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Hi all,

I've just finished compiling a 1500pts list for my new Guard army and am wondering what you guys thought would be more effective against all comers, a 9-man Psycher Squad, or a second Leman Russ? I only have the one Leman Russ in my list at the moment (alongside 5 Chimeras and 2 Vendettas) but with the sheer volume of 'Fearless' armies out there, I'm undecided as to how effective 'Weaken Resolve' will actually be. 'Soulstorm' is a nice reason to take the Psychers, but the variable AP makes it unreliable, something a Battle Cannon really isn't.

So...what do you think? Keep the Psychers for spicy goodness? Or drop them for a good old faithful Leman Russ?

L. Wrex

A single unupgraded Russ isn't worth it in terms of shooting, IMO. You get: a single S8 AP3 pie plate for 150 points. If you want another Russ, either get it plasma sponsons or make it a Demolisher. You don't take a Russ when you want to be more shooty, you take one when you want more AV14. My 2k list has only 1 Leman Russ /w plasma sponsons in it.

Psykers are always a nice unit though. In addition to casting WR at whatever enemy unit you like that took over 25% casualties at the end of your shooting phase, they're the perfect counter for just about every cheese unit - Nob Bikers and Fateweaver are the first to come to mind.

I don't think any Leman Russes are worth it in a mechanized IG army, because you're paying for AV14 that you don't need. It doesn't help the saturation of AV12 because most people will just leave the Leman Russ alone, so in a way you're making the rest of your army weaker. I would keep the psyker battle squad and run them as an 8-man unit with a chimera. This is 145 points and they'll be able to keep helping after their chimera is wrecked.

Personally, I would take a demolisher and switch the other russ to a demolisher as well. Run them up with the chimeras and they WILL draw the majority of the fire. It is no longer an issue of AV12 saturation, it is now an issue of must-kill-S10-template-tank-before-it-gets-here!

I would take the Leman Russ: personally I have 6 with at least 2 more planned. For the Battle Squad, they do have good abilities which help against Fearless armies, although they do get shot up pretty easily, being only T3. Putting them in a Chimera would greatly increase their surviability. For the Russ, you may want to take a Demolisher with Plasma Cannon sponsons, they can tear the nuts out of Elite Infantry and no-one really likes the S10 Ap2 5" Blast.

I would go with the Russ. People fear it. I would go with the Executioner, with plasma sponsons. 5 plasma blasts will rip any infantry or light vehicle apart.

For an all comers list you want at least 1 psyker battle squad of 6-8 psykers in a Chimera for weaken resolve to be able to deal with Nob Bikers and Fateweaver. 8 Psykers is optimal because you can shoot the strength 8 template which insta kills toughness 4 and you have some leeway in case you lose some from your Chimera blowing up. However if your really short on points like at 1500 you can cut down to 6.

Don't really like the Regular Leman Russ that much. The Executioner with Plasma Sponsons is great vs marines but costs alot of points that you might not want to spend at 1500 pts.

InfernalMajesty wrote:I would go with the Russ. People fear it. I would go with the Executioner, with plasma sponsons. 5 plasma blasts will rip any infantry or light vehicle apart.

Yes they are nasty, I have two and I've scared away opponents just by placing them on the board!

Personally I don't like the executioner, I think that it is too expensive for what it does. I'd rather go with a basic russ or a demoilsher myself.

The executioner can be very effective if against MEQs, but for general purpose use the demolisher is a better bet. A lot cheaper for the points, it gives you some breathing room. I love my russes over a psyker squad though.

We just finished our GT and my Russes sat this tournament out. Freddieyu1 posted a battle report on it titled "The 7th Galen Rockhounds "Task Force Rex" goes to War. A 1850 IG tourney report ". We battled last because we had the 2 top scores... none of us used a Leman Russ. I'm not saying that a Russ is useless, actually far from it. But I chose the Psyker battle squad (I'd advise to keep the "soulstorm" plate at str8 for insta-death capability) and I'm glad I did. It's both an offensive and defensive weapon whereas a traditional pie plate has trouble cleaning tables nowadays with all the coversaves going on. Needless to say I made a lot of things run off the table and with Marbo (IG's way of saying F.U.) behind them you can either a) You can make them run more or b) if it was his 2nd turn on the the table, wipe that squad out completely.

Its great to use them now especially since INTACT FAQ has been declared by GW as an official GW FAQ. WR affects stubborn units and it is NOT a shooting attack! And no, you are not going to win with PBS shoots with pistols + WR + assault combo as ferocious as that sounds BUT what the FAQ clarifies is that you can cast WR in a shaken or stunned chimera!... how do they like them apples.

They did have a problem against Njal though, but since the PBS is just a support unit it still did something. They are still additional meat for the grinder and they still have their chimera. Trust me, they are worth the points.

The LRBT will be more reliable, BUT successful use of the PBS can be a game breaker even more than a Russ. The LRBT has greater range though, but 1 lucky shot can kill it, while the PBS+chimera will last longer.

So it depends on you. Are you a gambler or risk taker? then take the PBS+chimera. If not, take the LRBT.

Wait, isn't being a gambler and a risk taker pretty much the same thing?

Well what's worse: Taking crazy risks or taking advice on crazy risks from a crazed risk taker?

dude, it's a Russ.

BOOM.

If you are infantry heavy, Psychers, if you are mech-heavy, Russ. Unless you really want one or the other.

duh.

Valkyrie wrote:Well what's worse: Taking crazy risks or taking advice on crazy risks from a crazed risk taker?

mwahahahaha!!! that's a good one!

If you're going to take crazy risks, you may as well take advice on them from a crazed risk taker...

How about both? only instead of a LRBT take a demolisher.
Get a full squad of PBS so the soulstorm will be str 9 and it's half chance that is is AP 3 or lower, and it's a large blast, AND assault.
Deck out a demolisher with sponson plasma and hull lascannon.