I posted this on my blog thought I would share on a couple places.

Ok so surprisingly Guard armies are one of the most common armies that have floated across my "personal" work space.  I have started at least 4 off the top of my head, two finished including the Krieg.

So naturally when the codex came out I wanted to make a new army.  I love Forge World so I bought a Krieg army.  Ive had it all together for a while and played  few games.  Even have enough stuff now to warrant the big Battlefoam case, about 2500-3000 pts.

In my opinion a fully tweaked and optimal lists comes from two things:

1.Reading the codex and using your brain.

2.  Playing the army.

I believe each is 50% of the process.
So what could I tell from readin the codex?  A lot.  Two "choices" contain nothing worth using competitively - Elite and Fast Attack.  Ok, that might be a bit harsh.  It isnt that they arent all competitive in a gaming sense, but they arent competitive enough to win space in your list (and V's are good!). Yes, Guard ended up being one of those armies where you will always be trying to squeeze in more stuff. Quite the polar opposite of say, Eldar, which most list types cap at 1750 and totally cap at 1850 competitively (save for Mech Spam which can go on to max detachment size for Elite Troop and HS and still be competitive, but the list never changes).

So, let's get the flame bait out of the way.  What in the codex is good but doesnt win space in your list?  Here they are in order of good to wait nevermind.

PBS - Yeah weaken resolve is hot stuff.  It owns some build types, but have no use vs. others.  I do not want to hear "but agaisnt those armies its another pie!" when for the same price as a (must be) mounted unit, you can get real artillery.  I cringe when I see double units in lists, as your alpha strike ability is totally weakened. (I will get to AS in a sec.)

Devil Dog - The only decent Hell Hound, its range is still too short.  Compared to what you can get in HS it isnt worth it.

Platooooons - I would never touch the BS3 boys ever.  Too low KP giving to kill point retrieving ratio.  In my opinion all they do is just crowd the table and die.  I want to be able to hit, I want BS4.  I want triple meltas and powerfists and a heavy weapon.

Leman Russ - I can hear you now - "wait, all the way at the bottom?"  Well, I do hesitate, but if it weren't for a specific combo I would say definitely.  Every Russ turret save for the Executioner is worse than taking equal points in Medusas, Hydras, and Manticores.  The basic Leman Russ is bad too.  150 pts for a basic 8/3 pie?  When for the same points I can get a 10/2 medusa enclosed?  You might argue the AV but I will come to that in a minute.

So what are the best choices other than the obvious ones likeVeterans in Chimeras (with 4 weapons and shotties of course) and CCS?  Here they are in reverse order.

4.  The one redeeming unit of the Russ chassis - Executioner/Russ combo.  Its cost keeps it at #4 though.  Plasma cannon Sponsons, camo netting.  Keep the Russ behind a chimera and stick the Plasma tank out front.  Your opponent will weather 6 templates and have to do two damage results to an AV14 unit with a 3+ save from a single unit in order to stop the Executioner from firing.

3.  Manticore - A bit overpriced by about 10 pts in my opinion, but a good unit nonetheless. I dont need to explain the gun, but you should never take more than one.  Minimum range and maximum shots mean diminishing returns.  One is the sweet spot.

2.  Dual Hydra - This is a good all around unit.  There are some matchups where its fairly useless, but at 150 pts it isnt too much of a sink.

1. Dual Medusa - It wins because of the enclosed model.  Okay just kidding.  The gun doesnt need to be explained, but camo netting makes them a real nuisance.  Same tactic as with the Russ combo if you really need to reach out and touch someone.  There isnt a lot to say because its so great all round.  Its like asking why Starship Troopers 3 is a bad movie.

So what is this alpha strike stuff?  Yeah it is kind of a corny phrase, I have been doing it my entire career, its just how I play games, but I never really called it anything and Alpha Strike isnt going to get confused when you drop it on a stranger like "punk the dude across the table."

Basically you front load your army to wipe your opponent in the first two turns ideally. Now a lot of armies can table their opponent by turn 6, but what I look for is something that can clinch it by turn 2.  They may still have stuff floating round at the end of the game,but the game was decided early, not late.  By doing this you also get the huge advantage of discouraging your enemy, which can cause a "I dont care" response from your enemy when it comes to objectives.  Would you like to fight tooth and nail for 7 turns or 2?

So, you front load.  What does that mean?  It means give me AV10 and a 10/1 melta ordnance pie for cheap (thanks to not paying for armor!).  My ideal tank, GW please listen! So this is why I do not find russes ideal.  Compare the Enclosed Medusa and Demolisher.  Some might consider the Demolisher a superior tank due to its armor.  Why?  You are looking at its defenses not its firepower.  You are already playing a mental losing game.  I would much rather have the range to reach out and strike first.  This is what makes the Hydra a decent choice.  It has a long reach, high rate of fire, but we save points on armor to get more firepower. My other option is AV14 with only one autocannon for more points.  You arent going to be wiping anyone with that.

This is also why PBS are bad in my opinion.  Ok again not bad, but not good enough.  It isnt front loading, its a gimmick effect that sets up for a combo move.  YMMV

So total in my army I have:

17 meltaguns
10 lascannons either TL or BS4
5 Plasma Cannons
1 Battle Cannon
6 Multilasers
10 Heavy Flamers
8 TL Autocannons
2 St10 AP2 pies

So in an ideal game, I deploy in a certain castle formation and fire at you.  If anything lives past the first two turns and hits my tanks, a unit is (maybe)popping one at a time and eating the 17 meltas and 10 HFs, plus whatever else I can bring to bear including a lot of shotties.
So there you go.  My opinions.  I know some will disagree but for my playstyle I think this is how Guard should be played.

Scotty too hotty!!! Ouch!