IG Stormtrooper Company- Elysian Style: 2000/2500/3000

So Discordian said I should take the list I posted yesterday of the IG Skimmers/Stormtroopers and do it up IA 8: Raid on Kastorel Novem Style ie Elysians. So still a biggest bang of sorts, though it doesn't max on the potential number of skimmers, as the Valkyries are dedicated transports, but I feel the additions are good and the corps of the army is easy to switch between both lists.

2000 pts
HQ- Company Command Squad- 125: Carapace Armour, Meltagun, Power Weapon, Officer of the Fleet
Elites- Stormtroopers- 195: 2 x Plasmagun
Elites- Stormtroopers- 185: 2 x Meltagun
Elites- Stormtroopers- 185: 2 x Meltagun
Troops- Veteran Squad- 155: Grenadiers, 3 x Plasmagun
Troops- Veteran Squad- 125: Grenadiers, 3 x Sniper Rifle
Troops- Veteran Squad- 135: Grenadiers, 3 x Flamer, 6 x Shotguns, Laspistol & Power Weapon
Fast Attack- Valkyrie Squadron (3)- 330: 1 x Rocket Pods
Fast Attack- Valkyrie Squadron (3)- 330: 1 x Rocket Pods
Fast Attack- Vendetta Squadron (1)- 130
Heavy Support- Vulture- 105

2500 pts
Troops- Veteran Squad- 130: Grenadiers, 2 x Meltagun
Troops- Veteran Squad- 110: Grenadiers
ADD TO VENDETTA SQUADRON- 2 x Vendetta- +260

3000 pts
ADD to vets in 2500 pts- +1 Meltagun- +10
ADD to vets in 2500 pts- +3 Grenade Launchers- +15
ADD to all vets except shotguns- +5 Auxiliary Grenade Launchers, +15 pts x 4
ADD to each vet squad- Lascutter- +10 x 5
ADD to Vulture- Twin Punisher Cannons- +50
Heavy Support- Vulture- 155: Twin Punisher Cannons
Heavy Support- Vulture- 160: Twin Linked Missile Launcher, Twin Multiple Rocket Pods

Pts: 2000 Scoring Units: 3 KPs: 16 Model Count: 66 Infantry, 8 Skimmers
Pts: 2500 Scoring Units: 5 KPs: 20 Model Count: 86 Infantry, 10 Skimmers
Pts: 3000 Scoring Units: 5 KPs: 22 Model Count: 86 Infantry, 12 Skimmers

Tactics stay the same as the last article pretty much EXCEPT the command squad is not really geared for tank hunting anymore, so just put them with the assault force. All the lascutters in 3k kinda make up for this. Use the Vultures to pave the way for the assault force, or as the assault force drives in one direction, send them in the other paving the way with high volume firepower, dividing your opponent in two.

Biggest Bang- IG Skimmers/Stormtrooper Company, 2000/2500

So I sat down and messed with the Imperial Guard Codex and capitalized on the Creed's Elite concept, maxing Valkyries and Storm Troopers, going for the first Biggest Bang for your Buck I have done in a while.

2000 pts
HQ- Company Command Squad- 260: Creed, Carapace Armour, 4 x Meltagun, Astropath, Officer of the Fleet
Elites- Stormtroopers- 195: 2 x Plasmagun
Elites- Stormtroopers- 185: 2 x Meltagun
Elites- Stormtroopers- 185: 2 x Meltagun
Troops- Veteran Squad- 145: Grenadiers, 3 x Plasmagun
Troops- Veteran Squad- 115: Grenadiers, 3 x Sniper Rifle
Troops- Veteran Squad- 125: Grenadiers, 3 x Flamer, 6 x Shotguns, Laspistol & Power Weapon
Fast Attack- Valkyrie Squadron (3)- 330: 1 x Rocket Pods
Fast Attack- Valkyrie Squadron (3)- 330: 1 x Rocket Pods
Fast Attack- Vendetta Squadron (1)- 130

2500 pts
Troops- Veteran Squad- 130: Grenadiers, 3 x Meltagun
Troops- Veteran Squad- 110: Grenadiers, 2 x Grenade Launcher
ADD TO VENDETTA SQUADRON- 2 x Vendetta- +260

Pts: 2000 Scoring Units: 3 KPs: 15 Model Count: 67 Infantry, 7 Skimmers
Pts: 2500 Scoring Units: 5 KPs: 19 Model Count: 87 Infantry, 9 Skimmers

So you have an Astropath and Officer of the Fleet to help you win at the reserves game, which is the name of the game with 7 to 9 Skimmers on the table. Plus Creed has his spiffy rules to aide this aspect of the game further. A good mix of special weapons should help you take on a variety of foes, and the number of Lascannon and melta's is adequate for Armour. The stormtroopers can gun through powered armour foes when they swamp them en masse, especially if they get softened up by the Valkyries. And even with the Elite nature of the Army, it still has a relatively high model count. 67-87 4+ armour saves aren't the easiest to power through. The key is to keep this army out of assault though. Hop around and shoot, mass your fire and eliminate entire enemy squads at once so you don't get assaulted and bogged down in the following turns.

How I'd run the list is in 2 distinct halves. First would be a standoff containment force. This consists of the plasma Stormtroopers, Sniper Vets and Plasma vets in the first Valkyrie Squadron. Deploy them in a line, ideally on an objective, and hold the enemy in with massed las fire and special weapons at a minimum of 12" range. Next is your assault force. This is the 2 Melta storm trooper squad and the flamer/shotgun vets. They sweep in from the side or middile in the second valkyrie squad and push horizontally through the enemy line, overwhelming them in short ranged fire fights, assaulting only when you know that you won't get bogged down or you will be assaulted anyways (might as well get the charge bonus). Try to only assault with the vets, as your storm troopers should always be shooting, that is where they excell the most. The last element in Creed in the Vendetta. While not a distinct part of either force, he lends more to the assault BUT in a very specific capacity. His squad should be hunting armour. They have the weapons for it and the vehicle for it and do not have the numbers to prosecute actions against infantry formations.

In the 2500 point list, the Melta vets should go with the assault force and the grenade vets with the standoff containment force.

Biggest Bang: Dreadnoughts 2500 pts and 2000 pts

The new Blood Angels codex brings the possibility of Dreadnoughts to the center stage. So here are two lists maximizing the dreadnought concept.

2500 pts
Reclusiarch: 130

Death Company Dreadnought: 160 -Blood Talons, Drop Pod
Death Company Dreadnought: 160 -Blood Talons, Drop Pod
Death Company Dreadnought: 160 -Blood Talons, Drop Pod
Death Company Dreadnought: 160 -Blood Talons, Drop Pod
Death Company Dreadnought: 160 -Blood Talons, Drop Pod
Death Company (26): 520

Librarian Furioso Dreadnought: 210 -Drop Pod, Wings of Sanguinius, 1 other power
Librarian Furioso Dreadnought: 210 -Drop Pod, Wings of Sanguinius, 1 other power
Librarian Furioso Dreadnought: 210 -Drop Pod, Wings of Sanguinius, 1 other power

Dreadnought: 140-Drop Pod
Dreadnought: 140-Drop Pod
Dreadnought: 140-Drop Pod

Pts: 2500 Scoring Units: 0 KPs: 24

2000 pts
Reclusiarch: 130

Death Company Dreadnought: 125 -Blood Talons
Death Company Dreadnought: 125 -Blood Talons
Death Company Dreadnought: 125 -Blood Talons
Death Company Dreadnought: 125 -Blood Talons
Death Company Dreadnought: 125 -Blood Talons
Death Company (25): 500

Librarian Furioso Dreadnought: 175- Wings of Sanguinius, 1 other power
Furioso Dreadnought: 125
Furioso Dreadnought: 125

Dreadnought: 105
Dreadnought: 105
Dreadnought: 105

Pts: 2000 Scoring Units: 0 KPs: 13

So both lists have 11 Dreadnoughts in them, which is the most you can possibly fit in any list outside of Apocalypse.

If you want in the 2500 pt list you can drop the Drop-pods from the Death Company Dreads and then take magna-grapples or better weapons on the Heavy Support Dreadnoughts or heavy flamers throughout the list. Just mess around with it. But now you know it can be done.

Biggest Bang: Psykers (IG Inq 2k List)

NOTE Since I keep having issues with my 2nd HQ and the fact that people just want to see a higher number of psykers I will have another list up this evening.
The concept behind this list was to have a high and diverse number, with the different psykers performing different roles.

Biggest bang is a series here where I take a crazy element and try to max it out. Things like a Space Marine Battle Company in 2500 or as many blast templates as possible in a 3k list.

Today's theme: Psykers!

HQ Primaris Psyker- 70
HQ Grey Knight Brother Captain- 146: Psychic Hood, Psycannon, Word of the Emperor, Unguents of Warding, Master Crafted Weapon

Elites Psyker Battle Squad (10)- 110
Elites Allied WH Inquisitor- 120: Combi-Melta, Power Weapon, Psycannon Bolts, Power Armour, Hexagrammic Wards, Purity Seals, Divine Pronouncement, Scourging
Elites Allied DH Inquisitor- 114: Power Armour, Refractor Field, Consecrated Scrolls, Targeter, Purity Seals, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Psycannon, Word of the Emperor, Holocaust

Troops Veteran Squad- 130: 3 x Melta-gun, Grenadiers
Troops Veteran Squad- 130: 3 x Melta-gun, Grenadiers
Troops Veteran Squad- 130: Plasma Gun, 2 x Sniper Rifle or Grenade Launcher, Mortar, Grenadiers
Troops Penal Legion Squad- 80

Fast Attack Valkyrie Squadron (2)- 310: 2 x Lascannon, 2 x Missile Pods, 2 x Heavy Bolters
Fast Attack Valkyrie- 155: Lascannon, Missile Pods, Heavy Bolters
Fast Attack Vendetta Squadron (2)- 280: 2 x Heavy Bolters

Heavy Support Hydra Flak Tank- 75
Heavy Support Hydra Flak Tank- 75
Heavy Support Hydra Flak Tank- 75

Pts: 1999 Scoring Units: 4 KPs: 17, 28 (3,2,1 system)

Tactics: Break the army up into 3 groups such as the following.

Group 1:
Psyker Battle Squad in Valkyrie
WH Inquisitor w/ Veteran Squad in Valkyrie
Hydra

Group 2:
DH Inquisitor w/ Non-melta Veteran Squad in Vendetta
Primaris Psyker w/ Penal Legion Squad in Vendetta
Hydra

Group 3:
Grey Knight Brother Captain w/ Veteran Squad in Valkyrie
Hydra

Alternatively, you can scout on some or all the groups and just start the Hydras in your deployment zone (or bring them in from reserve as well).

The Witch Hunter Inquisitor can use its Divine Pronouncement from inside the Valkyries as it does not require line of sight. This power causes units to fall back, so is great for forcing units off objectives, or if a unit is below half strength but hasn't broken, for forcing them out of the game.

The psychic hood helps keep the psychic edge well on your side, with the hexagrammic wards as a back up for that.

The Witch hunter provides extra melta power to the Veterans to crack a tank if the 3 before it fail. The Bolter has psycannon bolts to take out daemons and characters (if the squad is dead) and a power weapon to aide in combat. Scourging give you some high strength shooting as well, though I think Divine Pronouncement is better overall.

The Daemonhunter inquisitor and his squad should be put on the hardest objective, where their Vendetta can support them and where Word of the Emperor can keep units from assaulting you. The targeter should always be used before anything else in the army is shot. Really can be useful for checking ranges, especially since this squad is the shooty squad, especially with the Psycannon.

The Primaris is great with the Penal Legion. He is great in CC with his force weapon if the Desperadoes rule yeilds a Psycopath or Knife Fighter result. His shooting though fits right in with gunslingers as well.

Hydras are just cheap and pump out fire in healthy portions, thus why they are there. Just decent support.

The Valkyries and Vendettas are rather obvious. Try and shoot with them as much as possible to get units below half strength for Divine Pronouncement to be more effective. Also, this army isn't very high in numbers, so thinning down what you can will really help.

The grey knight brother captain is a bastion, and if you have to assault an objective, use his squad.

Really this list is purely for fun and the absurdity of it. What might be more fun though is to run a Culexus against it. He would be crazy awesome.

So what do you think? If you try it out, let me know.

Biggest Bang: 3000 Pts IG Pie Plates

So here is an Imperial Gaurd List dedicated to AOE weapons. Basically you want to have several sets of blast templates on hand.

HQ: Command Squad: 115- Mortar, 2 x Grenade Launcher, Master of Ordnance
Elite: Psyker Battle Squad: 120- 10 x Psykers
Troops: Infantry Platoon
-Command Squad: 40- Mortar, Grenade Launcher
-Infantry Squad: 70- Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcher
-Infantry Squad: 70- Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcher
-Heavy Weapons Squad: 60- 3 x Mortars
-Heavy Weapons Squad: 60- 3 x Mortars
-Heavy Weapons Squad: 60- 3 x Mortars
-Heavy Weapons Squad: 90- 3 x Missile Launchers
-Heavy Weapons Squad: 90- 3 x Missile Launchers
-Special Weapons Squad: 95- 3 x Demolition Charges
-Special Weapons Squad: 95- 3 x Demolition Charges
Troops: Veteran Squad: 130- 3 x Grenade Launchers, Missile Launcher, Demolitions
Fast Attack: Valkyrie: 390- 3 x Valkyries, 3 x Multi-rocket Pods
Heavy Support: Ordnance Battery: 390- Basilisk x 2, Colossus
Heavy Support: Leman Russ Squadron: 540
- 3 x Leman Russ Battle Tanks, 3 x Sponson Plasma Cannons, 2 x Hull Mounted Lascannon
Heavy Support: Leman Russ Squadron: 555- 3 x Demolisher Siege Tanks, 3 x Sponson Plasma Cannons

Pts: 3000 Scoring Units: 11 KPs: 17, 15 (‘ard Boyz)

Explosions. Mmmmmmm.........

Tactics:
Blast the hell out of your enemy. You have one hell of a gunline. Even heavily armoured infantry can be hurt by your high AP blasts such as the plasma cannons, demolisher cannons or earthshakers. Missile and Grenade Launchers all can choose between frag and krak as well, so armour beware.

I'd recommend putting the two Spec Weapon squads in the Valkyries and getting them close to the enemy to use those democharges. The 3rd Valkyrie is for the Veterans, get them moving fast and scoring fast.

Horde armies, such as nids, IG and orks have teh most to fear. And even if they aren't horde, you still have a ton of units they'd have to split their fire between.

Keep your Company Command Squad near as many heavy weapons as you can. Bring it Down and Fire on my Taget are very usefull from the Company Command. Platoon command can use FRFSRF on the infantry squads or Incoming for protection.

Another option is to exchange the LR sponsons for a squad of Armoured Sentinels with Plasma Cannons. It leaves you with an extra 15 points to spend. I'd give one LR a lascanonnon myself.

Biggest Bang for Your Buck: 2500 Pt Space Marine Battle Company

So here is a new series: Biggest Bang. Essentially, it is about do things BIG. So what better off than to start with a Space Marine Battle Company fit into the least points possible.

Captain- 100
Command Squad (5): 155- Razorback
Tactical Squad (10): 215- Sergeant BP & CCW; Flamer; Lascannon; Rhino
Tactical Squad (10): 215- Sergeant BP & CCW; Flamer; Lascannon; Rhino
Tactical Squad (10): 205- Sergeant BP & CCW; Flamer; Missile Launcher; Rhino
Tactical Squad (10): 205- Sergeant BP & CCW; Flamer; Missile Launcher; Rhino
Tactical Squad (10): 205- Sergeant BP & CCW; Flamer; Multi-Melta; Rhino
Tactical Squad (10): 205- Sergeant BP & CCW; Flamer; Multi-Melta; Rhino
Assault Squad (10): 190
Assault Squad (10): 190
Devastator Squad (10): 265- 4 x Missile Launcher, Rhino
Devastator Squad (10): 265- 4 x Missile Launcher, Rhino
Whirlwind: 85

Pts: 2500 Scoring Units: 6-12 KPs: 13, 22

Okay, you can drop the Rhinos for drop pods if you want, be hear out these tactics first.

Put your whirlwind in cover and just blast away all 6 turns. Good cheap vehicle and the indirect fire will be a pesky nuisance, especially since your opponent will be too busy killing 106 Space Marines to deal with it.

Next you get your devs into a good firing position. Sure missile launchers aren't the best, but 8 of them from on high is no laughing matter. If you get them position premiumly, then I recommend sending 1/2 of the squad away in Rhinos to bog down your opponent in Assualt.

I would probably save the assault squads for deep strike in this case so you can deploy them where you need them most.

Now what you do with the 6 tac squads is as follows. Take some objectives, getting to them ASAP with the Rhinos. If it is a good vantage point, throw the devs on an objective too. Once you get to the objectives, combat squad it up, sending forward the flamers, leaving behind the heavies, and bog down your opponent in assaults. Even if he can beat 5 marines, chances are it isn't one turn and then he still has to advance on your gunline. Send your Captain and Command squad up with these guys.

Now what you do with the rhinos is form a line abreast between your gunline and your opponent. Keep moving the Rhinos from side to side to give them their save against any Close Combat. What you are doing here is creating a wall he has to walk through. You can force your opponent through specific gaps created by you to maximize your fields of fire. You can also pop smoke to block fields of fire even better. Bring big puffy bunches of cotton to do this, as True LOS is hurt more. Add the razorback to this line and use its Heavy Bolters on infantry hordes. The rhinos also give you plenty of search lights for any night fighting you may have to endure. Note you can do this in any list really, just on smaller scales. Something drop pods definitely can't do.

So there you go. 106 Space Marines, 10 tanks. That is a lot to eliminate in 5-7 turns. Not many armies can do it. Basically mass waves of Orks, Nids, and Guard have the potential, and a Cheap Armoured company has a good chance to0, spitting out as much ordnance as possible.