Age of Darkness-Warhammer 30k/2.0 Tactics/Imperialis Militia
Why Play Imperial Militia
- Pros
- Insane customisation. This list covers nearly everything from Squats, Mutants, Mech Guard stand-ins, Death World Cavalry, WW1 artillery armies, and pretty much whatever else you can imagine.
- Lots of variety in weapons, with many of the standard options being rather good, or in some ways useful.
- There are more choices for melee armies this edition.
- Cons
- Low Leadership everywhere. Which gets even worse when you factor in the inherent rules of the Militia subtype. Meaning that when you break, you break hard and often. Even with the new melee options, the dangers of melee combat are seriously dire for you.
- Your "Third Line" vehicles are more easily penetrated, and don't have especially good options either. Generally coming as lesser versions of existing vehicles.
Special Rules
- Militia Subtype: All of your units have this, and it's not good. Units that are below half their starting number of models that begin to fall back, will never be able to regroup. They just keep going back until they leave the table.
- A unit that is falling back that is charged by the enemy is simply removed, without any further leadership test being taken, regardless of the remaining number of models.
- A unit lock led in close combat, that is charged by another unit, has to test morale or will immediately begin falling back.l, as it it had lost combat. Also being subjected to sweeping advance.
Provenances of War
This is where the modelling opportunities for this army come from. Your Force Commander can purchase up to two Provenances of War. While their cost seems rather low, they can all massively impact the rest of your army, and can radically change the army build and the options you can take. Some Provenances lock you out of certain things or are mutually exclusive with one another, but some also allow units to buy their own unique options.
- Warrior Elite: All eligible units gain +1 Ld,l (to a maximum of Ld9) while Levy squads gain the Support Squad rule. Grenadiers on the other hand lose the Support Squadrule. This provenance is effectively for a number of reasons. In that it gives you easier access to better Line troops, and also grants the army a MUCH needed morale booster. You are best served by taking as many Discipline Masters as you can to capitalise on that.
- Legacy of the Great Crusade: Grenadiers, Command Cadres, and Discipline Masters gain BS4. While a Force Commander gains Initiative 5. Depending on what your other Provenance is, your milage may vary. It obviously works well with Warrior Elite or the Armoury of the Dark Age. But if you go heavy on other Troop types, there are better options.
- Clanfolk Levy: Cavalry Squads can be taken as Compulsory Troops, where they gain +1 Ld. But cannot otherwise be taken as non-compulsory troops. Instead, you get four extra Fast Attack slots for Cavalry squads.
- This doesn't give any squad the Line subtype, despite being Troops. So you'll still need something else to claim those objectives.
- Gene Crafted:
- Cyber Augmetics:
- Alchem-Jackers:
- Survivors of a Dark Age:
- Void Jumpers:
- Armoury of the Old Night: Holy crap, this one is good. Firstly, all eligible models may replace their Lasgun with a Lasrifle for free. This limits mobility somewhat, but can extends the range of the S3 shots to 30", or grants them a S6 alternate firing mode. Suddenly, every soldier in the army becomes a threat to nearly everything for no additional cost.
- Relic Arms: for an additional cost of 30 points per unit. Grenadier squads and Command Cadres may replace their Lasguns with Assault Needlers or Volkite Chargers, or Laspistols with Volkite Serpenta or a Needle Pistols. May also swap Sniper Rifles with Needle Vilnius, and may swap Heavy Stubbers with Volkite Culverins or Needle Cannons. These options effectively give you one over on nearly every opponent. With Warrior Elite you can have a whole army that wounds most enemies on 3+. Pinning on Needle weapons is an added bonus.
- Feral Warriors: All eligible units gain +1 WS when charging, but must declare charges if able to do so.
- Chainaxes: any model with a close combat weapon (practically everyone) can buy a Chainaxe for 2pts per model.
- Kinfolk Helots:
- Abhuman Muster:
- Debased Rabble: (Traitors only)
- Tainted Flesh: (Traitors only)
- Ogryn Conscripts:
- Industrial Stronghold:
- Unending Hordes:
Wargear
Ranged Weapons
This army has staggering variety of less than staggering guns, allowing you precise control over the balance and type of your firepower to affordability.
Unit Analysis
HQ
- Force Commander:
- Discipline Master Cadre:
- Imperial Militia Command Cadre:
- Rogue Psyker (Traitors only)
Troops
- Militia Infantry Squad:
- Inducted Levy Squad: 20-50 conscripts at 2 points per model with a Lasgun, autogun, or a pistol and melee weapon. You can't really get cheaper than that. And with Strength in Numbers you can take up to three squads per slot, so you can really bulk up on the model count if you want to cover an impressive amount of ground. Like last edition, they are still expendable, so do not confer any victory points for their destruction.
- Changes to the basic rules mean that there is considerable risk to taking them though. The Expendable rule also means that if they ever fail a morale check, they just get removed entirely, so the downsides of Militia subtype just get overwritten with worse outcomes. This makes it hard, if not impossible to use them as a tarpit unit. They do not have Line so can never score objectives, and with changes to Weapon Skill rules, they are less likely to hit anything in melee, while being more easily hit back. It seems their purpose now is to truly be an expendable unit to throw at the enemy as a distraction while you do more important things with other units.
- Militia Grenadier Squad:
- Fire Support Squad: your heavy weapon squads, just like with imperial guard, but as Troops choices with no platoon tax. Unfortunately as Support Squads they cannot be Compulsory choices. They come in units of 3-10 teams and have the full range of guard weapons, including heavy stubbers, mortars and multilasers. This unit has awesome potential.
- However, the downside is that they have the Emplaced rule. Which prohibits their Reaction choices to Return Fire, Overwatch, or Interceptor, which admittedly are the only ones you'd want to use anyway. But also means that if they ever have to fall back for any reason, they abandon their weapons and are removed from the game.
- Reconnaissance Squad:
Dedicated Transports
Elites
- Ogryn Brute Squad: 3-10 Ogryns with big sticks, flak armour
- Imperialis Auxilia Medicae Detachment:
- Field Gun Artillery Battery:
Fast Attack
- Cavalry Squad:
- Cargo-8 Hauler Squadron:
- Arvus Lighter:
- Sentinel Squadron:
- Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter:
- Beastmasters:
Heavy Support
- Rapier Battery: Your entry level artillery unit. .
- Heavy Ordnance Battery: Immobile Earthshaker guns
- Imperial Militia Leman Russ: Leman Russes, everyone's favourite, chosen from the vanilla, annihilator, exterminator, demolisher and vanquisher flavours.
- Malcador Heavy Tank:
- Gorgon Heavy Transporter:
Lord of War
- Auxilia Baneblade: - Though outclassed by the Legion Fellblade, the Baneblade is still a nasty proposition to face. Sporting a Baneblade cannon, Autocannon, Demolisher Cannon and a twin-linked heavy bolter. With the option of two/four Lascannons and two/four more twin-linked heavy bolters (the sponsons don't come as standard here) optional pintle mounts, AND optional Hunter-killer missile, it is a rolling fortress of death.
Fortifications
Allies
Tactics
Building your Army
USE YOUR DAMN IMAGINATION! Want an army of Felinids? Abhuman Helots and Gene-Crafted. Only Renegades & Heretics have more customization. This army is about as customizable as they are but, they're less diverse both in the base units available and being restricted by the biggest source of customization being army wide. The units can take a startling rainbow of standard weapons, but like a rainbow, many of the options are almost the same. Its entirely possible (albeit better for friendly counts as games) to proxy a fantasy army, such as the Empire or possibly Skaven. Look at the stuff available on GW's website. Empire, Elf, Guard, Skaven, (some) Skitarii, even ORKS (with some converting) can work! Since many tournaments ban forgeworld anyway, look to other model sites if it suits your fancy. All of it works, all of its totally fluff friendly. WoC? Feral worlders. Infinity stuff? Technological advanced enclave. A WW2 model range? You get the idea. If you ever wanted to make an army thats truly "you", a one of a kind masterpiece, et cetera, this is for you. You may not exactly win, but you sure as hell wont be forgotten. Hell, make your army a bunch of chicks with swag armour and do a proto-sisters of battle army. Then piss people off and give them gene-crafted for Sister Marines, alchem-jackers with frenzon for RED RAGE sisters, or cyber sex gals. If you're using Survivors of the Dark Age and decent armor, why not make an army of Arbites? Survivors of the Dark Age and Abhuman Helots work for an army of Squats. Any combination of Tainted Flesh, Abhuman Helots, Feral Warriors and Cult Horde could give you an army of Beastmen. Want something vaguely Calibanite? Warrior Elite and SotDA works well to that end.
| Warhammer 30,000 Tactics Articles | |
|---|---|
| General Tactics | |
| Imperium | |
| Chaos | |