Spotlight On: Astra Militarium Support Options

In the second of these in-depth analyses of the various areas of the new Imperial Guard/Astra Militarium codex, I'm going to take a look at the various support options for a Guard army, of which there are many. In addition to the in-codex options, I'll also be examining some of the best allies that can boost the potential of the Imperial Guard.

The Company Command Squad:
The Company Command Squad was and still is one of the best options for boosting an army's capability. With access to all the Orders in the codex, and a number of useful advisors, there are few lists they won't benefit. The Regimental Standard can keep units in line very well, and without killing anyone like the Commissar does.

The Company Commander can issue 2 orders a turn, with a range of 12", and has access to both the Senior and Junior Officer Orders. There is not really a bad one in the bunch, so I'll just go through them all:

First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire: This is just the same as ever, adding another shot to any Lasguns in a unit, and as before, it's all about quantity over quality. Conscripts or Infantry Squads will benefit a lot from this, especially if you've cast Prescience on them.

Fire On My Target: Like the above Order, this is great against infantry when used with massed Lasguns, but where it really shines is against vehicles behind Aegis Defence Lines. By removing their 4+ save, you halve their survivability, which can be huge when hitting with Lascannons on Turn One. If the enemy are in cover, then this is the one to use.

Suppression Fire: This is one of the more situational orders, but potentially useful against low-leadership targets that you're not confident on killing, as pinning essentially makes the target useless for a turn if you can manage it. This is also not affected by the number of shots fired, so might be more useful for smaller squads than orders like FRF that get more powerful the more you're firing.

Forward For The Emperor:  Possibly my favourite of the new orders, this one allows you to make a shooting attack and then a Run move, which has several useful applications. If on the offence, you can advance without sacrificing firepower (as per the rules, you can even fire Heavy Weapons and then run), and if playing defensively, you can use it to fire and move back, potentially out of charge range, and maybe get another round of shooting in. Very versatile, very useful.

Smite At Will: This one gives Split Fire to the unit, and as such, I think it's best used on Veteran squads. One Lascannon out of a blob isn't going to be that effective, but on a Veteran Squad, you get the benefit of BS4, and can still fire the other weapons at another target, potentially bagging you two targets in one turn.

Take Aim: There's some debate over the precise effect of this rule, but I'm going to go with the seemingly intended option that, on the roll of a 6 to hit, you get to allocate the wounds as per a character gaining Precision Shots. This one works well on anything, really, as you're either throwing enough Lasgun shots to get a good number of allocated hits, or fewer plasma/melta hits from Veterans that, if you can allocate them, are going to kill something important.

Move, Move, Move: This one is the best for those times you need your guardsmen to get somewhere, anywhere, fast. Whether it's running for an objective in the final turns, pulling away from a threatening Close Combat unit, or closing distance to unleash your close-range weapons, this is a good way to ensure mobility.

Bring It Down: Some say that the change to this Order, granting a re-roll to wound/penetrate on Monstrous Creatures or Vehicles respectively, rather than to hit, but when one considers the number of cheap Divination options the Astra Militarium have access to, there's every chance you can be re-rolling both, making this even more deadly than before. Solid on Platoons firing anti-tank weapons at range, or Veterans using the same up close.

Get Back In the Fight: This Order is both useful and redundant, depending on what kind of list you're playing. With lists that have Priests and Commissars left, right and centre, there are very few things that are likely to be falling back in the first place. On the other hand, that one time an important squad does break, you'll be glad you have this Order to hand.

Advisors: 

The Astropath: A pure weapon in human form, this guy gives your CCS a nasty kick at short range. While Leadership 7 means he won't always get the power off, Psychic Shriek is a lethal attack when it does go off, and against Monstrous Creatures, the automatic wounds are worth it on their own. 25 points makes him a great and cheap option.

Officer of the Fleet: While, again, it relies on a leadership test, this can be boosted to Ld 9 with a Company Commander (as it's not a psychic test, you may use the highest Ld in the squad) and then either add one to your reserve rolls or remove one from your enemy's making him essential when running or facing a reserve-heavy list.

Master of Ordnance: Cheaper than his last iteration but largely the same, the Master of Ordnance is an interesting choice, especially considering he is now easily twin-linkable and can even be given Ignores Cover. At 20 points a pop, he's going to make his points back if he hits something, and is guaranteed to be fun at any rate.

Auxiliary HQ Choices:

Ministorium Priest: The Priest is nothing short of essential in a list planning on using large squads, offering, for a measly 25 points, 2 excellent passive abilities and a chance to add a third power-up in close combat. Fearless is a huge bonus on Conscripts who typically suffer from poor morale, and makes them great objective-sitters; for just 85 points, you get 21 fearless bodies, one of the most reliable-relative-to-cost objective holders in the game. In you can get them into combat, re-rolls to hit is a straight 50% upgrade to killing power against targets below WS5 (ie most standard units), and re-rolls to wound makes the low-strength wound-spamming guardsmen a threat even to Monstrous Creatures. He can also take a plasma for 15 points, which, while making him more expensive, could add some firepower to a squad, and he gets precision shots to boot.

Primaris Psyker: As with the Priest, this guy is a great choice. With the ability to twin-link anything through the use of Prescience, you can make any unit more dangerous, either in shooting or Close Combat, and with a cheap upgrade to Mastery Level 2, there's plenty of other good buffs available. With Leadership 9, they also make Orders more reliable, and with a Force Weapon in the base cost, they're no slouches (as far as Guard go) in combat either.

Techpriest Enginseer: Unlike the other two auxillury HQ choices, the Tecjpriest is one that actually works better in a mechanised list, for two reasons. One, he can use Blessing of the Omnissiah to repair a vehicle he is embarked on, which can keep your Chimeras alive longer, and also because Power of the Machine Spirit is very useful when in close proximity to Leman Russ tanks, allowing them to hit 2 targets per unit, or 3 if you pass the Split Fire Tank Order as well. He also adds a Powerfist or Power Axe in close combat as well.

Commissars:

Commissar: Bought as an upgrade to a Company or Platoon Command Squad, the Commissar allows a squad to stick around almost as reliably as the Priest, but with the bonus of being able to use his higher leadership and be free to Go To Ground if you choose, something the Priest makes impossible thanks to fearless. However, there is a 1/3 risk that your opponent will chose which model the Commissar executes to auto-pass a failed Leadership test, so by putting him in anything other than a Conscript Squad, you take the risk of losing an important model, making the Priest a better option.

Lord Commissar: Occupying a HQ slot, the Lord Commissar has the Independent Character rule that gives you some flexibility after the game begins, but other than that functions in a similar way to a normal Commissar, just with better stats.

Allied Options:

Inquisitors: Codex: Inquisition has a great deal to offer Imperial Guard. 55 points gets you a Level 1 Psyker with access to Divination, but with Ld10 over the Primaris's Ld9, and far more options. You can kit him out with a Psycannon or Conversion Beamer for extra shootiness, you can take a number of Close Combat Weapons and various armour types, and can take Servo Skulls to block Infiltrators and add some accuracy to your Blast weapons. As Inquisition detachments don't take up an ally slot, there's really nothing to lose by taking Inquisitors.

Space Marine Commanders: Space Marine Commanders of all kinds add a good deal to Guard. They all have Ld10, and And They Shall Know No Fear is a great rule to add to a large squad, meaning they can't be Swept in Combat. The Librarian adds more psychic powers (although not Divination), a Chapter Master or Captain add a combat character to the squad (and alternatively, you can use a Conscript Squad as a Chapter Master Delivery System, buying him 'extra wounds' at 3 points a model). Chaplains don't really add anything a Priest doesn't, but still give ATSKNF and Ld10.

Raven Guard Chapter Tactics also offers some interesting options, giving you a Outflanking squad of your choice.

That concludes this article, I hope it was useful. Thanks for reading.