Leman Russ Squadron:
The Leman Russ is the bread and butter of the Heavy Support section, providing fire support for foot-guard, performing the heavy lifting in a mech list, and giving tough, reliable on-the-ground presence for aircav. The real strength of the Russ, though, is that it has a variant for every occasion. Following changes to the official FAQ, all Russ variants gained the Heavy rule, allowing them to always count as stationary when firing weapons. This replacement of Lumbering Behemoth hurt the effectiveness of a couple of variants, but increased the usefulness of most. If running them in squadrons, I advise you to keep the same loadout for every tank in the squadron.

Leman Russ Battle Tank: The most notable victim of the FAQ, with the Ordnance rule on its battle cannon meaning it must fire snap-shots from all other weapons. This relegates the use of sponsons on this tank, narrowing target range it can hurt. The primary target for the LRBT is Marines out of cover, as against other targets it is generally outperformed. The one advantage of this tank is the lack of sponsons allowing it to be kept cheap, and 150 points for a S8 AP3 Large Blast weapon on an AV14 chassis is not to be sniffed at if you're tight for points.

Leman Russ Exterminator: This variant is possibly the best for a cheap, all-round performer. With the simple addition of Heavy Bolter sponsons, this tank can put out a large volume of shots to threaten medium and light infantry, knock hull points of light vehicles, and potentially even hit fliers. For even more versatility, add a lascannon for help against AV12+.

Leman Russ Vanquisher: This tank at first glance seems single-minded. With a S8 gun that rolls 2d6 for armour penetration, it is a tank killer beyond compare in a Guard army, and with the addition of a lascannon, it is even more threatening. However, the Vanquisher can also be incredibly versatile with the right sponsons. Plasma Cannons give it even more AP2 fire-power, and increase its threat to Monstrous Creatures and enemies with 2+ saves, and can therefore be incredibly valuable. Although it is rather expensive, there are few tanks better for a take-all-comers list than a Vanquisher with lascannon and Plasma Cannons.

Leman Russ Eradicator: The Eradicator offers what is essentially a lighter version of the LRBT, able to target medium infantry, but also to ignore cover. It can also take sponsons that can fire effectively, unlike the LRBT, and I would suggest either Heavy Bolters, for the matching AP (which is lethal to xenos armies), or Plasma Cannons if you are worried about Marines. However, if the latter is true, you are probably better off with a Vanquisher, LRBT, or Executioner.

Leman Russ Demolisher: This tank is, simply put, scary. Admittedly, it suffered in the same way as the LRBT from the FAQ, but the Demolisher was never about the sponsons. Very few things in the game can drop a S10 AP2 Large Blast, which makes the Demolisher a threat to almost anything bar fliers. The price you pay for this fearsome armament, aside from the increased points cost, is range. The Demolisher lacks the ability of its cousins to sit back and shoot, instead needing to advance to get maximum use from its weapon. Therefore, they are best reserved for an aggressive list, and work well in pair. They are great as a threat to force on your opponent, who will have no choice but to deal with it, and can do a lot of damage.

Leman Russ Punisher: Significantly more expensive and specialised that most other Russes, the Punisher seems, on paper, to be absolute death to any infantry. While it is undoubtedly effective, especially with Heavy Bolter sponsons, the range is again a limiting factor, and BS3 also means half the shots will miss. That said, it can still be a solid investment against infantry-heavy armies, and is good for forcing saves on Monstrous Creatures. They also suffer from being an anti-infantry tank in an anti-infantry army, so their usefulness is limited.

Leman Russ Executioner: The Executioner is one of the best 'specialisation' tanks before upgrades are added, able to fire 3 plasma blasts with no risk of Gets Hot. Like the Demolisher, though, the raw power is offset by increased cost, and your targets are limited to 2+/3+ save infantry and Monstrous Creatures, as against any other target, other tanks do the job better and cheaper. Like the LRBT, take one if you see a lot of marines, if not, then take something else. I'd also advise against sponsons, 3 plasma blasts should kill most things, and the Executioner is expensive enough as it it.

 Paradigm wrote:
From my IG tactics article:

Leman Russ Squadron:
The Leman Russ is the bread and butter of the Heavy Support section, providing fire support for foot-guard, performing the heavy lifting in a mech list, and giving tough, reliable on-the-ground presence for aircav. The real strength of the Russ, though, is that it has a variant for every occasion. Following changes to the official FAQ, all Russ variants gained the Heavy rule, allowing them to always count as stationary when firing weapons. This replacement of Lumbering Behemoth hurt the effectiveness of a couple of variants, but increased the usefulness of most. If running them in squadrons, I advise you to keep the same loadout for every tank in the squadron.

Leman Russ Battle Tank: The most notable victim of the FAQ, with the Ordnance rule on its battle cannon meaning it must fire snap-shots from all other weapons. This relegates the use of sponsons on this tank, narrowing target range it can hurt. The primary target for the LRBT is Marines out of cover, as against other targets it is generally outperformed. The one advantage of this tank is the lack of sponsons allowing it to be kept cheap, and 150 points for a S8 AP3 Large Blast weapon on an AV14 chassis is not to be sniffed at if you're tight for points.

Leman Russ Exterminator: This variant is possibly the best for a cheap, all-round performer. With the simple addition of Heavy Bolter sponsons, this tank can put out a large volume of shots to threaten medium and light infantry, knock hull points of light vehicles, and potentially even hit fliers. For even more versatility, add a lascannon for help against AV12+.

Leman Russ Vanquisher: This tank at first glance seems single-minded. With a S8 gun that rolls 2d6 for armour penetration, it is a tank killer beyond compare in a Guard army, and with the addition of a lascannon, it is even more threatening. However, the Vanquisher can also be incredibly versatile with the right sponsons. Plasma Cannons give it even more AP2 fire-power, and increase its threat to Monstrous Creatures and enemies with 2+ saves, and can therefore be incredibly valuable. Although it is rather expensive, there are few tanks better for a take-all-comers list than a Vanquisher with lascannon and Plasma Cannons.

Leman Russ Eradicator: The Eradicator offers what is essentially a lighter version of the LRBT, able to target medium infantry, but also to ignore cover. It can also take sponsons that can fire effectively, unlike the LRBT, and I would suggest either Heavy Bolters, for the matching AP (which is lethal to xenos armies), or Plasma Cannons if you are worried about Marines. However, if the latter is true, you are probably better off with a Vanquisher, LRBT, or Executioner.

Leman Russ Demolisher: This tank is, simply put, scary. Admittedly, it suffered in the same way as the LRBT from the FAQ, but the Demolisher was never about the sponsons. Very few things in the game can drop a S10 AP2 Large Blast, which makes the Demolisher a threat to almost anything bar fliers. The price you pay for this fearsome armament, aside from the increased points cost, is range. The Demolisher lacks the ability of its cousins to sit back and shoot, instead needing to advance to get maximum use from its weapon. Therefore, they are best reserved for an aggressive list, and work well in pair. They are great as a threat to force on your opponent, who will have no choice but to deal with it, and can do a lot of damage.

Leman Russ Punisher: Significantly more expensive and specialised that most other Russes, the Punisher seems, on paper, to be absolute death to any infantry. While it is undoubtedly effective, especially with Heavy Bolter sponsons, the range is again a limiting factor, and BS3 also means half the shots will miss. That said, it can still be a solid investment against infantry-heavy armies, and is good for forcing saves on Monstrous Creatures. They also suffer from being an anti-infantry tank in an anti-infantry army, so their usefulness is limited.

Leman Russ Executioner: The Executioner is one of the best 'specialisation' tanks before upgrades are added, able to fire 3 plasma blasts with no risk of Gets Hot. Like the Demolisher, though, the raw power is offset by increased cost, and your targets are limited to 2+/3+ save infantry and Monstrous Creatures, as against any other target, other tanks do the job better and cheaper. Like the LRBT, take one if you see a lot of marines, if not, then take something else. I'd also advise against sponsons, 3 plasma blasts should kill most things, and the Executioner is expensive enough as it it.

Hope that helps.

 Eisensapper wrote:
If you do use a Punisher you pretty much have to get a Primaris Psyker; give the psyker presence and twin link the tank. If you have a full squadron that 60 twin linked shots.

 EVIL INC wrote:
Careful of taking squadrons. Incoming shots go to the full squad instead of the closest one. The same goes for assault. An assault squad only needs to reach a single one and if (lol, Why even bother saying if? WHEN )the first one is destroyed, additional hits keep going to the rest of the squad even though they are not in base contact until the entire squad is destroyed.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Eisensapper wrote:
If you do use a Punisher you pretty much have to get a Primaris Psyker; give the psyker presence and twin link the tank. If you have a full squadron that 60 twin linked shots.

Just saw it.

Eihnlazer wrote:
they deal wounds seperately, but they accumulate hits all together.