Imperial Armour Index Chaos.... the Hellforged Predator

Forgeworld is spotlighting an updated unit from their Forces of Chaos Index today, the Hellforged Predator. Now you can see the datasheet with the Hellforged Predator's expanded weapon options.



via Warhammer Community
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/06/20/imperial-armour-unit-focus-hellforged-chaos-predator/

Hellforged vehicles are the Chaos equivalent of the Relic vehicles found in the armouries of the Adeptus Astartes, but where Relic vehicles are treated with care and veneration, Hellforged vehicles are twisted by centuries of warfare and the corruption of the warp. Dating back to the Horus Heresy, the Hellforged Predator combines weaponry from the Age of Darkness with a malevolent machine sentience, making for an unusual unit on the tabletop that canny generals will find very rewarding to use.

The Hellforged Predator has access to any of the weapons usable by the standard Chaos Predator, with the addition of the plasma destroyer, magna-melta cannon, infernal flamestorm cannon and C-beam cannon. Infernal Predators can also take heavy flamers as sponson weapons. These options allow for a diverse range of builds capable of dealing with a wide range of targets, from a close-assault vehicle armed to the teeth with flamer weaponry, to a potent long ranged support unit with the C-beam cannon. Since you can now fire different weapons at different targets, you could even equip the Predator as a generalist, patching up holes in your list with a variety of weapons. 

Where the Hellforged Predator really stands out is in the Assault phase. You read that right! As you can see above, as Hellforged vehicles take damage, they get angrier, losing Movement and Ballistic Skill in return for greatly increased Weapon Skill. This works fantastically with the Hellforged Predator’s other abilities: Machina Malifica and Hate-fuelled Rampage. In a pinch, these rules combined can allow a damaged Hellforged Predator to charge a squad of infantry and consume them with its Infernal Hunger, then regenerate its lost wounds through Machina Malifica.

It’s worth considering that the Keyword allows your Hellforged Predator to benefit from your nearby Heretic Astartes – a Dark Apostle to provide much-needed re-rolls on attacks in the combat phase, for instance. Imperial Armour – Index: Forces of Chaos also features a new character, the Hellwright, who can further increase the combat abilities of your Hellforged vehicles. While there’s not currently a model out for the Hellwright, we’d recommend Forge World’s Archmagos Draykavac, a member of the Dark Mechanicus who comes equipped with the same loadout as the Hellwright, including the option for an Abeyant.

Overall, the Hellforged Predator is an incredibly versatile option for any Chaos army, providing varied firepower, surprising bite in melee, and, when used well, terrifying durability. Whether you just want one or fancy an entire armoured column of war-hungry Hellforged vehicles, you can get yours at forgeworld.co.uk. Rules for the Hellforged Predator, Hellwright and more can be found in Imperial Armour – Index: Forces of Chaos, also available from Forge World.