In this section we will be looking at the Imperial Guard Fast Attack units and their tactics.
The Imperial Guard are not designed as a fast attack army, their main strength in numbers and big guns. However Imperial Guard fast attack units come in hand when the big guns have broken the enemy and you need units to chase down the remnants
Scout Sentinel Squadron
Sentinels come in two types. The lighter Scout Sentinels and the heaver Armoured Sentinels.
The lighter Scout Sentinels are designed to move forward and find the lay of the land. As such they are more lightly armoured be have some sneaky tactics.
Sentinels as Scouts
How good is this? a vehicle that has the scout special rule! This means that you get a special move at the start of the game, or they can be held in reserve to out flank!
If you deploy them and use their special move. This could be used to tease the opponent, for example you place the sentinels where it draws your opponent to set up where he can shot at the sentinels, and then at the start of the game you move them in to cover, leaving your opponent with nothing to shoot!
Another tactic would be to use the special move to claim some strategic point at the start of the game.
As reserves. The sentinel can come on behind the enemy armour and gun down the weak rear armour, or harass rear heavy support troops!
Sentinel Weapons
The Sentinel has a selection of weapons to choose from. The Multi-laser is the default option, and a very good choice for a scout squad. The Multi-laser gives the Sentinel three S6 shots which is good for providing some mobile heavy weapons support for troops on the move, specially when in comes to thinning out assaulting attackers before they reach your units.
If you are looking for an alternative weapon on your Sentinel you can switch to a Heavy Flamer for the same points. The heavy Flamer is a good weapon if you are fighting is dense woodland, jungle, or built up areas. Be aware though that as the Flamer is a sort range weapon you may to use it for mopping up reminisces of units hiding in the shadows rather than tackling full squads. This is so that you do not get overwhelmed by and counter assaults from survivors.
Autocannons are available for an extra 5 points. These offer two S7 shots at 48″. If you are facing fewer tougher troops, like Space Marines or Chaos Space Marines, or Monstrous Creature heavy Tyranids and you are fighting on a more open table, then the upgrade may be worth it. When fighting swarm armies the Multi-laser wins out.
I like Missile Launchers. This offer two different rounds, the anti-personnel Frag Missile, and the Anti-tank Krack Missile. This means that you get two weapons for the price of one, or for the 5 point upgrade in this case. Highly recommended!
The last weapon listed is the Lascannon. This Lascannon is a great tank hunter weapon. If you arm the Sentinels with these then you are changing the role of the Sentinels to tank hunters that can nip in and out of cover taking pot shots at the enemies capital ( high points cost) targets. The upgrade cost is 10 points, but if you need some sneaky tank killers then these may be the ticket!
Armoured Sentinel Squadron
The Armoured Sentinel is not as sneaky as its lighter brethren. It is armour makes this Sentinel a much tougher cookie! The extra 5 points gives you and enclosed hull and 2 points tougher front armour however you loose the scout and move through cover rules. Your playing style will determine if the upgrade is worth the points.
Weapon Upgrades
The Armoured Sentinel has the same weapon options that the lighter Scout Sentinel has except that there is also an option to take a Plasma-Cannon as an upgraded weapon.
Rough Rider Squad
Rough Riders make great counter strike troops. Once the enemy assault has lost it’s impetus as your rank and file troops slow the attack down, that is the time to charge the Rough Riders in to the enemy’s flank.
Hellhound Squadron
Hellhounds are short ranged chemical weapons mounted on Chimera body with some extra side armour and a beefed up engine to make the hellhounds fast tanks. You can find the rules for fast vehicles on page 88 of the Warhammer 40k Rulebook.
Hellhound Tactics
Hellhounds are the original flame spitting variant. It has a Inferno Cannon. This is +1S better that the heavy flamer and it is a torrent weapon. The Torrent rule means that you can place the flamer template 12″ away from the Hellhound as long as
Devil Dog Tactics
The Hellhound Devil Dog with a Melta cannon. This is a melta weapon with a 24″ range and a blast template affect area.
Bane Wolf Tactics
Some times brute force is not enough to kill your target. The Bane Wolf comes with a Chem Cannon. This is a template +2 poison template weapon. To make this weapon effective you will need to get close to your target before vomiting poison death on them.
Poison weapons are good for killing monstrous creatures and other tough things with a toughness score. Don’t bother attacking anything with a hull point. The poison will just bounce off.
> Also see: Warhammer 40k Tank Tactics