Leman Russes

[RhysW]

I do think Exterminators are quite underrated, once equipped with a Lascannon and Multi Meltas they are a pretty efficient Anti Tank Unit that can take on any armour, I've been wanting to test them out but after some practice rolls against a variety of targets (Even at 24" Range) I would say they can be pretty effective, and possibily better than the Vanquisher at it's role, considering it can also pile wounds on MCs and Heavy Infantry. However, there are other ways to take Autocannons in an army, but as I am exclusively running a MechVet force, and HWS can be squishy, I wouldn't rule an Exterminator out as it can do what Melta Vets can't, Destroy vehicles in the early game.

[CoffeeGrunt]

I have a few builds I run:

 

Eradicator in the vanilla setup. Cheap as chips anti-Infantry fire support,

Tank Commander Vanquisher with Camo Netting and a Lascannon. He occasionally pays for himself, or spends an entire game seemingly loading corks into the barrel rather than anti-tank rounds...

Pask Punisher, though I've not run this in a while as it's pricey,

LRBT as a gap-filler, as it can handle almost anything.

[librisrouge]

I do think Exterminators are quite underrated, once equipped with a Lascannon and Multi Meltas they are a pretty efficient Anti Tank Unit that can take on any armour, I've been wanting to test them out but after some practice rolls against a variety of targets (Even at 24" Range) I would say they can be pretty effective, and possibily better than the Vanquisher at it's role, considering it can also pile wounds on MCs and Heavy Infantry. However, there are other ways to take Autocannons in an army, but as I am exclusively running a MechVet force, and HWS can be squishy, I wouldn't rule an Exterminator out as it can do what Melta Vets can't, Destroy vehicles in the early game.

I've taken to regularly fielding Exterminators with Heavy Bolters as the command tank squadron in my Steel Host. They're ability to fore a lot of dice roles have been really helpful in my local meta where a lot of players fielding things that are difficult to deny saves to, like bikes that can jink, thunderwolves with stormshields, or wraiths. Things like lascannons and battlecannons just don't deal enough wounds but Exterminators make the enemy roll enough dice and lose their models that way. I've never regretted fielding them against most enemies.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

I think a Punisher with heavy bolters would be better for dealing with those hard save denials. 

[librisrouge]

Somewhat...MATH TIME!!!

 

Punisher: 20 Shots, 10 hit, 5 wounds

Exterminator: 4 Shots, 3 hit, 2.5 wounds

 

Yes, the Punisher will provide a bonus 2.5 wounds on the main gun against T5 models. Its nice. However, there are a few catches.

 

First, its within 24". That means that you're only getting one go at stopping a number of death stars. I've usually needed two turns of decent shooting to drop them. The Exterminators gun does its work from 48" away, so I can get 2-3 turns of shooting in before they reach melee (based on 1st turn, good deployment, movement hinderences, etc.)

 

Secondly, the Punisher is quite a bit more expensive a model. That is points that could be used to sprinkle in some plasma love elsewhere or what have you.

 

Lastly, the Exterminator's high strength means it can also double as anti-light armor in a pinch. That means that the unit isn't so singularly focused for what it does. Heck, being twin-linked means its kinda a hyrda light in times of desperation (really, really desperate times.)

[morroccomole]

 

Lastly, the Exterminator's high strength means it can also double as anti-light armor in a pinch. That means that the unit isn't so singularly focused for what it does. Heck, being twin-linked means its kinda a hyrda light in times of desperation (really, really desperate times.)

 

I can attest to this. Brought down an Ork Bommer with TL snapshots once.

[Vel'Cona]

I've never been a fan of the Exterminator simply because it doesn't do anything I particularly need (since I tend to run IG blobs with AC throughout).  That said, I can understand the value in it as a jack of all trades that has less randomness than the LRBT.

 

Just for the sake of argument, though, if you really wanted a set up with extra TL Autocannons couldn't you just use a few Tauroxes instead?  You can almost get three Tauroxes for the cost of one Exterminator (almost).

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

Everyone finds something different that works for them. I tend to roll low on scatter so I tend to favor blast weapons. Low on scatter high on leadership, it's a trade off, but hey, no one's perfect...

[RhysW]

Everyone loves a Pie Plate though, and where better to put one than on a durable, manoeuvrable (low risk compared to artillery) AV14 Chassis? I wonder if in the next codex we'll be seeing the traditional Vanquisher, Annihilator and Conquer make an appearance, more variety never hurt anyone!

[WarriorFish]

Everyone save your opponent that is ;) I doubt we'll see a new Russ next codex as we already have two quite modern kits, we're already in the golden age of the Russ thanks to the choice we have. Hopefully things only get better :D

[Quneitra]

For me, I find that the standard LRBT is probably one of the best all around, because who doesn't love a MEQ-killing ordnance pieplate? IMO though, because of the new vehicle damage rules, its become more of an infantry support tank then it was, because now its reliant on wearing down a vehicle over several shots.

 

For favorites, I'm split over the Vanquisher and the Executioner. The Vanquisher, especially at BS4, is a thing of beauty as it tears through any armor like paper, and now thanks to AP2 the past few games I've played with a Vanq I've managed to one-shot vehicles in each. The Executioner looks pretty cool with the whole plasma thing, and it chews up almost everything under the sun baring heavy tanks and flyers.

 

Actually, thinking about it, unless you're going against armored beasts like other Russes or Land Raiders, the Executioner may now be a better multi-role option than the standard Russ with the new rules, since you can generally glance something to death with one vehicle or one-shot something if you're lucky. The main drawback I'd see is the fact that it now gets hot, something that the LRBT doesn't have.

[cypherthefallenangel]

Ive found that all of the variants have their uses but the one that always makes my opponent cringe is the demolisher. Those obnoxious power units like thunderwolves, no problem for the demolishers. Those s10 pie plates just eat them up. Keep em cheap and take as many as you can fit. If that gets too expensive take thunderers.my personal favorite. Same gun and armor but faster and cheaper. Back these guys up with some Madusas and drink your enemies tears.