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It seems to me that the general feeling is that the hull mounted lascannon on any leman russ is a waste of points. Why is that? Its the strongest long-range anti-armor the guard has. I always use it on my LRBT [considering i've only fought 8 battles not too impressive] and I really never got to a point where i was "man i wish i had 3 more bolter shots to deal right now" In fact since i mainly fight MEQ, i've always felt more like "man i wish i had more ap2 lascannon shots hitting those termies" Can someone explain why it isn't generally accepted to run with a lascannon? I understand why on sents [they die like flies] and on HWS [same reason]. But with that av14 goodness i think the 15 points is worth it.

Dunno where you're getting your info. Its not that their terrible imo, its just theres probably 15 points to be spent else where (a plasma gun, melta bombs, Leman Russ Demolisher, etc)

If theres leftover points though and you dont need any of the above, I would heartily recommend a lascannon. May not be a melta/BS4 but its useful in a pinch

I guess it can be very useful, yes, especially on a standard LRBT where it adds some AT fire where the main gun is mainly useful for anti-MEQ work.

One thing about IG hull weapons: I'm wary of investing points in them, because I usually want the heavy-hitters in cover of some kind. This cover usually blocks LOS from hull weapons to be worth its 4+, so that I try to keep the real punch focused on the turret gun and use additional points elsewhere.

You can't fire any other weapons when you fire an Ordnance weapon (like the Battle Cannon on the LRBT), so you would almost never actually fire the Lascannon.

Accersitus wrote:You can't fire any other weapons when you fire an Ordnance weapon (like the Battle Cannon on the LRBT), so you would almost never actually fire the Lascannon.

Incorrect. the leman russ can always fire its turret weapon in addition to all its other weapons if it remains stationary, or along with one other if it moves at combat speed. the trade of is that cruising speed is 6" + d6.

this was taken from the ig codex pg 48

Ah, my bad, didn't realize LR had a special rule for it.

Thing about meltas is the 12 inch range, which i do run 3 squads of chimera melta vets but i don't like the short range of the melta. And i can see how going hull down would block los to the hull weapon.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Accersitus wrote:Ah, my bad, didn't realize LR had a special rule for it.

Its cool... neither did the Tau player at my FLGS when i fired my lascannon and battle cannon, immobilizing his hammerhead and destroying his rail cannon.

The lascannons can be useful. They can be considered a waste of points but they open up a lot more options for the tank, and don't cost so much to make them a stupid choice. A standard LRBT gets improved transport popping and extra range by taking one. I am usually against giving things upgrades but a classic russ (LC/HBs) is probably the most versatile thing in the codex, looks great and will always have something to shoot at.

A demolisher with LC can threaten armour quite well too. If you leave the sponsons off (as I do with 24" range tanks) you can choose between a bolter that does little; a flamer, which can be nice but will probably get one shot and has poor AP; or a lascannon that does cost a bit but extends the tank's range and AT ability.

It really just comes down to personal preference, there is not a huge difference either way.

They're fine, the problem though is you're paying 15 points toward a BS3 Lascannon. It's hard to visualize, but those are 15 points that could be going toward a 130 point Vendetta. A standard LRBT should be shooting at MEQ units. Due to its low BS and scatter, it's not a particularly reliable tank hunter. A lascannon is a bit overkill for 15 pts to be shooting at MEQ units, and you'd be better served letting a more dedicated anti-tank unit do that kind of work.

Thoughts?

A lascannon is good at shooting at MeQs, but there are many situations where you can not do this. Discounting all the other armies you could face, you could have failed to pop their transports, there could be far more threatening targets (like a dreadnought about to charge your objective) or countless other situations where a lascannon can be nice.

A lascannon and a battle/demolisher cannon together have a decent chance of taking vehicles down, as long as you go for the side shots and don't try it against landraiders too much.

I once did the math on the las cannon, and the result was that its almost always a good investment on a regular russ.

The issue is, are russes a good investment to begin with? Most people, if given their pick of any units, pick the manticore and hydra over the russ. The manticore's s10, optional barrage, and d3 shots makes it far superior as a weapon. Its not av14, but in a fight between a russ with a las cannon and a manticore, the manticore usually always wins.

I think the best Russ is the demolisher, taken in an army with creed, taken in a squad of 3. Nothing quite like 3 scouting/outflanking demolishers. Other than this, I think the high armor of the Russ is its biggest weakness. The enemy will always prioritize your av12 vehicles, like your vendettas and troop chimeras, over your av14 russes. While this does mean your Russes are free to shoot, all your mobility is gonna get killed.

But I digress. To the OP, I think las cannons are great. That said, I think multimeltas are also fantastic if you plan on using your tanks to advance early, because they give great shots, and you advanced so they are in range.

DevianID wrote:

I think the best Russ is the demolisher, taken in an army with creed, taken in a squad of 3. Nothing quite like 3 scouting/outflanking demolishers. Other than this, I think the high armor of the Russ is its biggest weakness. The enemy will always prioritize your av12 vehicles, like your vendettas and troop chimeras, over your av14 russes. While this does mean your Russes are free to shoot, all your mobility is gonna get killed.

I dunno about you but if I ever see anything with S10, I will want to take that stuff down. Plus Creed and a squad of demos is quite pricey and they're easier to kill too

I personally don't think the las cannon is worth it on a BS3 tank. As others have mentioned, if you park the tank behind cover the line of sight is usually blocked. Even then, you're looking at a 50/50 chance of hitting and frankly, the standard Russ should always be shooting at infantry which makes the las cannon a waste.

I think it's totally worth it. Like the main cannon, it can kill anything in the game, from far away, and you never lose mobility when firing it. I just think it backs the cannon up against any of its targets. I don't think it's overkill to shoot it at power armour - those guys are hard to kill!

I like it on the Vanilla and the Demolisher. It's won me a couple of games (sniping off a transport on 5th turn, etc). Also, mine are glued on, so I'm stuck.

I like to spend the points elsewhere or on sponsions but I hardly ever run the nilla BT. I'm more into the demolisher with heavy bolter sponsions with a flamer up front or executioner with plasma sponsions.