"Getting back into 40k after a long break" Topic

Hey guys,
Im getting back into 40k after a long break. last game I played was while 5th was still pretty new. played A LOT of 3rd, a little 4th, and maybe 10 games of 5th. Well Ive decided to get back into the game and bought a codex for one of my armies (Imperial Guard) and am trying to get the mini rule book off ebay (I have the big books, inconvenient while playing)
I dug out my old army that has been handled pretty roughly during 2 moves and this is what I have; (all kits are old style (non interchangeable weapons unless noted with a *)
13x Leman Russ Battle Tanks
2x Leman Russ Demolisher (1x*)
2x Leman Russ Vanquisher
1x Leman Russ with the twin auto cannons
3x Chimera (1x*)
4xHellHound(2x*)
2x50 man platoons (all Missile and Grenade launchers)
2x Platoon command squads (1 4x plasma and plasma pistol, other 4x grenade or flamer)
1x 40 man Platoon (ML+GL)
2 unbuild command squads(* new sets)
20x unbuild Cadian Infantry (old 20 man box)
4x Lascannons
1x unbuilt armored sentinel
13x stormtroopers (old Cadian Kasrkin, no special weapons)
1x Vindicare Assasin (I Loved that guy )
Cree(eeeeeeee)d(!!1!!1)
Kell
9x unassembled heavy weapons teams
a few extra troopers, and a random melt gun or plasma or two each(didn't count)

My problems:
1) half of the infantry the sergeants have Lasguns
2) 7 squads are Steel Legion. the Missile team is 2 individual figures on 25mm bases. I assembled the Cadians the same way. can I even use these guys?
I used to use Creed for a Colonel because I liked his model. can't find my old Senior Officer model. I have away about a platoon and a half and some random stuff a few years back.
Can I make a useable, reasonable competitive force out of this? what else to I need to buy? anything that needs to be on the wish list?
I'm not a power gamer (not smart enough, lol) but I don't want to get my butt handed to me cause my list is super old school and sucky. (I'll let all the and bad decisions do that for me!)
PS: in case you couldn't tell from the model count, I went from blob guard to Armored Company. Is there still an Armored company list?
thanks for any help you can give
~Joe

13 Russ MBTs? I think you have more than the makings of a competitive force here

Most definitely usable. Looks like you got the infantry and armor covered pretty good. Basing heavy weapon teams separately isn't a problem; just keep them close and treat them as a team. Sergeants can have lasguns in lieu of a laspistol and chainsword so that's also not an issue.

Just remember that you need a 5-man command squad for each platoon of 2 – 5 infantry squads and an overall army command squad. For armor, 3 Leman Russes count as one Heavy Support choice under the current rules so you can have that panzer force you've always wanted.

What else do you need? Maybe some heavy infantry in the form of Ogryns and Bullgryns, plus a unit of Ratling snipers for picking the unwary off at range. Also consider a Valkyrie gunship to deploy your Kasrkin stormtroopers, now called "Militarum Tempestus Scions."

And maybe a couple of specialized support vehicles like the Basilisk, Hydra, Manticore or Deathstrike missile launcher.

When it comes to the Imperial Guard, er, "Astra Militarum," you have a myriad of tactical options.

And ….. drum roll ….. you cant even think about fighting with Guard now without a Lord of War! And what a choice we have. Super Heavies rock!!

You can use the old weapon teams. Just put them base to base. Remember that the loader is basically a wound marker so sholdn't count as far as number of hits from templates and blasts etc. You could also buy some 50mm(??) bases and mount them on those. I'd recommend the thin wooden laser cut type so they are thin and you could simply glue your guys on without removing their bases and they wouldnt be too tall.. (then you could add scenic material to make it look good.)

One of the recent White Dwarfs has the stats and points for all the assassins, grab that instead of buying the assassins codex right away. I don't know the number, but it has pictures of assassins on the front :)

I wouldnt bother with buying anything new for now. Your Kasrkin can deep strike without a Valkyrie for example. Here are things I like to use with my IG (drawing from your list of stuff available):

1-2 Company Command Squads, with 4 plasma guns each. I keep these behind the lines of normal guardsmen so they have a cover save. Then I use the Fire on my Target order to make them ignore cover when firing through my own units.

2-3 PLATOONS, each with a platoon command squad (4 flamers) and 2+ infantry squads. I arm my infantry squads with either flamers or NO upgrades at all. (I miss the days of the lasrifle sergeant.)

1 of the platoons will have 4-5 infantry squads so I can form it into a "Blob squad".

1 platoon will typically have a heavy weapons squad with 3 lascannons, which will stay behind th lines and be given the Fire on My Target or Bring it Down orders.

This is my core force. I usually go with either no vehicles or a Tank Commander unit of 3 tanks. If you add Creed to this force he can really help with all this infantry.

I said I wasn't going to recommend buying anything, but there are actually a few things I would recommend buying or converting:

1+ Inquisitors: These can make your blob squad Stubborn with Ld10, they can have psychic powers (Divination in particular), and can have several special wargear items that are usefule. I like to bring one with Divination and the Psyocculum. I join him to the lascannons or a blob squad and they have BS10 vs psykers (and their units). (This is really brutal with the blob squad of 50 lasguns using First Rank Second Rank fire).

1+ Priests. If you use the blob squad I would seriously recommend 1 or more priests be added to it. This will make them fearless and give them hatred. Fearless is the most important thing.

And as nsolomon99 mentioned, the IG have some of the best superheavies available. My favorite superheavy tank is the Stormsword (IIRC). This is the tank with a 10" S10 ignores cover blast. My opponents hate and fear this tank. Just make sure you surround it with infantry to prevent deep strikers from killing it on turn 1 and 2.