Penal Legion

Hello again DFG readers, Lord Solar here with our first lesson in the Imperial Guard. First lets talk about the codex as a whole and then let me get into a breakdown of something specific.

The different views on how IG should be played is quite vast, with their varying troop choices and the variations in the troops themselves, to the multiple vehicle's available to it, both in the heavy and fast choices specifically, and lastly their specialty units placed inside the elite slots as well as one in the fast... This -doesn't- however mean that all the variations work. The IG codex is, according to most, a pure gun line codex with little or no thought of assault. Accordingly most pick either mass infantry gun spam, with some artillery support or mass tank spam with very little infantry support. (Or at least that's the philosophy I have seen played around with). Sometimes you might run across that fellow who will claim without any doubt that IG can assault and beware such and most people ignore such ideas, however I am here to tell you that to beware a 62 man squad assaulting you with 5 eviscerators, 10 power weapons and 2 power fists in there is quite a scary thing in my opinion.

Needless to say, its hard to decide what you want to do with IG because there is just -SO- much to do with them. So if you want to get to know what might work for you lets review the units of IG one at a time, from its most basic to its most complex.

So where do we start? How about:

Penal Legion Squad

At first glance when you look at the name of the choice I always think. “Wow these guys are going to be so cool!” Even after having read over their rules a million times. Then I decide to read such rules and the point cost and then comes the rambling anger that follows. However I think a fair and balanced idea of what these poor souls can do is in order. So lets talk:

The squad itself consists of 9 penal legion members and 1 custodian. They all have a decent leadership at 8 meaning that even if the so called Custodian dies you are left with a good chance of making any checks you need to against it. The squad size is of normal size for most armies and would seem at first glance to work well enough. However given their weapon skill and ballistic skill of 3 giving them the combined squad order that normal Infantry Platoons would seem like something they should have, and however do not, why it bothers me, will become more apparent.

Secondly we look at their gear. Like all guardsmen they are equipped with Lasguns, Flak Armor and a CCW, while the Custodian has laspistol, CCW and flak armor... thats it... no upgrades... not even the ability to take a chimera. Rough stuff here, mainly due to how much armor we see on the battlefield these days a few throwaway plasmas or meltas would be quite helpful or even perhaps the ability to toss them some krak grenades./melta-bombs, however no such luck once again,

Last but not least is where everyone looks to see how they make up those glaring flaws, and it starts out well enough. Scouts gives them the impressive ability to outflank, a sometimes vital necessity in games or the ability to move before the game starts, also quite useful when you don't have any transport. Second they get the Stubborn special rule, one of, if not -the best- special rule in the entire game, making their 8 leadership all that more impressive because it is not just the custodian that has it. Last but not least is their special special rule.... “Desperadoes”

Desperadoes can give the Penal Legion squad a whole grouping of USRs like making their guns assault 2, or giving them counter attack, fleet and furious charge, or lastly giving them a second CCW and rending. However the huge negative is you don't get to pick which one you want. It is randomly chosen on a die roll before deployment. As fun as this might seem, and is, in fun play, it makes the squads impossible in real competitive play. I mean, ask Captain Obvious how much he “loves” it when his witches roll “always strike first” when he -really- needed and wanted that 12 inch assault.

Over all it almost seems like this troop choice was just an afterthought for the codex, like someone in the office complained about how they removed Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers and decided to just toss these in. At to high a points cost with inefficient rules and no special weapons or transport they are just a burden to you rather than a helpful troop, I mean, they aren't even the cheapest troop choice! Perhaps you might ask how to make them better? How to make them playable? It is simple really. Even at their current point cost simply giving them the ability to combine squad before you roll off for their special rule would be a huge upgrade, along with rolling twice on the chart and taking two of the choices, rerolling if you rolled the same as the first time. Or shoot, give me the ability to choose their special rule and give me some special weapons to grab for them. Or a vehicle. Something....

I end up raging on about these guys up at the shop and I am sure Old School, Farseer, and Captain will be tired of hearing about my frustration but its out now and I am done with it. So unless you are playing a game for simple shits and giggles, ignore this troop choice, there are cheaper, more effective squads out there.

Until next time, burn some heretics, kill some mutants, and do it as always...

FOR THE EMPEROR!