Leman Russ Battle Tank

Were you looking for Leman Russ, the wolf of the wolfity wolves?

This tank uses the tears of MEQ dependent players as fuel for its engine.

The Leman Russ Battle Tank is the most common tank in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the product of a drunken three-way between an old British Mark-V, a M3 Lee, and a T-34.

The biggest pain in the ass, for points, a player will encounter when fighting the Imperial Guard, the Leman Russ Battle Tank is so reliable and hard-hitting that it is named for the rapetastic Space Wolf Primarch, Leman Russ. The Leman Russ is widely considered one of the most religiously useful vehicles the Imperial Guard have on the tabletop, boasting both heavy firepower and good utility; it is easily one of the best tanks for cost in Warhammer 40K tabletop, and its ability to rape Necron and SPESS MEHREEN players through judicious use of ordnance and weapons fire make this thing a complete pain in the ass to deal with. Heavy-as-hell front armor (superior to all Space Marine tanks barring the Land Raider) and reasonable side armor make these a tough nut to crack (unless someone gets behind them- their rear armor appears to be made of chewing gum and wet paper, allowing rear attacks to destroy them with ease), and the ability to fire their main gun (even if that main gun is an ordnance weapon) if they move slowly makes them capable of delivering serious punishment - and that's before their ability to pack on Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons, and Multi-Meltas is factored in. It looks older than the Emperor's toilet-dreadnought.

One could argue that the Leman Russ is obsolete even on standards of late 20th century, due to the fact that it has only 150mm of armor with some sloping. To put things in perspective the Soviet T-55, which was introduced in the 50's, has armor equal to 200mm of steel. More modern tanks have even thicker armor, the M1 Abrams turret armor is offers protection equal to around 400mm of steel. On top of that modern tank rounds can pierce over 600 millimeters of steel at close range. So the front armor of the Imperium's mighty Leman Russ front armor could be pierced four times over by modern tank rounds.

It is also possible that GW writers know nothing about tanks, and pulled the number "150mm" out of their ass. After all these are the same writers who said Imperial stub pistols bullets have a muzzle velocity of 400 fps, which is equal to most airsoft guns. Equally plausible is that the Imperium measures the armor of its tanks in millimeters of plasteel instead of normal steel, and who knows how much harder it is than normal steel. But given that plasteel is one of the materials used to make Terminator armor, we can assume that it's hard as fuck.

Regardless, the Leman Russ is one of coolest tanks in 40k as it just oozes with the rugged badassery that the IG are known for. With a relatively low point cost, armor that makes it a real bitch to shoot to death, and a massive amount of variants and upgrades, the Russ is a go to vehicle almost every Imperial Guard player. If you play IG for tanks, the Leman Russ is going to be your bread and butter.

At 500 Points

A lot of players used to field nothing but low-level infantry squads and a Leman Russ, due to its low points cost, in 500-point games. This practice continues today (though it's more commonly seen with the Imperial Guard Manticore Rocket Launcher nowadays), and has been known to induce ragequits. Shit got worse, boys. If the Imperial Guard was not balls-to-the-wall enough now, Leman Russ' can be SQUADRONED in threes. Three Leman Russ' per Heavy Support slot. NINE TOTAL. The new Tank Commander allows you to take a squadron of Russes as a HQ slot with him, and you can take two Tank Commanders! 15 RUSSES. OUCH

Add in with the new codex that all but the Battle Tank and Demolisher variants had point reductions, the Demolisher actually got a point increase, allowing you to buy upgrades for units with some of the cheaper variants. You can easily bring two Executioners with the list below with the same points left. Replace the CCS with a Tank Commander and watch the fun as your tanks can get orders which make them even better. Run for the hills, heretics. No wait, the tanks ARE the hills. Run away from the hills. If you see the hills, run the other way. Just, get away from the tanks.

With the rules found in the 'Imperial Armour: Imperial Guard' book, you can field Leman Russ' as troops choices in a mechanised army, meaning you can field an insane 6 HQ tanks, 18 'Troops' tanks, and 9 'Heavy Support' Tanks.

Example:

HQ

Tank Commander, Pask Leman Russ Punisher (Pask's tank, obviously) Leman Russ Battle Tank

TROOPS

2x Veteran Squad

You can exchange the Battle Tank for another, cheaper, variant to save up some points, or if you'd prefer something more specialized. Said extra points can be used outfitting your Veterans.

Flavor of the Week

There are a dizzying number of Leman Russes with tons of different payloads. The variations seen in the tabletop game are as follows:

Leman Russ Battle Tank

There is an old saying that "if it isn't broken, don't fix it," and this is especially true given how much the Adeptus Mechanicus has forgotten by the 41st millennium. The basic Leman Russ Battle Tank is therefore a simple, brutal machine; it can be built out of almost any metal and its engine can run on almost any fuel, and it has no complicated auto-targeting or driving systems -- every gun is operated by a physical person inside the tank, and the controls are simple enough that a crew only needs minimal training before going into battle (which the Departmento Munitorum really likes, though commanders on the ground tend to prefer more seasoned crews). Though it gets loud and hot inside, and it is not a fast machine, it is tough as nails. From the front and sides, anyway- the back is much less heavily armored, to save weight and help the engine. Even so, it's been getting the job done just fine since the Great Crusade.

The original boasts a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter and a Battle Cannon in its turret, the latter of which is widely regarded for its ability to fuck up squads of Space Marines and Necrons. It can swap the Heavy Bolter for a Lascannon and add a Pair of Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons, or Heavy Flamers for sponsons, unfortunately as an ordnance weapon everything else fires at snap shots if you shoot the main cannon, making it good for blasting the fuck out of just about anything that pisses it off -- it's hard to go wrong with the vanilla Russ.

Leman Russ Vanquisher

The Leman Russ Vanquisher has a variant of the Battle Cannon that will usually let it one-shot enemy vehicles at long range (overconfidence killed the Guardsmen). If a lascannon or Battle Cannon just isn't doing it for your tankhunting purposes, and you don't really feel like grabbing a Melta, this weapon will more than adequately fill the need (because it pierces armor like a melta -- S8 + 2d6). Whilst its penetrating power might be similar to a Melta, its actual tank killing power is limited, thanks to a lack of AP1 it only rolls +1 on the penetration table, meaning you need a 6 to make things explode. Unfortunately, the Adeptus Mechanicus only made the Vanquisher Battle Cannon on one Forge World, which got taken over by Orks, so the only way to make new Vanquishers nowadays is to take the guns off of ruined Vanquishers and fit them on new Leman Russ chassis -- which happens a lot, because enemies who make use of tanks have learned to make Vanquishers a priority target. Because this is so difficult to do, especially for long campaigns, only the very best tank crews get to use Vanquishers, and even then, they only get to deploy to zones where there are lots of tanks to be killed. The Mechanicus is trying to alleviate the Vanquisher shortage by commissioning other Forge Worlds to reproduce the old cannons (see Forge World Patterns below), but progress is very slow.

The Vanquisher is so specialized as an anti tank weapon that it can be argued that it's not a tank anymore, but a Tank Destroyer. A tank is a multi-purpose weapon, and, sponsons aside, the Leman Russ is a general purpose tank, equally adept at blowing tanks or infantry apart. The Vanquisher, though, can only really tear apart tanks, and it is very, very good in that regard. Normal Leman Russes are like Shermans, this is a Firefly. The downside of this tank, from a tabletop perspective, is that it doesn't have any blast effects from its main gun, so consider the Plasma Cannon options for this thing. However, when adding Pask, this tank has been known to cause rage with its stupid BS 4, + 1 armor pen etc (you're better off putting Pask in a Punisher, save the standard TC for a Vanquisher). The Tau can say all they want with their railgun heresy, but this is the best tank hunter (aside from all the others) in the game and with plasma sponsons, it's a beast at killing Space Marines.

If you are having problems with those pesky tyranid MCs, consider going for the double cheese and cheddar routine on Vanquishers since Forge World now allows Command Vanquishers to take beast hunter shells, specialized Vanquisher shells with the solid penetrating core replaced with a canister of weapons-grade toxic acids. In gameplay, it's a small blast that has the instant death special rule. Booo, you wanted even more leman russes? Take the said vanquisher as HQ tank in allied armoured battlegroup. With squadron of Leman Russes as allied troop detachment. Yes, you read that right. 13 leman russes in one battle.

Leman Russ Exterminator

This tank is so awesome that it was first introduced as part of the third edition Space Wolves army list (the Imperial Guard only had the regular Russ and the Demolisher at the time), as the Wolves wanted to have a few tanks named after their Primarch.

Though the Hydra Flak Tank is better suited toward Flyers and Skimmers now, infantry and light vehicle rape is still applicable with the Exterminator, which uses a twin-linked Autocannon with a doubled fire rate as its main gun. One of several vehicles capable of driving Ork or Tyranid players into a frothing, white-hot RAGE when used with Heavy Bolter Sponsons, the Exterminator's main drawback is that it relies on its sponson/hull weapons to deal with enemy heavy armor (unless you're using Pask, in which case the Autocannons will often suffice). Because its main gun is not a massive artillery-sized cannon, it is a little faster (in story only -- although, because the autocannons are Heavy and not Ordnance, it can fire all of its weapons at full ballistic skill on the move, which the vanilla Russ cannot) than the original Russ, which makes it of mild utility to reconnaissance units, and although it does not have the advanced anti-air targeting mechanisms that the Hydra Flak Tank does, its high rate of fire makes it mildly useful as a stop-gap air defense (Heavy 4 twin-linked is sure to get at least one shot on target -- 1.222 hits on average, in fact -- and S7 is fairly threatening to most flyers).

Leman Russ Eradicator

Once upon a time, some Forge World in the Imperium decided that they had too many nuclear weapons on their hands, and that they needed to do something with them. After some wacky hijinks and hilarious mishaps, the result was the Leman Russ Eradicator, a tank with a short range cannon that lobs "sub-atomic" charges at enemies in cover. So, basically, fuck your cover saves. The percussive shock (and probably the radiation, too) neutralizes cover saves, and though it's a little weaker than the Battle Cannon in every way (lower strength, shorter range, worse AP), it is still a respectable tank, especially against Eldar or any unit that is trying to take advantage of the Small Targets or Stealth rule. It's otherwise basically the same as the regular version, range and power aside. Unfortunately, this means it also has the laughable rear armor -- seriously, Scouts with shotguns could kill this tank if they got behind it -- and because its range is so short, it needs to be up close and personal. Paper-thin rear armor + urban combat = dead tank.

The Eradicator has the distinction of being the cheapest tank in the arsenal, and are often used as the ablative shield of Pask or a regular tank commander. While their main gun is useful, taking them with plasma sponsons is the best reason to field them, especially if you can score preferred enemy through a warlord trait, wargear, or a formation bonus. Nope not anymore go for heavy flamers to make your tau friends cry tears of pure cheese

Leman Russ Demolisher

The first of the "Reinforced" or "Siege" Leman Russ models (they have additional rear armor), the Leman Russ Demolisher packs a short range gun that is much stronger than the normal battle cannon and virtually guaranteed to threaten entire formations with Instant Death should it shoot. It's meant to be a hybrid of the firepower of artillery with the speed and combat resilience of a tank, for those situations when the Guard can't wait for a proper artillery barrage but still need to overtake a heavily guarded or fortified position, and it excels in such an environment - in fact, it is a better line-breaker than the Space Marines' Vindicator tank (which is silly, because Space Marines are all about cracking defenses with overwhelming firepower...). On the other hand, the Demolisher Cannon's short range means that it'll be unable to do much else and will likely draw massive amounts of firepower in its direction, which translates into a risk that the Demolisher will be wrecked before it can even fire a single shot. Keep long-range support nearby it to ensure it remains in one piece.

Leman Russ Punisher

The Leman Russ Punisher is about as close to "enuff Dakka" as the Imperial Guard can get without bringing in Titans or Baneblades. Like the Demolisher, it has the increased rear armor of a Siege Tank, though its main gun, the S5 AP- Heavy 20 Punisher Gatling Cannon, is meant for attacking infantry and light vehicles. The range is poor for a vehicle weapon, but the fact that one of these things can crank out more firepower than an entire squad of guardsmen under a Rank Fire order is absolutely hilarious; normally only Orks with Shootas get to roll this many dice. When backed up with other weapons, the Punisher can basically destroy huge numbers of troops at once, though it is hampered by its operators' low ballistic skill and its inability to penetrate any armor.

As of the new Codex, Knight Commander Pask turns it from a fun toy to an absolute wrecking ball. Between his BS4 and a Warlord Trait that gives Preferred Enemy, he's likely to get nearly all hits. He also gives the Punisher rending, and can reroll armor penetration with the main gun. Light tanks get torn to shreds in one burst, Medium tanks take a beating, and even Land Raiders or other Leman Russes can get glanced to death due to all the rerolls.

Mont'ka goes one step further by allowing Pask or a generic brand alternative used in the Emperor's Fist formation to grant every leman russ variant in 6 inches BS 4. 7 bs 4 punishers with Pask giving the finger in the middle will turn anything short of an army of Ghost Keels into so much pancake batter, and rocks in only just over 1k points. Probably not the most effective use of points, Pask in a Punisher is devastating, normal Punishers, not so much.

There's three ways to equip a Punisher:

- completely stock

- with heavy bolter sponsons, to supplement its firepower. This can be seen as pointless, or excessive, as the Punisher has enough anti-infantry firepower.

- with multi-melta sponsons, to make it a great all rounder.

Pask is almost a must, but he can't be in every Punisher.

Leman Russ Executioner

The Leman Russ Executioner was developed during the Dark Age of Technology, and during the Great Crusade, the Imperium used to be able to field them by the regiment; unfortunately, they lost much of their manufacturing capacity for complex plasma mechanisms during the Horus Heresy,

Jokingly called the "Leman Russ Trollface" or "Leman Russ Blast Template Dropper" by some players, the Executioner is the bane of Space Marines everywhere, for it packs a Plasma Cannon that fires in 3-round bursts. For maximum hilarity, pair with Plasma Cannon sponsons (ergo allowing 5 Plasma Cannon shots a turn from one vehicle) and try not to laugh when killing about double the tank's point cost in heavy infantry every turn. This used to be the bane of Terminator-heavy armies that had gotten used to being nearly invulnerable to non-anti-tank weaponry, but then the Grey Knights got their Plasma Syphon to remove that weakness...though since Plasma Cannons are Blast weapons, firing at BS1 only makes them scatter harder but still lets them fire, and it only matters if the tank is within 12" of the syphon-bearing model anyway, it doesn't help any if they roll direct hits with blast templates, and it doesn't make the Executioner any less effective against other armies with high armor saves and toughness values, like Space Marines, Necrons, Nidzilla armies, and Chaos Daemons. So, even Grey Knights' plasma syphons aren't that good. It used to be that models not under the center hole of a blast took hits at half-strength, but 5th Edition changed that, which made the Executioner much more effective against lighter (AV10/11) armored vehicles.

• • Alternative take: Use Executioner as Tank Commander's co-tank. If you take Pask as the main tank, you get to reroll "Gets Hot" results due to having preferred enemy (so reroll 1's for to hit and to wound rolls). Also due to S7 you wound basically everything with 2+, making it rerollable if you fail any wound rolls.
  • Alternative 2: add Trojan with Techpriest to the mix, giving everyone within 12" bubble Preferred enemy. See above, exept for your whole heavy ordnance. Ouchy.

And Commanders Too

Tank Commanders may now be taken as a HQ choice. They can only have the first three Warlord Traits out of the Imperial Guard Astra Militarum codex, but increase their tank's BS to 4. They also require at least one buddy tank to ride along with them. They can issue three special orders to their squadron (at effectively LD9), which includes allowing the Commander to fire at a different target, making the squadron pop smoke after they shoot, and letting the squadron move flat out at D6+6", even though they're heavy.

Knight Commander Pask Not really a Leman Russ but an upgrade for one, Knight Commander Pask raises the BS of any Russ he's placed in to 4 and improves their AP, ergo making the tank more accurate and more punchy. Widely considered conditionally broken against some factions when paired with a Punisher, Executioner, or Exterminator. Pask is known for killing Titans with a Leman Russ and refusing to drive a Baneblade in favor of one. His balls of steel rating is thusly considered somewhere between Vance Motherfucking Stubbs and Colonel "I tore a Landshark's throat out with my teeth" Straken.

He now gives buffs to the main turret depending on what variant he rides in. All variants can reroll to pen rolls. MBT, Vanquisher, Eradicators, and Demolishers can reroll to hit, Punishers and Exterminators gain Rending, and Executioners can trade in their Heavy 3 for a Heavy 1 Large Blast with Blinding. His Warlord trait grants his unit Preferred Enemy, making Executioner squadmates a much safer option.

FORGE WORLD LOVE

GW's specialist subsidiary Forge World made a couple of their own Leman Russes. They also pimped out the appearances of several types.

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Leman Russ Conqueror

The Leman Russ Conqueror was built to be a faster Leman Russ tank -- its cannon fires smaller shells with less recoil, which allows the tank to be more mobile. This had the positive side-effects of allowing the Conqueror to store more ammunition and sustain a higher rate of fire. The smaller cannon also allows the installation of a co-axial weapon, which helps the gunner keep the main cannon on target.

Forge World created the Conqueror back in Third Edition, when a Leman Russ had to stay still to fire its battle cannon. The main point for a Conqueror is that its cannon is not Ordnance; it fires a battle cannon pieplate (shrunk to 3" from 5", per IA Vol. One Second Ed.) to a shortened range of 48 inches, with the profile of Heavy 1. In standard games on a 4x6 foot table, the shorter range doesn't matter. Losing Ordnance means your shots are worse at penetrating armor, but also means that you can fire your other weaponry at the same time.

In other words, it was intended to be what in World War Two would be called a cavalry tank: a faster, more lightly armed vehicle designed to exploit breakthroughs that the slower, more heavily armed tanks could create but not themselves use. Once it had broken though, it would then overrun the enemy's rear areas, causing trouble behind enemy lines while the infantry tanks and regular infantry keep pressing the advance and securing ground behind it. Now, it's ironically in the same position that the vanilla Leman Russ was when it was first introduced, only without the armor-piercing abilities of the regular Russes. As a result, it's not very useful in general anymore unless it gets an update to bring it in line with the other variants. (the death korps of krieg Leman Russ Conqueror has been updated to be a fast vehicle mean that it can fire two of it's weapons normally and snap shoot the rest if moving up to 12", the Conqueror in other lists still lack the fast vehicle rule)

Leman Russ Annihilator

As the supply of Leman Russ Vanquishers is ever-dwindling after the loss of Tigrus, while the Imperial Guard's demand for anti-armor tanks is ever-growing, so some Forge Worlds have started to try and meet demand by taking the twin-linked lascannons off the Predator Annihilator and putting them in the Leman Russ's turret. That's not how they're made, they share the namesake, but the Leman Russ Annihilator began as a field conversion. An Imperial Officer found his armoured units constantly losing to renegade armour, so he decided to replace his companies Leman Russ' battle cannons and replace them with the companies lascannon. This ultimately won them the battle, but the officer responsible for these conversions was found of tech-heresy and sentenced to death. The Techpriest then later decided to sanction it, thanks to a need of more anti-armour tanks, and began production. Because the lascannon is easier to make, maintain, and use, the Annihilator is the preferred armour-hunting tank of armoured regiments that expect to sustain lots of damaged and lost tanks (like the Death Korps of Krieg).

Forge World rolled this tank with the Death Korps of Krieg army, and was very popular before 5th edition changed the way a Leman Russ works. Since moving and shooting Ordnance weapons was no longer a problem, the Annihilator lost much of its appeal, but after sixth edition changed which weapons can be fired when a vehicle moves, its utility has risen some: because its cannon is not an ordnance weapon, and the Annihilator is a heavy vehicle (unlike the Conqueror), it can fire all of its weapons at full ballistic skill on the move.

It'd be pretty awesome if they gave it the Exterminator treatment, where they not only made the weapon twin-linked but doubled its rate-of-fire, case-and-point making its lascannons heavy 2, twin-linked. But alas, it's fairly underwhelming at the moment. You're better off just getting a Vanquisher at the moment, seeing as the Vanquisher only costs 5 more points and has a much better gun, it's not twin-linked though, but it could get that from other means.

Leman Russ Incinerator

Incinerator.

A Pre-Heresy Russ variant armed with a massive Volkite cannon in the turret. Currently only available to Solar Auxilia, it is twin-linked, and has an additional point of strength and shot than its smaller regular culverin. Can potentially cause a lot of damage at great range to infantry, but you'll most likely find that the more vanilla variants can do the same job much more efficiently. The fact that it has no way of taking sponson weapons doesn't help in that respect.

Because of the downsides of the Incinerator, it's pretty much a take only if you're a huge fan of Volkites. Even then, it's limited to causing a maximum of only 10 wounds per round(If your opponent fails its first 5 armor saves, and Deflagrate succeeds in wounding 5 more times). It also shares its AP with every single Volkite weapon smaller than it on the table, including the fucking pistol. So if you really need to bring Volkite weaponry to vaporize tyranids or other blobs, you're MUCH better off putting some Veletaris in an Arvus or a Dracosan. They can cause up to 40 wounds through Deflagrate, compared to the Incinerator which can only cause up to 10.

Destroyer Tank Hunter

The Destroyer Tank Hunter is basically the tank equivalent of a sniper. It's the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G (StuG III G) of the 40K universe, it loses the turret and swaps out the hull-mounted heavy bolter for a massive laser destroyer -- basically, a twin-linked Ordnance lascannon, all the better to penetrate armor with. Like a sniper, its job is to hide in a defensive position, kill a high-valued enemy, and move on -- it has the same armor as a Russ, but its only secondary weapon is a pintle-mounted heavy stubber or storm bolter, making it all but defenseless against enemy anti-armor. Fortunately, as it lacks the increased mass and stabilization requirements of the turret, it can be substantially faster than the Leman Russ Battle Tank, which helps it evade pursuit. The lower profile can also be of some help when it comes to putting it out of line of sight.

Thunderer Siege Tank

The Laser Destroyer is a rare weapon, so units with Destroyers whose main cannon is destroyed will seldom be given a replacement. The hulls were re-purposed by installing a Demolisher cannon in the laser destroyer's mount, resulting in the Thunderer Siege Tank. It is essentially a faster, discounted Demolisher, except its stuck with a fixed forward casemate (though if your Demolisher is in a position where it has to shoot something behind it, you are in a bad place) and it cannot take any secondary weapons besides a pintle-mounted heavy stubber or storm bolter (not that it needs any more firepower than S10 AP2 5" Blast, though when the Vehicle Damage table comes calling you may be glad you took something else to lose on a Weapon Destroyed result). The reduced versatility means that most commanders would rather use a proper Demolisher, but as vehicle reserves run low, any Demolisher cannon is a welcome addition to the line of battle.

In practice, it's gone from a tank destroyer to an assault gun; it functions like a more expensive (by 15 points), but much tougher Vindicator (which is rather hilarious, since Space Marines love the Vindicator, while the Thunderer is a second-line Guard assault gun that is usually passed over for the Leman Russ Demolisher). Don't mention this around Space Marines -- they're still bothered that the Imperial Guard have what amounts to a Vindicator with better armor on every facing and access to camo netting, which in turn inspired them to make the Land Raider Ares. But that comes with the price tag of a Land Raider, so...

Alternate Patterns

Forge World has also released variant turrets and hulls for Leman Russ models.

Mars Alpha Pattern Hull

The Mars Alpha hull has more internal space and a larger engine, resulting in a slightly bulkier hull overall (especially noticeable with the engine sticking further out the back of the tank). The hull-weapon's mount is slightly different, with a more streamlined joint than the boxy sponson-like mount of the standard pattern. The increased internal space is used for ammunition storage on battle-line tanks, or for extra communication equipment on command tanks.

Ryza Pattern Turret

Ryza is most known for their work on plasma weapons, but then the tech-priests realized that their Executioner turret looked really cool, so they made turrets for the regular Battle Tank, Annihilator, Demolisher, Exterminator, and Vanquisher (with co-axial autocannon) turret variants. It is a sleeker turret than the original, with straight sides angled forward and a searchlight or scanner on the left side, while the weapon is contained in a slightly more sensible-looking elevation joint. Ryza turrets are often mounted on Mars Alpha hulls.

Gryphonne IV Pattern Turret

Before it got overrun by the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan, Gryphonne IV made turrets for the Conqueror, Exterminator, and Vanquisher (with co-axial storm bolter) tanks. Gryphonne IV turrets are much more "greebled" than the standard turrets, and are distinguished by the flared-out sides and the searchlight mounted to the right of the commander's hatch.

Stygies VIII Pattern Turret

Stygies VIII also produces a Vanquisher turret with a co-axial storm bolter, and is also a rather greebly turret (though its searchlight is mounted on the left side, like the Ryza turret), but their variant of the Vanquisher cannon is shorter than the Gryphonne IV's (which is ridiculously long, to be honest), and it is unrifled, to bring the muzzle velocity back up to that of the Gryphonne IV cannon.

Wargear/Configuration Breakdown

In the newest codex, Multi-melta sponsons share the same cost as Heavy Bolters, so seriously consider taking them if you want to gear up for mercilessly slaughtering tanks.

The Hull Heavy Flamer and sponson Heavy Flamer should be avoided. There are dozens of better ways to get cover hate on the battlefield (Chimeras and Hellhounds coming readily to mind), and it removes your Heavy Bolter, so don't go with it. The Hull Heavy Bolter is always a good thing as it is free and a lifeline to your main weapon; if you suffer a weapon destroyed. The hull Lascannon is a good addition to a Vanquisher, for extra punch, as they are both used for the same battlefield role, both long ranged and high strength/low AP. Again, if you really hate cover, you have the Leman Russ Eradicator; I mean, it's why the thing exists.

Sponson Bolters are generally a "take 'em or not" option, because it's only 20 points for the pair, and the worst case scenario is that they add to the hull Heavy Bolter in slinging shots downrange anyway, which can help a lot against Tyranids and other blob armies and is especially nice to have with Pask in play. It's as much as 6 extra shots, so it's not bad. They're less useful on the Punisher (which is already spraying out 23 shots by default) and Demolisher (which really doesn't need much to help the Demolisher Cannon), and many players scream with irritation if they're used on them, but they remain effective and they're not a huge investment, so use them if you feel like it. It's not like the Dozer Blade is a better of those points. Bear in mind that, due to the changes to the Leman Russ's "Lumbering Behemoth" rule, a Russ can only fire its sponson weapons as snap shots if it fires an Ordnance weapon (Battle Cannon and Demolisher Cannon), so your vanilla Russes and Demolishers should have heavy bolters (plasma cannons and heavy flamers cannot be fired as snap shots, and you get more chances to hit with heavy bolters than with lascannons) if they are given any sponson weapons at all.

The Plasma Cannon Sponsons, however, are a different story. These need to be on the right tank or they're a waste of points. They generally do better on the likes of the Exterminator and Vanquisher, giving blast effects to tanks that otherwise wouldn't have it. It's especially good on the Executioner, however, adding 2 more Plasma Cannons to the existing 3-round burst of the main gun and adding yet more raep to the firestorm. There is possibly no tank better at blasting Tyranids and Necrons than this configuration - and god help anything in its way if it has Pask as well. In other words, whatever you put them on, make them count. They aren't very good on the standard Leman Russ (because its S8 AP3 basically eclipses anything a Plasma Cannon can do). The Eradicator can make some decent use of it, mostly because its Nova Cannon doesn't pack the AP of the Battle Cannon and ergo makes a nice support weapon for dropping into a crowd that would otherwise be able to deal with the Nova Cannon. Games Workshop has a notoriously raging hard-on for equipping them on Demolishers and Punishers, but this is actually a fairly bad idea; these two tanks are almost invariably better off charging headlong into the enemy's face, where they won't be firing the Plasma Cannons anyway (at least the Heavy Bolter sponsons can work with the hull Heavy Bolter and pick off stragglers after the initial insert-gun-into-face manoeuvre). So put these on Executioners, Exterminators, and Vanquishers only for best results - these tanks are the ones that make the best use of them. In sixth edition, plasma cannons can now 'get hot' on vehicles so they are less useful.

For wargear, it's generally a good idea to avoid the pintle mounts. They simply aren't of use on a vehicle that is bristling with weapons in the first place, and it's extremely hard to envision an environment wherein a player screams "Man, a Storm Bolter on my Leman Russ would have been the absolute BOMB right now!" The Stubber can be somewhat useful if only due to its range, but generally isn't simply because - again - every reason you'd use one is already covered by its baseline weaponry. If you're looking hard to find a spot to drop a few points (why are you doing this), I guess you could put one on a bullet-spewing tank and add a few more shots, but again, probably more efficient ways to spend those points.

Firebarrels is a new wargear option added in the 6th edition (looks around to make sure I do not get BLAMMED by Commissar)*BLAM*Cowardice! You will say this with pride! Codex Astra Militarum. In layman terms it is a one time use wall of death that deals D6 amount of damage. More or a scare tactic then anything, it does allow the Russ to protect itself in close combat. For ten points, it is cost effective. Though not a auto include, it should not be overlooked. Especially when you take a squadron of three and give each tank these barrels. That's going to hurt

Recovery gear is probably a autoinclude in any build for the Leman Russ. Why? For 5 points you can roll to remove a immobilized result. Think about that for a moment. For 5 points, you don't have to worry (as much) that your tanks will be stopped due to a lucky roll or failed dangerouse terrain test. Now granted, you will not always use this gear, or even do well to de immobilized the tank. Just that when compared to dozer blades, you can obviously see a winner.

Relic plating is.....controversial. Its the cheapest wargear the Russ can take. And it does give Adamantium Will to this giant machine of death. The problem comes with formations. Depending on how one sees the rules, this upgrade either A. gives the entire squadron Adamantium Will when just applied to one tank. Or B. Only applies to the tank that takes the wargear. Either way, best to give all tanks in the squadron this upgrade. (Lets face it, the second the opponent hears one of the tanks has Adamantium will, that tank is a target. Might as well give all tanks this upgrade just to be safe).

The Hunter-Killer Missile is... questionable. Its unlimited range can be a good surprise against players not expecting it, which, when combined with its good strength, makes it a good option for destroying artillery (this is actually a halfway decent choice with Pask by the way), but Chimeras and Sentinels are widely (and rightly) considered the best platform for this secondary weapon, whereas the Leman Russ is often rightly considered a somewhat wasteful (if potentially useful) platform for the weapon. Pask abuse aside, the Hunter-Killer missile generally isn't useful for Leman Russes simply because you don't need a Krak missile when any of these tanks can pack anti-vehicle punch in the form of its turret weapon or Lascannon (the latter of which any Russ can get).

With the new codex, we get the ability to take tank commanders. They have to bring another tank in a squad, which you would do anyway, and gives the tank they are commanding BS4. They can be a warlord and only roll on the first three choices of the codex warlord table, and their unit is moved into the HQ force org slot. So you can take up to 12 Leman Russes in a battle forged army! They also have three orders they can give their unit. They can move flat out in a heavy tank for 6+D6 inches, a form of split fire for the commander to shoot at a different target from the others in his unit, and an order that its unit makes a shooting attack then uses smoke launchers if it has not already. The commander has to roll a 9 or less on 2d6 to get these off. Good for a mechanized army list specializing in tanks.

Whilst he's pricey, Pask himself deserves special note - he is a great upgrade to a command tank, since he makes a Russ BS4, gets to reroll to hit with most weapons, adds rending to punisher and exterminators, rerolls penetration against vehicles, and turns the executioner into a large single blast with blind. Naturally starts out with Old Grudges as his warlord trait giving him preferred enemy of your choice. He is an expensive upgrade for a tank commander, so again, make sure that whatever you put him in, it gets used.

How to Use It

First and foremost, note the tank's armor ratings. It's dirt cheap, its BS is average, but its armor value on the front is 14 and its side armor is hefty at 13. Its rear armor, however, sucks and can be damaged by many regular infantry weapons. Keep them facing the enemy at all times and do your best to keep their backs covered - you can't afford to let some jump infantry Deep Strike behind one and play catch-the-fucking-meltabomb. Treat them well and they'll treat you well.

Second, three of the Leman Russes - the Demolisher, Punisher, and Executioner - have additional rear armor. This is not enough to make them invulnerable but what it does mean is that it's no longer threatened simply by being completely surrounded by regular infantry (Hormagaunts for example). This is important for the Punisher and Demolisher, which have to get close, but the Executioner is just more survivable since it generally shoots from afar. AV 11 still isn't very good, so bear in mind the first example on this list and keep the front facing the enemy.

It is also important to remember that the Guard is like an army from World War II. Learn from their tactics and apply them wisely. All nations had some way to make sure infantry are mobile enough to keep up with tanks, so transports (obviously Chimeras) are necessary unless you are planning on defense, in which case they would employ dedicated tank destroyers (Vanquishers) to deal with enemy armor, freeing up tanks to other tasks. In fact, America put all their tank destroying duties to tank destroyers, leaving their tanks to exploiting breaches and throwing high explosive shells at fortifications; this is also the reason US tank destroyers have turrets (to hunt enemy tanks) as opposed to other nations' (Much lower silhouette for ambushing and/or much simpler, thicker front plating).

Now, each country had outstanding tank tactics - Germany for example would make good use of shock attacks, striking enemy fast and hard and forcing them to react to your moves, not the other way around. For said tactical style your will need Lemen Russ Conquerors for speed, or if you are willing to go slower, than normal ones will do. Germany also had a bit of a hard on for super heavy tanks,so feel free to liberally splash Baneblades into a German style army list.

British, Russian and French styles would have infantry supported by anti-fortification heavy tanks (Eradicators, Punishers and Demolishers) smashing enemy defenses first, then faster vehicles (Sentinels, Hell Hounds, and Chimeras with assault infantry) would flood through the gaps and rout the disorganized enemy.

American tactics would be using relatively few kinds of tanks (normal Russes), but would also field as many as possible so their infantry could take on the enemy while the tanks exploit breaches they create in enemy lines while dedicated tank destroyers(Vanquisher) wait in support to deal with enemy tanks. America also had a near infamous amount of air support (Valkyries and Marauders) to back them up if needed and the plan for World War II, even though it rarely played out as planned, was that the tank destroyers would be kept in the rear areas (reserve) then rushed forward when enemy tanks were encountered, hence why tank destroyers like the Hellcat were so fast (and to a lesser extent, why their armor was kind of secondary). Tangential learning: BAM!

Regardless of the details, it's always a good idea to use infantry to kill things that can kill your tanks since lascannons don't really do a lot of damage to a squad while you have your tanks kill things that can kill your infantry, heavy bolters don't bother Russes. Counter enemy units with the unit they themselves can't counter. Maybe have a Chimera acting as an IFV to help protect the infantry, too, which takes a bit of a load off the Leman Russes so they can focus on killing bigger fish.

How to Kill It

The Leman Russ can be a tough adversary. If you're facing a guard player there's a good chance he's taken five of them, so you may need to get creative in how you approach them. The stock Leman Russ is probably the most common variant you'll be facing. It's dirt cheap, comes with the Cadian battleforce, and generally gets the job done. The main thing you need to look out for is the battle cannon, obviously. With S8 AP3 and large blast, it can straight up smoke whole squads of just about anything, and any multi wound T4 models will get Insta Death'd as well. AV 14 on the front, and 13 on the sides makes shooting it difficult. Spamming high strength weapons i.e. Lascannons, Missiles, etc can work but it's all up to luck at that point. Even Lascannons only pen on 6. If you have to shoot your best bet is tricky weapons. Melta, Lance, Armorbane, Strength D, etc are really the only things that reliable pen a Russ frontally. The most surefire way to get a Russ is to gun for the rear armor. Use skimmers or deep striking units to get behind the Russ and unload on its AV10 ass. Likewise melee is an excellent option because of its thin rear. Even MEQs can glance a Russ to death with their fists, and if they have something like powerfists or melta bombs its going to be dead real quick. If you are able to get something even meaner, like a Wraithlord or Dreadnought, into close combat with a Russ it's going to be toast. Melee in general is good against guard, the only thing to worry about is being tarpitted by conscript hordes who can keep your expensive vehicle punchers stuck.

In general, get close. With it's heavy, long range guns the Russ excels at long range shooting matches. So to save your infantry blobs from getting ground down by S8 pie plates close the distance. Or get behind it with something that's fast or can deep strike.

Gallery

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  Most guns go "DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA" for hours without going dry of ammo. The Leman Russ Punisher goes "BRRRRT" for half a minute.

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  The Leman Russ Executioner, known for making marines break out in hives.

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  FUCK YOUR COVER SAVES DAWG I HAS AN ERADICATOR

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  Even the basic Leman Russ is better than your army's tanks.

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  If the Leman Russ Demolisher hasn't absorbed at least 6 attempts to destroy it by turn 2, you're either doing it wrong or you also have a Baneblade.

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  When you need to fuck up a Land Raider, accept no substitutes.

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  The Exterminator likes to party. At 500 shots per minute.

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  Knight Commander Pask is in dire need of some juvenat drugs. Jesus. Also Ed Harris in 40k.