Editing Chaos Dreadnought (section)

==Helbrute==

[[File:Hellbrute.jpg|right|thumb|290px|The Helbrute, now with fleshy bits.]]

Much like Eldar and Ork Dreadnoughts before them (now Wraithlords and Deff Dreads, respectively), Games Workshop "replaced" Chaos Dreadnoughts. The new model called a Helbrute is just the classic CSM dread with a different name.

Fluff-wise, Helbrutes are essentially Chaos Dreadnoughts with the grimdark dial turned to 21. Rather than just being entombed inside a sarcophagus and forced to never again feel the glory of combat, the pilot of a Helbrute is entombed like regular Chaos Dreads, but rather than going just insane from captivity, [[grimdark|the pilot of the walker will eventually meld into the machine's metal, ensuring he not only loses his shit from being hooked-up to an insane death-machine, but also from the fact that he's forcefully becoming one with said death machine]]. And that's not getting into how the implantation process usually involves tentacles whose origin is best left unknown burrowing into the victim's flesh and forcibly merging with his nervous system, which inevitably drives him mad within days, if not hours. The few Helbrutes which still retain some shred of sanity inevitably welcome their destruction.

In one of the solo missions included in Dark Vengeance, the Helbrute is given a name and background as Sevarion Kranon (later renamed ''Mortis Metallikus''. Yeah, GW's really gone far with their names). His brother Sevastus Kranon (later Kranon the Relentless, Chaos Lord of the [[Crimson Slaughter]]), tricked/forced him inside a Helbrute chassis after he protested against the increasing corruption within his chapter. The resulting transformation slowly crippled his body and soul, melding him into his prison. The process turned him so insane that whatever was left of the loyalist Brother's mind was completely lost, replaced by the id that is the Helbrute. Then a Dark Angels Librarian flooded his mind with empathy for several seconds, stunning the Helbrute long enough for a Tactical Marine to shove a plasma cannon up its mechanical ass and put it out of its misery.

Unlike regular Dreadnoughts, Helbrutes are mass-produced by [[Warpsmith]]s and the [[Dark Mechanicum]]. Rather than an honor to be earned like in loyalist Chapters, entombment in a Helbrute is seen as a punishment, a way to get rid of a rival or just [[Inquisition|being in the wrong place at the wrong time]] as the crazed bastards see a wounded Space Marine as just resources to be exploited. This would be a good thing for Chaos if they didn't keep going batshit insane in the process.

Alternatively, Thousand Sons Helbrutes are made by entrapment, offering CSM of other legions and warbands power and knowledge, along with tutelage in the ways of sorcery. What's actually happening is the sorcerers of Tzeentch's favoured legion are connecting the mind of the sacrificial lamb with the chassis of a Helbrute. They then flense the body of the poor sod with warpfire, keeping him conscious the whole time, and lock him in the Helbrute forevermore. Yeah, keep telling us that the Thousand Sons are a misunderstood legion.

===Crunch===
The Helbrute is largely identical to the Chaos Dreadnought it replaced with a few tweaks, namely its price and equipment options. Following the FAQ, this cheap little bastard armed with a basic [[powerfist]] and [[multi-melta]] clocks in at a paltry 100 pts. - fuckin' A! The brute can exchange its multi-melta for a [[Reaper Autocannon|reaper autocannon]], [[Plasma Cannon|plasma cannon]], twin-linked [[lascannon]] or another power fist; the premier power fist can be exchanged for a [[Power weapon#Power Scourge|power scourge]] (S8, AP2, -D3 to enemy model WS in base contact), [[Power weapon#Dreadnought/Helbrute Thunder Hammer|Dreadnought thunder hammer]] or [[Missile Launcher|missile launcher]]. Do note that there's a quirk in the rules RAW: you can exchange one power fist for any of the items following the semi-colon in that last sentence! This means you can load your brute with a missile launcher and a power scourge if you feel so inclined.

====Crazed 2.0====
In the 6th edition codex, the old dreadnought's biggest liability gets reborn into much of a positive feature for the brute. For starters, the roll is now a D3 whenever it loses a hull point and no more will you face a 33% chance of the Helbrute shooting at your own guys if you roll a one. However, the target priority harkens back to 3.5 where you have to shoot an enemy within range (preferably the unit responsible for removing an HP from the brute) twice. Otherwise, a 2 will scrub stunned and shaken results and grant rage while a 3 will do all that plus bestow fleet and force the brute to run if not within 12" of an enemy (preferably closer to whatever was responsible for making it lose a hull point).

====How-To====
There has been much debate as to how to use the Helbrute effectively. Detractors point out that the merits of the Loyalist Dreadnought do not carry over to the Helbrute - specifically the options of drop pod transport or a rifleman dreadnought setup. And yes, trying to play a Helbrute like that will disappoint you because it can't do any of that! Most of the detractors are just [[Defiler]] fetishists, but not all of them; Helbrutes require support, especially from Warp Smiths but also from other war machines.

Additionally, GW released a dataslate for the brutes with 3 new formations for basic 40K. These are the Mayhem Pack, Helcult and Helfist Murderpack; all of them tweak both the brutes' survivability and usefulness in one way or another. The Mayhem Pack makes a group of 3 brutes deepstrike and gives them all a free roll per turn on the crazed table (suffice to say, you should tool these guys up for both [[Dakka]] and [[Choppa]]) - this one is said to be the more useful of the two. The Helcult gives the brute two units of chaos cultist meatshields, providing a 3+ cover save at the expense of a dead cultist; meanwhile the cultists get to be fearless while the brute is still alive and zealots should it die, but will be hit in close combat should the brute roll a 1 to hit. Lastly, the Murderpack is a vehicle unit of 5 Helbrutes with one of them designated as a champion (conferring both an Aura of Dark Glory and Character special rules, he also confers rage onto his unit if he goes down); they also get to '''choose''' which Crazed result they have.

====8th Edition====
Finally, the era of stupid broken bullshit from 7th is done and we can move on and forget about that particular stupid garbage. Actually, so much has changed between the editions that we've walked back to portions of 2nd edition. Specifically, the brute now has a toughness and wounds values and is now a solid tanky bastard that only gets buffs from Crazed.