These are the rules to remember so you don’t look like a noob when playing Astra Militarum. If you’re just starting out or a veteran player don’t miss this!
Astra Militarum are a force to be reckoned with in the meta for 8th edition. With Guard being so popular, they’re attracting all kinds of new players as well as competitive Imperial lists just wanting to bring the loyal thirty-two. (Or a basic Battalion of Guard).
Either way, there’s a lot of common rules some people seem to forget or look over when they jump into the faction. Luckily, a user on Reddit posted all the rules for us to review. Join us as we break them all down:
Imperial Guard Rules to Remember
Cadians are the most popular Guard Regiment in the Guard force BY FAR. They have the most useful rules for the meta on the table. However, most of their rules only happen in the shooting phase. Catachans, on the other hand, seem to be the most competitive, but more on that another time…
Guard Shooting
The Cadian Doctrine of rerolling 1s ONLY works in the shooting phase (not overwatch). Speaking of the shooting phase, the Grinding Advance rules on Leman Russes only happen in the shooting phase as well. (i.e you can only shoot 1d6 shots in the overwatch). Plus, you can only shoot twice if you shoot at the same target. Now depending on who you ask it may or may not happen separate volleys so the enemy could pull casualties out of range of the second volley of fire from like say a punisher cannon. Ask your TO to be sure.
The Most Popular Relic of Them All: Kurov’s Aquila
Kurov’s aquila gives a 5+ chance to regen CP per STRATAGEM you (the not guard player) use, NOT per CP (so a 3 CP stratagem only gives the guard ONE roll)
Guard are great at generating CP but their relic isn’t as good as a lot of people make it out to be. Thanks to the FAQ only letting players regen one CP per turn and Kurov’s Aquila only allowing one die to be rolled for the opponent, CP shouldn’t be regenerated all too often. Well in theory…
Armor Saves & Psychic Shenanigans
First of all, if you’re taking Astropaths, they only get to cast smite on 1D6 (i.e a 5+).
Second, the Psychic power Psychic barrier gives a bonus to invulnerable saves AND armor saves. Meanwhile, the 2CP Take Cover stratagem only applies to armor saves.
If you want to look at even more ins and outs of the Guard, head on over to the Reddit thread and dig deeper into the faction. But for now, these are the biggest and most common rules that we’ve seen some players abuse and/ or get wrong. Are the Guard better off allied in with something or should they be played as a solo faction? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
