10th Edition Faction Focus: Astra Militarum

In our Competitive Faction Focus series, we take a competitive look at the factions of Warhammer 40,000, discussing who they are, what they do, and how they perform in competitive play. This article will focus on the Astra Militarum, the stalwart first-line defenders of humanity.

Why Should You Play This Faction?

Scott: The Astra Militarum offers one of the game’s largest and most diverse model ranges. In addition to its naturally deep selection, it is generally well-positioned to take advantage of allied units offered by Agents of the Imperium. The versatility offered by these circumstances often allows dedicated players to bring relatively competitive lists that can address most metas, even if the faction is suffering overall. The faction generally rewards good play with efficiency and flexibility but will punish players hard for suboptimal list composition or mispositioning.

Throughout 10th Edition, Astra Militarum has suffered due to a poorly written army rule that locked players into building as much stationary firepower as possible, and an orders mechanic that severely limited their availability during play. As of the June 2024 Balance update, this has been reversed, with the detachment rule encouraging mobility and an updated orders mechanic that allows officers to issue orders when they arrive at the battlefield.

Five Things You Need to Know

Scott:

You will live and die by Voice of Command: The real nuance in playing Astra Militarum well comes from using your orders correctly. When not under the effects of orders, Astra Militarum units generally feel overcosted, and have a hard time punching at their weight in combat. That being said when all of the right units are operating under the effects of orders, most factions can buckle under the weight of a single fully effective shooting phase from Astra Militarum.

Don’t get tied up in close combat: While getting tied up in combat is not always catastrophic, your army is almost always less efficient when it is. Your main sources of firepower get significantly disrupted by being engaged. When you do want to be engaged in combat, you want to make sure it’s in places where you don’t mind the combat continuing for many turns. Hellhounds, Chimera, and Bullgryn are all great at tar-pitting enemy heavy hitters but tend to be underwhelming when it comes to killing dedicated combat units.

Build Reinforcement considerations: Reinforcements is an amazing stratagem. You ought to build your force with the plan that you’re going to use Reinforcements on one of your units every single game. This should almost always be a squad of Kasrkin, a large squad of Sentinels, or a full squad of Rough Riders. One of my favorite moves is to use Gaunt’s Ghosts to apply orders to Kasrkin arriving from Strategic Reserves. When under the effects of two orders, Kasrkin punch well above their weight; being able to do this twice in a game can be legitimately crushing. 

Your Army Rule just works now: One of the best changes to the game for Astra Militarum was removing the stationary requirement for the Combined Regiment’s Born Soldiers. Your non-OFFICER units all generally have REGIMENT, or SQUADRON to make use of this great rule. As you’re playing, be sure to match up your targets as appropriately as possible, and remember, unless attached, your OFFICER units generally don’t benefit from this rule.

Tank Shock and Grenades are extremely good: Astra Militarum benefited greatly from the changes to Tank Shock. The faction generally has access to lots of high-toughness VEHICLES to take advantage of the change. Combined with Grenades and one Kasrkin’s Melta Mines, you can put around nine mortal wounds on targets that get close to your army.

How does this faction secure Objectives?

Andrew: Put those tanks and Bullgryn on those circles.  Your little guardsmen and maybe your way cooler Kasrkin will evaporate if they’re looked at too hard.  Rely on your armor and Bullgryn to take points and then last long enough to score.  In addition, don’t forget the utility of your order, Duty and Honor, to flip objectives at a crucial time by giving your unit +1 OC and Leadership.  This happens before battleshock so it can also help improve your odds of passing the check in a pinch.

How does this faction handle enemy hordes?

Andrew: “Blast ’em” – The blessing and curse of guard is you’ve got Blast and guns coming out of your ears.  Amazing when you’re shooting unimpeded, sad and tragic if you’re getting tagged and wrapped.  Use your Infantry and Transports to block off your big guns early and let them do their work.  The Basilisk is also handy here to keep hordes and Infantry melee threats tied up with its -2 to Move Characteristic.

Scott: Another very helpful tool to mention here is the ubiquitous “Flamer” Chimera. When equipped with two Heavy Flamers, and a Heavy Stubber, this metal box puts out a lot of hurt for its cost. It’s just as effective if it’s tied up in combat as it is when it’s unengaged, so don’t be afraid to throw it into the fray to keep hordes busy while your heavy hitters engage bigger threats.

How does this faction handle enemy tanks and monsters?

Andrew: To fight monsters, you need monsters.  Lethal hits on all your vehicles allow even the basic Chimera to punch up through the sheer weight of shots.  The Rogal Dorn will continue to be your best friend here and can drown vehicles in Melta and Damage 3 shots.  There’s enough output that any vehicle or monster that enters overwatch range is taking a gamble on their life.

Army Rule: Voice of Command

Andrew: In your command phase, or when the officer is set up on the battlefield or disembarks from a transport:

Move! Move! Move!: +3” Movement.  This order is vital for getting your army hustled onto objectives, Bullgryns into charge range, and to draw sightlines that might have been out of your reach otherwise.

Fix Bayonets!: +1 Weapon Skill.  Bullgryn love, Rough Riders love, simple as. Scott: This is an important moment to point out that orders’ effects last until your next command phase. If you’re stuck in, make sure you’re applying the benefit of this order in your own Fight Phase and your Opponent’s Fight Phase.

Take Aim!: +1 Ballistic Skill.  This is your bread and butter order, getting your Rogal Dorns and other primary shooting units to 3+ (or 2+ on your Kasrkin/Scions) greatly improves the reliability of their output.

First Rank, Fire! Second Rank, Fire!: +1 to Rapid Fire shots.  Situational, but can come in handy on units like Kasrkin who can double up on this order and Take Aim to pump out some high-volume plasma.  Can be effective on a large infantry block if the situation calls for a pile of lasguns, but generally better to keep your tanks buffed up.

Take Cover!: +1 to Save characteristic (can’t improve to better than a 3+).  Situational, since it won’t help your tanks be more durable, but taking Bullgryn to a 3+ can help boost their durability, particularly if they’re benefitting from cover. Even an infantry unit going to a 4+ save or Kasrkin/Scions to a 3+ might make the difference.

Duty and Honour!: +1 OC and Leadership.  Stop me if you’ve heard this one, Situational.  This can be an incredibly useful Order for flipping points in your command phase or by using Inspired Command to flip an objective in your opponent’s turn.  Since it happens before Battleshock checks it can also help your chances of passing if it’s a unit that’s crucial and Insane Bravery isn’t available.

What are some must-have units to start this faction?

Scott:

Lord Solar Leontus: Everyone’s favorite proxy model is almost required to compete with Astra Militarum. As we’ve previously mentioned, Lord Solar, with his band of merry Guardsmen, is the only reliable way to get orders when and where you need them. In addition to this, he provides a reliable bonus CP, allows you to go over your reserve limit with his redeploy ability, and can serve as a soft countercharge unit when the need arises. When playing with Lord Solar, your book is going to feel like it’s operating like it ought to; without him, SQUADRON orders are extremely hard to come by and Bullgryn can never receive orders. You can feasibly play without him, but I’d recommend learning to play with him before you start exploring more exotic builds that leave him out.

Scout Sentinels: Do not leave home without at least two Scout Sentinels. These are your only source of general hit rerolls in the faction. Throughout the edition, I have taken anywhere between two and five of them in my army, and we’ve seen as many as nine in lists from earlier in the edition. These days, I tend to take two with Lascannons, and play relatively conservatively with them to make sure I’m reliably getting the reroll bonus. To really drive home the importance of combining Scout Sentinels and Take Aim: on BS4+, you will hit 50% of your shots; on BS4+ with Daring Recon and Take Aim! you will hit 78% of your shots. This is a flat damage increase of 56%, if that doesn’t convince you that you need a couple of these in your army, nothing will.

Rogal Dorns and Leman Russ: To my knowledge every successful list (TWiP) in the 10th Edition has included Rogal Dorns or Leman Russ to some extent, largely via Leman Russ Demolisher or Demolisher-equipped Tank Commanders. I believe this held true even when ARTILLERY lists were the only show in town. Rogal Dorns and Leman Russ Demolishers are the army’s primary damage dealers. They offer reliable and resilient shooting platforms that must be dealt with in order for your opponent to win. An optimal shooting phase from your full complement of Rogal Dorns and Leman Russes is often decisive, putting your opponent in an insurmountable forces deficit.

Guardsmen: Guardsmen of various flavors have similarly been included in every successful list. The key to Guardsmen is honing in on how many and what type you want to support board control in your army. You’re generally going to want between 30 and 50, with an inclusion of a single Command Squad. I like to run Cadians for their sticky objective mechanic and the Cadia Stands! ability on the Command Squad. Your first squad and your Command Squad will almost always be dedicated to running bodyguard duty for Lord Solar. From there, I like to keep my Guardsmen investment fairly light; two squads of Cadians in “Flamer” Chimeras. Many other players prefer Catachans in “Flamer” Chimera for their Scout 6” ability or large blocks of Death Korp with Marshals or Primaris Psykers for their damage output and resilience. There’s no way to go wrong here, see what setup fits your style the best. If you find yourself including more than 50 Guardsmen, you really ought to pause to make sure that going wide in this department is a deliberate choice.

What combos should you build around?

Scott:

THE Command Squad (Leontus, Command Squad, Infantry Squad): This is almost always the first unit I add to my army. It’s the only way to get orders onto non-REGIMENT and non-SQUADRON units, and the only economical way to get SQUADRON orders. Leontus provides desperately needed command points, and when built with power fists from the Cadian Command Squad, can provide some soft melee support. It’s important to note, you’re a largely BS4+ army; operating under orders grants a 33% firepower increase for most of your units. In your critical shooting phases, you need your heavy hitters firing at maximum effectiveness. This is the only tool in the book that reliably allows us to have orders when and where we need them.

Debuff Sources (Scout Sentinel, Hellhound, Leman Russ Exterminator): Daring Recon is your only source of general hit rerolls in the faction, you should be taking some Scout Sentinels every game, no matter what. Hellhounds and Leman Russ Exterminators are great for improving your already potent shooting phase and can help put even more pressure on targets of Overlapping Fields of Fire if you ever use it.

Ambiguous Dice Bucket Mortal Wound Game (Tank Shock, Grenades, Melta Mine): As mentioned earlier, this is a massively overlooked move for many Astra Militarum players. Tons of your units have Grenades and you have plenty of toughness to throw around in support of Tank Shock. One of my favorite ‘counter-charge’ strategies is to throw grenades and then charge with Kasrkin and a Rogal Dorn. For two Command Points, this combination generates an expected nine mortal wounds. It’s not enough to wipe out dedicated combat units, but it significantly helps deplete the wound pool of threatening units.

Overwatch (Rogal Dorn, Leman Russ): Your big shooting platforms benefit greatly from the fact that Born Soldiers now works when using this stratagem. Every VEHICLE or MONSTER that walks within charge range of a Rogal Dorn is under threat of taking big damage in your opponent’s turn.

Sample Lists

Scott: Goonhammer local, Nassim Fouchane took this list to a 7-1 performance at LGT this September.

Army List - Click to Expand

In this list, Nassim brings many of the elements that we’ve been talking about so far in this article. He’s started with a base of Lord Solar and Tank Commander and then added in his own take: 18 Bullgryn. He rounds out his list with 40 Guardsmen for board control with Lemans Russ and Hellhounds for killing potential. It’s a solid list that presents a ton of board presence via Bullgryns. It can bring some firepower to bear with its Tank Commander, Lemans Russ, and Hellhounds, while keeping his opponent on his toes with the splash of Tempestus Scions.

I took this list to NOVA Open with a 7-2 record. It’s my article, so I get to subject you to writing about myself for a minute.

Army List - Click to Expand

To be clear, I don’t think this is the best list. I’m not even certain it can take you to GT victories. That being said I love it; the Rogal Dorn is the perfect unit. I’ve taken Lord Solar and a Tank Command for orders. I have Bullgryn for a splash of close combat, with a couple of Chimera mounted Guardsmen squads for board control, and Kasrkin with Gaunts Ghosts for a constant deep strike threat. Feel free to use this inspired and genius list, or not, I’m not your dad.

Final Thoughts

Guard is in an interesting place right now. You’re fairly locked into having to take Lord Solar, and I don’t really see that changing unless the codex really changes things up. The book is pretty wide otherwise, there’s room for tank-heavy, infantry-heavy, or specialist-heavy lists. Right now the army may not have the gas to consistently net GT wins, but it’s solidly in the running in most events.

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