There are thousands of wars fought across the galaxy at any given moment, and for all their skill the Space Marines simply cannot be everywhere at once. When daemons flow from the Warp and xenos raiders hound a reeling Imperium, it is the mortal men and women who enter the trench line and defend their worlds from unimaginable horrors, knowing that they are the only line between survival and oblivion.
This is the Astra Militarum, the untold millions of regular soldiers who battle against the worst monsters the galaxy can muster with inexhaustible grit, determination, and overwhelming firepower. Backed by squadrons of armoured tanks and the thunder of distant artillery, the Imperial Guard are the Hammer of the Emperor – and with faith in their hearts and the iron will of their commanders behind them, they will hold the line. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re thinking of starting an army of these disciplined defenders.
Astra Militarum Explained
The Imperium encompasses a million or more worlds scattered throughout the galaxy, and with very few exceptions those planets provide a regular tithe of soldiers to the ranks of the Astra Militarum. That they will be shipped off-world to fight and die among the stars is the only thing these disparate forces have in common, for each world is expected to train and equip their own regiments – and no two Imperial worlds are alike. From feral worlds and death worlds to hive worlds and agri worlds, they are all unique with specialisms in all kinds of warfare.
Many regiments of the Astra Militarum style themselves after the legendary Cadian Shock Troops – who kept the Black Crusades of Abaddon the Despoiler at bay for thousands of years before their embattled planet finally cracked. The indomitable Cadian remnants continue the fight on hundreds of battlefields as fresh recruits are drawn by their stirring example.
And where the Cadians excel at a regimented combined arms doctrine, other worlds might specialise in lightning-fast drop strikes, battling in hellish frozen climates, or upon thundering columns of tanks. For every conceivable manner of war, there is a regiment of the Guard that specialises in it, and the demand for their services often far outstrips the supply of their men.
The Death Korps of Krieg are the perfect soldiers to fight thankless wars of attrition, for their warriors live for nothing more than to earn redemption for their ancestors’ crimes by dying in the Emperor’s name. Human lives are their most abundant resource, and the Death Korps is happy to spend them to secure victory.
The Catachan Jungle Fighters are hardened by the death world they call home, while the elite Tempestus Scions are used for surgical strikes against enemy commanders, and the rugged Attilan Rough Riders deliver punishing cavalry charges with grenade-tipped lances. Whether fighting alone or as part of a larger war effort, each regiment brings its own unique skills to the table, and those Imperial commanders who can effectively utilise their capabilities will go down in legend.
Where seemingly inexhaustible infantry are the backbone of the Guard, they rarely join battle without the support of massive tank battalions and air support. Forge Worlds churn out Leman Russ tanks, Chimera troop carriers and Basilisk support guns by the million, venerable designs that have beaten back the Emperor’s enemies since the dark days of the Horus Heresy. Above them, the air wings of the Imperial Navy rule the skies, and even the mighty warships of the Imperial Navy may lend their firepower from orbit to a massed assault.
For all of their incredible firepower and overwhelming numbers, the Astra Militarum are still just men and women. Even the most resolute will ultimately crack under the weight of the horrors they must face, and it’s the job of their officers to keep wavering troops in line. Cowardice is not tolerated, and the job of restoring morale falls to steely-eyed Commissars who find that a swift bolt round into the back of a fleeing Guardsman is enough to make their comrades think twice about deserting their duty.
The brutal, uncompromising nature of the Astra Militarum is needed now more than ever, as Warp-spawned madness flows from the Cicatrix Maledictum and entire Sectors are cut off from the light of Holy Terra. The Imperial Guardsmen are expected to shoulder their lasguns and hold the line no matter what the foe.
On the tabletop, the Astra Militarum fight exactly as you would expect: massed Guardsmen charging across the field while rumbling tanks fire shells and searing beams over their heads. The footsloggers claim Objectives while their armoured allied pound the foe with heavy firepower.
They have one of the most varied and flexible rosters of any Warhammer 40,000 faction, giving players ample opportunities to experiment and experience everything the game has to offer. They also pack some of the largest and most destructive vehicles around, such as the infamous Baneblade superheavy tank which absolutely bristles with big guns.
An Astra Militarum army will appeal to anyone who loves to cover the table in a wave of lasfire, and to hobbyists looking for a rewarding large-scale project with loads of vehicles and infantry to paint. There’s something uniquely wonderful about backing scores of regular humans who have to face down the terrors of the 41st Millennium with little more than a lasgun and flak armour!
Combat Patrol
Combat Patrol is a game mode perfect for beginners and veterans alike, in which smaller forces clash in fast-paced, balanced games. The Astra Militarum switch up their usual tactics, deploying a fast force of cavalry supported by an elite squad of sharpshooters – a surprisingly mobile formation that excels at decapitating enemy leadership.
Drayden’s Lance are led by the command squad of Major Drayden and his hand-picked bodyguards, whose job it is to issue orders to the other units and make sure they fight effectively. Two units of five Attilan Rough Riders act as powerful flankers, sporting some of the highest movement speed of any Combat Patrol datasheet.
The unit of 10 Kasrkin are exceptional soldiers who carry most of the heavy firepower. They are highly trained and quite mobile – perfect for operating independently in the field and staying effective even should Drayden pop his clogs early on.
All you need to deploy Drayden’s Lance is a few dice, a ruler, and the downloadable rules below – the Core Rules show you how to play the game, the Combat Patrol Datasheets provide a balanced army that’s ready to play, and the Combat Patrol Missions give you some thrilling objectives to fight over!
Painting
Hobbyists have an open book when it comes to their army’s colour scheme. The classic green and brown of the Cadian 8th has been the iconic image of the average Guardsman for a long time, but other units like the Mordian Iron Guard and the Vostroyan Firstborn opt for blues and reds, which really make your miniatures stand out on the tabletop.
Most Guardsmen have a fairly simple split between their armour and their fatigues, which makes painting miniatures comparatively quick – while their tanks are an excellent canvas for weathering. To help ease your miniatures onto the battlefield with a simple, achievable colour scheme that works across a wide variety of units, the Warhammer 40,000 Painting Team have put together a list of paints for the Cadians and Rough Riders found in the Combat Patrol box.
This is by no means an exhaustive primer, however, and you’re fully encouraged to come up with your own Astra Militarum regiments. With more than a million worlds to pull troops from, even your strangest paint schemes are represented somewhere!
Next Steps
Once you have a few Combat Patrol games under your belt and you’re ready to grow into a true Imperial army, you might be wondering where to go next.
Your first stop is Codex: Astra Militarum – the essential companion to the faction, containing plenty of background lore and a showcase of gorgeously painted miniatures, as well as rules for 64 different units and plenty of different ways to play them. Together with a copy of the Warhammer 40,000 Core Book, you’ll have all the rules you need to start playing full-size games of Warhammer 40,000.
The Combat Patrol provides the perfect start, and the first order of business for the rest of your army is to get more boots on the ground. Cadian Shock Troops are the archetypal troopers, and you can’t really go wrong with a handful of double-strength squads to capture objectives and wear down enemies with sheer volume of firepower.
Tanks are just as important, and the venerable Leman Russ is the undisputed king of armoured warfare. These highly versatile kits can be assembled as any one of seven specialised tank variants, at least one of which will have exactly the cannon you need to fill a tactical gap in your game plan.
Artillery Teams back up your inexorable advance with a rain of mortar shells and rockets fired from safely behind a large building. If a single solid target needs to be cracked instead, they can be converted into long-barreled Siege Cannons that bust shells the size of mailboxes right through armour and fortifications.
The legendary leaders who command millions upon millions of Guardsmen are rightly famed for their tactical brilliance, with the enigmatic Lord Solar Leontus being one of the highest-ranked officers to see front-line duty. His stalwart horse Konstantin has been repaired many times to keep his master aloft during battle, and the Lord Solar’s command abilities make him a powerful force multiplier that can boost three separate units at the same time.
Likewise, Ursula Creed is a great character, ordering infantry and tanks around with an indefatigable aura of command. All you need then is to support your force with a magnificent centrepiece packed with weapons and heavy armour, which the Rogal Dorn has in spades. This hulking tank has a choice of two different turret cannons and two hull weapons, with a wealth of detail parts to make yours distinctly your own.
Fiction
A vast number of novels follow a wide assortment of characters from across the Astra Militarum, telling tales from the heights of the command table to the horrors of the trenches. Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid follows the Lord Castellan of Cadia as she searches the shattered remains of her homeworld for her father’s final battle plans, while Minka Lesk: The Last Whiteshield by Justin D Hill collects several gripping tales that follow a Cadian hero through gruelling campaigns and the ranks.
Then, the top commander of Imperial forces in Segmentum Solar is forced to whip a band of ragtag survivors into shape after a disastrous defeat in Leontus: Lord Solar by Rob Young, proving how he’s more than just a noble lineage with grand ideas.
For all their faceless determination, the Death Korps of Krieg still make for engrossing characters and nowhere is their heroism on display better than in Siege of Vraks by Steve Lyons. This gripping tale follows a regular officer of the Death Korps as he makes his way through one of the most gruelling sieges in Imperial history, battling the forces of Chaos through trenches, barbed wire and deadly killing fields.
A freshly recruited regiment of unruly woodsmen finds itself the only survivors of their planet’s destruction in the phenomenal Gaunt’s Ghosts series, as the Tanith First-and-Only go from raw recruits to veteran skirmishers across an extensive series of novels by Dan Abnett. The Founding collects the first three in a single volume, and it’s absolutely unmissable for fans of the Astra Militarum.
Finally, the tribulations of a reluctant commissar provide a light-hearted change of pace in the Ciaphas Cain series by Sandy Mitchell. Commissar Cain is far from the ideal of the heroic champion he’s portrayed as in Imperial propaganda – and would rather sit all this ‘war’ stuff out if he had the choice – with his first three adventures collected in the Hero of the Imperium omnibus.
Start Your Collection
|
|
|
| ||
