The next section of the new Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum review tackles Knight Commander Pask and the Leman Russ tanks. This took longer than expected to write because it became clear reviewing Pask as an HQ means nothing without the seven Heavy Support choices that he can inhabit, so the result is it was all drawn together into one article.

I’ve split it into two sections, and this starts with the Leman Russes – a category of tanks that has both winners and losers in the codex, but will definitely not be as marginalised as they were in the recent past. These mighty battle tanks want their place in the sun, and the Astra Militarum book is going to give it to them.

Leman Russes – Old vs New

[table caption=”Leman Russ Comparison Chart” width=”100%” colwidth=”160|130|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|center|center|left|right”]

Tank,Weapon,New Price,Old Price,Change

Twin-Linked by Pask:,,,,

Leman Russ Battle Tank,S8 AP3 Large Blast,150,150,Unchanged

Leman Russ Vanquisher,S8 AP2 Armourbane,135 ,155,-20

Leman Russ Eradicator,S6 AP4 Large Blast IgCover,120 ,160 ,-40

Leman Russ Demolisher,S10 AP2 Large Blast,170 ,165,+5

Given Rending by Pask:,,,,

Leman Russ Exterminator,4x S7 AP4 Twinlinked,130,150,-20

Leman Russ Punisher,20x S5 AP-,140 ,180 ,-40

1x S7 AP2 Large Blast Blind:,,,,

Leman Russ Executioner,3x S7 AP2 Blast Gets Hot,155,190,-35

[/table]

Leman Russ Battle Tank

The Leman Russ Battle Tank is simply not a competitive choice. This is really unfortunate, and possibly unintended since GW always refer to the Leman Russ with its Lascannon and Heavy Bolters as the iconic Imperial Guard tank, but it needed fixing or a significant price drop to be a serious contender with its peers.

The problem is the tank no longer has the Lumbering Behemoth rule, and buried in the vehicle rules on the bottom of page 71 is “a vehicle that fires an Ordnance Weapon can only make snap shot with its other weapons that turn”.

This has always been a generalist tank, and there is currently a better choice for almost every job you might want a Leman Russ Battle Tank to do.

Leman Russ Demolisher

The Leman Russ Demolisher was previously my favourite of the Russes, but it suffers from the same ordnance rule as the Battle Tank. Its S10 Ap2 large blast is genuinely impressive, but apart from its other weapons being forced to snapfire it is outclassed against most heavy infantry targets by the S7 AP2 Executioner (especially since the executioner can actually manage to fire its plasma sponsons!), by the Punisher against light armour targets, and by the Vanquisher against heavy vehicles.

Rather than have its price dropped, the Demolisher that was already struggling to compete was the only Russ to have a price increase. It’s unfortunately not worth the 170pt price tag, meaning the second best-known iconic Guard tank is also likely to gather dust until/unless the Ordnance rules change.

Leman Russ Vanquisher

For years the Vanquisher has been a tremendously powerful anti-tank gun S8 AP2 Armourbane (roll 2xD6 for armour penetration) plagued by its low ballistic skill and the one-shot syndrome.

I always thought this tank needed one of two things to make it competitive; either the Co-Axial Heavy Stubber its Imperial Armour version could buy as a cheap upgrade (it’s S4, but when it hits it makes the main gun twinlinked against the same target), or access to Divination to make sure that the incredibly powerful gun actually hits something.

There is no co-axial heavy stubber option, but there are now more than enough ways to twinlink this tank to make it a far more competitive choice, and it’s had a price drop. The Vanquisher is now worth considering as a serious anti-tank choice to the extent that armies looking for AV14 saturation should consider dropping the Manticore usually tasked with the anti-AV13/14 role and taking a Vanquisher instead.

Leman Russ Eradicator

The Eradicator is a good tank with a niche role: it murders units with armour 4 or worse in cover. It has never been a popular choice for a variety of reasons; for most people because if it doesn’t get through power armour it’s not seen as competitive, and for some because the Collussus simply did the ignore-cover job better and 2x Griffons put twice as many large blast 4+ wounds on units more accurately for the same cost.

There are at least four reasons why Eradicator looks more competitive

The Collossus and the Griffon are both absent from the codex, perhaps waiting to be sold back to us in dataslate form

The Eradicator has had a significant price drop from 160 to 120 points

The armies with 4+ or worse armour are more dominant than ever

Even MEQ armies now frequently feature something in lighter armour from their allies. There’s almost always something to kill!

The main gun isn’t ordnance, so the tank’s sponsons will function correctly and at 120 points this is a bargain tank with the Leman Russ armour profile. Whether you should take one depends on the balance of anti-infantry/anti-tank in the rest of your list, but I believe the Eradicator is now an option worth considering.

Leman Russ Exterminator

Two twin linked Autocannon shots for 130 points shouldn’t even be worth talking about, but it is simply because the Hydra-battery that always forced Exterminators out of lists got its rules smacked with the nerfbat and then its top ripped off.

Even so, there isn’t a single slot in the Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard force organisation chart that cannot take Autocannons (yes, even in the Elite slot), so of all the Leman Russ weapon options this is probably the least necessary.

If you create an a list and find you are somehow completely lacking S7 then either consider taking this tank or consider re-writing your list. I’d do the latter.

Leman Russ Punisher

Say goodbye to 20 shots averaging ten hits for 180 points, because this tank just got access to twinlinking from a variety of sources and a price drop to 140.

The more shots a unit puts out, the more worthwhile it is to spend the points to twinlink it, and the Punisher is right there in that sweet-spot that says it’s worth upgrading, adding guns to and investing in psykers for.

For 160 points, this tank can fire 29 shots (20 Punisher Cannon, 9 Heavy Bolter) and the price of the Heavy Stubber dropped from 10 to 5pts so why not throw that in too for a nice round 32 shots that just scream out to your opponent ‘Shoot your missiles at me even though I am AV14’.

There is a significant downside to this tank that anyone who’s used it will be aware of: the Punisher cannon is only 24″ range, which means that wily opponents may deploy just over 30″ from it to deny it a target in turn 1, and even if they don’t it’s going to have to roll forward into no-man’s land to get its shots in. It has upgraded rear armour for a AV14/13/11 profile, but the vehicle damage rules remain unforgiving and no guard tank really wants to get closer to the enemy than absolutely necessary.

Seriously consider shelling out for a dozer blade on this tank before any others. They’re now priced fairly at 5pts, and the Punisher is the most likely to need it.

Leman Russ Executioner

The Executioner was a good tank in the old Imperial Guard book, expensive but capable of massive damage. The new Executioner has been improved in two very significant ways, even before you start factoring in indirect improvements like Divination and Tank Commanders.

The price has had a significant decrease, dropping from 190 to 155pts (it’s now only 5pts more than a basic Leman Russ!), and the plasma sponsons dropped from 40 to 30 points for a 45pt total discount on the justifiably popular 5 Plasma Blast version of this tank.

It isn’t all good news for the Executioner however – the main gun has unfortunately gained the “Gets Hot’ rule, so joins in with your sponsons in trying to fry this 3 HP tank each time they fire. However, this is important:

An Executioner is not glanced every time its Plasma Cannons roll a 1

I wrote that big and pink because there’s a really important rule overlooked by a majority of players. “When firing a weapon that Gets Hot, roll To Hit as normal. For each To Hit roll of 1, the firing model immediately suffers a Wound (armour saves or invulnerable saves can be taken) – a vehicle instead suffers a glancing hit on a further roll of a 1, 2 or 3.” BRB 37 In other words, there is only 50% of the chance of damaging the vehicle many players seem to think there is.

However that is still quite a high chance on a vehicle firing 5 plasma shots per turn, especially if this spectacular suicide-tank is also your Warlord. It is absolutely vital that this tank gains a source of twinlinking or preferred enemy. It dramatically increases the accuracy of the plasma blasts and the tanks kill rate, but also its longevity. I strongly recommend either take a way to reliably twinlink or give PE to this tank, or don’t take it at all.

Review of Pask

The Bad News

Pask adds a 70pt price tag to a tank that’s as easy to kill in assault as a Rhino or at best an Annihilation barge, and at best only increases its survivability in a very situational way by adding an Order allowing it to use smoke the same turn as firing.

Taking him requires Leman Russes to be taken in a squadron in a game that lets hits spread like wildfire across models in squadrons, and has an entry price of 310pts for the unit assuming you take the cheapest version possible regardless of how poor it is.

The Good News

Pask is a whole new type of Warlord, and allows a different type of heavy armour build that many Guard players.

Pask gets a fixed, predictable trait if you take him as your Warlord, giving his squad Preferred Enemy

He has tank orders (split fire being the most obviously useful) and gives a vehicle BS4 (note: as do 30pt tank commanders)

He allows all weapons on his tank to reroll armour penetration rolls

He gives his main gun a Crack Shot effect:

When firing a battle cannon, vanquisher battle cannon, demolisher siege cannon or eradicator nova cannon, Pask can re-roll To Hit rolls. An exterminator autocannon or punisher gatling cannon fired by Pask has the Rending special rule. An Executioner plasma cannon may fire a Large Blast 36″ S7 AP2 Blind Gets Hot

And as noted in comments below, Pask is a Character. He can’t “Look out Sir!” (because vehicles don’t take Wounds) but if any of his shots are 6s to hit they are precision shots and can be allocated by the controlling player. This doesn’t include the blast weapons of some tanks but does include the high-rate-of-fire turrets of others.

The main thing I expect most Tournament level players are asking is whether he is worth taking, and if so in which tanks.

In my opinion the answer is Yes, as long as you put him in the right tank.

Pask and Leman Russes ranked 7th to 1st

7th – Leman Russ Eradicator

Pask would twinlink the Eradicator’s main gun and let it reroll to wound (most things on a 2+) but the reroll to pen is almost wasted. Definitely not the ideal home for Pask, although it could be a budget wingman for him if he is filling an anti-personnel roll (1/6 of his split fire orders will fail). In short, you don’t put your expensive warlord in a budget tank.

6th – Leman Russ Battle Tank

Pask Twin-links the main gun and gives the tank BS4, but this tank is not competitive at its entry price, and certainly not at 70pt premium. Ordnance tanks already roll two dice and pick the highest, so Pask would allow them to reroll these dice, but Ordnance comes at the cost of snapfiring all their other guns wasting his high BS.

5th – Leman Russ Demolisher

Rerolling Armour to hit and penetrate with a S10 AP2 blast against vehicles, or rerolling 1s to wound against personnel with a gun that almost always needs a 2+, is genuinely impressive. However, this tank is overpriced and suffers the same Ordnance rules issue as the Leman Russ Battle Tank.

4th – Leman Russ Exterminator

This Autocannon tank is already twinlinked, and Pask gives it a re-roll to penetrate (very important to a S7 gun) and rending (very useful on a S7 gun that rerolls to pen for a second chance at that magic 6).

That makes this a very functional tank. However it still suffers from the fact that it is competing with the entire Guard FOC for places to put autocannons, and while a rend every turn or so will up the damage output (I think it is 64.7% chance to rend once per turn with BS4 twinlinked tank hunters), if you’re serious about killing the Vanquisher is your go-to vehicle and if you’re serious about killing infantry there are two very strong contenders below.

3rd – Leman Russ Vanquisher

Pask twinlinks the Vanquisher and makes it a solid BS4, and allows it to reroll armour penetration dice – remember this tank already rolls 2 dice for armour penetration, so granting a reroll to those makes this tank an incredibly reliable heavy armour killer.

Pask with Vanquisher & Lascannon. Optional: Hunter Killer Missile, Multimelta sponsons.

2nd – Leman Russ Executioner

The Executioner is one of the most improved value-for-points tanks, and with S7 AP2 is able to threaten a lot of the same light armour targets you might use an executioner against (as long as they’re on the ground) but also make a mess of the heaviest armoured personnel in the game, and very importantly that includes things like Riptides.

Adding Pask to an Executioner gives it rerolls to armour penetration (important for S7), preferred enemy if he is Warlord (impressive on weapons that wound most targets on 2+) and an optional shot single Large Blast 36″ S7 AP2 Blind Gets Hot to replace the 3 small blasts.

How likely you are to use the large blast depends on several things; how tightly packed the enemy are, how many models in the same unit (if it’s one or two, three small blasts are obviously more efficient than one large), how many HP your own tank has left (one large blast only has one chance to Get Hot) and how useful the Blind effect might be.

Blind reduces the enemy to WS1 BS1 after they are hit (not wounded or after failing a test, simply hit) if they fail an Initiative test, making it very good vs Tau, good vs Guard, reasonable against Marines (even I4 fails 33% of the time) and poor against races like Eldar.

Whether you use the Large Blast or not, the Executioner is a great place to put Pask. As mentioned above, just make sure your army includes a way to twinlink the tank, especially if he is your Warlord.

Pask with Executioner and 2 Plasma Cannon Sponsons, Lascannon.

1st – Leman Russ Punisher

Pask gives both the Exterminator and the Punisher Rending, but the worse the weapon’s inherent AP and higher the rate of shots, the more value you get from the rule.

This can become one of the great anti-personnel tanks in the game, especially if he is the Warlord. I’d build it with heavy bolter sponsons and a psyker for Twinlinking, giving you 20 S5 Rending Shots and 9 S5 AP4 shots at BS4, rerolling to hit and rerolling 1s to wound, or rerolling all dice for armour penetration.

There is a genuine downside to this tank, and that is the range will almost force you to move forwards in the first turn to get those shots off, and that could mean potentially putting your Warlord (or just an expensive command tank) in harms way. 24″ is the range of the primary weapon and the minimum distance between the armies deployment, and if you think you will resist temptation to enter no-mans-land every game to roll a bucketful of dice you’re a stronger person than I.

For this reason, I very highly recommend that the cost of a Dozer Blade is seen as obligatory tax. You’ll need to roll through terrain or over your own Aegis Wall and this upgrade is cheaper (5pts) and vital to a short range tank.

Pask with Punisher, 3 Heavy Bolters and Dozer Blade. Optional: Heavy Stubber for 3 more dice, just because.

Pask with Punisher, 2 Multimeltas & HB/LC and Dozer Blade.

Pask with Punisher, 2 Plasmacannons & HB/LC and Dozer Blade.

Relic Plating

The vehicle wargear review is coming soon, but in the meantime it is worth mentioning the new Relic Plating option (thanks SirBuscuit). This costs a mere 3pts to give a vehicle Adamantium Will (+1 to Deny the Witch rolls), which might be an extravagance if splashed around widely but it is a crucial investment for a heavily-armed Vehicle Squadron, especially one that includes Pask.

That 5+ to resist Puppet Master only has to work once every dozen games to be worth including, and you only need to buy it for one vehicle in the squadron.

In conclusion:

The Leman Russes are definitely back, but not all of them are sufficiently improved or currently worth taking. There is a rumour of an update to the Ordnance rule, but in the meantime the Leman Russ Battle Tank and Demolisher are unfortunately losers in the new codex.

Pask is a genuinely useful HQ choice, as long as you put him in the right tank. In my opinion, that means the Punisher or Executioner. I expect there will be varying opinions of the ranking order of the tanks, but those two should come out on top in most army lists.