Regimental Reporting: Stormy times ahead

Welcome back Commanders! Time for another post in the Regimental Reporting series; last time we looked at the new Imperial Guard Orders and how they affect the humble Cadian guardsman (I've made a few updates to that post, so it might be worth you having a quick catch up), and today we'll discuss the Orders available to the Militarum Tempestus.

The soldiers of Militarum Tempestus go by many names; Scions, Karskin, Storm Troopers & (perhaps a name unfairly given) Glory Hounds. Certainly compared to the regular infantry man, a Storm Trooper is extremely well trained and well equipped!

Nothing humble about these gents! 

It's worth looking at the key differences between a Storm Trooper and a regular Infantry Trooper, as these are the reasons we should be taking these units over regular infantry squads! Once we understand these differences & the roles the Storm Troopers might perform then we can look at how the Orders can help them.

The key advantages available to Storm Troopers in my mind are:

• BS 3+: They are good at shooting
• Sv 4: More resilient than troopers (but still pretty fragile)
• Hot Shot Las Guns (HSLG) : Flash Lights with reduced range but decent AP
• Krak Grenades
• Access to multiple special weapons in each squad (melta, plasma, etc).
• Aerial Drop: The ability to "parachute" onto the battle field as the game progresses (subject to some restrictions).

Orders can be issued by Tempestor Primes (Militarum Tempestus Officers who luckily can Aerial Drop with the troopers), and the line squads can be supported by Command Squads who can bring even more special weapons and have access to some funky wargear like banners and med kits.

It's also worth remembering the the Storm Trooper squads are Troop choices, and therefore Objective Secured (super scory for the purpose of controlling objectives) in Battle Forged Armies.

These abilities make Scions well suited for a number of roles:

• Taking down hard targets; either well armoured infantry with HSLG, or Tanks/Monstrous Creatures with Special Weapons
• Taking (but not necessarily holding over a long period!) objectives
• Hitting the back field via Aerial Drop

Finally, Scions in their own Detachment have access to their own Regimental Doctrine (generating extra shots when rolling 6s to hit when shooting at half weapon range or less). 

Sarge and the boys!

Front Rank Fire! Second Rank Fire! (FRFSRF!) This Order makes Hot Shot Las Guns Rapid Fire 2, essentially doubling the basic shooting output of a Stormie. Whilst FRFSRF! is the bread and butter of Infantry Squads, Scion squads will want to think carefully about when to use this Order, as buffing special weapons may be more beneficial.  A large squad of Scions armed with HSLG can certainly make good use of the Order and would help if using Aerial Drop as this maneouvre will put a unit of Scions out of Rapid Fire range.

Get Back in the Fight! The ordered unit can shoot even if it Fell Back this turn. Situational but useful as you don't want to lose the power of the high value Storm Trooper shooting.

Fix Bayonets! The ordered unit fights as if it was the Fight phase. Not convinced about this; if the Scions are tied up on combat you would be better to Fall Back then use Get Back in the Fight to shoot the opposing melee unit!

Take Aim! The ordered unit can re-roll 1s to hit when shooting. This will be the bread and butter Order for a lot of Scion squads, allowing those juicy special weapons to score hits! Particularly worth considering when:

• Overcharging Plasma Guns, making them less likely to overheat.
• When the Storm Troopers have access to the Regimental Doctrine, as each 1 re-rolled could potentially become a 6 and therefore generate an extra shot!

Overcharged plasma, for when every enemy needs to die!

Bring it Down! The complementary Order to Takes Aim! which allows the ordered unit to re-roll 1s to wound. I still haven't worked out the Maths Hammer to determine if it's better to generate more hits, or ensure that hits count for something! My gut says getting the hits in the first place is more important, and you can always use the re-roll dice Stratagem to re-attempt a failing to wound roll if necessary.  However, if you are considering this Order, you will also need to bear in mind the Regimental Order below.

Forward for the Emperor! The ordered unit can shoot even if it Advanced this turn. This can be useful for the Storm Troopers to get into rapid fire range with their HSLGs and short range for melta weapons. Move onto on objective and still fire, back off from superior forces and get some shots in. Very flexible Order.

Move! Move! Move! The unit moves and advances as if it was the movement phase. Getting your foot sloggers to move faster is always going to be useful, and can be beneficial to Scions after an Aerial Drop, potentially mitigating some of the deployment negation tricks your opponent might use.

The Militarum Tempestus also have access to their own specific Order: Elimination Protocol Sactioned! This allows the ordered unit to re-roll all failed to wounds against Monsters and Vehicles. Very useful with all the special weapons the Glory Boys can carry, and even allows the odd HSLG to score an extra wound or two! Of course we now have 3 choices to consider for our shooting Orders; it's a tough life in the Guard!

Melta Guns. Never leave base without them.

Now we've covered the Orders let's follow the structure of the last post and look at the related Officer War gear, Warlord Traits, Relics and Stratagems.

-X-

Wargear: There are a few toys which help the Scion Officers dish out Orders:

Tempestus Command Rod: The Tempestor Prime's swagger stick, this allows the Officer to issue two Orders per turn, at the cost of losing his pistol. If you are taking multiple Storm Trooper units, this upgrade seems a no brainer to me.

Well equipped with the Wand of Shouting and a Chainsword.
(Pro Tip: Chainswords are freebie upgrades; take em.)

Voxes: This devices increase the range at which Orders can be issued. These could be worth taking if you are planning on splitting your Storm Trooper units up across the board and don't have multiple Tempestor Primes to accompany them. It's worth bearing in mind that a Scion Vox operator has to trade his HSLG for a pistol, so you are losing some shooting power.

-X-

Warlord Traits: There are a couple of choices here for our Primes, similar to the Scion's Cadian allies, so I'll be lazy and copy and paste those entries!

Old Grudges: This allows you to pick a unit in your opponents army and get re-rolls for failed to wound checks against it. If you are intending to use your Storm Troopers to go on an assassination mission this removes the need to use the "to wound buffing" Orders and go straight for Take Aim! to re-roll missing to hit rolls.

Bellowing Voice: Adds 3" to an Officer's range for issuing Orders. This could potentially remove the need for Voxes, freeing up some points for other toys. Noting the loss of HSLG shooting for taking Voxes this isn't actually a bad choice.

Master of Command: Allows the Warlord to issue an extra Order per turn. If you are taking a lot of Storm Trooper units and want to minimise Officer support this is a good choice.

-X-

Relics: You can take one a Relic for free in your army, and add more if you are prepared to spend Command Points on the Imperial Commander's Armoury Stratagem. Worth considering if you want to buff your other Regimental Officers abilities to shout at troopers.

The Laurels of Command: This Relic is good for Cadians, and it is good for the Storm Troopers as well! This allows a Prime to (potentially) issue multiple Orders to the same unit, allowing the benefits to stack. Granting to hit and to wound re-rolls will be common, but movement and shooting Orders are also great combinations, particularly if the Scions can get into their shorter HSLG rapid fire range. And don't forget to use the "re-roll any dice" Stratagem if you really need that second Order to go off.

The Tactical Auto-Reliquary Tyberius: This is a Militarum Tempestus specific Relic which grants an additional Order per turn (with a minor chance the Order will be ignored. This could be useful if you are taking multiple Scion squads with limited Prime support (and he isn't your Warlord); this lets you issue 3 Orders per turn for measly 1 Command Point!

-X-

Strategems: A Guard army should have a lot of Command Points available to it, and no doubt the Glory Boys will feel entitled to more than their fair share of them for order-enhancing Stratagems.

Mobile Command Vehicle: Allows a Prime to issue Orders when embarked on a Chimera. Pointless for Stormies if they are using Aerial Drop to hit the table top; possibly useful in a fluffy mechanised list (but really, what self respecting Tempestor Prime would be seen in a lowly Chimera? Tauroxes are the transports of choice!) Interesting tangent; Taurox Primes has the MT key word so in theory benefit from the Regimental Doctrine.

Inspired Tactics: Allows a Prime to issue an extra Order. Could be useful when there are a lot of squads and you have limited Officer support.

Grenadiers: Allows a squad of 10 men to throw Frag or Krak Grenades. And Scions have access to both. Multiple Krak Grenades with re-roll to wounds from Orders can provide support to a squad's special weapons when hunting tanks or other large targets.

-X-

This Tempestor Prime is angry because he does not have a Wand of Shouting.

I hope you've found this post useful; if you think your army would benefit from the addition of the forces of the Militarum Tempestus, feel free to contact your local Orphanarium; there are no end of parent-less Imperial souls just waiting to be trained and indoctrinated educated by the local Commisariat and turned into fully fledged Imperial Killing Machines Heroes via a comprehensive  training programme*.

*Text edited by the Officio Propogandum.

Next up something for all you Tread Heads; Tank Orders!