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

==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====
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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.
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====Other Forgeworld====
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*'''[[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.
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===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.