Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Imperial Guard(8E)

Why Play Imperial Guard

When recruits are inducted into the Imperial Guard, they are given four things. Their regulation flashlight (commonly referred to by the troops as "lasguns" for some reason), their regulation cardboard box (which certain regiments have taken to cutting up and wearing into battle, calling it "flak armor"), a large stack of toilet paper (which the recruiters refer to as the "Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer"), and the regulation extra large wheelbarrow that allows them to cart their massive brazen balls into battle.

From a gameplay perspective, the Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard is a flexible force known for having either hordes of cheap infantry to blast the heretic swine, waves of tanks to flatten the bastards, or a medium in between. The army is easy to learn while having a lot of options and tactics being discovered frequently (melta veterans in Chimeras are not the sole option in the Guard army after all). That's why you play the Imperial Guard.

Pros

• Versatile and strong vehicles.
• Hordes of infantry that can be buffed with force multipliers such as Commissars and Platoon Commanders.
• Dirt cheap troops means you can laugh off the loss of a cheap 50-man conscript squad whereas an elite army cannot.
• The removal of platoons means you can get rid of some minor taxes. A little bit of points go a long way.

Cons

• Overall flimsy infantry. What you have in numbers you do not have in toughness; your most common model statline is toughness 3 with a 5+ save.
• Comparatively weak in assault. S3 with 1 attack each is not doing you any favors. Avoid close combat like the plague, unless you can mob a single enemy squad with models, buff your dudes to the point of competence, or you're using dedicated melee units like Ogryns/Bullgryns.
• Individual units are weak without support from characters and other squads. Synergy is key.
• Anti-infantry weapons will destroy your hordes in short order.

Special Rules

Orders

One of the biggest gimmicks to the Imperial Guard, the Orders system grants abilities to your troops to tip the scales of battle! Units with the OFFICER and VOICE OF COMMAND keyword may issue this order to infantry of the same Regiment within 6" of them. If the Officer is within 3" of a Voxcaster, and the unit he's trying to order also contains a voxcaster, the range is boosted to 18".

• Take Aim!: Ordered unit re-rolls to-hit rolls of 1 until the end of the phase. Did someone say "Supercharged Plasmas?
  • Absurdly good on Militarum Tempestus with Plasma Guns - field them and they will please you.
• First Rank, fire! Second Rank, fire!: Ordered unit's lasguns and hot-shot lasguns become Rapid Fire 2. That means 4 shots when in Rapid Fire range. You can almost bring back that insane number of shots your 50-man platoon had! Do not underestimate what it can do on the 50-man Conscript unit you can still field.
• Bring it down!: Ordered unit re-rolls to-wound rolls of 1 until the end of the phase.
• Forwards, for the Emperor!: Ordered unit may shoot, even if it advanced in the movement phase.
• Get back in the fight!: Ordered unit may shoot, even if it fell back in the previous turn.
• Move! Move! Move!: Ordered unit must move as if it were in the movement phase, and it must advance and cannot charge.
• Fix Bayonets!: May only be issued to units within 1" of an enemy unit. Ordered unit may immediately fight as if it were in the fight phase. This order is something akin to panic button: guardsmen should not be in close combat and Rough Riders can't take orders (you can shenanigan your way to orderable Ogryn; whether or not your opponent should agree to face you if you do is not a settled question). Can still save your bacon through sheer number of attacks or enable tarpits, like Conscripts, to inflict some additional losses though.

Regiments

You may assign your own keyword to most Astra Militarum units to replace their <Regiment> keyword, with the exceptions being units with a pre-set Regiment (such as Commissars) or with no Regiment (such as a Techpriest Enginseer, although he has a <Forge World> assignable keyword, instead). The only Regiment you cannot assign is Militarum Tempestus. The primary reason to care about this is buffs, like the Orders above, which only work when the buffer and their target share a Regiment. Another reason is so that you can more feasibly include powerful named characters in your army:

• Cadian - recruit Ursarkar Creed and Jarran Kell to order your dudes around, and call up Knight Commander Pask to command your tanks.
• Catachan - Colonel Straken and Gunnery Sgt. Harker can join up.

Other, more fluffy but less character-rich names include Steel Legion, Death Korps, and so on. You may also make up your own, to personalize your force!

Note: Do not assume that because you may assign your regiment any name that you can then assign it a name that already exists elsewhere. The reason why is best explained by example: Most of the keyword rules you care about on buffs only check the Regiment, rather than both Astra Militarum and Regiment. Since you can theoretically assign any Regiment which is not Militarum Tempestus, the rule is easily exploited; naming your officer as being Militarum Auxilla, for example, would allow you to order Ogryns. It gets worse:

• Astra Telepathica - Order Wyrdvane Psykers (admittedly not that useful but you could do it).
• Adeptus Mechanicus - would allow you to order servitors, as well as any Admech infantry.
• Adeptus Ministorum - shout at Battle Sisters.

And the sky is the limit. You can cheese out harder and harder by taking Tau Fire Warriors and having the keyword for your officer and the target unit be 'Wu Tang Clan', for example. Literally any infantry with an open faction keyword can be commanded by RAW...Tyranids, Necrons, Chaos Space Marines...have you figured out why this is not how Regiments are supposed to work yet? Suffice to say, until an FAQ fixes this obvious and terrible loophole, it's on you, the player, to avoid developing a reputation as a cheese player at your game store. This 'trick' will get you denied games...so don't do it!

Assessing the exact RAI is challenging here; it's fairly obvious the intended wording was that Orders only work on units with the ASTRA MILITARUM keyword and a keyword that was <REGIMENT> before it was replaced, i.e. keep it within the Imperial Guard, but it's honestly unclear whether or not it's intended that Military Auxilla, Officio Prefectus, or Aeronautica Imperialis be available for your regiment (for ordering Ogryn/Ratlings, Commissars, and Officers of the Fleet, respectively), as those options are particularly fluffy and difficult to argue with, as those keywords are fairly explicitly specific Regiments which are NOT banned. As usual, discuss with your opponent if you want to use one of those three, but don't even try to pretend you're not a cheesemonger if you actually try to field Orderable Tyranids.

Wargear

Ranged Weapons

• Bolt Pistol: S4 AP-0, almost universally a better choice than the crappy flashlight pistol your sergeant/Officer starts out with. Commissars and Lord Commissars start out with this.
• Boltgun: S4 AP-0, Rapid Fire 1. No longer free for (Lord) Commissars.
• Plasma Pistol: No longer the ever-present risk it used to be unless you overcharge it, this weapon is your anti-MEQ and better at S7 AP-3. If you overcharge it, the pistol does 2 wounds at S8 AP-3, enough to one-shot Terminators, but if you roll a 1 the model suffers an uber-gets hot and is removed from play as a casualty. Unlike fairly cheap guardsmen and veterans, you do not want to get your character killed just because of one bad roll. The 8th ed. trick of firing pistols while in melee is a huge boost as well.

Special Weapons

• Flamer: An S4 AP-0 1 D Assault d6 weapon with 8" range which automatically passes rolls to hit. A classic anti-horde option, most useful when up against Tyranids, Orks, and blob Imperial Guard. The changes to how Flamers work give them a bit of effectiveness against small, lightly armored units as well- the number of hits they can score means that a single unit can be hit more than once.
• Grenade Launcher: Multipurpose portable explosive grenade launcher. A versatile weapon that stands a good chance to put a dent in whatever it needs to, now including MEQ and TEQ.
• Meltagun: S8 AP -4 d6 D Assault 1 with 12" range. If within half its range (so 6" or closer) it rolls 2D6 for damage and selects the higher number, so it's good against Monsters as well as vehicles now. The changes to wounding and AP "helped" the meltagun by nerfing it's competition, plasma doesn't quite hurt MEQ or monstrous creatures the same. Meltaguns are now better at hurting heavy infantry in cover and can meltaway wounds a lot faster than a plasma gun.
• Plasma gun: The plasma gun works differently from its earlier incarnations- for a start, it now has two firing profiles, both of which share Rapid Fire 1 and a 24" range. In its normal mode, it's S7 AP-3 1 D so it's basically a flat upgrade from a bolter that does a good job of taking out MEQs and TEQs. In its supercharged mode, it has one extra point of Strength and Damage that lets it one-shot Terminators. But be careful: firing the supercharged mode triggers the new version of Gets Hot!, and this time it just kills a model with no saves on a to hit roll of 1. So only fire the supercharged mode when the boosts are worth the risk of killing the user on the spot. Being a guard player, you'd probably laugh off the loss. Probably.
• Sniper Rifle: Gives you the ability to target an enemy character, even if they aren't the closest model. Also, rolling a 6 to-wound dishes out a mortal wound in addition to its normal (mediocre) damage of 1. Cannot be taken by rough riders.
• Demolition Charge: Got an amazing price reduction from 20 points to only 5 points for a Grenade D6 S8 AP-3 that does D3 wounds/hit. This weapon will kick the nads in of MEQ and worse. It's been relegated to Special Weapon Squads only, but to be fair giving these to normal guard and veteran squads would've been ridiculous. Also, it's actually a grenade now, so the loophole abuse of throwing all three at once from last edition is no more.

Melee Weapons

Most of these are specific to one unit. The top four (all power weapons) are 'Common Pool' melee weapons and may be taken by sergeants and most characters.]

• Power Fist: Sx2 AP-3, but forces a -1 to hit on the model using it. Company Commanders and Lord Commissars won't feel that too much, but Veteran Sergeants and Platoon Commanders may. Given its astronomical cost relative to your other melee options in addition to being inaccurate, generally a poor choice.
• Power Axe: At S+1 it may seem like a good idea, but AP-2 means it's now worse at kicking in the shit of MEQ and above. Mathhammer confirms it's usually a poor choice, not least because it costs a point more than a sword or maul. Its only time to shine is against T 6 or 7, with a save in the 2+ to 4+ range, or against T 3 in the 3+ to 5+ range.
• Power Maul: It does the least armor penetration of the power weapons, but gives you the biggest strength increase aside from the Power Fist. Mathhammer says it performs better than the axe against MEQ (due to being cheaper), and outright better against models of toughness 8 and 9, but generally speaking, it's your best bet - going from S3 to S5 is a huge leap given the actual toughness values you're liable to be hitting, it's cheaper than the axe, and it's the most difficult weapon to 'waste' AP with against models with either invuln saves or no saves at all. Not for nothing, it is also your best choice against MEQ.
• Power Sword: Has the greatest armor penetration rating at AP-3, but does not increase your strength in any way. By mathhammer it's really only useful against models with very good saves, as you might expect, but also low toughness - still has more victims than the axe does in terms of being more efficient than a power maul.
• Chainsword: Some credit must be given to the old standby. In addition to being free, it gives an extra attack with it. This serves to make units like Rough Riders a lot nastier than they might look from their statline (Rough Riders effectively carry two of these, giving them 2 bonus attacks with this profile).

Heavy Weapons

• Mortar: 48" Heavy D6, S4 AP- D1, and may fire indirectly. Down in cost, and along with the nerf to the Wyvern this brings it back into the realm of 'good' choices. At 9 points a gun team, it's a dirt cheap light and medium infantry muncher. Because of the revision to the way AP works it's in direct competition with the heavy bolter; this ALSO means it's in indirect competition with your entire motor pool. Consider this when the challenge of fitting half a dozen kits' worth of mortar tubes into your list is a daunting prospect.
• Heavy Bolter: 36" Heavy 3, S5 AP-1 D1. The reasons that this was bad in 7th edition have carried over, unfortunately. It's still standard on every vehicle in your motor pool, and it's still inferior to better than the autocannon against single-wound T5 and less, but especially 4 and 2 where it hits 50% harder. It's gone way down in price (8 points), so the choice is a choice now, but it's still one of the weaker options. Interestingly the -1ap over the Multilaser makes a double heavy bolter Chimera a strong contender now (and the triple heavy bolter Chimera, if anyone remembers Forge World, might be a serious powerhouse).
• Autocannon: 48" Heavy 2, S7 AP-1 D2. The 'Pom-Pom' is a strong contender in 8th. Retaining its decent AP, solid strength, and good rate of fire, the autocannon has gained multi-wound capability. It's probably your best friend on a Scout Sentinel, and for 15 points (an increase, but on most units the net cost is lower) it makes a solid option for Heavy Weapons Squads.
• Missile Launcher: 48", Heavy D6 at S4 AP- D1 or Heavy 1 at S8 AP-2 Dd6. Still the Jack of All Trades, still the Master of None. Lost the option for a flak missile (though you don't really need it, as fliers can be hit on 5s by guardsmen now, and 4s by Veterans and Scions) but kept the cost; at 20 points it's tied with the Lascannon for most expensive heavy weapon. Once again, compared to autocannons, it's better against the hordiest and heaviest units such as Guardsmen or Tanks, but the auto cannon has a slight edge against MEQ, a decent edge against T 5/6 MEQ and TEQ, and kicks ass against almost anything with 2 wounds, especially with light or medium armour like Nobz or Rough Riders (as neither frag nor krak missiles are fully effective against such models).
• Lascannon: 48" Heavy 1, S9 AP-3 Dd6. The ever-reliable Imperial tank-buster. The improved strength over missile launchers is critical, as most tanks are T8, meaning krak missiles wound on 4s while the Lascannon wounds on 3s. The extra AP doesn't hurt, either; carapace armor is ignored entirely and Land Raiders have to roll with a 5+. It's the same price as last edition, at 20 points, but the d6 wounds lets it threaten heavy units, and it can now be used to snipe heavy infantry in cover.
• Plasma Cannon: 36" Heavy d3 at S7 AP-3 D1 or S8 AP-3 D2. Someone found the manual! It's a viable option on Armored Sentinels, now. Of course a reckless guardsman can still overcharge it, getting the more powerful statline, but a 1 on the hit roll kills you. Yes, that's correct - no armor save, you're just dead. The ones on Leman Russ sponsons have special vents to survive this, but the tank still takes SIX mortal wounds (as in, half your maximum amount) and can't fire either of the plasma cannons again (can still fire the executioner cannon). Cost is unchanged from 7th, though when buying just one (pretty much just armored sentinels, since Servitors are AdMech now) you only pay for one.
• Multi-Melta: 24" Heavy 1, S8 AP-4 Dd6. If you're within 12" of the target you roll 2d6 for damage and take the highest. Leman Russ Demolishers can find some use out of this to brawl with enemy heavy vehicles and monsters, although they'll take a penalty for firing on the move. May also be allowed on Forge World Drop Sentinels, as in 7th - when the Forge World lists come out, anyway. Cost is unchanged from 7th.

Unit Analysis

• Keywords: Common keywords are ASTRA MILITARUM, IMPERIUM, and the placeholder <REGIMENT> which can be substituted for Cadian, Catachan, or the like.
• Sergeants: Like most armies the Guard's infantry (and cavalry) squads have non-commissioned officers leading them. These Sergeants (or Bone'Eads, if you're an Ogryn) have +1 Attack and Leadership over the rest of the squad, and in Infantry squads they swap the longarm of the rest of the unit for a laspistol and chainsword. Infantry Squads, Scions, Veterans, Rough Riders, Ogryns, and Bullgryns all have sergeants in some form, none of whom cost more than the non-Sergeants in the squad with them.

HQ

Any Regiment

• Tank Commander: A single Leman Russ tank, with 3+ to hit. On the upside, he no longer needs to take a bodyguard tank. On the downside, he can't take bodyguard tanks at all now. Arguably better though, now that you can field the Tank Commander as a single tank. But since it still has the ability to give orders to tanks, there's no reason to take it alone.
  • Note: You don't really need a bodyguard tank anymore to keep this guy alive; the model counts as a character, which means it can't be targeted unless it's the closest unit to the firing enemy. This means that you can bubble-wrap him in a 50-man Conscript blob. Congratulations: you now have a 50-wound, 150-point (more, if you took a Commissar; which you probably should if you use this tactic so that only one Conscript ever leaves the battlefield due to a failed Morale test) bodyguard for your tank. This won't do jack against Snipers, but they'll have a hard time dealing with the tank, anyway.
• Company Commander: This guy gives you your orders, issuing up to two orders per turn. He starts out with a 5++, a Chainsword, a Laspistol, and frag grenades, but can upgrade his melee and shooting weaponry, as expected. He needs a Command squad to give him support and keep him hid from rampaging enemies.

No Regiment

Astra Telepathica

• Primaris Psyker Gone are the days of making everything reroll hits. For twice the points of an Astropath you get a force stave and one more known power. Can still only cast 1 a turn, so why really bother. Slightly okayish in close combat.
  • Alternate opinion: These guys are probably the best cheap way to spam (unmodified) Smite in the game. Each of them will, on average, score just over 2 mortal wounds per turn, which likely is more damage than any other 40 point unit in this army will deal. Astropaths may be more efficient when it comes to utility, but being able to reliably get off Smite makes these a steal for their points.

Adeptus Ministorum

• Uriah Jacobus: A Ministorum Priest on steroids who now has the Astra Militarum faction keyword and qualifies as an HQ despite being found in the Adeptus Ministorum portion of the index. He has Shield of Faith, which lets him try to deny a psychic power manifested by an enemy psyker (but only using 1d6 as opposed to 2d6). Besides this, he also adds +1 to the leadership of all Adeptus or Imperial Guard units within 6", which isn't too shabby, and has a snazzy shotgun with a 24" range, Assault 2, S4 AP-1 D1 (D2 if you roll a 6+ to wound). Sure, why the hell wouldn't the guard follow some crazy old preacher into battle?

Specific Regiment

Officio Prefectus

• Lord Commissar: A buffed out Commissar with a 4+/5++ and a Power Sword, and makes everyone around him Ld9, which is awesome. His Summary Execution rule means that all Astra Militarum squads within 6" of him never lose more than one model from a failed Morale test, which is ULTRA-AWESOME, but regular Commissars have the same rule.
  • You can (and should) replace the power sword with a power maul; a second power weapon probably won't find a way to earn its points back, since you have to choose between them when you attack. You should strongly consider the 'free boltgun, to make the most of his BS 2+.
• Commissar Yarrick: Has the same Aura of Discipline rule that the Lord Commissar has, and has the Summary Execution rule (in spite of his fluff where not a single soldier was executed by him at the Battle of Hades Hive). He comes with his Baleful Eye (S3 AP-2 6" pistol 1), Storm Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Powerklaw, and a Power Field for a 4+ Invulnerable save. In addition, if he loses his last wound, roll a d6 and on a 3+ he does not lose his last wound. He can come back from the dead...alot. Interestingly, he now gets the fluffy "Hero of Hades Hive" which grants friendly Astra Militarum units re-rolls of 1s to-hit within 6" of him. This becomes re-roll all failed hits when the unit is attacking Orks. A fitting replacement for the old Preferred Enemy: Orks rule of 6th and 7th edition.

Militarum Tempestus

• Tempestor Prime: The Militarum Tempestus version of the Company Commander; he costs a bit more, but has been buffed from his 7th Edition iteration. In addition to his BS 3+ and 4+ armor save, he can now issue 2 orders instead of just 1. Makes him more useful now that you can take Militarum Tempestus Scions as Troops.

Cadian

• Lord Castellan Creed: MIA (read: in Trazyn's collection) in the fluff, but you can still use him. If your army is battleforged, Creed gives you 2 extra Command Points if he's the warlord, and can issue up to 3 orders per turn. Can only be used with the CADIAN regiment keyword.
• Knight Commander Pask: Pask is different, but still awesome. Gone are the alternate profiles for his weapons, but unlike other Leman Russ tanks, his tank hits on a 2+. This benefits every weapon that his tank can potentially have, including sponson weapons. Statistically, that means you'll be hitting 5/6 of the time on any weapon. While it stings that the Pasknisher isn't as awesome anymore (it's still awesome, it's just that Pask doesn't do much for it but boost its accuracy), the fact that he makes the weapons more reliable is just about worth his points' cost alone. But in addition to that, he can issue two tank orders a turn, including to other Tank Commanders. Note that like Creed, this only works with the CADIAN regiment keyword.

Catachan

• Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken: Gives 1 additional attack to all Catachan units within 6" of him, and re-rolls all failed to-wound rolls against Monsters in the Fight phase. In addition, he can issue up to 2 orders per turn.

Troops

Any Regiment

• Infantry Squad: These guys are going to be your bread and butter if you're going for blob-guard. They got a really small points decrease, but they have lost the well-received "Combined Squads" special rule. Now you're capped at 10 models a piece for an infantry squad. WTF, GW. On the bright side, you don't necessarily need platoons anymore - Commissars produce their morale bonuses in an AoE buff, and orders are both automatic and cheaper, since Platoon Commanders can be bought alone instead of with the entire platoon to go with them; this could produce an MSU play style for the Guard.
• Conscripts: If there is anything thinner than paper, it would be Conscripts. Good thing there are a lot of them. Start with 20 base, and can add up to 30 more guys, making them your only option for fielding a horde of dudes. With a pitiful Ld4, Commissars are a must. Do not expect them to pull miracles, but with Rank Fire, they can ignore their terrible 5+ to-hit at range. With objectives now being held by the number of MODELS around the objective, slap these in cover on an objective with a Commissar and watch your opponent cry as they fail to remove 100 points worth of meat from the table while your tanks tear shreds out of their army.
  • You can absolutely expect them to pull miracles - but only if you keep them under FRFSRF, and in numbers. A full unit of 50 with a Platoon Commander can put out a truly impressive points-per-wound against an impressive number of targets, and this gets better if you use a Company Commander with 100 of them, of course. They will completely outstrip any attempt you are making to efficiently use FRFSRF on your Infantry Squads, due to their need to buy another commander every 10 or 20 guys instead of every 50 or 100.

Specific Regiment

Militarum Tempestus

• Militarum Tempestus Scions: The New Veteran Squad? 5 Man squad base with two special weapons or 10 man squad with FOUR specials, and the Hot-Shot Lasgun is mean now - with its solid AP it can threaten anything, and with orders it can put out a frightening number of shots. This almost makes up for the Veterans' demotion to the elite slot. Base cost of 10 points per guy, so almost at Space Marine territory here, they still have their built-in transport option of deep striking. Can also ride in their exclusive Taurox Prime, a Chimera, fly high in a Valkyrie, or downgrade to a basic Taurox.

Elites

Any Regiment

• Master of Ordnance: Gone is the hilariously inaccurate mini-basilisk of 7th edition; the MoO is now a fire support coordinator, which is arguably closer to the fluff. Nearby artillery units (such as basilisks, wyverns, and manticores) can reroll 1s on the hit roll if this guy is about and the target is more than 36" away (because he can't really help if the gun is direct firing, apparently). If that isn't enough to justify his cost, he can call in a favor from a nearby battery once per game, dropping a (thankfully accurate) basilisk shell anywhere on the map - though if he can't see the target it hits on 6s.
• Platoon Commander: Now an individual model, broken off of his Command squad. This is one of your options for orders! At least he gets a 5+ Invulnerable save base now like past Imperial Guard Commanders. A cheaper alternative to the Company Commander, and the preferable option if you have a single conscript blob and you want them ordered every turn.
• Command Squad: These guys exist for one purpose: support. At BS 3+ they can provide higher-skill special and heavy weapons teams, though you'll be getting the skill at a premium due to the higher cost per model and lower squad size. The Regimental Standard allows rerolls on morale, and the Medi-pack allows you to heal and even return nearby removed models to the field (leading to the rather humorous event of a commissar executing a coward and the medic then returning him to the battle). A vox operator can drastically extend the range of your orders, too, as long as the receiving squad also has a vox.
• Veteran Squad: Rather boorishly promoted demoted to the Elites slot, guardsmen with 3+ to hit and more weapon options than basic Imperial Guard squads. They used to be the bread and butter of Mechanized guard armies who used Chimeras to cart their asses around, but now they'd be better off supplementing basic guard squads in Chimeras. They've also lost camo cloaks and 4+ armour, which has screwed them a lot (we can only hope GW fixes this at a later date).
• Special Weapons Squad: Like Heavy Weapons Squads, the base cost of this unit is absurdly cheap. 24 points for 6 guys before you have to give 3 of them Meltas, Flamers, Plasma, or the like. Fun fact: Demolition Charges got even cheaper. Spam them!

No Regiment

Adeptus Mechanicus

• Tech-Priest Enginseer He's blessed with the Astra Militarum key word although found in the AdMech list. Repairs D3 lost wounds on a single Astra Militarum vehicle within 3" of him. This opens up some interesting listbuilding ideas, such as combining mechguard troops with Skitarii snipers or Cult Mech deathrobots, as the Enginseer can repair whatever he so pleases from either list. An auto-include if you brought a Baneblade.

Adeptus Ministorum

• Ministorum Priest Another Astra Militarum character borrowed by another list. His War Hynms are now a +1 attack for every Astra Militarum infantry unit within 6". Conscript blob squads (and massed Infantry Squads, if you have enough orders) may be interesting with this and the Fix Bayonets order, and Ogryns/Bullgryns turn into giant muscley man-blenders with five attacks apiece on the charge. He also still has Zealot, though since it's not an AoE buff and only offers the first turn reroll he no longer assists with morale.

Astra Telepathica

• Wyrdvane Psykers Very mediocre. If you have 6 you get to add 2 to psychic tests, but you only roll 1d6 for both Psychic and Deny tests (the bonus for having members only applies to Psychic tests, though). And without having the character keyword, expect them to die quickly.
• Astropath Only 1d6 for Smite, but only 21 points. Camp a few of these guys behind your gunline and deny powers while giving people +1 save. The only reason not to bring these guys would be if you ran out of Elites slots, because Primaris Psykers are HQs.

Specific Regiment

Aeronautica Imperialis

• Officer of the Fleet: Now slightly different. He can basically call in air-strikes or grant friendly Astra Militarum/Aeronautica fliers re-rolls of 1 to-hit. This actually makes him somewhat useful even if you're not using flyers or reserves, though he no longer nerfs enemy reserves, either.

Militarum Auxilla

• Ogryns: Like Rough Riders, probably one of the improved Guard units this edition. They're cheaper, they get a bonus attack on the charge (AND they go first!) and they're still T5 - which in this edition is a serious boon, as all but the most lethal of weaponry will still only wound them on 3s. You need a Demolisher Cannon to hurt these big boys on 2s! The Ripper gun is the same as it was, being an Assault 3 S5 AP0 shotgun. More importantly, the Assault Vehicle rule is gone; you can charge the turn you disembark from a Chimera/Taurox/Valkyrie, but they take up 3 transport slots, so be careful.
• Bullgryns: From zero to hero, their Slabshields and Brute Shields got buffed: Slabshields give them 2+ saves, while Brute Shields give them a 4++. Did I mention either option is now free, and you can mix and match them with the weapons now? Like regular Ogryns, they get an additional attack the turn they charge. With their upgraded Power Mauls (+1 D), that's gonna hurt a lot. Finally your Terminator-cost unit can match with actual Terminators! If only they could take orders...
  • They can take orders, just like Ogryn, but only if you assign Military Auxilla as your Regiment keyword to the order source. This is legal, RAW, and the RAI on it is unclear, so discuss with your opponent.
• Ratlings: The same sniper unit as before with much improved abilities. They have an infiltrate and a stealth/cover skill as before but their shoot sharp and scarper is now a normal move, rather than a random D6" run. Now with planning and LOS-blocking cover they can snipe enemy characters with impunity. Hilariously, this lets the ratlings still move-shoot-move, while Tau battle suits lost this ability in 8th. In addition, the sniper rifle got buffed - on a 6 to hit it inflicts a mortal wound in addition to its normal damage. A good unit overall.
• Nork Deddog: Need a capable bodyguard? This is the guy you're looking for. If a character within 3" of him takes a wound, he can take a mortal wound on a 2+ to cancel out the wound on the character. Coming with a Ripper Gun, his huge knife (S:User AP-1 D2), 4+ armor, and the ability to headbutt an opponent (the headbutt counts as a melee weapon that can't be used for more than one attack) at S+3 AP-2 D3. Finally, he can make a heroic sacrifice if he loses his final wound in the fight phase: he can immediately attack, even if he had already been selected to fight beforehand.

Cadian

• Color Sergeant Kell: KIA in the fluff (RIP, he will be missed), but usable in-game still like Aun'Va, Konrad von Karstein, Vlad von Carstein pre-End Times and the like. If you have a lot of units on the field and not enough Commanders to give orders, consider taking Kell, as he lets one officer within 6" issue an additional order every turn. He can be taken without Creed now, but that's not fluffy, and you also waste his ability to bodyguard for Creed on a 2+. Also, Cadian units within 6" can re-roll failed Morale tests. Pretty solid, if pricey.

Catachan

• Sergeant Harker: No longer a replacement for a Veteran Sergeant, now a Character who lets Catachan within 6" re-roll 1s to hit in the Shooting phase (and since he's Catachan and within 6" of himself, he also gets to reroll 1s with his Assault Heavy Bolter, Payback).

Militarum Tempestus

• Militarum Tempestus Command Squad: Don't forget about these guys. Like the Veterans in the Command Squad, they have BS 3+ and can take 4 special weapons, but have a 4+ armor save and the old Deep Strike ability. Take 4 plasma guns, Deep Strike them 9" away from your enemies, get your Tempestor Prime to issue them an order and laugh when you overcharge and fire off 8 Strength 8 AP -3 Damage 2 shots in rapid-fire range. Thanks to the Tempestor Prime's buffed Voice of Command, you can take 2 of these squads, issue an order to both of them, and fire off 16 Strength 8 AP -3 Damage 2 shots within rapid-fire range!

Officio Prefectus

• Commissar: His Summary Execution rule means that all Astra Militarum squads within 6" of him never lose more than one model from a failed Morale test. The fact that this buff is AoE is the saving grace of Infantry Squads everywhere.

Dedicated Transport

Any Regiment

• Chimera: The old king of metal boxes has fallen. With the loss of Amphibious, Mobile Command Vehicle, its fire points, and a price hike, the Chimera has been thoroughly nerfed. On the other hand, it's much tougher, and the improved transport capacity over your other transport options makes it the go-to option for transporting Ogryns and Bullgryns (it can hold 4, while the Taurox can only hold 3), especially now that all vehicles are assault vehicles.
• Taurox: The student has learned well. With its twin autocannons and good move speed the Taurox makes a strong contender for the new Guard motor pool. It's pricier than the Chimera, but you're paying for power - those pom-poms will put the hurt on anything from infantry to tanks.

Specific Regiment

Militarum Tempestus

• Taurox Prime: The Taurox's bigger, angrier brother is available exclusively to Scions, but man is it worth it. With improved BS and an impressive selection of weaponry for its points, the Taurox Prime is the new king of metal boxes. It won't last long with that toughness, but it'll make back its points in the meantime. Generally, your two options for firepower are the twin gatling gun and hot-shot volley guns or the twin autocannons and mini-battle cannon, which has been buffed in 8th. The gatling array is better vs infantry, while the cannon array is better vs multiwound targets (while you can mix your firepower, it's not recommended that you do so - you want to be able to bring all your guns to bear at once, and completely destroying enemy units is more important than ever, since many armies have a medic equivalent that can resurrect fallen models).
  • Note: This vehicle is finicky about who can get on it, not just who can bring it; only Militarum Tempestus and Officio Prefectus infantry can board it. The former can't be assigned as a <Regiment>, but the latter actually can - whether or not you should is not settled yet. Hilariously, because Bulky is no longer a rule - Transports now charge certain models more capacity, rather than models charging all Transports they might get in - if you can assign Officio Prefectus to your Heavy Weapons Teams, they can board Taurox Primes while only occupying 1 point of capacity each, because the Taurox Prime lacks any rules charging Heavy Weapons Teams more.

Fast Attack

Any Regiment

• Armoured Sentinels
  • Cannot mitigate the penalty for moving and shooting a heavy weapon, so of dubious utility compared to other choices carrying the same weapons.
• Scout Sentinels
  • Cannot mitigate the penalty for moving and shooting a heavy weapon, so of dubious utility compared to other choices carrying the same weapons.
• Hellhounds: The medium tank of the Guard motor pool has been favored in 8th, with increases in speed and toughness and decreases in price all around. Armed with the infamous Inferno Cannon, the base Hellhound is a nasty infantry muncher, capable of eating guard-equivalent models with 2s to wound and no save from up to 18 inches away. If your foe is made of tougher stuff, swap it out for the Banewolf, whose vicious Chem Cannon wounds everything that's not a vehicle on 2s, with improved AP (at the cost of range). Finally, if you want to take on vehicles, the Devil Dog closes the gap with the mighty melta cannon. All three vehicles may take a hull heavy bolter, heavy flamer, or multi-melta. Unfortunately, they also received some nerfs, curtailing their ranged accuracy on the move, due to losing both Fast and the old benefits of Vehicle.
  • Hellhounds are BS 4+, which gets worse as they take damage, and they have no ability to mitigate the penalties for moving and shooting heavy weapons. As a result, you're usually going to want to avoid the melta loadouts, instead relying on the automatically hitting weapons. This is exacerbated by the melta options all costing the most and, like all melta weapons, being relatively short-ranged, helping to force you into movement.
    • The Heavy Bolters are similarly going to have accuracy problems, but they have over quadruple the range of Heavy Flamers, on top of having reliable shot volume and being less than half the cost, so the issue is less clear-cut, but if you're moving in to lay into something with an Infero or Chem cannon, you'll regret it if you left your Heavy Flamer at home.
  • The Chem cannon has inferior range and damage to the Inferno cannon, and deeply inferior ability to wound vehicles, but is 3/4 the price and better wounding against non-Vehicles (and better AP, period), so part of the choice here is your local meta.
  • The Inferno Cannon + Heavy Flamer loadout is going to be the most broadly versatile one that gives your Hellhound a job to do that it can be good at; just beware the dangers of random shot volume.
• Rough Riders: Surprisingly, 8th Edition's been kinder to Rough Riders than 7th Edition was, but that's not saying much. Their hunting lances are no longer one use only, being S+2 AP:-2 and do D3 damage, but can only be used when they successfully charge. They've also gotten a cost reduction, and now have 2 wounds...and that's it. Still fragile with a 5+ save. In addition, they may perform Flanking Maneuvers, which allows them to set up within 7" of a battlefield edge of their choice, and more than 9" away from an enemy unit. Combined with a pair of meltaguns this can make them surprisingly mean tank hunters (between the charge and the melta shots they can inflict about 5 wounds on a T8 3+ target on average) or Character assassins, but it does not make them front-line brawlers; they might all have chainswords and laspistols but they only get 1 attack a model base (meaning 3 attacks a model after wargear) and still at S3 T3. If you've got a melee-buffer like a Priest on-site they can smash into the flank pretty hard, but don't expect miracles out of them - they've only just crawled out of the swamp.
  • Critically Important: Rough Riders are not Infantry and cannot be Ordered.
  • Alternate Opinion: It is possible to make Rough Riders good with the right combo. If you're playing Catachan (preferably with Catachans converted to ride Cold Ones from AoS/Fantasy), and then charge the Rough Riders into something near Straken and a Priest, you'll get 16 S5 Attacks that cause D3 Wounds plus 10 S3 Attacks, and that's just with a minimum size Rough Rider squad. Considering their low cost you might as well take ten of them and get 31(!) S5 Attacks (at most, provided you remain in the aura) followed by 20 S3 ones.
    • Note: Straken and the Priest both have to be nearby during the Fight, and are slower than Rough Riders, so it may be non-trivial delivering them.

Fliers

Specific Regiment

Aeronautica Imperialis

• Valkyrie: Can Hold 12 Astra Militarum Infantry. Ogryn count as 3 models. So any infantry with the astra militarum keywords (and inquisitorial models with the Authority of the Inquisition trait). Transports can hold multiple units now so 3 Command Squads each with 4 meltaguns for 12 meltaguns (or, cheaper, plasma guns, of course) at BS 3+ in one Valkyrie? Nice! On the firepower side of things, hellstrike missiles may be fired more than once, and the multiple rocket pod is a nice infantry muncher. Cue the music!
• Vendetta: No rules in Imperium Index 2. What, you expected it to cover all units from 6th Edition Codex? Buy Forgeworld Index for 15£ and then add delivery cost to field a Codex unit, Guardsman!

Heavy Support

Any Regiment

• Heavy Weapon Squad The base cost of this unit is absurd! 12 points for a full squad of 3 heavy weapon T3 meat platforms, before weapons - less than a third of what it was in 7th! Almost no fat between you and your Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, etc. That's 36 points for three Heavy Bolters! 57 points for three Autocannons! With the advent of squad-wide splitfire, the choice between these and putting them in Infantry Squads is more even; an HWS is more order-efficient but an Infantry Squad will stay alive longer (though heavy weapons don't benefit from orders as much now). Incidentally, you do not need a Commissar for these; any damage severe enough to make the squad actually lose more models that a Commissar would prevent (more than 1, followed by a 6 on the Battleshock roll) will kill the squad entirely, and you don't need high Leadership to get off Orders now, either. The real downside of these is on the organizational level; you'll quickly max out your Heavy Support slots by taking these in significant numbers - 3 heavy weapon squads, and the Platoon Commanders to order them, is less than 250 points, and eats 3 heavy support and 3 elite slots!
  • 3 mortars is 27 points, a piddling amount for the output you can pull off with them since they don't need to see their targets. Very much worth considering.
• Leman Russ Battle Tanks: Ah yes, the Leman Russ. Has long-held, and continues to hold, the title of sturdiest tank in the galaxy, point-for-point. For 132 points, a T8 W12 platform with a 3+ save will consume an enormous amount of firepower before dying. Its basic Battle Tank Cannon is Heavy D6 S8 AP-3. The good news is, no more finicky templates. However, MEQ now get a fragile 6+ save instead of being auto-pasted like its 5th-7th edition iteration. Even then, this thing's now decent against enemies with 2+ armor, which is a much better trade-off. With Heavy Bolters worth a mere 8 points each(less than half the cost of a Heavy Flamer now), adding Heavy 3 S5 AP-1 weapons is a pitiful 24 points for both the hull and the sponsons, making them somewhat worth their cost now with the Leman's increased survivability. Of the long-ranged variants, the Battle Cannon is the only one worth writing home about - the Exterminator has been nerfed by virtue of an effective loss in hits due to losing twin-linking, the Eradicator's cover-hate isn't as powerful now, and the Vanquisher is a meltagun with a six-foot range; it continues to suffer from one-shot disease, making it by far the worst of the lot.
  • Note - Mathammer will quickly inform you that while the potential for damage 'spikes' allows a lucky roll on the Battle Cannon to do serious damage, on average it will usually strip one or two wounds from its target. Compared to 7th edition this is about as strong as a wet blanket, and as a Guard player that's something you're going to need to get used to. Run the same analysis on any other weapon in the Guard armory short of a Superheavy tank cannon and you'll get the same deal - you simply don't one-shot enemy units anymore (at least not reliably). But before you throw your models in the trash, remember that cuts both ways. For example, run that mathhammer again - the probability gets complicated, but even a Deathstrike stands only about a 0.3% chance to kill the Russ in a single hit (in 7th it would do this about 30% of the time). Everything is tougher and everything is weaker. Welcome to 8th edition.
  • Sponson/Hull Weapons - Heavy Flamers and Storm Bolters can be fired on the move without penalty, but only they and your turret gun have that benefit. If you do take Heavy Bolters (or other options, like a Hunter-Killer Missile), don't expect to land many hits.
• Leman Russ Demolisher Tanks: The brawlers of the battle tank variants; no guns over 36" (except the Lascannon) and a LOT more power in exchange. The Punisher and Demolisher are statistically your best friends against troops and vehicles/monsters, respectively - a Punisher with 3 heavy bolters (176 points) or a Demolisher with 2 multi-meltas and a lascannon (212 points) can wreak impressive amounts of havoc for a single model, if you can bear the cost, and unlike previous editions they don't mind being in melee (in fact with a trio of heavy flamers they'll be quite painful to charge). Also back in the running is the Executioner. With 2 plasma cannons and a hull lascannon (202 points) it can put out an impressive amount of MEQ-hate. And unlike every other model with plasma, a 1 on the hit roll of an overcharge shot doesn't kill you! Instead it inflicts 6 mortal wounds (half of the tank's health) and burns out every plasma cannon on the tank except the turret. So...yeah.
  • Sponson/Hull Weapons - Heavy Flamers and Storm Bolters can be fired on the move without penalty, but only they and your turret gun have that benefit. If you do take Plasma Cannons (or other options, like a Hunter-Killer Missile), don't expect to land many hits.
• Hydra: The original AAA is back in action! with the revision to Skyfire, the Hydra can hit ground troops on 5s, and with its eight autocannon shots it's a potentially good investment even if you didn't expect fliers from your opponent. The power comes at a price, though: 108 points, up from 75. Fliers will learn to fear it, though; it puts out enough power to statistically guarantee damage versus most aircraft.
• Wyvern: One of the latest additions to the Imperial Guard motor pool. Got smacked with the nerf bat, and hard - its infamous Wyvern quad mortars work similar to how they did before, doing 4d6 S4 AP0 hits that re-roll to wound. Thanks to the new 8th Edition rules, the old "enemy spreads their models out to avoid blasts" tactic is moot. Do not, however, expect the Wyvern to perform on the same level as 7th - it's lost its twin-linking, even if it gets 14 shots (an average roll) it will only hit 7 times on average, which at S4 and AP- will only reliably kill 2 or so Marines. It's also gone up in price.
  • The Wyvern still excels at killing GEQ and similar lightly armored, low-toughness infantry blobs, whether they're footslogging Orks or cover-camping blue space weeaboos. Using this thing to target Marines is just a waste of fire and not what the weapon is designed for. Look at its statline again: AP0.
• Basilisk: Fluffy is back! The Earthshaker gun carriage smacks units up to twenty feet away at s9 AP-2 and d3 damage, rolling 2d6 for shot count and taking the highest - and it's down in cost too, to 108 points. Better against vehicles than troops, because its multi-wound power is wasted against infantry, but powerful and long-ranged for its points nonetheless. Basilisk is brutal and very point-efficient, with the only problem being Guard's BS of 4+. Still one of the best choices nonetheless. It is also "Webstore exclusive" - what a funny coincidence.
• Manticore: The Guard's entry into the community of rocket artillery, and arguably the best. May not be squadron'd, but don't be discouraged - it's gotten a MASSIVE points reduction, down to 132 from 175. The Storm Eagle Rockets still hit like the proverbial meteor: Heavy 2d6, S10 AP-2 Dd3 with a range of 10 feet. Minimum range is gone, too - this may be your new best friend in the realm of artillery.
• Deathstrike: Gone and buried are the days of Riptides laughing off a hit from an ICBM - nothing wants to be hit with this monster. 3d6 shots, and any hit inflicts a Mortal Wound. No save, no wound roll, no problem. Furthermore, any unit within 6" of the target takes d3 Mortal Wounds half the time. Smack the center of the enemy's army with this for 155 points and it'll make back its points with ease. Of course, you'll have to get the shot off first: you have to roll an 8+ on a d6 + the turn number. It's tougher than it was in 7th. Too bad it will never fire and it's totally better to take literally any other artillery instead.

Lords of War

Any Regiment

Until Forge World updates the many, many options for heavy and super heavy tanks in the Guard motor pool, you're stuck with the Baneblade. But don't let that discourage you.

• Baneblade Family: The galaxy's premier super-heavy tank has been lucky this edition, with almost-universal reductions in points, retention of fire points, amazing toughness, and the addition of the Steel Behemoth rule, allowing it to fall back from a melee and charge or fire normally, as well as fire its larger guns out of a melee if it so desires. Versus targets in melee it may fire its twin heavy flamers and twin heavy bolters like pistols, targeting foes within 1" - this makes a fully-armed Baneblade variant one of the meanest models in the game in close quarters, dealing out an average of 31 hits, at S5 AP-1 - and that's before it uses its adamantium tracks, which swing at s9 ap-2 for d3 damage up to 9 times. And those flamers hit on overwatch, too. All variants have a twin heavy bolter on the hull, and may take up to 4 sponsons, each with a lascannon and a twin heavy flamer/twin heavy bolter.
  • Baneblade: First of the turreted variants (though with the removal of facing that's not as relevant anymore), the original Baneblade packs the mighty Baneblade Cannon, an autocannon, and a hull Demolisher Cannon. Oldies but goldies.
  • Hellhammer: Preferred by Catachans, the Hellhammer's main cannon ignores cover bonuses at the mild expense of power. As the other turreted variant it includes a hull Demolisher Cannon. Evidence of the viciousness of this tank's crew is visible in its armament - it includes a lasgun, presumably fired by a particularly obstinate crewman!
  • Shadowsword: Arguably the most famous aside from the Baneblade itself, the 'Titan-Killer' mounts the incredibly powerful Volcano cannon, still capable of one-shotting Land Raiders even in an edition rife with tough vehicles and monsters with a has-been Strength of 16. Versus Titanic units it gets +1 to hit, and the Volcano Cannon rerolls wounds. Very little can hope to survive a duel with this beast.
  • Stormsword: One of the cheapest variants (though still a list-buster at 390 points before its weapons), the Stormsword carries the Stormsword Siege Cannon, a massive gun that ignores cover and all but the strongest armor to boot. Lead the charge and smash the foe.
  • Banesword: With its Quake Cannon swatting enemies from more than 11 feet away, the Banesword is a premier fire support vehicle. Sadly eclipsed by the Shadowsword, since the Quake Cannon can't fire out of line-of-sight.
  • Banehammer: When it comes to stopping the enemy advance, the Banehammer delivers. Its Tremor Cannon can turn entire sections of the field into flying clouds of dirt and debris, halving the Move of enemy units and preventing them from advancing. Hold the line!
  • Doomhammer: The first of the transport-capable variants, the Doomhammer supplements a gun deck capable of holding 20 models (of whom 10 can fire out) with the Magma Cannon, adept at bringing the hurt to large targets. Six Ogryns, a Platoon Commander, and a Priest is a nice package to dump upon an unsuspecting enemy.
  • Stormlord: Gork and Mork (or was it Mork and Gork?) cry tears of pure joy when this arrives on the field. With a troop bay that holds 40 models (of which 20 may fire out) and the Vulcan mega Bolter, this monster can put out more dice than any other model in the game. Put entire squads of Bullgryns inside it for a pseudo-Land Raider or entire Detachments of Heavy Weapon Squads (probably with Mortars) for unprecedented firepower and durability.