# Uses For Leman Russ Varients



## Lopspoon (Jun 23, 2009)

So the variants of the Leman Russ Tank all seem to have their ups and downs, and I was wondering which ones you include in your armies?


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

The Vanilla Russ is undoubtably king tbh. Cheap, flexible and customisable.

-Punisher looks alright until you realise that he only hits with half of his shots.
-Likewise for the Executioner.
-Vanquisher is nice, but really needs Pask for it to be worth taking (BS4 and +1 to Penetration).
-Eradicator seems nice, I would like to see how it does for infanty control instead of a vanilla Russ or a Punisher. Would be strong against Tau/Non-mech Eldar etc etc.
-Exterminator... may as well take a Hydra instead tbh. Twice as much firepower and much cheaper.
-Demolishers are useful to intimidate people from flanking you, but the 24" range is restrictive, and they generally get targeted first.

I think they're all playable, but the basic Russ wins out simply for the cheapness and flexible weapon loadouts.


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## Lord_Murdock (Jul 16, 2008)

Yes I agree, the standard Russ is the best option. There is no easier/cheaper way to field AV14 Ordnance like that. 

The Demolisher is nice too though. You just can't argue with a demolisher cannon, and without any upgrades it's still relatively cheap.

The Executioner is just plain deadly. Give it plasma cannon sponsons and you're firing off up to 5 plasma blasts a turn. Take that Termies! If you've got plenty of points left over, I'd definitely recommend taking one of these.

The punisher looks good on paper, but unless you're willing to spend 260 points to give it heavy bolter sponsons, Pask, and a heavy stubber, forget it. 32 shots a turn at BS4 is nice, but is it really worth that many points?

The Vanquisher is a bit of a one-trick pony. It excels at killing tanks, but after that it can't do much. Still, they're also fairly cheap, so I've found that a squadron of one or two equipped with hull-lascannons works really well. Pask seems like he's made for this tank, but in all seriousness I think he does better in a Punisher.

The Exterminator... hmm... seems like a bit of a waste if you ask me. Autocannons are really common in the IG, so there are cheaper and more cost-efficient ways to field them. They're sort of like a punisher-lite actually.

The Eradicator is good against any army with 4+ saves or worse, because it will deny them saves of any kind except invulnerable ones. Still though, I'd probably just stick with the cheaper, more powerful standard Russ.

Personally, if I ever use Russes, I tend to go with either a Pask Punisher or an Executioner, a squadron of two standard Russes, and a squadron of two vanquishers. in smaller points games, I'd drop the vanquishers and just make both Russes their own HS choices, and give them lascannons in the hull instead of heavy bolters. It gives me a good mix of anti infantry and anti tank firepower. However, I usually don't use any Leman Russes at all. I prefer using 3 Basilisks as my HS choices and letting my troops fill in the rest of the points.


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## HOBO (Dec 7, 2007)

These 3 I use in standard 40K -
LRBT...best one because it's cheap, spammable, and durable.
Executioner...5 blasts always kills something.
Demolisher...great in tandem with the Exey, holds the Flank.

all 3 are great for anti-infantry...yes the kill-count will vary from game to game, but that can be said for the majority of units in the game. Been high priority targets they keep enemy firepower away from my weaker AV. 

The following 2 I use in Apoc and in my AB/AC lists -
Vanquisher...even with Pask the Vanq is still a below par choice, and very expensive to boot.
Exterminator...redundent, Hydras are a far greater choice for Autocannons.

These 2 I don't have -
Punisher...too expensive for the amount of kills it will garner, and having no AP makes it worthless. 
Eradicator...Redundent, Hellhound does a simlar job and is cheaper and more accurate.


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

My local IG player has made a Eradicator and its a royal pain in the ass for all non MEQ armies. I would not call it redundant, it complements the Hellhound(s) in a good way with its longer range, volume of shots and good AV.
Combined with one/a few Hellhounds and flamers here and there in the rest of the army (the 4flamer command squad is a classical example) and you could have an IG army that only laughs when most armies tries to hide in terrain 

Orks/Tyranids will hate such opponents, and other IG armies can really be horrified too!


The standard LRBT is always a solid choice too thanks to its MEQ killing main gun. Keep it cheap and you should have good use for it.


As a general rule of thumbs I personally dislike things that costs 200+ points that can die from 1 shot. That 5 PC tank looks damn neat on paper, but when it dies from 1 shot it aint that fun any more...


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## Sethis (Jun 4, 2009)

I agree the Executioner can be very killy, and 5 Plasma shots are nice, but you need 5s to hit, and with only a 1-in-4 chance of hitting even if you roll scatter very often you'll only be hitting with 2 blasts per turn, and maybe a partial. Is it worth 245pts?

Still playable, and I would take one in 2k points games for fun, but the basic workhorse is definitely the LRBT.

I've also been interested in trying an Eradicator with 3x Heavy Flamers, and see how that does... Would definitely make Horde armies panic!

Something else that just struck me, Demolisher/Punisher/Executioner is very good for something else too, which is denying out-flanking troops. Especially with the advent of outflanking Gaunts, having rear armour 11 is actually very significant. Even against Flanking Autocannons etc then that extra point of armour can make a difference.


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## bishop5 (Jan 28, 2008)

Standard Russ (I always take the hull Lascannon, but I can see the worth in a Heavy Flamer) - cheap, hard to take out at range and packs a nasty punch from ranges other armies dream about.

Of the other varients, the Demolisher is good for soaking up AT fire that would otherwise get targetted on your more vulnerable Chimera's and most armies will change their tactics to avoid getting within that 24-30" range of the main cannon.

The Executioner is amazing, though expensive. I'm not sold on the PC sponsons however, I think they just make the tank too expensive and too static, where you can give it a hull Lascannon and it be constantly on the move (good for defending against assaults), firing everything to full effect, supporting the Infantry advance.


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## fynn (Sep 19, 2008)

dont forget though, that the exterminator is a heavy 4 twin linked auto cannon and has better armour than the hydra, and if the hydra moves, it can only fire one of it's twin linked HEAVY2 auto cannons, ive used the exterminator, and so far its been nasty in combat, as most players are shocked that is a H4 weapon and not the normal H2 auto cannon, and combine that with 3 heavy bolters, great for clearing up troops, even marines can take some nasty hits from it.
But at the end of the day, its all donw to A, your pre-fered way of fighting, and B, what your trying to kill.
if your up against troop heavy armys, then the standard russ, eraditcator (S6,AP4, no cover save) exterminator and demolisher are your friends for mass killing sprees on standard and horde type troops.

but then thats my opinion


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## Wolf_Lord_Skoll (Jun 9, 2008)

Sethis said:


> I agree the Executioner can be very killy, and 5 Plasma shots are nice, but you need 5s to hit, and with only a 1-in-4 chance of hitting even if you roll scatter very often you'll only be hitting with 2 blasts per turn, and maybe a partial. Is it worth 245pts?


Blasts don't roll to hit and you have a 1 in 3 chance of rolling a hit on the Scatter dice, plus when you take into account the subtraction of BS, it makes it a tad better than 1/4.


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## chillitownairman (Dec 11, 2009)

I've always liked the idea of pairing a standard russ with a demolisher. I have had good luck when taking two units of these.


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## don_mondo (Jan 28, 2007)

Wolf_Lord_Skoll said:


> Blasts don't roll to hit and you have a 1 in 3 chance of rolling a hit on the Scatter dice, plus when you take into account the subtraction of BS, it makes it a tad better than 1/4.


1 in 3 being the same as needing a 5+ to hit, yes? 

Anyways, for me, the Executioner is pretty much a standard part of my all-comers army list with sponsons but no lascannon. I'd rather fire four plasma blasts on the move than a pure hit or miss lascannon. I bounce back and forth between a Vanquisher or Exterminator for my second tank, either way I usually take Pask. My third heavy is a non-Leman Russ (Colossus), just cause everyone hates it.:mrgreen:


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## EuroChild (Feb 4, 2010)

Executioner plasma sponsons and Knight Commander Pask. Normally Pask isn't really needed for me considered my unnatural luck with scatter, but his real roll stuff is really fun when taking down my mates Swarm Lord thingummy.


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## Calamari (Feb 13, 2009)

don_mondo said:


> 1 in 3 being the same as needing a 5+ to hit, yes?
> 
> Anyways, for me, the Executioner is pretty much a standard part of my all-comers army list with sponsons but no lascannon. I'd rather fire four plasma blasts on the move than a pure hit or miss lascannon. I bounce back and forth between a Vanquisher or Exterminator for my second tank, either way I usually take Pask. My third heavy is a non-Leman Russ (Colossus), just cause everyone hates it.:mrgreen:


Only a small hijack: Is the Collossuss any good? I thought the minimum range would seriously hurt it on a normal 4x4 or 4x6 board.


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## Wolf_Lord_Skoll (Jun 9, 2008)

don_mondo said:


> 1 in 3 being the same as needing a 5+ to hit, yes?


Ah, I see where your coming from. Your still not hitting on a 5+ though


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

don_mondo said:


> 1 in 3 being the same as needing a 5+ to hit, yes?
> 
> Anyways, for me, the Executioner is pretty much a standard part of my all-comers army list with sponsons but no lascannon. I'd rather fire four plasma blasts on the move than a pure hit or miss lascannon. I bounce back and forth between a Vanquisher or Exterminator for my second tank, either way I usually take Pask. My third heavy is a non-Leman Russ (Colossus), just cause everyone hates it.:mrgreen:


A BS3 Blast weapon has 39% chance to hit, so its better then 5+



Calamari said:


> Only a small hijack: Is the Collossuss any good? I thought the minimum range would seriously hurt it on a normal 4x4 or 4x6 board.


The Colossus has the magical "kills MEQ on 2+" and on top of that ignores cover saves. Its dangerous as hell if used correctly! 24 aint so much as minimum range, as long as you deploy it far back in your zone. Its basically an Eradicator that traded survivability for killing power. Im at least very sure that I would do my best to silence its gun very fast regardless of which army I played against it (except Wolfwing/Deathwing), just like the Manticore is treated:wink:


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## don_mondo (Jan 28, 2007)

Calamari said:


> Only a small hijack: Is the Collossuss any good? I thought the minimum range would seriously hurt it on a normal 4x4 or 4x6 board.


I think so. As maidenmaniac posted, it's a Marine kliller, and works just as well against nearly anything else. The biggie is the 'no cover saves' bit. I was excited about Griffons coming back in the codex, but after I used the Colossus a couple of times, the Griffons are back on the shelf. Corner deployment, screened by a blob platoon and maybe a couple chimeras in front of it for cover saves, then just start reaching out and touching units, touching them hard. And of course, since it's barrage, you can't hide from it.


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## Colonel Wolf (Nov 11, 2009)

I tend to use the LRBT with plasma sponsons and lascannon. I think of it as triple jeopardy. If facing the Tau or other ‘I kill your tanks’ army, start with it in reserve. It can still shoot its main gun and the las when it arrives.72 inch and 48 inch range… Not bad! Loose a weapon? No problems! Take the main gun and leave one armour killer and two TEQ killers ready to rock and roll. Immobilised? Two 36 inch weapons, one 48 inch and a 72 inch. Reach out and touch somebody. This tank wil just keep on keeping on.


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