Hi there people, I'm new to your boards and I'm just getting started on building an IG force for Epic Armageddon. I'm yet to actually play a game, and I'm still waiting on my order of models from GW.

My question is - do infantry have any value in the game of EA? I have seen sig comments suggesting that all they are there for is to provide traction for the Titans to walk on, so I wanted to get some opinion from experienced players. For example in regular 40k, Troops choices are generally regarded as the "core" of the army - what do y'all regard as the "core" choice for an IG army in EA?

Ultimately I plan to use some infantry, but I'm hoping to get a better idea of good force composition before I spend too much money on models that aren't much use. My army is still very much in the planning stage, but I am tending towards the idea of a few tank companies and some Baneblades as a core of the force, then some fancy toys (Vulture - I'm looking at you) to provide some flexibility.

So, any advice will be much appreciated!

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I'm an EA player living in Adelaide, South Australia. PM if you want a game!

That comment about the Titan traction is just a joke (some might feel it is accurate however). Infantry heavy IG armies can be daunting to go up against. They're cheap points wise, can garrison most of the time and can unload a lot of fire when sustaining.

If you keep them in cover and in mutually supporting positions I find they do quite well. The cover makes them much more durable. Support and Infantry Platoons as well as Snipers make good upgrades for them and still allow them to be used as garrisons.

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Dave

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I've found that playing against IG infantry is very annoying.  They garrison, they have nice transports for mobility, they usually outnumber anything I want to assault them with (mech infantry company is 20 models), you can add on those damn support squads with the 2x autocannons, then give them one of those commisars.  You know what, I pretty much hate playing against the gaurd.

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"I think that's how that works, wait get the rule book..."

Welcome to the boards. Infantry certainly has its uses. Great for garrisoning on overwatch, holding objectives, making use of cover. When mechanised, an IG infantry company can also race about aggressively, rolling over things (some things) in assault.

The way the Steel Legion list is structured, getting an infantry company is also a cheap (in points) way to get access to two more support slots for the more exciting stuff. And cheaper formations generally are useful as they boost your activation count, which can give you a tactical advantage.

Overall, get some I'd say.

what do y'all regard as the "core" choice for an IG army in EA?

I don't think i've ever seen a truly effective guard army lacking infantry! You'll need them!

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There's a thread that suggests a range of basic E:A lists for 3k point tournament play: IIRC half of the points for the the IG list were 2 companies infantry, 1 command company, 1 Leman Russ company for 1600 points, then a range of other units.

Nealhunt (or dave) mentioned that victory in E:A generally is decided by control of territory -- objectives, etc.  This is a good omen for the Queen of Battle.  Indeed, there has been some discussion of Ork tactics that suggest the value of using an infantry cordon to minimize the enemy's mobility... in which case, each infantry stand's ZOC may be its most valuable weapon.

And, finally, I might suggest that you consider using Dark Realm Miniatures or Exodus Wars miniatures for infantry:

www.darkrealmminiatures.com
www.exoduswars.com
DRM's cost is 4 pounds for 40 white metal Ar-*adian infantry, who have shoulder pads and helmets that are a passable likeness to some WH4k infantry I've seen.  My impression is that this is a pretty good price point... Of course GW would likely enforce a 'no non-GW proxies' rule in the E:A tournaments... if it ran any of them.

Welcome fellow commander!

Infantry companies and commander can beat just about anything in a fight.
Load up with hellhounds and ogryns and support and tell the other companies to join up in the fun.

I'm not sure about not fielding artillery companies. They tend to keep what they shoot at... down.
But sure, tank-hunting basilisk batteries can be fun too. Or ditto hydra batteries!

As for DRM (which is what I know best) there's several uses.
Their "light infantry" make excellent basic "Cadian" troops. The "standard infantry" work swell as Stormtroopers and the "industrial infantry" are very nice as Tallarns. It goes without telling that "jungle troops" are as if made for "Catachan".
By combining "snipers" and "scouts" you get splendid... snipers.

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It would be nice to get lightspeed,
so far we can only reach slight speed.- Erik M
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Infantry is only useless if you don't know how to use them ...  You can organize your IG as Grunts Supporting Tanks or Tanks Supporting Grunts ... both supported by Artillery, Gunships and Stike Aircraft ... it's called Combined Arms ...  Now the Boyz here are telling ya how to do it ...    And I agree ... check out DRM & Exodus Wars for your Grunts too ...    I use all 3 ... G/W, DRM & E/W + a little GZG ...  

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Imperial guards in cover can be very annoying...  

The key to get infantry (and certain other troops) working properly, and indeed the key to understanding E:A, is grasping the concept of Engage actions and their proper application:

This is not to say that such troops only work in engagements, however, most types of infantry can do the most damage while engaging (Eldar Aspects, assault troops of any kind, SM) or at least while defending in engagements (Eldar Guardians, IG Inf).

E:A is not SM2, where you basically lined up your troops and shot your way through the enemy: E:A is about maneuvering troops into crossfire and support positions, denying ground, prepping assaults and achieving breakthroughs via winning engagements.

At its most basic level, the standard maneuver is to move one formation, say a SM Tactical, within 15cm (support fire range) of a target formation, shoot to place a few Blast Markers, and then retain initiative and engage with another formation, relying on the support fire and the BM difference (if your engaging formation has no BM, you are at +2 in the assault resolution even before any casualties) to win the assault.

Done properly, you´ll win the assault, automatically break the target and decimate it via losses caused by the engaging formation, by the support fire and by combat resolution.

All going well, you´ll have caused as much (or more)damage in two activations than you could ever have hoped to do via shooting, especially when shooting at units in cover. Plus, you have now shifted the enemy from the position, as his formation in now broken and has to retreat (or be hacked down if they remain within 15cm of your troops after making their withdrawal moves), while you can use your consolidation move to now occupy the ground won.

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Wow, thanks for all the responses people!
Reading through all that you've given me, I am starting to get a better idea of how the game works - I'm glad to know that infantry can play an important role though, that the game isn't just about titans
Some of those DRM figs look really good too, cheers for the linkage.

Man I'm all fired up now wanting to play, just have to wait for my minis to arrive. Still, at least I can use the time to play with army lists...

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I'm an EA player living in Adelaide, South Australia. PM if you want a game!

Really?  Infantry were heaps good in SM2....enough of them could even overwhelm a Titan!

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Fire bad, tree pretty - Buffy

Even enough snotlings could overwhelm a titan.

I still recall the reaction at the game shop when one of my friends started firing Shokk Attakk Gunz at a Warlord titan.  Everyone laughed, but the titan base is so large that the Shokks virtually always hit even after scatter.  The first several hits were hopelessly outclassed by the titan's CC but by the time you hit the 4th or 5th time, the extra dice for multiple opponents became a real threat.  The snickers turned into acknowledgement, then to horror as a few hundred points of Shokk Attacks crushed a 900 point(?) Warlord in one volley.

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Neal