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Sicarian tanks and Ultramarines


Captain Idaho

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Since Guilliman himself helped intent the Sicarian tanks I thought I'd start an 8th edition discussion on fielding them as a Relic in our armies.

 

What experiences and anecdotes do people have? What's your favourite variant? Any fun combinations with Ultramarines you can come up with?

 

Personally I'm torn between the Punisher and standard variant.

 

The standard variant - 8 shots that ignore modifiers when firing at Flyers is an Eldar killer plain and simple. The funny thing about the wording is it says it ignores modifiers when firing at such units not the source so no other modifiers players might stack on them will work either.

 

This variant looks best as well.

 

The Punisher - it's an Emperor damn Gatling cannon! Reeks of cool. But do we need 27 S5 shots? Probably yes but maybe Lascannons work also since it means we get 21 shots (respectable and still painful) and can also threaten vehicles.

 

Ultimately I'm leaning towards the Punisher. But I'm open to persuasion. :)

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I’ve only got the regular variant but would love to add more, the Venator and Punisher in particular.

The regular one is decent as both Anti-tank and Anti-infantry from the few times I’ve used it.

The last game I had, it chewed through hordes of ork boyz without losing a single wound.

The Venator is easily the best dedicated Tank in the traditional sense that marines can access.

 

It's damage output is superior to a Predator, but that's not the main reason why it's so good. The tank doesn't suffer a penalty to moving a shooting so it can keep up with the rest of the army, or be deployed safely out of the way before it moves into aura range of characters. It's very quick also.

 

The Regular Sicaran is a great all round rank and is superior to an auto cannon Predator as it has more shots and mobility, however I feel that the Punisher has stolen some of the thunder - it's excellent anti horde that doesn't require character support.

 

Regular variant does slot nicely into general lists as it provides a nice balance of quality and quantity of shots. Las Cannon sponsons are a must with the regular variant for added punch.

 

All of them have great damage tables too, and can still provide reliable support even when down to 3 wounds.

Venator. Best anti tank availible for marines imho, because 14 move + machine spirit. Take 2 lascannons and wreak havoc.

 

And punisher for takong out hordes)

Venator is hands down the best variant I've seen so far. Has a more than fair chance of nuking two tanks per turn, no penalties for moving and a crazy speed means you can easily re-deploy.

 

I'd say the only downside to Sicaran's right now is they're relics (unlike chaos versions >.< ) and they're in the fairly crowded marine elite slot.

The elites slot isn't an issue for me as a Battalion has 6, the Spearhead 1 and a Vanguard another 3 so I actually have surplus slots. (As well as more Command Points than I ever need! 10 is plenty even when you roll poor for Adept of the Codex)

 

So what do people think about a Punisher with Lascannon Sponsons? 21 shots is still cool and it'll hurt vehicles badly as well.

 

The standard variant does look great and it's hard to move away from that. Effective too.

 

***

 

I like the rules for the Venator but frankly the model doesn't sit well with me. I looks too much like something I shouldn't mention on a family forum.

The Vanator looks really awesome and threatening in person. It's probably the best looking of all the variants once it's in your hands, in my opinion anyways. It has a really awesome profile and the Neutron cannon leaves an impression.

 

As for the Punisher, with the proliferation of large units I'd say it's definitely best to run Max Dakka. This way you can also use it to clear out multiple smaller infantry units.

 

The Sicarans all look beautiful on the tabletop as they are bigger than the Rhino chassis vehicles which are simply too small.

 

If you already run lots of Elites it's certainly not a bad idea to introduce one of each or two of one type as either dedicated Tank hunting or Anti infantry. What are you dropping to potentially include the Sicaran? What is your army lacking?

I'm only ever going to get a single Sicarian but I appreciate generic advice in this thread.

 

I don't like the weapon of the Venator so I'll never buy one.

 

I like maximising my shots with a Punisher but 23 vs 27 isn't much difference. The Lascannons make the tank lethal to more targets.

 

215pts is a lot though.

I'd say it depends on your tactical purpose for the Sicaran. If you pan to play it mobile, moving around and shoot, then go the regular one or perhaps the plasma or gatling one and skip the sponsons (put Deimos pattern doors at the sponson interface) since you'll only shoot the main gun after moving 6 inches.

 

If you prefer to play it static (sit on a hill or corner and lob in shots) then go for the Arcus one, that one has 4 shots of each type of missiles, 8 if you don't move. Also the Arcus can threat air units with its skyfire missiles. so its more versatile in target selection and when stationary outputs double amount of shots. And since your don't move, you get to shoot the sponsons too, so in this option it makes sense having the sponsons modeled on.

 

So for a Sicaran to be efficient in game, you need to decide how to play it in advance and kit it out accordingly.

 

I strongly recommend to get a regular one (or punisher or plasma) and magnetise the sponsons and buy a Kromlech Scorpius launcher:

 

https://bitsofwar.com/home/736-legionary-artillery-tank-scorpio-turret.html

 

This way you can switch out the turret and sponsons to Deimos doors depending on your army list game plan generally and Sicaran specifically.

My mind certainly isn't made up! I've changed it the standard variant with Lascannon Sponsons on the advice here. After all, it does things the other units in the army don't - mobile fire support with a powerful gun.

 

Plus the units that Marines hate often fly.

 

And it looks great.

I’ve only got the regular variant but would love to add more, the Venator and Punisher in particular.

The regular one is decent as both Anti-tank and Anti-infantry from the few times I’ve used it.

The last game I had, it chewed through hordes of ork boyz without losing a single wound.

What Sponsons going with?

I've magnetized my sponsons, but almost exclusively use lascannons. Heavy bolters can be more cheaply acquired elsewhere I feel.

 

One perk of getting the basic Sicaran hull (if you're only going to get one!) is that you can simply buy the other turrets, giving you 4 variants to play with. 

  • 2 weeks later...

Mine is still grey. lol

 

I just can't field a tank list with Ultra's. I love my infantry too much. The closest I get is my dual Repulsor list which kind of doesn't count due to the fact it's really a transport as much as anything else.

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