BT Unit Guide: Heavy Support by Bigdunc
Regardless of the type of Black Templar army you intend to field, you need fire support. Even for assault oriented lists, sometimes it’s better to send a bullet instead of a body. You also need to split open transports to get to the juicy insides. Heavy Support slots excel at this role. While Elite and Fast Attack slots can also provide fire support, but these slots are often taken for other purposes.
There are two different kinds of fire support: Anti-Tank and Anti-Infantry.
There are two different kinds of fire support: Anti-Tank and Anti-Infantry.
Anti-Tank
- Auto/Las Predator (Autocannon turret, Lascannon sponsons)
- Tri-Las Predator (Twin-linked Lascannon turret, Lascannon sponsons)
- Godhammer Land Raider (Heavy Bolter and Lascannons)
At first glance the Godhammer-pattern Landraider (LR) seems like an awesome choice. It has Lascannons, AV14, Power of the Machine Spirit (PotMS), and is an assault vehicle. You’re paying a high price for these abilities, however, and they don’t directly increase the LR’s ranged lethality. In terms of points spent for pure anti-tank fire support the LR is lacking and leaves the Predator as the better choice for putting rounds down range.
Predators are reliable and point efficient fire support. Their long range allows them to remain in the backfield and make the most of their AV13 front armor. This not only makes a Pred more survivable, but negates the ability of S5/6 weaponry to suppress it.
The Auto/Las and Tri-Las configurations fill the same anti-tank support role, so which one is better? The first step is to compare mathhammer. We find that the Auto/Las is marginally less effective than the Tri-Las at killing and suppress enemy armor (3% less likely to destroy AV11 and 5% less likely to destroy AV13). The question becomes, is 5% worth 20pts? In my opinion the answer is No, the opportunity cost is too high. If you’ve taken 3 Tri-Las Preds, downgrading to Auto/Las Preds frees up 60pts which is almost the cost of a Landspeeder with a Multi-Melta. For me, the better anti-tank choice is the Auto/Las but if you’ve designed a list and have 20pts sitting around without a good home, upgrade to the Tri-Las. Taking multiple predators in a list is strongly suggested. Ideally you fill all three slots with identical configurations, but fielding just two can work depending on the list.
The downside to Predators is a lack of mobility. In order to unleash their full fury they need to remain stationary. Remaining stationary means predators will generally be shooting at your opponent’s strongest armor, the front, which reduces the killing power of the Preds in relation to other weapon systems. The best place to deploy Preds to utilize AV13 and minimize the effects of immobility is in the corners of the table where they are likely to get flanking shots on armor as it advances (if it advances). You can choose not to deploy in the corners to provide better fields of fire, but you increase the opportunity for flanking shots on the Pred’s AV11 side armor.
Anti-Infantry
- Dakka Predator (Autocannon turret and Heavy Bolter sponsons)
- Vindicator
- Land Raider Crusader
As with the Godhammer, the Land Raider Crusader (LRC) is not the best platform for putting the most possible rounds downrange; it has more important uses covered later.
The Dakka, like the other predators, is a very reliable fire support platform. It provides good support at range, has AV13 front armor, and the same mobility limitations. The only real difference is what it targets: Infantry. In one shooting phase the Dakka has the potential to cause 8 wounds, but on average will only kill 1.3 MEQ and 3.8 GEQ. However multiply this by three Dakka Preds and five to seven game turns and you’re looking at a good number of casualties. The Dakka Pred can also effect up to AV13 armor, mostly in the form of suppression.
Unfortunately, the Dakka Pred is costly in comparison to updated Marine codices. Black Templars pay 25pts more for the exact same Predator with the exact same capabilities. After purchasing three Dakka Preds that’s an opportunity cost of a single MM/HF Landspeeder. In my opinion, though solid fire support, Dakka Predators come with too high a cost.
Vindicators are a strong choice for Heavy Support selection. S10, AP2, large blasts are comforting to have. Furthermore, our dated codex allows Vindicators to be upgraded with PotMS which allows it to ignore shaken and stunned results in order to deliver that large blast. While the S10 of the Demolisher Cannon is tempting in an anti-tank role, its primary role should be taking large chunks out of infantry units.
That large blast comes with limitations, the biggest being range. In order to engage targets the Vindicator needs to move forward, but in doing so becomes more vulnerable to flanking shots. Because of both its potential for carnage and limitations, Vindicators should be factored into your plans as psychological weapons and not reliable death-dealing machines.
Crusader and Godhammer
In order to really take full advantage of these armored beasts, both their firepower and transport capacity need to be utilized. For this reason, taking either configuration in a purely fire support role isn’t recommended.
Overall, the LRC is a better choice than the LR for three main reasons: it can be a dedicated transport, it has a higher transport capacity, and it has powerful, short ranged weapons. The unit most commonly found using an LRC are Sword Brethren Assault Terminators, who being unable to equip frag grenades, benefit greatly from the LRC’s frag assault launchers.
As Black Templars, we have the old PotMS rules and therefore can’t fire any weapons when we move 12”. That creates a decision that must be made between providing fire support or moving forward as fast as possible to deliver assaulters. Generally, the more points being transported, the less the LR/C will be looking to provide fire support.
Though the Assault Termie/LRC combo is powerful, I think there’s an underutilized middle ground where the contents of an LR/C aren’t so expensive or necessary to the game plan and can be used in a QRF (quick reaction force) role. This allows the LR/C to provide fire support throughout the game before delivering a small unit of Sword Brethren or Crusaders into a key close combat fight. This is where I think the LR might find an effective role in mechanized and other lists.
Overall, the LRC is a better choice than the LR for three main reasons: it can be a dedicated transport, it has a higher transport capacity, and it has powerful, short ranged weapons. The unit most commonly found using an LRC are Sword Brethren Assault Terminators, who being unable to equip frag grenades, benefit greatly from the LRC’s frag assault launchers.
As Black Templars, we have the old PotMS rules and therefore can’t fire any weapons when we move 12”. That creates a decision that must be made between providing fire support or moving forward as fast as possible to deliver assaulters. Generally, the more points being transported, the less the LR/C will be looking to provide fire support.
Though the Assault Termie/LRC combo is powerful, I think there’s an underutilized middle ground where the contents of an LR/C aren’t so expensive or necessary to the game plan and can be used in a QRF (quick reaction force) role. This allows the LR/C to provide fire support throughout the game before delivering a small unit of Sword Brethren or Crusaders into a key close combat fight. This is where I think the LR might find an effective role in mechanized and other lists.
