Given the removal of the big guns of the Steel legion, what is the modus operandi of the "lighter" guard army lists? The elysians and Catachans etc.

They look mainly as if they're supposed to be engagement armies without the long range clout of artillery or SHTs.

How do they function, if anyone's had the time to play them?

Elysians are a Mobility/FF (via numbers) oriented army. They strike hard when they arrive and then hold on for dear life, much like any other airmobile force would in the face of a determined enemy.

Since they do not have any SHT's or Titans, they are dependent on their air assets as well as dedicated Valkyrie and Vulture assets to provide teeth to their assaults. The Multi-melta Sentinels are also very helpful.

Is that the kind of information that you are looking for?

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Honda

"Remember Taros? We do"

- 23rd Elysian Drop Regiment

Yup.  The Elysians do their best to strike hard if they can first turn.  Without that option (and sometimes you can't) it becomes one of going on the defensive with the core formations while your support formations (which tend to be more maneuverable) bounce about in attack mode.

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author of Syncing Forward and other stories...

It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I've got my Milkbone underwear on.

Thanks for that info guys. What about the Catachan though? What do they use for clout? I can see they'd be good versus an infantry based army but anything sporting WEs will definitely hamper their efforts.