What’s good fellow gamers? Mr.MoreTanks here with an article a little more like what RawDogger brings to the table. I’m going to do a little day dreaming as I’m sadly becoming less and less excited about my arguably my favorite army in the game right now, Guard.
Now, the Guard book is not the oldest or most outdated book, I maintain that it is probably among the top two or three choices for allies for any Imperial army, but my how we have fallen from our place of glory since the grand old days of 5th ed. I know that we’re hearing rumors about Tau in the too distant future, but even still, I want to dream about my wants and desires; who needs blue hooved space commies? Below, in no particular order, are some of the things I’d love to see in the next Guard update.
- Cheaper Transports. Chimeras and the Taurox are all well and good, but the Guard are all about flooding the board with guns and bodies. In the ITC, mobility is key, and when your transport costs more than your basic squad, or even a squad with any upgrades that are worth taking, well, we’ve got a problem. It be great to see Rhinos introduced to the Guard. They’re so common throughout the Imperium that I frankly have a hard time believing that there aren’t Regiments across the stars utilizing them and dreaming about being Astartes.
- Artillery Batteries back. Back in the old 5th book, we had access to Griffons, Medusas, and Colossi. I loved these things and made up 4 Medusa/Colossus tanks to roll around with. Then the 7th ed book came a long and stole them from us. They were my precious, and we wants them back! Stupid fat GWs! YOU RUINS IT! If you happen to be lucky enough to attend an event that allows FW and don’t mind shelling out a limb for an Imperial Armor book, or just downloading a PDF, you’ll be just fine. Still, it seems just lazy to me. Oh well, the Wyvern is awesome.
- Better priced power weapons. Why the hell is a power axe the same cost for a Guardsmen Sgt as it is for a Space Marine Chapter Master? These weapons cost WAY too much, and I grudgingly take them because they make the combat blob mean and nasty, but by the time I tack on a melta bomb this very easy to kill Guardsmen is running a pretty hefty bill. GW seriously needs to take a look at their points for close combat weapons in general, but especially for Guard.
- Keep our Orders. Please, please, please, GW, DO NOT TAKE AWAY MY IGNORE COVER!!! Seriously, Ignore Cover lascannons are one of the few things left that can make people afraid of Guard. In fact, give me some more cool ones. Give me the option of dig in again for +1 cover save if I can only snap fire next turn, but not be pinned, something like that would be really cool.
- More Special Characters. Yarrick and Pask are amazing, and while not every option was worth considering in the 5th ed book, having all of those characters available not only added some fun flavors to armies, but it made sense too. The Guard is an insanely large military organization, the scope of which is nearly incomprehensible. It seems fairly obvious that there would be dozens of heroes that the Imperium had made famous across the galaxy through propaganda and by the heroes own personal achievements.
- Better Russ rules. Leman Russes are the workhorse of the Guard, but the problem is the rules to Ordnance. Forcing all other weapons to Snap Fire is a frustrating option. Russes need a rule that overrides this. I know that this reason alone is why I never really consider any of the Russes, especially ones with Ordnance weapons. Plus, it would be super badass to see a Russ with some kind of Grav cannon mounted on the turret.
- Formations! Gimmie, gimmie gimmie! I want a formation where Creed gets tons of extra orders to dish out to dozens of heavy weapon teams. I want a Russ formation where Pask leads an armored column that can gun apart anything. I want an unending tide of bodies that recycle when they die! I want more for cheaper! I want a formation where all of my heavy weapons are free! Something epic and powerful. I want my cheese.
- Cheaper Guardsmen. Before you freak out, think about the costs of most units in the game, think about the power of formations giving out free wargear, transports, and more. Think about all of that, and then tell me that 50 Guardsmen should cost 250 points. By the time you give them any meaningful weapons, the costs can be somewhat… too much? The price of them tends to add up quick.
- Psyker Battle Squads. Man I rocked these guys in 6th. I loved running them with a Primaris to Psychic Shriek something after I had knocked down its leadership with these guys. All fell before the awesome power of this unit, and it was priced pretty well too! Come back to me!
- Regimental Rules. Orders are all well and good, in fact, they are one of the coolest things about the Guard, but a little more flavor would be nice. Chapter Tactics are super interesting and most all of them can be justified and used successfully in a tournament setting. It would be very cool to see something like this either through formations, or some other special rules, maybe even supplements, to capture the diversity and different skills of the many regiments across the galaxy.
I could go on and on in greater detail and make a dream codex until the Squats come home, but for now this wish listing will do. Am I being too greedy? With the trend of the newer books, I don’t really think so. What other things would like to see the Guard have?