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Centurion Devestators: Lascannon or Heavy Bolter?


gmaleron

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Hello guys, looking at starting up an Imperial Fists/Crimson Fists army and I want to take 6 Centurions for obvious reasons. However I'm kind of stuck debating how to arm them and I'm debating heavily between Lascannons and Heavy Bolters. I do see the Merit for both however in your guys's experience what have you found to be most effective?

I take heavy bolters or grav-cannons. It's cheaper, it's perfect infantry killer, and it allows you to obliterate vehicles more reliably than lascannons. Sure, it takes a couple of CPs - 1 for Siegebreaker cohort and 1 for seismic devastation, but it leaves you a lot of points for other units, and if your opponent doesn't bring vehicle-heavy armies, six heavy bolters are still very useful and more than enough to deal with lighter transports and tanks.

For just 2 CPs squad of 3 centurions with heavy and hurricane bolters supported by a captain and chaplain deal enough mortal wounds to take down a knight, which you can't do with six lascannons. For 4 CPs (tank hunters, siegebreaker cohort, seismic devastation) they easily destroy two regular tanks and have a decent chance of taking out three.

How about grav-cannons if you're not taking heavy bolters? With grav stratagem it's roughly the same damage output as lascannons against vehicles, but much stronger against infantry and light vehicles, especially primaris and necrons.

Pesronally, I use heavy bolters for my IF and grav-cannons for Black Templars.

I've had good success with 6 lascannon centurions even before the 2.0 codex and the IF supplement. 12 lascannon shots plus their supplemental fire from hurricane bolters or missile launchers means that you can lay the hurt on just about everything. I think the biggest problem you can have with the lascannon loadout is overkill since your damage is random where the grav or heavy bolter variants are less varied in their damage output. 

 

If you're lacking in dedicated anti-tank offensive power I'd take the lascannon for their ranged advantage otherwise the weapons wouldn't be too complicated to magnetize since the attachment points are decently sized. Good luck in your endeavors either way!

The lascannons will do 24.35 wounds to a knight

Whereas the heavy bolters with seismic devestation 46.34 wounds.

According to the math hammer app that is.

 

The only issue is that I'm playing Crimson Fists which means I do not have access to the seismic Devastation formation

 

The lascannons will do 24.35 wounds to a knight

Whereas the heavy bolters with seismic devestation 46.34 wounds.

According to the math hammer app that is.

 

The only issue is that I'm playing Crimson Fists which means I do not have access to the seismic Devastation formation

 

 

Even without Seismic Devastation, heavy bolters still benefit from bolter drill and the +1D super-trait more than lascannons.  Assuming no re-rolls or other bonuses, my quick mathhammer gives (in devastator doctrine, against a knight not rotating ion shields):

 

Heavy Bolters: 36 shots * 5/6 hit * 1/3 wound * 2/3 not saved * 2 damage = 13.3 wounds

Lascannons: 12 * 2/3 * 2/3 * 2/3 * 4.5 = 16 wounds

 

That's a pretty small difference in wounds, given that the bolters are far cheaper and much more effective against infantry.  To me the only real downside is the slightly shorter range.

My question is.....for 10 more points a dude, take the missile launchers over hurricane bolters? Everyone figures out the damage for just heavy bolters and we can see how effective they are. Now, if you can get in range for the hurricane bolters, great. And they are super for overwatch. But missile launchers have same range as the heavy bolters and can add some more damage to a vehicle and monsters etc. 

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