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Been looking at wargear combinations for the Ironclad Dreads, specifically for a Salamanders army. Putting one in a Drop Pod and having two twin-linked heavy flamers seemed like an entertaining prospect. :V But that's not what I'm meaning to ask about, actually. I was curious about thoughts concerning the Seismic Hammer and Chainfist options for the CC weapons. According to the rules in sixth ed for these two weapons, they offer the following bonuses:

-Seismic Hammer: Counts as a DCCW that is AP2 (for +1 on vehicle damage table rolls), and adds another +1 to the damage table roll for its own special rule, for a total of +2.
-Chainfist :Counts as a DCCW that is also AP 2 for being a Powerfist, but rolls 2d6 for armor penetration.

So the main issue appears to be whether I want to penetrate literally everything in the game nearly all the time (Chainfist needs to roll a 1 AND a 2 to not at least glance AV14), or do I want to take the off chance with the Seismic Hammer on less armor pen reliability, but blow any vehicle up on a 4+? Seismic Hammer is still S10, so the only issues are AV13-14. Not worried about pen'ing AV10-12, but the idea of blowing the heaviest vehicles up on a 4+ is pretty tantalizing. Personally, Chainfist seems like the way to go, as it still adds +1 to the table roll for being AP2, and won't drop my Walker's Initiative down to 1, and overall seems like a more reliable option for anti-vehicle.

What are your thoughts?

Honestly it's best to use the old seismic hammer, it allows you to kill things faster. Generally you have 4 attacks on the charge with mr ironclad, 3 of which hit, and against rear armor they will either all pen, or 1-2 of them should. One roll on the table for the kill at +2 is better than +1.

Agreed with the above; seismic hammer all the way. Even guaranteed to pen with a chainfist doesn't mean you'll crump the vehicle in question (33%). With a SH you at least get a 50% chance to blow it up.

Does the SH reduce a walkers initiative down to 1?

No, DCCW do not affect the walker's initiative.

I also agree with the SH. Even against a LR you have a 50% chance of penning (which isn't that bad) but a real good chance at blowing it up or at least wrecking it (you don't want those TL lascannons to take revenge...)

Another vote for seismic hammer.
Chainfist looks better, but that destructive potential is where its at.

I like the hammer. But it's not like either choice is a bad one. If you expect to fight a lot of LRs or monoliths, the chainfist become more appealing. But for every day use, bring the hammer.