Thursday, June 29, 2017

8th Edition: Imperial Armour Focus- Sicaran Venator Tank Destroyer

With 4 Imperial Armour Indexes now out, Forgeworld and the Warhammer Community posted up a "Unit Focus" in order to show off the rules for one of it's new tanks.


via Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/06/28/imperial-armour-unit-focus-relic-sicaran-venator-tank-destoyer/

The Relic Sicaran Venator Tank Destroyer is one of a huge range of tanks available to the Space Marines in Imperial Armour – Index: Forces of the Adeptus Astartes, and is definitely one worth considering. Sicaran pattern tanks are advanced vehicles commonly used in the battles of the Horus Heresy, but are a rarer sight in the 41st Millennium. While the Sicaran Venator might lack the versatility of the baseline Sicaran or the sheer volume of fire provided by the (currently unreleased) Sicaran Punisher, it nevertheless has a highly specific (and useful) role to play in any Space Marines army.

Like all Sicaran pattern vehicles, the Venator is faster than most ground tanks available to the Space Marines, with a 14” move. This speed allows the Venator to get into position quickly and flank enemies from around cover, or stay well out of the way of fast moving jump units looking to bog it down in combat.

This speed is coupled with the neutron pulse cannon, a weapon that’s sure to put the fear of the Emperor into any traitor. With Strength 12, it’ll be wounding anything short of a Warlord Titan on a 3+, while an AP of -4 means even the heaviest armour is almost entirely mitigated. A 3 round burst should be enough to kill a rampaging Helbrute outright or cripple a Tyranid war-beast, while a couple of additional  shots from the Venator’s sponson-mounted lascannon, or even a lucky shot from a hunter-killer missile, should be capable of finishing most foes. What’s better is that this weapon is unaffected by whether or not the Venator moved, further increasing its effective range.

The sheer power of the neutron pulse cannon isn’t its only feature, and where it really shines compared to other heavy weaponry is its special rules when shooting at vehicles, forcing them to subtract 1 from their hit rolls in their next Shooting phase. This is crippling against larger vehicles and has the potential to seriously reduce their offensive output. It is particularly lethal when used on any war-machine wielding plasma weaponry, doubling the chance of them accidentally causing themselves mortal wounds.

Overall, the Relic Sicaran Venator Tank Destroyer is a superb monster and vehicle killer. Use its mobility defensively to get into cover and dodge threatening assault units, or use it offensively to move into new firing lanes against anything that tries to hide from you, all while maintaining a punishingly accurate stream of firepower. If you’re struggling with Knights and other heavy vehicles, or just want to reliably kill monsters and light tanks, the Venator is a potent and versatile addition to your Space Marines army