Third Time Lucky and Dealing With the Bug Problem

I figured it might be time to give this whole "Blog" thing another shot.

I've written a series of articles over at the IGMB about the Meta Hobby that I'm plan on adding here, too, and I want to share tips for cracking some of those hard-arse units we fight, and a few other things, but right now, I want to talk Nids.

I've had a brief (and, I'll admit, by no means thorough) look through their new codex, and talked to some of the local players, and here are my thoughts on what we're facing with the new bugs, and what the IG might want to use against them

Vets- While I'm a longstanding supporter of the classic Gunline IG, I don't think having big squads is the way to go here. For all their size and the Stubborn they get from a Commissar, a combined squad can, and probably will, get rolled by the swarms of Gaunts charging into them or the Genestealer broods that will undoubtedly outflank and munch on them, thus flushing more then a few points down the drain. Vets are still pretty cheap, and can pack a lot of punch. Tossing them in a Chimera for a bit of protecting and mobility means you can mash through the smaller bugs, roll up to a Warrior brood or Fex and unload Melta or Plasma rounds into them. Also, a Vets squad with 3 GLs, an ML, and "Fire on my target!" will do nasty things to Warriors hiding behind the Gaunt swarms

Hellhounds- Oh, how we Guardsman do love our fire, and the Hellhound really comes into it's own against the Nids. Being able to toss out a template that will pulp things like Rippers and ignore both cover AND armour on most of the small and mid-sized bugs will hurt a lot. Factor in that it's fast, so it can move 12in and still fire (thus meaning it only get hits on a 6 if it gets charged), and the fact that it can toss it's template, even into the enemy deployment zone on the first turn, makes this one very, very nasty tank. It also comes in handy for dealing with flanking Genestealers, since there's no danger of the shot scattering into your own men, like with a Russ.

Plasma CCS- The Triple Plasma Gun, Medic, Plasma Pistol combo has been serving me tried and true since the week the new Codex came out, and it works even better against Nids now. Having a Fex roll up to your lines, only to die in a single volley of Plasma is something very nice to see. Also, the fact that you can put the CCS in a Valk and flank it next to something big and nasty lurking in the back, and rapid fire it to death is a nice little bonus.

Fleet Officers- Some people are saying that the Fex will fall out of fashion now, more or less, due to the fact it's easier to kill (slightly), and the Trygon will be taking it's place, and I think they're right. Thus, I think it might be time to dust off my Fleet Officer model and try to delay that big worm until I've managed to deal with most of the enemy army that's already on the table. I also plan on keeping something like a Plasma Vet squad in reserve to deal with it when it does show up. There's also the fact that Nids get their own snazzy new version of the Drop Pod to consider, meaning it's probably a good idea to have a few Flamers lurking i the back of your lines for when those spores do arrive.

Russes- While the Russ is always a good, solid choice no matter who you face, it works wonders against the mass of bugs we'll be seeing on the table. It's AP 3 punches through the armour save of a lot of the larger bugs like the Tyrants, Fexes, etc, and woe betide any Nid player who groups their Warriors too closely together. The Eradicator is another solid choice, since it gives us the two things we want most when facing Nids. Ignoring cover and a High Strength Shot. Granted, it's only AP 4, but it'll work wonders on the Bug swarms. Finally, the Executioner will be quite a bit of fun against Fex squadrons, Tyrant Guards, and the like, given that it can actually spam lots of AP 2 wounds. If you can afford to drop the points for it, use it.

Vendettas: While the Valk can work well against the smaller bugs, there's more then enough things in the IG army list that can do that job much better, so take a Ven instead. Use it to flank around and snipe Zoanthropes, Tyrants, Fexes, and anything else lurking behind the Gaunt Screen that's giving you a hard time. Packing it full of Vets or the Plasma CCS is a winning combination, just be sure to avoid some of the higher strength weapons the Nids are packing now.

There you go guys, I hope to be posting a bit more in the future.

Reds