Imperial guard without vendettas

[brianb9999]

Call me crazy, but I've been trying to figure out the best way to run guard without everybody's favorite severely underpriced flyer, the vendetta. I don't have any and don't really plan on getting any soon for various reasons. I was wondering if anyone out there plays a successful IG army without reliance on vendettas?

I have just started using space wolf allies fairly successfully in a couple of games (2x rune priest blob FTW!) but I've been trying to devise 1500-1850 lists with straight up guard that are reasonably competitive. I have generally been running 3-4 squads of vets in chimeras with plasma and grenades, an infantry platoon, ccs, heavy weapon teams with lascannons and autocannons, and 1-2 Russ executioners with a manticore. I think I have just had some bad breaks over the last couple games, but I have felt so underwhelmed by my shooting lately. It makes me sad because I should be reasonably good at it with guard

Tldr...any guard players out there having a lot of success in 6th so far without running dettas?

[t⊗theark]

I used to and still do back in my home but where my uni is is actually pretty competitive so I readded them.

Really for anti-air, a squad of hydra flack tanks seem to do it brilliantly, I can get plenty of lascannons from my infantry.

I guess I'm extra guilty seeing my chaos allies have the turkey of death among them.

[infornography]

One of my friends runs a Guard army with no vendettas. They do very well for themselves. I still usually win against them, but it is usually a surprisingly close game. ADLs and Hydras are good anti air.

He chose to not take vendettas mostly because he considers them stupidly undercosted and has no interest in winning via pure stinky cheese. He also doesn't like how limited their troop capacity is.

[zephoid]

Grab IA12 and play death korps. I have a ~4k point army that is hilariously fun to play. 120 points for carapace vets with hotshot lasguns and WS4. Use the Siege regement as allies to grab the Heavy Artillery emplacement for tank breaking. Also the death riders of Krieg are stupid good. 2W 4+ and 6+fnp. 2A base, 2 CCW, reroll dangerous terrain. Plus they come with krak grenades after they use their hunting lance so they can harass tanks. Between Heilbrect, and the mandatory Regimental Banner the list almost never fails ld. Also DKoK dont take ld tests from shooting wounds. I ran 4 squads of 10 last game and they were almost unstoppable despite the enemy guard player running gunline. It took until turn 7 for him to kill the 3rd squad while the 4th was still full with my warlord. For AA, you can grab any of the FW fliers or Elite slot Hydras. Or you can run LD10 HWT with cheaper lascannons for great reliability on orders to bring fliers down.

Guard can run non-vendetta lists however. 2x manticore+ executioner russ. Back it with ADL, a platoon, and some mech vets. Maybe some HWT with lascannons here and there to provide additional AT.