Regiment Types (Light Infantry)

A Guide to Regiment Types
By: Dark Aeon

Issue #2 – Light Infantry

Light Infantry:
A regiment that is classified as Light Infantry, historically, is a battle group containing no heavy weapons (as in colonial times, when cannons were the heaviest it got) or no vehicles (as in more recent times, or in the 41st millennium).
Now of course, Imperial Guard armies strive off heavy weapons, so leaving those out is out of the question, however, leaving out vehicles makes Light Infantry “fluffy”, meaning following the definition and storyline. You’ll take veterans, heavy weapons, outflankers and infiltrators, and no vehicles of any sort.

Units You Need:
· Veterans w/ Camo Cloaks
· Al’rahem
· Ratlings
· Rough Riders
· Vendetta Gunships
· Sentinels
· Sly Marbo (Rambo)

Units to stay away from:
· Ogryns
· Vehicles of all types (not sentinels)
· Regular Guard Platoons
· Conscripts (part of platoons)

Units in Between:
· Storm Troopers
· Psykers
· Commissars
· Penal Legionnaires

Organization: As a light infantry brigade (or Company, or Regiment, or Battalion, whatever you want to call them), you’ll be sneaking up on the enemy as best you can. You don’t want a direct conflict. Fight the enemy on your terms. To do this, there are several tricks in the new codex.
First off, you need a fully equipped Infantry platoon led by Al’rahem. This Platoon Commander, as you no doubt have already heard, allows you to outflank. Bring with him the command squad, obviously and then 5 squads of guardsmen, 2 squads of special weapons, and 5 squads of heavy weapons, so that you get the most out of his ability.

Next, in order to get your veterans to outflank, attach Harker to a single squad. This allows your veterans to infiltrate or outflank right alongside your Al’rahem platoon.

With no vehicles, you’re gonna need lots of anti-tank firepower in other places. Consider giving Harker’s squad triple meltaguns, or maybe a demo charge and melta bombs. These are sure to get the job done, but have back up in Al’rahem’s heavy weapon groups – missile launchers and Lascannons are lovely creations!

Your H.Q should be sturdy, and able to move around the battlefield. Consider putting them in a Vendetta Gunship, which in the end, will allow your entire army to Outflank (because Valkyries and Vendetta’s are both Scout vehicles).

If you need any mechanized support at all, consider armoured sentinels, or if you desire an all stealth army, scout sentinels. Heavy flamers and missile launchers on them are great, considering how poor the Sentinels’ ballistic skill is.

Army List Recommendations:
To start things out, either get a Commissar Lord (the Colonel-Commissar Gaunt model works nicely) and give him a camo cloak, or a Command squad, and count them as camo cloaks (you don’t need to model them). Equip them with meltaguns.
For troops, make a regular platoon led by Al’rahem, and max it out. Give the regular squads flamers and grenade launchers for boosted anti-infantry capability.
Lastly, get another squad of Cadians or Catachans (or whichever figure you’re using as your base) and convert them into veterans for a Harker squad.

There, you’ve got the minimum on the F.O.C (Force Organization Chart).

Weaponry:
Because they have to be able to move, even if it’s just fluff wise, you should use weapons that are maneuverable. An example would be the missile launcher, the grenade launcher, the flamer, and most important for lightly infantry – the sniper rifle!

What’s great about the sniper rifle? It virtually does everything! It can kill light armour because it’s rending. It can kill terminators because it’s rending. It’s got the range of a heavy bolter, and it wounds even Carnifex on a 4+ regardless of toughness. Lastly, it causes pinning against non-fearless enemies. Use them in masse, like with Ratling squads, and you’ll be sure to annihilate large enemies, light vehicles, and pin cowardly units.

Nasty Tricks:

I think, out of all the great things Light Infantry cano do, it's remain unseen. You can outflank right near an objective, or if the enemy is too close, far enough away to pick him off from range. Meanwhile, your Vendetta Gunships (aid from the Imperial Navy) can launch single shot Battle Cannon shells, heavy bolters, lascannons, and multi-laser shots at the enemy, devastating them from across the board without ever being in danger.

So what I'd do, is infiltrate Harker and his group into the thickets cover possible, near an objective, and go to ground. If that's a ruin (a building) you get a 2+ cover when taking shots. If flamer templates get close, pop up and shoot the freaking hell out of them. Do not let templates get close to you!!!

Al'rahem's platoon must outflank, but you can still place them far away from the enemy. Pick an objective, and try to get as many squads near it as possible, drawing the enemy towards that posisition. That's when the jets come swooping in, annihilating all.

Strengths:

The light infantry’s mantra is See but Don’t be Seen. This is very true, and very doable. You can easily outflank your entire army, drop them in via Valkyrie/Vendetta, and infiltrate them into the perfect position. You pack a lot of fire power with a decent amount of soldiers, and if your opponent shows up with anti-armour squads like Devastators, he’s gonna be disappointed.

Weaknesses:

Well…you got no tanks. This has been mentioned as a semi-good thing, but you’ll defiantly have to be careful with this list. Without the Leman Russ, the Imperial Guard are significantly weakened. You’ll need to be tactful, lucky, and intelligent. If you don’t bring enough heavy weapons, you’ll be outgunned. Bring too many, and you’re unable to maneuver, and your point costs will sky rocket.

I do not claim to be an expert on light infantry, especially in this new codex, but hopefully you’ve gained a small bit of advice from this issue. Next up: Air Cavalry!