Here’s how to play Imperial Guard from their 9th edition Warhammer 40k Codex including their latest rules and models.
Let’s start by looking at the new releases for Imperial Guard and then diving into how to play all the new codex rules for Warhammer 40k.
Cadia Stands: Astra Militarum Army Set: $200
Get your Army Box for less on Amazon or eBay
The box also includes an exclusive copy of the new Codex: Astra Militarum with a soft-touch cover starring Lord Solar Leontus, as well as 63 datacards to keep track of your Strategems, psychic powers, and Regimental Orders. Absolutely everything contained within is currently only available in this set – and won’t be sold separately until next year.
Amazon and eBay still have boxes left (at the time of writing this) and can still be found cheaper than GW.
How to Play Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard & Rules Review
These unique faction rules are collected from all the following reviews on YouTube, and Warhammer Community alike, so be sure to watch your favorite presenters talk about their take on the book at the links below:
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Here’s the most up-to-date how-to-play review of the new Imperial Guard codex rules- click on the gallery above to see all the new 9th Edition rules from the Imperial Guard codex!
Imperial Guard Astra Militarum Warhammer 40k FAQ: (March 1st 2023)
Let’s start with Cadians and Death Korps of Krieg; now they can only take one of each weapon. There seems to be some debate about whether the original wording was a mistake or if it was too much: either way, one weapon from now on.
Next, the Plasma causes wounds to the unit, not the bearer. Valkyrie gains airborne, which is really just fixing an error as it should have had it. Next, you can take a plasma pistol Scions, which only makes sense.
Now, for the actual FAQs.
The first one is pretty big, as it allows you to issue an order using the Chimera’s ability, then once you disembark, you can keep issuing orders. Next up, Creed can’t stack strength buffs, and if replaced, it loses the modifier.
Trophy Hunters can be selected by Kasrkin’s Warrior Elite ability and the Veteran Commandeer Tank Ace upgrade, despite list-building restrictions. Then, it only makes sense any Warlord traits in the line of the Field Promotion can’t be duplicated.
Lastly, Old Grudge has no effect if given by the Field Promotion.
So, this means you can still do the Kasrkin MW bomb, no changes to tanks, and no changes to your army ignoring damage. So an interesting take from GW on the first FAQ, only time will tell if they are just getting them ready for the 10th edition change.
You can download the complete FAQ here and check out all the changes!
Imperial Guard New 40k Codex Rules, Abilities, & Detachments
If you’re considering playing Imperial Guard, these new rules are a great way to decide what to build your army around from the codex book!
The Chain of Command limits some of your options, but, honestly, nothing too crazy.
This is interesting as they basically took what all the regiments could do and mashed them into a single army. You pick two out of the 15 different doctrines, and you have an army with whatever type of Guard you have.
Instead of constraining you to a single specific regiment, the new codex has you mix and match tactics to create your favourite flavour of Guardsmen. All you need to do is choose a pair of Regimental Doctrines to dictate how they fight. These doctrines represent traits like superior artillery skills, high-quality armour, impressive discipline amongst the ranks, or experience in guerilla warfare.
Honestly, ignoring all modifiers for combat attrition is nice for Guard, as you hopefully won’t lose whole units!
How to Play Imperial Guard: Stratagems
Some Regimental Doctrines grant unique keywords, like EXPERT BOMBARDIERS or VETERAN GUERILLAS. These specialists are even better at employing powerful Stratagems that mirror classic fighting styles, such as the trap-setting proclivities of the Catachan Jungle Fighters or the flagrant disregard for subordinate safety displayed by Valhalla’s hard-nosed commanders.
So not only will you gain the initial benefit, but picking the right doctrine will also grant you access to a decent number of specific stratagems as well.
Once you’ve settled on your Regimental Doctrines, there are no restrictions on combining your favourite units and heroes, regardless of where they hail from. The officers of the Astra Militarum are quite comfortable leading any of the Emperor’s loyal servants – the indomitable Ursula Creed wouldn’t let a silly thing like different uniforms stop her from ordering some Death Korps or Atillan Rough Riders into the breach, after all.
Overall, this is pretty cool, but all the regiments of the Imperial Guard were something that made them stand apart. Still, this is better for gamers as you don’t have to spend tons of cash on older models just to play with their regiment.
Cadian Command Squads have such a proud history of command that almost all Astra Militarum field officers follow their example. Regimental standard held high, these veterans remind their soldiers of Cadia’s tragic sacrifice – ensuring that even those troops not recruited from the bastion world can take Vengeance for Cadia.
Adding 1 to wound rolls is a welcome addition to the fight against CHAOS – whether your soldiers are gunning down warp-shielded daemons or blood-crazed Space Marines.
They actually grabbed a decent number of stratagems, which is good as they have some specific ones for different regiments.
Imperial Guard Codex Tank Aces
They have been doing these types of upgrades for every new codex, so if you want your tanks to be even deadlier, this is the way to go!
Imperial Guard Psychic Powers
There are some pretty interesting powers for keeping your miniatures safe and causing damage!
How to Play Imperial Guard: Warlord Traits
1 and 3 of these are both really sweet and can make your Tempestus units much more effective!
Three pages of Relics are actually a decent amount for newer books, so there is plenty to choose from!
Imperial Guard Codex Regimental Rules
It’s actually pretty nice you can issue orders even after disembarking, but it seems like they will only apply using the Voice of Command rules and not the Regimental Tactics.
Commissars might be the furthest things from Sly Marbo’s modus operandi – championing order and discipline – and their management style was previously delivered exclusively at the barrel of a bolt pistol. Having learned that some troops respond better to gentle encouragement than the imminent threat of execution, they now have access to Prefectus Orders.
While regimental officers have access to familiar – but updated – orders, Commissars appeal to the faith and fervour of the enlisted men with a more directly aggressive set of commands. Under their visionary and threatening inspiration, your troops will be able to keep blasting away even while sprinting at full speed or regrouping from a sudden assault.
Being able to move and shoot without penalty is always awesome, and then Get Back in the Fight is just always one of the strongest orders! Plus, falling back out of combat and then just still being able to shoot (or charge) is super powerful, no matter what army you play.
Gunners and Shock and Awe are super helpful, especially if you have some lascannons to shoot, as you’ll get those rerolls! Then, giving tanks Objective Secured is pretty amazing.
Imperial Guard Codex Profiles
Lord Solar Leontus has a pretty impressive statline, and with S6, eight wounds (plus a 4+ invuln save and halves all damage incoming), six attacks, and 12″ movement, he should be able to survive and hit hard!
Allowing a core unit (like the rough riders) to reroll a hit and wound of one is really strong. Then, you can pick any unit to reroll ones, not just core, but if they are core, they also get the reroll on the wound as well.
Lastly, he can issue up to three orders which is also awesome.
Unorthodox use of the tarot readers of The Collegiate Astrolex gives Leontus the ability to change one of his army’s secondary objectives or Agendas on the cusp of battle, reacting to his foe’s plans. Or if he’s feeling secure in his tactical choices, he can proceed with steely confidence and gain an additional Command point in the first Command phase.
Astra Militarum officers can all boost the effectiveness of their Guardsmen with orders, but the Castellan can issue two per turn. Orders are a vital aspect of the war machine, encouraging units to hit harder, pin down foes, and surge across the battlefield in mass human waves.
Having mini transhuman on all your guys is never a bad thing!
The Death Korps of Krieg and Catachan Jungle Fighters are both getting their own individual datasheets in the new book. Krieg troopers have access to the many options included in their Kill Team kit – such as sniper rifles and medi-packs – while Catachans boast two flamers and a particularly vicious close combat ability.
Catachan can do a little more in combat than normal Guardsmen, and with two flamers, you can just rush them up close!
The sneaky, stabby sensation known as Sly Marbo also returns to battle, with a significant bump in threat level. His ripper pistol and envenomed blade can now drop Chaos Space Marines and enemy commanders with ease, before Sly slips back into the shadows like he was never there at all.
Sly Marbo seems to be made to charge up, shoot a character, then take them out in combat! If you get lucky, you could easily chip off 4-5 wounds with the pistol, then hopefully have enough damage left to finish them off in combat.
The new Attilan rough riders have WS3, which is nice, with two wounds, 4S/T, two attacks, and a 4+ save. So, they don’t have a ton of survivability, but with a 12″ move, hopefully, they will be able to get there before being shot off the board!
Then, when they charge, they get +2 Strength, and when you add that to a melta tip, they will be getting Strength 8 at that point! Meaning they will hit on 3’s and wound on 2’s versus all T4 models.
If you’re after something more mobile, look no further than Sentinels. Everyone loves these bipedal bad boys – fast firepower on a budget with some serious style. The new-look model is faster, tougher, and fightier than ever before – check out the substantially improved statline on the Scout Sentinel.
With more movement, Strength, Toughness, Wounds, and attacks, these should be harder to take down than before and actually get where they need to go faster.
With size comes durability, and the Rogal Dorn has that in spades. Its excellent Toughness, Wounds, and Save means it’ll stick around on even the most blistering battlefield, but it has a little more manoeuvrability than a super-heavy.
Now to compare the profiles! With four more wounds and another toughness, this should be much harder to bring down. There are a lot of Strength 4 and Strength 8 weapons out there, so should really swing some of those rolls in your favor.
Luckily, it keeps the 10″ movement so it won’t lag behind.
When small arms aren’t enough, Field Ordnance Batteries batter enemy lines from afar with rockets, shells, and las blasts. Though calling them ‘man-portable’ might be a bit of a stretch – at least without the combined efforts of all three crew members – these massive field guns are some of the most powerful weapons not bolted to a tank chassis.
This will be perfect for taking out light infantry, as against weaker units, you will be wounding on 2’s and averaging about 9-10 shots. If you have three bad boys, you could pump out 30 shots regularly.
Then there’s the fantastic new Turret Weapon rule which allows tank turrets to target any enemies they want even while locked in melee, and also adds a nifty +1 to their hit roll as a bonus.
Although it has several excellent turret options, the Leman Russ and the battle cannon go together like chips and gravy, so tank commanders will be glad to know that this old faithful has had a boost. Then again, if you want to really splatter something from a great distance, the oppressor cannon on the Rogal Dorn cranks the firepower up to the max.
Both weapons are quite strong, but the Oppressor Cannon will hit insanely hard and can take out either vehicles or has enough damage to take out some serious tough units with blast and a lot of shots.
The Baneblade has also seen some improvements. Your first two sponsons packing lascannons and twin heavy bolters are rolled into its base cost, making it significantly cheaper than before. And don’t worry – you can still add an extra two sponsons if 12 barrels of death weren’t enough. Those are now cheaper too!
Getting the weapons put in the cost is always nice, but it also gets an increase in toughness which can be super powerful, and then it gets 30 wounds! These will be harder than ever to bring down, so roll your tanks into battle!
How to Play Imperial Guard: Points
They actually have an insane number of units in this book, so it’s nice to get them all in one place instead of looking all over for something!
View Gallery: 39 Images
Here’s the most up-to-date how-to-play review of the new Imperial Guard rules- click on the gallery above to see all the new 9th Edition rules from the Imperial Guard codex!
If you want the new Imperial Guard models and rules, the Cadia Stands Army Box may be a “must-have” for you. Be sure to watch the video below for all the details!
Click Here to Get Your Imperial Guard Army Box!
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
