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 EmilCrane wrote:
Maybe against mass IF devastators or something, but most things that can knock out russes turn 1 won't be phased by night fight much.

Sure they will be. AV 14 is tough at range, and it gets a lot tougher when it gets cover bonuses. And the protection is even more important for any lighter tanks you brought. Having night fight is obviously not 100% protection, but it can do a lot to help those Demolishers/Executioners/etc get into range and start killing stuff.

Also, one less-obvious advantage is that having night fight on turn 1 means that it won't be happening at the end of the game. It's much better to have night fighting early when your searchlight platforms are all still intact than late-game when you can't count on having a random Salamander turn off night fighting for the most important target.

An outflanking vehicle squadron with acute senses is pretty cool.

It's not just cool, it's a very powerful ability. Remember, Vultures are death to vehicles if they can get into rear armor (6 HP per turn average against AV 10), so outflanking one can be incredibly lethal.

Basically you're holding out for 2 or 5

Or 1. I'm happy if I get night fighting, scoring warlord, or outflanking Vulture. And that's 50/50 odds of getting a good warlord trait, or a 1/3 chance of getting an extremely powerful one. And that's better than you're going to get from any of the core rulebook tables in your normal IG army.

Here's a 1750 list I'm looking at running for NZ nationals next year

HQ
• General Grizmund
• Command Tank- Vanquisher, Hull Lascannon, Beast Hunter Shells, Artificer Hull, Co-axial Heavy Stubber
Elites
• Commissar Tank- Vanquisher, Hull Lascannon, Beast Hunter Shells, Artificer Hull, Co-axial Heavy Stubber
• Tech Priest Enginseer- Trojan
Troops
• Battle Tank Squadron- 2x Leman Russ Exterminators, Sponson Heavy Bolters
• Siege Tank Squadron- Leman Russ Demolisher
• Siege Tank Squadron- Leman Russ Executioner, Sponson Plasma Cannons
• Armored Fist Squad
Fast Attack
• Vendetta

Plan is basically to use Grizmund to buff the exterminators and have them deal with infantry and transports while the two vanquishers take on any heavy armor, camping around the TP for preferred enemy. The Siege tanks go forward and kill, I'll also use them to contest mid field objectives. The armored fist squad stays in reserve for as long at it can, then seizes an objective late game.

EDIT: oops, you still have to buy the trojan

I'm debating between running 2 command vanquishers w/beast hunters and a commissar vanquisher w/beast hunters at 2000, or dropping the commissar and squeezing in a pair of Medusas.

Good idea or should I keep one more AV14 hull in my army at the cost of 2x S10 AP2 large blasts?