How To Start a Warhammer 40K Astra Militarum Army

Looking to join the mighty Astra Militarum, but don’t know where to start? Here’s what you need to know.
With the recent new Astra Militarum army releases, upcoming codex, and Darktide video game, there’s never been a better time to join the imperial guard and start a new army. The Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard, is one of the most diverse factions in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, with hundreds of thousands of regiments with unique characteristics from hundreds of thousands of different worlds.
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[@liveanotheranime3526]

I keep most of my 40K armies simple at 1k points. My current army before changes: 1 Company Commander 1 Tank Commander- Battle Cannon 3 ten man Infantry squads 3 Scout Sentinels 2-3 Armored Sentinels 1 Heavy Weapons Squad (3x Mortar) 2 Leman Russ-Demolisher or Executioner or Punisher If anyone has suggestions/improvements, love to know. Thanks to any in advance. Really enjoyed the video. I’ll be saving it if I expand my Guard army to 2k points!

[@ReaperoftheWar]

its a pretty good start but imho i think there are a few small changes that could be made to improve it. For starters what regiment traits are you taking because that will influence greatly what units you might want. also are the infantry squads just regular infantry squads? It depends on how you wanna play your infantry but if you plan on using your infantry to actually push and take objectives id say cadian infantry squads with special weapons are the way to go(i usually take plasmas or melta guns) as for some changes I think if possible id take the gatekeeper relic battle cannon for your tank commander. it makes short work of any heavy infantry and will definitely be a threat even against some heavier vehicles or monsters. If it was me id drop the sents all together just because in my experience they tend to not really do enough damage to really make them worth it. With the lack of sents id probablly drop the mortar team in exchange for a field battery of bombast field guns. If you have a officer within range he can give the take aim order to the guns giving the unit 2D6 shots Ap-3 2 dam. Which will be a lot more useful against anything space marine, CSM or pretty much anything with AOC which is most of the competitive scene now a days sadly. Plus with that indirect fire damage itll help chase any medium infantry out into your leman russ guns. If you can id stick with either Executioner russ's or vanquisher. Vanquisher can be really good if you find yourself fighting stuff like knights or anything thats low model count, lots of invuln save armies but at 1k points that shouldnt be an issue so id stick with the plasma cannon varients. But i usually play 2k and typically I stick one on my army with the tank ace trait that gives them an extra trait and i give it sharpshooter allowing it to reroll one failed hit. For clearing out any hordes a hellhound or two with inferno cannons will be a nightmare with those auto hitting shots allowing your infantry to clean up whatevers left. Plus with the shoot on death stratagem on the hellhound even if it gets tagged in melee and killed its gonna give them a real bloody nose if not outright kill them. That being said its your list and the golden rule of warhammer is always to have fun so always do that but those are just my suggestions. Wish you luck!

[@dittmar104]

What does your army look like now?

[@4TheLion]

You need more infantry

[@RootsBassCanada]

I got into Warhammer just for painting. I have a Leman Russ I haven't opened yet. But now I'm thinking of starting to play again. So far, this is the best vid regarding Astra Militarum. Thank you!

[@GaijinGoombah]

Good vid! I just wish getting models for the Guard wasn't so difficult to do atm.

[@CadiaStands]

Yeah, kind of in an awkward transition stage right now.

[@greenkostia]

I really want to make a tanith first and only.

[@gadget19k76]

Always happens when a new codex drops, most of the minis get hard to find for a little while as everyone jumps on the new hotness

[@kellmalleus5825]

Last person I'd have expected to see here. Good to see you fighting the good fight for the Emperor!

[@NoctuaStrigiformes]

@@greenkostia Same!

[@welshboi2228]

I’ve recently got into the mini side of 40k, after building my first models (the 3 pack space marine set) and immediately ordered the Cadia stands sets. I cannot wait to build my imperial guard army!

[@BrotherVoidBomber]

Things to consider from newer casual guard player: 1.Dont buy the 8th edition codex as many rules are outdated and will be phased out. 2. Consider if you ever plan on playing tournament play. If not, and you don't like the cadians look or like a older regiment that's out of print, don't be discouraged from using some 3rd party models for infantry and HQs. Usually of you can't find a regiment on GWs site you can usually find it on esty or various online miniature sites. 3.Take it slow. It's not a sprint and take the time to have fun figuring out what models you like and how you want them painted.

[@mrbarit529]

should i research ww1 tactics???

[@BrotherVoidBomber]

@@mrbarit529 If this is a joke then sure the Krieger's would love to meet you xD if not no you don't need to research ww1 tactics. This is a game about demons, mushrooms, blue aliens, and space Rome all fighting each other. There's channels that can help with tactics for the game.

[@mrbarit529]

yep it is a joke@@BrotherVoidBomber

[@griffincrump5077]

Guard is the final army I really want to put together at some point (currently I run Tau, Dark Angels, Chaos & Tyranids), I plan on using proxy models for the infantry to build them with a ww1 look and then build it around artillery and armored transport to combine elements of ww1 tactics and the Czech foreign legion on the trans Siberian railway

[@theconsensualgamer]

I'm attempting to build a fast moving mechanized infantry army, I've never played warhammer, but already have started collecting and building a ton

[@bloonboy212]

Great vid! Just started my krieg army! Loved the content, keep it up!!

[@brimstonearmory5504]

Great video! Just stumbled on your channel, gonna have to dig in. Love your style and diction, keep 'um coming!

[@gamingborger]

i personally never point new players to big boxes and point them to things like command squads and the infantry squad at least to start for plenty of reasons, but never discourage them getting literally whatever set they really want

[@quicke5486]

I started my first little army, and got a Cadian Shocktrooper Squad and a Sentinel - modeled it after a fast-attack force with specialized weapons meant to back up the Infantry of the squad. I didn't want to put over 300 or 400 dollars into an army I'd likely wouldn't even put time to paint or building so this is like 85 dollars combined model. But my overall army has this backing it up; Flamer, Sniper, Plasma Gun, then the Armoured Sentinel backing it up with a Hunter-Killer Missile and a Plasma Cannon which is excellent if anyone deploys heavy support. I finished building and now I've primed and started painting - I don't have every single paint unfortunately so I use what I have.

[@Kgcottawa]

Great video. Thanks 😊

[@Hutch138]

Great video man. Cadia Stands.

[@TheSentryRob]

Just started 40k last year. Went with the Space Wolves at first, but after finishing that army, I have now switched to working on a custom Cadian Regiment based on my old Army unit. About $400 away from a 3k point army lol

[@ryansmith5133]

Got the cadia stands box and I gotta say I like the looks of everything in the 9th Ed codex & cards (though the box kinda is trash for model wise imo lacking a russ) but damn am I excited to try it out!!!

[@DarkDiamondEntertainment]

Its quite Heresy that I just found your channel. Keep up the great work and can't wait for the next "In Lore vs Tabletop" series. 🍻👍

[@williamfawkes8379]

I think I saw a Destroyer Tank Hunter in your vehicle page, and I wish that it was still in the codex. Mine is looking good, and ready to roll, despite being older than dirt.

[@4TheLion]

Mordian Glory told me to to come over, and BOY WAS HE RIGHT!!!

[@dustinhaus1165]

I do really like what 10th did with the guard. I like to look at any army as certain roles that need to be filled, it's all mission oriented. You got your home base guys, might be heavy wep squads, termagants, grots, shoota boys, any ranged tanks, including things like a vanquisher cannon, or rupture cannon. They are here to hold ground to prevent deep striking, hold objectives, offer fire support, and the ability to advance is always nice. You got your mid ground guys, these guys are important for when speed is needed for missions, or if you need to choke the terrain, catachans do this well. Genestealers do this well, any infiltrators, or fast vehicles can do this. Try to keep your opponent on the reactive. You have your deep guys, for your enemy's deployment zone, troop transports, deep strikers. Or anyone else you can get over there, warbikes count, stuff like that. They are also your where needed guys. There are also 3 types of firepower you need to bring, and usually, but not really in the guards case, certain melee capabilities. Anti armor, anti infantry, and harassing fire. The last one being optional. Imo anti armor is str 11 or higher, anything less is anti infantry. Each side being divided further to light and heavy, having a str 18 gun just might be nice. The mortar being for light infantry, the field gun being heavy infantry, harassing fire are your rattling, your mortars, barbgaunts, your biovore, etc. Everyone is there to do something. Everyone is there to support everyone else, as long as your 2 or 3 demolishers are running people over and shooting. It's a good day.

[@TheBluetiger5]

I just like collecting and painting them!

[@bnd8469]

Im currently planning on building an 1k points Army, focusing less on the Vehicles and more on Infantry + Artillery. My Current List consists of 20× Cadian Shock troops, 2× Cadian Command Squads, 2× Armored Sentinel, 1× Scout Sentinel, Heavy Weapons Squad with 2× Mortars and 1× Lascannon, Lord Solar Leontus and 4× Bombast Field Guns.

[@mysteriousstranger5873]

Definitely planning on 3D printing the UNSC to proxy

[@Millenial_Minuteman]

I like to build my army for narrative, but buy in units that can be smaller armies per codex if needed.

[@TheSamuelCish]

Yooo I'm new to 40k and am building a guard army. I had no idea about those sub factions. They look cool as hell.

[@salty_pog]

Thank God new models are coming out, old shock troopers were built like a thumb.

[@chrisjulien7698]

Christ bless you, this is so helpful thank you

[@butthead1093]

"There's no wrong way to build it" me with 9 artillery vehicles

[@nerveaxel8164]

GW really needs to make more regiments into minis, I would love a 10th ed Mordian Iron guard army

[@teambellavsteamalice]

I think the 10th edition bump to vehicle toughness might allow for a bigger diversification in infantry as well. Sisters and space marines could be bumped up to S/T4 and 5 while you add a tier at S/T2 for conscripts and let the S/T3 models portray the guard veterans. Unlike elite armies, "fodder" type armies get the best trait: free reinforcements! Every time you have a total of 10 or more models you can form a new unit in your DZ. This would work best with rules that allow you to switch models to adjacent units. This would change the play style to something so true to the lore, deaths don't matter! For this to work, points and stats have to be balanced. S/T2 and 3 models could have a uniform (no save), flak armor (6+) or ceramite armor (5+). Typically this is partial armour. If wearing a full suit a +2 bonus to ap0 weapons (flamers and frag). S/T4 models have (light) power armor (4+ save, 2+ vs ap0). A S/T5 space marine could allow for a small bump their point cost, as well as a bolter that does justice to the lore (like 5 -1* 1). With say a 4 point bolter the gap with 8 point special weapon would be smaller. (plus extra ap easy to get with doctrine, but only to half range). This will make space marines more special, but harder to sacrifice.

[@grotwurksmekshop6607]

Will you be doing an update with the new releases and the Ark of Omens gt pack? I am considering guard as my 2023 army and am always looking for useful information

[@stevesonbronze7795]

I want to do the 85th Cadian regiment from dawn of war

[@GeneralSturnn]

I still tell people: Buy Cadians if you like their look, otherwise, find a FLGS, and think about other 28mm figure lines(Mantic, Warlord Games, etc...) and go from there for Infantry I for example use Bolt Action Germans with 1/35 scale vehicles to fit my theme, but you don't have to do that, but I still will say, get the models you find aesthetically pleasing to you, and you'll be proud to field your Imperial Guard army.

[@Sgt-lott10]

I’ve just been building what looks interesting even if it’s not completely following the rules ( giving normal guardsmen autoguns and such ) and hope the other player when i do go to play my first match is fine with it

[@CadiaStands]

They'll probably be fine with it--usually people don't play WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) very strictly.

[@blueeyesgreekdragonkoulour3882]

the command sqyad now is an hq as a whole not only the commander

[@JorgeLopez-xn1li]

Great video some of the information is incorrect or out of date tho examples i remember are the cammand squad is baked into to commander now is no longer an elite its a 5 modle HQ, and tank commander cant order itself, over all loved the video keep up the awsome content

[@CadiaStands]

Thanks for the corrections, haven't been able to get my hands on the 9th Ed. Codex quite yet

[@windows95_de]

step 1 lots of tanks, step 2 lots of infantry, step 3 lots of painting

[@buddyboy7276]

If you get the new cadia stands box you don't get an elite as the new commander and command squad are one unit and since you get the new codex with it there is no reason to run it the old way

[@BombatGeneral]

Sign me up!!

[@logancrawford5379]

Started collecting a short time ago. Got a small force now. No clue what the fuck any of their weapons are or who they are or how their ranks work. But they look good.

[@Belenorth]

thanks for the video. how works the ammo of manycore. does it have a limited number of shots?

[@CadiaStands]

If I remember correctly, you can only fire the Storm Eagle Rockets 4 times per game.

[@nvrvnjv6362]

I'm just starting to tip my toes in the WH40K, but after reading Fifteen Hours I knew that my army was going to be the Astra Militarum

[@tdlainc.4737]

One of the issues I have with the direction they are taking the game is the breaking of lore, 10 infantry do not make an Imperial guard troop choice. in 3rd edition a single troop choice was min 25 max 55 (Platoon command squad + 2-5 infantry squads), in 6th edition an Single Troop choice still had a Minimum of 25 troops but it could have as many as 138 infantry (Platoon command squad + 2-5 infantry squads, 0-5 heavy weapon squads, 0-3 special weapon squads and then a conscript blob of 20-50 conscripts) as a single troop choice.

[@parko246]

I'm building basically a full armored army. With a set of the bullgrym units I think they're called. I'm a total noob but love the idea of a tank regiment with some artillery and IDF elements

[@saracenkyan]

Guys The 9th ed Astra Militarum is not officialy Out ! We need a release Date !

[@gordonmiller4439]

I'm new to the hobby. My nephew (age 12) and I (age 59) have played through the training missions of the recruit edition 40K. I got the Cadia Stands box (like the look) for Christmas and the nephew is building his Space Marines army. I plan to play just at home with him but as his experience in the game grows, he may wish to go to our local shop and get involved in local tournaments. We both are painting our models to suit our desires (a bit different than the standard paint schemes) but similar to what we see in codices and on the boxes. One question though, do the models have to be painted exactly as shown in the codices for him to play in future tournaments? All the best, Gordon

[@CadiaStands]

No, the paint jobs on the models are completely up to you! Many people create their own paint schemes to represent unique regiments. The only restriction that I know of is that in some tournaments the models have to be painted to a "battle ready" standard, which basically just means that the models are painted using at least three colors--the actual color scheme you choose doesn't matter in the slightest.

[@gordonmiller4439]

@@CadiaStands Thanks, before we started painting, I watched the Citadel painting videos and we are painting a bit beyond battle ready standard as best I can tell.

[@samsonmurchison3605]

So my astra millitarum is: 1x shadow sword 2x Chadian shock troops 1x infantry squad 1x Cadian heavy weapons squad 1x heavy support squad 2x scout sentinels 1x cadian command squad 1x chimaera 1x leman russ

[@MrNintoku]

I despise bikes simply due to the video games making them sort of like cannon fodder. You can have bikes I'll take a Sentinel.

[@noearmendariz4234]

CADIA STANDS BROTHER!!! YEHAW!!! CADIA WILL RISE AGAIN!!!

[@James80312]

good video, but DONT buy the "current" 8th edition codex. Just wait a couple weeks and get the updated one when it releases on its own

[@blackwolf671]

Never been to the channel before, popped up randomly on my feed. Just wanted to quickly pop in and let you know the Channel name has a spelling error. It should be 'Cadia Stood', In the past tense. ~ sincerely, a word bearers Player.

[@CadiaStands]

Say that to my Earthshaker Cannon

[@blackwolf671]

@@CadiaStands Happily. Just let me know what world you'd like to meet at, because the old one kind of isn't an acceptable battleground. Lack of atmosphere and gravity, all that.

[@TrooperV9556]

i know this is stupid but can you mix death korps of krieg soldiers to cadian soldiers?

[@CadiaStands]

Yes, I believe you can--they just have two different profiles in the new codex.

[@josephcox8156]

can you play different imperial guard regiments in the same army?

[@CadiaStands]

Yes--www.warhammer-community.com/2022/11/08/mix-your-favourite-regiments-in-the-new-codex-astra-militarum/

[@skyraptor62]

How can you tell which edition the asta militarum Codex is? Does not show on Amazon

[@CadiaStands]

The 9th edition ones have a different font--the new one has a normal soldier on the cover too while the old one has a commissar on the front.

[@StevenZagaris]

I started my Guard Army about 2 months ago. Painted up 40 guardsmen a Leman Russ, 2 Sentinels and 2 Chimeras so far lol

[@generalsmite7167]

I think they removed the bane blade from the gw website and forge world last i checked. It is a shame how the guard is being updated and how expensive they make it to build a hoard based army

[@devinjohnson3913]

They’re updating the rules and packaging of all the guard units. The baneblade isn’t going anywhere.

[@generalsmite7167]

@@devinjohnson3913 good to know

[@bryan8238]

What about the start collecting Tempestus Scions? If you had three boxes of TS what sold you get next?

[@manofaction1807]

Scions are an eleit slot. You still need 2/3 troops and a HQ. If you are running your own regiment, you can use the Scions to build up your troops, but they aren't going to have other stats then the SOP Guard ones. I have a platoon of Scions that are painted up like the Necromunda 8th. They look all pretty, but still just get Guard stats.

[@bryan8238]

Okay so I still need other troops. I was thinking two valkyries filled with scions supporting some tanks or something would be sweet/thematic.

[@manofaction1807]

@@bryan8238 Keep yourself flexible. Have an air mobile list, and an Armored shock and awe list. That way you can take all comers.

[@damianopanchetti9187]

Same list as anime guy but with 1 sentinel and more tanks and a hordinance battery

[@jaytrashwade1-1]

Is it possible to build an army of space marines and astra militarum put together in the same army?

[@CadiaStands]

Yes, you can ally in Space Marines in an Astra Militarum force or vice versa but you lose some "Faction Only" armywide bonuses

[@CMTechnica]

You lose out on faction only buffs, which is extremely detrimental

[@Mrcowboyhunter]

RIP steel legion idk some kind of armaggedon time - 2022

[@barbaricboi8905]

Are you not allowed to have like a singular or even dare I say a squad of space marines with them ever or is that just not allowed

[@CadiaStands]

You can ally them in in the current edition but you lose some helpful armywide bonuses

[@revealz95]

I don't understand... What is the point of them releasing a 9th edition codex if 10th edition came out 2 months later? Invalidating it. Why would they sell something they knew would be useless in such a short span of time???

[@weihaigoh9734]

My army list... 2 x Shock troop Infantry 130pts 1 x Cadian Castellan 60 pts 1 x Death Korps of Krieg with medic pack 80 pts 1 x Gaunt Ghost 120 pts 5 x tempestus Scions 55 pts 1 x Sly Marbo 40 pts 485 pts for 500 pts game ;-]

[@CadiaStands]

gotta have Sly Marbo

[@zantcg]

I thought there was a rule that we couldn’t add more of three of the same unit - but I see people running 80 Cadian shock troops ?

[@CadiaStands]

There is an exception to this rule with "troops" and "dedicated transports" unit types.

[@zantcg]

@@CadiaStands oh thanks ! New player so not sure how to check how many I can run in a single detachment

[@CadiaStands]

​@@zantcg It should have a list of the detachment types and how many units of each type you can have in the Core Book

[@Paddythefox]

So we got: Rough Riders back. A new tank. Some variations on the infantry squad. However we lost: Special weapon squads. Conscripts. Veterans. Solo Astropaths, Navy Officers and Masters of Ordinance (who I assume now no longer buff artillery). Commissar Lords. Wyrdvane Psykers. stolen comment, but need to know information I have so many units of all those choices, when i do pick up the new codex, i have so many non existing units:) if it's not in a box they wont put it into the codex, we had veterans back in 3rd ed Guard 1999 until now. should've known they were for the boot when in they lost camo cloaks/melta bombs ect. My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined...

[@petepete4224]

Bring back the chans..

[@PowermadNavigator]

Honestly... it might be the worst time to join the Astra Militarum with GW either having no idea where exactly the lore is right now, where is it trying to go and how is it going to get there. With that looms the risk of them just getting pissed off and just ramming the whole thing into the ground with Trazyn sneezing during some ritual to close the eye of Terror which causes Cawl to receive a 503 which also causes some Eldar dude to explode which causes Commorragh to flip upside down and dump BDSM bitches directly into the Warp which causes the Warp to go Fukushima and the whole galaxy turns into shades of pink and purple. Meanwhile, I am balls deep into this hobby and its masterminds are balls deep into getting me to buy their new, more expensive stuff... and it's all over the place too.

[@simonak9699]

Step 1: Purchase a resin 3D printer.

[@sirbonobo3907]

Best way to start is buying a 3d printer and resin and then make your own. GW is way to expensiv for its value

[@kdhlkjhdlk]

> but for now the only real option is buying shitty cadians Are you kidding? Guard has the MOST third party options out there. You can get three full squads of infantry for $35. You don't need to buy the guys with the goofy looking helmets. > I would first buy the codex A book that will be redudant when 10th comes out, and contains information that can be found for free on the internet? WHY? That's a horrible waste of money.

[@mikestrickler4299]

Grab a 3d printer. Save a TON OF MONEY! You would be able to find SO many variants of each infantry!

[@8bitbonsai]

Pro tip.......dont

[@thebigm7558]

I really hate GW for the new Cadia models... Firstly the design is horrible. I reason i started collection guard was because i loved Dawn of war... Especially the guard. And secondly the old guard mini seam to strangely disappear from the shelfs