One of the cool aspects of the new Codex: Imperial Guard is that it contains such a wide variety of options for unit choices and tactical emphasis. Never before have Imperial Guard players had such an opportunity to customise their army. Add in such elements as the Doctrine choices and nearly any kind of human-oriented force can be built with Codex: Imperial Guard.

The beauty of this flexibility is that it allows you to go way beyond the standard footslogger miniatures. The doctrines available in the Codex give you the ability to legally field such armies as Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii, Tau Human Auxiliaries, and the evil Blood Pact.

Many of the classic Imperial Guard units (such as the Mordians and the Tallarn) and their own special Doctrine choices have recently been showcased in White Dwarf. We thought we might inspire you with some less conventional concepts. Below, you will find several ideas for armies utilizing the new unit Doctrines options.

ADEPTUS MECHANICUS ARMY

A Techpriest Enginseer directs the forces of Mars

Mars, the premiere forge world of the Imperium, is home to the Adeptus Mechanicus. Devoted to the cult of the Machine God, the priesthood of Mars deifies technology and has thereby become its sole custodian. Their forge worlds are scattered throughout the galaxy, and crank out arms and other industrial products under the protection of the great Titan Legions.

The Adeptus Mechanicus also deploy Explorator Fleets to scour the galaxy for lost technical knowledge. The armies of Mars that accompany such expeditions are known as the Skitarii. Obviously, officers and veteran sergeants in this army will have Bionics, and Master-Crafted wargear would likely be present as well. The Sharpshooters Doctrine accounts for the targeting systems that are built into the soldiers, while the Special Equipment: Cyber-Enhancement and carapace armour Doctrines correspond to systems designed to keep the soldier alive.

The Adeptus Mechanicus can field a great number of vehicles if they wish, so the Mechanised Doctrine makes sense and keeps the Skitarii mobile. Of course, Techpriest Enginseers accompany each expeditionary force to oversee any discoveries that are made.

BLOOD PACT ARMY

Blood Pact troopers wear fearsome masks to strike terror in their foes.

Among the various dread forces of Chaos, there are entire armies of Imperial Guard who have fallen under the influence of the Ruinous Powers. One of the most skilled and feared of these traitor armies is known as the Blood Pact. Consisting of highly trained, vicious soldiers, the soldiers of the Blood Pact know no fear or hesitation. They have overrun entire worlds and caused the forces of the Imperium no small amount of suffering and woe.

Blood Pact soldiers are well known for their fearlessness – the Iron Discipline and Die-Hards Doctrines represent that quality well. The Blood Pact troops are also cruelly cunning warriors, and the Hardened Fighters Doctrine symbolises these skills. Finally, the Blood Pact includes vast numbers of troopers who are the equal of even the finest Imperial Guardsmen – the Grenadiers and Veterans Doctrines represent that fact. The Blood Pact has been extensively featured in many of Dan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts novels from the Black Library.

TAU GUE'LA AUXILIARY ARMY

As the Tau expand their fledgling empire, unlikely allies are added to their armies.

In principle, the Greater Good makes no distinction between Tau and other races. Thus, the expanding Tau Empire has incorporated races they have encountered into their society and even military. Humans (known as Gue’la in the Tau tongue) who have accepted the Greater Good now serve along the border as auxiliary infantry.

Since the Gue’la have yet to prove themselves, they have limited access to advanced Tau technology like pulse weapons and hover vehicles. However, they do have some Tau equipment and parts (you could even modify a Sentinel with a few Battlesuit bitz to represent this).

The Special Equipment: Carapace armour represents modified Fire Warrior armour made available by the Tau regulars. Gue’la auxiliaries are trained to Tau standards, symbolised by the Close Order Drill Doctrine. Tau Water Caste merchants ensure a steady flow of black-market weaponry from the Imperium, illustrated by the availability of Special Weapons squads and Heavy Weapons platoons. Finally, the Tau Empire’s most determined foes at present are the Orks – the Xeno-Fighters Doctrine represents the auxiliary’s experience defending the border.

GENESTEALER CULT ARMY

Tim has converted some Genestealer Hybrids for his Veteran Sergeants. He also adapted many Mordheim and Necromunda models to represent the brood brothers and cultists!

Tim "hive mind" Huckelbery of the US Marketing Team designed a themed army based on the Genestealer Cult from past 40K incarnations. He found that Codex: Imperial Guard could be adapted to accurately depict such an unconventional army.

For his army, Tim chose doctrines that closely match common attributes of a Genestealer Cult. The Conscripts Doctrine represents the recent Brood Brother recruits inducted into the cult. The Special Equipment: Chem-Inhalers Doctrine doesn’t mean that the troopers wear any actual equipment. Instead, the effects of Chem-Inhalers are used to represent the control of the hive mind over the cult members. The Veterans Doctrine is used to indicate how many Genestealer Hybrids have grown from long-standing members of the cult. The Restricted Troops: Heavy Weapon platoon indicates that the cult has infiltrated the highest echelons of the planetary government and can thus acquire this weaponry.

Brood Brother fanaticism is easily matched by the Hardened Fighters Doctrine, and the presence of Heavy Weapons platoons indicate that this cult has reached far into the planetary government to the point they can acquire such weaponry.

Previous: Regimental Doctrines

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