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I've started to assemble a small MT force and I am looking at my options on the Taurox Prime.

At first glance I didn't really like the vehicle at all. I even resented it at a little because in my head, the Taurox pushed up the price of my chimera's in the AM codex. (The chimera was a little under priced in the last edition). After looking at the model and the options I am actually starting to like it. I will still be converting those awful tracks to some beefy wheels though (GW actually tried to reinvent the wheel?). Lets look at the stats and options.

The AV 11/10/10 isn't exactly sturdy. In fact it will likely get hosed down with str 6/7 shots early on but the thinking about how the chimera works, it's not all bad. The chimera isn't able to take a great deal of abuse either and its primary role is to deny your opponent a round of shooting directly on your troops. It does this, albeit slightly less effectively. To compare the two you need to look at the AM codex. For the 15pt difference between the base units, you lose a single av point on the Taurox. I'd say that's probably about right to be fair. Furthermore, the Taurox comes equipped with the twinlinked autocannon which I feel is the more preferable gun over the multi laser and HB. The extra range, strength and accuracy mean more to me on this type of platform than sheer volume of shots.

Moving back to the Prime since the MT can't take the base unit. I was upset at first with the 30pt price hike. After looking what I get for those 30pts I don't thinks it's all that bad. The 30pt hike pays for the TL volley gun, Taurox battle cannon and the 'fast' classification. It also pays to open up the weapon options. The option for the TL autocannon been free, which is my preferred weapon of choice. Once again I think the price is fair given the additional stats.

The all-terrain vehicle speaks for itself. It does make the vehicle a little more reliable to move through cover which will protect it - duh! A nice little addition if you can find enough area terrain to hide a few of them.

Weapon List -

The main weapons seem a bit lacklustre to me but I'm a leman russ fan so they're going to be.

Battle Cannon - The 48'' range I guess isn't as much of a downside on a faster vehicle as it can close gaps quicker than its counter-parts and most boards are 4x4 or 4x6 anyway (I've never complained about the autocannons range so why on this?). I do however have the problem with the rest of it. At str7 ap 4 blast, it's basically an autocannon with blast taped to the end. It will create good synergy with the TL autocannon option for popping transports and the such but it's not quite what I want out of a gun named 'battle cannon'. Not a bad choice overall though because it has it's use and I will probably have a few in my army. TL would have been nice though.

Gatling Cannon - Another mini-leman-russ-peashooter. Not quite a punisher cannon. At half the amount of shots and 1 less str it once again feels a bit underpowered. Introduce the TL volley gun though and it will still throw out a satisfactory amount of light-weight firepower ('Satisfactory' - That word the girlfriend uses a lot). At 90pts it seems expensive but then I remember, it's still a transport, it still has a payload of ap3 to drop off and it's still fast. My problem here is that the punisher was best at stacking wounds onto mc's. The loss of the str and shots really hinder its ability to do this and considering the Scions will have plasma/melta guns, it seems a redundant option. The fact it is TL makes those shots go a little further but I don't see a role for it, especially en masse.

Missile Launcher - The most expensive of the options but I feel it'll probably be the best. I'm not a fan of missile launchers. They've always been out performed by lascannons or heavy bolters at either the anti-vehicle or the anti-infantry role but in such a small dedicated force, I think the flexibility will probably be of use. The frag anti-infantry option still sucks in my opinion as much as ever but the option to use it is there. The Krak missile however is one of two ways to get some long range anti-vehicle guns into the force that will threaten av14. Not well but they'll do it. The other option been the Valkyrie. Being heavy 2 and with the TL autocannon, this set-up could engage av12 fairly reliably and threaten av13/14 with a shaken result here and there. That's all you really need until you get into melta gun range IMHO.

Equipment List -

The Augur array means that guard have finally caught up with the other codex's with their chaos icons and such. I like the idea of it but I will probably not use it. Why? With the new Taurox been fairly light on the armour side, I wouldn't want to rely on any particular vehicle to survive long enough to use it. At 25pts, I think I would rather just be a little bit more careful with my deepstrike placements and hope for a bit of luck. Not to mention if i'm taking the Taurox in the first place, I'm going to need a lot of them for redundancy or the Valkyrie. These transports are fast anyway so I think the cost and risk outway the tactical benefit from calling in deepstike to a position you're already at.

Camo netting. I'm not sure how much cover a camo net would actually give in the open to warrant a cover save, even at 6+ but it does. I'm assuming it costs 15pts as in the AM codex because it isn't listed in the wargear list but I feel that's overpriced. If you took it on six vehicles at a cost of 90pts, you would on average save a single vehicle. Of course the better way for guard has always been to buy a seventh vehicle for the redundancy and firepower.

Fire barrels is an interesting choice. Not one I can see myself taking because the idea is to keep the vehicles away from assault situations all together, but interesting nether the less. It would have some use storming objectives 'perhaps' (in the loosest sense of the word) but you do have a bunch of blokes in the back waiting to get some action too.

Recovery gear. I like recovery gear. At 5pts it's cheap! And I like cheap. My only issue with it is the vehicles aren't exactly that expensive or precious to begin with so spending points on a situational benefit seems a waste of points to me. If you have a few points left over, it's not a bad filler. I'll be using this one on the Russ chassis in the AM codex for definite.

Relic Plating. For only 3pts today! You can keep those Psykers at bay! For a little bit longer....Anyway. At 3pts it is again cheap and great filler if you face Psykers. Another situational benefit though. I certainly wouldn't be taking it over an extra plasma gun.

The dozer blade. I don't understand why I'm getting charged 5pts for something the vehicle already does. Madness I say! MADNESS!

Searchlight. Add them for 1pt? Personal choice. Probably better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them for 1pt.

Storm Bolter. 5pts is fairer to the weapon than the 10pts in the last imperial guard codex. Again a personal choice. They look good on the model and will help with the anti-infantry build with the gatling cannon but not necessary by far.

Smoke launchers. I'm not happy to be paying 10pts for something that you get for free on all the other chassis of the AM (with the exception of the hellhound varients) The Taurox wants to be doing one of two things. Moving flat out to get the cargo into position or going a tad slower and shooting. 10pts is a poor deal.

Extra Armour. Too expensive IMO. If it was 5pts I might consider it as filler but its not.

The hunter-killer missile is an interesting choice. Here you have a force without a great deal of long range anti-tank guns but at 10pts, would the Taurox missile launcher alone not suffice? Not to mention that If you're moving and shooting you can only fire a single weapon at full BS. This isn't really a force that has a section of mobile bunkers sat on your back edge providing firesupport as your main strength is your standard troops. Best to leave it at home.

From this I can see two main builds been put into use. The Battlecannon/Autocannon combo and the Missile/Autocannon combo. I also see the searchlight, relic plating, recovery gear and the storm bolters been taken depending on the player and whether they have some points left over at the end. Overall I think it's probably going to prove to be a quirky little vehicle, the likes of which the majority of Guard commanders haven't really had the chance to play with. Myself included. Just please, please, please convert them daft looking treads.

Thoughts and opinions?

I didnt see it but the prime also has BS 4 (from memory).

Personally im just gonna take the stock standard Prime with autocannons and storm bolter. I dont wanna spend too much, although the rocket launcher with autocannons and camo netting would be effective but expensive.

Keeping it under 90 points for a prime is how I plan on doing it. I dont plan on using its speed too much, rather just get it to move into cover and then shoot away. With camo, fast and reroll terrain tests, im very sure a few of these can get to their spot quickly.

Not the best, but not bad either. But even bolters can kill it, so the more you spend, the more you need to rely on cover.

The Prime is definitely insanely overpriced. How much are Eldar players paying for Wave Serpents? They can carry cargo that is just as good as Storm Troopers, they're also fast, but they're Skimmers, they have MUCH better weapons, and you more or less have to hull point them down. The Taurox, your opponent is going to open up with a hard stare.

IMO, 90+ point 11/10/10 transports are NOT what IG does well. For an MT army you want Valks, Vendettas, and DS'ing Storm Troopers.

 NuggzTheNinja wrote:
The Prime is definitely insanely overpriced. How much are Eldar players paying for Wave Serpents? They can carry cargo that is just as good as Storm Troopers, they're also fast, but they're Skimmers, they have MUCH better weapons, and you more or less have to hull point them down. The Taurox, your opponent is going to open up with a hard stare.

IMO, 90+ point 11/10/10 transports are NOT what IG does well. For an MT army you want Valks, Vendettas, and DS'ing Storm Troopers.

Have to rely on using terrain with the vehicle. It isnt horrific, just not great. But it does add expensive support to your mostly short range guys.

 Deceiver wrote:

The hunter-killer missile is an interesting choice. Here you have a force without a great deal of long range anti-tank guns but at 10pts, would the Taurox missile launcher alone not suffice? Not to mention that If you're moving and shooting you can only fire a single weapon at full BS. This isn't really a force that has a section of mobile bunkers sat on your back edge providing firesupport as your main strength is your standard troops. Best to leave it at home.

Its a Fast Vehicle so you can fire more then one weapon at full BS. Other then that I personally like the Missile + Autocannon Build as well as the Gatling Cannon + Hot Shot Volley Gun Build. A Single S7 ap4 small blast is not worth it to me (now if they had made it a Large Blast it would be a Different Story) and this way you have both variants kitted out to perform specific roles.

Well, what about taking it 'naked'? I mean, a small blast canon coupled with twin linked autocannon can deliver alot of Str7 AP4 shots down range at 48', all the while keeping it (relatively) cheap, being good with pretty much all xenos and most side/rear armour as well

How are people not loving the Taurox Prime...fast vehicle with two fire points on each side and some pretty excellent gun options...just pair it with a few chimeras and you can guard your armor with armor if you're smart about it.

So what's the final verdict on the Taurox Prime? Is it best used without any upgrades, and just use it for positioning?