# Guide to Imperial Guard Weapons - more organized



## Djokovic (Dec 22, 2008)

So, the reason I have decided to make a guide to the weapons of the Imperial Guard is because some people use the wrong weapons just due to a poor understanding of the math and statistics involved. _This is written mainly for how to equip a standard 'castle' force, so keep that in mind before you reply to this post._

I will be calculating how effective certain weapons are versus certain targets, and from that I will then begin to go into how to apply these weapons. Here is the first section: 

Command Squads

Flamer

This is fairly straitforward, and there is not much calculating to do. Obviously can't hurt vehicles (it is just impractical to run around to the rear armor). One thing that came to my attention, however, is how effective it is vs. MEqs compared to the meltagun.

Flamer: due to MEq units being more spread out than other units, you should be able to get about 5 hits.
5 X .5 X .33 = avg of .825 kills

Meltagun

Now, lets see what the melta can do. 
.5 x .833 = avg of .4165 kills

Plasmagun
You can tool up a plasma squad of death, but these tend to be very high target priority for your enemy and are blasted to smithereens right away. Expensive, too. Not worth it.

So, since command squads are mainly used as a counterassault unit to tie up the enemy for a turn in CC, the flamer is the best special weapon option. There are, however, some specialist roles at which the melta excels. I would recommend always giving one squad 2 or 3 meltas just to damage and lock up MCs in CC. In drop troop lists, the meltas can be used for anti-tank purposes.

The other option for the command squad is to take advantage that these squads are an easy way to add in a heavy weapon. (These calculations also apply for support squads). Which one, though?
For this part I will begin a new post due to the length required to go into the detailed calculations required.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Djokovic said:


> So, the reason I have decided to make a guide to the weapons of the Imperial Guard is because some people use the wrong weapons just due to a poor understanding of the math and statistics involved


who is to say what are the "wrong" weapons?, its all situational, no weapon is "wrong".


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## Djokovic (Dec 22, 2008)

Lets look at which heavy weapons are most effective vs. Ork boyz, the most common type of horde army (due to the similar nature of Orks to GEqs, very similar guidelines apply for GEqs). 

Missile launcher vs. Mortar

This is a no-brainer situation, basically. The mortar is cheaper, exact same stats as the frag round, and can choose to fire indirectly (extremely helpful vs. Ork boyz that hide behind terrain). But what about the heavy bolter?

Heavy bolter:
36 X 3 X .5 X .66 = 36

Mortar
48 X.5** X 4* X.5 = 48

**roughly the chance to get direct hit
*(about how many hits you should get on a direct hit)

Due to its longer range and ability to cover larger numbers of Ork boyz with its template, the mortar trumps the mortar vs. Orks. There is also the added benefit of indirect fire.The other options vs. orks are the Lascannon and Autocannon which are obviously not very effective vs. masses of infantry, so the mortar wins!

Now, how to go about killing MEqs?
We have the missile launcher, lascannon, autocannon, heavy bolter, and mortar, again. There is also the plasma gun.

ML obviously better thann lascannon vs space marine-type infantry (and mortar obviously better than ML frag), so we can cross it out. There are different points costs, so I will multiply the 10 point ones by 15 and the 15 point ones by 10.

Mortar: 15 X 48 X .5 X 3* X .5 X .33 = 178.2
ML (Krak): 10 X 48 X .5 X .833 = 199.92
Heavy Bolter: 36 X 15 X .5 X 3 X .66 X .33 = 176.418 
Autocannon: 48 X 10 X 2 X .5 X .833 X .33 = 131.9472

* should only be able to cover about 3 MEqs because they tend to be able to spread out more

So, the Krak missile launcher is the best weapon for killing MEqs.

Now, lets take a look at the probabilithy of different weapons to glance or penetrate vehicles. To simplify calculations, each weapon will be multiplied by how many of it can be bought for 150 points

VS. AV 14
Lascannon: 6 X .5 X .33 = .99
Missile launcher: 10 X .5 X .16 = .8

VS. AV 13
Lascannon: 6. X .5 X .5 = 1.5
Missile launcher: 10 X .5 X .33 = 1.65
Autocannon: 10 X .5 X 2 X .16 =1.6

VS. AV 12
Lascannon: 6 X .5 X .66 = 2
Missile launcher: .5 X 10 X .5 = 2.5
Autocannon: 10 X 2 X .5 X .33 = 3.3

The pattern continues for AV 11 and 12... I think you should realize it by now.

The missile launcher is mediocre vs. each AV, and only slightly better vs. AV 13. No disadvantages or advantages. The lascannon is the best vs. AV 14. The autocannon is the best vs AV 12 and lower. There is really no need to field missile launchers because the slight advantage vs. AV 13 does not make up for being far outclassed vs. every other AV. So, it is best to field a mix of lascannons and autocannons to kill vehicles. 

Note on the meltagun: The meltagun is an entirely different thing. You have to factor in that if your opponent sees any unit carrying this extremely powerful weapon advancing toward his/her vehicles, he/she will easily kill your meltagun-toting unit. So, it should ONLY be used with units with special deployment (Outflank, deepstrike) or exceptional mobility (mounted in a chimera). The chimera is quite expensive for a 'suicide' squad, so the only options you really have for fielding meltas for anti-tank purposes is in command squads / hardened vet squads. Hardened vets are the best for this because one less KP, same number of average hits, and only a few more points. Not to mention that you will need to use your command squads for leadership bubblers/speedbumps/counterassault.


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## Djokovic (Dec 22, 2008)

By 'wrong' weapons, I meant something such as using a frag missile launcher to shoot at infantry. The mortar easily outclasses it in this situation. Do you get my drift?


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Djokovic said:


> By 'wrong' weapons, I meant something such as using a frag missile launcher to shoot at infantry. The mortar easily outclasses it in this situation. Do you get my drift?


no, because in this situation there exactly the same, the situation only changes when the enemy cannot be seen, so as I said there is NO such thing as the "wrong" weapon, its all situational


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## Djokovic (Dec 22, 2008)

Yes, they are exactly the same. But if you got the mortar it would be 5 points cheaper and you could also have a flamer (well, 1 point away from getting a flamer).


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## Djokovic (Dec 22, 2008)

Now, we have come down to having to make 2 different decisions, which I will discuss in this next post.

Missile launcher vs. Autocannon + Lascannon

It has been argued since the creation of the guard whether to generalize and go with the missile launcher, or to get some autocannons and some lascannons. There are many factors that determine which one is right to use.

-If you play lots of space marine armies, the missile launcher is the clear choice, and some meltas could be added in to deal with land raiders. An autocannon or two to deal with mech.
-If you are a new guard player, it is better to start off with missile launchers so things are a bit simpler at first, and then gradually learn about target priority and specialization. 
-In 750 points and lower, the missile launcher is needed because you can't yet afford to specialize (too few points). Also, the lascannon isn't yet required, and there shouldn't be too many vehicles.
-Once you get into 1.5k and 2k point games, the missile launcher starts to become useless. You are able to field 2 or three leman russ battletanks, so the missile launcher is no longer the superior weapon for killing MEqs. You also will need the lascannon to deal with the land raider spam forces, and the autocannon to deal with the increased number of mechanized forces at this points level.
-In Apocalypse, missile launchers... are a joke.

Finally, there is another question: for killing MEqs, is the plasma gun or missile launcher better?

-This depends purely on playing style, so I will list the pros and cons of each.
ML
Pros: long range, can instant death
Cons: limited mobility, loses effectiveness vs. TEqs

Plasma
Pros: move and shoot, more effective at close range, cheap(er), AP 2
Cons: short range, Gets Hot

So, if you like to 'castle' your guys in a defensive formation, the missile launcher will be the best choice for you, but you will still need to supplement it with a few plasmas for close range firepower.

However, if you prefer to use light infantry and drop troops, the plasma would be the better choice.


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## Justicar Auarilius (Nov 29, 2008)

Dj you and i should rework this into a list for ALL weapondry for imperial guard, because i have something similar and its for all weapons, it could be a very helpful post, message me if your interested


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## lawrence96 (Sep 1, 2008)

Djokovic said:


> Flamer: due to MEq units being more spread out than other units, you should be able to get about 5 hits.
> 5 X .5 X .33 = avg of .825 kills
> 
> Meltagun
> ...


where do you get the figures for these equations from? cause .833 seems to be a pretty random figure to me.


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## Djokovic (Dec 22, 2008)

5/6 = .83

.5 chance to hit (4+ required due to BS 3) X 2+ to wound (.83) = avg of .4165


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