Astra Militarum Tactics: Rough Riders

Today I would like to talk about Rough Riders, one of the fast attack choices in the IG codex.  They honestly aren't the best, but are slightly better than before and gain some utility in 7th as well.  The short of it is they are cavalry with cardboard armor but can hurt on their first charge.  Now I have made my feelings on the idea of cavalry in the far future, we stopped using them after WW1 for a reason (tanks) but whatever its 40k.

Why does GW Hate Sniper Rifles?

So this is a rant that is a little long in the coming.  I have long felt that sniper rifles were underpowered in the game of 40k, and for some reason GW does not agree.  With 7th sniper rifles got nerfed pretty hard and are much worse than they used to be.  Its something that upsets me because sniper rifles should be quite powerful, but instead are quite meh.

Astra Militarum Tactics: Tempestus Scions

Time for the last imperial guard elites choice.  Well I have covered these guys pretty extensively but it is important to do a consolidated look at them, especially at the standard ones out of the AM book versus MT.  Personally these are your most useful elites choices, they bring the most utility and being able to be taken as a platoon means you can take a lot of these and still have room for other elites choices.  Granted the IG elites aren't must take units, but these guys come in as just about there.

New Wolves

Now while I love IG, if there is any other 40k that comes in second for me it is the sons of russ.  They are the only other sizable force that I have and I love taking them as allies with my IG or as an army on their own.  So today I'm taking a short break from IG to talk about the new space wolves, and mainly there much needed new flyer.

Astra Militarum Tactics: Wyrdvane Psykers

Next up for elites is the Wyrdvane Psykers, the renamed and changed psyker battle squad.  Oh boy these guys went from really good the kinda meh.  Not bad mind you, just a definite shadow of what they were before.  While it was no surprise that they lost unique powers and gained BRB ones, their straight utility from the old powers to the new are somewhat less.  But you can do more with them now and be flexible.

Astra Militarum Tactics: Ratlings

On to ratlings.  The next in the elites, these guys changed very little on their own, gaining a new special rule but otherwise staying the same.  The problem these guys have is not really themselves, its the dump 7th decided to take on sniper weapons in general.  They can however be a cheap unit and useful, though are certainly not an auto take in any army. 

Astra Militarum Tactics: Ogryns & Bullgryns

Alright, finally back.  It has been busy lately and I have had a lot of distractions.  The wife and I are buying a house, so a lot of time has gone into that, and I have become obsessed with world of tanks and other games now that I can play them again.  With all of this, I really haven't been playing a lot of 40k lately.   But I am back and ready to go now!  Today lets talk about gryns.

Astra Militarum Tactics: Human Wave

For today I want to talk about an army and tactic that is very effective and even more so with the new codex, the human wave.  The hard part about this army is really in buying the number of infantry models.  Cause you need a lot.  This army is entirely infantry and can be one of the hardest to beat if you build it right, with so many guardsmen and with the board control it provides, there are very few armies that can bring the firepower early enough to deal with it.

Astra Militarum Tactics: Mortars

Alright, I must admit I have had a love affair with mortars for a very long time, but then GW decided to bring out a younger and sexier woman and I have wandered to her. The Wyvern is hands down amazing, its 5 pts more than a mortar squad and has all the buffs you could need rolled into one package. That being said, mortars themselves are not gone, but how you can use them is different than before since the wyvern fills the role so well. You should still look at taking mortars, but mortar squads are not the top choice anymore.

New Computer

After many years of suffering through my old computer, I finally have a new one.  And its a good one, nothing too amazing mind you, but a good one non the less.  Why does this matter?  Well I may be taking a break from posting to finally enjoy playing video games again and will be taking advantage of this.  I'll still post, but it may be a little slower due to other distractions :).

Have no fear though, after I get done playing tonight, I'll be working on a post for release sometime tomorrow.

GG

Astra Militarum Tactics: Advanced Lasgun Use

Ah the humble angry flashlight.  Time to go back and look at how lasgun tactics have changed and new ways you can use them, as there are a lot.  It is still one of the weakest standard weapons in the game, but it is the core of the IG and will bring you to victory if used astutely.  Never underestimate how useful the lasgun can be and the ways you can use it to end your foes. Now obviously orders bring it to a whole new level and I will talk about that, but there is more to this simple laser pointer than just shooting infantry.

Astra Militarum Tactics: The Bloody Infantry PT2 v 2.0

Its time to get back to the infantry and for my second review of Veteran squads!  Over all there is little change for these guys at their base, but there are some big improvements and they are even better than before.  Veterans are some of my favorite infantry to take and I see them being just as effective in 7th as they were before, and I see chimera vets being extremely popular in 7th edition.  Alright on to the changes!

Happy 4th & Astra Militarum Musings

First off happy 4th of July to us Americans (sorry brits) and if you are in the US, enjoy your 4th weekend and have a good time.  If you aren't still have a good time, its another weekend!  Me I am just hanging out with the wife and eating food, painting, drinking, and waiting for it to get dark enough to blow shit up.  To transition back into 40K, having spent today thinking more about the IG after yesterdays game and the last few in general, I am growing to appreciate 7th and the IG codex more and more.

Battle Report: Astra Militarum vs Strike Force Ultra 1500pts

 Got a game in today, met up with my buddy at a different shop, its a newer one and was nice to finally get a game in.  I went with a different army as I wanted to try out a bunch of different things and see how they worked.  My buddy went the same route, Tourqer has been in love with strike force ultra and wanted to get some test games in and just get a chance to play with it.  We ended up playing 1500pts.  I lost roll off, so he chose to deploy and go first.  We played the relic and dawn of war deployment with no night fighting.  On to the armies.

Imperial Guard Rumors: New Formation

Finally some rumors on IG stuff coming up, and if it holds to be true, It looks to be really good.  Tread heads will be very pleased.  While I like the AM/IG book from a tactical perspective, it is somewhat bland and mising of some flavor.  I am hoping that a lot more supplements and formations are in the works to add some of the missing flavor that has been tanken out.

Starting an Astra Militarum Army: Armored Army Core

Ok I talked about building a general core for your imperial guard army, but as I mentioned this really didn't apply to an armored one. The tank based army is significantly different so its core is much different and how you should start building. Your end state is to have a lot of tanks that can function as a nearly whole army and fight effectively. To do so your going to have to start somewhere.

The Orks are Here

The orks are here, and I am looking forward to fighting them.  Since I face them regularly, I will talk about what I think about the new codex and what we are going to be facing in the days to come.  Overall I think the codex is very solid.  WAAGH! works again and orks now have a ton of options to get some ridiculous long charges off.  Its not all peachy but overall I see this codex doing very well as time goes on and orks get their feel.