How to play Astra Militarum

The everyman gunline: oceans of cheap infantry backed by tanks and artillery, glued together by officers shouting Orders. Wins by attrition and firepower, treating its own losses as an acceptable cost.

Army rule: Voice of Command (Orders): in the Command phase officers issue Orders to nearby units that last until your next Command phase, boosting shooting, movement, melee, or resilience. Sequence offensive Orders onto your delete unit and defensive ones onto survivors, and protect your officers since un-Ordered Guard is dramatically weaker.

Strengths

Elite-grade ranged firepower from cheap sources: massed lasguns, special weapons, Leman Russ variants, and artillery
Strong action economy and board presence; many bodies mean OC points, screens, and chaff to soak charges
Deep, flexible roster covering tank-heavy, mechanized Tempestus, artillery, or recon builds

Weaknesses

Fragile per-model; you expect to lose lots of units and must own and paint a horde
Mediocre in melee, which is a defensive counterpunch rather than plan A
Officer-dependent and vulnerable to alpha strikes that decapitate the command structure

Signature combos

Officer plus a key shooting unit plus the right offensive Order to hit far above its cost
Leman Russ tanks as a chassis for every job backed by Field Ordnance Battery indirect fire
Kasrkin or Tempestus Scions in Bridgehead Strike for a precise, mobile deploy-turn core
Cheap Guardsmen or Krieg blobs screening the firebase and bodying objectives

Gameplan

Castle a firebase, screen it with cheap infantry, and use Orders to make a different unit hit far above its cost each turn. Trade chaff to blunt enemy melee while tanks and artillery grind, and score on objectives via raw model count.

Playing against Astra Militarum

Kill the officers to collapse Orders output, use blocking terrain to force their guns to redeploy, and out-melee them since Guard struggle in sustained combat.

Next steps

Browse all Astra Militarum datasheets → · What to buy → · General tactics →