Mechanized Imperial Guard - First 1000pts

Today I'm going to show you my army list for the first 1000pts of the mechanized imperial guard army I'm working on. It's not fully painted yet, but I'll include a couple of photos anyway.

The List
Company Command Squad
- Bolt pistol (company commander)
- 2 grenade launchers
Chimera
- Autocannon
- Hull heavy flamer
= 122pts

Platoon
Platoon Command Squad
- Bolt pistol (platoon commander)
- Missile launcher
- Grenade launcher
Chimera
- Autocannon
- Hull heavy bolter
= 112pts

Infantry Squad
- Missile launcher
- Grenade launcher
Chimera
- Autocannon
- Hull heavy bolter
= 130pts

Infantry Squad
- Missile launcher
- Grenade launcher
Chimera
- Autocannon
- Hull heavy bolter
= 130pts

Veteran Squad
- 3x meltaguns
Chimera
- Turret heavy flamer
- Hull heavy bolter
- Heavy stubber
= 165

Hellhound
- Hull heavy bolter
- Heavy stubber
- Smoke launchers
= 145

Demolisher
- Hull heavy bolter
- Sponson heavy bolters
- Heavy stubber
= 195

Grand Total:
= 999 =

Some Reasoning
The company command squad forms part of my gun-line, along with the infantry platoon, adding an extra autocannon to the platoon's fire-power. They can give out orders to any squads that end up outside of their tanks, and act as a mobile counter-attack unit to protect the gun-line. Using their chimera's hull heavy flamer and a bunch of BS4 assault weapons from inside the tank, this squad can intercept enemy units that get too close and subject them to some nasty short-range fire-power. Ideally I would give them meltaguns instead of the grenade launchers they currently have to make better use of their BS4, however I just can't find the points.

The veterans are a hard-hitting mobile unit with three meltaguns to make good use of their BS4. They get a heavy flamer in the turret of their chimera as it means the tank can keep its front armour of 12 facing any threats while still getting the most out of the flamer template - it does not have to turn to face the target. The tank's heavy stubber helps replace the ranged fire-power of the missing turret autocannon, and allows the tank to keep up a good rate of fire on the move. The squad's meltaguns also help fill the army's AP1 and anti-tank fire-power niches. They usually come on from reserve and either counter-attack enemy assault units or head off to capture objectives across the board.

The infantry platoon, mounted in chimeras with autocannon turrets, provide me with the body of a good solid gun line capable of dealing with a wide variety of threats at a good range. They can dish out a large number of shots and blasts against infantry, as well as dealing with light to medium vehicles with krak missiles/grenades and the chimera's autocannons. The good strength of most of these shots also give tough infantry and monstrous creatures a lot of problems. Targets with 3+ saves or better will get their saves against pretty much all of this fire-power, which can be a problem when your opponent is feeling lucky. In practice however, I usually find that I cause enough wounds with this lot to cause sufficient casualties - they can't save them all! These guys hold on to objectives in my deployment zone, and often make a dash for other objectives later in the game.

The hellhound gets a heavy stubber to augment its anti-personnel role. Since it is a fast vehicle, it can fire all it's weapons when moving at combat speed, or one of them plus the heavy stubber when moving at cruising speed. This means the tank can always get to where it is needed and cause some real damage when it gets there - that ST6 AP4 inferno cannon firing a template out to 12" is very nasty! It usually comes on from reserve along with the veteran squad, either to support them in an advance or to counter-attack enemy units that are assaulting my gun line. It can also be handy for late game objective contesting, taking advantage of it's 18" flat-out move.

My demolisher gets a heavy stubber along with sponson and hull heavy bolters to give it some serious fire-power. When stationary, it can fire a whopping 12 shots at a decent strength, plus a demolisher shell - this lot can wipe out whole units very easily! Even if the main gun is destroyed, this deluge of shots means the tank remains formidable. This unit usually deploys with the rest of the gun line. It can provide something big and tough for the chimeras to take cover behind, and it's ST10 AP2 main gun can be a serious deterrent to enemy units wanting to close with the rest of the force. Finally, since it's lumbering behemoth rule allows it to move at combat speed and fire off it's demolisher cannon along with a heavy bolter and heavy stubber, it can bring it's weapons to bear where they are most needed at any time. This makes it another effective counter-attack unit and also enables it to advance in support of other units to seize or contest objectives.

In conclusion, I think this is good balanced list. It is capable of a good amount of versatile long range shooting, backed up with some mobile heavy hitters that can counter attack or seize objectives later in the game. The mobility is key here as it means I can always get the right weapons in the right place at the right time, allowing me to concentrate my shooting to wipe out the most important targets each turn. I can easily thwart enemy assaults either by moving in the right weapons and blasting them to bits, or simply by making a run for it and getting out of assualt range. I can also seize objectives easily by clearing the area with shooting as I roll forward, before parking a chimera full of troops on them, which can prove hard to budge.