Countdown to Counter Offensive 2: Imperial Guard (Airborne List)
Rob Van Pelt-Cathcart, a long-time Imperial Guard player, is bringing his massive army to Counter Offensive 2. This list uses several vehicles from the Imperial Armour supplements.

3rd Phalynxian Battle Group, 88th Armored Infantry Division, Adam Company (Airborne): 1995 points  by Rob Van Pelt-Cathcart 
With this list I am only going to add to what was previously said. This list is the same “army,” so it uses the same doctrines with a different profile to the forces. I took the idea of a Storm Trooper army and wanted to make it super-mobile with airborne units.

Doctrines: 
Special Weapon Squads
Storm Troopers 
Regimental Organization: Drop Troopers 
Regimental Organization: Grenadiers
Special Equipment: Carapace 

• Command Platoon
• Command Squad w/ lascannon; lasguns (x2); plasma gun (x1); vox caster; carapace armor
• Junior Officer w/ storm bolter, Honorifica Imperialis 
• Chimera w/ multi-laser; hull-mounted heavy bolter, searchlight, smoke launchers, extra armor, improved comms, pintle-mounted heavy stubber
• Commissar w/ laspistol; power fist
• Storm Troopers w/ hellguns (x7); plasma gun (x2); frag grenades; krak grenades; vox caster. Veteran Sergeant w/ power weapon; storm bolter; frag grenades; krak grenades
• Valkyrie
• Grenadiers w/ hellguns (x7); flamer (x2); frag grenades; krak grenades; vox caster. Veteran Sergeant w/ power weapon; storm bolter; frag grenades; krak grenades
• Chimera w/ multi-laser; hull-mounted heavy bolter, searchlight, smoke launchers, extra armor, pintle-mounted heavy stubber
• Grenadiers w/ hellguns (x7); meltagun (x2); frag grenades; krak grenades; vox caster. Veteran Sergeant w/ power weapon; storm bolter; frag grenades; krak grenades
• Chimera w/ multi-laser; hull-mounted heavy bolter, searchlight, smoke launchers, extra armor, pintle-mounted heavy stubber
• Grenadiers w/ hellguns (x7); grenade launcher (x2); frag grenades; krak grenades; vox caster. Veteran Sergeant w/ power weapon; storm bolter; frag grenades; krak grenades; melta bombs
• Chimera w/ multi-laser; hull-mounted heavy bolter, searchlight, smoke launchers, extra armor, pintle-mounted heavy stubber 
• Vulture
• Lightning fighter
• Lightning fighter

Above: Storm Trooper squad and Valkyrie transport, ready to kick some xeno tail

Again, the core units are present: the three squads of Grenadiers and the Command Squad in Chimeras. The heavy weapon squads have been removed, as they would not be as readily deployed in an airdrop. The major difference is in the support units. Instead of tanks supporting the army from the 201st Armored Battalion, there are aircraft from the Imperial Navy. The Storm Trooper squad has been loaded into a Valkyrie for insertion instead of being infiltrated. Along with the Valkyrie is a Vulture to provide fire support. Rounding out the support is a pair of Lightning fighters, who can hopefully nuke the enemy back to the Stone Age.

This army faces several more disadvantages to the standard list I use because there are even fewer bodies and there are virtually no squad-based heavy weapons for support. But the inclusion of four flyers could seriously throw the enemy off balance, since it adds a new dimension to the battlefield that they may be unused to. In fact, I would venture so far as to claim that the flyers may last longer than tanks would at providing fire support since they can be very hard to shoot down. 

The other surprise advantage with this list is to be able to land the Vulture and Valkyrie on the last turn of the game to claim objectives with little or no opposition. The Valkyrie can’t claim, since it is a dedicated transport, but the Vulture and the Storm Trooper squad can. If you want to be extra, extra sneaky, during the game you could land the Valkyrie, have the Storm Troopers swipe up an objective marker, load back in on the next turn, and then fly off the table, making it very hard for the enemy to get the objective back.

As far as fire support goes, the flyers aren’t too bad. Both Lightnings pack a pair of lascannons. One has an autocannon and four hell strikes and the other has six hell strikes. They could really do some damage to some vehicles with good rolls to hit.

The Vulture is also loaded out to take on heavy targets with the twin-linked lascannon and six hell strike missiles. The heavy bolter will just be a noisemaker most of the time. The Valkyrie is meant to nuke infantry good, and with four frag shots a turn from the missile pods plus the two heavy bolters and the multilaser, it has the firepower to do some damage. I gave all the flyers chaff launchers and armored cockpits to keep them aloft and shooting longer.

(How did this army do at Counter Offensive 2? Find out here)

Related Pages
Rob's General IG List
Rob's Armored Company IG List
Counter Offensive
Counter Offensive 2
Master-Crafted 40K: Rob gives advice on deployment
 

© Copyright Rob Van Pelt-Cathcart, August 2005. Used with permission
 

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