestingly only has a 5+ save stat, but comes with a Refractor Field for a 5++. He starts with a Laspistol and Chainsword, and can trade the Chainsword for a Bolter, Power Sword, or Fist. He can also trade his Laspistol for a Bolt or Plasma pistol. He also grants the Senior Officer Aura of re-roll 1s to hit for {{W40Kkeyword|ASTRA MILITARUM CORE}} units within 6". If you're not running the Lord Solar, he has to be the Warlord.  Your go-to budget HQ if you're running an Infantry-based list.
*'''Command Squad:''' Replaces the Company Commander and Tempestor Prime. Your COs are no longer going to battle alone, with all members of the Command Squad now a part of the unit and the entire unit getting character protection. They can each take a variety of options, but the most important change is that Regimental Advisors and Ogryn Bodyguards must now be included in the unit. The Ogryn Bodyguard is probably an autotake, because '''T5 6W and -1 Dam''' means he is tougher than everyone else combined, and you use his Toughness for the unit. Did we also mention the entire Command Squad benefits from '''Lo,S!''', so they can still hide from non-sniper units?
**'''Cadian''': AKA the Company Command Squad of old, with the Cadian keyword slapped onto it. The wargear is tied to each model. The Commander has a Chainsword and Laspistol, one veteran guardsmen with the Cadian Regimental Standard and a Lasgun, one veteran with a Medi-pack and a Lasgun, one veteran with a Master Vox and a Laspistol, and one veteran with a Chainsword and Laspistol for a warm body. The Commander cannot be the warlord with either Lord Solar Leontus or a {{W40Kkeyword|COMMANDANT}} model in the army. 
***The Commander and one Veteran can swap his Laspistol for a Bolt Pistol or Plasma Pistol, similarly the Commander and one Veteran can swap his Chainsword for a Power Sword or Power Fist. Finally two Vets may swap their Chainsword/Regimental Standard for the usual special weapons.
**'''Platoon''': They are the generic guys. 
**You can also tack on Regimental Attaches to your Command Squads. They're all just 1W utility models now.
***'''Astropath:''' One-Cast Psyker and can cast properly now, but can only choose from the first three Powers in the Psykana Discipline. Also has a WC7 action to get a CP. Unlike the Primaris Psyker, he doesn't take up a slot.
****Considering how likely you are to be taking a second detachment, take him. If not, still take him because he's a warm body.
***'''Officer of the Fleet:''' Pick a visible unit within 30" so that your {{W40Kkeyword|aeronautica imperialis}} units (i.e. Valkyries) get re-rolls of 1 to hit it. Provides a 2CP stratagem to delay reinforcements on Round 1 or 2. Delaying reinforcements is powerful, but it costs 2 CP ''and'' you have a Prefectus order that provides a 12 inch no-deepstrike bubble, which you can play around with to extend further. 
***'''Master of Ordnance:''' Pick a visible unit within 30" so that your {{W40Kkeyword|astra militarum artillery}} units get re-rolls of 1 to hit it. Now useful because Cadia no longer gives out free re-roll 1s for remaining stationary. Provides a 2CP stratagem to deal out mortal wounds around a target point on the battlefield after a 2 turn (1 round) delay.
*'''Tank Commander:''' Nerfed from its 8th Ed incarnation because it's just 4+ BS now, but at least it has the same TURRET WEAPON rule as the non-{{W40Kkeyword|officer}} variant to give it a +1 and ability to shoot outside of combat. It orders {{W40Kkeyword|Squadron}} models, which include the Leman Russ and Sentinels of both flavors, but not itself. Otherwise the same as the basic Leman Russ now, which is still very tough, and only 10 points more.
**Spend a tank ace upgrade on it to [[Awesome|make it a fucking Commissar]] and allow it to issue an extra PREFECTUS order per turn. No free power sword attack, though 
**If you're going for VP, you'll need a {{W40Kkeyword|VEHICLE OFFICER}} within 12" of another vehicle for Inflexible Command. However, with the Vaunted Praetorian Tank Ace, you can commission a Rogal Dorn (which gets to order itself) or a Baneblade (which gets to order other superheavies) to officer status. But since this is the Guard, just take both a TC and a Vaunted Praetor.

*'''Death Korps Marshal<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Your equivalent to the Castellan but with a gasmask and with 4 wounds. Comes stock with a power sword and laspistol, but that pistol can be swapped out for a bolt or plasma pistol. With the overdue Imperial Armour update, they're pretty much an alternative to the Castellan with the lack of regiment keywords with the exception of a lack of a power fist option.
*'''Death Rider Squadron Commander<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A junior officer mounted on a horse. A bit of an odd duck now that regimental commanders have been folded into the command squad, but they do stand out on being a generic cavalry officer that can issue orders to the returning Rough Riders as well as their own Death Riders. They're none too shabby either, as they complement their 5++ refractor field with a 5+++ save as well and while the lance isn't nearly as good as the Rough Riders', their horse can fight too with two S4 AP-1 swipes. They also have their own outflanking ability which won't count towards Reserves.
**They can also grab a command squad without needing to spend an Elites slot. Do take it, you need as many bodies as you can get because cavalry is not something easy to grab.

=====Named Characters=====
Named characters must take a static Warlord Trait if they're your Warlord, can't take Relics, and can't take Bodyguards.
*'''[[Lord Solar]] Leontus:''' The Lord Solar is the Guard's {{W40Kkeyword|SUPREME COMMANDER}}, coming mounted on his [[Brony|cyber-horse]] [[Kostaltyn|Konstantin]] and spewing out three orders a turn; as the top dog of the Imperial Guard, he can order ''anyone'' and use ''any'' of the three orders trees, up-to and including Battle Tanks, Superheavies, Auxilia, and other Officers, drastically improving their flexibility.
**12" S6 T4 8W 6A, with a 3+/4++ and halving damage, he is quite tanky for a regular human. For weapons, he has a S8 AP3 3D pistol and a S:U AP3 D2 sword.
**He never leaves home without consulting his crystal-girl witchtok hoes, represented by the ''The Collegiate Astrolex'' rule: Before the battle, after the opponent reveals his secondaries/agenda, you may change one of yours or instead gain an extra CP in your first command phase. Pretty good when you're facing Necrons with their absolutely bonkers secondary game.
**For buffs, all CORE units within 6" can reroll hit and wound rolls of 1; he can also select one CORE/CHARACTER/BATTLE TANK in the command phase for full hit rerolls, and if it's also Core, full wound rerolls as well. 
**His best use is being a CP and Order engine. Because he has access to all Orders and can order any Guard unit, you can keep him hanging back with your artillery and generating CP, or have him escort a Bullgryn/Baneblade castle as a [[Distraction Carnifex]]. He has no way to shrug MWs and he can't be Bodyguarded, so Snipers can potentially blip him to death. 
*'''[[Creed|Ursula Creed]]:''' [[Lulz|Ms. Trunchbull]] IN SPESS and Creed's secret daughter who was [[Tactical genius|hiding behind the Warlord Titans]] all this time. She doesn't give you bonus CP, but can spew out three orders a turn just like daddy. 
**Unlike her father, when she orders a unit, the unit gets +1S to their shooting, so she can make Sentinels fire overcharged plasma at BS3+ and S9 AP-4. The FAQ further clarifies that if the order is over-written, they will no longer receive the +1 S modifier, so you ''have'' to single each unit out specifically. 
**She lets you do a CP re-roll twice per phase, too. Weapons-wise she has a Power Sword and a brace of relic Hotshot Laspistols, Fury and Vengeance, which is 12" Pistol 4 S5 AP-3 D2. 
**She also has the {{W40Kkeyword|COMMANDANT}} keyword so must be your Warlord if you didn't take the Lord Solar. If she is the Warlord, she uses the Master Tactician Warlord trait which can have you pull off outflanking maneuvers.
**She is the ranged Straken, and can be used to babysit infantry or Heavy Weapons while the Lord Solar or Tank Commanders lead from the front. 
*'''Colonel Straken''' - The Guard's version of the half-chewed (but more bad-ass) Marneus Calgar and Catachan senior Officer. He's now available for everyone, which is great because his buffs aren't limited to Catachans.
**He's '''BS3+ A6 WS2+ S6 T4 Sv3+/4++ W5''', which is Space Marine character tier stats. His Knife is SU(6) AP-3 D2. Because he (like all Catachan Named Characters) has {{W40Kkeyword|Regimental}}, he can still benefit from Brutal Strength, bumping him up to S7 in the first turn of combat. So yes, he is hitting as hard as an autocannon but with substantially more AP.
**He can order twice, and like Ursula, he gives a bonus to the specific unit he orders (UMHR of 6s in melee autowound non-{{W40Kkeyword|vehicle}}s). He gives an aura of re-rolling hit rolls of 1 to {{W40Kkeyword|astra militarum CORE}}. He also gets to re-roll wounds against {{W40Kkeyword|Monster}}s.
**If he has a WT, all his 6s to hit in melee score 2 hits (making him effectively WS1+) and he gets to add +1 to his melee wound rolls.

====Militarum Tempestus====

*'''Militarum Tempestus Command Squad:''' Deepstriking Command Squads. Similar to the Cadian and Platoon versions, every model can be kitted out for a specific role/utility, but they can also only take one of each gun, locking you out of Melta spam. See the [[{{PAGENAME}}#Regimental|Regimental]] section for more discussion of Command Squads in general, including Attaches.  Note that you ''can'' take Attaches, and they'll deep strike with you just like Bodyguards, but Bodyguards have Militarum Auxilla, which is why they don't block Scion Troops - Attaches have no special rule, so an [[what|Officer of the Fleet to buff your Valkyries will shut down your ObSec]].
**The Command Rod gives him access to Prefectus Orders (but he can only order other {{W40Kkeyword|Militarum Tempestus}} units, and doesn't increase the number of orders.)
***The Prime is so modeled as to not have any melee weapons (that dagger is [[Tau|suspiciously]] [[Bonding Knife|purely ceremonial]]), and since you'll want to replace his pistol to take the Command Rod on the Prime, his only [[Derp|weapons are grenades]].
**The fact that he can only issue one order shouldn't really matter, but it does. Ideally, you ''shouldn't'' be spreading your Scions thin and should all have them close enough that the one order will bounce off, and close enough to the Command Squad to proc '''Drill Commander'''.
**BUT! Placing Scions in deep strike means [[Derp|going a turn without orders]], and placing the Command Squad in a Transport has its own issues: since Orders are issued in the Command Phase, your Scions all drop in after Orders have been issued. The '''only''' exception is for those jumping out of a Valkyrie/Taurox: Officers who disembark can then issue their single order, but this order ''can never benefit from Regimental Tactics/Bounce''. Because of mandatory order of events, Valkyrie disembarking always happens before Reinforcements arrive via Deepstrike. And no, you can't pop out of the Taurox after moving, only [[Armageddon Steel Legion|Mechanised Infantry]] and affiliated Kasrkin can do that.
**The best thing about this squad is they can take an Ogryn Bodyguard that can Deep Strike along with them. The entire unit gets '''Look Out, Sir''', but the Ogryn provides the entire unit with T5 until he is removed.  Same trick works with Attaches (Ordnance/Fleet/Astropath), but they'll break your rule letting you field Scions as Troops.

====Officio Prefectus====
*'''Gaunt's Ghosts:''' Like a Command Squad (''but not one'', so you can't take attaches), and individually much better than the generic ones. Unlike the Cadian/Platoon version, they do not benefit from Regiments at all, but they are {{W40Kkeyword|Tanith}}. Ibram Gaunt, the officer, is a named character, which is why you also can't take a bodyguard.
**What they lack in Regiment bonuses, they make up for by being [[Raven Guard|extra]] [[Kommando|Sneaky]]: they can Scout Deploy anywhere on the board, and their Camo-Cloaks are more advanced than anything the [[Stealthsuit Team|Tau]] or [[Infiltrators|the Mary Sues]] can field: They can't be shot at by enemies outside of 18", ranged attacks against them are always -1, and they can add 1 to their armor save when receiving the benefits of cover. Like a regular command squad, each model has its own unique ability.
**'''Ibram Gaunt:''' W/BS 2+ A3 W4, but he can do an additional d3 attacks with his SU AP-1 D2 Chainsword. So long as he's still alive, you never have to worry about Morale, and he can issue 2 PREFECTUS/REGIMENTAL commands. 
***He lacks the '''Summary Execution''' rule because he is a [[Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt|reasonable commissar]].
**'''Major Elim Rawne:''' A3 W3, but so long as he's alive, this [[Skaven|gutter-fighter]] can force one enemy unit within Engagement Range to fight last.
**'''Colonel Corm Corbec:''' A3 W4 and gives you a CP discount on any stratagem used on them ''once per battle round''. This can bring the CP cost to 0. He also comes with a hot-shot lascarbine, which is Assault 3 S3 AP-2 D1.
**'''Master Sniper Larkin:''' A1 W2, but BS 2+. His Long-Las is Heavy 1 S5 AP-2 D3 that can cause d3 MWs on UMWRs of 6. The lack of Regiment means he'll never be able to proc Born Soldiers, but at least you can CP re-roll for free.
**'''Trooper Bragg:''' A2 W2. He never suffers penalties for moving and shooting his autocannon... but he's got an Orky [[Derp|5+ BS]] anyway. They finally fixed his rule to be less confusing: after the unit makes their attacks, if no hits were scored with his Autocannon, he can immediately shoot again.
***Honestly, he'll probably be the first one to go once you start taking losses. [[Tanith First (And Only)|Spoilers]].
**'''Scout Sergeant Oan Mkoll:''' Mini-Marbo. He has W/BS 2+ 4A W2. He gives everyone a 5++ Invuln so long as he's still around.

====Scholastica Psykana====
*'''[[Primaris Psyker]]:''' Compared to an Astropath, you get a compulsory force stave, 2 powers and access to the entire discipline, and four wounds. Can cast twice but deny only once, but since he takes up a slot in the very crowded HQ section and Astropaths are regular psykers now, he isn't as much of an auto-take as before.
**Commissars no longer have the '''It's for your own good''' rule, so if he explodes, he explodes.
**Okay-ish in close combat, due to his A3 WS3+ S6 AP-1 Dd3.

===Troops===
You get four different options for Troops: Infantry Squads, Cadians, Catachan, and Krieg. And yes, all of them get to benefit from your chosen Regimental traits. 
A note on scions: You will need to take all Scions in order to use them as troops, so for now, they will stay in [[{{PAGENAME}}#Militarum_Tempestus|their own section]].

*'''Cadian Shock Troopers:''' Revealed in the 35th Anniversary celebration, with the upcoming Box Set including 20 of them, the sons and daughters of lost Cadia are becoming their own units. What differentiates them from the basic guardsmen squad? These guys can carry two special weapons per 10 guys (no Sniper Rifles though) at the expense of having no heavy weapons, and on unmodified 6 to hit with a lasgun or laspistol, they score an additional hit that didn't hit on any particular number, which is equivalent to +1 to hit. That makes these guys the best target you have for FRFSRF.
**The {{W40Kkeyword|CADIAN}} keyword opens them up for a lot of stratagems, including transhuman. 
**All their options are still free, though, so you will be taking these guys for special weapons: two troopers can take special weapons, but only one of each. 
**Their Sergeant can take either a drum-fed autogun or a pistol/phainsword combo where the pistol is a laspistol or bolt pistol.
***Always take the autogun so he can actually contribute: you're not going to do anything in melee anyway. If for some reason you're taking a pistol, the laspistol gives exploding 6s; BORN SOLDIERS also means the difference in S between a las and bolt pistols matters a lot less. 
*'''Catachan Jungle Fighters:''' You get exploding 6s in melee, but your special weapons are locked to up to 2 flamers and nothing else, all for five points more than the Shock Troops or generic infantry. Only take these if you're running a thematic list with Infantry Squads with the Veteran Guerilla and Brutal Strength regiment traits.
**[[Derp|While clearly intended to be the melee to the Cadian ranged, the Sergeant can't take any options like Power weapons]]. [[Fail|He doesn't even get a chainsword, just a laspistol]].
*'''Death Korps of Krieg:''' They all get mini-transhuman (Unmodified Wound Rolls of 1-2 always fail), and you can buy a med-pack to shrug the first failed save and spend CP to bring models back. Would have been a lot better if you [[whiteshield|had more models]] or a [[Kasrkin Armour|usable save]].
**The Krieg Squad is the weirdest example of out-of-the-box syndrome: each squad comes stock with a Plasma Gun, and the Plasma Gunner can only switch his gun for a Lasgun+Vox; besides him, two more guys can pick up a special weapon. As of the March 1st/23 FAQ, you are limited to 1 of each special weapon per squad, however that does still mean you can have more special weapons (3) than Cadians.  However, the 2 who pick can't carry plasma, and if you want plasma you have to give up your vox-caster, so don't be surprised if you end up taking 1 plasma and 2 other specials and shoving yourself forward into the enemy.
***The reason why the Plasma gunner is singled out is because the melta, plasma gun, and the Vox-Krieger's (purely cosmetic) flare gun [[DERP|all share the same fucking elbow]] and it's a real bitch to kitbash because of the way the gun is positioned. 
**Mini-transhuman won't come up that often considering that most anti-chaff weapons are massed S4/5, so it will almost never actually be worth it. In fact, being Cadian lets you pop a stratagem for ''actual transhuman'' which nullifies the advantage of S4+ (so everything that's not a guardsman weapon).
**They ''don't'' inherently have {{W40Kkeyword|Cult of Sacrifice}}.
*'''Infantry Squad:''' Ten men, nine and a half guns. These guys are the meat and potatoes of any infantry list, and at 6.5 points apiece, they're pretty efficient. That base 5+ save isn't great, but they can be surprisingly resilient in cover. Unlike the Cadian Sergeant, their Sergeant can upgrade to a boltgun and chain/power sword; always take the boltgun and chainsword. The plasma pistol and the power sword are the only weapons that cost you, so just keep them standard.
** One Guardsman can take a voxcaster, one can take a special weapon, and two guardsmen can combine into a single Heavy Weapons Team. The best part? These will not affect the unit's cost - it's 65 points for the unit now, regardless of model count or weapons, so go ham. As for the exact loadout these guys will use, it depends on their Regimental trait and the role they'll be playing.
** If you're planning to take heavy weapons in your squads, consider buying the Brood Brothers box to get the option of adding a heavy weapon team into your squad. If you buy five of them you'll get 5 infantry squads with a heavy weapon and a additional squad made up of the left over guardsmen that come with the boxes (along with a few extra pieces to spice up your squads a bit). In addition, you'll also save money buying 6 Brood Brother boxes compared to buying 6 Cadian Shock Troop boxes and 2 Cadian Heavy Weapon Squads.

===Elites=== 
====Regimental====

*'''Kasrkin''': The Chadboys are back, and this time they're more elite than ever. Each comes with an ''extra'' Regimental Doctrine due to their Warrior Elites rule, but each doctrine picked for WE must be unique to that unit in your entire army (so no sharing with an allied Guard detachment). They also have the {{W40Kkeyword|Cadian}} keyword, which comes into play for several rules and strat interactions. In short, [[Slaanesh|they fuck. They fuck hard.]]
** These guys have Scion stats and saves and can also come with up to four special weapons, with usual loadout limitations of no more than 2 of the same gun. You can choose from flamers, grenade launchers, hot-shot volley guns, meltaguns, and plasma guns.
**One of them can take a Kasrkin exclusive Hotshot Marksman Rifle  ''in addition to'' the 4 special weapons the squad cant take. It is a 36" Heavy 1 S4 AP-2 D3 sniper rifle that ignores ''Lo,S!'' and does an additional mortal wound on 6s to wound.
**Armoured Superiority and Expert Bombardiers do nothing at all on this unit, and several other options do precious little. Here are the doctrines that do the most for Kasrkin as a general rule:
***Born Soldiers, of course.
***Cult of Sacrifice (particularly useful on 2x plasma + anything, as the plasma gunners dying now buffs the rest of the unit).
***Trophy Hunters (particularly useful on 2x melta + 2x plasma + marksman, giving the unit a material edge against T8 monsters and vehicles).
***Mechanised Infantry (if you give them a ride).
***Heirloom Weapons (particularly useful if you bring 2 meltaguns and 2 flamers, and don't forget this unit has frag and krak grenades that will work 10" out).
***Industrial Efficiency (this is better on Sv4+ than Sv5+, for sure).

*'''Combat Engineer Squad<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A band of soldiers with 12" Assault 3 S4 shotguns, giving them a decent bit of punch. Each one also comes with gas bombs, S+2 AP-2 Blast weapons that auto-wound anything that isn't a vehicle or titanic on a 2+ for some extra assurance. In addition, you can buy a heavy weapons squad, but this will only equip you with a mole launcher, which is essentially a mortar with AP-1 but half the range.
**Their big gimmick is essentially being able to deep strike from wherever you want. This is especially useful if you also take a Hades drill with them so you can have both units popping out from the same hole in the ground.
*'''Death Rider Command Squadron<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' You can take one with each Commander without eating an FOC slot, which is just as well. Seeing as the only other cavalry options are either the Death Riders or Rough Riders, you'd be well served by having more horses to throw around without wasting an Elites choice, if nothing else. As with the commander, these horse-like mounts also get a 5+++ save and two S4 AP-1 swipes as well, while the riders are stuck with AP-1 lances that upgrade to S+2 AP-3 D2 on the charge. They can also be used for outflanking moves.

====Militarum Auxilla====
*'''[[Ogryn#Bullgryns|Bullgryn]]s''': T5 W3 with -1 to D taken (min 1) and your choice of Sv4+/4++ or Sv2+. You're going to take the latter, since that invuln will only matter once they're hitting you with dedicated TEQ-killing AP-3/4, and those will still be inefficient because of inbuilt -1 D; a 2+ save will also get better in cover, and will better tank the massed low AP 1D shots
**These are even harder to shift than Ogryn at the cost, baseline, of worse damage output: 18" Assault 1d6 S4 AP-1 D1 at BS4+ with their Grenadier Gauntlets (and the same AP-2 frags Ogryn get), with only baseline melee at A4 WS3+ S6.  
**Never take the gauntlets - instead, spend the 5 points per model to give them mauls, for A4 WS3+ S+1(7) AP-1 D2. [[FAIL|They can't be buffed with a Regimental Preacher]], but Prefectus Orders work on them just fine, for durable ObSec that hits back quite hard when something shoves into melee to contest. You can also bring the Lord Solar to give them +1 to hit and -1 AP
*'''[[Ogryn]]s''': T5 Sv5+ W3 with -1 to D taken (min 1), these thiccies are really hard to shift now. They can be ordered by Commissars or by the Lord Solar to become ObSec, so they will most likely have to follow them around.  Their Ripper gun is 18" Assault 3 S5 AP-2 D2 at BS4+, but can be fired like a Pistol (i.e. while Engaged at the Engaging units). The gun also rocks a bayonet at A4 WS3+ SU(6) AP-1 D1, which is pretty decent (the sergeant is A5). They also have AP-2 frag grenades, called "frag bombs", but you're never going to choose them over your Rippers in practice.  
*'''[[Ratling]]s''': The same pint-size sniper unit as before with many improved abilities. They retain an infiltrate and a stealth/cover skillset (-1 to be hit with ranged attacks, Light Cover takes them from 6+ to 4+), but their ''Shoot Sharp and Scarper'' ability is now a normal move after shooting 1/turn, rather than a random D6" run; if you use this after Overwatch, the charging unit can change targets. Their movement is 5", but that still means a 10" total scarper thanks to their ability. Hilariously, because Heavy Weapons only impose a -1 shooting penalty for firing after a move, and Ratlings are BS3+, this lets the Ratlings still move-shoot-move. With a bit of planning and positioning around LOS-blocking cover, these little gits can snipe away enemy characters with impunity. Just beware their terrible defenses. T2 W1 Sv6+ Ld5 is underwhelming; anything stronger than a stiff breeze will fold them like a deck of cards despite their 4+ in Light Cover and -1 to be hit at range.
**Their Sniper Rifles are BS3+ 36" Heavy 1 S4 AP-1 D1, ignore Look Out, Sir, UMW 6 inflicts +1 MW.  That means against a MEQ Captain (Sv3+/4++) you're looking at 0.28 wounds lost per Ratling, or 4.17 for a full set 3 units of 5 each (15 shooters) - and they cost 10 ppm, or 150 for the full set.  If you use the Move-Shoot-Move trick, you're looking at 3/4 that, or slightly less than 0.21 per model (3.125 for the whole set). By comparison, a Kasrkin with a Hot-Shot Marksman Rifle is BS3+ 36" Heavy 1 S4 AP-2 D3, ignore Look Out, Sir, UMW 6 inflicts +1 MW, ''with access to Born Soldiers, Regimental Orders, and {{W40Kkeyword|core}} buffs'', all on a model that's also 10ppm.  Each one deals 0.61 wounds to our MEQ Captain baseline, up to 0.88 with Born Soldiers, or 1.83 up to 2.625 with 3 shooters.  3 Born Soldiers Kasrkin units properly kitted out for the job (2 plasma guns, 2 hot-shot volley guns or meltaguns depending on how you think you'll use them) with a Castellan to support them (re-rolling 1s to hit from Senior Officer and +1 to hit, -1AP from the Take Aim! order) will net you 3.6 total damage dealt to our MEQ Captain with just the 3 snipers (drops to 3.06 on the move), while the other guns ''are also supported''.  
***tl;dr:As Auxilia, they don't benefit from Born Soldiers. That's bad enough, except you're also desperate for space in the Elites slot (are you ''really'' going to take Ratlings over Kasrkin or Bullgryn, or even an Enginseer?).
*'''Regimental Enginseer:''' Now a purely guard unit since it can no longer repair AdMech units, which is the way this edition has been going anyway. Has two excellent abilities for supporting vehicles. Between them, you'll likely want one for each Baneblade variant or Rogal Dorn you take.
**The first lets it choose an {{W40Kkeyword|ASTRA MILITARUM VEHICLE}} within 3" during the command phase, and give it a 5++ until your next command phase. Basically a limited but more guaranteed version of Psychic Barrier.  
**The second is the traditional 1d3 wounds repaired at the end of the movement phase. 
**The Imperial Guard codex kept the Tech-Priest as an Elite choice and allows you to bring in Servitors with it as a single Elites choice. With the new Arks of Omen detachment and its Character Elite slots, this means that the Tech-Priest isn't competing with Kasrkin or Bullgryn for slots.
*'''Munitorum Servitors:''' 4 Guardsman bodies which are slower, have a poor BS of only 5+, and have a 4+ save. Two of them can take a Heavy Bolter, Plasma Cannon, or Multi-Melta. If a Tech-Priest is babysitting them, they increase their BS to 4+ and Leadership to 9.
**Even though they are still bad, they can still be a source of bodies for Actions, similar to Cryptothralls. At about 2/3rds of the price of the Infantry Squads, they aren't nearly as good of a deal as they are for Space Marines, and you're not hurting for cheap squads for actions.
*'''Regimental Preacher:''' The Priests, renamed of course. Lost the old War Hymns and now have a few new special rules. Their prayers now work like Space Marine Chaplain litanies, roll a die in the Command phase and on a 3+ a prayer of your choice goes off. Can only target 1 {{W40Kkeyword|CORE}} or {{W40Kkeyword|INFANTRY CHARACTER}} unit with each prayer (each gets 1), and targets must be {{W40Kkeyword|astra militarum}}.
**Your prayer choices are +1 to charge rolls and re-roll melee hits, which you'll only care about on Catachans, whoever else you give the '''Brutal Strength''' trait to, and Rough Riders (no more Ogryn/Bullgryn buffing or trying to get a Battle Tank crew chanting), or a 6++ and immunity to Maledictions (any Maledictions on the unit fall off and new ones can't affect it).  
***The 6++ is best on Death Korps of Krieg, who are the most interested in improving their terrible saves, but in practice the best use of the power is controlling your opponents' ability to debuff you, assuming your opponent has leaned into Psychic debuffs.  
**Unlike every other priest in the game, Regimental Preachers don't actually use the Priest prayer rules per se, they use their own bespoke set that also specifies a 3+.  The reason this matters is that their bespoke version ''doesn't'' say anything about picking prayers you haven't attempted - you ''can'' use multiple Preachers to spam the same prayer, either for more reliability or to spread the buffs

====Militarum Tempestus====
*'''Militarum Tempestus Scions:''' Deep striking Kasrkin, but worse. They can only be taken as Troops if you take a full Scion detachment: Tempestus Patrols are free if you're also taking a Militarum AoO detachment. Because Scions are geared towards deep striking and capturing objectives, you ''want'' them to have ObSec. 
**Their Hot-Shots are 24" and their Volley Guns are now RF2! This means you no longer need to drop into the Danger Zone within 9" and can hang back a little. Valkyries ''were'' practically mandatory, but they've been gimped now that any embarked scions are dropping turn 3 at the soonest, as if the Scions weren't fucked hard enough already.
**Like all Scions, they get exploding 6s on UMHR6s instead of Regimental traits. A benefit of it being baked into their datasheet is that they'll always benefit from this, and can help you procc Overcharge Las Cells in non-Cadian lists.
**For stratagems, you can Overcharge Las-Cells to do up to 6 MWs on UMWRs of 6s, Immovable Indoctrination to shut down all Wound Re-Rolls and reduce AP if your Gloryboys are within range of an objective, or you can spend 2cp to MOUNT UP! and immediately re-embark a transport.
**Prefectus Orders (or a Tempestor with a Command Rod) can let them have ObSec even as Elites through an order.

====Officio Prefectus====
*'''[[Commissar]]:''' You know them, you fear them. 9th Edition gave them the {{W40Kkeyword|Officer}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Voice of Command}} keywords so they can now issue Prefectus Orders in the Command Phase. In addition, for each {{W40Kkeyword|COMMANDANT}} or {{W40Kkeyword|COMMAND SQUAD}} unit in the army, a single Commissar can be taken without taking up an Elite slot. His ''Summary Execution'' rule is now once per turn, and it makes a friendly Core unit from the army within 6" of the Commissar auto-pass Combat Attrition tests. Thematically, the one guy who's removed from a failed morale test is just the commissar executing him (although he still counts as fled, not dead, if some other game rule cares about the difference), and the rest of the squad stays put, which isn't broken anymore due to [[Fail|the removal of conscript blobs]]. In terms of loadout, Commissars can only upgrade to a Plasma Pistol and/or Power Sword from their stock Bolt Pistol and Chainsword.
**Prefectus orders are more tactical utility than the offensive buffing of Regimental Officers. Commissars arent the only source of Prefectus orders, but wherever the orders come from, you'll want one or two to support your objective holders, especially those in the backfield.

===Dedicated Transports===
====Regimental====
*'''[[Chimera Transport|Chimera]]:''' Slower than the Taurox, but has space for 12 rather than 10, which gives you some flexibility for Ogryns, or packing a Castellan, Commissar, and/or Preacher in with a squad. 
**Another advantage it has over the Taurox is the '''Mobile Command Vehicle''' rule, which lets ''one'' embarked Officer issue ''one'' order while embarked. The 2023 FAQ further clarifies that this order is ''distinct'' from the numbers of orders your Officer can normally issue: using Straken as an example, he can order once from inside during the Command Phase, then order two more times when Disembarking. This means Ursula can order ''four'' times (and potentially spread 4 +1 S buffs), and that a Tempestor Prime can potentially find the most use in a Chimera rather than a Taurox Prime.   Note that a vox-caster in the command squad ''will'' work as normal, letting you issue the order out to 24" away.
**The Lasgun Array (RF 6) can be shot even when empty, and BORN SOLDIERS loves those 6/12 extra shots.
**The turret weapon now has Turret Weapon, allowing it to fire at 3+ or out of melee. The multilaser has also been buffed to Heavy 4 S6 AP-1 D1, so there's at least some decision making to do for what goes in the turret since all three choices are the same price (but to be honest you're always going to take the Heavy Bolter if you're using Born Soldiers).
*'''[[Taurox]]:''' Cheaper than the Chimera but still comes stock with Armored Tracks ([[Taurox|to make up for their shitty design]]), the virgin version of the Taurox finally found a use. It still works with Mechanised Infantry for letting squads pop out and officers to give orders; throw in either industrial efficiency for full Armageddon, or even Armoured Superiority to support your troops in grabbing objectives. The 10-model capacity means that you can't fit an {{W40Kkeyword|OFFICER}} in with a squad, but at 20 points cheaper than a Chimera with armored tracks, there's definitely a use for rapid objective grabbers or mass mechanization.
**The only option is a storm bolter. No Hunter-Killer, no Dozer Blade. That said, two autocannons isn't terrible, although they don't get Turret Weapon. 
**Remember that Kasrkin squads get an extra Doctrine, so a single MECHANIZED squad in a Taurox can be a relatively inexpensive (170 points) aggressive push.
*'''Hades Breaching Drill<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' While listed as a transport choice and being able to fit in the same FOC slot as a Combat Engineer squad, they aren't really transporting the engineers in any way. Instead, when they arrive from reserves, both the engineers and drill pop out from the same point. From this point all it can do is run around, smashing through buildings and tanks with impunity because it has a melta drill. It's decently tanky with W7 T7 and a 3+ save, but it's got no guns. Melee is slightly better with a 4++ save.
*'''Trojan Support Vehicle<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The only real unit it can transport is a command squad of some sort and an extra character (maybe a Techpriest to keep it running) to fill out that spare slot. Aside from that, it can restore a wound to a nearby vehicle within 3" each turn as well as restore any single-use weapons like Hunter-Killers.

====Militarum Tempestus====

*'''[[Taurox#Taurox Prime|Taurox Prime]]:''' The Taurox's bigger, angrier brother is available exclusively to Scions and Commissars, but man is it worth it. With improved BS and an impressive selection of weaponry for its points, the Taurox Prime is the new king of metal boxes. It won't last long with that toughness, but it'll make back its points in the meantime. 
**For weapons, you should always be taking the Gatling Cannon and Volley Gun combo, especially now that they've been boosted in 9th: the sheer number of AP-1 shots the gatling cannon puts out makes it dangerous against most targets, though the Heavy 2 STR 8 AP-2 Dd6 Missile Launcher outperforms it against T8+. The Taurox-version of the Hot-shot Volley Guns are also RF3 ''each'' now, which are always better than the Autocannons. 
**Because of 2023's Flyer Nerfs as well as the order changes, Taurox Primes come with the advantage of letting your boys come out earlier while still benefiting from orders through the disembarking rule. 
**'''Note''':  This vehicle is finicky about who can get on it, not just who can bring it; only {{W40Kkeyword|Militarum Tempestus}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Officio Prefectus}} infantry (and, of course, the Inquisition, using their special rule) can board it. This is ''theoretically'' to avoid the scenario where a Commissar, who in the fluff has the authority to command entire ''armies,'' should the need arise, can't board a simple armored car.
**You should only ever consider taking the Battle Cannon and/or Autocannons if you for some reason need extra range.

===Fast Attack===
*'''Armoured Sentinels:''' The thicc sentinel benefited a lot from <s>the codex</s> [[Games Workshop|new model syndrome]]. An extra attack, wound, and point of toughness, plus all the Keywords you could ever need: {{W40Kkeyword|CORE}}, {{W40Kkeyword|PLATOON}}, and {{W40Kkeyword|SQUADRON}}, making it compatible with stratagems and all flavors of orders. And you can still take them in 3s. The advantage of the Armored Version is a 3+ save, {{W40Kkeyword|ARMORED}} plating for +1 save against D1 and a Keyword stratagem to reduce damage
**It might be better to take the Armoured version if you're '''Recon Operators''': scout deploy and the pre-game move is mutually-exclusive, but a pre-game moving t6 3+ and D1=+1 Save is very decent.
*'''Scout Sentinels:''' The skinny sentinel benefited a lot from <s>the codex</s> [[Games Workshop|new model syndrome]]. An extra attack, wound, and point of toughness, plus all the Keywords you could ever need: {{W40Kkeyword|CORE}}, {{W40Kkeyword|PLATOON}}, and {{W40Kkeyword|SQUADRON}}, making it compatible with stratagems and all flavors of orders. And you can still take them in 3s. The advantage of the Scout Version gets 12" of movement and Scout deploy. 
**With the new 80mm bases, both kinds of new sentinels can be very good for bouncing orders using Regimental Tactics. Ordering a central 3-strong unit of Sentinels can bounce orders to units just short of 25.5 inches apart. 
*'''Hellhound:''' The medium tank of the Guard motor pool was improved in 8th, and its improvements continue into 9th. It has the {{W40Kkeyword|Squadron}} keyword, [[Awesome|so it can receive Tank Orders]]. [[Fail|However, we're no longer able to take squadrons of up to 3 Hellhounds per FA slot]]. It now explodes on 5+ instead of 4+ which is a bit of a nerf, but its main weapon profiles have been even improved even more:
**The Inferno Cannon is an 18" Heavy auto-hitting 2d6 S6 AP-2 D1. Extra point of AP and 2" extra range over its 8th incarnation. By the way, this and the other main guns got the Turret Weapon rule so it can shoot out of combat. The best part? This and the Chem-Cannon auto-hit so we don't care about -1 to hit.
**The Chem-Cannon is now 12" Heavy auto-hitting D3+3 S2 AP-3 D2, and always wounds non-vehicles and non-titanic units on a 2+. It auto-hits like the Inferno Cannon, and now has an improved range and more consistent auto-hit count. A damage increase to flat 2 does wonders, and AP-3 makes it brutal against MEQ's.
**The Melta Cannon is a 24" Heavy D3 S9 AP-4 D6+2 Blast gun that does D6+4 damage if its target is within half range. Gained an extra pip of strength and even more consistent damage. The Turret Weapon rule makes you hit on a 3+ if you're not in Engagement Range. 
***If youre taking this, taking the Hull Multi Melta is mandatory.
**You can't overwatch for free anymore, but why let them charge you? Plow right into the Intercessors sitting on that objective and remind your opponent that he better kill you or eat a pile of automatic hits - falling back won't save him. And even if he does, there's that tasty hellhound explosion roll...
*'''Rough Riders:''' HOLY FUCKING SHIT THESE THINGS FINALLY GOT NEW MODELS. 12" S/T4, +2S on the charge, 2W 2A and a 4+ save, theyre tougher than before, but don't expect them to last long.
**Their hunting lances are now capable of multiple modes, with either AP-1 frag tips that deal two *additional hits* or S+2 AP-4 D3 melta tips to handle light vehicles. They also have frag grenades, laspistols, and lasguns.
*** Most Heavy Vehicles aren't getting away without some pain either from the Melta tip. Yes, the Melta tip is only a +2 S, but remember that you get that sweet +2 S to the unit on a charge, easily making this a '''S8 AP-4 D3''' attack per lance!
**One model in five (which can be the Sgt) can take a Goad Lance for more-efficient tank hunting S+2 (S8 on the charge), AP -3, 2 damage, two hits on a successful attack roll, and does an automatic mortal wound to vehicles with every hit allocated. The SGT can take a Power Sabre- +1, AP-3, 2 damage chainsword, this doesn't replace anything so he can take it with the lance. Don't forget that the Sabre hits at S7 on the charge.
**They are CORE, PLATOON, and benefit from Doctrines. They also ignore all movement modifiers while naturally hitting on 3s, with potential for more hits. What does this mean? They are fast as hell and can receive a wide range of orders and buffs, meaning if you can get them in the right position they can do tremendous damage. This comes at a cost of 100 points for 5 and 200 points for 10, but if built for and utilized well they can smash into anything short of a Titan and remove it.
**Order them to fix bayonets and charge a Superheavy. They'll die to a stiff breeze but if they get into combat, it's game over for whatever they charge.
====Forge World Fast Attack====
Good luck actually finding any of these for sale.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
*'''Death Rider Squadron<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Slightly weaker than the command squadron with fewer attacks. As with the other Krieger cavalry, these horse-like mounts also get a 5+++ save and two S4 AP-1 swipes as well, while the riders are stuck with AP-1 lances that upgrade to S+2 AP-3 D2 on the charge. They can also be used for outflanking moves.
**Is there a reason to take these instead of just proxying your horses as Rough Riders? Honestly not much. Their lances are inferior to the versatile lances your codex counterparts get, but in exchange you get horses that provide a FNP save, an outflanking move and some extra attacks.
*'''Artemia-Pattern Hellhound<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' An option for the Hellhound now. +20pts to replace the inferno cannon for the Artemia inferno cannon (16", heavy 2d3, S6, AP-1, D2, automatically hits).
*'''Salamander Scout Tank<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' Cute little light tank, loaded up with an autocannon and a heavy bolter, plus the usual HKM plus storm bolter or heavy stubber options. If you were planning on taking an autocannon Sentinel, this is worth considering; faster, beefier, has more guns, and has the 9" post-deployment move from the Scout Sentinel. 
** Two autocannon Sentinels or either flavour will cost you 90pts, whereas this runs you 75pts. 
** Given that Forge World doesn't make the Salamander model anymore, a good proxy is a Chimera hull with an autocannon turret converted from a Heavy Weapon Team.
*'''Tauros Assault Vehicle<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' A cool little dune buggy scout vehicle. At first, you might think they're just more expensive (and OOP) Scout Sentinels, but there are a few neat advantages here. They're M15", keep their T5, W6, Sv4+ profile, and their Galvanic Motor gives them a 5++ invulnerable if they advance. If they advance, they can't fire their heavy flamer but they can fire their Tauros grenade launcher (36", assault 2d6, S3, AP0, D1, blast or 36", assault 2, S6, AP-1, Dd3) after advancing. These guys do NOT have the Vehicle Squadron rule so many other Vehicle units have, so they have to stay in coherency if you take more than one in the same slot. It also means any unit-wide buffs you can hand out, such as Psychic Barrier, affect the entire group.
** Yet another discontinued Forgeworld model, but thankfully there are a few options for kitbashing here - the GSC Achilles Ridgerunner compares well size-wise so just take the twin stubbers off. Also consider the wonderful range of Ork buggies, especially if you're looking for a more scratch-built appearance (feral world regiment anyone?)
*'''Tauros Venator<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' The bigger Tauros, but has the same stats and points cost... Wow. The only difference is the weapon options, with a twin multi-laser for 0pts or a twin lascannon for +30pts. The lascannon option isn't great, since you can't advance for the 5++ and fire the lascannons, plus it's an expensive points cost for a single model that's as tough as a Scout Sentinel.
</div>

===Flyers===
Standard Flyer rules for your reference: '''Airborne''' (model cannot charge, can only be charged by Fly models, and can only attack or be attacked in the fight phase by Fly models), '''Hard To Hit''' (enemy shooting attacks against this model suffer -1 to their hit rolls), and '''Supersonic''' (pivots up to 90 degrees before moving in a straight line and advances 20" instead of d6"). Also none of them have the Regiment Keyword.

*'''Valkyrie:''' The original badass of the skies can hold 12 {{W40Kkeyword|Astra Militarum Infantry}}, with Ogryn counting as three models. The most modestly-armed of the three IG V-flyers, it comes stock with a multi-laser (36" Heavy 4 S6 AP-1 D1) and hellstrike missiles (72" Heavy 1 S8 AP-3 D3). The multi-laser can be swapped for a lascannon and the hellstrikes can be swapped for two multiple rocket pods (36" Assault d6 S6 AP-2 D1, Blast). You can take a pair of optional heavy bolters. Obviously it would be best for you to match the weapons to their best role, anti-tank or anti-infantry. Additional special rules include Hover Jet (loses the three flyer rules to reduce their movement to 20") and Airborne Assault (deep strike). Grav-Chute Insertion allows models to disembark from a Valkyrie, but if the Valkyrie has moved more than 20" then disembarking models are killed on a d6 roll of 1, except {{W40Kkeyword|Militarum Tempestus}}. Disembarking models cannot move again or charge this turn and most deploy more than 9" away from enemy models, except {{W40Kkeyword|Militarum Tempestus}}, who must be more than 6" away.  
** Candidates for embarking include Command Squads (Guard or Scions) with special weapons and Cyclops Demolition Vehicles. Otherwise drop a squad of Ogryn into cover to set them up for a move and charge next turn, or put them in the open with slab shields and hope they either tank a turn of shooting or they're a [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]].
**They can't start on the board anymore, which means the lightning-strike stormbois embarked are coming in turn 3 at least (you can't disembark from [[Drop pod|reserve]], [[Termite |that's]] [[Trygon|broken]]), and you better have an Officer inside or they're not getting orders til turn 4.

====Forgeworld Flyers====
Basically, you get these if you want a Valkyrie+ or to pretend you're playing Aeronautica Imperialis. 
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
*'''Aquila Lander<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' Jesus fucking Christ, at least the Arvus is meant to Kamikaze. T7, W12, Sv3+, with a heavy bolter, autocannon, or multi-laser (36", heavy 3, S6, AP0, D1). Only carries seven models and no Ogryns, so a couple Characters and a Command Squad.
*'''[[Arvus Lighter]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' An unarmed Chimera that flies. Literally, it has no weapons. Carries twelve models but no Ogryns, so think of this as an expensive and restrictive Drop Pod for Imperial Guard. 
*'''[[Avenger Strike Fighter]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Brrrrrrrrttttt! Someone put the A-10 Thunderbolt into 40k. With T6 ,W14, and Sv3+, the Avenger is decently rugged, but can't stand up to sustained fire for long. Two lascannons and a heavy stubber are secondary weapons, you're taking this thing for the 36", heavy 10, S6, AP-2, D2 Avenger bolt cannon. With 9th edition giving Marines W2 and heavy bolters D2, this model no-longer fills a niche it used to, but it still looks cool-as-fuck. 
*'''[[Lightning Fighter|Voss-Pattern Lightning]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' With the same profile as the Avenger, the Lightning nominally carries more anti-tank firepower but not that much. Two lascannons are standard and a hellstrike rack is optional (72", heavy 2, S8, AP-2, Dd6+2). Honestly? You have better anti-tank firepower. 
*'''[[Thunderbolt Fighter|Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The Thunderbolt has an extra wound and point of toughness over the other fixed-wing Flyers. A quad autocannon and twin lascannon with optional hellstrike rack make up their armoury. Can be thought of as a tougher and longer-ranged Avenger Strike Fighter.
*'''Valkyrie Sky Talon<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' An Elysian-exclusive variant, this model has a heavy bolter and two hellstrike missiles (''two'', not the one that the regular Valkyrie has), which can be swapped for two multiple rocket pods. The main difference is that you swap the Infantry transport for the ability to carry one Elysian Tauros model (which are fast enough that they don't need help getting around the map unless you're playing apocalypse and even then artillery will make a bigger difference) or two Elysian Drop Sentinels. 
*'''[[Vendetta]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A Valkyrie whose first words were "fuck tanks". The three usual rules and hover jet, alongside its transport capacity of twelve models make it capable enough for dropping troops, but note that it doesn't have the Grav-Chute Insertion rule of the Valkyrie. But obviously, you're not taking her to mainly transport things, since the Valkyrie does it better and cheaper. No, you're taking her for the ''three 72" twin lascannons'' she has as standard. Two of the twin lascannons can be swapped for the hellstrike rack (72", heavy 2, S8, AP-2, Dd6+2), but you shouldn't do that as you're swapping four lascannon shots for two weaker attacks that may do more damage, but not as much damage as two additional lascannon shots. Finally, she can also take two heavy bolters. With 9th edition removing the -1 to hit rolls for moving and firing heavy weapons if you're a Vehicle, this model is back in relevance now. Note, however, that it does ''not'' have Roving Gunship, which means the improvement in tank-hunting power over a Valkyrie is less than you might think. This will hit 3 times on average with tank hunting weapons, versus the Valk's two. Your call whether that's worth 80 points and tbe loss of Grav-Chutes. 
*'''[[Vulture]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The last of the V-flyers, this is the only one without transport capacity and is a true gunship. With a Valkyrie's statline, the Vulture comes stock with a heavy bolter, hellstrike rack (72", heavy 2, S8, AP-2, Dd6+2) and two multiple rocket pods (36", assault d6, S5, AP-1, D1). You can swap the hellstrikes and rockets for two punisher gatling cannons (24", heavy 20, S5, AP0, D1). Good for mulching guard-shaped enemies (statistically, it'll delete an Infantry Squad a turn) and hurting heavier Infantry with sheer volume of fire. The range in the guns is deceptive - 24" is a lot meaner than it looks when it's mounted on a platform that can cover nearly ''four feet'' of board space without advancing. You'll get exposed to enemy fire, but you're Hard to Hit and have more wounds than a Leman Russ. Never take it into Hover mode unless you absolutely have to - it's lost its Strafing Run rule in 9th, so you get nothing from staying still.
In general the various fixed wing vehicles the guard have are of questionable utility due to the point cost you pay for them. The Avenger is a good example: it's going rate is 165 point and for that cost you could get a Leman Russ Demolisher with heavy bolter sponsons, A slower, but far sturdier and arguably harder hitting, and easier to buff platform. In general most of the flyers run into the issue that they don't do as much for there points as another Leman Russ could. They may not be 100% 'bad' but they're not the most efficient options you have. . . BUUUUUUT!! If you're a Militarum Tempestus detachment, you don't have access to any tanks so though more expensive airpower might be your next resort for heavy firepower.

</div></div>

===Heavy Support===
The Imperial Guard's Bread and Butter, if you're playing Guard, this is where you'll spend a lot of your points. To ease up on bloat, all Forgeworld variants are in expandable sections and the Leman Russ is its own section.

*'''Heavy Weapons Squad:''' Three Heavy Weapon Teams, at an absolutely ''ruinous'' cost. 55pts nets you three T3, W2, Sv5+ models, each of which has a lasgun and a heavy weapon. 
** With a defensive statline like that and no additional bodies to act as a bullet sponge, if these guys get caught by anything more energetic than a gretchin's sneeze they'll die. A single cut-rate commander can order every single heavy weapon squad you have (as long as they're within 6" of each other). 
** Now that Arks of Omen has re-shuffled the slots economy, Heavy Weapons Squads with mortars have demonstrated some use in tournaments. While they don't do damage efficiently, they are cheap and can still throw out some damage while providing backline screening against deep strikes and objective holding. More importantly, this only costs 165 points for three of them, leaving plenty of slots and points for Kasrkin and tanks. 
**Modelling note: they're on 50mm bases now rather than 60mm. You don't have to rebase if you have the old 60's, but being 50mm lets you hide them a lot better.

*'''Hydra:''' The OG AA, blessed with actually good stats now. 72", Heavy 8, S7, AP-2, D2, gains +1 to hit rolls against {{W40Kkeyword|AIRCRAFT}} targets (so +2 because Turret Weapon, but because of the modifier cap this only cancels out the Hard-To-Hit rule Aircraft has) and when attacking {{W40Kkeyword|AIRCRAFT}}, [[DAKKA|make two hit rolls]] instead of one per attack (so functionally Heavy 16). Two of these will ensure that no enemy {{W40Kkeyword|Aircraft}} models will last more than two turns. 

*'''Field Ordnance Battery:''' These are bigger, thicker Heavy Weapons Squads. At T4, W6, Sv4+ per 65pts, they're a bit tankier than an HWS per point but will still fold to anything stronger than a stiff breeze. They're also {{W40Kkeyword|Artillery}} rather than {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}}, so they can move and shoot at no penalty but good luck getting them a cover bonus. They are also {{W40Kkeyword|Platoon}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Regimental}}, but they are NOT {{W40Kkeyword|Core}}. At 130pts for the unit, they come in pairs with two lasguns, frag grenades, and one of the following per model:
**Heavy Lascannon: 48", Heavy 2, '''S10, AP-4, D3+d3'''. Looks like GW finally realized why the lascannon was kinda shit compared to the multi-melta. This gun is the only reason to field a FOB.
***Don't forget this is 65 points; the 55-point (i.e. ''cheaper'') HWS equivalent is effectively 48", Heavy 3, S9, AP-3, Dd6, so with worse S and AP. The FOB pays some points for durability.
**Bombast Field Gun: 48", Heavy d6, S7, AP-2, D2, Blast, Indirect Fire. It's a budget Basilisk, woohoo... Never take this; a real Basilisk is significantly better.
**Malleus Rocket Launcher: 48", Heavy 6+d6, S6, AP-1, D1, Blast. It's a budget Wyvern, woohoo... Never take this; a Wyvern offers more utility per point.

====Battle Tanks====
{{W40Kkeyword|Battle Tank}}s qualify to be Tank Aces.

'''Leman Russ Battle Tank:''' The Iconic Guard Tank, if not the iconic 40k tank. Every Guard player should have at least three. M10/8/6, BS4+/5+/6+, WS6+, S7, T8, W13 A6, Sv2+, optional upgrades for +1 to armour saves when hit by D1 weapons and ignoring M modifiers. It has the {{W40Kkeyword|squadron}} keyword for Order Support from the tank commander.
*'''Turret Weapon:''' Your turret weapon has +1 to hit (so starts out at BS3+) and can shoot out of melee while still suffering the -1 to hit penalty vehicles normally suffer when firing heavy weapons in melee.  You must have one, and your options, sorted by range, are:
<tabs>
<tab name="Battle Cannon">
72", Heavy d6+3, S8, AP-2, D3, Blast. The starter gun for your Leman Russ, it is one of the best guns around thanks to its range and reliability, it is able to take on anything and deal at least ''some'' damage. Though do keep in mind it will probably struggle trying to crack heavier armour (a Vanquisher it is not), plus besides its range it doesn't really have any huge advantages against several of its other competitors. Still a reliable choice however.
</tab>
<tab name="Vanquisher Cannon">
72", Heavy 1, S14, AP-5, Dd3+6, ignores invulnerable saves, successful wound rolls inflict an additional d3 mortal wounds. My god did this thing receive the glow-up it needed. It deals the most damage against single targets at the safest range. 
* It now actually outperforms the Battle Cannon and overcharged Executioner Plasma Cannon against Knights! It generally won't outperform a Demolisher Cannon in pure damage and only barely outperforms an Executioner against a Knight, but will outperform an LRBC against Land Raiders and Knights, and it's operating at LRBC ranges. Which shows its true advantage against the Demolisher and Executioner, it can threaten anything those variants can but at much safer distances (especially so in the case of Demolisher) thus avoiding as much enemy return fire. Though keep in mind this variant is definitely more specialised than more generalist ones like the Demolisher. So best make sure it is hitting its preferred targets.
* This is one you'd want to use the Tank Ace Upgrade to give it an extra regiment trait with Experienced Sharpshooters to re-roll that hit roll. Make that one shot count!
</tab>
<tab name="Exterminator Autocannon">
48", Heavy 6, S8, AP-2, D2. If you're thinking this is just a triple autocannon, you'd be right. More consistent than the battle cannon in number of shots, and now has equal Strength and AP to the Battle Cannon. You're still not taking it because AP-2 and D2 compared to the other options here is laughable. The battle cannon does everything better and with how cheap your vehicle heavy bolters are, you're not short on D2 guns. 
</tab>
<tab name="Eradicator Nova Cannon">
36", Heavy D3+6, S6, AP-2, D2, Blast, ignores light cover. Yeah, it's a bad option still; half the range and less S and D than the battle cannon just to gain ignores cover. It does poorly fill the niche of melting GEQ's and MEQ's that rely on cover saves, but it'll reliably underperform an overcharged Executioner plasma cannon. '''Never take this.'''
</tab>
<tab name="Executioner Plasma Cannon">
36", Heavy d6+3, S7, AP-4, D2, Blast, may gain +1S and +1D but hit rolls of UM1 inflict a mortal wound on the bearer. When overcharged, it outperforms the battle cannon thanks to better AP but suffers from worse range, it outperforms the demolisher cannon thanks to higher number of attacks and better AP but suffers from worse damage. If you're willing to risk the mortal wounds (or at the very least have some provisions in place to lessen the MW damage). Overall still one of the best options for turret variants and can threaten just about anything in the game.
</tab>
<tab name="Demolisher Cannon">
24", Heavy d6, S10, AP-3, Dd3+3, Blast. Another GW classic, the demolisher cannon hits as hard as it always has. The short range puts you in range of more enemy weaponry that may kill you, so like the Executioner Plasma Cannon, you're trading higher risk for higher reward, only the risk with this gun is needing to get close. Even when close, will underperform an overcharged Executioner against many targets. Think of it as a short-ranged Vanquisher against the same targets (high T and high W single targets), but with the ability to do something useful against blobs of heavy infantry. 
</tab>
<tab name="Punisher Gatling Cannon">
24", Heavy '''20''', S6, AP-1, D1. Tank-mounted BRRRT is definitely your best friend against GEQ of any option here, even against units of size 11+. Realistically not a bad choice against MEQ's either, but you've got no shortage of D1 attacks from Infantry Squads loading up on FRFSRF. 
</tab>
</tabs>
*'''Hull, Sponson, and Pintle Weapons:''' You must have a hull weapon. Optional pintle weapon and pair of sponson weapons are available too. Previously you wanted all your weapons to cover the same job, as units had to fire their weapons at the same target. However since 8th editions targeting changes and 9th's addition of Turret Weapons, your biggest concern is making sure your weapons share the same range. If you've got plenty of Russ's you can spread the anti-tank and anti-infantry weaponry evenly amongst your army. 
<tabs>
<tab name="Heavy Bolter">
Hull and Sponson, 5pts each. The default hull weapon. Now that sponsons are so much cheaper, also the default sponson option for any Leman Russ because of how cheap they are. You're taking these at a minimum. 
</tab>
<tab name="Heavy Flamer">
Hull and Sponson, 5pts each. 12", Heavy d6, S5, AP-1, D1, automatically hits. Best used as the weapons on a short-ranged Russ that you expect to be in the enemy's face anyway. It will outperform the heavy bolter against targets within its range and will outperform everything in overwatch thanks to the automatic hits. 
</tab>
<tab name="Lascannon">
Hull only, 5pts each. A classic Imperial anti-tank weapon that will never not do its job well. At the same price as the other hull weapons, is a great choice for a backline tank like a Vanquisher or Leman Russ. 
</tab>
<tab name="Plasma Cannon">
Sponson only, 10pts each. 36", Heavy d3, S7, AP-3, D1, Blast, may gain +1S and +1D but hit rolls of UM1 inflict one MW on the user. Don't even consider it; it needs blast to trigger to try and keep up with multi-melta sponsons, and you're risking wounding yourself - plus, these can't be fired in melee ''at all''. Just don't. At longer ranges, it still needs Blast ''and overcharging'' to outperform heavy bolters in general.
</tab>
<tab name="Multi-melta">
Sponson only, 15pts each. 24", Heavy 2, S8, AP-4, Dd6, +2D at half range. Multi-meltas are the best Imperial weapon in 9E, and you usually can't go wrong spamming them. The Leman Russ is no exception to this. Like the heavy flamers, best used on a Russ that will already be getting in that close, but beware the massive bullet magnet that your tank will become. Excellent with +4" range from Heirloom Weapons.
* Beware though; spamming these on your tanks gets expensive quickly (30pts for the pair), makes them a massive target, and only fires at BS4+ unlike your turret weapon. 
</tab>
<tab name="Heavy Stubber">
Pintle only, 5pts. 36", Heavy 3, S4, AP0, D1. Absolute garbage; costs as much as a heavy bolter for a tiny fraction of the output, and reduces your damage per point against absolutely everything. Don't take this.
* Alternate opinion; yes these are expensive compared to the heavy bolter, but useful when taken on tanks that make up the vast majority of your army's points value. A few heavy stubbers firing on a target might be the last push you need to finally wipe an enemy unit when you've got minimal infantry.  
</tab>
<tab name="Storm Bolter">
Pintle only, 5pts. 24", Rapid Fire 2, S4, AP0, D1. Similar to the heavy stubber, this is only potentially worth it against GEQ and MEQ within 12", so choose accordingly.
</tab>
</tabs>

'''Rogal Dorn Battle Tank:''' The new Rogal Dorn is GW's answer to your tanks getting slagged turn 1. It is a T9, W17, Sv2+ monster and gains +1 to armour saves when hit by D1 weapons. It has the {{W40Kkeyword|squadron}} keyword for Order Support from the tank commander, and can be upgraded using '''Vaunted Praetorian''' to become one ''and allow it to order itself''.
* Turret Weapon: Your turret weapon has +1 to hit (so starts out at BS3+) and can shoot out of melee while still suffering the -1 to hit penalty vehicles normally suffer when firing heavy weapons in melee. Your options are:
** Twin Battle Cannon: 72", Heavy 2d6, S8, AP-3, D3, Blast. Disappointing, would be worth the consideration if it was heavy 2d6+6 like actually having two battle cannons. Due to the way Blast works, has inferior scaling to two actual battle cannons. Because all turret weapons currently have the same cost, never take this.
**Oppressor Cannon + Co-axial Autocannon: 90", Heavy d6+3, S10, AP-3, D4, Blast. With S10 threatening enemy T5 Infantry (Astartes Bikers/Gravis, most Death Guard and Orks, Tau Crisis/Broadside Suits) and T8 Vehicles (almost every Army's Battle Tank, Knights), this is already the better option for what your main gun should be aiming at compared to the TBC above. Also has an autocannon. 

*Hull Weapon: Unlike with your turret weapon, there's a genuine choice to be made here. Tanks should have their weapons kitted out for the same thing. 
**'''Castigator Gatling Cannon:''' 24", Heavy 12, S5, AP-1, D1. This is going to be your overwatch buddy and tarpit remover. Can actually be fired in melee thanks to not having blast. 
**'''Pulveriser Cannon:''' 24", Heavy d6, S8, AP-2, D3, Blast. The randomness of the shots is the let down, but surprisingly solid thanks to blast. Useful against TEQs that tried to deep strike nearby but failed their charge roll. 
*Additional Weapons: You've got a pintle heavy stubber by default (featuring one unlucky bastard who has to stand on the OUTSIDE of the turret to shoot it), two optional nipple guns and two optional sponson guns. 
**'''Nipple Heavy Stubber:''' 10pts for two heavy stubbers is shocking when you pay the same for two sponson heavy bolters, but the additional chaff clearance may come in handy against armies that want to try to swarm you. The additional ranged dakka will also help Guard Armies that are low on lasgun fire because you wanted to Blitzkrieg your opponent. 
**'''Nipple Meltagun:''' 10pts for two meltaguns is harder to justify when you consider just how little you want your 260+pts model within 12" of a worthwhile target for a melta weapon. 
**'''Sponson Heavy Bolter:''' 10pts for two heavy bolters is not a bad deal to add some additional anti-infantry support, especially with the prevalence of W2 models. 
**'''Sponson Multi-Melta:''' 24", Heavy 2, S8, AP-4, Dd6, +2D at half range. 30pts for two multi-meltas is an excellent choice. You pay the same as the Leman Russ, but are on a much more survivable carrier.

====Artillery Vehicles====
If you're going Artillery heavy, you should really consider taking the Regimental Doctrines to support them; Expert Bombardiers + Mechanised Infantry to shove spotters into position while your parking lot hides behind LOS-blocking terrain and uses Pound Them to Dust! to murder your enemies can be a decent plan, although remember Deathstrikes don't roll to hit or wound, so this won't help them at all and neither will Born Soldiers.

Barring the main weapon, all Artillery Vehicles are functionally the same. BS4+/5+/6+, T7, W11, Sv3+, wargear options are: hull heavy bolter or heavy flamer, dozer blade, hunter-killer missile, armoured tracks. 

*'''Basilisk:''' An Imperial Guard classic that is as brutal and point-efficient as ever. 240", Heavy d6+3, S10, AP-3, D2, Blast, Indirect Fire. 9th Ed. has been good for the Earthshaker. S10 and AP-3 makes it stronger than the Manticore against MEQ's, T5, and T9 targets. You're no longer re-rolling the number of shots, but having some consistency is also helpful. 

*'''Manticore:''' Storm Eagles are no longer the big fuck-off missiles of 8th. 120", Heavy d6+3, S9, AP-2, D3, Blast, Indirect Fire, can only be used four times per battle. The Manticore has more Damage, which is only ''usually'' better against units [[Iron Hands|with FNP]], [[Death Guard|Damage Reduction]], [[Adeptus Custodes|3W models and those with an invuln]]. If you're using Born Soldiers, of course, the S difference matters less.  

*'''Wyvern:''' If the Basilisk is death-from-afar, the Wyvern is death-from-not-as-far. 48", Heavy 4d6, S5, AP-1, D1, Blast, Indirect Fire. Because of the wording of the Blast rule, you don't get any benefit when firing against units with fewer than 11 models (6 with Pound Them to Dust!), which is unfortunate. Strictly inferior to its 8th edition rules set, it lost re-rolling to wound. It's still a premier anti-chaff weapon against any T3/4 models. 

*'''Deathstrike:''' This it is. The Big One. No longer a traditional weapon with an effect, firing it is as complicated as the fluff. 1) Pick a missile when deploying. 2) Start an Action in your Command Phase that completes at the end of your turn. 3) Upon completion of said action, place a marker anywhere on the battlefield. 4) In your next turn, either repeat step 3) or in the Shooting Phase, launch your selected missile at the marker and resolve the effects.   
** The Set-Up: This army has a lot of movement-degrading abilities that can slow your opponent down enough to keep them within blast radius's: Mental Shackles (WC6 Psychic Power) and Pinning Fire Tank order (requires 5 or more hits, which is easy to do with heavy bolters/stubbers). Together, you're reducing their movement by 4" and a model will have to move up to 3" + blast radius to escape the blast zone, with typical numbers being less than that. Otherwise use the marker to hold off chokepoints. 
<tabs>
<tab name="Godspear Warhead">
Roll a d6 for every unit within 3" of the marker. 2-3 inflicts 8MW's, 4-5 inflicts 12MW's, and 6 inflicts 16MW's. Because this is so easy to escape, the only practical way to deliver this shot is by physically stopping the enemy from fleeing it - you can't really use it to force an enemy off an objective, as detailed below.  What you ''can'' do is use the marker defensively; park a unit on an objective marker to claim it, then put your warhead marker about 4" away from your unit where you expect the enemy to charge in from ([[Death Korps of Krieg|or closer]] if you're willing to [[Valhallan Ice Warriors|sacrifice your dudes]] and your enemy knows it). Now your opponent is risking a lot of damage if they try to simply clear you off the point in melee.
* The blast range is measured from the centre of the marker, which means you only have 3" to work with. If you place this on an objective (40mm standard) which measures objective control '''from the edge''', any savvy player can move their units to the far edge of that control aura [[Fail|and they'd be safe from getting Nagasakid to oblivion]] because the range to contest the objective is about 3.79" from its centre. 
*The other option is quantity. Three Godspear markers spread evenly around an objective marker creates an exclusion zone such that even the smallest bases in the game, 25mm circles, can't contest the objective without being within the blast radius of at least one warhead marker
</tab>
<tab name="Plasma Barrage Warhead">
Roll a d6 for every unit within d3+6" of the marker, adjusting by -1 for {{W40Kkeyword|infantry character}}s. 2-3 inflicts d3+1 MW, 4-5 inflicts 2d3 MW's, and 6 inflicts d3+3 MW's. This is one for more MSU-built armies to take bits and chunks out of each unit. 
* Drop this on an enemy model with and Aura ability to force it to move. Auras are usually 6" radius and encourage MSU, and this warhead will nickel-and-dime MSU units for generally 1-3 dead models from it.
</tab>
<tab name="Vortex Warhead">
Roll a d6 for every unit within d3+3" of the marker ''at the end of the Shooting phase'' (it deals no damage when you initially "shoot" it) and do not remove the marker. 2-3 inflicts d3 MW's, 4-5 inflicts d3+1 MW, and a 6 inflict 2d3 MW's. Then roll another d6; on a 1-3 the marker goes away, on a 4-6 the marker stays on the battlefield but cannot be moved using the action to move Deathstrike markers, so the marker has a 50% chance of staying. This process (roll for radius, then mortal wounds, then to see if the marker evaporates) recurs at the end of each of your shooting phases.  
* This does help to choke off points of the battlefield, but speedy enemy units will be able to breeze right over the marker in their turn without suffering any damage. 
* The changes are nice because they let you have more control of where and when to shoot, but you're still ultimately playing a chimera with a single-use nuke and that's on the front lines of a much smaller battlefield. You can't always rely on having LOS blocking terrain, and the best use you'll get from Deathstrikes is against other horde armies/castles who can't move enough models out of the way in time, but even then, the Deathstrike is very swingy. Two of the missiles still need to roll for blast radius, rolling a 1 means you managed to miss with a nuclear fucking missile, and then you still have to roll for variable MWs. Even the straightforward 16MW nuke can be avoided simply by moving 3.1" away from the centre of the objective, unless you actively build a list to stack movement penalties.
</tab>
</tabs>

====Forgeworld Heavy Support====
For those of you with more money than sense, Forgeworld models tend to be either too squishy or too expensive (points and money-wise) to be worth building an entire army around. 

'''Forgeworld Artillery''':
Armageddon-Patterned vehicles and crewed artillery.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
*'''Armageddon-Pattern Basilisk<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' 15 points up on a standard Basilisk with a lack of options for armoured tracks or dozer blade. Not worth it, especially since its statline is the exactly the same.
*'''Armageddon-Pattern Medusa<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Your only mobile source of the Medusa siege cannon, which is a Demolisher cannon with additional range: 36" heavy d6 S10 AP-3 Dd6, blast and ignores line-of-sight. Combining the statline of a basilisk with its ability to hide behind blocking terrain for excellent durability.
* '''Artillery Batteries<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Not a model per-se, but lumped together for readability. 1-3 Artillery Batteries, with the crew counting as being part of the model. T6, W7, Sv4+ makes this one of the lightest artillery pieces, but it doesn't have a degrading statline unlike the rest. Also have {{W40Kkeyword|Vehicle}} not {{W40Kkeyword|Infantry}} so can only be ordered by tank commanders, sadly.  Gained [Platoon] and [Regimental] keywords with the 01/2023 FAQ, meaning they gain regimental traits and can be targeted by Regimental orders, meaning you can give your artillery batteries "Take Aim" for the juicy +1 to hit and AP
**'''Heavy Mortar:''' 48" heavy d6 S6 AP-1 D2, blast and ignores line-of-sight. This is a Colossus Bombard but worse - don't take it.
**'''Earthshaker Cannon (Basilisk):''' 240", heavy d6, S9, AP-3, Dd3, roll 2d6 when determining the number of shots and discard the lowest result and does not require line-of-sight. If you were going to camp your Basilisk (which you SHOULD be doing anyway), consider using this unit instead. It's cheaper and does not lose what little accuracy it has when it get damaged. 
**'''Heavy Quad Launcher:''' 48" heavy 4d6 S5 AP0 D1, blast and ignores line-of-sight. This is functionally a Wyvern but slightly better: 90 points is exactly appropriate for losing the ability to re-roll wounds like a Wyvern used to, but then you also give up mobility and durability. Does however have an extra point of strength. Who says not being updated is always a bad thing?
**'''Medusa Siege Cannon:''' 36" heavy d6 S10 AP-3 Dd6, blast and ignores line-of-sight. Hits hard, but is consequently expensive. The short range and immobility means it may not always be in range of its desired targets, though.
*'''Colossus Bombard<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' What happens when you stick artillery on the T8, W12, Sv3+ Leman Russ chassis, the Colossus siege mortar is a truly huge gun; 240" heavy 3d3 S6 AP-2 Dd3, blast, ignores line-of-sight, and ignores cover. A damn fine piece of artillery for fertilising the countryside with Infantry. 

* '''Artillery Batteries<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>''': Not a model per-se, but lumped together for readability. 1-3 Artillery Batteries, they are different from those that can be found in the Imperial Armour: Compendium. For comparison, they are T7, but no WS or A. Is it worth trading five WS4+ S3 attacks for +1T? Yes. They also have a weak explodes rule, affecting units within 3" with one mortal wound on a 6. From a modelling perspective, just grab the relevant weapon and T-shaped platform from the model kit and slap it on a relevant base. 
**'''Basilisk:''' 240", heavy d6, S9, AP-3, Dd3, roll 2d6 when determining the number of shots and discard the lowest result and does not require line-of-sight.
**'''Hydra:''' 72", heavy 8, S7, AP-1, D2, gains +1 to hit rolls against Fly targets and -1 to hit rolls against all other targets.
**'''Manticore:''' Four storm eagle rockets (120", heavy 2d6, S10, AP-2, Dd3, ignores line-of-sight) can be fired at a rate of one-per-turn and are naturally one-use only.
*'''Rapier Laser Destroyer Battery<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The slowest model in your army, barring actual immobile models. M4", T5, W4, Sv3+ are the prominent stats. The laser destroyer is beastly, with 36", heavy 3, S10, AP-4, Dd3+3. Relatively cheap and good at its job, but vulnerable to a single lascannon or krak missile wiping it out.
**This is technically out of production (though thankfully not in Legends - ''yet''), but the Space Marine Rapier Laser Destroyer kit Forgeworld still sells for Horus Heresy is the exact same model, just with Space Marine crew. So long as that kit's still available, if you want a GW-legal Rapier, slap some gubbins on two Guardsman bodies, swap them out for the Marines, and call it a day.  
</div></div>
'''Forgeworld Heavies''': Heresy-era vehicles, an assault gun Leman Russ, a couple of fun toys and a remote controlled bomb.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
*'''Carnodon<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A Heresy-era fossil that got a new coat of paint ten thousand years later, they can be thought of as a Diet Leman Russ. They still have W12 and Sv3+, but they're M12"/9"/6", T7, and lose Grinding Advance. Turret weapons can be picked from twin autocannon, twin lascannon, twin multi-laser (36" heavy 6 S6 AP0 D1), or a volkite culverin (45" heavy 4 S6 AP0 D2, wound rolls of unmodified 6 inflict an additional mortal wound). Sponson weapons are very similar; two autocannons, two heavy flamers, two heavy bolters, two lascannons, two volkite calivers (30" heavy 2 S5 AP-1 D2, wound rolls of UM6 inflict an additional MW), or two multi-lasers. They have an optional hunter-killer missile, but no access to any other equipment or pintle weapons. 
**Carnodons fill a similar role to the Guard's fast attack units. Tactics used for Sentinels and Hellhounds are more applicable to Carnodons.
**{{W40Kkeyword|Tallarn}} makes these guys pretty effective cavalry tanks. They can quickly redeploy to deliver whatever firepower the brought to bear.
*'''Cyclops Demolition Vehicle<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Bonus points for painting a Kamikaze headband on the model. M10" T6 W4 and Sv3+ means a flock of these models should get to where they want to be going. The demolition charge they carry hits hard, with 6" heavy 2d6 S9 AP-2 Dd3, blast. When this model attacks, it makes attacks against ''every'' visible unit (friendly ''and'' enemy) within range (including engaged ones) and is destroyed afterwards; RAW, this makes it one of the best Character-killers in the game. It cannot complete actions or capture objectives, but it ''can'' fit in a Transport while taking up the space of six models and cannot shoot in a turn it disembarks. It is also more likely to explode, going off on a 5+ and inflicting d3 MWs on all units within 6". 
**NOTE: The Cyclops doesn't need to be within engagement range to shoot, but it does have a rule on it letting it shoot while engaged (which it couldn't otherwise do, as its gun has Blast).  That said, with only 6" of range, don't expect this thing to actually make it into range - instead, use it as a Distraction Carnifex, as you can safely assume your opponent will either just walk away from it or just shoot it, and either way they haven't put work into other things you care about more (presumably objectives or more precious models).
*'''Thunderer<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A Leman Russ Demolisher but worse, it has extremely similar stats but ''only'' a demolisher cannon (that it can't fire twice) with optional hunter-killer missile and heavy stubber/storm bolter. Unless you can't spare the ~50pts, get a Leman Russ Demolisher. It's a funny model: 1 Leman Russ hull, 3 holes for exhaust, intake, and human insertion, then a huge cannon barrel smack in the middle. 
*'''Valdor Tank Hunter<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The first of your Titanic units, T8, W20, and Sv3+ shows why. The main gun is the Valdor neutron laser, which is a 48" heavy 3 S12 AP-3 Dd6 tank killer that becomes D6 if it didn't move. The consistent number of shots and the (potentially) consistent damage makes this one of your best anti-tank weapons in a Militant-General's arsenal; the problem is the model's cripplingly high cost (you could afford 2 Leman Russes for less). For a hull gun, you have an autocannon (unique), lascannon (gels well with the main gun), heavy bolter, or heavy flamer. You also have the option for a hunter killer missile and heavy bolter/storm bolter. Like the Baneblade family, you also have the Steel Behemoth rule. What you DON'T have this edition is the Valdor's infamously unstable neutron reactor - good thing too, since unlike a Hellhound, it's too expensive to use as a suicide tank - though it retains its 2d6" blast radius and d6 damage output when it DOES explode.
*'''Malcador<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' T8, W18, and Sv3+ but NOT a Titanic Vehicle. Extremely well-armed, as described in detail below. Hunter-killer and heavy stubber/storm bolter options as standard. 
<tabs>
<tab name="Malcador">
The vanilla Malcador. Battle cannon and three heavy bolters, any of which can be swapped for autocannons or lascannons. Basically a stock Leman Russ but worse.
</tab>
<tab name="Malcador Annihilator">
For peeling open tanks like tin cans. Demolisher cannon, twin lascannon, two heavy bolters that can be swapped for two autocannons or two lascannons. A Leman Russ Demolisher but worse.
</tab>
<tab name="Malcador Defender">
MAXIMUM DAKKA. Much improved version a regular Malcador, even if the cannon is shorter ranged. A demolisher cannon and a whopping ''seven'' heavy bolters, with two heavy bolters being able to swap for two autocannons or two lascannons. Straight-up outperforms the Macharius Vulcan, and even the Stormlord (unless you upgrade it, or put troops in it), and at a significant reduction in price - and it isn't even a Lord of War!  Unfortunately, costs so much you're still better off with its weight in Leman Russ Demolishers.
</tab>
<tab name="Malcador Infernus">
Touting one of the biggest flamers in the Imperium, the inferno gun is an 18" heavy 3d6 S7 AP-2 D2 automatically hitting wall of hellfire. D2 and a large number of attacks means you should melt a Marine unit per turn, but beware of overkill. Don't be shy to use it on Vehicles, though - it hits slightly harder than an autocannon. As sidearms, it has two heavy stubbers that can (and should) be swapped for two autocannons, two heavy bolters, two heavy flamers, or two lascannons.
</tab>
</tabs>
*'''Sabre Weapons Battery<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' A tougher heavy weapon team, but not by much. T4, W4, Sv4+ and Skyfire (+2 to hit rolls against Aircraft) is certainly an improvement though. Unit size is 1-3 and weapon options are twin heavy bolters, twin heavy stubbers (awful), twin autocannon, twin lascannon, or a defence searchlight; one <Regiment> Infantry unit or <Regiment> Sabre Weapons Battery gains +1 to their hit rolls against one unit within 48" of the searchlight. 
*'''Stygies Destroyer Tank Hunter (FW Legends):''' Leman Russ stats with W10. The Stygies laser destroyer is 72", heavy 2, S12, AP-4, Dd3+3, making it rather good at knocking out light Vehicles or small Monsters in one turn or taking a large chunk our of something bigger.
</div></div>

===Lords of War===
TL;DR Forge World has given us a lot of Superheavies, but a lot of the superheavies suck. They don't really fare well when GW-main has given ''everyone'' a plastic heavy support option with lots of guns and weaponry. Plus, a lot of them look very derpy and not at all like tanks. Most of them have the Steel Behemoth rule, allowing the vehicle in question to shoot and charge normally if it's fallen back that turn, fire heavy weapons with no penalties to hit, fire twin heavy flamers or twin heavy bolters into melee combat as if they were pistols, and fire the larger guns normally even if there are enemies within 1" (but not at those same enemies). 

You won't be able to use Regimental Doctrines for these in a Superheavy Auxiliary Detachment, which means that in order to pull off this level of cheese, you would need to take a Superheavy Detachment. In other words, if you want a Lord of War that benefits from a Doctrine you'll need to take several Lords of War, all with the same {{W40Kkeyword|<REGIMENT>}} keyword.

====Baneblade Variants====

You know, you love them. [[Vance Stubbs|Take a hundred]], just don't let them go [[Blood Ravens|missing]].

Each Baneblade is movement 10-6" S/T 9 with a 2+ and a 4-6 BS. All the transport variants are 28W, while the Gun variants are 30W. They all come stock with their signature cannon (which is always its Turret Weapon, even if it's fixed), a single pair of sponsons (Las cannon + Twin Heavy Bolter/Flamer), and Adamantine tracks (S9 AP-2 D2) to make 9-3 WS 5+ attacks with. They can be ordered only by another Baneblade upgraded by tank ace, or by the Lord Solar himself.

*'''Baneblade:''' The OG eleven barrels of hell. Hull twin heavy bolter, hull demolisher cannon (24", heavy d6, S10, AP-3, Dd6, blast), the once-again-co-axial autocannon (Turret Weapon), and the mighty ex-pie-plate Baneblade cannon (72", heavy 3d6, S9, AP-3, D3, Turret Weapon). The high shot count compared to many other variants gives the Baneblade a little more flexibility by being able to effectively shoot at Infantry after you inevitably destroyed all Vehicles/Monsters. 
*'''Banesword:''' The Quake cannon is not as swingy as before, being 96", heavy D6+6, S14, AP-4, D4. Also is the cheapest of the Baneblade variants, and at D4 can one-shot anything lighter than a Paragon Warsuit.
*'''Hellhammer:''' One of the few variants to keep its special effect. It's a Baneblade but replace the Baneblade Cannon with a Heavy 3D6+6 S7 AP2 D2, ignoring the benefits of light cover. More expensive than the basic Baneblade, so really wants to be up against T3 or 6 enemies that gain additional benefits from light cover.
*'''Shadowsword:''' Arguably the most famous aside from the Baneblade itself and with a +1 to hit for the cannon from the turret rule, the 'Titan-killer' mounts the incredibly powerful volcano cannon; 120", heavy d3+3, S18, AP-5, D12, turret weapon. Still capable of one-shotting Land Raiders even in an edition rife with tough Vehicles and Monsters. Great if there's a target that can actually take 12 wounds, but otherwise is wasted.
*'''Stormsword:''' If the Banehammer's Tremor Cannon lobs earth-shattering [[Brummbar|HE shells]], the Stormsword cannon makes big holes in things and [[SU-152|kills everyone hiding behind it]]. It's a [[Gork|subtle]] [[Mork|difference]]. The Stormsword carries the Stormsword siege cannon which is 60" Heavy D6+6 S12 AP4 D3+3D, ignoring light cover. 
*'''Stormblade<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' One of the few variants without a twin heavy bolter stock, this one comes with a plain heavy bolter instead, as well as a plasma blastgun; 72", heavy 2d6, S9 AP-4 D3, blast, and like all Imperial plasma, it has the option to gain +1S and +1D, but hit rolls of unmodified 1 inflict three mortal wounds against the bearer. Supercharging is going to be overkill against most targets, though almost every army has at least one unit where supercharging would be more effective and worth the risk.
**Notably has ''not'' been updated with the recent FAQs, so it remains T8 and W26 and lacks Armoured Tracks like its codex brothers. Probably stoppable for that simple reason. 
*'''Arkurian-Pattern Stormhammer<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' Easily the strangest variant, this is the only one that can't take the standard sponsons and it hasn't got a hull-mounted heavy bolter at all. It instead has a Stormhammer cannon (60", heavy 2d3, S9, AP-3, D2d3, blast), twin battle cannon (72", heavy 2d6, S8, AP-2, dd3, blast), a lascannon, and ''seven multi-lasers''. Each multi-laser can be swapped for a heavy bolter (this is the least you should do), a heavy flamer, or a lascannon.
**Between Legends, Forge World, not getting the statline upgrade with the rest of the Baneblade variants, and an early 8th edition style variable number of shots and damage, you'll never use this unless your Solar Auxilia got lost.

Transport Variants can all transport 25 models (2 slots for HWTs, 3 for Ogryns), except for the Stormlord, which transports 40. The firing deck now allows only a single unit to shoot every turn, with the usual caveats that if the {{W40Kkeyword|TRANSPORT}} moves normally, advances, or falls back, the embarked units are considered to have done the same, and that they can only shoot pistols if engaged. Put some Kasrkins and Bullgryn in them, it'll be great. 

*'''Banehammer:''' The Banehammer used to be a support superheavy that reduced the movement of things it shot; it doesn't do that anymore, with the Tremor Cannon now being a superheavy version of the Obliterator. 36" heavy 2D6+3, S10, AP-3, 3D. Anything it hits will feel it, and as the second-cheapest variant, it's not too difficult to fit into your list.
*'''Doomhammer:''' The Magma cannon is 40" Heavy D6+3 S10 AP5 D-D6+2 that becomes D6+4 within half-range.
*'''Stormlord:''' Gork and Mork (or was it Mork and Gork?) cry tears of pure joy when this arrives on the field. With a troop bay that holds ''40'' models ([[Fail|but only one unit may fire out]]) and the vulcan mega bolter (60", heavy 20, S6, AP-2, D2), this monster can put out more dice than any non-titan model.

====Macharius Variants====
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
The middle child of the super-heavy tanks, the Macharius family doesn't have the firepower or durability of the Baneblades above, but is still tougher than the Malcador and Leman Russ. 8th edition made the regular and Vanquisher variants useless in comparison to their Leman Russ cousins, but 9th edition has probably been kinder to them than any other unit the Guard have. All Macharius tanks still have Steel Behemoth and adamantium tracks like the Baneblades above, so they're not totally tarpitted in melee. 

*'''Macharius<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Comes with a twin battle cannon (72", heavy 2d6, S8, AP-2, Dd6, blast), two heavy stubbers, and a twin heavy stubber. It's unclear whether the Dd6 is a typo or not; if not, this version may actually be worth it. The two heavy stubbers can and should be replaced by twin heavy bolters or twin heavy flamers. 

*'''Macharius Vanquisher<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Your new best tank hunter, unless you target Titanic units then the Shadowsword gets that award right back. The Macharius twin vanquisher cannon is 72", heavy 2, S16, AP-4, ''D9'', gains +1 to hit rolls against Monster or Vehicle targets. Jesus Christ. Want to one-shot a Carnifex? Still has the heavy stubber and options as the regular version. For some reason this gun totally outpaces even the Fellblade. Confusing it may be, it is damn good. 

*'''Macharius Vulcan<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A significant nerf this edition, as the vulcan mega bolter can no-longer fire twice if it hasn't moved. That being said, it's still a 60", heavy 16, S6, AP-2, D2 gun that will eat Marines and light Vehicles for lunch. Still has the heavy stubber and options as the regular version.

*'''Macharius Omega<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' A great plasma cannon, even if this model is OOP. The plasma blastgun is 60", heavy 2d6, S8, AP-3, D2, blast, and may gain +1S and +1D, but hit rolls of unmodified 1 inflict a mortal wound against the bearer. Your best option against Marines, since Terminators and Bikers graduated to W3 and the little guys went to W2, this allows you to take on all comers and deal massive damage. It lacks the heavy stubbers of the other three, but has the option for two heavy bolters, two heavy flamers, or two autocannons.
</div></div>

====Other Forgeworld====
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
*'''[[Crassus Armored Assault Transport|Crassus]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Effectively the Guard Land Raider. If you're strapped for points and don't want the massive fire magnet that is a Stormlord, this rolling bunker is half the price. Adamantium tracks and Steel Behemoth seems to be the IG Titanic Vehicle standard. Also has four heavy bolters as the "main" weapons. T8, W20, and Sv3+ will get your Imperial guard models (all 35 transport capacity of them) across the board to where they need to go. There's space for a full Ogryn/Bullgryn Squad, Nork Deddog, and a Primaris Psyker and Priest for buffing. 
**Also, if you're bringing a Baneblade variant or two and are looking to fill up a Superheavy Detachment to get those sweet, sweet Regimental Doctrines on your Shadowsword, consider using this as your second or third Lord of War choice. It's the cheapest LoW choice the Guard have, as the absolute most this thing will cost you is 290 points.

*'''Dominus Armoured Siege Bombard<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' STILL doesn't have a model, but the Praetor is a decent enough counts-as. The Dominus triple bombard has two profiles, depending on if it moved or not. The stationary profile is 60", heavy 3d6, S10, AP-3, Dd6, blast, and does not require line-of-sight, whereas the mobile version is 36", heavy 2d6, AP-2, and Dd3 instead. 

*'''[[Gorgon Armored Assault Transport|Gorgon Heavy Transport]]<sup>Forge World Legends</sup>:''' The bigger Crassus transport, somehow. T8, W22, Sv3+/5++ against shooting attacks. Equipped with two twin heavy stubbers and two gorgon mortars (48", heavy 2d6, S5, AP-1, D1, blast and targets do not gain the benefits of cover) that can be swapped for four heavy bolters, four heavy flamers, or four heavy stubbers. Sacrifices a bit of transport capacity in exchange for the firepower though, as it can "only" carry thirty Imperial guard Infantry models. 

*'''[[Marauder Bomber]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' 40k's version of the B17 'Flying Fortress' and probably one of the largest flyers in the game (and one of the largest you can actually afford). Two twin heavy bolters and a twin lascannon make up the fixed wargear, alongside Airborne, Supersonic, and Hard to Hit from the Flyer section. You then have a choice of two heavy bombs or two inferno bombs. Both are one-use and one-per turn, but you select a point the model moved over to be the target. With heavy bombs, roll a d6 for each unit within 6" of the target point and subtract one if that unit is a Character; On a 4-5, those units suffer d3 mortal wounds, rising to d6 mortal wounds if the result was a 6. Inferno bombs are slightly different, with you rolling for each unit within 9" and subtracting one if the unit is a non-Vehicle or non-Monster Character unit and inflicting d3 mortal wounds on a 4+. It should be noted that this affects ALL units, not just enemies. In general the bomber should be avoided. Half the time a bomb does nothing, and then of that half the time the bomb might do 1 damage. From a 320 point lord of war: you can not afford that kind of low damage out put.

*'''[[Marauder Destroyer]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Now this...this is the flying lord of war you want. A slightly tweaked Marauder Bomber, for when you want moar dakka instead of moar bombs. She carried a marauder autocannon (literally a heavy 12 autocannon), twin heavy bolter, twin assault cannon, a single heavy bomb, and an optional hellstrike missile rack (72", heavy 2, S8, AP-2, Dd6+2). In a single turn of shooting the Destroyer Spit's out 32 shots from it's various guns: 14 of which are of strength enough to cut open light vehicles. This is an infantry and light vehicle muncher and even Land Raiders does not want to be under that kind of focused fire. If your getting a destroyer you definitely want an officer of the fleet to reroll those one's. Of course the question is: for 350 points is that enough dakka to be worth the point investment? At just a hair more then the price of two russes with heavy bolter sponson's and a similar save and wound count to two russes it passes first inspection so this is one that might be worth experimenting with.

*'''Minotaur<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The super-Basilisk that is significantly different from its 8th edition entry. T8, W22, Sv3+, and AP-1 attacks count as AP0, if your opponent bothers attacking thing this with any AP-1 attacks at all. Still has adamantium tracks, but the main take is the Minotaur twin earthshaker cannon with 240", heavy 2d3+3, S9, AP-3, Dd3, blast and does not require line-of-sight. 

*'''[[Praetor]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Following on from the Crassus platform, it swaps the transport capacity for the mighty praetor launcher. Both profiles have blast and do not require line-of-sight to use. Foehammer missiles will cripple tanks, at 12-120", heavy 2d6, S9, AP-2, Dd6 whereas Firestorm missiles will root out entrenched enemies with 12-120", heavy 3d6, S6, AP-2, D2, and targets do not gain the benefit of cover. Both profiles are excellent for their job, especially as you can mix-and-match per turn as opposed to locking yourself into one-or-the-other at the start of the game.
</div></div>

===Fortifications===
*'''Tarantula Battery<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Good news is that you can grab these without eating up a more precious FOC slot. Each can only take either twin heavy bolters or twin lascannons and both require you to fire at the nearest {{W40Kkeyword|INFANTRY}} or {{W40Kkeyword|VEHICLE}} unit (thankfully, you can pick which keyword you're focusing on when firing these). Does that make these worth taking when you could've spent those points on upgrading your tanks? Not likely, especially with the free heavy weapons on your guardsmen.

=Tactics=
*'''Vehicles and Guard:''' Big Tank go BRRRRR. Massed vehicles are in again now that horde options are mostly gone for the Guard. Changes to Regimental Doctrines mean you can either stick with '''Born Soldiers''' (which applies to everything), or go all-in on Vehicle tactics like '''ARMOURED SUPERIORITY''' to contest objectives 
**'''Battle Tanks''': You now have two options, the Leman Russ and the T9 Rogal Dorn. 
***The new Rogal Dorn Battle Tank warrants a mention. Upgrade it into a Vaunted Praetorian so it can issue Tank Orders to itself, and use its turret Oppressor Cannon with the Tank Order ''Shock and Awe!'' to grant it Objective Secured. If you have the Armoured Superiority Regiment Trait it counts as 5 models, so it can contest/take the objective off of MSU squads. Give it Armoured Tracks for -1 damage against D1 weaponry. Keep 3cp around for the Ablative Plating stratagem to reduce damage by 1 for anything stronger than D1. Watch as the enemy struggles to deal with a T9 W17 2+ -1D ObSec-at-5 models monstrosity that can bum rush into an enemy objective, charge the enemy units if they lack the capacity to deal with close combat, and can fire out of combat with its Turret gun. 
***Only time will tell if the new Rogal Dorn is actually ''worth'' the points though. Stock, 2 LRBT with the BC are much better than 1 RDBT with Twin BC, and at 300ish points with all other upgrades, the Rogal Dorn becomes a tempting target to focus down.
**Sentinels, both Scout and Armoured, are benefiting from [[Games Workshop|New Model Syndrome]]. They have all the important keywords, {{W40Kkeyword|Squadron}}, {{W40Kkeyword|Platoon}}, and {{W40Kkeyword|Core}}, so they have fantastic Orders synergy. Take them with Hunter Killers and Lascannons, order them to ''Take Aim!'' or ''Gunners Kill on Sight!'' depending on which officer's within order range, and go crazy.
*'''Kasrkin Bomb:''' Considering how many of your stratagems are linked to Doctrinal keywords, being able to take an extra one makes Kasrkin the most flexible unit in the codex. Consider these combinations:
**Born Soldiers (UMHR6s autowound and count as 6s) + Experienced Sharpshooters (reroll a hit) + Overcharged Las Cells (UMWRs of 6 = MW) and Ingrained Precision ([[Leagues of Votann|Born Soldiers trigger on 5s which still count as UMWR of 6]]), then order them to FRFSRF for 3 shots each.  Did somebody say "Mortal Wounds are fair and balanced"? You could also use the Experienced Soldiers-linked stratagem and Take Aim! instead of FRFSRF for +2 AP and a +1 to hit...combine with Lord-Solar choosing them for re-rolls, the relic that allows them to teleport, even Creed for the +1 S...and you can melt not one, but multiple units at a time.
**Recon Operators (Pre-game scout move of up to 6") + Brutal Strength (+1S when charging and move and shoot Heavy Weapons without penalty) + Veteran Guerillas (ignore cover), and footslog them through terrain armed with a Flamer, HS Volley Gun, and a Melta-Mine+Hotshot Laspistol trooper. If the enemy successfully charges them, activate Vicious Traps and deal 2d3 Mortal Wounds on a 4+. If you happen to have Sly Marbo in your army, they do it on a 3+. Oh, d3 mortal wounds guaranteed by the way. If you want the insurance, declare Overwatch beforehand. Makes a fantastic screening unit.

=====The Imperium=====

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

*'''Space Marines:''' GW's favoured children. They have special rules out the ass, like better rapid-fire, better melee, Doctrines that give them additional AP depending on the battle round. Since 2W are now standard on all marines, you're going to need to rely on number of shots to take them down, which is what you're good at anyway. Any of their Marines, be they tacticals or vanguards, will tie you up in melee, so bubble wrap with chaff and take Bull/Ogryns and Crusaders for counter-charging; you never want them at the forefront, where they can be shot at and charged before they can fight back, but riding in a transport or behind disposable bodies. 
**'''Q1 2023 UPDATE:''' Armour of Contempt got removed. Congratulations, your Heavy Bolters and Autocannons are relevant again.
**Ultramarines vehicles can now fall back and shoot, so a Land Raider Redeemer or even basic Rhino that was forgotten about can ram and tarpit you. Their biggest ace is Guilliman who will take you for a rough ride with his rerolls-r-us schtick, even though he's been slightly nerfed he's dropped in points. Not the most commonly seen Chapter in later 9th Edition since they aren't specialized enough.
**Raven Guard now always benefit of cover from 18" away, and only gain -1 to hit if they are 12" away.(vehicles cannot benefit from this part, at least). In addition, Raven Guard units gain +1 to hit and +1 to wound when targeting characters during the Tactical Doctrine, yes that includes Tank Commanders. Beware RG Scout Snipers and Eliminators, and grab an Ogryn bodyguard just to be sure. keep Character units 37+" away from Eliminator and Phobos Captains with Korvaid bolts and Master Marksman as they will kill most Characters. 
**Iron Hands vehicles now have Valhallan-style resilience (double wounds when accounting for brackets), in addition to their famed 6+ shrug. Their supplement's combat doctrine gives them relentless and re-rolling 1s to hit on all heavy weapons in the Devastator Doctrine. Thankfully, it only lasts 1 turn. Something to watch out for is their special relic The Ironstone, which reduces the damage of all attacks against a single vehicle of their choice by 1 to a minimum of one. [[Skub|Oh, and they can turn any Dreadnought into a Character, giving them WTs, Relics, and Character Protection]].  Iron Hands are '''still''' the best of the Space Marines, because of all the jank described above. When fighting Iron Hands, play the mission, and bring as many Artillery and Heavy Weapons as you can. Slightly more common than Crimson/Imperial Fists and Raven Guard.
**Crimson Fists and Imperial Fists are extra-competent with their Bolters. Not commonly seen since basic Bolters aren't enough this edition.
**Overall, Marines count a lot on synergy, even more so than you. Sniper teams and the Gaunt's Ghosts squad will do well to dump mortal wounds on them. Primaris Marines will still struggle against Bullgryns with slabshields, though, even with all of their fancy shit. Plus, you can always just flood the board with more bodies than they can realistically shoot.  However, that concedes Purge The Enemy secondary points to our enemy.
*'''Blood Angels:''' An army designed to hard-counter Imperial Guard with their Blitzkrieg playstyle. Their Chapter Tactic gives them +1 to wound whenever they charge, get charged, or Heroically Intervened (so basically always in the first round of combat), meaning they wound your infantry on a 2+, and without any special melee weapons your tanks on 4+ (Leman Russes and Baneblades on 5+). Don't let them get that charge off whenever possible, and just in case throw a screen directly in front of your tanks to ensure that they cannot charge your big guns. Investing in some Bullgryns with their mauls and 4++ shields is recommended for a good counter-charge unit. That, or use Rough Riders and keep them hidden from charges/shooting until you need them.
*'''Dark Angels:''' The shooty emo Catholic Marines. Their Chapter Tactic makes them almost immune to morale, and grants them +1 to hit if they remain stationary in the shooting phase. Also, their two famous wings get their own secondary chapter tactic. Ravenwing units get a 5+ Invuln against ranged attacks if they moved, or a 4++ if they advanced. Deathwing units automatically pass morale tests, and if any Dark Angels Infantry unit has the Inner Circle keyword (which all Deathwing units, named characters, and Librarians have base) unmodified wound rolls of 1-3 fail irrespective of the strength or any special abilities the attack has. The basic Born Soldiers Regiment Trait just so happens to skirt around the infuriating hardiness of the Dark Angels. Can't roll to wound if a natural hit roll of 6 automatically wounds anyway.
*'''Space Wolves:''' Death to furries. Now that that's out of the way, these guys have a similar tactic to the Blood Angels, but they get +1 to hit instead of +1 to wound. It's not as bad on paper, but my lord do Blood Claws, Thunderwolf Cavalry, and the motherfucking Wulfen love it. The rule of thumb for the Space Wolves is if it can take a storm shield, it will take a storm shield. Their Venerable Dreadnoughts can take a Blizzard Shield that gives them a 4++, making them tougher nuts to crack than the usual dreadnought at the expense of their ranged options. 
*'''Deathwatch:''' They're just better Marines with the old Special Issue Ammo. They have the same rule of thumb as Space Wolves, storm shields out the wazoo. Frag cannons are a bitch, like they were when Deathwatch first dropped. Keep them outside of 12" if you  can, and FRFSRF away. They benefit the most from Primaris units, and have hidden Hellblasters and Aggressors in a Deathwatch Intercessor squad. If you know you're facing them, it might be a half-decent idea to bring along a Hydra or two and Intercept their Corvus Blackstar Aircraft. 16 shots a piece backed up by a Tank Commander issuing them ''G,KoS!'' to re-roll 1s to hit should honestly force enough saves to kill it. 
*'''Grey Knights:''' They're no longer the terror they were in 5th Edition, but they're still a fantastic beatstick army. You'll outnumber them fairly easily, and they're just as vulnerable to Plasma as they always were. With their "Tides of Battle", the analogue to Combat Doctrines, they have some much needed versatility. They will most likely start the game in the Tide of Concealment which grants them the Raven Guard Chapter tactic (see above). They can also change the tide with a psychic power, meaning they can bump up their gimped smites to a slightly more respectable flat 2 mortal wounds, up the strength and damage of certain weapons, or re-roll 1s to wound in close combat in case they wanted to more than guarantee that wipe. Commonly seen with several Dreadknights and Grandmaster Dreadknights even with successive nerfs to them. 
*'''Adeptus Custodes:''' At first glance these big boys seem very intimidating with a universal 2+/4++ or 3++ and T5/T6. Remember the saying, "Death by a 1000 cuts"? Take that and apply it to them. A single unupgraded Custodian Guard model costs as much as an infantry squad with some toys in points. You'll very easily outnumber them, and due to their lack of 24"+ range weapons without dipping into Forgeworld units, they cannot play the keepaway game. Take advantage of your numbers and force as many saves in any way possible. Also, ''beware the flag!'' The Vexilia Magnifica provides a ''very'' strong defensive buff (rendering a ''third'' of your hits ineffective) and effectively cannot be sniped due to the sheer toughness of its bearer. If you know you're facing Custodes, bring the Relic Banner of Nemrodesh. Ignores all hit roll modifiers and any way that prevents damage. Otherwise, there isn't a lot here that can really surprise you once the game is going. But good lord, watch out for those Shield Captains on Dawneagle Jetbikes!
**Due to the 9th Edition shakeup, Custodes will now have a CP pool to play with that is more or less equal to your own (assuming neither of you blow pregame stratagems). They were so strong that they received multiple rounds of nerfs to stratagems and the loss of ob-sec on non-troop units. Yes, you can outscore those Vertus Praetor jetbikes on that objective. That is assuming the bikes don't demolish everything in their sight.
*'''Astra Militarum:''' Oh boy, a mirror-match. You know what's good and what's bad from the rest of this article, but we'll point out the lynchpin anyway - ''Officers!'' Snipe out those low-wound characters to neuter the enemy chain of command and his infantry will suddenly be a LOT less impressive. The same is true of ''you,'' of course, so protect your own. Enemy tanks will be tonka-tough for dirt cheap, because so are yours - prioritize the ones that threaten you most. Most importantly, ''get fast!'' Taking the first turn versus guard is extremely valuable with the amount of shooting you have. Hit hard, hit first, hit often!
**'''Militarum Tempestus:''' Technically this is still Guard, but the play style is radically different, so it warrants a note. You may occasionally see a purist running an army like this. And if they are after the Scions nerf, hats off to them. They don't get Born Soldiers at all, so more balls are in your court from the top of the game. In addition, they lack stratagem synergy and can no longer spam special weapons like they used to (to be fair neither can we). Use your numbers to your advantage (oh, really?) and don't overextend - Scions are very adept at punishing careless plays.
*'''Sisters of Battle:''' As they have been since the edition dropped, Sisters are currently most frequently played mechanized with their fantastic transport game. Immolators and Repressors filled with meltas, storm bolters and Death Cultists are the flavor of the day and you don't need to be reminded to not let them get close enough to use them. A footslogging sister is a dead sister. With the release of their Codex, however, they have acquired significantly more flexibility and thusly have shot up on the threat scale. Repentia, while still fragile, will reduce just about any unit you can field to a pile of body parts and scrap metal if they get the drop on you and every unit that was dangerous before is now even more so. All of this combines with the Sister's deadly new toy: Miracle Dice. Having a pool of numbers to pick from instead of relying on RNGesus means that at any point a critical dice roll is required, they can pull it off. Really needed that Melta shot to wreck that Repressor? They can just take a 6 for the Invuln save. Desperately hoping Morale will finish off that Seraphim squad? Nope, just going make that roll a 1 and pass. Fortunately, you are one of the best armies to press this system's weakness: mass of fire. Do what Guard does best and throw more dice and bodies at the problem than your enemy has resources to deal with it. Make it a game of seeing who bleeds dry faster, because most of time it won't be you.
*'''Imperial Knights:''' A mechanized army, taken to it's logical extreme. These big boys can put out a lot of firepower that can fairly easily scythe through hordes of models (Gatling Cannons and the gigantic flamer the Dominus knight can carry), and have terrific close combat potential. Against infantry spam they'll do well to stay out of 24" range to avoid a "death by a thousand cuts" from massed lasgun fire. Against a tank-heavy army they'll try and get up close and assault the tanks to either outright destroy them or force them to keep falling back and stop them from shooting. If they're not from Knight House Hawkshroud or a Questor Mechanicus knight, you can hope to damage these boys so that they are left limping. If they're either of the other two, you HAVE to commit to destroying a knight once the wounds start piling up lest they easily circumvent the penalties of degrading statlines. Units of choice should be the Shadowsword superheavy tank, or as many infantry squads filled with lascannons as possible so that the Knight player cannot destroy all of them in 1 turn. The addition of Armigers makes things even more challenging - the Armiger Warglaive is a Devil Dog that's competent in melee, and the Armiger Helverin is what your Leman Russ Exterminator dreams of being before scarfing another tub of Rocky Road and crying. Treat them seriously, but remember that they're only Lords of War in name.
*'''Adeptus Mechanicus:''' ''KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!!'' The Transuranic Arquebus is an Officer's nightmare, capable of slaying any Officer short of a Company Commander ''instantly.'' Hug cover, stay out of sight, and failing that, get an Ogryn to take the hit for you - you are not going to outrange it. Other units to beware include the Kastelans with triple phosphor blasters - one of the few units that can realistically outshoot guard infantry. The Onager has some sweet guns, but it's not as cost-effective as yours; play smart and you can deal with it. Admech has only one character, but Cawl is an absolute powerhouse - in melee he will eat your dudes like popcorn and at ranged he's a terrific source of buffs, and most annoying of all he's an untargetable Character. Be wary of any army with him in it, and be aware of his place on the board at all times. Besides that you will feel like you're fighting Scions - lots of T3 Sv4+ dudes with good shooting and good guns.
*'''Officio Assassinorum:''' Technically their own army thanks to their White Dwarf index, but they are often seen as an ally to other Imperial armies. The Vindicare is 100% the most terrifying assassin the Guard can face. He can target sub-10 wound characters, wounds Infantry models on 2+, ignores both cover and invulnerable saves, and his weapons are AP-3. But that's not the rough part. If he rolls 6s to wound, his rifle does d6 damage instead of its usual d3. If a guard character has somehow survived the initial shot, his Headshots rule allows him to keep dishing out mortal wounds until the target is dead. You will not outrange him, so hide behind LoS-blocking terrain and/or get an Ogryn bodyguard to tank the hit and buy your officer a turn. A visible officer to him is a dead officer. Oh, did I mention he can spend cps to shoot and kill another visible character or deal a straight d3 mortal wounds to a Tank Commander? Other than that, Eversors will also give your units trouble since he can potentially kill 16 models in combat, plus 4 shots from his sentinel pistol. More than enough to wipe out any Troop choice you have since you only get a maximum of 10 models per squad. The Callidus with her Neural Shredder and Invuln-ignoring sword isn't at her best against cheap guard fodder. Her CP fuckery can be annoying if you rely on using stratagems. The culexus, however, is an anti-psyker specialist who is nevertheless versatile in that he forces all attacks against him to hit on 6s, regardless of ballistic skill, weapon skill, or modifiers. That's why you have Hellhounds and flamers!
*'''The Inquisition:''' Recently brought up to speed by their White Dwarf Index, you ''really'' shouldn't discount the threat the Rosette offers. Though you'll likely never face them in any high point games (unless your opponent is a madman with 3 Land Raider Prometheia), their presence in other armies can make life very annoying for you. Primarily, their Psychic powers are exceptionally nasty and good at picking your Officers out of a crowd. Worse, they can use one of those powers, Psychic Pursuit, to turn one of their aforementioned Land Raiders into a fucking sniper. Most of your {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTERS}} can't take Heavy Bolter fire or Mortal Wounds very well, so beat them at their own game and bring your own snipers to deal with them quickly before they deal with you.

</div></div>

=====Chaos=====
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

One hilarious strategy against Chaos in general is to run the Relic of Lost Cadia, and once per game drop the hammer on these bastards for what they did to Cadia.
*'''Chaos Daemons:''' On paper, Chaos Daemons are an army that primarily relies on their psychic phase and Close Combat phase to do damage. The 40k setting has often favoured armies that rely primarily on their shooting capabilities. In practice, Daemons have been faring very well in 9th Edition. With Psychic Awakening and a comparatively lenient entry in the Munitorum Field Manual 2020 (hint, Guard got slapped hard in that book), Daemons now have multiple ways to fuck your shit up. Their new Daemon Saves are unique in that they always get their base save, no AP and no invuln-ignoring bs will stop this. The best way to press it? Massed fire. Units to watch out for include Flamers and Exalted Greater Daemons.
*'''Chaos Space Marines:''' Abaddon's still bad news, armless jokes aside. With the addition of Legion Traits, several builds can do a number on the guard's forces. The Alpha Legion has the same -1 to hit against ranged attacks outside of 12" that Raven Guard have, Night Lords make horrible leadership bombs that can scare off half your units even if they lose only one model in a turn, Iron Warriors ignore cover with their weapons. Deal with them as you would their Loyalist equivalents. Get inside 12" of Alpha Legion units, and use Hell Hounds or Valkyries filled with flamers to do so. Against Night Lords? Commissars solve Combat Attrition problems nicely.
*'''Death Guard:''' Disgustingly Resilient is now -1 Dam, and the T5 2W Plague Marines now project a variety of auras that get larger as the game goes on, the most annoying one being the one that shuts off ObSec. Thankfully for you, DG's horde-melting melee has been pared down and you're no longer going to see 5/10 man squads with everyone kitted out with plague-spewing melee. While you will never want to be closed in by the DG, at least now they're not overkilling your hordes. 
**The -1 Dam is most noticeable on your 2D and anti-vehicle weapons, especially when you're pouring them on their vehicles. Since most of your weapons are D3/D6, the D3 weapons will be doing 1 D 2/3s of the time, so you'll be relying on swingy D6s. Ironically, the lasgun is the ''least'' affected weapon from all of these changes. They've always wounded Plague Marines on 5s, saved on 3s, and were 1 Damage anyway, so you have that going for you, I guess.  
**DG is one of the few other armies that have auto-take artillery. Plagueburst Crawlers are mini-Daemon Engines that come stock with with 5++s, long-range meltas, RF guns that wound you on 2, and of course, a mortar that hits as hard as a Russ, but more consistent with flat 2D (3 with a strat that they will always use). Unlike you, they suffer penalties to shoot without LOS, so bracket them with your own artillery to weaken them a bit. 
*'''Renegades and Heretics:''' Squatted. If you're playing against them, it is probably because they're more masochistic than you are. Blast them to high-hell, spam FRSRF to cut them down, and just stay out of melee. 
*'''Chaos Knights:''' Hang on, this is gonna be a rough one. They're like the Imperial Knights, but you can play upon the degrading statlines of these buggers much more effectively by taking out bits and chunks of each tank and reduce their WS and BS. However, Chaos Knights are much more aggressive and tanky in their playstyle than Imperium-loyal Knights. Chaos Iconoclast Knights can pay 1cp before the game begins to take a Vow of Carnage which grants them an extra melee attack for every 10 models they destroy. If you're playing a guard horde, that spells bad news. Like, really bad news. On top of that, they can spend 2cps to give a different Knight of their choice the Vow of Dominance which gives them immunity to being wounded on unmodified rolls of 1, 2, and 3. That's a huge blow to your near-mandatory lascannons, and choice weapons such as the Demolisher cannon or the Shadowsword's weapons.  Outside of that, they share some stratagems such as Full Tilt, the infamous Rotate Ion Shields, Chainsweep, and Devastating Reach.
*'''Thousand Sons:''' Mind Bullets as far as the (Magnus' one) eye can see. Each squad is now led by a fully-fledged sorceror, so when they're not buffing each other for better shooting or invulns, they'll be delivering D3 MW. Since you only have so many Denies, save these for spells like Doombolt, which does flat 3 Mortals, or for Sorcerous Facade, which lets them redeploy to get out of combat/take an objective.
**Rubric Marines and Scarab Occult terminators have 5+ Invuln, get +1 to all saving throws against damage 1 weapons, ''and'' the new Armor of Contempt rule which makes your AP one worse, all the time, meaning they'll have Cataphractii-level resilience against your basic troops, and worsen your already mediocre AP when you've got anything good. But, you took Autocannons and supercharged your plasma guns like a good boy, right? 
**Born Soldiers helps, but it's not the Wounding that's the issue, it's your absolute lack of AP. Your go-tos, like Autocannons and HBs, are only AP-1, and your Battle Cannons are only Ap -2, both of which will only worsen against AoC. Spam Plasma and Demolisher Cannons when you can take it, and don't be afraid to use anti-tank weapons against Rubrics: you have a lot of potentially tank busting guns, and Thousand Sons players will almost always pick 10-men Scarab Terminator blobs over vehicles any day of the week. 
**Outside of that, the Cultists and Tzaangors often show up in big blobs and get either put in deepstrike reserve through Webway infiltration or warptimed in to get close to a screen. Don't bother using heavy weapons on them and stick to FRFSRF. Only Tzaangors are ObSec, so if you're competing for objectives, take them out first. 
*'''World Eaters:''' Guard and World Eater are like oil and water, with Guard being squishy and shooty, and Eaters are dangerous in melee with lackluster shooting. Still, they're more dangerous than ever now that they're getting a new codex, getting stuff like getting to move closer to you after being shot, preventing you from falling back, and even getting Angron back from the dead. Rather than relying on overwatch, Guard players should focus on proper spacing and battlelines. 
**Acceptable losses becomes an important stratagem in case they prevent you from falling back, which is also why the composition of your first and second line is important: anything that the World Eaters gets a clean charge on is going to die irregardless of what it is, letting the WE consolidate into the second line (they cant attack, but you can fight back) and possibly locking in that second line. Ideally, anything you want in melee, like Ogryns or Rough Riders, shouldn't be getting consolidated into since they get bonuses for charging, so keep them safe in the back. Instead, guardsmen should always make up your first and second line, because as Platoon units, you can shoot into them like the chaff they are. 
**tl;dr: your first and second lines should be well spaced whenever possible, and should always be chaff, because anything WE charges gets blended. Melee units should be kept in the back so they can counter charge, because getting consolidated into robs you of options.

</div></div>

=====Xenos=====
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

*'''Craftworld Eldar:''' With to-hit modifiers being hard capped at +1/-1 these days, Craftworlders are nowhere '''near''' as hard to deal with these days. While the occasional -1 to hit does suck, the sheer volume of fire your infantry squads and vehicles are capable of outputting will borderline guarantee hits upon anything they can field. With a standard GEQ T3 and 4+ save on their infantry, even your humble lasguns have a solid 50/50 shot of killing the average Aspect Warrior (and remember, Aspect Warriors are anywhere from two to five times as pricey per model as your guardsmen. You'll have a ''lot'' more lasguns than they will Aspect Warriors). This by no means should be a cause for complacency. Melee is a notable weakness your infantry tends to suffer from (with a few exceptions), and Craftworlders do have specialized Aspect units that'll seek to exploit that. There is good news though; as mentioned earlier, everything the Eldar can field comes at a relatively steep price, especially compared to you. Not only can you easily outnumber the average Craftworlder, you'll invariably be able to easily outrange them as well. Spread out to ensure no uninvited guests can pop into your backline and to help contain potential melee charges. For your bigger guns and tanks, focus down their longer ranged heavy hitters first; Dark Reapers, Fire Prisms and Crimson Hunters can pose a serious threat to your armor and are among the few longer ranged options Craftworlders will typically bring in this matchup. Without those, they'll be forced to close the gap to engage you. Lastly, keep tabs on their Psykers. It's a blue moon when a Craftworld player ''doesn't'' bring a supporting psyker (in fact, the only non-named non-psyker HQ they can bring is an Autarch) and if they're left to their devices, they can cause quite a bit of [[HERESY|chaos]] through the mortal wounds and the library of buffs/debuffs they can throw around. Bringing one or two psykers of your own if only for Deny the Witch rolls wouldn't be a bad call. Also, a few Sniper Teams or an allied Vindicare Assassin will do you wonders against their actually fragile characters.
*'''Dark Eldar:''' Covens no longer fuck us over 100% thanks to the "everything can wound anything" rule now. Notice "100%", since the bastards now get an invulnerable save making them tough on your lascannons, plasma guns, and anti-vehicle/monster weapons. Kabalites in Boats and Wyches with their insane close combat attacks are top notch against us. Flamers are, and always will be, your friend against these slippery fuckers, and be sure to bring some Hydras along to punish the fact that all their vehicles {{WH40kKeyword|FLY}}. Be warned, like the Imperium's Scions Dark Eldar are ''very'' adept at punishing careless plays since Dark Eldar like Nids were trash for so long that any long-term players tend to be tactical geniuses.
*'''Harlequins:''' Well, these guys are just bad news. With flip belts that can launch these bastards over screening units and terrain in the movement phase, Genestealer-level close combat attacks, -1 to hit modifiers, 4+ Invulnerable saves, and access to a multitude of leadership debuffs, you're in for a tough fight. Again, bring flamers, auto-hitting weapons and lots of screening units spread out so they have no space to finish their moves over them. The new Saedath rules can give Harlequins increased resilience by making wound rolls of 1-3 always fail, but your mass S3 fire against their T3 functionally does not give a shit about that which is quite hilarious. A unit to watch out for is the Death Jester. He can snipe characters with his Shrieker Cannon, so either block LoS whenever you can or get an Ogryn Bodyguard/Nork Deddog to tank the hits for you and try to buy you a turn.
*'''Ynnari:''' This eldar army will behave very largely the same as any one of the other elf armies mentioned previously, only with a particular predilection towards melee-focused lists. The good news is that their out-of-phase actions are a thing of the past, so you won't need to worry about double tapping Fire Dragons or Dark Reapers anymore. The bad news is that the melee potential of units like Wraithblades or Troupes is effectively maximized if they soulburst, meaning they will ''absolutely'' slaughter units whole-sale if they make it into combat. Bringing a decent degree of heavy armor is advised since outside the larger Wraith units, most of their piddly S3/4 melee attacks will just ping off without dealing much damage. Flamers are also a strong charge deterrent, but beware of units like Howling Banshees or Autarchs who can disable your overwatch. Focus on whittling them down at range wherever possible as well; outside allied detachments, Ynnari detachments don't have much incentive to natively invest heavily in dedicated gunline units due to the inherent lack of support available to them anymore. Just like when dealing with Craftworlders, key targets include any psykers or the Ynnari characters, as they provide a significant amount of support to their units (like healing/rezzing wounded/dead models, providing re-roll support, etc).
*'''Necrons:''' In a sentence, play for KEEPS. Reanimation Protocols trigger after every attack made, so there's no real getting around it anymore, '''but''', you're also better able to keep multi-wound models like Destroyers down; Necrons only get back up if they roll a 5+ for each wound the model has. Don't fight in half-measures and use your biggest, shootiest guns first. 99% of Necron lists will be running the custom "every model has ObSec and gets a free 6" pregame move" along with the Silent King, Wraith blobs, and Skorpehk destroyers because the Necron internal balance is atrocious. On the flip side, their faction Secondary objectives as of Nephilim are the easiest to max out in the game and [[Derp|they have a good chance to win because they outscored you, even if you table them.]] Try and do whatever you can to deny them their secondary objectives, and you may just squeak out a draw or a rarer victory.
**Versus vehicles, your meltas and lascannons are going to lose a lot of effectiveness when Quantum Shielding triggers - every model with this rule has a 5+ invuln, and wound rolls of 1-3 always fail. The solution to all of this? If you're into list tailoring (which makes you a [[That Guy]] by definition), the relic Banner of Nemrodhesh. Ignores hit modifiers and any ability that lets enemy units ignore wounds (phase cap, feel no pain). Great for taking down any C'tan unit the Necrons are banking on and denying feel no pain against shots from {{W40Kkeyword|CORE}} units. 
*'''Orks:''' First, shake hands with your opponent and thank him for keeping this hobby fun. Then, crack open a beer. Finally, STAY OUT OF MELEE! Even your dedicated melee troops are going to struggle against the green tide - while none of their models are game-breaking, they do have a LOT of them. You may actually lose out on model count and board control, depending on what he brought. 
**Beast Snaggaz are purposefully built to fuck Vehicles, and have enough buffs from New Model Syndrome to really rub it in your face: 6+ invuln, bonuses to hit and wound, and Mortal Wounds out the Ass that you have no protection against mean that anything that gets to touch you will end up either destroying your tank, or crippling it. 
**Orks depend on movement tricks in order to get close and bypass their shit movement of 5". The "Ere We Go USR allows them to re-roll either one or both dice for a charge roll allowing them to pull of charges from a surprisingly long distance. You have a Tank Order that slaps -2 to movement on an Ork unit. You should always use that Order against Orks if possible
**Ork Shooting is ''worse'' than last edition, since they no longer get stackable exploding shots, but weapons like Rokkits and KMBs will make anything that does hit hurt like hell. 
**Watch out for Speed Freakz, whose units can do a little bit of both shooting and melee, while still being speedy as fuck. Units like Deff Koptas have Rokkits, which can really hurt with 3D, but also have really effective multi-hit attacks in melee that can make mincemeat out of your Bullgryns.  
**Most Ork players will be taking MSU or 10 or less due to the changes to Mob Rule and BLAST weapons; they are no longer immune to morale, but the changes to the Morale Phase still means that unless he only has 1 Boyz left, ''most'' of the mob will stick around. Pick your objectives and play hard for them - don't spread yourself too thin. And then crack open another beer with the boyz. 
*'''Tau:''' Like Craftworld Eldar, these guys used to be a thorn in our side with markerlight spam that took away cover, Pulse Rifles that shredded our infantry from 30" away, and Riptide spam that made a mockery of our tanks. 
**The Bork'an sept will be able to out-dakka you beyond your 24" lasgun range,  since their tenet adds 4" to their weapons,  on top of reducing the Strength of your S7 and less guns by 1 when you target Battlesuits and Vehicles. Get past this by just using your Meltas and Tank Cannons, and leave the Autocannons at home. 
**Their infantry are superior to yours, with 4+ armor and S5 guns with AP on pretty much everything; they aren't hurting for ways to bring it, either, as most of their suits come with high ROF. Your only defense right now is to bring more bodies and hope for the best. Even then, taking 100+ models might not hold up against the amount of high AP shots coming their way.
**Railguns will fuck your day up, so if you can, smoke launchers will do you wonders since the T'au tend to have a mediocre ballistic skill value of 4+ without markerlights or Commander units. Also, remember to issue the order "Strike and Shroud" to any Leman Russ you can for that exact same reason. Finally, if you have Artillery you can one-up the T'au since most of their ranged weapons require LoS, so hiding your vehicles becomes EXTREMELY important.
*'''Tyranids:''' Xenos armies were buffed quite a bit, and the Tyranids were buffed the most. At a 59% winrate competitively, gone are the days of 5th-7th when they were trash-tier. 
**[[Imperial Munitorum Manual|Most Guard players know what they need to do]]: "[[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|Shoot the Big Ones]]." But just like most things found in the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, the truth is a bit more complicated than that: Ignore all the non-Synapse monsters to focus down on the Synapse ones, and worry about the big killy melee ones first: Tyranid shooting has been buffed to be pretty potent, but they don't come with a scary amount of guns like you do; an Exocrine ''might'' be able to pop a Leman Russ in one go, but he only has the one gun to fire each turn. On the other hand, if a Tyrant or Carnifex touches you, you can be damn well sure that you won't be able to kill it on the rebound, and it can wreak more havoc when it consolidates. 
**Tyranid monsters have been buffed quite a bit, and you're looking at 15 Wounds '''minimum''', and that's not counting LEVIATHAN's transnid physiology ignoring the S8/9/10 of your Battle/Las/Demolisher Cannons. Indirect fire is amazing for dumping fire on them without line-of-sight, so invest in Basilisk/Manticores.
*'''Genestealer Cults:'''  Positioning, positioning, positioning. These guys are always unpredictable. For one thing, these guys can bring a Guard detachment (and even without doing that, borrow a few Guard units), so don't be surprised to see Leman Russes and Chimeras. Even without that, these guys will obliterate any opening you leave in your backline, so screening units are a must. 
**'''They also gain +1 to hit and +1 to wound when they focus down on you''', which makes it more important for you to establish board presence. 
**Kelermorphs are better snipers than anything you can bring, especially against Guard characters in particular because you don't have that many wounds, so you'll probably want to include an Ogryn Bodyguard or Nork Deddog if you expect to see one. Keep your officers safe by using Vox-Casters, they're free now on regular squads. You usually don't want to be in melee with these guys, but if you bring Bullgryns or Rough Riders, you can make your opponent generally regret taking an ambush-themed army once you get those countercharges in. 
**Expect to see more Achilles Ridgerunners now that they've been rebalanced, too. But if you really want to screw with your GSC-playing opponent, bring Scions in Valkyries backed up by Vulture and Vendetta Gunships and fly around the board with them, where you'll be relatively safe from just about everything your opponent is going to deep strike and generally immune to charges. Then, once they come in at the end of the third turn, disembark and shoot them down.
*'''Leagues of Votann:''' That's right. [[Rage|The Squats got reintroduced to 40k before the Guard got their 9th Edition codex]]. To keep it short, the Votann shoot better than you, do melee better than you, get better buffs compared to you thanks to Judgement tokens, and are MUCH harder to wound than you (and the average Space Marine, even) because of Void Armour. The only thing is their basic infantry are slow unless they have the Pioneer Jetbikes. Hug cover and obscuring terrain like a bitch, only expose yourself when ABSOLUTELY necessary. 
**Whatever the Leagues can see is a goner thanks to their legitimately broken Judgement Token mechanic. Three tokens stacked gives the Leagues auto-wounding shots on unmodified 4+ to hit against any unit with 3+ JT, and they're EXTREMELY easy to stack. A near-immediate FAQ and errata took away JT counting auto-hits as 6s to wound, so the Magma weapons aren't nearly as obnoxious as they were on release. There's still absolutely nothing you can do to counter the JT mechanic except play a tediously slow and unfun match, though the same can be said of many armies that will go against the squats. 
**Remember, you fully have the right to deny any proxying on the squat player's part until their model line is fully released. 


</div></div>
[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000 9E]]

[[Category: Warhammer 40000 Tactics (9E)]]

[[Category: Imperial]]

[[Category: Imperial Guard]]

{{Warhammer_40k_Tactics}}