Need Help With Conscripts

[HurrImADurr]

I took conscripts back in 4th Edition. I'd take the Independent Commissar doctrine and load them up with Flamers, and they tended to make their points back.

When the 5th Edition Codex came by and eliminated their weapons and ability to take Commissars, I reluctantly shelved my Conscripts in favor of combined squads.

Lately, I've been thinking of adding some Conscripts to my Mix Footslog/Armored army. I've had this itch to paint up some Penal Legionairre-esque Conscripts in bright orange suits with black armor- file off the Imperial insignia, paint numbers on their helmets, etc.

I need help with a few questions:

1. Should I attach a Lord Commissar/Primaris Psyker to a squad? If not, how do I help them with that low Ld.?

2. Is Chenkov and his unique ability worth it?

3. As a corollary to #2, how should I use Chenkov and his ability?

I'm not planning on running more than 2 squads of 30-50 Conscripts. I'm hoping to use my Conscripts as a 4+ cover save and general (possibly respawning) tar pit, but I'd like to know they're at least competent in those roles before I plonk down $100+ for new models.

Thanks, BoLS gents.

[Christian]

Im not an Imperial Guard player but from what my friend does, a long yeared player, he takes his 50 conscripts squad together with Chenkov and puts them infront of his mass Infantry/Assault army giving them a 4+ cover save (as you were hoping to do). Once nearly wiped out by shooting or close combat he uses "send in the next wave" to get a new squad behind his army which could be used for objective capturing.

Hope that helped (he told me this dozens of times so I know a little about this tactic now)

Christian

[I NoSe]

Your plan is solid enough. Just remember that when you recycle the unit any characters attached to it are removed as well and don't get to come back.

[Scion_of_Terra]

Have you considered priests for Ld?

[HurrImADurr]

The Priests would just disappear if I used SitNW, right?

[WereWolf_nr]

The Priests would just disappear if I used SitNW, right?

Yes. Only way to save it would be to detach the character before your squad gets shot up. Which may be impractical.

[Tynskel]

yeah, but if you are sending in the next wave, the priest is probably already dead...

It is worth using a priest, however, and a commissar lord would just need to be nearby for the leadership 10.

100 re-rolling to hit attacks, even at WS2, is still scary, because you will still be hitting on a 4+ against almost everything in the game. Stupid WS/WS chart.

[weeble1000]

Like you, I used to love my conscripts in 4th ed. and I have since moved to combined infantry squads. I like the flexibility of the combined squads and after you pay to make conscripts viable, they aren't that much less expensive than a combined squad (or more so) and so they stop being a cheap throw away unit.

However, I did play around with conscripts for a while before I finally gave them up. I found that you need something to boost conscript LD, especially as a screening unit. Without it, they get tank shocked off of the board too easily. The Lord Commissar is a good way to boost the LD, but like Tynskel said, I'd keep him out of the actual unit. With his radius, you can attach him to the unit you're screening with the conscripts, or put him with a CCS since you're already considering order radius with the unit.

Send in the Next Wave is a fun ability to use and although it's expensive I think it makes conscripts more useful and flexible. It allows you to do things like using the conscript squad to deny space for deep striking armies and screening units far away from an objective. In either case, SitNW allows you to rapidly re-deploy the blob. I've also found SitNW to be useful when dealing with walkers. Walkers tend to tie up a poorly armed blob squad like conscripts, but SitNW allows you to jerk them out of combat. You can even use this to tie up units for several turns with an assault that you can pretty much break off when you want, although it frees up enemy units for their own turn if I remember correctly...or is it at the start of your turn? I don't have my book right now.

One thing I used to do with conscripts was stretch the unit across the board and assault enemy units on either side of the conscript unit. Since you have to maintain coherency when piling in, even if you're spread out in multiple assaults, the conscripts can still cover a lot of area. This can sometimes be useful for a turn or two.

Even with such a crappy BS, conscripts can do some damage with fire volume. You can sometimes use SitNW to pull conscripts out of CC or away from wherever they are and then march them on the board near an officer for FRFSRF. I've had this help when dealing with CC units in my back field. If they wipe a squad in CC and are left exposed to shooting you can pull the conscripts back in and give an enemy unit 150 lasgun shots, although rolling that many dice can be a friggin' pain.

All in all, like penal squads, I've found conscripts to be a hit or miss unit. Sometimes they kick butt and sometimes they fall flat. I like my Imperial Guard to be simple and reliable, so I just stick with the good ol' Infantry Squad.

[HurrImADurr]

SitNW allows you to pull the blob out during the start of your turn, so you can shoot at whatever they were fighting against. That was another one of the uses I'd planned: I really love Ogryn, so I was going to use my Conscripts to keep whatever I want my Ogryn to fight busy until they're ready to charge.

I'm such an idiot: I find the reliable 'safe' options boring and I love the more fluffy but unreliable units like Ogryn, Guardsman Marbo, Ratlings, etc.

[Commander Vimes]

Ideally you'll want both Chenkov and a Commissar Lord. Chenkov makes the Conscripts stubborn, and the Lord makes them ld 10 while standing behind them with a camo cloak to give a blob squad a 3+ cover save.

Chenkov's ability is the only reason to take Conscripts though, it is the only thing they can do that a normal blob squad doesn't do better.

[Sougunockag]

thanks. one more thing i need the music that should of came with the RM95. I cant use the older version on window 7. : so crapy I still cant get the other RMs too. could you give me the music files?

[HurrImADurr]

Sougunockag, I do believe you may be lost.

[Mr.Pickelz]

i take a small 20 man squad for tieing up units or acting as a melee sheild, nasty things like nob bikers, Death Company, etc.. will overkill those 20 guys leaving them out in the open for shooting next round. and besides...they died for the emperor. No one can ask for more, right? ;)