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I've recently noticed a change with Landraiders, during my 2nd edition days they were the Transports for Terminators infact in EPIC 40k they were the transports, although you could also use them as a Heavy Tank formation especially good against other vehicles. However most of the time they came with the Terminators on the Force Card.

When did they change to being primarily heavy weapons platforms? Is this the FW releases of lots of different types sporting Thunderfire Cannons and odd sponson mounts (Multi-melta as a Sponson?) .

A Landraider still does it's Core role of getting assault terminators in to the centre of the fight safely, then disgorging them and firing it's heavy weapons, however I do see alot of people using them as expensive heavy tanks rather than infantry transports? When did normal marines start being transported by Landraider? Was this always the case from the early days?

It's odd because to me a Landraider is an expensive insurance policy on an expensive unit. As a HT - you could get 3 Predators for less.

The LRs with heavy weapons are simply a version thats meant to provide fire support.

Kinda like a Stryker. It can be an IFV, Mortar carrier, Mobile CnC, or have a 105mm cannon.


In game, there isn't much that can threaten AV14 from a distance over 24"(and most will be within 12")

A landraider can still there all game firing its 2 lascannons at seperate targets and be very safe from anything except fast moving Melta and Railguns.

They ARE terminator transports. They just also shoot other people's transports along the way.
Using a LR as a gunboat is woefully points-inefficient: you can get 2, maybe 3 adequately equipped predators for the price of 1 base landraider.
Sure, they won't die. They won't do anything either: it's the monolith complex.

I think by "normal marines" you talk of PA wearing ones?
Those IMO began to use a Land Raider as a taxi commonly with the increased transport capacity of the Crusader and the enlarged squad size of the Black Templars.

Standard raiders are still delivery systems, and then fire support afterwards. The forgeworld ones are much more firepower orientated due to the nature of apoc games.

They give terminators a pretty reliable assault range of 18". That's pretty cool given how devestating termies can be.
The fire support is auxiliary, really. Two twin-linked lascannons are always handy.

I like combining it with Kayvaan Shrikes "Fleet" USR, Fleet Assault Termies = Awesome.

I think 1hadhq has the truth of it, when the different Land Raider variants started to come out the fluff started to change as did weapons and tactics. I look on FW now and there loads of Land Raider options, before this it was the good old Heavy Bolters and Twin Linked Lascannon.

I was reading Rynns World, and the Company Command Squad had it's own Landraider.

Are Landraiders the sole preserve of the Chapter Master and Terminators? Or are they lent to Other Companies? I cannot imagine they have more than 15 Land Raiders, so how many does a Codex Chapter have?

mwnciboo wrote:

Are Landraiders the sole preserve of the Chapter Master and Terminators? Or are they lent to Other Companies? I cannot imagine they have more than 15 Land Raiders, so how many does a Codex Chapter have?

They are lended to other companies too. Look at the BA: there they are line transports and they have in 50 of them.

SnaleKing wrote:They ARE terminator transports. They just also shoot other people's transports along the way.
Using a LR as a gunboat is woefully points-inefficient: you can get 2, maybe 3 adequately equipped predators for the price of 1 base landraider.
Sure, they won't die. They won't do anything either: it's the monolith complex.

Your land raiders don't die? I'd like some of those!

I think 1hadhq has the truth of it, when the different Land Raider variants started to come out the fluff started to change as did weapons and tactics. I look on FW now and there loads of Land Raider options, before this it was the good old Heavy Bolters and Twin Linked Lascannon.

You've forgotten the humble "Burn it with FIRE!" land raider and "Bolters bolters bolters!" Variant

It's not to much of an issue really. The way most of the vehicles for space marines work is that they actually had repurposed them for various tasks, and when they find new variants they add them into the fold.

A predator and whirlwind is a tooled up rhino (Which originally was used for Planetary FARM WORK after all), a land raider being fitted for combat rather than transport, or even as a mobile command fortress with a bunch of vox-link tech and various communications instead of a full weapons compliment wouldn't be so outlandish, and shows that despite the stagnation of the imperium, they can actually learn at times.

Are Landraiders the sole preserve of the Chapter Master and Terminators? Or are they lent to Other Companies? I cannot imagine they have more than 15 Land Raiders, so how many does a Codex Chapter have?

Varies from chapter to chapter. Black Templars have found a surprising number that numbers from 50-150. while some of the Codex Astartes brands have to scrape by with about 5-10

1hadhq wrote:I think by "normal marines" you talk of PA wearing ones?
Those IMO began to use a Land Raider as a taxi commonly with the increased transport capacity of the Crusader and the enlarged squad size of the Black Templars.

And wolves.

Land Raiders are vehicles of the arsenal. Its up to the Chapter master who gets them IMO.
Some Chapters may have a personal Land Raider of their CM, others just field them where they perform best.

Surtur wrote:

SnaleKing wrote:They ARE terminator transports. They just also shoot other people's transports along the way.
Using a LR as a gunboat is woefully points-inefficient: you can get 2, maybe 3 adequately equipped predators for the price of 1 base landraider.
Sure, they won't die. They won't do anything either: it's the monolith complex.

Your land raiders don't die? I'd like some of those!

Ha, I play daemons: my opponent's land raiders won't die!
"Bolt of Tzeentch: I...glance... on... sixes... ok..."

They are everything. Heavy tank, transport, god machine that inflicts fear. Everything.

Personally, my Raiders are still primarily transports. That being said, the fire support they provide before and after is still pretty sweet.

The Stryker comparison is a good one. There are many Land Raider variants, from infantry transport to heavy weapons platform to artillery to air defense. It's a flexible battlefield asset available for a variety of missions.

Land raiders are still both a tank and a transport. Against armies where it makes more sense to shoot off a couple of rounds of TLLCs and a multimelta shot or two, then do that, and charge in later, knowing that the AV will allow the termies some amount of extra survivability early on. Against armies that it would make sense to charge, you drive forward turn 1, pop smoke, and then have a 20" charge range from the units inside the next turn. It really just depends on your opponents, like most space marine units.

Personally, I don't like the all shooty or all transporty LR options, as the vehicle is too expensive not to have that flexibility,

That is a good point, and I still use them as transports I use the redeemer because the templates are good when I get my tank into the thick of things as it's cheaper.