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what is, in your opinion, the best baneblade variant?

I think the regular baneblade is the best baneblade variant, because it puts out a whole lotta diddly. I like the extra demolisher cannon, and the turret mounted main gun, and compared to the hellhammer, it seems like 10" blast is better than 7" blast, and S9 is not that big a deal compared to S10.

Anyways, what is the best variant of the baneblade, I might get one for the lolz, and am also very curious.

happy wargaming,

-Mikey

Ignore cover is a big deal. As is transporting 30 dudes. The regular bane made does little that the rest of your army can't already do better cheaper.

If you get one, just magnetize the pants off it and try them all.

My freind has 2. He said they were almost imposible to magnetize, and me, being a complete novice about magnetizing models, it would not be the best option.

If I were to get 1, it would be a tough choice between the Hellhammer (ignores cover) and the Shadowsword (strength D). I think I might go with the Shadowsword, and end up eventually getting a second that is a Hellhammer. I've been really considering getting one as well and bringing it into games against the likes of Wraithknights and IKs, it's the only way for an Imperium army to get ranged Strength D on the table currently.

It really depends on what you are looking to do with it .... I have a regular baneblade (got it on ebay for $60 with shipping), and I have played with a guy who has a stormlord/shadowsword (magnetized)

The stormlord makes an excellent bunker ... the one game I played alongside it I loaded up 3 squads of long fangs with some of his troops and controlled the center of the table all game, the vulcan bolter puts out a large amount of shots (even at guard bs it does a fair amount of damage to infantry)

The shadowsword is a one hit wonder ... if you are going up against super heavies and you want to gamble on rolling a 6 on the D chart and gibbing something its your go to.

The hellhammer I have not had any experience with but the main cannon would tear holes through most armies ... I feel like its a good spearhead unit, run it up as far as possible and let the apoc blast hit your opponent, after the first game most opponents are going to be ready to take it out quickly.

I like using the regular baneblade because its a generalist superheavy, it can take down infantry / mech easily and had the hull points to last (with proper support) - it is also nice in group apoc battle because the baneblade is the last superheavy people go for ... and 3-4 turns of the main cannon firing adds up.

I run it at 2k with a tank command squad x2 vanquishers with hull las, x2 leman russ squads exterminators with hull las and heavy bolter sponsors (8 twin-linked autocannon shots, 2 lascannon shots, 12 heavy bolter shots per squad), x1 regular leman russ battle tank, x2 vet squads .... so I have the av14 saturation that makes it a pain to try to focus the baneblade over the leman russ units, I normally use it midfield and keep the battle tank/ vets close to bubble wrap and the exterminators on its flanks.

Every variant brings something different .... see what your army is lacking and get the variant that works for you.

I have chosen the Hellhammer variant as my blade of choice, but I've never had a chance to test it in battle.

I face a lot of vehicles, and Str 10 Ap 1 makes enough statistical difference over Str 9 Ap 2 in that regard for me to consider it superior, despite the smaller template and shorter range. And the Ignores Cover just makes for some sweet sweet trolling when someone is abusing terrain.

The Hellhammer gets bonus points for being able to keep the Av14 facing the anti-armour threat at all times, while firing the main cannon at whatever it likes, and keeps its demolisher cannon, for when you feel like compensating for something.

The Shadowsword gets recommended a lot on tactical discussions, but I find Large Blasts at Bs 3/4 to be too unreliable even with LRBT battlecannons (I never hit anything with them), so I'd recommend either larger blasts or more blasts than the Shadowsword.

The Stormsword would make a good gun fortress if you gave it four sponsons, but that would make it into (proportionally) a glass hammer, due to being a very big target.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Reading up on the Banehammer:

410 points, or 510 with max sponsons. Has a hull-mounted main gun with 60" Range // Str 8 // Ap 3 // 7" blast that forces all hit models to move as if they were in dangerous terrain next turn.
Has a transport capacity of 25 models.

Fill it with heavy weapons teams, call it a mobile fortification with a sh*t load of guns.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Damnit. I've just convinced myself to get a Banehammer.

Feth.

What does S10 bring that S9 does not?

Doubling out things like MON obliterators and SM biker characters, and other S5 fun.

Against Av13 (the front of a Predator):

Str 9 has a 50% chance to glance, makes a 1/3 penetration.
Str 10 has a 2/3 chance to glance, and a 50% chance to pen.

Ap 2 needs a 6 to explode, Ap 1 needs a 5 or 6.

Add that to Ignores Cover, and my main opponent is f'ked.

The hellhammer is stupid good. I refuse to play against it outside of Apoc. I rather face D weapons.

Really? Are you that bad at anti-armour?

 Selym wrote:
Really? Are you that bad at anti-armour?

I can kind of see where he's coming from, as not everyone has D weapons or Drop Pods for melta. Just imagine fighting one as Dark Eldar or Orks. Would be a nightmare.

This is true, but Orks also have a hard time against everything from a stiff breeze to Riptides.

And then you get the many and varied OP lists that can be made by several other things.

I have 3 baneblades. Its crazy to think about... I remember when they didnt even exist outside epic...

Anyway. I totally accept that people doesnt want to meet them, and hope that they will be part of the codex next time astra militarum gets one... Would make them more mainstream.

It is not baneblades I dislike playing against. my roommate runs the stormhammer and I love playing against it. It is the hellhammer I hate. That ap1 ignores cover on a massive blast is crazy good to the point that every turn it is alive I have to pick up whole squad. I find that not enjoyable. It can insta-kill anything in my my other than Dante. I enjoy interacting with the game not just watching my models die. If it did not have the ignores cover it would be fine IMO.

Edit: yeah I can kill tanks. The baneblade chassis is not the easiest thing to kill if the opponent knows how to protect it.

I can sympathise with the "no-cover save" hell you're in. Half of my games are against double heldrakes. Sigh...

My games don't get LOS blocking terrain, at the behest of my lascannon-spamming opponent (which has gotten even worse in hte new SM dex, with things being cheaper, and now having no reason to cut down on the Razorbacks). So I had to find a way to punish him in the same manner. If my tanks can't hide from you AT fire, your troops can't hide from my AI fire.

And neither will his tanks. Mmm... Hellhammer.

yea, hellhammers rock. They make both necrons (no cover, no armor, crappier regen save) and eldar (can't jink if your not shot at... only 'scattered' onto) cry.

Just watch out for those pesky SM and they're wacky drop pod meltas.

The Hellhammer is the most tactically flexible tank - which is unsurprisingly why it's the most expensive!

The 'classic' baneblade is good, but as noted it doesn't do anything you can't do with vehicle squadrons.

The shadowsword is....well, it's a gamble. It's not actually got that much firepower, because it's only 1 strength D hit, but it's still a good antitank weapon. It's more the ever-present risk of a '6' that every so often will produce a godlike shot of utter death. The best result I've seen it produce is a shadowsword one shotting (okay, technically one shot and some lucky secondary explosions) an entire adamantium lance. That will, however, never, ever happen again.

I sometimes wish I had made a Hellhammer instead of a baneblade. I do have a Stormsword, which I LOVE. S10 AP1 ignore cover is nothing to sneeze at.

However, I miss the demolisher cannon from what would-be my Hellhammer. I need to get a third baneblade chassis and make that one a hellhammer instead. My baneblade is nice, and looks pretty, but with cover saves my opponents don't care about it too much.

I think IF I end up getting a baneblade (huge if) I would build it as a hell hammer.

I play in a meta with lots of abuse of cover (god damn eldar jetbikes and malenthropes) and would add some punch along with it, as S10 is nothing to sneeze about.

The Catachan Baneblade 'Traitor's Bane' is extremely good/fluffy. It's a high points cost but it has 6+ base cover and a 5+ vs air. 7" ignores cover main gun too if i'm not mistaken

It is (technically it's a hellhammer, not a baneblade). It's an apocalypse only unit, though, sadly, like the Fortress of Arrogance and the Iron Saint.

The fact it carries something more like flamestorm cannons than heavy flamers in the sponsons doesn't hurt either.

locarno24 wrote:
It is (technically it's a hellhammer, not a baneblade). It's an apocalypse only unit, though, sadly, like the Fortress of Arrogance and the Iron Saint.

The fact it carries something more like flamestorm cannons than heavy flamers in the sponsons doesn't hurt either.

Hellhammers. So good, even the Catachans think its cool.

I agree that the Hellhammer is likely the best, but I'm still building a Shadowsword, with the BS4 targeters, no less, just because I think it'll look cool. Even though it's probably the worst build possible.

Once that's done. Stormlord or Hellhammer, for sure!

Having tested my Hellhammer yesterday...

Lists:


The Hellhammer took fire from all four lascannon vehicles for two turns, and on T2 was assaulted by scouts with krak grenades. On T3 it was down to 2 HP, and was then sniped out by a Predator.
The Hellhammer took out two Predators, and seriously damaged the third one. On T1, it killed the first pred, and immobilized another.
The rest of my army was just terribad support for the blade, but I suspect larger games wold see better performance for the Hellhammer, due to units having to get more clustered together, and my army would have other targets (Like Paskisher), drawing away enemy fire.

My opponent's list was specifically tailored to kill the Hellhammer, too, and is very unlikely to be seen in most games.

And the only protection from DS melta/grav is to bubblewrap.

I don't know who's saying it can't be magnetized, the guy who introduced me to the game has a fully magnetized Baneblade. His favorites are the Hellhammer and Stormlord, and he hates the Shadowsword for being "lazy cheese" (more or less, can't remember his exact words, but basically that idea).

On a sidenote I now know that if he brings a Hellhammer, my Bikers are boned!

If the Shadowsword is Lazy cheese... What the heck is 2 Knights in a single game then?

I wouldn't know, might ask him when I go back to Uni.
I do know some of his thoughts on Knights but not particularly anything to do with

 triplegrim wrote:
If the Shadowsword is Lazy cheese... What the heck is 2 Knights in a single game then?

Several hours hard work to guarantee you never lose against TAC lists.

What about specialized designs like the stormsword or banesword?