Last Updated:
28/12-2003
E-mail:
The 3rd Phoenix
An Imperial Guard Army List for the Warhammer 40000 table-top game
Special Rules:Imperial Doctrines:
- Drop Troops
- 'Sharpshooters'
- Storm Troopers
- Rough Riders (Doom-divers)
- 'Iron Discipline'
- Preferred Heavy Weapon: Rocket Launcher
- Preferred Special Weapon: Meltagun
Designers Note:
Most who read this, with their Codex: Imperial Guard, will see that these aren’t the standard Harakoni doctrines!
(The Heavy Weapons Platoons are switched for more agile Rough Riders, and Carapace armours, as well as Special Weapons, are lost to give place for the 'Iron Discipline' and 'Sharpshooters' Drills)
This is due to that I wanted a special regiment for a variety of purposes, as for instance buying Kasrkin models for every man in the army wasn’t what I wanted being expensive and hard to convert.
Generally I wanted an army that could react to any force, swamping them with numbers and bringing specialised equipment to do the job right! I wanted them to have a rapid response feel over them with dedicated specialists and a professional attitude to the horror that is the 42nd Millennium, hence the 'Iron Discipline' and 'Sharpshooters'. During the list you will find several features mainly for gaming effect and several for theme or show! I find that as of now all these elements are important to create an army that is unique to me and that I can connect with, while on the same time be effective…
I also only made ONE army list for 2000 points!! Most players will find this bizarre, but I find that if you try to make an ubiquitous list that should work against all armies and then play it against all armies you will become an expert on them and although you might loose many battles, will get a feel for your army in turn that should help you get a great gaming experience from your games, and perhaps in time win tournaments with them. You also save time when your friends sit with pen and paper to scribble down their warhosts, as well as money.
You will also see that I try to name my talons and special models. This individualises them and make it easier to keep track of your regiment when writing fiction…
Tactica Phoenicia:
This tactic revolves around the Phoenixes' favourite method of engagement - The Roaring Flame!
Like most successful tactics it is rather simple, to allow it to survive the total anarchy and chaos
that is combat…
The Army is parted into two waves:
The First Wave lands and sets up operation quickly…
It (which deploys on the board when the combat begins) is the Anvil! This group of individuals are armed with massive long range firepower, especially the ubiquitous Rocket Launcher, able to take down armoured vehicles or masses of troops with equal ease!
The Second Wave are the close combat specialists, these troopers drop out after the first wave and will land amongst the enemy to sow as much devastation and cause as much casualties as possible! These troops either die quickly or learn the necessary skills to keep them alive. Either way they are the Hammer of the army and favour the equally ubiquitous Meltagun as their close combat special weapon, making each talon able to punch holes in anything.
They are also backed up by the deadly Lightning Fighters to bring even more pressure to the enemy as the troops swoop down to engulf them.
There are several key features that are vital to notice about this regiment:
The Regiment, or Flock, is parted up in accordance to that of a phoenix! Each squad is called a Talon, and work in unions of 2 to 5 to accomplish their mission together. The platoons are thus called a Claw, comprised of three or more talons each. Each company (or Phoenix) thus sports two claws and a set of extra talons for support (you can call them beaks or something if it makes you happy)!
Each Phoenix work in unison with two others, if the situation permits, and this is called a Wave!
The Flock is thus composed of 12 phoenixes in 4 waves, and are a spectacular view when they on rare occasions work all together at once…
The army often deploys during night fight missions, and thus the HQ sports sophisticated communication devices and Infra-Red, Thermal and Light Amplifying wargear to quickly assess the battlefield and relay correct and vital information to its forward troops early on in the fight so the grav-gliding troopers above know where to land and what to expect from which direction.
A specially modified Sentinel with sophisticated communications and intelligence equipment is usually dropped in with the first wave to further this cause!
Supported by their Lightning Fighters they are superb troopers! Their phalanx is set up in just 20 seconds after drop, provided there are no mishaps, while the fighters harass the enemy if they are observed dropping. (If not then they set up quietly before a massive barrage hits their foes simultaneously, while the airborne gliders close in for the kill…)
The Harakoni Phoenixes have learned from the vapour-wyrms occupying their valleys breathing a hot steam-vapour. Upon dissection it was discovered that the wyrms mixed two secretions in their mouth before showering their pray with a hot stream to incapacitate them long enough to be killed by beak and talons. The vapour-wyrms became quickly the regiment’s mascot, and extraction of the two components were made from organs in the vapour-wyrms. In its raw form the synthesised stuff is extremely exothermic and corrosive when in contact with oxygen. The Phoenixes started to breed the wyrms and harvest the secretion to make enough for use in weapons. A process they have become extremely adept at…
Once the stuff was made they started to mimic the vapour-wyrms in any way possible.
They began to exclusively use grav-gliders instead of grav-chutes, which up to this point had mostly been used by the famed Doomdiver squads. (Chutes being cheaper to produce and could thus be left behind.)
They have even specially modified las- and hell-weaponry with higher gas and energy-consumption and a special sticky liquid which is incorporated to mimic the vapours and create a larger flame upon firing to maximize the terror effect. These guns are modulated to fire rapidly twice upon each pull of the trigger, so that the flames resemble the wyrms mouth-spitting techniques.
The Flamers are also often filled with the secretions harvested, refined and synthesised from the wyrms to further make use of their mascot!
The Meltagun although using a different approach to the problem, have much the same colour of the blast and is used in the same way as in all imperial armies.
The Rocket launchers use a more expensive yet more silent Rocket than normal imperial guard, and incorporate yet again the wyrms secretion that will detonate with the device.
With Frag Rockets a small ampoule of this secretion explodes with the small ball barrings, and the small concentrations hasn’t lethal effect unless you get the full spray of it, but it might hit you in the eyes blinding you permanently or sear your skin which will take your mind of the combat just long enough to be slain by other means! Your armour may be corroding, making you more vulnerable to future hits and fabric might be caught on fire. This is in addition to the barrings rippind you to shreads of course!
The Krak Rockets incorporate this in the middle of a large shaped charge, which explode inwards, eating through armour with immense consentrated force on a single point. This rips it open and deploys the secretions on the inside of armour, be it worn or driven. The charge delivers the secretions the furthest in possible, either corroding the way for later weapons or burning through the flesh found on the inside of armour or tank plating. It is truly a horrible way to die, in total agony, and ensures the Harakoni get the respect they deserve.
"The amazing Honorifica Mortis is a massive talon comprised of the dying, non-combat worthy in the phoenix, which will die or remain crippled for the rest of their lives without shame having done their duty. Still these valiant souls choose one last attempt at slaying the enemies of man and be granted favour in the eyes of the Immortal Emperor although they will with certainty persish in the deed! They are the true selfless heroes of this Imperium and a credit to their families, their regiment and their own memory! Due to their inability to form effective units, they deploy in huge numbers when there is reason to believe that the normal phoenix will be swamped in opposition giving their lives so that their more fit comrades may continue their duty to the Immortal Emperor...” – Commissar Tichondrius
When you stand guard somewhere in the galaxy and then suddenly during the next five seconds you have lost half your tank-support, half your squad is writhing in flames as sudden explosions of burning liquid erupts all around you and dozens of quiet figures is gliding over you in utter silence while spitting death left and right in a terrible inferno, you will agree that their tactics has merit and is a terrifying ordeal, and a testimony to ‘the Phoenixes’ terror warfare, rivalled only by the infamous Night Lord Traitor Legions.
Designer’s Note:Wave 1:
Command HQ w/Supporting Teams - Long Range: Infantry, Anti-Transports/Light Tanks & Moral Support Platoon ‘Mayhem’ - Long Range: Anti-Tank and Light Infantry Sentinel ‘Purgatus’ - Long Range: Anti-Tank & Improving Reserves Doomdiver Squad ‘Teutonicus’ - Short Range: Heavy Infantry: Close Combat Tie Down! Doomdiver Squad ‘Magmaticus’ - Short Range: Heavy Infantry: Close Combat Tie Down!Wave 2:
Platoon ‘Inferno’ - Short Range: Light Infantry. Close Combat Tie-down! Stormtrooper Squad ‘Pyres’ - Short Range: Tanks! Stormtrooper Squad ‘Havoc’ - Short Range: Tanks! Lightning Fighter ‘Ignatius’ - Long Range: Tanks and Heavy Infantry Lightning Fighter ‘Pyratus’ - Long Range: Tanks and Heavy Infantry
I included the following history to give the regiment a distinct feel, and allow them to be MY regiment and not some run of the mill. I feel that most of the problems with any guard army are sorted as best possible, limiting weaknesses, while maximising their strengths while still following their theme! I will explain these things in detail as you look closer on the different sections of the army below. Enjoy!
