Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Can somebody please explain the differences between the vast array of super heavy tanks available to IG/AM?

From Banes, Shadows, and Storms -- To Blades, Hammers, and Lords... what the hell is the difference before I drop a wad of cash?!

Thanks Dakka

The main difference is there gun profile

(and some have transport slots)

il go see if i can make a summary


Banehammer is a Earthquake battle cannon
Doomhammer is a long range demolisher cannon with ap1
Storm lord has heavy 15 ap 3 dakka
Banesword has a 10" blast earthshaker
Stormblade is a long range high strength plasma on steroids
stormsword is a ignore cover 10" demolisher cannon
Baneblade is a apoc blast ap 2 cannon
Shadowsword is a D blast

I think thats all of em.

 Desubot wrote:
The main difference is there gun profile

(and some have transport slots)

il go see if i can make a summary

That would be fantastic! Thanks

Just so you know all of the differences are in the escalation book

 Desubot wrote:
The main difference is there gun profile

(and some have transport slots)

il go see if i can make a summary


Banehammer is a Earthquake battle cannon
Doomhammer is a long range demolisher cannon with ap1
Storm lord has heavy 15 ap 3 dakka
Banesword has a 10" blast earthshaker
Stormblade is a long range high strength plasma on steroids
stormsword is a ignore cover 10" demolisher cannon
Baneblade is a apoc blast ap 2 cannon
Shadowsword is a D blast

I think thats all of em.

how about value on the table top?

I've been seeing the Stormlord on FLG Vid Batreps and it is doing extremely well. But if it faces another Super Heavy it falls way short as it is an infantry killer.

Thoughts?

IMO the Stormsword is the best config for general purposes. It isn't all that great vs other superheavies though it can hurt them, but it can generally clear most of its 10" blast of any lesser vehicles and infantry. Apoc often gets cluttered. This speeds up the game and clears whole segments out of the battlefield. Cover is huge in apoc. Now that D allows saves, this thing is the new replacement for area clearing.

Best Bang for the Buck is difficult as 90% of them have no way to deal with flyers (Besides the secondary weapons like the lascannons)

I want to agree with the stormsword 10" st10 plate with ignore cover will remove what little your opponent has if they had taken a tank. then you can go thunderblitz or shoot it with ST10 x 2 with the first demolisher (IIRC) and las cannon sponsion

Are they named in accord with a naming convention?

Is the Stormlord the only one that is open topeped with a carrying capacity?

I am looking into this for the purpose of starting an Astral Claws army. The idea of a superheavy stuffed with slogging assault marines behind a wall of guardsmen has me salivating

The problem is that you normally dont want your superheavy at the front. It normally attracts a lot of fire, but putting it in melta or multimelta range seems very bad to me. Therefore, whatever you stuff it with has to be shooty. Normally you stick a half dozen tech priests inside plus a few squads of lascannon heavy wep teams. However, i dont think the stormlord is worth the price you pay, as you probably wont even kill a squad a turn with G2G and cover saves.

So what about pairing the superheavy with an armored squad? Are there any 'right" combinations? There is a formation that calls for 4-8 Leman Russ Tanks plus a baneblade or stormlord.

Any thoughts on unit synergy?

I like the Stormsword as my LoW, with the Firestorm Redoubt as my fortification. The Stormsword is a beast at clearing hoards or light vehicles, and the Quad Icarus Lascannons of the Firestorm Redoubt do the same to fliers. The rest of the army could tackle whatever is left.

Not trying to derail but... do you think superheavy tanks are okay in friendly games?

Ask your friends. If it is going to wipe them off the board, then maybe it's better to leave it out.

But in my experience with my Baneblade, it doesn't make its points back in anything smaller than 3,000 points. Cover saves virtually nullify the effect of AP1 as most blobs have the 4+ or 5+ armor saves which would be no better than the cover saves they're getting from ruins or trees. My opponents usually ignore it and lay into my Objective Secured units.

But I'm hoping to convert it to a Hellhammer for the Ignores Cover on top of being Str10 & AP1, which would make the game a whole different story.

super heavies are technically legal in any game but if you spontaneously bring one you arent going to have very many "friendly games" since theyre pretty hard for most armies to deal with if they arent expecting them to be available.

Literally all my tau could do is focus fire my fusion bomb and my riptide and hope to get lucky before i lose either, speaking of my general list here. could easily win the game on its own ... any of them

Hellhammer has not been mentioned. Stormsword weapon, shorter range, turret mounted instead of hull mount (iirc).

some things are incorrect. the hellhammer has the same effect as the stormsword, but it is on the baneblade chassis (turreted)(and a smaller blast). There are 2 major chassis types as well. the Baneblade and the Hellhammer come with a demolisher cannon and a TL heavy Bolter, as well as 0, 2 or 4 sponsons as well. the others can easily be considered 'mono-guns' as they DON'T have demolisher cannons accompanying the main gun. Arguably the stormblade is my favorite (I'm a fan of plasma) but I have had good results with the super Demolisher as well. The Doom hammer and the Banehammer are also transports, but for more information on them, I'd suggest either trying to find the datasheets online, or get your hands on a copy of Escalation. Oh, there is one more transport, but it requires some explanation: The Fortress of Arrogance. transport capacity: 1.

So what's the difference between the units in the Apocalypse book and Escalation? I picked up a copy of Apocalypse fairly cheap. Is there a reason I'd need to get the Escalation book?

there was a general price decrease across the board for LoW. also, most of the upgrades went away. things like Commissariat Crew or Command Tank no longer apply. Looked at one way, if you take a LoW other than the Baneblade or the Hellhammer, I don't see anyone causing a stink if you use the old rules, as they cost more. The reasons for the exceptions is that the Baneblade and the Hellhammer actually got a price increase.

So if Apocalypse is old rules, and Escalation is the new one, then why are the books being sold side by side at the game stores I've been to?

I picked up a used copy of the Apocalypse book, and the point costs match the Escalation points I found online. The only differences I've found are that the Apocalypse book has Command Tank and Commissariat Crew upgrades.

Apoc is for actual apoc. generally 10k + + + + + points with multiple people playing with crazy rules and other things (like the seismic table that removes everything in a 2x2ft cube)


Escalation is the LOW slot on 7th but also has updated SH rules and some missions and WL tables and things.

 Desubot wrote:
Apoc is for actual apoc. generally 10k + + + + + points with multiple people playing with crazy rules and other things (like the seismic table that removes everything in a 2x2ft cube)


Escalation is the LOW slot on 7th but also has updated SH rules and some missions and WL tables and things.

But is there any reason for someone to give me a problem for having the Apocalypse book for the rules on my Baneblade rather than Escalation? Are there any differences in their profiles?

Also, 7th edition doesn't seem to have a category for Apocalypse (unless I missed it), so can I use Apocalypse formations in a standard game (Ex: Dreadknight Brethren)?

Besides people that are anal about MOST UP TO DATE RULES it should be mostly fine...... some times there can be different profiles but not sure for the various blade chases.

Generally no Apoc formations considering it is specific for it (mostly) like things with "Strategic VP" which has nothing to do with regular 40k

to quote the rulebook, 'Narrative!'
in other words, discuss the particulars with your opponent.

Captain Diomedes only likes Baneblades.
Anyway, here's a basic summary of all the different types
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Baneblade#Variants

jakl277 wrote:
Not trying to derail but... do you think superheavy tanks are okay in friendly games?

LOW seem to play just fine in my experience.

I've played against primarchs and spartans, and i've lost to an opponent in a smaller game when I used a primarch and they did not have a LOW... the rule of thumb "boys before toys" still rules 40k. Weight in numbers is a winning strategy for list building, not suped up toys.

Just have fun with it.