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In effect is there any advantage to using the bare-bones leman russ over the Basilisk?considering

a) The russ tends to move only to get line of sight, basilisk has barrage

b) Due to ordnance rules; sponsons the russ takes can only be fired as snapshots

c) Earthshaker cannon has the same AP as the battle cannon but is +1S over it

d) Basilisk and russ both have the same rear AV and will get mashed if assaulted


On paper it looks like the basilisk is a clear choice, but does anyone have any input born of experience?

Going from strength 8 to strength 9 isn't a huge deal. If I had to pick one, I'd go with a LRBT because of armour 14

being out of sight >>>>> armor 14

Remember the barrage can negate a lot of cover. Drop an earthshaker shot behind an ADL and that 2+ cover save of harker and his men in camo don't get the cover save at all. Hit them with a battlecannon shot and they get a 2+ cover save. So be honest, I find myself using the manticore a lot and sometimes a manticore combined with a russ. Remember, you can add other weapons in the sponsons and a las cannon on the front of the russ as well (but you pay the points for it) so it can serve a broader role.

The armor/indirect fire is a toss up for me. If they enemy cant see my manticore, they can shoot at it which means they are putting that much more firepower into the units they CAN see. Sometimes, the firepower wasted trying to pop the armor 14 russ they are afraid of means that more of my other units live longer. Of course, they might get lucky on a single las cannon shot sooooo. Its a toss up to me. Of course, that's just my take as a guard player.

I almost always take camo on both units but notice the 10 point hike on buying it for my manticore. If you are using them as long range weaponsry, I would say the +1 cover save is a big boon. It's saved my butt on many occasions.

I wouldn't recommend sponsons on the Russ - being forced to snap shoot them is unfortunate.

That is true. Some players still take the cheap heavy bolter ones anyway to makemit less likely to lose the battlecannon to a weapon destroyed damage result (going from 50% to 25% is a big drop in percentages. I agree with you though, Taking it naked is usually the better bet for battle cannon variants.
Mine have them modeled on but in these cases to keep ikt wysiwyg, I say that they are out of ammunition. Therefore my heavy bolters that are unable to fire are actually modeled on. lol Never have had anyone complain in that direction. If I was trying to shoot ones that were not there instead, I would likely get complaints though so I usually end up modeling them on.

Ive actually experimented between the two as I had the same question myself. From experience I would rather have the russ.

AV14 is super hard to kill with any ranged weapons(aside from lance). This means your opponent has to close the distance and use melta or assault.

I really despise artillery because for one it if you hide it out of sight you scatter the full distance if you scatter, which average dice roll would be a 7 which means you are probably missing your target unless its a big vehicle, but then again the basilisk is ap3 so gets no bonus to damage so is rather mediocre at taking out bigger armored targets. But if you are in sight you only have 12 armor so you are most likely going to get shot up and destroyed.

I personally believe the battle tank is better than the basilisk. If you are using artillery you should either go with the colossus or the manticore.

What does the rest of your list look like and maybe we can help you make a better decision.

Both are generalists in an army that is already filled with generalists. You really want your HS slot to be specialists. Only exception to this is the Manticore because its not only a generalist, but its very good at killing a wide variety of targets that normally are more difficult to deal with. S10 is good vs vehicles and IDs tough units like nob bikers or centurions. Barrage and D3 blasts makes it semi-accurate and able to deal with larger units and either overload saves or ignore directional cover and deal with hordes.

Otherwise, either go AT and grab Medusa or vanquisher russ or go anti-inf with executioner russes. I love my executioner and anything 1000+ points i will take it. I have seen it take 5+ melta hits and just shrug it off with only minor damage results. Then take the next few turns to eliminate the rest of his army. My medusas are hit or miss. Literally, if they hit, the unit is probably gone, but they have been very inaccurate in my experience. However, they are threatening to an opponent, so they will put a lot of fire on it just to deal with it (make sure it always has cover).

Both? Russes in front and Basilisks behind?

I'm currently building a Traitor Guard army, and as a former Army artilleryman, I have to go Basilisk. The Big Guns never tire. Plus I love the idea of putting the guns out of LOS and blasting away. Yeah it's not accurate, but it'll be fun.