The Imperial Guard is a huge and widely diverse organization that includes a large number of very specialized formations. Although the ubiquitous Imperial Guard Infantry Company is far and away the most common Company sized unit used by the Guard, equally as important, though considerably less common, are Imperial Guard Armoured Companies.

An Armoured Company consists almost exclusively of armoured vehicles, with the only infantry contingent being Armoured Fist squads whose Chimeras can keep up with the other vehicles in the formation. A typical Armoured Company can have from 12 to 24 vehicles, most of which will be Leman Russ battle tanks of one form or another. Attacking as a single force, this many tanks can batter their way through most opposition.

Armoured Companies are very specialized and this, combined with the difficulty of raising and maintaining an Armoured Company, means that they are only used for the most important duties. They are used to spearhead attacks, to exploit a breakthrough, or to act as a mobile reserve that can be used to counter-attack and blunt an enemy offensive. If the infantry of the Imperial Guard are the anvil against which the enemies of the Imperium are crushed, then the Armoured Companies are the hammer used to deliver the crushing blows that batter the enemy into submission. Armoured Companies are thus a vital part of any Imperial Guard army group.

Armoured Companies are used to spearhead attacks and undertake important missions. When not on such missions they will be kept in reserve behind the main line. It is extremely rare for them to be used to hold sectors of the front line or undertake Standard missions, and they are completely unsuited to Raid missions. Therefore, the normal rules for picking missions and deciding who is the attacker do not normally apply to games that include an Armoured Company on either side.

In games that include an Armoured Company both sides always use the Standard Missions force organization chart, and the actual mission to be played is determined by rolling on the Armoured Company Mission table on the right. Players preferring to make things simpler can simply choose the mission instead of rolling randomly.

The Armoured Company will always be the attacker, even against Dark Eldar, unless the Mission table says otherwise. IMPORTANT: If both sides are fielding Armoured Companies then the Tank Armageddon mission included with this list is used; there is no need to roll on the Mission table.

Designer's Note: If you are playing a large game with multiple detachments, as described on page 131 of the Warhammer 40,000 rules, then you can choose to either use the normal rules for picking missions, or treat the game as an armoured engagement. If you decide to fight a normal battle then the normal rules for picking missions and choosing forces apply, while if you go for an armoured engagement then you use the new rules presented here. As a rule of thumb, if 50% or more of the force for either side is made up of Armoured Companies then the battle should be fought as an armoured engagement.

The following scenarios are only used if an Armoured Company is fielded by one or both sides. For details of when to use the scenarios, see above.

Tank Armageddon: This is a tank versus tank battle. Set up as for a Patrol mission (see page 141 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook). The game lasts until one side is reduced to half or less its starting number of vehicles at the end of a turn. If both sides are broken in same turn then the game is a draw.

Armoured Thrust: The Armoured Company has broken through enemy lines and is rampaging around. Use the rules for the Blitz mission, except that the attacker enters on his table edge on the first turn, and the rules for Fortifications, Infiltrators, and Preliminary Bombardment are not used.