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Now that IA 13 is out, it's possible to have Rapier Weapons Carriers in a CSM force. I have a few questions about how these actually work in games.

1) If the crew dies, does that mean the Rapier no longer functions? If so, could another model take over for the crew?

2) Normal unit coherency rules apply when you purchase more than one as part of a squad, right? If I had 3 RWCs in a single unit, all the models would need to remain within 2 inches of each other at all times, correct?

3) Does the crew get to take a cover save for standing behind a Rapier? I guess the question really is: does the carrier and crew count as a single model?

4) Is it possible to have a set of these firing from behind an Aegis Defense Line? Is this something people would normally choose to do?

1) Under Artillery in Unit Types section. If the crew dies the guns die too. You need at least 1 crew member to fire each gun.

2) I don't see any permission to ignore coherency so yes, treat them as normal models.

3) No cover from models in same unit still applies.

4) I don't see why not. Most of the weapons are 36" or less which is kinda short for my tastes to be behind the aegis but I suppose you could slap conversion beamers down and cause a ruckus. Quite expensive though

JubbJubbz has the rules answers handled.

For #4 that is the most common method to run rapier las destroyers. You would normally put the ADL somewhat forward in the middle of the board and depend on the rest of your mostly close range oriented army to deal with people trying to charge them (whatever you do do not let artillery get charged). The ADL is not really mandatory but it helps and rapiers make great AA as when you plan to shoot at flyers you can just GtG freely (BS1 either way).

In the renegades list these are even better as you can attach a character to make them BS2 snap fire or give them 6+ FnP. BTW even at BS1 you have a 22% chance to explode an AV12 flyer with 3 of these, which ironically is some of the best AA Chaos has available.

This is great info, thanks. I see myself getting 3 of them for the laser destroyers and magnetizing them so they could be used with conversion beamers as well.

One thing I noticed is that they have a special version of the conversion beamer with a max range of 48 inches. Still, from a central position, this would cover most of the board. The conversion beamer makes each one cost around half the price of a Dakkapred, which seems cost efficient given what you actually get.

I was thinking an optimal tactic would be putting them behind an ADL with a Quad Laser and using one of the crew members to man the extra gun. Since they are all part of the same unit, the unit could be buffed with psychic powers such as Invisibility or Shrouded to create a pretty tough firing point.

Magnets are not a bad idea.

The conversion beamer seems okay. I find that flexible AA and anti tank are more important in my lists. I also have several earthshakers, thudd guns, and medusa, so I need all the HS slots I can get.

The ADL doesn't get a quadd laser. Did you mean quad gun? That might not be bad. Though you may want to consider a minimum vet unit with tank hunters for the purpose as Str7 with tank hunters is really good.

IMO the best thing about the rapiers las destroyers are that they are cheap for what they bring. They come twin linked and ordinance so they don't need prescience, or tank hunters from IG orders to work and they are T7 and can GtG behind an ADL so shrouded is mostly unnecessary (if you are worried I would prefer the Tz snap fire at BS2 therefore making them better AA). Once you go after invisibility or shrouded in any serious fashion you start negating the entire advantage of being cheap. Much better to save those for a maxed Blood Slaughterer unit or murder pack to control the board with.

The standouts to me are certainly the conversion beamer platform, which even a single gun is a serious weightlifter, and the insanely cheap renegade laser destroyers. For under a 100pts, there's pretty much no reason I wouldnt take a battery of them in any list. They punch WAY above their weight.

For the renegade guns at least, the extra crew members might be important. If a gun explodes, it has a pretty good chance of taking out the single crew of the other guns, which would be disastrous.
Unless there's some dumb rules argument that the crewmembers count as T7 for being part of an artillery unit (which is dumb).

Ooohh man. I think I might have to find room for a Renegades detachment in my Daemons list. Should punish those armies that want to castle on the back board edge from my choppy stuff.