With most of the vehicles out the way, just the heavy armour to go, we will have a look at some of the other infantry and non-vehicle units. I’ll start with the only vehicle like units, the new Field Ordnance Battery.
The Field Ordnance battery is one of my favourite models these days and i plan on getting a few, one pair of each type. In terms of rules, these are all good units, some better than others. The lascannon version is very good and will see a fair bit of play but i think that the bombast will see the most, although it is over shadowed by the basilisk a little. If the rockets were indirect then they would be the go to version i think. You’re going to want these guys under an order as often as possible, both for the added BS but also for the sustained hits ability, which pairs well with the bombast and rockets. Despite all this i think the main reason well see them on the table top is because they are new and less because they are great options.
The Heavy Weapons Squad has been a staple of the guard for a long time and for quite a while it has been dominated by the mortar and I don’t really see that changing. We might see some more auto cannons with the D3 but hiding these guys away on an objective and just mortaring the hell out of stuff still seems the way to go. With the ability to hit on 5’s (or even 4’s) with the overwatch stratagem is good and means that the weapons going to be hitting consistently no matter whose turn it is! Even so, I don’t think well start seeing a lot of these again, one or two maybe but that’s it.
Rough riders have made a welcome return this edition. We have been missing proper fast attack units for a while, the hellhound and sentinels just don’t cut it really. These are fast, and with the Horsemasters ability are always fast. You’ll rarely shoot with them, so advancing or charging are the order of their day. These units will be used in one of two ways mostly, an early game charge, first turn if you can manage it, to knock out or at least cripple a dangerous enemy unit or they will be held back and hidden as much as possible to act as a counter punch, charging any units that get to close to your lines or attack you artillery or units camping on your home objective. For best effect a full squad of 10 is going to be best.
Ogryns are still overshadowed by the Bullgryn brothers, although they do still have some uses. The Ripper gun is useful and with point-blank barrage ability can become quite the marine killer, however, they just don’t have anything to make them stand out from other units. There are units that car better at doing the same job and the bullgryns are just a better bet if you want to field ogryns.
Bullgryn squads have lost some effectiveness this edition. The Slabshield now longer grants a 2+ save but rather an extra wound, which isn’t as good, although the wall of muscle ability does help with this a bit, reducing damage by 1. The gauntlet is still not worth is and the maul is really the way to go. Big squads of 6 are going to be the way to play these guys and in a very similar vain to the rough rider, however they are going to be a lot slower trudging around. It’s a shame that you can’t attach leader units to these squads, as they would be great for keeping your warlord alive.
The Cadian Elite, the Kasrkin, while not as potent as they were, are still very powerful. With the Warrior Elite ability meaning they can be under two orders in a turn and will always have at least one order, regardless of officers, means that they are reliable. They come with the standard vox-caster ability and also the melta mine ability to do mortal wounds, which is always nice. The ability to take four special weapons plus what is effectively a snipe rifle, means that they can be tooled up. The only downside is their lack of deep strike abilities. While it’s unlikely you’ll run a whole army of kasrkin, a couple of tooled up squads will be a regular feature in many lists.
Ratlings are still in a funny space. They are still only T2 with a 6+ save, so will get wiped out to a stiff breeze. They are going to be best used as either a distraction unit or an early punch unit, to take out an important character early game. Shoot and scoot is a good ability but not one you want to actually use much as it means that the next turn you’ll probably have to move and loose the Heavy bonus, which you want to maximise their shooting. The 5 man units are also an issue, if you could take 10, you could be sure of taking out a target but with only 5 it’s not a given.
After the squads we have a several ‘attachable’ units.
Nork Deddog is a classic unit that is still going strong. While slightly better than the standard bodyguard, without the options, I’m not sure if he’s worth the extra points. He has some good abilities, such as giving officers a 4+ FNP and his thunderous headbutt ability is great for dishing out mortal wounds, however if your in combat with Nork then your likely staring down the barrel of defeat. A good unit but not worth the extra over a regular bodyguard.
Talking of the regular Ogryn bodyguard, here it is. The extra weapon choices give the ogryn bodyguard a lot of versatility, however, most of the time you’ll be going for the brute shield and maul or maybe ripper. The ogryn is there for defensive or melee purposes not add firepower. The 5+ FNP to officers in good but it’s the +1 to hit and to wound that will be more useful when it comes into effect, hitting and wounding most infantry on 2’s is always good. However, with the way attaching leaders to units works these days, the bodyguard units are not as needed as they once were and are therefore unlikely to make it in to many lists.
Next up are a couple of units that are really just oddities. One i can understand but the other just seem to be out of place and not much use.
Munitorum Servitors are the oddest unit in the codex. They serve no real purpose and really offer little to the guard. The only reason to take them is as a source of multimeltas or plasma cannons on infantry bases, but with all the plasma and melta that the tanks can take now, there is little reason to take them. In the onl days when they gave the techpriests buffs to fixing vehicles they were useful, now they give nothing and in many respects take away. If a Techpriest is leading they actually take away his Lone operative ability and make him more vulnerable. I really don’t think you will ever see these guys on the table top.
Regimental Attaches are another strange unit. While each model individually is a good model with a good ability, forcing you to take all three is strange. Most lists wont have need to both the Master of Ordnance and the Officer of the Fleet, in fact most wont have need for the OotF at all. The astropaths ability is good, but most times you’re not going to bear placing the unit in a position where it will come into effect. I would much rather had the option to bring them individually, as now I’m either not going to take them, or have at least 1 useless model floating around.
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