Tactics: Company Command Squad (Part 3)

 

CRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDD!!!!

So lets jump right into the last installment of the Company Command Squads! This time, we’ll be covering the touchiest subject with Guard players: Special Characters. A lot of players don’t like to play them for one reason or another, but in the long run, they look to be worth their points! There are 4 covered in this section: Usurkar Creed, Sergeant Kell, Colonel Straken, and Nork Deddog. Lets start with the replacements for the Company Commander.

Usarkar Creed

PROS

• Two words: TACTICAL GENIUS (See picture at top of post)
• Twin-Linked Hotshot Pistol is always a nice thing to have!
• The guy can issue 4 orders up to 24” away, on top of his own order, For The Honour of Cadia!, which is just mean.

CONS

• He’s still a Guardsman with a Refractor Field, so keep your Medics and Chimeras nearby!
• He’s also very expensive, despite what he does.

Colonel “Iron Hand” Straken

PROS

• He’s half machine…need I say more?
• The fact he’s half machine makes him s6, ignores armour, and rolls extra on Armour Penetration.
• Cold Steel and Courage can make an entire army of Close Combat beasts!
• He’s one of two dudes with a 3+ save in the Guard army!

CONS

• Gung-Ho makes his squad Fearless, which is scary in the Guard.
• He’s still I3, so expect Marines to mess his squad up first.
• Once again, 95 points is still scary to spend on a single Guardsman.

Both characters are a great asset to your Guard army. Creed’s ability to issue 4 orders up to 24”, as well as Infiltrating any unit in the codex makes him a beast (3 Hellhounds in your opponents backfield is SCARY) Straken’s ability to make an entire army of close-combat machines is terrifying as well, as it adds a twist to the Guard few have seen before. I personally like Creed for his ability to issue so many orders so far.

Next, we’re covering Creed’s bestest buddy:

Jerran Kell

PROS

• He’s a Standard, a Power Fist, AND a Power Weapon….what more could you want?!?
• I4 means his Power Weapon WILL hit and kill something.
• Listen Up Maggots! allows units to use an officer’s Leadership of 9 when obeying orders.

CONS

• He works as an 85 point Bodyguard if you have Creed…which is a little scary….
• The fact he’s armed with a Power Fist AND a Power Weapon means you probably won’t be using one or the other very often.
• No invulnerable save goes back to the “Assault Cannon to the face” dilemma again…\

Now I’ve never actually heard of anyone running Jerran Kell. In the last edition, he came with Creed, but you’d think a Regimental Standard, a Power Weapon, and a Power Fist on ONE model would be a good purchase, especially because he’s a close-combat based model! I’m going to have to play with him a bit and see how he works…

Finally, we have the funniest, most underappreciated model in the codex:

Nork Deddog

PROS

•  A S5, 4 attack model with Feel No Pain and Furious Charge is TERRIFYING in close combat.
• L8 helps a lot too incase the Commander is killed off.
• Heroic Sacrifice means he’ll mess something up as he dies in Close Combat.

CONS

• He doesn’t have a Power Weapon.
• He’s 110 points, which for a Command Squad, is INSANE.
• Loyal to the End will probably get Nork killed, as well as his Company Commander and a Commissar if set up wrong.

Nork Deddog. Now here’s an awesome model in the game. Almost an Ork in the Imperial Guard, Nork is classic for his fluff, especially his story about saving Colonel Greiss after his Chimera is wrecked and Command Squad is killed. However, the rules for him are a bust. A 110 point Bodyguard that probably won’t do any damage to his enemies, and that many points is spent much better in the Codex. Don’t waste your time….or hell, spend 20 more points and get 3 Ogryn, they’ll do SO much more for you.

This ends my outlook on the Company Command Squads, I hope this has helped everyone take a good look at the best and most versatile HQ choice in the Imperial Guard Codex. I’ll also leave you all with this picture of a project I’ve been working on in the time I have able:

Granesh