My first IG, the Red Thunder

So, at long last, after years and years of prevaricating, I've finally put together a semblance of 1,750 pts of solid, proper Imperial Guard. Here's the list:

Still needs some paint, but it looks mean enough on the table... 

Commissar Lord with carapace armour, power sword and meltabombs
Sly Marbo
Veteran squad with 2 flamers, 1 heavy flamer, Demolitions doctrine and Sgt Harker
Platoon command with 3 flamers, 1 heavy flamer and krak grenades, in a Chimera with heavy flamer
Infantry squad with grenade launcher and krak grenades, in a Chimera with heavy flamer
Infantry squad with grenade launcher and krak grenades, in a Chimera with heavy bolter
2 Vendetta gunships
Squadron of 2 Leman Russ Battletanks with hull-mounted heavy bolters
Squadron of 2 Leman Russ Demolishers with hull-mounted heavy bolters
Manticore

Nothing subtle here, just a list designed to achieve victory through crushing amounts of firepower. 3 vehicles throwing out S10 pie plates is scary for any army. Supporting that are the 2 plain Leman Russes, placed off to one side to make good use of their superior range. Anything that can hide from all that most certainly can't hide from Marbo, who'll make a fine nuisance of himself. The armoured fist platoon is typical of any army I have played thus far, keeping the whole army mobile, because mobility means more options. The Vendettas are there for aerial superiority and miscellaneous troubleshooting. And last but not least, the mighty Catachan Devils (oh, but I do have a soft spot for them) ride in one of the Vendettas, waiting to pop out and maul a troublesome unit when the time is right.

Let's look at the checklist:

• How to deal with hordes? PIE PLATES! And lotsa flaming death. 
• How to deal with high AV vehicles? PIE PLATES! And Vendettas. 
• How to deal with Monstrous Creatures? PIE PLATES! And Vendettas.
• How to deal with Death Stars? PIE PLATES! And high volume of wound output from the flamers.
• How to deal with Flyers? Vendettas!
• Scoring? 3 units in Chimeras, one zooming about in a Vendetta. 

Yeah, I love solving problems with pie plates. Having engaged the Imperial Guard before, I'd learnt to fear the occasional lucky pie plate, so I figured I'd go a little further and use paired Leman Russes and Demolishers, significantly increasing my chances of inflicting serious damage with them. Besides, I don't really put much faith in BS3, so lots of templates for everyone!

This isn't theoryhammer, mind you. I just had the opportunity to inflict this list against an Ork horde and it performed magnificently. Vehicles were shattered by my tanks, Marbo did his thing, chucking a big bomb into the midst of some Lootas, and oh, man, the Manticore got to work, annihilating a squad of Flash Gitz, exposing the big, stompy Warboss to the tender mercies of a pair of Demolisher cannons. The Catachan Devils got to work, slaying 13 Slugga Boyz in their first salvo, then battling their way to the enemy objective. And the Lord Commissar even survived!

A large one had S7, T7, W8, I8 and up to 11 Attacks. Ah, those were the days... 

I was pleased with the performance. As such, this is a list I'll be inflicting a few more times before I consider any tweaks.