# Leman Russ Punisher



## Siege (Jan 18, 2008)

Okay so I'd assume most people have had a look at the 5th Ed Imperial Guard codex now.

I want to talk about the Leman Russ Punisher. I've seen it in a lot of new lists and I've also seen a lot of people label it as overpriced and generally ineffective.

What do you think? 

I like it myself. I am going to run a squadron of two in my list and throw Knight Commander Pask in one of them. My plan is to keep them close to my infantry squads and use them to keep enemy troops with close combat intentions away from my vulnerable Guardsmen (or at least may them think twice about getting too close).

I'm not big on mathhammer but I have looked at the basic numbers and while one Punisher may not be a huge threat, I think two (with Pask) would make most enemy units stop and reconsider their direction in life.


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## Exitus Acta Probat (Apr 23, 2009)

the problem is, you are paying 50pts for a net gain of 4 shots...and not in the 'I gained 4 shots out of 8', but in a 'I went from 28 hits to 32 hits'.
also, putting pask in a tank that's not a dedicated tank/MC buster (and no, a punisher is not that) wastes the potential he has significantly.
though I will not argue the merits/detriments of the Punisher, I think Pask is wasted here...
now, putting him in a regular russ, or a demolisher, as infantry support...with the ability to roll 2d6 pick the highest against armour, and template out any infantry, and use his improved ball skill with a lascannon...these things make him worthwhile.


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## Siege (Jan 18, 2008)

Yeah I am thinking of possibly putting Pask in my lone Leman Russ Battle Tank, but I still want to keep the Punishers.


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## Lord of Rebirth (Jun 7, 2008)

How would two or three punishers handle in a tank army for apoc?


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## tastytaste (Mar 31, 2009)

I am really not high on the punisher. I would stick with the other variants with Pask. Even if your not a fan of Mathhammer have to know that everything will be getting a save and will reduce the shots that do hit and wound.


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## Siege (Jan 18, 2008)

I know a lot of people will try to warn me away from using Punishers, I am well aware of their capabilities and yes I made this thread so I could hear others players opinions but even the most well driven argument is not likely to sway me in the end. 

Punishers play a fairly important role in the background of my army. I guess I could rewrite it to feature some other Leman Russ variant but I really feel the trigger happy reputation of Punisher crews works well with the idea of Khorne worshiping Traitor Guard.

So what I really want to know is how will I get the most out of these tanks? If you had to take Punishers in your army, how would you use them?

Also in regard to Pask in a Punisher, his ability to re roll wounds on MCs has the potential to put out some serious hurt.


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## Vanchet (Feb 28, 2008)

1st point Prask can only go inside a Basic Russ
2nd I like them but I'd only truly take them if I know I'm lacking on Anti-Infantry firepower


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## Siege (Jan 18, 2008)

Vanchet said:


> 1st point Prask can only go inside a Basic Russ


Could you please point out how exactly you have come to this conclusion? 

"A single model in a Leman Russ Squadron may take Knight Commander Pask as an upgrade."

Am I missing something? It doesn't seem to mention anything about any specific variant of Leman Russ.


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## Lash Machine (Nov 28, 2008)

I had a quick look at the book last night and if you can put three heavy bolters on a punisher then I think they are quite good against infantry. Against marines you will averagely kill three, which you could argue you may get more with a battle cannon, but against T3 or light armour such as Orks you would be looking at between 6 and 9 dead.

And if you have two punishers firing at the same unit then you will double this. I think the only down side is I think they are a bit more expensive than your standard Russ, (but I can't remeber the points costs) and a standard russ may be more flexible.

The plasma canoon one looked particulary nasty as well.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Vanchet said:


> 1st point Prask can only go inside a Basic Russ


he can go in any leman russ

and I like the Punisher, I'd use one for sure, but only against tyranids, Orks and other swarm armies (although swarm Tyranids don't exist anymore), and I would put pask inside one in that situation, otherwise I'd actually never take him unless I had an exterminator around


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## slaaneshy (Feb 20, 2008)

The Pask/Punisher combo is spot on. Shame the range is so limited on the punisher. I will get a couple and use against hordes, but to be honest, a couple of standard battle tanks will probably do just as well, given the extra range. 
For me, the artillery is a disapointment - high min range on the bask for example and not enough on others.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

The Punisher with Pask in it can still play an important role - have him hose down a Daemon Prince or Carnifex with the punisher cannon and a bunch of heavy bolter shots and see if the big nasty is still standing afterward.

29 shots = around 20 hits. Need a 4+ to wound T5 opponents so we're talking 10 wounds + 5 for the rerolls due to Pask's special rule. 15 saves on a Daemon Prince is pretty impressive...


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## Exitus Acta Probat (Apr 23, 2009)

I am going to correct myself a smidge, as a friend of mine recently pointed out not everyone looks at things from a tourney perspective.
if I were facing you across the table in an RTT, and you had spent 50 pts on pask in a squadron of 2 punishers, I would be looking for other over-expenditures I could take advantage of...
But if I were playing a friendly game with horde orks (or for that matter Nob Bikers without vehicles to hide behind) or my bugs, OR my winged DP's, I would curse myself for not thinking about it and prepping to deal...and would be cursing all the way to my loss.
It truly is all about context AND preference. I personally like the punisher, and have been working on a conversion for one. But with the innate weight of fire, and 24 inch range on the main gun, I would rather devote a special character like Pask to another vehicle.
I think an executioner, properly accoutered and toting Pask, would be a better Fex killer (hvy fex = t-7/5 wounds and 2+ save...not dyin to a punisher with pask), and give it medium vehicle lethality as well. I also think it would deal with a Daemon Prince ALMOST as well as the Punisher. 
Where the Punisher squadron (with Pask) fails in a more competitive environ is flexibility. A single Punisher with Pask, OR a pair by themselves, has an equal chance of kacking a DP, and utilizes fewer points/dedicated resources to a single target...hence overkill in points.


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## DarKKKKK (Feb 22, 2008)

Ive also found that Prask + Vanquisher Russ is pretty deadly against opposing tanks. Its almost insta-kill against most tanks overall. Anyway when it comes to the Punisher, I'm between it right now, I can see how it is useful, but I've also heard a lot of bad things about it. Although with the amount of shots it can put it with more Heavy bolters, it seems worth it with the right army build.


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## EvilPixels (Sep 5, 2010)

So, I know this might be a bit late to the party and hijacky.

But everyone is talking about heavy bolters.

I am currently fielding a punisher with plasma cannons in the sponsons and a laz cannon in the hull.

It seems like a good middle of the road line holder to me. Blast templates, a little armor dropping capability and pretty lethal against infantry. 

It's got it's disadvantages but I like it.

Problem is it's the only way I've fielded it. Am I missing some awesome combo in the three heavy bolters?


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## HOBO (Dec 7, 2007)

The thing is that your build is 245 pts, and it's a tank that needs to get close to fire all its weapons, plus yours have different ranges so it needs to to 24" to fire the Gatling Cannon and the Plasma. However that places it at risk of assault and then all those points are gone fairly quickly.

I do like how you have it built to target small numbered units like Termies, because it's pretty ineffective against hoards, but overall I see the Punisher as an expensive and ineffective Tank that won't kill a whole lot except on a rare occassion every now and then, and against a limited number of viable targets....it certainly shouldn't be in an all-comers list.

The 29 shot Gatling/3 HB build looks good on paper but in the end you only kill 3 MEQ or 7/8 Orks etc (approximately)...pretty poor for a tank that pricy, and Pask doesn't change the kill count/points cost ratio that much.

Still, it's not all about efficiency..if you like it then that's as good a reason as you need to field one, plus rolling a ton of dice at once can have a psychological effect on players who haven't faced a Punisher before.


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## LimitingFactor (Jan 11, 2009)

*Punisher*

I like these Tanks. The reason I like them is because one of my Armies is a Small Tank Company which has 3 Leman Russ Tanks used as Troops, a Further Leman Russ Is my Command Tank (Grace of the throne). The Four of these Tanks all tote a Battle Cannon. I have other light tanks like the Salamander Scout and Some APC also. I was using a Demolisher Tank to kill enemy troops that got to the Battle Line of Leman Russ Tanks ...looking out for things like Deep Striking Obliterators or Charging 20 strong mobs of Orks. The Demolisher would kill these threats before they were able to wreak a entire Battle Line of my Tanks. The trouble is when the enemy get in close and you facing the risk of that Demolisher Cannon missing the intended targets and hitting friendly Tanks. In one game that canon destroyed two of my tanks in a single Turn. Now I use the Punisher because it serves the same purpose and carries no Risk of Blue on Blue mistakes.

That said - Use it against soft skin targets if your able. If you know that you going to be playing against Eldar, Tau , Orks, Other Guard this tank is a must (expect to kill somewhere between 8 and 12 a Turn). Against your Ultra Marine type unit it will kill 2-3 a turn but against Nurgle Marines it is ineffective. You can still Drop a few Thousand Sons with it but i doubt you get more than 2 a turn.

Mine is a very basic build. Gatling Gun and Las Cannon. Thing is the other Tanks handle the other threats and the punisher simply protects those tanks.


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