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The codex SM tanks seem kinda bland to me. What I've thought of is a predator toting loads of bolters and sternguard ammo. How about Hurricane bolter sponsons and turret?
A tank to deal with all situations! It'd need to get up close like a Vindicator, but it'd be like swiss army knife rather than a sledgehammer.

 trephines wrote:
The codex SM tanks seem kinda bland to me. What I've thought of is a predator toting loads of bolters and sternguard ammo. How about Hurricane bolter sponsons and turret?
A tank to deal with all situations! It'd need to get up close like a Vindicator, but it'd be like swiss army knife rather than a sledgehammer.

Sounds like an awesome idea. Why not go all out and make some Special Issue Ammunition for the Turret Autocannons?

I'd say no. Preds are already good and Sternguard are good, but if you give the Preds Sternguard ammo they'd be OP and there'd be no use for Sternguard.

The ammo is quite a cool defining factor of the Sternguard IMO

The turret autocannon definitely needs love though, even if it comes at a points cost. Currently it is very underwhelming for a tank turret. Just compare to any Leman Russ variant.

Shoud be an Exterminator turret, imho.

It really should be four shots like the russ version.

As for the strenguard ammo pred, I could totally see a predator with a twin-linked assault cannon turret and hurricane bolter sponsons, in which case throw some special ammo in there.

Ain't it too cheap for 70 pts with 4-shot tl gun? Don't forget, leman russes are bs3 and pay quite some points for their hulls.

Yeah, I'd expect someone to be paying 90 points or more for something with a BS4, twin-linked 4-shot S7 gun and FAV 13.

Of course, really what the Predator wants is either the ability to take multiples in one slot or a secondary function. A 6-capacity troop bay, maybe.

Both have popped up in Forgeworld, from time to time.

The Siege Assault Vanguard can take Predators in squadrons of 1-3, which is hardly game-breaking.

The Horus Heresy has the turret mount be a 'Predator Autocannon', which is 4 shots (but not twin-linked).

Sternguard ammo is suposed to be rare and valuable. It’s a fairly major stretch to use it in hurricane bolters when the sternguard can’t even use it in stormbolters.

I could see the use of the hurricanes on a pred though, just with stock ammo. Auto/HuB would do a very good job as horde thinner. You give up some of the range, both in inches and S for targets, for massed fire vs. gribbles. The autocannon in the turret losses a lot of its synergy though. For best results we should probably look at the Baal turrets. TLAsC or the flamer, plus fast, would make for better pairing.

One place I could see special ammo in a hurricane bolter would be if you make a venerable ironclad dread. Partially because the HuB is such a lackluster option for them, but mostly because I could see it from a fluff perspectives as a much more viable option.

I agree with sponson hurricane bolters. a light assault tank. Even limiting it to the auto cannon would be fine with that variant.

Hurricane bolters and a 5/6 transport capacity would be pretty sweet... Like a psuedo tactical squad.

I only really came up with this thread because I love Predators but find the options underwhelming besides lascannons. More variants would be awesome. If it was more like the autocannon Russ I'd be stoked.

 Ashiraya wrote:
The turret autocannon definitely needs love though, even if it comes at a points cost. Currently it is very underwhelming for a tank turret. Just compare to any Leman Russ variant.

Russes don't come in at 75pts bare.

That said if you really find the base Predator that dull the FW Relic Predator does more things and has more powerful turrets available.

As a csm play, i would definately like a pred that has troop capacity of 6, 1 hurricane bolter side sponsons for each side, replace turret ac for turret hurricane bolter no tl. Also upgrade of malefaic ammo which grants rending. Sounds over powered right?

A simple suggestion is autocannon side sponsons. This thing will hunt the skies with 3 ac. No troop cap

Or 2 twin linked heavy bolters turrets instead! That would be 4 hb pumping out 12 shots! Maybe troop capacity.

Or gut out the pred to be an assault apc...lolz its called a rhino but no assault.

 Filch wrote:
As a csm play, i would definately like a pred that has troop capacity of 6

So, basically an av13 razorback?

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Russes don't come in at 75pts bare.

 Ashiraya wrote:
The turret autocannon definitely needs love though, even if it comes at a points cost.

I am aware of the points costs. I just feel it's too weak for a tank main gun.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
What if it was Blast, for a little points increase?

While the SoB get an up-armored APC in the FW represser, for marines, we only have the rhino/razor to work with. Barring the LR.

Once you start adding in troop space, you should probably stop calling it a pred.

It would be nice to be able to mix and match all the different pred variants. Stock, Baal, FW. And then tack on all the reasonable substitutions, like hurricane bolter sponsons. There is even a bit for them (in the stormraven kit) so no reason not to.

The reason we say troop space is because the original Predator from Rogue Trader had troop space... but that was before they created the Razorback, which I suspect to be the modern version of the original Predator.

As for Repressors... hiss. Mine! Get'cher'own.

I'd quite like a Hurricane / Heavy Bolter Predator though.

 Ashiraya wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Russes don't come in at 75pts bare.

 Ashiraya wrote:
The turret autocannon definitely needs love though, even if it comes at a points cost.

I am aware of the points costs. I just feel it's too weak for a tank main gun.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
What if it was Blast, for a little points increase?

It's the budget Predator. It's more of an armoured car/light tank than an MBT anyway.

That said special ammo loadouts for the autocannon would be pretty cool. Choose between Rending, S6/AP4 blast, and Skyfire whenever you fire the autocannon, +15-ish points over a standard Predator right now?

Sternguard ammo can't be mass-produced in a forgeworld, it's handmade by chapter serfs, so there are limited quantities of it. A single round can take a serf a month or more to make, so just keeping the existing 50-60 sternguards in a chapter supplied is pretty tough, given all the other stuff that chapter serfs have to do.

 Silverthorne wrote:
Sternguard ammo can't be mass-produced in a forgeworld, it's handmade by chapter serfs, so there are limited quantities of it. A single round can take a serf a month or more to make, so just keeping the existing 50-60 sternguards in a chapter supplied is pretty tough, given all the other stuff that chapter serfs have to do.

No reason they can't handmake enough special autocannon shells for some subselection of the Chapter's Predators. Some Chapters have more serfs than others, after all.

 koooaei wrote:

 Filch wrote:
As a csm play, i would definately like a pred that has troop capacity of 6

So, basically an av13 razorback?

Why does everyone want hurricane bolters? The only time they're better than a heavy bolter is when you're in rapid range, and a predator isn't the most durable if it gets charged....

I do feel it should get a minimum of TL on the autocannon though, if not make it 4 shots (instead of TL, not in addition to). Alternately, it could add blast, something similar to the taurox prime cannon. Making it carry troops would kind of make it the opposite of what it's intended to be though (a gun platform, not a transport).

Sure, make a model with troop capacity and and hurricane bolters.... just don't make it a predator. At that point it can't be called a predator anymore.

 kingbobbito wrote:
Why does everyone want hurricane bolters? The only time they're better than a heavy bolter is when you're in rapid range, and a predator isn't the most durable if it gets charged....

I do feel it should get a minimum of TL on the autocannon though, if not make it 4 shots (instead of TL, not in addition to). Alternately, it could add blast, something similar to the taurox prime cannon. Making it carry troops would kind of make it the opposite of what it's intended to be though (a gun platform, not a transport).

Sure, make a model with troop capacity and and hurricane bolters.... just don't make it a predator. At that point it can't be called a predator anymore.

I think probably because for close in, city fight, obstruction/support roles stuff. It's a cool flavor I think. but IMO anything different would be good

 Filch wrote:

Mek approved

Here's an idea, why not give the option to buy Skyfire/Interceptor, or make it have a Long-Barreled Autocannon, like what's on the IG Lightning. If the lascannon and regular autocannon have the same range, there's no advantage to the AC. If it had a bonus, like the optional skyfire and/or extended range, it might actually see play.

Bring back Sgt. Chronus and give him a Sternguard Predator.

Two TL Heavy Bolters with Sternguard ammo. 250 points for this unit. 13/12/10. BS 5.

This will be expensive and will be easy to kill with focused melta or focused anti-tank weaponry, but would still be pretty fun to field and would rain down death on a lot of units for however may turns it is able to stay alive.