Infantry Platoon
Death Korps Infantry by Inquisitor Earl
In the recent White Dwarf, Robin stated that the Infantry Platoon is probably the most complicated unit entry in all of 40k. After reading the codex, I have to agree, but really only with the definition of complicated to mean “lots of moving parts.” For anybody with sound intelligence, the Infantry Platoon makes a lot of sense. As the beginning makes clear, a Platoon consists of a Platoon Command squad, 2-5 Infantry Squads, 0-5 Heavy weapon squads, 0-2 Special Weapon Squads, and 0-1 Conscript Platoon. Each unit acts independently but the entire platoon is one choice for deployment and reserves.
The head of the Platoon is the Platoon Command Squad, or PCS, led by the rather drably named “Platoon Commander,” or PC. I suspect many old IG player will continue to call the Platoon Commander a JO, or even a Lieutenant for quite a while. The PCS has many of the options a CCS does, losing the ability to take Camo or Carapce, or a Regimental Standard, or any of the Regimental Advistors, but gaining the ability to add a commissar. In addition, the PCS can only issue a single order at 6”, from the basic list of FRF!SRF!, Move, Move, Move, and Incoming. In terms of sheer abilities, the CCS is far better at only 20pts more, gaining if nothing else two more wounds from the Company Commander, BS4, and the far sexier orders. Of course, the PCS is part of a troops choice and can be taken in frighteningly large numbers, and the reduced cost and abilities don’t matter if you’re using the PCS properly.
Much like the CCS, which could either support a gunline or operate on its own as a deadly short range unit, the PCS can either support a small fire base or operate on it’s own, or really perform a mixture of both. The orders available to it make the PCS fare more of an “add-on” than a real performance booster to infantry squads:
First Rank Fire! Second Rank Fire! Adds a shot unto the lasguns in a unit, which heavy weapon teams lose their lasgun and sergeants not longer have the option means that if you use this order squads will once again have almost as many lasgun shots as before. Extra lasgun shots are easy to ignore, but if instead of this order every PCS could shoot 6 S3 shots at either 12” assault or 24” heavy… well, we’d be interested in that, right? Even if only available 55% of the time, 6 more shots is 6 more shots. Never rely on this power, but never forget that it’s available.
Move! Move! Move! A squad that runs gets to roll 3d6 and pick the highest. Huh. Even less obviously useful than FRF!SRF!, this order actually adds a almost two inches to the average run move, from 3.5 to around 5”. This means that a squad moving to claim an objective or set up a better firing lane, or just moving on in Dawn of War, can scoot a little farther. IMO this is the first power to check for good uses of, as the game is won by claiming objectives.
Incoming! GW must have a surplus of exclamation points. A bigger, better Go to Ground, it forces a squad to give up all movement and shooting in the next turn, and since orders are given at the beginning of the shooting phase, they lose the current turns shooting as well. If you have squad camped on an objective that can be shot at, and a 3+ save isn’t good enough, Incoming turns it into a 2+ save. This could be handy, but who tries to clear IG from objectives through shooting? This order is sort of like road flares: you’ll probably never need it, but you’ll feel really cool the one time you do.
So, with PCS not being that good at leading troops, and no longer providing a leadership bubble, what do they do, I hear my readers ask. The answer, surprising, is fight pretty well. The basic PCS is only 30pts, or cheaper than a Special weapon squad, and can take up to four specials. With the BS 3 of the PCS, and BS4 readily available on Vets and CCS, flamers become noticeably better, as do grenade launchers due to their affordability. Snipers aren't bad if you really hate ratlings, but at 50pts for 4 snipers you are turning down 5 ratlings that are BS4 and have stealth. Meltas are still not a bad call, as a 70pt quadruple melta squad will still hit twice, and given a chimera they can project the firepower surprisingly well. Plasmas are both expensive and available in too many other places to be more than fun option for the PCS. None of the heavy weapons really add much, as single BS3 Heavy weapons are basically the raison d’etre of infantry squads. Load up on specials where you can and where they are cheap. In addition, any special heavy PCS used to be a liability when units could consolidate into new units. Now, as long as you avoid a multi-charge an enemy squad can hit an infantry squad, wipe it out, and then have to twist while the four flamers behind them do their worst.
In a fun twist, the PCS is actually also not a terrible counter-charge unit. While probably not usable as such in competitive play, the availability of 15pt power fists and Commissars, also with 15pt hidden fists, turns the PCS into a punchy little unit in combat. The x factor is the commissar, which at 35 pts is not cheap for a one wound character. Stubborn, while often poor in many squads, is very hand in small, easily dispatched squads. The scenario goes something like this: a full PCS with four flamers, commissar, and two fists get out of their chimera and move towards a tactical squad. They hose it down with promethium, killing 3-4. The survivors are charged, and the small handful of marines can’t do enough wounds to actually kill either fist, which then proceed to knock 2 more down. They get easily dispatched in the next turn, but they prevent the tactical squad from charging another unit, or worse, popping a tank. That whole squad runs 115pts and while it is a bit of luxury, it’s genuinely deadly with LD9 and stubborn, as well as two S6 powerfists. The platoon standard is a possibility, but at 15pts is not worth giving up a special weapon slot unless combined with every possible HtH upgrade.
When equipping the PCS, the list of options seems to settle into five big questions:
Which special to add four of?
Do I add a commissar?
Do I add powerfists?
Do I mount the squad in a chimera?
Do I buy plasma pistols for the PC and/or Commissar?
Believe it or not, both the commissar and the Platoon commander are BS4, and can snag 10pt plasma pistols, adding surprisingly decent option to the PCS.
At this point, I basically see the following builds of PCS dominating the early builds:
Four flamers, chimera (possibly commissar/fist combo)
Four Grenade Launchers on foot (cheap and fun)(can add toys if desired)
Four meltas, Chimera (possible PP)
It seems like the role of the PCS is limited to short range fire after a squad is wiped out, or possible as a cut rate melta platform, but any army that is taking infantry platoons needs mobile special weapons available, not more heavy weapons.
To add variety, you can replace the standard Platoon Commander with Commander Chenkov for 50pts. Chenchov gains a point of LD, a wound, bolt pistol, Power weapon, and Carapace armor, along with a few special rules. Forward you dogs makes every unit within 12” Stubborn. As discussed above, I’m less bullish about casually stubborn units than many people, and I’m often worried that he’s going to prevent a key break rather than keep a key unit in position. I might be stressing needlessly, but IG, more than really any other army, don’t want to pass every leadership test. He is, however, able to use two orders a turn at 12” range, but is limited to Move! Move! Move! and Get Back in the Fight! I’m not sure how often squads are breaking with his stubborn bubble, but I suppose it is a nice ability. Finally, in an army with Chenkov, Conscript Platoons can buy the ability Send In the Next Wave, which allows the unit to be removed from the table as casualties at the beginning of any turn. In addition, any squad with this rule that is removed from play returns at the beginning of the controlling players next turn. This is really nice ability, it’s just a shame that it costs 75pts per squad to apply.
An army with Chenkov is going to be built around having a rock hard backbone that isn't going to simply melt away in close combat. Now, that may or may not always be a good thing, but Chenkov coupled with a CCS with Standard will enable the IG to tar-pit pretty effectively. Add in the neat ability of a conscript platoon to charge in, test on their own LD (which still isn't very good), and then disappear in the next IG turn to allow for shooting, and Chenkov has some interesting merits, but requires a substantial amount of work to build an army around.
If you prefer your platoon based special characters to be both more stylish and more dynamic, then Captain Al’Rahem can add that touch of the exotic to even the most humdrum IG gunline for 70pts. Like Chenkov, he’s an upgrade to a basic PCS and comes with +1 W, +1 Ld, a plasma pistol, and the Claw of the Desert Tigers; a power weapon that inflicts instant death. Al’Rhahem also has two orders at 12”, and is able to use FRF!SRF! and Bring It Down, along with a unique order, that allows a unit to shoot and then run in the same shooting phase. In addition, his entire platoon must outflank.
With the Claw and the PP worth about 20pts of the upgrade on their own, and the bonus orders (particularly since Bring it Down is arguably the best order) solidly worth another 15 (based on the 20pt difference between the PCS and the CCS), the real question is if having an entire platoon outflank is worth 35pts. With an Astropath to guide him, Al’Rahem can bring troops into the flank of the enemy reliably. The squads may mount up in Chimeras, dramatically extending the threat radius. Outflanking does prevent those early game parking lots that can dramatically cut into the IG’s effectiveness, allowing a platoon to come out, hopefully (with a 59% chance), on turn 2 where needed.
Some fun Al’Rahem tricks to consider:
Al’Rahem, his PCS, four flamers, a commissar with fist and a chimera runs 225pts, and can really mess up light units that tend to hang back and shoot. With a free smoke launcher, successful turn three burninations on rangers, scouts, Devestators, lootas, etc. are all far easier. For spice, drop the flamers for meltas, and with Bring it Down add some anti-vehicle spice. Dropping the Commissar saves 50pts, making the all flamer version a much leaner 175pts.
A basic squad with flamer in a chimera is 110pts, and with Al’Rahem can outflank to control/contest objectives (even the IG’s own) or harass light troops. For more fun, give the Chimeras a heavy flamer in the hull.
Two of the above, plus the stripped down melta squad runs 415pts, for a decent threat to enemy armor and lighter infantry.
Alas, any squat on foot will probably be easily dealt with, as it’s just not hard for your opponent to deploy his forces so they can’t get flamed from the flanks, and Special Weapon Squads can’t take chimeras. Heavy weapon squads don’t belong in reserves if it can be helped, and conscripts are kind of lousy.
All in all, I think Al’Rahem is fun, but costs too much in terms of points and turns of firing to be truly top grade.
The backbone of the list, or at least the backbone of previous IG lists, is the humble Infantry Squad. 10 Guardsmen, a Sergeant, a special weapon, a Heavy Weapon, and maybe a commissar or Chimera make up the least assuming squad in 40K. The Sergeant is now a mandatory veteran, and the squad now has frag grenades, but the squad is essentially unchanged from previous incarnations. The world, however, has moved around it, changing its role pretty dramatically from the centerpiece of the list to almost a supporting role for more dynamic elements. While all infantry builds are still possible, they give up what are clearly the best three things in the codex: vets in valks, vendettas, and heavy support
The critical change in terms of Fifth edition for infantry squads is the ability to combine up into large, “blob squads.” This is crucial ability to avoid getting hosed in KP missions, but aside from those, two smaller squads are almost superior. The other key time to consider blobbing up is in Dawn of war missions, where each side may only deploy two units. There isn’t too much to discuss here, as the tactics will be felt out, and nothing needs to be bought. Larger squads do become slightly more viable in HtH, and can still churn out some decent shooting.
The basic squad runs 50pts, and can take any of the five specials for the basic price. In nice revisit to the GW rule of threes, really only three of the options are viable. Snipers are too unreliable and wonky to fit well into line squads, and the melta gun really needs both numbers and movement to work as an option, and there are far better places to load up on melta guns. That leaves the flamer, the grenade launcher, and the plasma gun to compete for slots. Before analyzing what specials to take, let’s figure out what heavies to take. In the heavy weapons, the mortar is the cheapest and the likely choice for bare bones squads. The heavy bolter is as good as always, but at the same cost as the autocannon simply cannot compete, as the autocannon is good against light and medium infantry, decent against meqs, and good against light and medium vehicles, as well as high T creatures. The Missile Launcher is now pricier than the Autocannon despite being barely able to compete at the same cost, and is only five points cheaper than the lascannon. While Lascannons aren’t knocking out Land raiders anymore, they are still among the best weapons for Armor as low as AV12, Monstrous creatures, and anything with a 2+ save. In other words, just because it’s not good at its job doesn’t mean it’s not the best at its job. This leaves three main choices: mortar, Autocannon, Lascannon. Luckily, the three pair up neatly with the three special choices, forming mortar/flamer, AC/GL, and Las/plas squads quite neatly. Mortar Flamer is a dedicated anti-infantry squad that emphasis affordability. The Autocannon/Grenade Launcher combo is best for dealing with enemy vehicles and does decent double duty at anti-infnatry. The las/plas combo is best at dealing with 2+ saves and armored vehicles.
One of the most interesting debates has to be the very role of infantry squads themselves. If an army is only taking a few, I would recommend focusing on the most efficient variant: Autocannon & Grenade Launcher. This adds great punch against light vehicles while adding lasguns and bodies to the list. Anti-tank weapons aren't hard to come by in the list, but 65pts AC/GL squads are a dirt cheap way to get some durable mid strength shots. If you are taking a few more squads, than the lascannon is the best way to go. Able to deal with any threat, a squad of 10 guardsmen in cover will enable a lascannon to fire for quite some time. Only in the largest infantry armies is there any reason to take Mortars in infantry squads (and I’ll argue later that Penal Legionaires perform the light screening and flanking duties of the Mortar/flamer quite well). If points are available, upgunning the GLs to Plasma Guns adds more punch, both against vehicles and against armored infantry. While the IG’s need of squad based AP2 depends on what other units are in the list, even at 15pts a plasma gun is simply good at what it does. At all costs, avoid not including a heavy or special in a squad. Even bizarre combinations like Lascannon/flamer are better than simply taking the lascannon alone.
This seems as good a time as any to discuss voxes, which now allow a squad to re-roll the leadership test for an order if both the officer and the squad have a vox. Given the relatively limited applications for orders on infantry squads, it seems unlikely that a 5pt upgrade (plus five points on the command squad) is worth it to gain a better chance at an Order. With 65pts AC/GL squads and 85pt las/plas squads, a 10pt bump (for the two voxes) is an 11-15% increase in cost, solely to gain a 27% increased chance to get off an order, none of which are critical to the function of line squads. In short, I do not recommend voxes.
Basic Infantry squads can take commissars, in the same way as a PCS, however the commissar may not take a powerfist, although squad sergeants can now take power weapons (albeit at 10pts a piece). One interesting idea floating around is to take a single commissar with PW, and several squads blobbed up, all with power weapons and flamers. With, say, three such squads you get 30 men, 12 S3 Power weapon attacks, 3 Flamers, and LD9 and Stubborn for 220pts. This unit, it should be painfully obvious, is vastly inferior to Ork boys in nearly every way, and while it could surprise the unaware (particularly if combined with Creed or Straken’s ability to confer Furious Charge) the goal of IG counter charge is to protect the infantry squads, not be infantry squads. In case anybody is wondering what the purpose of infantry squads is, it’s to protect the tanks from HtH assault. So, let the infantry squad get charged instead of the tank, and then send in a PCS to deal with the enemy unit. Let the infantry squads do the shooting and the dying, not the assaulting. The ability to take Krak grenades is finally properly priced at about 10pts, but the 5pt melta bomb for the sergeant simply seems like the better option.
The final ability of the infantry squad is the ability to take a Chimera. While nearly mandatory for the CCS and Psyker Battle Squad, and highly recommend for a PCS, the Chimera is pretty mediocre for the infantry squad. It is often worth buying, however, to give the ride to a Special Weapon Squad or even Heavy weapon squad. The reason they’re not that essential to Infantry squads is because the squads aren’t really good at shooting on the move, and have the bodies to survive all but dedicated anti-infantry shooting.
Death Korps of Krieg Heavy Weapon Team by chief__brody
Joining the Infantry Squads in Infantry Platoons for the first time since 2nd edition, Heavy Weapon Squads are now troops. All heavy weapons teams are now two wound large bases, meaning they can be instant killed by S6 and above weapons, and also lose the bonus lasguns. In addition, wound allocation means that every two wounds will kill a heavy weapon team, instead of the old “kill three loaders before I lose a lascannon” tricks. This downgrade outweighs the shift to troops and the price break across the board on heavy weapons. Three lascannons run 105pts, 3 autocannons 75pts, and three mortars are only 60pts, making these squads cheap ways to get lots of weapons, but their fragility, coupled with their low LD making orders more difficult (guess what unit can’t take a vox, or a chimera?). With heavy weapons in general simply not being as good, it’s hard to see heavy weapon teams thriving in anything but specializing builds, featuring a dozen plus such squads with devastating alpha strike firepower. Even the price of krak grenades is screwed up, with the upgrade costing 5pts despite there only being three models in a squad.
Speaking of Krak Grenades, Special Weapon Squads can’t take those at all. Or voxes. Or Chimeras. Because those upgrades would actually be useful to a special weapon squad. Amazingly, Special Weapon Squads also lose the frag grenades all other guardsmen have.
Anyways, if you really like special weapons, and have run out of veteran squads, CCS and PCSs, then consider buying special weapon squads. They cost more than a PCS for less value, but they can take a demo charge for the new improved price of 20pts. SWS troopers must take three special weapons, so the cheapest possible SWS is the same cost of Guardsman Marbo, and get a less accurate demo charge, no way to get into position, and two more flamers for their effort. This squad reeks of afterthought. Anyway, all smarminess aside, taking one with two flamers and a demo charge isn’t terrible option, but as stated above, veterans and the PCS really are superior in nearly every way.
If you’ve thought my opinion of the options declines as this epic unit entry carries on, rest assured it’s reaching its nadir with Conscripts. Conscripts lose close order drill, the ability to take flamers, and every other Guardsman in the game dropped in price… so conscripts stayed the exact same price. Seriously, I’m supposed to buy 20 dudes with lasguns and LD5 (and no really good way to boost it) instead of 10 stubborn, LD 8 Penal legionnaires? Oh, I can spend 75 pts to get more of the useless things in case they die. At that point, 20 recycling guardsmen cost as much as 10 veterans with meltaguns in a chimera. I don’t understand GW sometimes. This unit is garbage and shouldn’t be taken.
Infantry Platoon Competitive
PCS Highly Competitive
Chenkov Semi-Competitive
Al’Rahem Semi-Competitive
Infantry Squads Highly competitive (the AC/GL variant, the rest are Competitive)
Heavy Weapon Squads Competitive (if done right… more is more with these guys)
Special Weapon Squads Semi-Competitive
Conscripts: Casual
Veteran Squad
After the odyssey that was the Infantry squad, the next unit in the codex is an old favorite, the Veteran Squad. Veterans are basic guardsmen with BS4, and some very interesting weapons options available to them. One quirk shared by the Storm Trooper and the Veteran is that unlike previous versions, the basic trooper is still LD7, with the Sergeant being LD8. I suppose it makes losing the Sarge more poignant, but I liked the old all 8 leadership stat. In a more serious lose, Veterans can no longer infiltrate, and like the rest of the list have lost the ability Deep Strike. Curiously, they squad also lost the ability to have lp/ccw.
The star of the show for Veterans is the ability to take three special weapons, making them the anti-tank squad of choice along with the CCS, all mounted in either Chimeras or Valkyries. The sniper rifle is a complete waste on the veterans, and flamers and Grenade Launchers can be gotten for cheaper elsewhere (a PCS or SWS, perhaps), leaving the Plasma gun as the other top notch option for the Vets. The downside to the Plasma gun is their ready availability in platoons, Leman Russ Executioner, and even sentinels (well, the last two are plasma cannons, but they share a common target pool). One veteran can take a Heavy Flamer instead of another special, but like in command squads, the cost in both points and opportunity is too great for anything other than a fun choice. Veterans can take a heavy weapon, and the decision of whether or not to take advantage of that will no doubt be the source of much future debate. My current rule of thumb is: never for Airmobile squads, always for foot squads, and sometimes for mechanized squads. If you’re packing melta guns in a chimera, you might expect to move full speed, but you also might stay put to shoot with the chimera. In those times, packing an autocannon for 10pts is simply a good buy. Further, vets with three plasmas and a lascannon run only 135pts, and can tuck into cover or a Chimera to provide great cover fire.
The squad as a whole can take shotguns instead of lasguns, and again, if air mobile take shotguns, but other wise take lasguns. Vets will be charging rarely enough to make a difference, but if you can model them, the melta squads will eventually benefit from being assault 2 instead of rapid fire.
Veterans are also the one time I’d really recommend a vox, as a CCS can use Bring it down or Fire on My Target very well with Veterans. 5pts is still five points, but it’s not a bad buy for these guys.
The Veteran Sargent has a nice array of weapon options, the same as Company Commander, including a 15pt fist or a 10pt plasma pistol. While you really don’t want these guys in combat, it’s feasible that the 15pt fist could save the squad. I’d probably stick with the plasma pistol if anything.
Veterans can take one of three doctrines: Carapace armor, camo cloaks and defensive grenades, or melta bombs and a demo charge, all for 30pts. Carapace armor is overpriced as always, but provides a good way to use Kasrkin models without having to swallow the awful Storm Trooper rules. The camo cloaks are also quite pricy, and defensive grenades are nice but not enough to save veterans from anything but the weakest charging unit. Demolitions add a nice mix to the squad, and while 30pts is a lot of points for a demo charge in an airmobile squad that charge can often reap huge benefits. Melta bombs are also generally good. All in all, Demolitions is the best of the three, but all are at least 10pts over priced for what they do.
The good old Ox model makes a comeback in the form of Gunnery Sergeant Harker, a 55pt upgrade for a Veteran Sergeant that comes with a relenetless heavy bolter and feels no pain. Harker also grants the squad stealth, move through cover, and infiltrate. Interestingly, this can still be combined with any doctrine except carapace armor, which means a single Veterans squad could have three melta guns, a demo charge, a lascannon, and a heavy bolter. Of course, that squad would cost 205pts, but that’s a lotta dakka. In a more serious vein, Harker combined with three flamers is probably the best way to go, running at 140pts and able to outflank or otherwise sneak about. While not really top notch, it’s a fun option that allows what al’Rahem does not: a good outflanking unit.
Answering the demand nobody expressed, the final option for Veterans is a Kasrkin Special Character, Sergeant Bastonne. Bastonne is equipped exactly like a Kasrkin sgt: carapace armor, hot-shot laspistol, and power sword. In addition, he has Leadership 10, and the ability for his squad to always regroup, regardless of restrictions. What makes him interesting is the ability to issue his own squad a single order, picking from any of the CCS orders except “Get Back in the Fight.” With LD 10, he’s essentially a 60pt upgrade that either twin links his squad’s weapons, or forces all cover saves to be re-rolled. It’s hard to really dislike this guy, even if he makes a 100pt triple melta squad 160pts with only a 33% increase in fire power if twinlinked. He does make a squad pretty reliable, although at pretty high cost.
Veteran Squads: Highly Competitive
Gunnery Sergeant Harker Competitive
Sergeant Bastonne: Competitive
Penal Legion Squad
The final troops choice is the Penal legion. After being presented as a unique veteran squad, a full army, and a highly customizable force, Shafer’s Last Chancers finally settle as an abstracted out generic troops choice. At their Core, Penal Legionnaires are basic Guardsmen with Lasguns, LD8, Stubborn, Scouts, and a roll on an upgrade table. The three options are either making lasguns 24” Assault 2, gaining furious charge; Fleet; amd Counter Charge, or adding a laspistol & CCW that rend in close combat. At first glance, these guys look like the possessed of the IG book, but there are two key differences: one is that you roll for their rule before deployment, and the second is that all three options lead to a productive use for the legionaires.
The first roll, that of assault 2 lasguns, is most boring but in many ways the punchiest. 18 24” range shots per turn, even at BS3 and S3 will lay three wounds on T4 a turn, which is the same as a heavy bolter heavy weapon squad, and can move while doing so. In this role, the legionaires are best used as a simple screen, scouting forward to begin shooting right away, and falling back to avoid getting charged. As stubborn troops, they will be expected to charge the enemy, and hold with the last few members of the squad to prevent the enemy from getting the charge on my valuable squads.
The second roll is that of Psychopaths makes the squad slightly faster and slightly better in combat. This unit should either be outflanked to deal with enemy light fire support, or kept on a flank or as a mobile reserve to tie up the enemy when they’re breakthrough is approaching. Again, unless the unit charged can kill 10 guardsmen, they’re testing to hold on LD8, which passes 73% of the time. The fleet rule is the big winner here, as it stretches the charge range nicely.
The final roll make the unit knife fighters, gaining a second attack and rending, turning mild mannered guardsmen into extremely low rent genestealers. With the ability to actually do a few wounds on the charge, as well as retaining the ability to be stubborn, psychopaths are the clear winners. They can countercharge, they can outflank, they can hold up the enemy, they can screen your better troops, all for a mere 80pts a squad.
Simply because the best builds of IG are going to be mostly mechanized, the top notch usefulness of the Penal Legion will suffer, although it will be a strong unit in many lists.
Penal Legion Competitive
Chimera
Chimera by Truffle
The only dedicated transport available to the IG is the Chimera. While essentially the same old tank, it got a 30pt price break, and the top hatch now allows five models inside to fire. Add in a special rule that allows an officer inside to use orders measuring from the Chimera’s hull, and the new rules make the once over-costed and under armored Chimera fun again.
First, nobody is going to confuse the chimera with a Wave Serpent, a devilfish, or even a Razorback. Only AV12 up front and AV10 along the long, long side flanks make Chimeras less durable than I’d like, and their sole back hatch and restrictive weapons make the Chimera a weird combination of not very good transport and not horribly good light tank. It is cheap, readily available, and if surrounded by enough friendly armor, annoyingly durable.
The Chimera now simply comes standard with Multi-laser and Hull Heavy bolter, both can be switched for a Heavy Flamer and the Multi-laser can be switched for a heavy bolter. The auto cannon turret is suspiciously absent, most likely because even 65pt chimers with auto cannons would dominate the mechanize battlefields of 5th edition. Anyway, I’d never recommend taking out the multi-laser, but subbing the heavy flamer in the hull is a good choice for a chimera that is mostly going to be moving anyway.
Chimeras serve three major purposes in the IG list: pillboxes for shooting squads, slingshots for melta or flamer heavy squads, and taxis for objective grabbers. The last two will often be combined, of course, but while the Chimera isn't really built for either role, it’s cheap enough to fake it. As an added bonus, the Chimera gets smoke launchers for free.
Chimera: Highly Competitive
Further Reading
IG Codex Review
IG Codex Review HQ
IG Codex Review Elites
IG Codex Review Fast Attack
IG Codex Review Heavy Support
