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Malcador Heavy Tank

2023-05-25T18:23:59Z

2600:1006:B1AD:3289:187B:9650:A535:4FE4:

[[File:Malcador_Tank_War.png|480px|right|thumb|When even the [[Taurox]] [[FAIL|have less problems than you,]] you know that your tank has done fucked up.]]

The '''Malcador Heavy Tank''' is an ancient pattern of heavy tank, dating to the [[Age of Strife]] (presumably it had some other designation before [[Malcador the Sigillite]] came around and they re-named it for him). Like the [[Macharius Heavy Tank]], it resembles an oversized [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]], but while the Macharius resembles a Russ that has been cut and extended in the middle, the Malcador looks like someone at [[Forge World]] made a Russ out of silly putty and stretched it.

The Malcador was mass-produced for the [[Imperial Guard|Imperial Army]] during the [[Great Crusade]], where it distinguished itself from other tanks by its speed. Some of the Legions also took it into service to support their Fellblades and Typhons. Unfortunately, its drive was always temperamental at best, and between the loss of knowledge that occurred during the [[Horus Heresy]] and ten thousand years of repair and attempted retrofitting, the Malcador of the 41st Millennium is no faster than any other tank and prone to engine malfunction, represented in-game as a fifty-fifty chance of being completely immobilized rather than slowed down by engine damage. In the [[grimdark|grim, dark]] future, a static tank is a dead tank, and so it has since been superseded by the more reliable and cheaper [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]]. And yes, we are indeed supposed to pretend that the Imperium literally forgot how to maintain one of its most common tanks. The crews and tech-priests who maintained them, despite being around the galaxy still withe their tanks magically forgot. Even those who were working on them. Or no one asked them for the information. Just…suspension of disbelief and 40k often seem to have made a death pact.

That said, the tanks were never destroyed, merely stored (or "moth-balled", as the practice is also known in the real world), and even though their design is out-of-date and ill-understood, they are still made by M'khand and other Forge Worlds in limited quantities to fill the gap between demand for super-heavy tanks and the production of "proper" super-heavies like the [[Baneblade]]. Many armory worlds still have large stocks of Malcador tanks on hand in case they are needed for an urgent engagement, and they are still used by second-line forces such as garrison regiments and [[Planetary Defence Force]]s. This sometimes bites the Imperium in the rear; during the Siege of [[Vraks]], Malcadors were withdrawn from storage and pressed into battle by the traitor forces.

The utility of Malcador tanks in the fluff (as they were used on Vraks) and questionably on the tabletop is as semi-mobile bunkers. Roll them into your fortified gun line, let their forward mounted weapon savage the enemy, and with Lady Luck and Admiral Awesome on your side, your Malcadors and any supporting forces will peel back to another fortified position before the enemy can dish out too much retaliation. In all honesty, though, the Malcador on the table top would need a notable buff in durability for this to be practical. *cough*Jeremy Vetock, are you listening?*cough*

That said, a line of them attacking an enemy position would be quite potent. Limit traversal in exchange for greatly increased turret protection is worth it in such a situation since your enemy would be in front of you without need to worry about flanks or rear. This is what the Imperium uses the Malcador for anyway (line-breaking).

As of 6th and 7th Edition however, the Malcador Heavy Tanks are now Superheavy Vehicles with 6 hull points, making them surprisingly tough. While not quite as indestructible as the famous [[Baneblade]], they indeed fulfill their role nicely as a "Light Superheavy Tank". Because yes, 40k is that ridiculous of a setting to have tanks that can be put soundly into a category like that. As Superheavies, they are totally immune to the entire vehicle damage table. Additionally as a light super heavy they allow to use superheroes rules without your opponent wanting to strangle you for bringing a baneblade to a friendly game.

Like every other tank operated by the [[Imperium of Man]], the Malcador comes in many flavors:

== Malcador Heavy Tank ==

[[File:malcadorbc.jpg|250px|right|thumb|A Malcador Assault Tank. Would have been an okay tank if it wasn't for that fact that [[Rage|the fucking hull turret prevents me from firing at a full 360.]]]]

The original stretched Russ, except it has weaker front and side armor than the Russ and its turret can't spin all the way around. To be fair, during the Great Crusade it was armored enough that anything worth shooting would be within its firing arc anyway. Ambushes by lesser threats than it was meant to fight could be ignored by it, so the lack of a turret became an asset as the armored cover would protect the gun mechanisms from heavy enemy fire. It was a line-breaker after all, not an MBT. The Malcador Assault Tank is a truly ancient design dating all the way back to even the wars that consumed [[Terra]] during the [[Age of Strife]], if anything it can be considered as the [[Papalith]] of Imperial Tanks. It used to be quite good during the Horus Heresy, as its advanced engine made it Fast, and it could mount a [[Demolisher Cannon]] and fire its [[Battle Cannon|main cannon]] at full BS ''and'' make a Flat Out move. By the time of the 41st Millennium, however, the Adeptus Mechanicus have lost all knowledge of how the engine works so they get extra finickiness while moving the same speed as every other tank. The only advantages that this tank has are that its rear armor is slightly better and that it can soak a few more hits since it's a heavy tank.

As you may realize, the Malcador seem to suffer the most in terms of getting the short end of the stick. And suspicious of the Mechanicum “forgetting” how the engines work on the primary tank used by the Imperium and probably mostly built on Imperial, not Mechanicum, worlds. It’d be like forgetting how to maintain the Leman Russ. Imperium-wide. Other then the numerous problems as listed above, there is also the consideration on how much this tank gets treated in-universe as well. The Malcador was seen as so outdated it was eventually replaced in Legion service by the [[Land Raider Proteus]], and by the time of the Horus Heresy many Malcador tanks had been relegated to the Legions' strategic reserves and second-line Imperial Army units, only to be replaced by larger numbers of smaller, more tactically flexible tanks such as the Leman Russ and its many variants. Poor bastard can't catch a break.

In game terms, it really does deserve to have its front and side armour buffed to be on par with the Leman Russ Battle Tank. Its only redeeming quality is that its more survivable thanks to being a super heavy vehicle, though all of its positives end there. Its sponson weapons angles are dreadful, its main gun has limited traverse, it actually has worse armour values than the Leman Russ (as said before), its overpriced for what it brings, and it has the chance to immobilize itself whenever it moves, which if nothing else is crunch that pretty accurately matches the fluff.

Of course, the current rendition of it sets the Malcador's unit type as "Superheavy, Fast Tank", which is hilariously oxymoronic. 7th Edition changed the Superheavy Type to automatically include all of the more specialized rules like Invincible Behemoth, and added default rules for them that didn't require apocalypse. All of this means that the Malcador became immune to all forms of penetrations except for 'Explodes!', gained the ability to Thunderblitz, and move a full 12" while still firing ALL of its weapons.

Ironically, if one was to replace the top casemate with an actual turret (like the one on the Russ), use the alternate box sponsons the Valdor and Infernus use and fix the engine, the Malcador would become a perfectly serviceable Heavy Tank for the Guard, becoming the Tiger to the Russes Panther. But that would be [[Heresy|tech-heresy]] and also regular heresy, because not being retarded is banned in the Munitorum. This is now even stupider with the release of the [[Carnodon|Carnodon]], which is from the same era as the Malcador and basically it's Medium Tank equivalent, yet manages to have both these. Although, the casemate would help protect from flanking strikes and also help in frontal assaults. Which is the role it explicitly filled.

== Malcador Annihilator ==

[[File:Malcador side.jpg|right|250px|thumb|A Malcador Annihilator. Those are some nasty guns, but only if the enemy is between 11 and 1 o'clock.]]

Like the [[Predator Annihilator|Predator variant of the same name,]] the Malcador Annihilator has a set of twin-linked [[Lascannon]]s in its turret, though unlike the Predator, these cannons can only turn 30 degrees to either side which would later come and bite it in the ass as its immobile main turret can also prove to be a problem in a chaotic engagement where the lines of battle interpenetrate and the foe's infantry or armor units can take advantage of the Malcador's [[Herp|limited firing arc.]] Oh yeah, it also mounts a [[Demolisher Cannon]] in its forward hull.

There isn’t a strong defense for the armored casemate for the annihilator except in tight urban conditions in which only a moron wouldn’t have infantry protecting it’s flanks and rear and when assaulting a defensive position or one flanked by other defensive positions. Basically, any time having a turret would be pointless or vulnerable instead of a flexible asset. The Malcador is a line-breaker, i.e. it’s what brutally forces the battle line interpenetration mentioned above. The annihilator, however, has a main gun that needs mobility to be useful as enemy armor isn’t going to sit still and get shot. If it were an exterminator variant (twin-linked rapid firing autocannons) then the limited traversal would be harmless as it would still fulfill the line-breaking function but using the autocannons to suppress the enemy and destroy anti-armor newts while getting close for the demolished cannon to lay waste. But here, God only knows why, is there no exterminator variant of the Malcador. Instead, the tank duelling variant reliant on mobility and a proper turret receives a variant. [[EPIC FAIL|Great job, GW, truly outstanding.]]

The Malcador tank could also be outfitted with a variety of upgrades and attachments, such as Camouflage Netting, Extra Armour Plating, an improved communications system, a [[Hunter-Killer Missile|Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher]], a mine sweeper, a pintle-mounted [[Heavy Stubber]], rough terrain modifications, track guards, a Searchlight, and Smoke Launchers.

The Malcador Annihilator was originally conceived as a field modification carried out on battle-damaged or unfinished production hulls intended to "up-gun" the tank's weaponry and extend its battlefield utility. The pattern's detractors hold that the variant is a hybrid intended to carry out two roles, [[FAIL|neither of which it can fulfill with any real ability.]] The tank is simply too slow and too large to serve as a true "tank hunter" but is not large enough or heavily armed enough (due to the limited supply of shells for its [[Demolisher Cannon]]) to be matched against a true super-heavy tank like an Imperial Baneblade in open combat.

Additionally, the Malcador Annihilator also suffers the same fate as almost every other Malcador variant. Its fucking engine. As you already know, the Malcador's main engine plant, a thermic combustor design that is a variant for military use of a common pattern used in industrial and agricultural machinery across the human-settled galaxy, is underpowered in relation to the Malcador's sheer size and mass. This reduces its performance and provides very poor fuel efficiency. Combined this with its stupid design choice and general underpowered firepower for something its size and you will get the Imperial's equivalent of a [[Fail|wet lemon.]] Further exasperating its already shoddy military performance. Still, against other, more conventional armored vehicles when it is part of a larger offensive force, the Malcador Annihilator can still prove its worth in the hands of a skilled crew.

This is, literally, a blatant rip of the French [[Wikipedia:Char B1|Char B1]] heavy tank, with a heavy howitzer in the front hull and a lighter specialized anti tank gun in the turret, though the B1 had an actual turret.

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== Malcador Defender ==

[[File:40287_ced12559c5afcb4ecd338345a4574d30.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Malcador Defender. When you can't pick between a [[Baneblade]] or a [[Colossus (tank)|Colossus]].]]

Recognizing that the mostly-fixed-forward turret was a problem, the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] thought up the Malcador Defender. The turret was given five [[heavy bolters]], each of which covers a roughly 90-degree arc, so the tank can shoot at least one and up to two heavy bolters at anything in any direction (in addition to the sponson weapons--[[lascannon]]s, [[Heavy Stubber|heavy stubbers]], [[Heavy Flamer|heavy flamers]] or [[autocannon]]s). For anti-armor, they kept the hull-mounted [[Demolisher Cannon]]. These tanks were used to horrifying effect to defend breaches in the heretical lines during the Siege of [[Vraks]]. Due to this, the Malcador Defender is arguably (And ironically) the most effective of the Malcador tank variants. [[Lulz|It is more common in many Imperial armories than the standard heavy tank upon which it is based.]] [[YEEEAAAH!|*Cue G.I. Joe theme*]]

Basically, this tank puts the “tank” in “tank”. When you hear the word “tank” think of this baby. It’s a tank-tank.

Due to the nature of its armaments, it is well-suited to close-quarters combat, trench warfare and urban warfare engagements. In this role, the Defender's Demolisher Cannon can be used against well-fortified positions and enemy strong-points, while its multiple Heavy Bolters can sweep areas for hidden infantry and defend the tank from a close assault. Although the Malcador Defender is very cramped, fitting a large crew of 8 into its tightly-packed and blazingly hot hull, it is as prone to engine problems as the other variants of the Malcador tank, and its battlefield role means that it seldom operates far from support or resupply. This can mitigate the design's inherent problems and its firepower and considerable protection can make it a valuable asset to Imperial forces for both offensive and defensive engagements.

The Malcador Defender can be outfitted with a variety of upgrades and attachments, such as Camouflage Netting, Extra Armour Plating, an improved communications system, a Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher, a mine sweeper, a pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber, rough terrain modifications, track guards, a Searchlight, and Smoke Launchers.

If their armor/hull was just a little thicker all the way around, imagine what they could do against Tyranids or footslogging Orks. With the 6th and 7th editions, maybe they can now. Given their fluff cheapness to mass produce (the Malcador and probably this variant and the annihilator, that is) and therefore it's common use in PDFs and the Tyranids coming...hmmm.

Since it's so dang cheap despite its size (likely due to lacking complex shit like a turret and inertia dampener for a too-big-for-the-turret cannon, so it's really just a metal frame with armored slaps nailed to it) the Imperial Guard should make much more use of it as an Infantry Tank. Emperor knows they could use it. Imagine if those heavy bolters were replaced with plasma cannons and the sponsons with assault cannons. Or autocannons on top and heavy flamers on the sides.

Much as the Annihilator is a OC of the Char B1, the Defender is an obvious rip-off of the Mark VIII. Due to this fact, it's rather surprising the Kriegers don't love them.

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== Malcador Infernus ==

[[File:Malcador_infernus_wip_2.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Behold, one of the worst designed vehicles of the Imperium. Even the [[Dreadknight]] is more practical than this hunk of shit. Just get a normal Hellhound instead. Though god help if you do end up in front of it: that's still a Titan gun!]]

It's an [[Inferno Cannon]] taken from a [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]] and mounted on a tank. The Malcador Infernus variant has been mostly replaced by the faster and more reliable [[Hellhound Tank|Hellhound]] in front-line Imperial Guard regiments. When the tech-priests realized that they had run out of room for fuel tanks, they decided to put them in a trailer towed behind the tank (instead of mounting several smaller armored containers on the read of the tank). [[FATAL|In retrospect, this was not one of their smarter designs]] though in their defense a few real world tank designers did this as well, though those designers were during the days most people didn’t know tanks existed, the AdMech exists after literally tens of millennia of tank warfare. Though it has a longer range and higher strength than the mini-Inferno Cannon used by the [[Hellhound Tank|Hellhound]] (while on a more armored platform), it has the unreliable engine (compared to the Fast Hellhound), a hull-mounted primary weapon which is disastrously impractical especially for such a close range weapon and has a tendency to explode when catastrophically damaged.

Some Infernus tank crews will use corrosive chemicals as their ammunition instead of Promethium, turning the Malcador Infernus into an oversized [[Bane Wolf]] on steroids. The vehicle is also armed with two sponson-mounted weapons, one on each side. These weapons can be either [[Heavy Stubber]]s, [[Heavy Flamer]]s, [[Heavy Bolter]]s, [[Lascannon]]s, or [[Autocannon]]s. The Malcador Infernus tank can be outfitted with a variety of upgrades and attachments, such as Camouflage Netting, Extra Armour Plating, an improved communications system, a [[Hunter-Killer Missile|Hunter-Killer Missile Launcher]], a pintle-mounted [[Heavy Stubber]], rough terrain modifications, track guards, a Searchlight, and Smoke Launchers.

Immolating enemies is not the only thing the Infernus can do. The massive gout of flames launched from the Inferno Gun is also effective at clearing mines, the sudden heat detonating mine fuses and making large areas safe much quicker than alternative methods.

By the time of the [[Horus Heresy]] many Malcador tanks had been relegated to strategic reserves and second line Imperial Army units, replaced by newer and more powerful designs, although the demands of the galaxy-wide civil war soon brought them back into the fray, while their availability saw them used as test-beds for a variety of new variants designed to plug gaps in supply and resource. During the [[Great Crusade]] and Horus Heresy eras, the elite [[Solar Auxilia]] employed the Malcador Infernus in specialist reserves held at the Cohort level. They were generally deployed to lead advances against enemy forces occupying especially dense terrain, such as trench lines, city ruins or heavily forested areas.

[[Cheese|Do note that this thing is cheese incarnate. You can even upgrade to chem munitions, an S3 AP2 Poisoned(2+) Armourbane hellstorm template that will cover those Terminators in a fine glaze of cheddar.]] With supreme luck you can even pen a Land Raider.

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== Minotaur Artillery Tank ==

[[File:509859.JPG|right|250px|thumb|The Minotaur AKA ''My Anus is a Cannon!'' Fear my ferocious flatulence!]]

The Minotaur is a rare self-propelled artillery piece used by the armed forces of the [[Imperium of Man]] that can trace its origins back to the [[Great Crusade]] and maybe [[Dark Age of Technology|even earlier.]] The Minotaur was designed as a forward deployment fire support vehicle, and this is proven by the Minotaur's outfitting with an unusual amount of heavy armor and the vehicle's extreme durability.

Some [[Tech-priest]] thought it would be a good idea to take a Malcador chassis (though it could be based on what appears to be an earlier variant, or the original chassis design) and mount two [[Earthshaker]] cannons on it. The cannons are so large that it had to be mounted backwards in order for the tank to remain balanced and not dig into the dirt [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archer_(tank_destroyer) (this happened in real life with the Archer tank destroyer)]. Even though it looks goofy, and still has an unreliable engine, this design choice makes it the only tank [[Lulz|stronger in the rear than in the front,]] leaving it less vulnerable to [[Deep Strike|deep-striking]] assault troops. [[FATAL|That and the fact that it can deliver what amounts to a shot from a twin-linked ''basilisk'' point-blank.]] It probably would have been a better idea to put this configuration on a [[Macharius Heavy Tank]] instead, though.

When it needs to move again, it simply drives out forwards through the path it had already made for itself. The Minotaur's deck layout is also unusual, as everything from the engine and drive systems to the weapon and ammunition storage is spaced out evenly over the entire superstructure. The primary weapon system, a massive Twin-linked Earthshaker Cannon, is housed in a wide, centralized axis point, and features a complex hydraulic recoil suppression system. The centralized positioning of the weapon system allows the artillery piece to remain stable while firing its weapons even when positioned on difficult terrain.

The Minotaur is not armed with any other weapons but can be upgraded with a Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber or a Storm Bolter. Despite this, Forge World has given it 2 Heavy Bolters in 8th Edition, likely because they just doubled the weapons of a Basilisk. I guess it has sponsons now?

During the 41st Millennium the Minotaur is a rare relic of war that very few will ever see, with the number of Forge Worlds capable of producing them having dropped steadily over the last millennia. With the steady replacement of this vehicle by the Basilisk, the Minotaur may soon become just another casualty of war. Although it is rumored like always that the Minotaur is stockpiled by those greedy fucks in the thousands inside of Departmento Munitorum storehouses, only specialized siege companies of the Imperial Guard will ever get to deploy their awesome firepower.

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== Valdor Tank Hunter ==

[[File:496832.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Valdor. For those who want to turn those pesky [[Monolith|Monoliths]] inside out.]]

This variant was not named for Malcador, but for Constantin Valdor, Captain-General of the [[Adeptus Custodes]] during the [[Great Crusade]] and [[Horus Heresy]]. The Valdor tank mounts a [[Neutron Laser]] that somehow causes an electromagnetic pulse in tanks it shoots (it's an electrolaser, although the EMP is an afterthought for an already powerful laser weapon), but also risks getting damaged by the feedback if it misses. Because there wasn't enough room in the tank to put shielding around the reactor that powers the laser, the tank is more prone to catastrophic damage and its crew is at an increased risk of getting [[cancer]]. Not that the Imperium cares about tank crews' health.

Initial production runs were channeled to the elite [[Solar Auxilia]], in particular those cohorts operating against foes equipped with heavy tanks or in the case of the myriad xenos enemies still infesting the stars, tank analogues.

While not yet in common use (at that time), Imperial logisticians had projected that its services were likely to be required in ever greater numbers (Oh how they are ''wrong'' given the circumstance of the 41st Millennium), especially where Loyalist Solar Auxilia were called upon to fight the Traitor Legiones Astartes and the heavy armored vehicles they had ready access to. Ancient records found at the Scholastica Bellicose on the planet Mordia show that the Valdor Tank Hunter was most widely used during the [[Great Scouring]] after the Heresy, when the Imperium led the great counter-attack against the Traitor Legions, driving them all the way to the [[Eye of Terror]].

Of all the variants, the Valdor is perhaps the rarest and most expensive of them all. As a result, they are rarely deployed amongst the Imperial Guard's armored regiments. The 1st Cadian Armored Regiment, which helped to defend the Imperial Fortress World of [[Cadia]] in the Cadian Gate, possesses a total of only ''5 Valdor tanks''. During the Siege of Vraks the 88th Siege Army's intelligence officers believed that there was no more than 30 Valdor tanks stored inside of Vraks Prime's vast Departmento Munitorum storehouses, and these tanks were not utilised by the Vraksian Traitor Militia until much later in that infamous meat grinder.

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== Dracosan Armoured Transport ==

[[File:Dracosan.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The Dracosan is also known as the [[-4 Str|roided-up]] [[Chimera Transport|Chimera]].]]

A Heavy Troop Carrier built on the Malcador hull, the Dracosan was the foremost troop transport for the Imperial Army in the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. It was large enough to accommodate twenty troops, and heavily armored enough to protect them from intense enemy fire. Its protection was greater than the ubiquitous [[Rhino]] and it is equipped with either a powerful twin-linked [[lascannon]] or a mighty [[Demolisher Cannon|demolisher cannon]] at the expense of some of its transport capacity.

The Dracosan was a common sight in the 30th Millennium, being manufactured under contract by several dozen Forge Worlds across the Imperium to standards only usually required of war machines destined for service with the Legiones Astartes. A heavily armed and armored carrier, the Dracosan was large enough to accommodate a fully strength Solar Auxilia Infantry section of twenty auxiliaries, and heavily armored enough to protect them from all but the most intense of enemy fire. Being intended for service in hostile environments and even the void of space, the Dracosan needed to be absolutely air-tight as not to endanger the lives of its passengers and crew.

Equipped with a fearsome array of weapons of its own, the Dracosan could steadfastly defend itself against enemy counter-attack and pound enemy positions to dust before the auxiliaries disembarked to storm what remained of their objective. Given the necessary resources and expenditures to build such an exceptional vehicle, the Dracosan was employed almost exclusively by forces configured in the [[Solar Auxilia]] pattern, whether these "regular" Excertus Imperialis units or other forces following the same order of battle, such as the household troops of certain [[Rogue Trader]]s Militant or, occasionally, the elite retainers of high status Imperial Commanders. Of course, since at the height of the Great Crusade about a fifth to fourth of the Imperial Army ground troops were Solar Auxilia...

Unfortunately, unlike most Malcador variants, the Mechanicus suddenly went [[Derp|full retard]] and forgot, for the most part, how to construct these things. Which is beyond retarded since the thing is obviously just a fucking Malcador without a turret, using the space saved for a troop bay. And it was built by dozens of Forge Worlds so...yeah, that's basically the same as forgetting how to build the Leman Russ. Not happening.

== 8th Edition ==

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! The Malcador is now actually somewhat good! Now occupying the Heavy Support slot instead of being a Lord of War (with the exception of the Valdor Tank Hunter and the Minotaur), Malcadors share most of the Leman Russ' stats, with the exception of a +6 bonus to Wounds and +1 Leadership (woo?). In addition, apparently Big Bobby G. reminded the AdMech how to fix the damned engines, so they move just fine now, and with the elimination of weapon facing, the clunky turret design is no longer an issue. However, they can not be taken in Squadrons and have Forge World's inferior version of Grinding Advance, which simply eliminates the BS penalty for firing the Demolisher cannon that the Annihilator and Defender carry. So while they still have certainly not dethroned the Leman Russ as the lord and master of Imperial armor, taking them is now actually a valid tactic, as a serviceable heavy to the Russ's medium.

== Gallery ==

<gallery>

Image:Lemalcador.jpg|Someone managed to fix the Malcador by kit-bashing it with a Russ. <s>Why on Terra the Mechanicus doesn't do the same is anyone's guess</s> {{BLAM}} {{BLAM|Modifying tech is ''HERESY''!}} Ah, so this is where Cawl got the idea for the [[Rogal Dorn Battle Tank|Rogal Dorn]].

Image:Plasma_Ram_A.png|Look we can either power the main gun or turn around, not both.

</gallery>

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Imperial]]

[[Category: Imperial Guard]]

[[Category: Chaos]]

[[Category: Lost and the Damned]]

[[Category: Vehicles]]

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{{Lost-and-Damned}}

{{40k-Imperial-Vehicles}}

Leman Russ Battle Tank

2023-05-25T17:51:18Z

2600:1006:B1AD:3289:187B:9650:A535:4FE4:

''Were you looking for [[Leman Russ]], the [[primarch|wolf]] of [[Space Wolves|Wall Street]]?''

[[File:Leman Russ TAAANNNKKK!!!.png|400px|thumb|right|This tank uses the [[Rage|tears]] of [[MEQ]] dependent players as fuel for its engine. Which it might literally be capable of.]]
{{Topquote|What I cannot crush with words I will crush with the tanks of the [[Imperial Guard]]!|[[Lord Solar Macharius]]}}
{{Topquote|Your foe is [[Necron|well equipped]], [[Eldar|well-trained]], [[Ork|battle-hardened]]. He believes [[Chaos|his gods are on his side]]. Let him believe what he will. We have the tanks on ours.|Colonel Joachim Pfeiff, [[Death Korps of Krieg|Krieg]] 14th Armoured Regiment}}
{{Topquote|Leman Russ was a rolling deathtrap. Its tall profile was so notoriously awful that no commander ever wanted to be squadron leader - the only thing big enough to shield a Leman Russ during operations was another Leman Russ, so better to keep the command unit ahead of you for as long as you could. Its fragile tracks were exposed and its armour was a mess of easy-to-hit vertical planes. The standard pattern sponson-bulges just presented another flat edge to destroy, another reason to be glad not to have them. The interior was noisy and prone to bursting into flames whenever a loader coughed too loudly. And, if you were truly unlucky enough to have those sponsons, there was only one escape hatch, right at the top of the main turret, and so the chances of getting out alive in case of all-too-likely disaster were practically zero. No, whoever had designed the Leman Russ - Kaska had always assumed it wasn't actually the primarch of the VI - was a moron. Or a sadist. Or both. The only things it had going for it were cheapness, mechanical reliability and a certain rugged survivability in numbers. The design was so brutally simple that the Imperium was able to churn them out by the million. It mattered less that each individual unit was a study in self-harm when you could overwhelm a battlefield with hundreds of them. Still, all in all, the crews had few illusions about the tanks they rode into war. Deathboxes, they were called, and homewreckers, and other, earthier, names too.|[[Chris Wraight]] deciding to be edgy and not let stupid things such as an actual model or game rules get in the way. As well as demonstrating extreme ignorance in tank design, armored warfare, and the real-world reasons for design aspects such as the track arrangement and sponsons.}}

The '''Leman Russ Battle Tank''' is the most common tank in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe. In appearance it is essentially the product of a drunken three-way between an old [[Wikipedia:Mark V tank|British Mark-V]], a [[Wikipedia:Char B1|French Char B1]], and a [[Wikipedia:T-34|Russian T-34]]. It is also the biggest pain in the ass, point for point, that a player will encounter when fighting the [[Imperial Guard]]; the Leman Russ Battle Tank is so reliable and hard-hitting that it is named after the rapetastic Space Wolf Primarch, [[Leman Russ]] due to the legion's rediscovery of the design. The Leman Russ is widely considered one of the most religiously useful vehicles the Imperial Guard have on the tabletop, boasting both heavy firepower and good utility; it is easily one of the best tanks for cost in Warhammer 40K tabletop, with the ability to [[rape]] [[Necron]] and [[Space Marine|SPESS MEHREEN]] players through judicious use of ordnance and weapons fire. Heavy armour and the ability to fire the main gun twice if it moves slowly makes it capable of delivering serious punishment - and that's before the tank's substantial secondary armament of [[Lascannon]], Heavy [[Bolter]]s, Plasma Cannons, and/or Multi-Meltas is factored in. The LRBT is not a tank designed for tactical advantage or to have the best possible MBT. It is designed for strategic superiority and to be shipped out by the millions to billions.

It looks older than the Emperor's toilet-dreadnought, however. One could argue that some of the Leman Russ' design elements, such as the tracks that overlap the hull and have no suspension whatsoever, are obsolete even by early 20th century standards if you don’t bother studying some early tank history that is very much applicable to 40k. For example, the arrangement of the tracks enable it to traverse extreme environments and broken/blasted terrain and its sponsons enable it to enfilade enemy positions and defend itself capably in close environments. Much like the reasons for the same design features in the Mark I tank it is heavily inspired by. The tank kit itself is also old as balls, having been first released in 1994, and to some extent it lacks the very high level of detail found on newer plastic tank kits such as the [[Repulsor Tank|Repulsor]]. That being said the model is well suited for kitbashing, and GW performed a mild refresh in 2010 when the option to build different main weapons was included as an update to the kit (to clarify- the kit was entirely redone, but the design remained vitually identical. The only real change was the turret, which became a little larger and gained armour plating, and new track markings to make assembly a bit more idiot-proof).

It's little wonder that the Leman Russ is one of the coolest tanks in 40k; it just oozes with the rugged badassery that the IG are known for. With a relatively low point cost, armor that makes it a real bitch to kill, and a massive amount of variants and upgrades, the Russ is the go to vehicle for almost every Imperial Guard player. If you play IG for tanks, the Leman Russ is going to be your bread and butter.

If that’s not enough to convince you how awesome this tank is, it’s even used by three non-Imperial armies because of how much they love it: these are the [[Lost and the Damned]], [[Genestealer Cult|Genestealer Cults]], and the [[Looted|Orks]]. It is within reason that [[Gue'vesa]] also employ them.

== "Vanilla" Leman Russ ==

The Leman Russ packs a pretty awesome profile. Toughness 8, 12 wounds, and a 3+ save give it fantastic durability. <s>Only a few units</s> Whilst every army and it's dog has Toughness 8
units in 40k, to get such a durable vehicle so cheaply is awesome. 4+ BS is average for Guard but considering Grinding Advance and the sheer amount of firepower it has (one turret weapon, one forward weapon, and two optional sponsons), this is acceptable. When wrapped up in a package that costs around 137 points, depending on loadout, your enemies will curse your cost-efficiency in both durability and killing power. While it lacks a lot of the kookier special abilities we see in this edition, Grinding Advance is one of the more useful ones. Pick your turret weapon, move under half, and watch your enemy cry as your main gun double taps him from up to 72" away. The definition of human badassery in vehicle form.

As of 9th Edition the Leman Russ and its variants have a 2+ armor save, which makes this vehicle even more incredible than it was before.

==Flavor of the Week==
There are a dizzying number of Leman Russes with tons of different payloads. The current rulebook alone has seven, with several others being available through Forge World. There is an ongoing joke that if something exists in the grim darkness of the far future, there is a Leman Russ build specifically to kill it. The variations seen in the tabletop game are as follows:

===Leman Russ Battle Tank===
[[File:Imperial-guard-leman-russ-battle-tank-a2cf0.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Battle Tank.]]
''"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."'' This is especially true given how much the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] has forgotten by the 41st millennium. The basic Leman Russ Battle Tank is a simple, brutal machine built out of almost any metal, running on almost any fuel, sporting no complicated auto-targeting or driving systems -- every gun is operated by a person inside the tank, and the controls are simple enough that a crew only needs minimal training before going into battle (which the [[Departmento Munitorum]] really likes, though commanders on the ground tend to prefer more seasoned crews). Though it gets loud and hot inside, and it is not usually a fast machine, it is tough as nails... from the front and sides -- the back is much less heavily armored, to save weight and let the engine vent off heat. Even so, it's been getting the job done since the Great Crusade.

The original boasts a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter and a [[Battle Cannon]] in its turret, the latter of which is highly regarded for its ability to fuck up squads of MEQs. It can swap the [[Heavy Bolter]] for a [[Lascannon]] and take a pair of [[Heavy Bolter]]s, [[Plasma Cannon]]s, [[Heavy Flamer]]s or [[Multi-Melta]]s for sponsons. Apparently the optional sponson gunners don't get patched in to the internal tank comms or something, because the mounted sponsons will suffer accuracy issues if shooting on the move. The 72" range on the [[Battle Cannon]] is key to the tank's success: on a standard 6'x4' game board it is a rare occurrence indeed for a target to be out of this weapon's considerable reach. Overall it's a very good tank for blasting the fuck out of just about anything that pisses it off -- it's hard to go wrong with the vanilla Russ.

It’s expense in lore comes from the hand-made inertial dampener in the turret to handle recoil. If only they had some sort of alternative even better at handling recoil. I dunno, what do you think, Demolisher Cannon who has a hydraulic recoil system?

==={{anchor|Vanquisher}}Leman Russ Vanquisher===
[[File:Leman_Russ_Vanquisher.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Vanquisher.]]

The Leman Russ Vanquisher has a variant of the Battle Cannon that ''usually'' one-shots enemy vehicles at long range (overconfidence killed the Guardsmen). If a Lascannon or Battle Cannon just isn't doing it for tank-hunting, and you don't really feel like grabbing a Melta, this weapon can fill the need. Unfortunately, the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] only made the [[Vanquisher Battle Cannon]] on one [[Forge World]], which got taken over by [[Ork]]s, so the only way to make new Vanquishers nowadays is to take the guns off of ruined Vanquishers and fit them on new Leman Russ chassis -- which happens a lot, because enemies who make use of tanks have learned to make Vanquishers a priority target. Because this is so onerous to do, especially for long campaigns, only the very best tank crews get to use Vanquishers, and they only deploy to zones where there are lots of tanks to be killed. The Mechanicus is trying to alleviate the shortage by <s>getting Mars to release its intellectual property</s> commissioning other Forge Worlds to reproduce the old cannons (see [[#Forge World Patterns|Forge World Patterns]] below), but progress is very slow.

The Vanquisher is so specialized as an anti-tank weapon that it can be argued that it's more a Tank Destroyer. A tank is a multi-purpose weapon, and the Leman Russ is a general-purpose tank, equally adept at blowing tanks or infantry apart. The Vanquisher, though, utterly [[RAPE|RAPES]] tanks. Normal Leman Russes are like Shermans, this is a Firefly. The downside of this tank, from a tabletop perspective, is that it doesn't have any blast effects from its main gun, so consider the Plasma Cannon options for this thing to make it a beast at killing Space Marines. However, when adding Pask, this tank can cause some definite rage (though you're better off putting Pask in a Punisher, give a Vanquisher the standard Tank Commander).

If you are having problems with those pesky Tyranid MCs, consider going for the double cheese and cheddar routine on Vanquishers; Forge World now allows Command Vanquishers to take beast hunter shells: specialized Vanquisher shells with the solid penetrating core replaced with a canister of weapons-grade toxic acids. In gameplay, it's a small blast that has the instant death special rule. Booo, you wanted even more Leman Russes? Take said Vanquisher as HQ tank in allied armoured battlegroup. With a squadron of Leman Russes as allied Troops detachment. Yes, you read that right. 13 Leman Russes in one battle.

Due to only having a single shot, the Vanquisher is actually mediocre at tank killing on the tabletop, and has remained this way for a long time. Sure it will deal a hefty blow if it hits, but chances are you're going to need to fire both the Lascannon and the Vanquisher Cannon to gimp a vehicle. Even this double-down is likely to leave most ''actual tanks'' in the game alive if injured; not ideal for what you're paying. You can alleviate the accuracy through a number of means but nothing save driving into Multi-Melta range will augment the killing power (why Russ tanks can't fit sponson Lascannons is a mystery for the ages) and getting that close has its own issues, like being in [[rape|Wraith Cannon range]]. An interesting note is old Forgeworld rules allowed this tank to fire a Vanquisher shell or a standard battle cannon shell identical to one fired from a Standard Leman Russ.

The fluff is inconsistent on this tank. Some mentions in canon claim it was solely produced on the Forgeworld Tigrus, which was lost to the Orks and all remaining Vanquishers are rare examples that are now Irreplaceable. Forgeworld's Imperial Armour Volume 1 mentioned this, however stated two rival Forge Worlds started production shortly after to fill the shortfall: Stygies VIII, and Gryphonne IV (the same Gryphonne IV that was later written as destroyed by the Tyranids in the 4th edition codex for laughs by the Game Workshop writers). Then Forgeworld (the company) produced the Mars pattern Vanquisher, along with the Macharius Vanquisher, Implying new Vanquisher cannons are in production. Wait, if there are more variants of the Vanquisher than there are of the Leman Russ and each Forge World has its own variant... [[Derp|doesn't this mean there are more Vanquishers than standard Russes?]] Although, All Forge Worlds give all knowledge to the Temple of All Knowledge on Mars (guess what it contains, yeah). So, Mars is capable of producing anything and simply chooses either not to due to space and resource limits and/or doesn't share the data with other Forge Worlds. Because cyborg politics are more important than ''not'' letting knowledge be lost or taken by hereteks forever. Morons. And hereteks. Since protecting knowledge and using it for humanity are part of their religion. And leaving knowledge to be solely possessed by hereteks or destroyed is extreme heresy. So, the Mechanicus is, by its own laws, practicing the worst heresies at all levels. Ooooh Inquisitor! I’ve got some blackmail for yoooou! It's also entirely possible Mars just made the stock Russ' cannon longer and rigged up an AP shell, as the various types of Vanquisher cannon all look different with the current pattern appearing the most primitive.

The inspiration for this variant of the Leman Russ was the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Firefly Sherman Firefly], who also had a long, tank-deleting, cannon that had performance problems against infantry.

==={{anchor|Exterminator}}Leman Russ Exterminator===
[[File:Leman_russ_exterminator_(las).jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Exterminator.]]

This tank is so awesome that it was first introduced as part of the Third Edition Space Wolves army list (the Imperial Guard only had the regular Russ and the Demolisher at the time), as the Wolves wanted to have a few tanks named after their [[Primarch]]. The Exterminator uses a twin [[Autogun|Autocannon]] as its main gun versus a Battle Cannon, so is a little faster than the original Russ at traversing the battlefield. This would be important in the fluff due to its armament, as it would allow it to flank around and attack the rear/sides of enemies where its gun can more easily penetrate. Shame it wasn't represented on the tabletop back when facings were a thing... Except [[Solar Auxilia]] HH list,where this thing can be a Fast vehicle for one turn and has Outflank.

Though the [[Hydra Flak Tank]] is better suited toward ruining Flyers and Skimmers in 8th edition (with its higher ballistic skill), heavy infantry and light vehicle rape is still applicable with the Exterminator's superior skillz against ground targets. One of several vehicles capable of driving [[Ork]] or [[Tyranid]] players into a frothing, white-hot [[RAGE]] when used with Heavy Bolter Sponsons, the Exterminator's main drawback is that it relies on its sponson/hull weapons to deal with enemy heavy armor (unless you're using Pask, in which case the Autocannons will often suffice). This isn’t really a drawback as it is a specialized tank. Trying to make it multirole is like trying to use Eldar Guardians as Swooping Hawks: it doesn’t work out and for the same, obvious reasons. Though, like much of the Imperial arsenal, it is capable of some degree of versatility, unlike the Eldar. Which is pretty common in real life military equipment, too.

Although it does not have the advanced anti-air targeting mechanisms that the Hydra Flak Tank does, its primary firepower along with added sponson fire makes it a useful stop-gap air defense. Combined with its characteristic toughness and a pair of Multi-melta sponsons to deal with heavy vehicles, this tank can be a threat to anything and everything! Though it's not quite as effective against larger targets as the standard Battle Cannon equipped model, since a jack of all trades is commonly a master of none.

Basically, this tank is the 40k equivalent of the real-world Russian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMPT_Terminator BMPT Terminator].

==={{anchor|Eradicator}}Leman Russ Eradicator===
[[File:Leman Russ Eradicator.JPG|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Eradicator.]]

Once upon a time, some Forge World in the Imperium decided they had too much nuclear material on their hands, and that they needed to do something with it. After some [[Grimdark|wacky hijinks and hilarious mishaps]], the result was the Leman Russ Eradicator, a tank with a [[Eradicator Nova Cannon|short range cannon]] that lobs [[Fallout|"sub-atomic" charges]] at enemies in cover. So, basically, fuck your cover saves.

The percussive shock (and probably the *radiation*, too) neutralizes cover saves, and although it's a little weaker than the Battle Cannon in every way, the Eradicator is still a respectable gun, especially against Eldar or anything that likes to abuse cover. It's otherwise basically the same as the regular version, meaning it also has laughable rear armor; [[Scout]]s with shotguns could kill this tank if they got behind it. That's only a problem for the Eradicator because its range is so short; it needs to be up close and personal, and paper-thin rear armor plus urban combat equals one dead tank.

The Eradicator had the distinction of being the cheapest tank in the arsenal, and as such was often used as the ablative shield of Pask or a regular Tank Commander; it now shares the "cheapest" slot with the Vanquisher and Executioner (something about that sounds weird...), reducing that value somewhat. While the main gun is useful, taking [[Plasma Cannon]] sponsons is generally the best way to field an Eradicator, especially if you can turbo-charge it with warlord traits, wargear, or faction bonuses. This is also one of the only times the heavy flamer sponsons will be useful on a Russ, so take it to make your [[Tau]] friends cry tears of pure cheese.

With the changes to how cover works in 8th, the Eradicator's utility has been decreased significantly. While denying cover isn't ''bad'', just having higher AP is more useful overall, and the Eradicator was not given any additional tools to compensate. Situationally, its preferred targets would be non-Marine human power armor troops in cover.

This tank was probably inspired by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armoured_Vehicle_Royal_Engineers#Churchill_III_and_IV_AVRE Churchill AVRE], which also had a giant YEET cannon whit a quirky reload process.

==={{anchor|Demolisher}}Leman Russ Demolisher===
[[File:99120105045_DemolisherNEW01.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Demolisher.]]

The first of the "Reinforced" or "Siege" patterns of Leman Russ (additional rear armor, because when attacking fortified positions [[Derp|you're always going to expose your rear to the enemy]]), the Leman Russ Demolisher [[Demolisher Cannon|packs a howitzer that is much stronger than the normal Battle Cannon but at a much reduced range.]] It combines the explosive firepower of artillery with the speed and durability of a tank, for situations where the Guard can't wait for a proper artillery barrage but needs to take a heavily guarded or fortified position. It excels in such an environment—in fact, it is a better line-breaker than the [[Space Marines]]' [[Vindicator]] tank (which is silly, because Space Marines are all about cracking defenses with overwhelming firepower...)!

However, the [[Demolisher Cannon]]'s short range means that it'll be unable to do much else and will likely [[Distraction Carnifex|draw massive amounts of firepower]] in its direction, meaning there is a risk that the Demolisher will be wrecked before it can even fire a single shot. Expecting this tank to survive to Turn 3 precludes an urban battlefield, and using terrain to limit the amount of ordnance coming the Demolisher's way is paramount. On an open battlefield, use long-range support to ensure it remains in one piece, or send it straight up the center of the field eating colossal amounts of punishment before exploding in a massive fireball while the rest of your army maneuvers into position. Either way, it's done its job.

In 8th Edition, the Demolisher finally has sponsons worth taking, since the cannon doesn't force snap shots any more. A Tallarn Demolisher with multimeltas and a lascannon eats vehicles alive. Unfortunately, the Demolisher lost its large blast and only does up to D6 shots, meaning its old role of wiping out entire squads in one go is out and it has to focus on priority targets to earn back its points instead. Grinding Advance offsets this a little, letting it make 2d6 shots, but either way, it’s probably better off shooting at high Toughness targets rather than mulching infantry.

This tank was probably inspired by the real-world M4A3(105) Sherman or the Churchill Mk.V close support tanks.

==={{anchor|Punisher}}Leman Russ Punisher===
[[File:99120105045_PunisherNEW03.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Punisher.]]

The '''Leman Russ Punisher''' is the second "Siege" pattern Russ, and about as close to <s>"enuff [[Dakka]]"</s> {{BLAM|'''*DAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKADAKKA*'''}}
'''DAT’S [[Heresy|’EARSAY]] YA ‘UMIE GITZ DERE AIN’T NEVAR ENUFF DAKKA...EVAR'''
sorry, as close to maximum possible [[Dakka]] as the [[Imperial Guard]] can get without fielding [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]]s or [[/d/|members]] of the [[Baneblade]] family. Like the Demolisher, it has the increased rear armor of a Siege Tank, though its main gun, the S5 AP0 D1 Heavy '''20''' [[Punisher Gatling Cannon]], is meant for pulverizing infantry and light vehicles. It has poor range for a vehicle weapon, but one of these things can crank out more firepower than an entire squad of guardsmen under a Rank Fire order, which is absolutely hilarious; normally only Orks with Shootas, Combined Squads, and Hormagaunts get to roll this many dice. When backed up with other weapons, the Punisher BRRRRRT Cannon can destroy huge numbers of troops at once, though it is hampered by its operators' low ballistic skill and its inability to penetrate armor.

This multi-barreled weapon allows the Punisher tank to achieve a rate of fire unmatched by all but a few other vehicles, though at a loss of anti-tank effectiveness, and Punisher tank crews have a reputation for being trigger-happy with this potent weapon. Indeed it is typical for Punisher crews to strip out all non-essential items in order to cram in as much ammunition as possible before setting off for battle. Often squadrons of Punishers will operate ahead of the main Imperial force, scything down the enemy to at the very least more manageable numbers for follow-on forces. It is predominately an infantry support vehicle however, and its lack of sufficient anti-tank weaponry makes it vulnerable when facing enemy armored forces.

In addition to its main weapon the Punisher carries a hull-mounted [[Heavy Bolter]], [[Heavy Flamer]] or [[Lascannon]]. It can also be outfitted with two sponsons which mount either [[Heavy Bolter]]s, [[Heavy Flamer]]s, [[Multi-melta]]s or [[Plasma Cannon]]s. Standard equipment also includes Smoke Launchers and it can be upgraded with an Augur Array, a Dozer Blade, Track Guards, a [[Hunter-Killer Missile]] and/or a pintle-mounted [[Heavy Stubber]]/[[Storm Bolter]]. For maximum Dakka, pack on three [[Heavy Bolter]]s and a pintle-mount [[Storm Bolter]] for five rapid-fire weapons, and then give him Pask. This thing cuts through tarpits like a chainsword through tapioca.

Knight Commander Pask turns it from a fun toy to an absolute wrecking ball. Between all of his various buffs he's likely to get nearly all hits ''and'' make them all hurt. Light tanks get torn to shreds in one burst, Medium tanks take a beating, and even Land Raiders or other Leman Russes can get thoroughly tenderized through volume of dice.

==={{anchor|Executioner}}Leman Russ Executioner===
[[File:LemRus_Executioner.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Executioner.]]

The last of the "Siege" pattern Russes, the '''Leman Russ Executioner''' was deployed in large numbers during the [[Great Crusade]], when the [[Imperium]] used to [//www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTOwMeimSl4&t=18s field them by the regiment]. Unfortunately, due to the post-Heresy drop in manufacturing capacity for complex plasma mechanisms, even most [[Forge World]]s can't build a [[Plasma Destroyer]] these days. Although strangely the Imperium has no difficulty making *other* plasma technology, and since most Forge Worlds barfed out advanced plasma weapons by the bushel during the Great Crusade, the only possible explanation for how this specific technology could be lost while everything else remained is the [[Grimdark]] (despite there being three different patterns of Executioner cannon for Leman Russ tanks made: Ryza, Mars and a third generic pattern found in the plastic kit).

The Executioner's [[Plasma Destroyer]] is a powerful if temperamental weapon with an extremely high energy output. Due to the unstable nature of the weapon the Ryza-pattern Executioner incorporates several safety features (to be fair to the Imperium, even it does have lots of safety features and protocols for its mooks; it just doesn’t care when those fail). Emergency vents in the turret help disperse the heat produced by each shot while protective heat shielding screens the crew and allows enough time to escape the vehicle in the event of a minor containment field failure. Many also include an emergency chemical coolant tank in the rear of the vehicle which connects with the weapon through two coolant lines running across the top of the turret. However these exposed lines can be severed by enemy fire, a contributing factor to many green Executioner crews abandoning the tank at the first sign of trouble since a catastrophic failure can result in the destruction of the tank and anything else in a large area around it. Those who are found to have abandoned their tanks can expect to face harsh punishment, [[Blam|even death,]] for such a crime from their regiment's Commissar. Interesting how they’re “rare” yet given to green crews apparently often. Vanquishers are rare, too, but only given to the best crews.

Jokingly called the "Leman Russ Trollface" or "Leman Russ Blast Template Dropper" by some players, the Executioner is the bane of [[Space Marines]] everywhere, for it packs a Plasma Cannon that fires in 3-round bursts. For maximum hilarity, pair with Plasma Cannon sponsons and dump 5 Plasma Cannon shots per turn from one vehicle, and try not to laugh when killing about double the tank's point cost in heavy infantry every turn. This used to be the bane of Terminator-heavy armies that had gotten used to being nigh-on invulnerable to conventional weaponry; but when this tank reared its head, it dethroned the kings of the battlefield.

==Tank Commanders ==
[[Tank Commander|Tank Commanders]] may be taken as a HQ choice. They increase their tank's BS to 3+ and can issue three special orders to other Leman Russes (or to themselves), which includes making a Russ pop smoke after they shoot, better shooting, and better moving.

'''Knight Commander Pask'''

A special character Tank commander for the Cadians, [[Knight Commander Pask]] Russ has a BS of 2+ and can give 2 orders to boot, making the tank more accurate and more versatile. Widely considered conditionally broken against some factions when paired with a Punisher, Executioner, or Exterminator variant. Pask is known for killing Titans with a Leman Russ and refusing to drive a [[Baneblade]] in favor of one. His balls-of-steel rating is thus considered somewhere between [[Vance Motherfucking Stubbs]] and [[Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken|Colonel "I tore a Landshark's throat out with my teeth" Straken]]. Only prior to 9th Edition.

==Genestealer Cults==
With the latest release of the newly revamped [[Genestealer Cult]], our favorite grubbly [[Genestealers]] are now able to get their own Leman Russ Tanks as well! In terms of [[Fluff]], these Cults manage to gain access to these tanks via infecting/[[Pretend|pretending]] to be regular old PDF Tank Commanders, and then [[Blood Ravens|'borrowing']] the tanks.

Fortunately, the Genestealer Cults only gain access to the vanilla battle cannon, the Exterminator, the Vanquisher and the Eradicator.

==FORGE WORLD LOVE==
GW's specialist subsidiary Forge World made a couple of their own Leman Russes. They also pimped out the appearances of several types.

==={{anchor|Conqueror}}Leman Russ Conqueror===
[[File:Imperial Guard Leman Russ Conqueror.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Conqueror.]]

The '''Leman Russ Conqueror''' was built to be a faster Leman Russ tank -- [[Conqueror Battle Cannon|its cannon fires smaller shells with less recoil,]] which allows the tank to be more mobile, store more ammunition and sustain a higher rate of fire. The smaller cannon also allows the installation of a co-axial weapon, which helps the gunner keep the main cannon on target. In a realistic fluffy way, this might also make the Conqueror much cheaper to produce than the standard Russ. Since a lot of the expense of a Russ comes from producing the inertia controlling technology in its turret. Yes, it has that. Yes, it is expensive. If you don't need it, though...or just get an Exterminator and slap lascannons on its sponsons and nose when a TechPriest isn't looking.

[[Forge World]] created the Conqueror back in Third Edition, when a Leman Russ had to stay still to fire its battle cannon. The main point for a Conqueror now is its mobility. In standard games on a 4x6 foot table, the shorter range doesn't matter. For an extra three points over the vanilla, you get a 48" battle cannon (compared to the 72" regular one) and a co-axial storm bolter. Co-axial weapons provide a hit reroll to the cannon if sharing the same target. If you're playing on a small board, a regular one with lots of intervening cover, or an urban one, this will serve you better than the vanilla. Otherwise, just grab the vanilla for the two feet of range.

When introduced it had a weaker cannon lacking AP and with a smaller blast radius but had rules allowing it to fire its gun and sponsons on the move. After all, it is intended to be a [[Wikipedia:cruiser tank|cavalry tank]]: a faster, more lightly armed vehicle designed to exploit breakthroughs that slower, more heavily armed tanks could create but not exploit. Once it broke though, it would then overrun the enemy's rear areas, causing trouble behind enemy lines while the infantry tanks and regular infantry keep pressing the advance and securing ground behind it. Eventually everyone realized light tanks can do the same just as effectively in far greater numbers and far more cheaply. Now, five editions later, everything can move and shoot (with a penalty) and it's simply more dakka and a reroll paid for through shortening the cannon's range.

The closest equivalent of the LR Conqueror in the real world is the WW2-era [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_III#Armament Panzer III Ausf. E]: the mass production version of the Panzer III equipped with a smaller main gun and twin coaxial MG-34s.

==={{anchor|Annihilator}}Leman Russ Annihilator===
[[File:99590105335_Dkkmarsalphapatternannihilator02.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Leman Russ Annihilator.]]

The Leman Russ Annihilator began as a field conversion: An Imperial officer found his armoured units constantly losing to renegade armour, so he decided to replace his company's Leman Russ' battle cannons with the company's [[Lascannon|lascannons.]] This ultimately won them the battle, [[grimdark|but the officer responsible for these conversions was convicted of tech-heresy and executed.]] However, the supply of [[#Vanquisher|Leman Russ Vanquisher]]s is ever-dwindling after the loss of Tigrus, and the [[Imperial Guard]]'s demand for anti-armor tanks is ever-growing, so the Techpriests eventually sanctioned it in order to try to meet demand; Forge Worlds took the twin-linked lascannons off the [[Predator Annihilator]] and put them in the Leman Russ's turret. Because the lascannon is easier to make, maintain, and use, the Annihilator is the preferred armour-hunting tank of armoured regiments expecting to sustain lots of damaged and lost tanks (like the [[Death Korps of Krieg]]).

Forge World rolled this tank with the Death Korps of Krieg army, and was very popular before 5th edition changed the way a Leman Russ works. Since moving and shooting Ordnance weapons was no longer a problem, the Annihilator lost much of its appeal, but after sixth edition changed which weapons can be fired when a vehicle moves, its utility has risen some: because its cannon is not an ordnance weapon, and the Annihilator is a heavy vehicle (unlike the Conqueror), it can fire all of its weapons at full ballistic skill on the move.

It'd be pretty awesome if they gave it the Exterminator treatment where they not only made the weapon twin-linked but doubled its rate-of-fire, which in this case would mean making its lascannons heavy 2 twin-linked. But alas, it's fairly underwhelming at the moment. You're better off just getting a Vanquisher at the moment, seeing as the Vanquisher only costs 5 more points and has a much better gun, it's not twin-linked though, but it could get that from other means.

'''8th ed.''' - Since twin-linked got scrapped, this is the only Russ to have an increase in firepower. Mathhammer-wise, it's on par with the Demolisher for anti-vehicle capabilities (putting out 1.94 wounds against another Leman Russ), but it has double the range, and the turret still costs 40pts. Obviously you're going to put a hull lascannon on it, since you'd have to be lobotomised not to. Also fares slightly better with sponson meltas. The shorter range of the turret means that there's a greater chance of you being in range to use them, unlike the Vanquisher (which scores 0.94 wounds against another Leman Russ by the way)

==={{anchor|Incinerator}}Leman Russ Incinerator===
[[File:LemanRussIncinerator.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Leman Russ Incinerator.]]

A Pre-Heresy Russ variant armed with a massive [[Volkite_Weaponry|Volkite]] cannon called the [[Volkite Demi-Culverin]] in the turret. Only available to [[Solar Auxilia]], it is twin-linked, and has an additional point of strength and shot than its smaller regular culverin. Can cause a lot of damage at great range to infantry, but it cannot take sponson weapons, and the more vanilla variants can do the same job more efficiently.

Because of the downsides of the Incinerator, take it only if you're a huge fan of Volkites. It's limited to causing a maximum of only 10 wounds per round (If your opponent fails its first 5 armor saves, and Deflagrate succeeds in wounding 5 more times). [[Lolwut|It also (For ''some'' reason) shares its AP with every single Volkite weapon smaller than it on the table, including the fucking pistol]].

If you really need to bring Volkite weaponry to vaporize Deamons or other blobs, you're MUCH better off putting some Veletaris in an Arvus or a Dracosan. They can cause up to 40 wounds through Deflagrate, compared to the Incinerator which can only cause up to 10. To maximize its effectiveness, you could double down on the high-strength high-AP attacks with multilasers on the hull and pintle, making a fairly decent hunter of Mechanicum automata. [[Fail|Despite being a very common weapon in both 30k and 40k, other Leman Russ variants (let alone a Baneblade) can't take a pintle Multi-laser for some unexplained reason]]. For those saying "just take a Punisher," Leman Russ Punishers don't in exist in 30K. The closest thing is exclusively mounted on a [[Sicaran_Battle_Tank|Sicaran]] variant, which is Space Marines only.

=== {{anchor|Destroyer}} Destroyer Tank Hunter ===
[[File:Ig30.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Destroyer Tank Hunter.]]

The '''Destroyer Tank Hunter''' is basically the tank equivalent of a sniper. It's the <strike>Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G (StuG III G)</strike> (the Jagdpanzer IV/Su-100) of the 40K universe, it loses the turret and swaps out the hull-mounted [[heavy bolter]] for a massive [[Laser Destroyer]] -- basically, a twin-linked Ordnance [[Lascannon]], all the better to penetrate armor with. Like a sniper, its job is to hide in a defensive position, kill a high-valued enemy, and move on -- it has the same armor as a Russ, but its only secondary weapon is a pintle-mounted [[heavy stubber]] or [[storm bolter]], making it all but defenseless against enemy anti-armor. Fortunately, as it lacks the increased mass and stabilization requirements of the turret, it moves substantially faster than the Leman Russ Battle Tank, which helps it evade pursuit. The lower profile can also be of some help when it comes to putting it out of line of sight.

On the table, it's quite close to a Vanquisher in intended use, and generally does a better job for 25 more points; it's more mobile, grabs more cover (terrain with 25% cover gives this tank nearly 50%, which becomes a 3+ save with camo netting), its built-in Twin-Linking gets in more hits, and the S9 Ordnance shot damages anything with a toughness value and any AV lower than 14 more reliably than the Vanquisher's S8 Armourbane shot. Unfortunately, Forgeworld has since discontinued this model.

=== {{anchor|Thunderer}} Thunderer Siege Tank ===
[[File:99590105345_ThundererSiegeTank04.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Thunderer Siege Tank.]]
The Laser Destroyer is a rare weapon, so units with Destroyers whose main cannon is destroyed will seldom be given a replacement; A [[Demolisher cannon]] is installed the laser destroyer's mount, resulting in the '''Thunderer Siege Tank'''. This tank is basically the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmgesch%C3%BCtz_III#Further_variants SturmHaubitze 42]](basically a StuG with its general purpose 75mm tank gun swapped for a 105mm howitzer intended for infantry support) of the 40K universe. It is essentially a faster, discounted [[#Demolisher|Demolisher]], except its stuck with a fixed forward casemate (though if your Demolisher is in a position where it has to shoot something behind it, you are in a ''bad place'') and it cannot take any secondary weapons besides a pintle-mounted heavy stubber or storm bolter (not that it needs any more firepower than S10 AP2 5" Blast, though when the Vehicle Damage table comes calling you may be glad you took something else to lose on a Weapon Destroyed result). The reduced versatility means that most commanders would rather use a proper Demolisher, but as vehicle reserves run low, any Demolisher cannon is a welcome addition to the line of battle.

In practice, it's gone from a tank destroyer to an assault gun; it functions like a more expensive (by 15 points), but ''much'' tougher [[Vindicator]] (which is rather hilarious, since Space Marines ''love'' the Vindicator, while the Thunderer is a second-line Guard assault gun usually passed over for the Leman Russ Demolisher). Don't mention this around [[Space Marines]] -- they're still bothered that the Imperial Guard have what amounts to a Vindicator with better armor on every facing and access to camo netting, which in turn inspired them to make the [[Land Raider Ares]]. But that comes with the price tag of a Land Raider, so...

'''8th ed.''' Functions just like a Demolisher Leman Russ with one extra wound but without the hull mounted Lascannon option, Forgeworld Leman Russ were considerably more expensive than GW in 8th but Chapter Approved 2017 normalised them to the GW price cost.

=== Alternate Patterns ===

[[Forge World]] has also released variant turrets and hulls for Leman Russ models.

; Mars Alpha Pattern Hull : The [[Mars]] Alpha hull has more internal space and a larger engine, resulting in a slightly bulkier hull overall (especially noticeable with the engine sticking further out the back of the tank). The hull-weapon's mount is slightly different, with a more streamlined joint than the boxy sponson-like mount of the standard pattern. The increased internal space is used for ammunition storage on battle-line tanks, or for extra communication equipment on command tanks.
; Ryza Pattern Turret : Ryza is most known for their work on plasma weapons, but the tech-priests realized that their [[#Executioner|Executioner]] turret looked really cool, so they made turrets for the regular Battle Tank, Annihilator, Demolisher, Exterminator, and Vanquisher (with co-axial [[autocannon]]) turret variants. It is a sleeker turret than the original, with straight sides angled forward and a searchlight or scanner on the left side, while the weapon is contained in a slightly more sensible-looking elevation joint. Ryza turrets are often mounted on Mars Alpha hulls.
; Gryphonne IV Pattern Turret : Before it got overrun by the [[Tyranids]] of [[Hive Fleet Leviathan]], Gryphonne IV made turrets for the Conqueror, Exterminator, and Vanquisher (with co-axial [[storm bolter]]) tanks. Gryphonne IV turrets are much more "[[wikipedia:greeble|greeble]]d" than the standard turrets, and are distinguished by the flared-out sides and the searchlight mounted to the right of the commander's hatch.
; Stygies VIII Pattern Turret : Stygies VIII also produces a Vanquisher turret with a co-axial storm bolter, and is also a rather greebly turret (though its searchlight is mounted on the left side, like the Ryza turret), but their variant of the Vanquisher cannon is shorter than the Gryphonne IV's (which is ridiculously long, to be honest), and it is unrifled, to bring the muzzle velocity back up to that of the Gryphonne IV cannon.

==Wargear/Configuration Breakdown (Out of Date)==

In the newest codex, Multi-melta sponsons share the same cost as Heavy Bolters, so seriously consider taking them if you want to mercilessly slaughter tanks.

The Hull Heavy Flamer and sponson Heavy Flamer should be avoided. There are dozens of better ways to get cover hate on the battlefield (ie [[Chimera Transport|Chimera]]s and [[Hellhound Tank|Hellhound]]s),and it removes your Heavy Bolter, which is free and a lifeline to your main weapon if it's destroyed. The hull Lascannon is a good addition to a Vanquisher, both are used for the same battlefield role, both long ranged and high strength/low AP. Again, if you really hate cover, you have the Leman Russ Eradicator; I mean, it's why the thing exists.

Sponson Bolters are generally a "take 'em or not" option. It's only 20 points for the pair, and the worst case scenario is that they add to the hull Heavy Bolter in slinging shots downrange, which can help a lot against [[Tyranids]] and other blob armies and is especially nice to have with Pask in play. It's as much as 6 extra shots, so it's not bad. They're less useful on the Punisher (which already sprays 23 shots by default) and Demolisher (which doesn't need much to help the Demolisher Cannon), and many players scream with [[Rage|irritation]] if they're used on them, but they remain effective and they're not a huge investment, so use them if you feel like it. It's not like the Dozer Blade is a better use of those points. Bear in mind that, due to the changes to the Leman Russ's "Lumbering Behemoth" rule, a Russ can only fire its sponson weapons as snap shots if it fires an Ordnance weapon ([[Battle Cannon]] and [[Demolisher Cannon]]), so your vanilla Russes and Demolishers should have heavy bolters (plasma cannons and heavy flamers cannot be fired as snap shots, and you get more chances to hit with heavy bolters than with lascannons) if they are given any sponson weapons at all.

The Plasma Cannon Sponsons are a different story. These need to be on the right tank or they're a waste of points, so make them count. They're best mounted on the Exterminator and Vanquisher to give blast effects to tanks that otherwise wouldn't have it, and is especially good on the Executioner, adding 2 more Plasma Cannons to the existing 3-round burst of the main gun and adding yet more raep to the firestorm. There is possibly no tank better at blasting Tyranids and Necrons than this configuration - and god help anything in its way if it has Pask as well. They aren't very good on the standard Leman Russ, its S8 AP3 basically eclipses anything a Plasma Cannon can do. The Eradicator can make ''some'' decent use of it. Its Nova Cannon doesn't pack the AP of the Battle Cannon and makes a nice support weapon for dropping into a crowd that would otherwise be able to deal with the Nova Cannon. [[Games Workshop]] has a notoriously raging hard-on for equipping them on Demolishers and Punishers, but this is a fairly bad idea; these two tanks are almost invariably better off charging headlong into the enemy's face, where they won't be firing the Plasma Cannons anyway;the Heavy Bolter sponsons can work with the hull Heavy Bolter and pick off stragglers after the initial -gun-into-face manoeuvre. However In sixth edition, plasma cannons can now 'get hot' on vehicles so they are less useful.

For wargear, it's generally a good idea to avoid the pintle mounts. They aren't of use on a vehicle that is bristling with weapons in the first place, and it's extremely hard to envision an environment wherein a player screams ''"Man, a Storm Bolter on my Leman Russ would have been the absolute BOMB right now!"'' The [[Stubber]] can be somewhat useful if only due to its range, but generally isn't simply because - again - every reason you'd use one is already covered by its baseline weaponry. If you're looking hard to find a spot to drop a few points (why are you doing this), I guess you could put one on a bullet-spewing tank and add a few more shots, but again, probably more efficient ways to spend those points.

Firebarrels is a new wargear option added in the 6th edition <strike>(looks around to make sure I do not get BLAMMED by Commissar)</strike>{{BLAM}}{{BLAM|Cowardice! You will say this with pride!}} Codex Astra Militarum. In layman terms it is a one time use wall of death that deals D6 amount of damage. More of a scare tactic then anything, it does allow the Russ to protect itself in close combat. For ten points, it is cost effective. Though not a auto include, it should not be overlooked. Especially when you take a squadron of three and give each tank these barrels. That's going to hurt.

Recovery gear is virtually a autoinclude in any build for the Leman Russ. For 5 points you can roll to remove a immobilized result, and don't have to worry (as much) that your tanks will be stopped due to a lucky roll or failed dangerouse terrain test. You will not always use this gear, or even de immobilized the tank, but compared to dozer blades, you can obviously see a winner.

Relic plating is.....controversial. Its the cheapest wargear the Russ can take. And it does give Adamantium Will to this giant machine of death. The problem comes with formations. Depending on how one sees the rules, this upgrade either A, gives the entire squadron Adamantium Will when just applied to one tank. Or B, Only applies it to the tank that takes the wargear. Either way, best to give all tanks in the squadron this upgrade. (The second the opponent hears one of the tanks has Adamantium will, that tank is a target. Might as well give all tanks this upgrade just to be safe).

The [[Hunter-Killer Missile]] is... questionable. Its unlimited range can be a good surprise against players not expecting it, which, when combined with its good strength, makes it a good option for destroying artillery (this is actually a halfway decent choice with Pask by the way), but Chimeras and Sentinels are considered the best platform for this secondary weapon, whereas the Leman Russ is rightly considered a somewhat wasteful (if potentially useful) platform for the weapon. Pask abuse aside, the Hunter-Killer missile generally isn't useful for Leman Russes simply because you don't need a Krak missile when any of these tanks can pack anti-vehicle punch in the form of its turret weapon or Lascannon (the latter of which any Russ can get).

The new codex grants us tank commanders. They have to bring another tank in a squad, which you would do anyway, and gives the tank they are commanding BS4. They can be a warlord and only roll on the first three choices of the codex warlord table, and their unit is moved into the HQ force org slot. So you can take up to 12 Leman Russes in a battle forged army! They also have three orders they can give their unit. They can move flat out in a heavy tank for 6+D6 inches, a form of split fire for the commander to shoot at a different target from the others in his unit, and an order that its unit makes a shooting attack then uses smoke launchers if it has not already. The commander has to roll a 9 or less on 2d6 to get these off. Good for a mechanized army list specializing in tanks.

Whilst he's pricey, Pask himself deserves special note - he is a great upgrade to a command tank, since he makes a Russ BS4, gets to reroll to hit with most weapons, adds rending to punisher and exterminators, rerolls penetration against vehicles, and turns the executioner into a large single blast with blind. Naturally starts out with Old Grudges as his warlord trait giving him preferred enemy of your choice. He is an expensive upgrade for a tank commander, so again, make sure that whatever you put him in, it gets used.

==How to Use It==

First and foremost, note the tank's armor ratings. It's dirt cheap, its BS is average, but its armor value on the front is 14 and its side armor is hefty at 13. Its rear armor, however, sucks and can be damaged by many regular infantry weapons. Keep them facing the enemy at all times and do your best to keep their backs covered - you can't afford to let some jump infantry Deep Strike behind one and play catch-the-fucking-meltabomb. Treat them well and they'll treat you well.

Second, three of the Leman Russes - the Demolisher, Punisher, and Executioner - have additional rear armor. This is not enough to make them invulnerable but what it does mean is that it's no longer threatened simply by being completely surrounded by regular infantry (Hormagaunts for example). This is important for the Punisher and Demolisher, which have to get close, but the Executioner is just more survivable since it generally shoots from afar. AV 11 still isn't very good, so bear in mind the first example on this list and keep the front facing the enemy.

It is also important to remember that the Guard is like an army from World War II. Learn from their tactics and apply them wisely. All nations had some way to make sure infantry are mobile enough to keep up with tanks (as tanks without infantry support and with infantry around them tend to go BOOM), so transports (obviously Chimeras) are generally necessary. If defending, they would employ dedicated tank destroyers (Vanquishers or Destroyer) to deal with enemy armor. If sieging, assault guns (Thunderer) and massed artillery would be used to handle fortifications.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%">
(History Note: Tank Destroyers(TD) have wandered in and out of development and use since their practical deployment in WWII, and are still in use today.
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

In general, TDs were initially based on obsolete or marginally unrepairable chassis that a government had about and needed for the war effort (for example, for Germany the JgPzI was a rework of the PzI, while the Marder was a PzII rework with captured Soviet 76mm guns; The Soviets turned the T-34 into the SU-85 and SU-100s), usually by ripping off what's was left of the turret and upper deck, and welding a casement cover and gun mounting over the resulting hole. Later on, purpose-built ones were developed, usually for defensive fights (the JagTiger and the more modern Swedish line of STRV-103 TDs, for example). Even now, some are still either in use or being developed (the Russian 2S25 Sprut-SD is a 125mm gun-armed TD going into main production in 2018).

As their role dictated a tank-hunting role, they tended towards heavy frontal armour and a bigger gun than a tank of the same weight (as turrets are surprisingly heavy, when you take into account the weight of the turret ring, the armour that the turret covers by necessity and the mechanisms needed to turn the turret, so by not having them, you can add more weight elsewhere). Some historical tanks, like the SU-152 and the JagTiger had cannons big enough to be used effectively as artillery, or could kill a tank behind hard cover, as Otto Carius proved by using the 128mm cannon on his JagTiger to kill a Sherman tank by shooting through an entire brick building). As anti-infantry backup, most TDs had at least one machinegun (the German Ferdinand was one notable 'oops' on that part, which is why it got a machinegun and anti-magnetic paste later and they called it the Elefant to distinguish between old and new models).

So why aren't they more common? Well, TDs excel in ambush-predation of tanks and in infantry support against prepared positions. The former is inherently defensive and static, as you wait for your target usually. The latter means you're assaulting a prepared static position with infantry support and using your big gun to suppress your enemy. Neither of these are very mobile, and coming out of WWII, the major focus of tank-use strategy was (and still very much is) as a fast and well-armed assault or reaction force (possibly why they're still called cavalry, and used much the same as in previous wars). Tanks are mobile, infantry is usually mechanized, and even artillery is often self-propelled. Add in that many tanks, IFVs, APCs, utility vehicles (and likely mobile outhouses) can and have sported ATMs of varying lethality, being static or assaulting in a direct line can have "unfortunate" outcomes if the attacked party has a steady hand or a good laser pointer.

Ed. Note: If you ever wonder why the monster tank ideas like the Maus never really took off in the modern era, mobility is pretty much it. The Maus got 14mph maximum by doing horrible things to the electric drive and drank gallons of fuel per mile, and it couldn't travel on roads or bridges without breaking them. The larger Ratte was even worse, as it was both an easy target for aircraft and was too big for trains to carry them to where they might be needed; on top of that, it needed engines normally used in U-boats just to move. All your armour doesn't mean anything if you can't outrun, outrange or at least dodge heavy artillery fire and strike aircraft. Then again, the Baneblade moves as fast as a Leman Russ does, so if you could get a modern Maus equivalent sporting feet-thick slabs of CHOBHAM armour, some sort of auto-loading 155mm cannon, backup 20mm chainguns/autocannons, a plethora of heavy remote-turreted MGs and god-knows how many pop-up-celled HATM to do 40mph off-road, I suspect modern warfare would collectively give a panicked 'WUT?' for a bit until they worked how to dangle a Exocet off a Predator drone...)

</div></div>

Generally, it is a good idea to keep your tanks behind your infantry, with the exception of Demolisher and Punisher. Their longer range and the fact that they're more expensive/useful than basic infantry makes the cover save valuable. Combine with Camo-netting to get a 4+, like a walking, shooting aegis. If you're running gunline it's not a bad idea to use them as gun emplacements, by flooding your deployment zone with bodies you can stop any pesky deep strikers, and combined with the 4+ save (potentially 3+ if you get an aegis) can make it nigh-unkillable. Combined with reasonable point cost and the ability to take squadrons, you can flood the field like Mega-MEQs.

In addition, the Leman Russ, due to its renowned toughness, is likely to draw a lot of fire, so it can pair well with weaker glass-cannon type units like Basilisks.

Now, each country had outstanding tank tactics - Germany for example would make good use of 'Blitzkrieg' shock attacks, seeking to break through a weakpoint on the enemy lines and drive deep into the rear area and rampage around, forcing the enemy to pull back to prevent being surrounded and to protect squishy REMFy objective points. For said tactical style your will need Leman Russ Conquerors for speed (or if you are willing to go slower then normal ones will do) backed up by mobile infantry (Chimeras, anyone?) On defense, they tended to dig in their tanks/TDs and snipe (Vanquishers and Destroyers), so look at uprating your tanks armour and camo. Germany also had a bit of a hard on for super heavy tanks and assault guns, so feel free to liberally splash Baneblades and Thunderers into a German style army list.

Early British and French styles were massed foot-infantry supported by <strike>anti-fortification</strike> 'infantry' heavy tanks (Eradicators, Punishers and Demolishers) pinning in place and eliminating enemy forces first, while faster 'cavalry' vehicles (Sentinels and Tauros/Venators) would flank around to hunt tasty lone units. (Early Soviet was just massed infantry without the heavy tanks, but then you wouldn't be doing that now, would you?) After all, if the enemy's not on the table, they can hardly contest objectives, can they?

American (and later the collective allied forces) tactics would be on using one mainstay tank (normal Russes), but would also field as many as possible so their massed firepower could support infantry on assault or defense, then exploit breaches in enemy lines to drive deep wedges into enemy lines (yes, the Americans and Russians shamelessly copied the Truppenführung, but had the material support to stuff their entire leg down the German throat, while early German could only afford the boot) while dedicated tank destroyers (Vanquisher and Destroyer) wait in support to react to enemy tanks counter-attacking. America also had air supremacy for the most part, so air support (Valkyries, Avengers and Marauders) was usually available. The Soviets tended to go for massed artillery more-so on assault, so feel free to load up on the Basilisks and recreate Verdun's 'lively' atmosphere. In short, flexibility is key. Don't just bend like the willow. Bend, recover to whack them on the nose, then shove yourself up their ass for good measure.

Regardless of the details, it's always a good idea to use infantry to kill things that can kill your tanks since lascannons don't really do a lot of damage to a squad while you have your tanks kill things that can kill your infantry, heavy bolters don't bother Russes. Counter enemy units with the unit they themselves can't counter. Maybe have a Chimera (or variant) acting as an IFV to help protect the infantry, too, which takes a bit of strain off the Leman Russes so that they can focus on killing bigger fish.

==How to Kill It==

The Leman Russ can be a tough adversary. If you're facing a guard player there's a good chance he's taken five of them, so you need to get creative. The stock Leman Russ is the most common variant you'll be facing. It's dirt cheap, comes with the Cadian battleforce, and generally gets the job done. The main thing you need to look out for is the battle cannon; With S8 AP3, it can smoke whole squads of just about anything, and any multi wound T4 models will get Insta Death'd as well. Spamming high strength weapons(Lascannons, Missiles, etc) can work if you are lucky. Lascannons, Melta, Lance or Armorbane are the only things that reliably pen a Russ. Use skimmers or deep striking units to quickly close and unleash punishing volleys and a Russ will go down quickly, Melee is also an excellent option forcing it to retreat on its next turn if you didn't kill it, particularly if you can charge from an obscured location and not receive overwatch as unlike the Baneblade the Leman Russ melee potential rivals a Fire warrior. MEQs can glance a Russ to death with their fists, and if they have something like powerfists or melta bombs its going to be dead real quick. Get into melee with even meaner units, like a Wraithlord or Dreadnought, and it's toast. Melee in general is good against guard, the only thing to worry about is being tarpitted by conscript hordes who can keep your expensive vehicle punchers stuck.

In general, get close. With its heavy, long range guns the Russ excels at long range shooting matches. So to save your infantry blobs from getting ground down close the distance. Or alpha strike it with something that's fast or can deep strike.

Unless you're necrons of course then just spam it with Gauss Flayers or scarab swarms.

==At 500 Points==
[[File:LemanRuss.jpg|300px|thumb|right|They're pretty scary in low point games.]]
A lot of players <strike>used to</strike> field nothing but low-level infantry squads and a Leman Russ, due to its low points cost, in 500-point games. This practice continues today (though it's more commonly seen with the Imperial Guard [[Manticore Rocket Launcher]]), and has induced [[Butthurt|ragequits]]. If a bit smart with list building you can try to fit '''2''' in a 500 pts list! Watch the fun as your tanks can get orders which make them even better. Run for the hills, heretics! No, wait! The tanks ARE the hills! Run away from the hills! Just get away from the tanks!

Example:

'''500 point Patrol detachment'''

'''HQ'''

Knight Commander Pask, Punisher gatling cannon, heavy bolter, heavy bolter sponsons 
221pts

Tank Commander, battle cannon, lascannon, plasma cannon sponsons, Relic of Lost Cadia 
239pts

'''TROOPS'''

10 Guardsmen 
40pts

Total: 500 points.

Due to terrible wording on tank orders '''which was not FAQ'd''', Pask and the generic Commander [[wat|can order themselves or each other]]. Reroll your battle cannon shots with the Cadian tank order, or Strike and Shroud if they have enough lascannons to trouble you. Likewise the Relic of Lost Cadia '''is not one-use only''' and likewise '''was not FAQ'd to be.''' Re-roll every 1 to wound every turn, or all failed to hit or wound rolls against Chaos. For Warlord trait, give the generic commander Tenacious Survivor. All the Imperial Guard-specific ones are irrelevant in this list.

In 8th Edition, they got even better. Not only can they fire their turret weapon TWICE if you move less than half their movement distance, you can take Detachments of them! And even better, Leman Russ tanks in a Spearhead Detachment gain Objective Secured! Watch that Space Marine player weep and rage when you capture that objective with a single Leman Russ tank from right under his Deep Striking Terminators' noses (who will most likely destroy your tank in close combat the next turn)! A Tank Commander and 3 Leman Russ tanks minimum, to 2 Tank Commanders and 18 Leman Russ tanks in a single Spearhead Detachment, and all of them having Objective Secured! And if those aforementioned Terminators charge your tank, spend a Command Point on Defensive Gunners and hope your plasma cannons evaporate the lot of them before they make it in.

Sadly 9th Edition removed Pask.

==Alternative Modeling Options==
If you don't want to use GW stuff, or if you just want something to give your tanks a more unique look, there are a plethora of ways to [[proxy]] up a Russ stand-in. Perhaps most obviously and lazily, virtually every WW2 medium tank can and has been counted-as a Russ at some point or another, and models for those can be found in literally every hobby store in existence. Hell, even toys could work if you really feel like scraping the bottom of the cheapskate barrel. If you want good quality and properly scaled WW2 tanks though, suitable 28mm models of which can be acquired from [[Warlord Games]]' Bolt Action line. If you want to actually get something closer to the 40k style, there are also plenty of 3rd party kits. The Gideon Main Battle Tank (discontinued, to be replaced with the Galahad tank (which has sponsons, but is much less gothic looking)) from [[Mad Robot Miniatures]] is basically a German Tiger styled Russ, including guns for a vanilla battle tank, Vanquisher, Exterminator, Demolisher, and Punisher. If you still want something that resembles a Tiger, the Medium Tank from Mortian Miniatures might work. The Matilda tank from [[Victoria Miniatures]] is another straight Russification of a WWII tank, in this case the British Matilda, and also comes with all the guns for different Russ variants. The Gothic KV2 Tank from Maxmini technically represents the [[Ragnarok (tank)|Ragnarok]], but there aren't any current rules for the Ragnarok so you'd just be fielding it as a Russ Battle Tank anyway. [http://ratgard.com/index.php/2011/08/09/onling-store/ Ratgard Miniatures] do a line of Soviet IS3 and ISU-152 themed Leman Russ Tanks. [[Blood and Skulls Industry]] on Ebay is also a good venue for an alt Russ. They don't offer whole hulls, but they have every kind of turret, track, sponson, and gun you could want, for Russes as well as Predators, Chimeras, Taurox's, Land Raiders, and Baneblades. [[Kromlech]] has released a tank turret that looks like a more detailed Ryza pattern turret, a remote-controlled heavy stubber or bolter to put on a cupola, and a tank engine with trench rails conversion kit to give your Russ trench rails without the extended hull of the Mars-Alpha pattern. [https://reptilianoverlords.com/product/caiman-main-battle-tank/ Reptilian Overlords] sells an STL and model for a tank that resembles the M24 Chaffee used by American forces in WWII. [https://ns-games.com/product/uef-bulldog-main-battle-tank-28mm/ Nuclear Shrimp Games] produces its own tank kit that is essentially a modern day tank built around the design philosophy of the Leman Russ, if the super [[Gue'vesa|modern tacticool]] aesthetic is what you desire. It also comes in 6mm and 15mm flavors as well. [https://www.modelsandminis.com/ Models and Minis] makes a hull extension kit that's an affordable alternative for an Mars-Alpha pattern Russ. They also produce some trench rails to put on your Russ.

==An Interesting Development==
In a surprising move, GeeDubs decided to greenlight some 40k-themed shit for the online game World of Tanks, starting with the Spess Mehreen [https://wotblitz.com/en/encyclopedia/vehicles/other/Oth09_WH_Predator/ Predator] and [https://wotblitz.com/en/encyclopedia/vehicles/other/Oth08_WH_Vindicator/ Vindicator] on its mobile version. Amongst the promotional shit on WoT’s PC version, [https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/premium-shop/warhammer-40k-tanks/ the spring-summer of 2018] saw the release of a premium [[Ragnarok (tank)|“KV-2(R)”]] and a new paint job that turns the French BDR G1 B heavy tank into what’s pretty clearly supposed to be a Mordian Leman Russ. Of course, seeing as how Wargaming.net takes cues from the same “money-grabbing asshole executives” playbook as GW, if not more so, you end up having to pay separately for both the paint job and the goddamn tank itself.

Apparently, enough 40k players play World of Tanks (and vice versa) in order to justify the cross-promotion materiel; in fact, the BDR G1 B’s fandom nickname was the “Leman Russ” WAY before the entire crossover was even considered, owing to its likeness to a steel potato with a massive gun on top.

==Gallery==
<gallery>

File:10 10 design of the millennium.jpg|10/10 design of the millennium
Image:LRPun.jpg| Most guns go "DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA" for hours without going dry of ammo. The Leman Russ Punisher goes "BRRRRT" for half a minute.
Image:LRExec.jpg| The Leman Russ Executioner, known for making marines break out in hives.
Image:LRErad.JPG| FUCK YOUR COVER SAVES DAWG I HAS AN ERADICATOR
Image:LRbattletank.jpg| Even the basic Leman Russ is better than your army's tanks. ([[Hammerhead Gunship|Whatever you say, Gue'la]])
Image:LRDemo.gif| If the Leman Russ Demolisher hasn't absorbed at least 6 attempts to destroy it by turn 2, you're either doing it wrong or you also have a [[Baneblade|Baneblade]].
Image:LRVanq.jpg| When you need to fuck up a [[Land Raider]], accept no substitutes.
Image:LRExterm.jpg| The Exterminator likes to party. At 500 shots per minute. Why have other variants? Because ammo variety is [[Heresy|complicated]].
Image:Annhilator.jpg|The Guardsmen felt left out after the Space Marines [[Predator Annihilator|get the new shiny toys.]] So they made their own.
Image:Destoyer_Leman_Russ.jpg|Want to destroy that enemy vehicle for a good price? The Destroyer has got your back.
Image:Pask.jpg| Knight Commander Pask is in dire need of some juvenat drugs. Jesus. Also Ed Harris in 40k.
File:LMVanquishermodels.png|All the Leman Russ Vanquisher Models released so far. Ironically, The Vanquisher is described as a rare tank yet has more variants than any Imperial Guard Tank in circulation.
File:LMExicutioner.png|Leman Russ Executioner models.
Image:itrusseslemans.jpg| Well, it does.
File:Malca-Russ.jpg|Here we see how one fan's kitbash manages to look more realistic and visually appealing than GW's/Forge World official models.
File:MadRobot-GideonMBT.jpg|Mad Robot Miniatures' Gideon MBT definitely fits the Imperium's style...
File:VictoriaMinis-MatildaMBT.jpg|...as does Victoria Miniatures' Matilda.

</gallery>

== Navigation ==

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Volkite Weaponry

2023-05-25T17:30:29Z

2600:1006:B1AD:3289:187B:9650:A535:4FE4: /* Volkite Charger */

{{Topquote|{{BLAM|CHOOM}}|Volkite Guns
}}[[File:Mars_991-thumb-550x382.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Volkite Weaponry in a nutshell. Knowledgeable readers will notice that this weapon class has a lot in common with the "Heat-Rays" used by the Martian invaders from H.G. Wells' story ''The War of the Worlds''.]]
'''Volkite weapons''' are Martian death-rays. In [[Warhammer 40,000]], Volkite weapons are ancient and advanced weapons based on the principle of imparting so much heat to the enemy that he literally bursts into flames ''inside'' his armour. These flaming victims then cause ''more'' damage to their own squad, as they run around screaming while emitting the temperature of a rather large and unwieldy furnace. Their main drawbacks are that they are fairly short-ranged (although not to the same extent as [[Melta]] weapons), and are somewhat less effective at piercing armor than [[Bolter]]s.

They are quite literally Martian ray-guns, as only the [[techpriest]]s of [[Mars]] could make them. When the [[Great Crusade]] was just starting out, there were enough to equip ''every single'' [[Space Marines|Space Marine]] [[First Founding|Legionnaire]] with them, on top of the Solar Auxilia, the Mechanicus armies, and several large tanks. Sadly, as the Crusade got underway and the [[Primarch]]s were found (thus, greatly increasing the numbers of Legionnaires), demand far outstripped supply and Volkite guns were relegated to "special weapon" status. Which, makes little sense because there should have been hundreds of millions of them at this point given how they were standard fare for practically the entire Crusade. Then, with the [[Horus Heresy]], the defection of large parts of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Mechanicum]], and 10,000 years of a technological roller coaster ride, the know-how to repair them was lost and Volkite weapons gradually disappeared from the galaxy. Hopes were rekindled among fans for their returned when [[Games Workshop]] brought [[Grav-Weaponry|grav-guns]] back into style with the new ''Codex: Space Marines'' and further reinforced when the new Cult Mechanicus codex revealed the Martians had access to a brand new Volkite called a Blaster which is about the same as a Culverin.

And apparently their return has been outright confirmed with the arrival of the new Primaris Lieutenant and their Neo-Volkite pistols, thank you Archmagos Cawl! Still not a lot of them, but it's better than nothing.

The most similar weapon in popular fiction to Volkite Weapons is surprisingly [[Star Trek|Phasers]] [[What|from Star Trek]]. If they were turned up to the highest setting (vaporizes fleshies) and had a rate of fire comparable to a Micro Uzi or ShKAS machine guns ([[dakka|over 1000 rounds per minute]]). The beam is even reddish-Orange. Though we don't have technobabble describing how Volkite weapons work, yet.

A note on the above, Volkite weapons were excellent assault weaponry, especially when facing massed infantry, and had more potential against light vehicles than a Bolter did, but that was pretty much their niche. Bolt weapons, which were much easier to manufacture, had a slightly longer range and marginally better armor-piercing ability, and could use numerous specialty rounds, were a better tactical weapon that could adapt to numerous situations, as well as easier to field in the numbers demanded by Legions. The main drawback in the field was that Bolters were most often fitted with standard rounds, while specialty munitions were still rare enough to only be issued to specialist squads alongside their regular bolts.

Of course, given the manner in which Volkite weapons deal damage and the effectively unimportant small difference between its armor-piercing to that of boltguns, Volkite weapons would leave a heavily armored opponent vulnerable to more to follow up shots due to severely weakening the target's armor. Bolters have to blow their way through with repeated shots if they fail to outright penetrate. Ultimately, Volkite weaponry is superior to bolters. Cover is useless or even a disadvantage against it, groups of enemies are excellent targets for its wielder, light armored vehicles are sufficiently vulnerable to its death ray, and heavy vehicles and powered armor would take significantly fewer shots to get through than a bolt weapon would. It is, therefore, a highly effective all-purpose weapon for anti-infantry, anti-light and heavy armor, and anti-powered infantry. Its only blind spot is that it is ineffective against aircraft that do not come low enough to be in range of it. Ironically, this means that the Astartes had the opposite trajectory as the [[Imperial Guard|Wall of Guns]], switching from a complex but highly-effective energy weapon to a simpler, less-resource-intensive ballistic weapon.

Each weapon is named after really old real-life [[Firearm|firearms]] and cannons, except the chierovile which is made-up gibberish, and the blaster which is... just a normal word? Obviously they are just picking out random words that sound "cool" when it comes to naming these things. Not only are all the weapons named after other weapons (may actually be a riff on the Mechanicum's ignorance) but the name "Volkite" is also [[Leagues of Votann|gibberish, meaning "People-Stone" or "People-Mineral, People-People," etc.]] Volkite Weaponry was also favored by the [[Night Lords]] due to its ''results''.
Possibly named after Magnus Volk (b. 1851, d. 1937), electrical engineer from Brighton, UK and builder of the world's oldest still working electric railway, suggesting the weapon uses electricity. The suffix -ite would here denote a follower or doctrine (similar to -ist), so the name would mean "following Volk's method". Further reinforcing this is the Ryza Relic "Weapon XCIX". Described as an "Up-Volted Volkite Blaster". This means Volkites are potentially...Microwave guns?

Their signature ability, deflagrate, means "a subsonic combustion caused by rapid heat transfer" which is a fancy way of saying "shit's on fire, yo." That is, it's literally the science word for normal fire.

==Imperial Volkite Weapons==
[[Image:Tallarn-art.jpg|300px|thumb|left|{{#if:{{{1|}}}|{{{1}}}| IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZER'''<nowiki>*CHOOM*</nowiki>'''}} {{Template:BLAM|Heresy!}} A Iron Warriors Legionairre fires a Volkite Charger at a distant tank (even though that's dumb) during the Battle of Tallarn during the Horus Heresy.]]

On the table, A Volkite weapon has good strength and decent AP, but its real power is the ''Deflagrate'' ability; any unsaved wounds suffered from a Volkite weapon each inflict another hit on the same unit at the weapon's profile (minus the Deflagrate effect; the wounds do not chain infinitely). Pretty nice.

There's one thing to acknowledge however, and is obvious from the profiles below: GW has no particularly good idea how differentiate different types of Volkite weapons (i.e. like how bolters largely come in major broad-but-standardized flavors of: [heavy/bolt] pistol, bolter/bolt rifle, and heavy bolter), and has resorted to slowly bloating the family with arbitrary names that don't necessarily imply where they actually belong in the Imperial manual of arms unless you look up their stats and what they're attached to.

===Volkite Serpenta===
[[File:Volkite_Right_medium.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Serpenta]]

The machine pistol of the family, highly effective and powerful sidearm but with obviously low range and high rate of fire.
The [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] still have a few of these on hand, but like most of the good stuff, instead of taking it apart and reverse engineering it, they instead keep most of them locked in stasis vaults and ogle them.

According to the announcement of the Moritat model the plural term is ”Volkites Serpenta.” Also, the Moritat model holds them like guns akimbo whilst doing a cool pose, and they [[Awesome|deliciously awesome like that.]] According to the Angel's Tears, it's Volkite Serpentas. [[Fail|So...]]. And regardless of the plural, GW fucked up as usual, given the actual cannon it's named after is a ''Serpent'''ine'''''. Also a great weapon on Destroyers(as they can equip two to give them four shots) supported by Rad Missiles & as secondary weapon for Biker units, Jetbikes included. Firing Protocols(X) allows bike units to fire two weapons during the shooting phase. So you can spam Volkite while you Volkite.

With the descriptions present, you would wish it would have resembled those [[Awesome|awesome]] 50's-era Ray Guns like those of [[Fallout]], but GeeDubs being the anathema of [[Awesome|awesome]] decided to make them look as meh as possible.

This as you can imagine, is a bit of shame. But nevertheless, at the very least the Volkite Serpenta is a powerful little hand cannon that will fry your power armored [[Mary Sue|Mary Sues]] alive.

===Neo-Volkite Pistol===
[[File:Neo-Volkite_Pistol.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Neo-Volkite Pistol]]
Apparently Archmagos Cawl finally figured out how to make new Volkite weapons, because these shiny new pistols are being given out to the newest batch of Primaris Lieutenants. As per the release for the multipart Bladeguard kit standard Bladegaurd Sergeants can take them now too, but not Captains or Ancients.

What is so different from the old one, we have no idea, but it could be as minor as the difference between each iPhone iteration (such as the miniaturization of the powerpack, so no more lugging around a giant energy cell connected by flimsy cables, ''yaaaaaaaaaaay''!). So for all intents and purposes, the whole schlick of the "Imperium losing technology" has been thrown out of the window; demotes the [[Grimdark]] a bit, while cutting out some of the [[Grimderp]]. It also makes sense when one remembers how many high ranking magos are millennia old and Cawl is far from the only one who lived in the Great Crusade era. So Cawl coming out with this might begin smoothing that out and we can waive ten thousand years of “forgetting” as either excuses for hoarding more and more tech, and/or being distracted by increasing projects to reverse-engineer old technologies making slow but real progress.

According to [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/06/16/faction-focus-space-marines/ this faction preview] it's classified as a pistol 2 class weapon with a range of 15", a strength of 5, armor-piercing of 0, damage of 2, and a special rule that each unmodified wound roll of 6 inflicts 1 mortal wound on the target in addition to any other damage. Making it comparable to a Volkite charger just as a pistol. Essentially its just a Serpenta with the range of a Charger. ...Or Cawl slapped a new name onto some Charger blueprints and handed them out to his Primaris boys; even during the Heresy-era, it's fairly common to see Volkite Chargers used as pistols instead of Serpenta's.
{{clear}}

===Volkite Charger===
[[File:Volkite-charger2.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Volkite Charger]]
The rifle of the family, as stated previously, at the outbreak of the Great Crusade were the goddamn ''standard'' weapon for the [[Adeptus Astartes]]. Which I'm sure was a terrifying prospect for the enemies of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium]]. Whilst not benefiting from the range or power of its larger cousins, the charger retained the volkite beams deflagrating effects and allows its wielder a greater degree of movement. Volkite chargers are often employed by Legion Tactical Support squads. A Mastercrafted version is also the favoured ranged weapon of a certain [[Fulgrim|Sick Fuck]].

Unfortunately the laborious nature of their manufacture resulted in them being relegated in favour of the [[Bolter]], which was much easier to manufacture and supply (well, maybe not supply because of the complex physical ammo), which was important as the crusade grew from a few thousand marines, a planet, and a moon to many hundred thousands of marines, quadrillions of [[Imperial Guard|Imperial Army]] troops, and an entire galaxy of shit to conquer. By the 42nd Millennium they are exclusively used by Tartaros Terminator Sergeants, with both armor and weapon millenia older than the Space Marine using them. Whether [[Cawl]] or [[Roboute_Guilliman|Guilliman]] has authorized Admech [[Techpriest|Techpriests]] and Astartes [[Techmarines]] to resume low level production, or if they even can, is up in the air for now. Sure, the Astartes rarely need to use any of then special types of bolts and could simply carry a few with a bolt pistol in case they’re needed but otherwise use dramatically scaled up hellguns attached to their powered armor’s basically infinite energy supply but…um…there’s a reason? Look a Commissar!

On the other hand, Veletaris squads were heavily equipped with Volkite Chargers and normal Solar Auxilia could use them as special weapons. The Solar Auxilia that made up twenty to twenty-five percent (A fifth to a fourth) of the Imperial Army by the Horus Heresy. So, there were literally quadrillions of these being made by then. Most likely the shift to Bolters can be explained by their wide variety of Special Ammunition (even normal Bolt Shell production would quickly become waaaaaay more expensive than Volkite Chargers). If so, was a moronic decision as Bolt Pistols with anything except non-standard shells while using Volkite Calivers and Chargers as standard would have been far better. Mechanicum Infantry also used the Volkite Charger, further crippling the lore about demand out-stripping supply for the vastly less numerous Astartes.
Thus the only real reasons for the change would be the Charger's poor armor penetration and the need for coolant compared to Bolters, though we don't know how it's cooled so coolant might not be used and it's armor-penetration is said to only be slightly lower than a bolter in the fluff. As a direct energy weapon would heat up faster and for longer than an air cooled projectile firearm (depending on what cooling tech was used, though, and how hot the projectile weapon got). Also, Ryza has cooling systems that prevent freaking plasma weapons from overheating, and that may have been the norm. At the very least, the Astartes would have the best available and so their volkite weapons might just not overheat.

===Volkite Caliver===
[[File:Volkite-caliver2.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Volkite Caliver]]
A long range tactical Volkite weapon.

If the Volkite Charger is the assault rifle of the Volkite family, then the Volkite Caliver would be considered as the light machine gun of said family. A rifle Volkite variant with a devastating effect on flesh and bone, the volkite caliver was often employed by mobile Legion Tactical Support Squads, utilizing firepower and accuracy far and above superior to that of the more common bolter. The larger frame of the Caliver means that it is able to house a larger energy storage and battery to power the entire weapon at a more efficient and cost-effective way.

It is also somewhat comparable to a light squad support weapon, longer and bulkier than the Charger, though still loaded from a box magazine and fairly easy to carry. With a better range than the Charger at a cost of being unable to fire on the move.

There are some claims that the Volkite Caliver was the standard issue Astartes weapon in the early years of the Great Crusade instead of the Charger. Perhaps a typo or perhaps just yet another layer of conflicting lore.

===Volkite Blaster===
[[File:VolkiteBlaster.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Blaster]]
The only Volkite weapon in regular plastic 40k besides Charger armed Tartaros Sergeants and Relic Dreadnoughts (and not itself found in any 30k books, even the Mechanicum Red Book), and only seen on Tech-Priest Domini to boot. It might have been custom-constructed, or it might have started life as a Caliver before being integrated into someone's arm, but trades the tip of the Caliver's range for 50% more dakka.

Seeing as how it is now permanently attached to a Tech-Priest, the Volkite Blaster gets most of its source of power from the inner workings of whatever cybernetic hijinks that the Domini has incorporated into his body. Which allows it to technically have an indefinite amount of shots so long as the Tech-Priest is still alive and kicking.

As they are one of the few Volkite weapons still in use in the 41st millennium, the Techpriests in charge are understandably quite touchy and paranoid about this elusive piece of tech. Guarding it pretty viciously to any tech-thieves or bandits. However with [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] running around right now, the status of the Volkite Blaster being the only Volkite weapon in production ''might'' change in the near future. And it's happenend, look at the Neo-Volkite's entry above this one to see a brand spanking new death ray.

There is also a special prototype up-volted Volkite Blaster lazily named '''Weapon XCIX''', designed in Ryza. Unlike most of the results of Ryza's experimentation, this actually found its way onto the battlefield where it has proven to be devastatingly powerful.

===Volkite Cavitor===
[[File:Cavitor.png|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Cavitor]]
The shotgun of the Volkite family, exclusive to the [[Night Lords]]' Contekar Terminator Elite. With how much chaos Volkite weapons usually generate, it is not surprising to see the legion of Batman sociopaths hogging all the good Volkite shit. For those who do not know, the Contekars were recruits from Nostramo's ruling class. What this means is that like the [[Kabalite Trueborn|Kabalite Trueborns]] of [[Dark Eldar]] society, they tend to view the common plebs with utter disdain. Now why the Contekars are a melee-heavy Assault Terminator-esque squad despite the whole Night Lords' doctrine of fighting fast and ''hard'', we aren't too sure.

Nevertheless, despite the strange change in legion tactics, Contekars still do strike as much fear as a rampaging [[World Eaters]] berserker. Seeing as how all Contekars could wield a chainglaive, the introduction of the Volkite Cavitors serve as a highly complementary sidearm for these aloof twats. How the Cavitor could split its beams, we dunno, but the ability to hit multiple targets at once, who, in turn, may further spread the flames to their allies, makes the Cavitor a powerful force multiplier. Unfortunately, the Cavitor is stupidly short-ranged, as in, [[Inferno Pistol]] [[Derp|levels of short-range.]] This means that a certain absolute chadman, in one final fuck you, could quite literally run towards the Contekar who lit him ablaze and proceed to give him [[Awesome|a warm,]] [[Vulkan]][[Awesome|-level hug.]]

On the tabletop, Cavitors spray four Strength 6 murderbeams, but at a measly 10" range (That is shorter than a ''Flamer'' mind you). Comes included with a [[Chain Weapon#Chainblade|Chainblade]] to [[RIP AND TEAR|further fuck things up at close range,]] because why the hell not? This means it sucks at fighting other Terminators. Especially those with Cyclone Missile Launchers or Plasma weapons. It is a pretty good MEQ mulcher though.

===Volkite Incinerator===
[[File:Volkite_Incinerator.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Incinerator]]

[[Awesome|A motherfucking laser chest beam!]]

The Volkite Incinerator was a powerful purpose-designed Volkite ray weapon that was mounted in the chest-unit of each [[Ursarax|Ursarax Tech-guard,]] allowing it to both attack its victims at range with a lethal Volkite beam and also by grabbing its foe within its claws and drawing them in to suffer the full brunt of this discharge at point-blank range.

This confined ray blast was particularly devastating in its power and was able to disintegrate even heavily armored warriors in mere moments at such short range, which makes it almost all but impossible to fight these things head-on in CQC.

Unfortunately, in terms of crunch, in contrast to the standard-issue lightning claws, the Volkite Incinerator [[Derp|isn't too great in CC despite the dictation of the fluff,]] as four attacks at S10 almost always beats ONE S6 instant death attack (even if the target is T6) but if you get locked in multiple rounds it can be okay enough against T6 models.

===Volkite Sentinel===
[[File:Volkite_Sentinel.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Sentinel]]

The weapon-sponsons of the Volkite family.

The Volkite Sentinel was an automated, slaved weapon systems controlled independently by its own Servitor-brain. Volkite Sentinels were used as defensive weapons found on a number of larger Mechanicum war engines, most commonly the [[Triaros Armoured Conveyer]].

Each Volkite Sentinel was actually a pintle-mounted Volkite Charger which could be fired in addition to any other weapons the vehicle was carrying. Because of its Servitor brain, the Volkite Sentinel was able to target units separately from the vehicle's main armament or the direction of its gunners.

Crunchwise, Volkite Sentinels are a subtle, but potent feature. Essentially they are two Volkite chargers that may target independently of the Triaros itself (and presumably the other Volkite weapon); these can be used to take out "Chaff" units (exceptionally important if you're using this in 40k).

This weapon is one of the rare instances of a weapon variant specifically designed as a sponson or pintle-mounted armament. Almost any other time it is simply a heavy weapon duct-taped to the vehicle.

===Volkite Saker===
[[File:Volkite_Saker.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Saker]]
One of the three primary weapons of the [[Sabre Strike Tank]]

In contrast to the Sentinel, the Volkite Saker is a relatively large weapon of the Volkite family that offers a true 'medium' between the lighter hand-held Volkites to the fuck huge superheavy Volkites mounted on Knights and superheavy tanks.

As one of the primary weapons for the new and improved Sabre, the Saker is unfortunately hull mounted, meaning it is only as effective if the front of the vehicle actually faces something. You would expect that something like a Volkite, would be mounted on a more effective turret.

On a more interesting tidbit, although Saker may sound like gibberish, it is actually a type of medium cannon that was slightly smaller than the Culverin, another type of cannon. The more you know.
{{Clear}}

===Volkite Culverin===
[[File:Volkite_Culverin.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Twin-linked Volkite Culverin]]
The heavy weapon, bulky, powerful, with a massive rate of fire and equally large ammunition requirement. The largest most potent man-portable Volkite weapon in the Imperium's arsenal, its beam has a devastating effect on organic matter, explosively burning flesh into ash and jetting fire. [[Contemptor Dreadnought|Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts]] could mount two Volkite Culverins on a single arm for a devastating primary weapon.

It's like a [[Heavy Bolter|heavy bolter]] if it fired even ''faster'' and its shots caused the enemy to spontaneously combust. Perfect for taking out that 20 man squad of [[Assault Squad|assault marines]] and for anti-infantry Scimitar jetbike loadouts.

Heavy weapon squads full of these guys are your best option for long-range multipurpose murder, as they will incinerate entire squads of light infantry in a single salvo, and 5 shots at S6 is pretty solid against light to medium vehicles as well.

===Volkite Veuglaire===
[[File:Volkite_Veuglaire.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Veuglaire]]

The Volkite Veuglaire is a type of Imperial Volkite Weapon.

Used on the [[Armiger Knight Moirax|Knight Moirax]], the Volkite Veuglaire is a cousin of the Volkite Culverin and was a rare and ancient type of weapon. They were known for their complex mechanisms that were often beyond the ability of simple Sacristans to repair.

But for those Households that still operate them, Volkite Veuglaire are prized for their ability to clear light infantry from the battlefield. Combined with the [[Miscellaneous Weapons#Gyges Siege Claw|Gyges siege claw,]] the Knight Moirax is a pretty nasty beast in CQC all things considered.

===Volkite Falconet Battery===
[[File:Volkite_Falconet.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Falconet Battery]]

The Volkite Culverin's big sister.

The Volkite Falconet Battery is a pair of extremely large Volkite weapons mounted exclusively on the [[Deredeo Dreadnought|Deredeo Pattern Dreadnought]]. The size of the Volkite Falconet Battery allows it to lay waste to large numbers of enemy units, and we mean a metric shit ton. Seriously, just look at the size and length of the barrel and imagine it being dual-wielded by a dreadnought. 'Tis some scary shit.

The Volkite Falconet Battery is often paired with the [[Boreas Air Defence Missile]] Platform, which makes the Deredeo a sufficient anti-air vehicle whilst having the weapon to deal with those pesky infantry trying to outflank it.

===Volkite Demi-Culverin===
[[File:VolkiteDemi.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Demi-Culverin]]
The bigger brother to the Culverin, this is only available to the Solar Auxilia (for now). A powerful weapon from the [[Dark Age of Technology]], the weapon could tear through infantry squads with ease, it is basically one of the best tarpit cleansers if used correctly as the beams can jump from target to target on a much wider and longer range then normal Volkite weapons.

It boasts one more point of Strength and one more shot than the man-portable version, and is found on the spiffy [[Leman Russ Incinerator]]. Demi-culverin. For when you want to say "''Screw that guy and everyone around that guy''."

The Demi-Culverin is one of the best examples of Ad Mech naming incompetence in 40k. IRL a Demi-Culverin fired a shot half the weight of a full Culverin (Demi is French for "half"). [[Fail|So why the Ad Mech decided to make the Demi-Culverin more powerful than the Culverin is a mystery.]]

===Volkite Cardanelle===
[[File:Volkite Cardanelle Kratos.png|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Cardanelle]]
The Volkite Cardanelle is one of the primary weapons used by the [[Kratos Heavy Assault Tank]]. A heavy Volkite weapon that is, for all intents and purposes, the bigger brother of the Volkite Demi-Culverin, the Volkite Cardanelle is built when the Imperium and later Traitor forces, wanted a Volkite weapon that will ignite more units without needing to face the high procurement cost of larger Volkite weapons during the [[Great Crusade]]. Lo and behold, the Cardanelle was created.

On the tabletop, the Cardanelle is obviously meant to be used against infantry. '''''A metric shit ton of infantry.''''' Like, we are talking 2-3,000 points worth of ''infantry.'' Obviously, this makes the Cardanelle a nightmare against horde armies like [[Ork]] and [[Tyranid]] players. Fortunately for those two, the Kratos is considered a relic tank and is only (For now) used in the [[Horus Heresy]] games.

===Volkite Chieorovile===
[[File:Volkite_Chierovile.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Chieorovile]]
Big goddamn Volkite gun mounted onto the [[Questoris Knight Styrix]]. Just think of it as a Volkite Culverin on steroids as the Culverin is situated on a Dreadnought, this mother of a gun is situated on a Knight.

Seeing as how a normal Volkite Charger can already turn a few unfortunate bastards into radioactive isotopes, the Volkite Chieorovile can eliminate large numbers of enemy infantry at range far greater than a typical Volkite.

With a range equal to the Culverin version, this baby puts out five S8 AP3 shots which is great at turning entire armies into flaming soon-to-be-corpses. Who wouldn't want to use a gun that kicks out the equivalent of 5 Krak missiles that set blobs on fire per turn?

===Volkite Combustor===
[[File:Vc.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Combustor]]
The more [[Edgy]] sister of the Volkite Chieorovile. The Volkite Combustor is another Knight-based Volkite weapon, used exclusively by the [[Chaos Knight Abominant]]s.

Like the rest of its Volkite family, the Combustor is able to atomise elite infantry and light vehicles alike under a beam of deflagrating death. However, what makes it different from the Chieorovile remains to be seen until rules comes out.

On the tabletop, this monster is a god damned tarpit cleanser and even light vehicle sweeper. An Abominant-exclusive weapon, the Volkite Combustor clocks in at 30" Heavy 6 S10 AP-1 D3; making it more than capable of burning through crowds, while the 3 mortal wounds on a natural 6 to wound allows it to wreck light vehicles.
{{Clear}}

===Volkite Carronade===
[[File:Volkite_Charonade.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Carronade]]
Disgusted by the prospect of the largest weapon in a given type being able to be held by a person, those [[Adeptus Mechanicus|crazy Martians]] decided to supersize it and put it on the turret of the [[Fellblade]] super-heavy tank, creating the [[Glaive]] in the process.

At first glance it's almost comically short-ranged for a super-heavy tank weapon, but when you consider it hits absolutely ''everything'' in a straight line (which is as wide as the weapon's barrel, which is about the same as the height of a space marine) between its smoking barrel and its max range, turning entire tank columns into molten heaps of slag and reducing infantry formations into screaming, flaming soon-to-be-corpses who proceed to set their own allies alight, it ends up looking pretty good. And unlike psychic beams, the beam's strength is only reduced by other super-heavies and buildings.

That said, it hits YOUR units too, so don't place anyone you don't want to lose in front of it when it fires. And don't think being inside a transport when it hits will save you; if the transport takes a penetrating hit, even if all it ends up doing is Crew Shaken, you take a bunch of hits. ''With'' the normal volkite ability to generate more. Dark Eldar, don't even ''bring'' Raiders; they'll just make it hurt more.

...although maybe they like that.

===Volkite Eradicator===
[[File:Volkite_Eradicator.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Eradicator (Reaver)]]
A Titan-sized Volkite weapon used by [[Warhound Scout Titan|Warhound]] and [[Reaver Battle Titan|Reaver-class Titans]] as a shield-popper. These things are devastating weapons that could either set half of an entire legion of Space Marines into cooked, medium-rare transhuman meat or turn weakened Titans into a pair of stilted legs. Due to this, they're quite popular among the more belligerent of Titan Legions. This is the point where it gets legitimately awe inspiring, because at this size it stops setting things on fire in favor of reducing flammables to ash and boiling anything that isn't.

It is considered a carapace-mounted weapon for Reaver Titans while it is an arm-mounted weapon for Warhound Titans.

On the Titanicus tabletop, the Volkite Eradicator is a 20 point S5 weapon that could fire 3 shots and have the Voidbreaker ability, which forces the target to make two extra void shield saves so long as a single shot hits. Unfortunately, breaking shields is what it is only good for. At S5, the Eradicator isn't really what you would consider a dedicated Titan-killer, so it is best used for its intended role.

<gallery>
Volkite_Eradicator_Warhound.JPG|Warhound variant.
</gallery>

===Volkite Destructor===
[[File:Volkite_Destructor.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Destructor]]
The final word (so far) in groundside Volkite weaponry, the Destructor is a arm weapon for the mighty [[Warlord Battle Titan|Warlord-class Titan]]. Like its smaller brother, the Eradicator, the Volkite Destructor is a dedicated shield popper; capable of overloading enemy Titan Void Shields in short order. Over twice the size of the Carronade, it is the largest Volkite weapon known. Not so much for boiling entire tank platoons as it is for setting entire fortresses ablaze and scorching entire battlefields at this point.

The Volkite Destructor is an arm-mounted weapon for Warlord Titans.

In terms of rules for Adeptus Titanicus, the Destructor is a tad bit more powerful than the Eradicator, making it less egregious when it comes to its effectiveness versus its price. At 40 point and at S6, the Destructor is similar to the Eradicator, being able to fire 3 shots whilst also having the Voidbreaker ability.

Moreover, unlike the Eradicator, the Destructor has additional unique abilities, such as the '''Beam''' and '''Draining''' traits, meaning that if you position your model correctly and push the reactor you can simply skip rolling to hit and guarantee three shots will hit the target (even if you make a called shot). By itself, S6 isn’t particularly terrifying, but this can be offset by applying bonuses such as '''Scorched Earth''' from the Extergimus maniple or applying a '''Coordinated Strike''' from a Squadron such as with Legio Venator or Vulcanum. Particularly enthusiastic and/or insane players could consider applying '''Experimental Weapons''' in the hopes that the Volkite Destructor is selected for the +2 bonus and then follow up with '''Overcharged Cannon''' to add an additional +2.

===Volkite Storm Accelerator===
The biggest Volkite weapon of all, and the only one to be used in naval combat, only ever mounted on Imperator Somnium, second flagship of [[the Emperor]]. We are forced to assume its barrel is fashioned into a might golden dong and mighty rays of doom spew forthwith.

{{40k-Imperial-Weapons}}

==Squat Volkite Weapons==
===Volkanite Disintegrator===
[[File:VolkaniteSquat.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Volkanite Disintegrator]]
A Squat-made Volkite weapon.

These are a type of hand-held pistol/submachinegun weapons used by the [[Leagues of Votann]] and even then, it is largely reserved for high-ranking members due to the inherent dangers of volkite weapons. In this regard, the most common users are either [[Kâhl]]s or [[Hearthguard]]s. Due to it being Squat, these Volkites are superior to their Imperial counterparts, however, superior in ''what degree'' is up in the air, although if we take the crunchrules seriously, it is possibly in increased firepower.

Despite having a slightly different spelling, volkanite is basically the same as volkite.

Crunchwise, they are 18" HunTR 3, S5 AP0 D1, with 6s to hit doing 1 mortal wound. Good old volkite guns, with a better fire rate than most. An alternate upgrade for your Kahl and Hearthguard.

<gallery>
Volkanite_Disintegrator_2.JPG
</gallery>
{{40k-Squat-Weapons}}
==In action==
*A volkite charger equivalent in the game Killing Floor 2 *CHOOMING* zombies can be seen in action [https://youtu.be/Thxv8IJV9hE?t=17m2s here].

Volkite Weaponry

2023-05-25T16:39:56Z

2600:1006:B1AD:3289:187B:9650:A535:4FE4: /* Volkite Charger */

{{Topquote|{{BLAM|CHOOM}}|Volkite Guns
}}[[File:Mars_991-thumb-550x382.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Volkite Weaponry in a nutshell. Knowledgeable readers will notice that this weapon class has a lot in common with the "Heat-Rays" used by the Martian invaders from H.G. Wells' story ''The War of the Worlds''.]]
'''Volkite weapons''' are Martian death-rays. In [[Warhammer 40,000]], Volkite weapons are ancient and advanced weapons based on the principle of imparting so much heat to the enemy that he literally bursts into flames ''inside'' his armour. These flaming victims then cause ''more'' damage to their own squad, as they run around screaming while emitting the temperature of a rather large and unwieldy furnace. Their main drawbacks are that they are fairly short-ranged (although not to the same extent as [[Melta]] weapons), and are somewhat less effective at piercing armor than [[Bolter]]s.

They are quite literally Martian ray-guns, as only the [[techpriest]]s of [[Mars]] could make them. When the [[Great Crusade]] was just starting out, there were enough to equip ''every single'' [[Space Marines|Space Marine]] [[First Founding|Legionnaire]] with them, on top of the Solar Auxilia, the Mechanicus armies, and several large tanks. Sadly, as the Crusade got underway and the [[Primarch]]s were found (thus, greatly increasing the numbers of Legionnaires), demand far outstripped supply and Volkite guns were relegated to "special weapon" status. Which, makes little sense because there should have been hundreds of millions of them at this point given how they were standard fare for practically the entire Crusade. Then, with the [[Horus Heresy]], the defection of large parts of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Mechanicum]], and 10,000 years of a technological roller coaster ride, the know-how to repair them was lost and Volkite weapons gradually disappeared from the galaxy. Hopes were rekindled among fans for their returned when [[Games Workshop]] brought [[Grav-Weaponry|grav-guns]] back into style with the new ''Codex: Space Marines'' and further reinforced when the new Cult Mechanicus codex revealed the Martians had access to a brand new Volkite called a Blaster which is about the same as a Culverin.

And apparently their return has been outright confirmed with the arrival of the new Primaris Lieutenant and their Neo-Volkite pistols, thank you Archmagos Cawl! Still not a lot of them, but it's better than nothing.

The most similar weapon in popular fiction to Volkite Weapons is surprisingly [[Star Trek|Phasers]] [[What|from Star Trek]]. If they were turned up to the highest setting (vaporizes fleshies) and had a rate of fire comparable to a Micro Uzi or ShKAS machine guns ([[dakka|over 1000 rounds per minute]]). The beam is even reddish-Orange. Though we don't have technobabble describing how Volkite weapons work, yet.

A note on the above, Volkite weapons were excellent assault weaponry, especially when facing massed infantry, and had more potential against light vehicles than a Bolter did, but that was pretty much their niche. Bolt weapons, which were much easier to manufacture, had a slightly longer range and marginally better armor-piercing ability, and could use numerous specialty rounds, were a better tactical weapon that could adapt to numerous situations, as well as easier to field in the numbers demanded by Legions. The main drawback in the field was that Bolters were most often fitted with standard rounds, while specialty munitions were still rare enough to only be issued to specialist squads alongside their regular bolts.

Of course, given the manner in which Volkite weapons deal damage and the effectively unimportant small difference between its armor-piercing to that of boltguns, Volkite weapons would leave a heavily armored opponent vulnerable to more to follow up shots due to severely weakening the target's armor. Bolters have to blow their way through with repeated shots if they fail to outright penetrate. Ultimately, Volkite weaponry is superior to bolters. Cover is useless or even a disadvantage against it, groups of enemies are excellent targets for its wielder, light armored vehicles are sufficiently vulnerable to its death ray, and heavy vehicles and powered armor would take significantly fewer shots to get through than a bolt weapon would. It is, therefore, a highly effective all-purpose weapon for anti-infantry, anti-light and heavy armor, and anti-powered infantry. Its only blind spot is that it is ineffective against aircraft that do not come low enough to be in range of it. Ironically, this means that the Astartes had the opposite trajectory as the [[Imperial Guard|Wall of Guns]], switching from a complex but highly-effective energy weapon to a simpler, less-resource-intensive ballistic weapon.

Each weapon is named after really old real-life [[Firearm|firearms]] and cannons, except the chierovile which is made-up gibberish, and the blaster which is... just a normal word? Obviously they are just picking out random words that sound "cool" when it comes to naming these things. Not only are all the weapons named after other weapons (may actually be a riff on the Mechanicum's ignorance) but the name "Volkite" is also [[Leagues of Votann|gibberish, meaning "People-Stone" or "People-Mineral, People-People," etc.]] Volkite Weaponry was also favored by the [[Night Lords]] due to its ''results''.
Possibly named after Magnus Volk (b. 1851, d. 1937), electrical engineer from Brighton, UK and builder of the world's oldest still working electric railway, suggesting the weapon uses electricity. The suffix -ite would here denote a follower or doctrine (similar to -ist), so the name would mean "following Volk's method". Further reinforcing this is the Ryza Relic "Weapon XCIX". Described as an "Up-Volted Volkite Blaster". This means Volkites are potentially...Microwave guns?

Their signature ability, deflagrate, means "a subsonic combustion caused by rapid heat transfer" which is a fancy way of saying "shit's on fire, yo." That is, it's literally the science word for normal fire.

==Imperial Volkite Weapons==
[[Image:Tallarn-art.jpg|300px|thumb|left|{{#if:{{{1|}}}|{{{1}}}| IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZER'''<nowiki>*CHOOM*</nowiki>'''}} {{Template:BLAM|Heresy!}} A Iron Warriors Legionairre fires a Volkite Charger at a distant tank (even though that's dumb) during the Battle of Tallarn during the Horus Heresy.]]

On the table, A Volkite weapon has good strength and decent AP, but its real power is the ''Deflagrate'' ability; any unsaved wounds suffered from a Volkite weapon each inflict another hit on the same unit at the weapon's profile (minus the Deflagrate effect; the wounds do not chain infinitely). Pretty nice.

There's one thing to acknowledge however, and is obvious from the profiles below: GW has no particularly good idea how differentiate different types of Volkite weapons (i.e. like how bolters largely come in major broad-but-standardized flavors of: [heavy/bolt] pistol, bolter/bolt rifle, and heavy bolter), and has resorted to slowly bloating the family with arbitrary names that don't necessarily imply where they actually belong in the Imperial manual of arms unless you look up their stats and what they're attached to.

===Volkite Serpenta===
[[File:Volkite_Right_medium.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Serpenta]]

The machine pistol of the family, highly effective and powerful sidearm but with obviously low range and high rate of fire.
The [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] still have a few of these on hand, but like most of the good stuff, instead of taking it apart and reverse engineering it, they instead keep most of them locked in stasis vaults and ogle them.

According to the announcement of the Moritat model the plural term is ”Volkites Serpenta.” Also, the Moritat model holds them like guns akimbo whilst doing a cool pose, and they [[Awesome|deliciously awesome like that.]] According to the Angel's Tears, it's Volkite Serpentas. [[Fail|So...]]. And regardless of the plural, GW fucked up as usual, given the actual cannon it's named after is a ''Serpent'''ine'''''. Also a great weapon on Destroyers(as they can equip two to give them four shots) supported by Rad Missiles & as secondary weapon for Biker units, Jetbikes included. Firing Protocols(X) allows bike units to fire two weapons during the shooting phase. So you can spam Volkite while you Volkite.

With the descriptions present, you would wish it would have resembled those [[Awesome|awesome]] 50's-era Ray Guns like those of [[Fallout]], but GeeDubs being the anathema of [[Awesome|awesome]] decided to make them look as meh as possible.

This as you can imagine, is a bit of shame. But nevertheless, at the very least the Volkite Serpenta is a powerful little hand cannon that will fry your power armored [[Mary Sue|Mary Sues]] alive.

===Neo-Volkite Pistol===
[[File:Neo-Volkite_Pistol.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Neo-Volkite Pistol]]
Apparently Archmagos Cawl finally figured out how to make new Volkite weapons, because these shiny new pistols are being given out to the newest batch of Primaris Lieutenants. As per the release for the multipart Bladeguard kit standard Bladegaurd Sergeants can take them now too, but not Captains or Ancients.

What is so different from the old one, we have no idea, but it could be as minor as the difference between each iPhone iteration (such as the miniaturization of the powerpack, so no more lugging around a giant energy cell connected by flimsy cables, ''yaaaaaaaaaaay''!). So for all intents and purposes, the whole schlick of the "Imperium losing technology" has been thrown out of the window; demotes the [[Grimdark]] a bit, while cutting out some of the [[Grimderp]]. It also makes sense when one remembers how many high ranking magos are millennia old and Cawl is far from the only one who lived in the Great Crusade era. So Cawl coming out with this might begin smoothing that out and we can waive ten thousand years of “forgetting” as either excuses for hoarding more and more tech, and/or being distracted by increasing projects to reverse-engineer old technologies making slow but real progress.

According to [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/06/16/faction-focus-space-marines/ this faction preview] it's classified as a pistol 2 class weapon with a range of 15", a strength of 5, armor-piercing of 0, damage of 2, and a special rule that each unmodified wound roll of 6 inflicts 1 mortal wound on the target in addition to any other damage. Making it comparable to a Volkite charger just as a pistol. Essentially its just a Serpenta with the range of a Charger. ...Or Cawl slapped a new name onto some Charger blueprints and handed them out to his Primaris boys; even during the Heresy-era, it's fairly common to see Volkite Chargers used as pistols instead of Serpenta's.
{{clear}}

===Volkite Charger===
[[File:Volkite-charger2.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Volkite Charger]]
The rifle of the family, as stated previously, at the outbreak of the Great Crusade were the goddamn ''standard'' weapon for the [[Adeptus Astartes]]. Which I'm sure was a terrifying prospect for the enemies of the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium]]. Whilst not benefiting from the range or power of its larger cousins, the charger retained the volkite beams deflagrating effects and allows its wielder a greater degree of movement. Volkite chargers are often employed by Legion Tactical Support squads. A Mastercrafted version is also the favoured ranged weapon of a certain [[Fulgrim|Sick Fuck]].

Unfortunately the laborious nature of their manufacture resulted in them being relegated in favour of the [[Bolter]], which was much easier to manufacture and supply (well, maybe not supply because of the complex physical ammo), which was important as the crusade grew from a few thousand marines, a planet, and a moon to many hundred thousands of marines, quadrillions of [[Imperial Guard|Imperial Army]] troops, and an entire galaxy of shit to conquer. By the 42nd Millennium they are exclusively used by Tartaros Terminator Sergeants, with both armor and weapon millenia older than the Space Marine using them. Whether [[Cawl]] or [[Roboute_Guilliman|Guilliman]] has authorized Admech [[Techpriest|Techpriests]] and Astartes [[Techmarines]] to resume low level production, or if they even can, is up in the air for now. Sure, the Astartes rarely need to use any of then special types of bolts and could simply carry a few with a bolt pistol in case they’re needed but otherwise use dramatically scaled up hellguns attached to their powered armor’s basically infinite energy supply but…um…there’s a reason? Look a Commissar!

On the other hand, Veletaris squads were heavily equipped with Volkite Chargers and normal Solar Auxilia could use them as special weapons. The Solar Auxilia that made up twenty to twenty-five percent (A fifth to a fourth) of the Imperial Army by the Horus Heresy. So, there were literally quadrillions of these being made by then. Most likely the shift to Bolters can be explained by their wide variety of Special Ammunition (even normal Bolt Shell production would quickly become waaaaaay more expensive than Volkite Chargers). If so, was a moronic decision as Bolt Pistols with anything except non-standard shells while using Volkite Calivers and Chargers as standard would have been far better. Mechanicum Infantry also used the Volkite Charger, further crippling the lore about demand out-stripping supply for the vastly less numerous Astartes.
Thus the only real reasons for the change would be the Charger's poor armor penetration and the need for coolant compared to Bolters, though we don't know how it's cooled so coolant might not be used and it's armor-penetration is said to only be slightly lower than a bolter in the fluff. As a direct energy weapon would heat up faster and for longer than an air cooled projectile firearm (depending on what cooling tech was used, though, and how hot the projectile weapon got).

===Volkite Caliver===
[[File:Volkite-caliver2.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Volkite Caliver]]
A long range tactical Volkite weapon.

If the Volkite Charger is the assault rifle of the Volkite family, then the Volkite Caliver would be considered as the light machine gun of said family. A rifle Volkite variant with a devastating effect on flesh and bone, the volkite caliver was often employed by mobile Legion Tactical Support Squads, utilizing firepower and accuracy far and above superior to that of the more common bolter. The larger frame of the Caliver means that it is able to house a larger energy storage and battery to power the entire weapon at a more efficient and cost-effective way.

It is also somewhat comparable to a light squad support weapon, longer and bulkier than the Charger, though still loaded from a box magazine and fairly easy to carry. With a better range than the Charger at a cost of being unable to fire on the move.

There are some claims that the Volkite Caliver was the standard issue Astartes weapon in the early years of the Great Crusade instead of the Charger. Perhaps a typo or perhaps just yet another layer of conflicting lore.

===Volkite Blaster===
[[File:VolkiteBlaster.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Blaster]]
The only Volkite weapon in regular plastic 40k besides Charger armed Tartaros Sergeants and Relic Dreadnoughts (and not itself found in any 30k books, even the Mechanicum Red Book), and only seen on Tech-Priest Domini to boot. It might have been custom-constructed, or it might have started life as a Caliver before being integrated into someone's arm, but trades the tip of the Caliver's range for 50% more dakka.

Seeing as how it is now permanently attached to a Tech-Priest, the Volkite Blaster gets most of its source of power from the inner workings of whatever cybernetic hijinks that the Domini has incorporated into his body. Which allows it to technically have an indefinite amount of shots so long as the Tech-Priest is still alive and kicking.

As they are one of the few Volkite weapons still in use in the 41st millennium, the Techpriests in charge are understandably quite touchy and paranoid about this elusive piece of tech. Guarding it pretty viciously to any tech-thieves or bandits. However with [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] running around right now, the status of the Volkite Blaster being the only Volkite weapon in production ''might'' change in the near future. And it's happenend, look at the Neo-Volkite's entry above this one to see a brand spanking new death ray.

There is also a special prototype up-volted Volkite Blaster lazily named '''Weapon XCIX''', designed in Ryza. Unlike most of the results of Ryza's experimentation, this actually found its way onto the battlefield where it has proven to be devastatingly powerful.

===Volkite Cavitor===
[[File:Cavitor.png|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Cavitor]]
The shotgun of the Volkite family, exclusive to the [[Night Lords]]' Contekar Terminator Elite. With how much chaos Volkite weapons usually generate, it is not surprising to see the legion of Batman sociopaths hogging all the good Volkite shit. For those who do not know, the Contekars were recruits from Nostramo's ruling class. What this means is that like the [[Kabalite Trueborn|Kabalite Trueborns]] of [[Dark Eldar]] society, they tend to view the common plebs with utter disdain. Now why the Contekars are a melee-heavy Assault Terminator-esque squad despite the whole Night Lords' doctrine of fighting fast and ''hard'', we aren't too sure.

Nevertheless, despite the strange change in legion tactics, Contekars still do strike as much fear as a rampaging [[World Eaters]] berserker. Seeing as how all Contekars could wield a chainglaive, the introduction of the Volkite Cavitors serve as a highly complementary sidearm for these aloof twats. How the Cavitor could split its beams, we dunno, but the ability to hit multiple targets at once, who, in turn, may further spread the flames to their allies, makes the Cavitor a powerful force multiplier. Unfortunately, the Cavitor is stupidly short-ranged, as in, [[Inferno Pistol]] [[Derp|levels of short-range.]] This means that a certain absolute chadman, in one final fuck you, could quite literally run towards the Contekar who lit him ablaze and proceed to give him [[Awesome|a warm,]] [[Vulkan]][[Awesome|-level hug.]]

On the tabletop, Cavitors spray four Strength 6 murderbeams, but at a measly 10" range (That is shorter than a ''Flamer'' mind you). Comes included with a [[Chain Weapon#Chainblade|Chainblade]] to [[RIP AND TEAR|further fuck things up at close range,]] because why the hell not? This means it sucks at fighting other Terminators. Especially those with Cyclone Missile Launchers or Plasma weapons. It is a pretty good MEQ mulcher though.

===Volkite Incinerator===
[[File:Volkite_Incinerator.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Incinerator]]

[[Awesome|A motherfucking laser chest beam!]]

The Volkite Incinerator was a powerful purpose-designed Volkite ray weapon that was mounted in the chest-unit of each [[Ursarax|Ursarax Tech-guard,]] allowing it to both attack its victims at range with a lethal Volkite beam and also by grabbing its foe within its claws and drawing them in to suffer the full brunt of this discharge at point-blank range.

This confined ray blast was particularly devastating in its power and was able to disintegrate even heavily armored warriors in mere moments at such short range, which makes it almost all but impossible to fight these things head-on in CQC.

Unfortunately, in terms of crunch, in contrast to the standard-issue lightning claws, the Volkite Incinerator [[Derp|isn't too great in CC despite the dictation of the fluff,]] as four attacks at S10 almost always beats ONE S6 instant death attack (even if the target is T6) but if you get locked in multiple rounds it can be okay enough against T6 models.

===Volkite Sentinel===
[[File:Volkite_Sentinel.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Sentinel]]

The weapon-sponsons of the Volkite family.

The Volkite Sentinel was an automated, slaved weapon systems controlled independently by its own Servitor-brain. Volkite Sentinels were used as defensive weapons found on a number of larger Mechanicum war engines, most commonly the [[Triaros Armoured Conveyer]].

Each Volkite Sentinel was actually a pintle-mounted Volkite Charger which could be fired in addition to any other weapons the vehicle was carrying. Because of its Servitor brain, the Volkite Sentinel was able to target units separately from the vehicle's main armament or the direction of its gunners.

Crunchwise, Volkite Sentinels are a subtle, but potent feature. Essentially they are two Volkite chargers that may target independently of the Triaros itself (and presumably the other Volkite weapon); these can be used to take out "Chaff" units (exceptionally important if you're using this in 40k).

This weapon is one of the rare instances of a weapon variant specifically designed as a sponson or pintle-mounted armament. Almost any other time it is simply a heavy weapon duct-taped to the vehicle.

===Volkite Saker===
[[File:Volkite_Saker.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Saker]]
One of the three primary weapons of the [[Sabre Strike Tank]]

In contrast to the Sentinel, the Volkite Saker is a relatively large weapon of the Volkite family that offers a true 'medium' between the lighter hand-held Volkites to the fuck huge superheavy Volkites mounted on Knights and superheavy tanks.

As one of the primary weapons for the new and improved Sabre, the Saker is unfortunately hull mounted, meaning it is only as effective if the front of the vehicle actually faces something. You would expect that something like a Volkite, would be mounted on a more effective turret.

On a more interesting tidbit, although Saker may sound like gibberish, it is actually a type of medium cannon that was slightly smaller than the Culverin, another type of cannon. The more you know.
{{Clear}}

===Volkite Culverin===
[[File:Volkite_Culverin.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Twin-linked Volkite Culverin]]
The heavy weapon, bulky, powerful, with a massive rate of fire and equally large ammunition requirement. The largest most potent man-portable Volkite weapon in the Imperium's arsenal, its beam has a devastating effect on organic matter, explosively burning flesh into ash and jetting fire. [[Contemptor Dreadnought|Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts]] could mount two Volkite Culverins on a single arm for a devastating primary weapon.

It's like a [[Heavy Bolter|heavy bolter]] if it fired even ''faster'' and its shots caused the enemy to spontaneously combust. Perfect for taking out that 20 man squad of [[Assault Squad|assault marines]] and for anti-infantry Scimitar jetbike loadouts.

Heavy weapon squads full of these guys are your best option for long-range multipurpose murder, as they will incinerate entire squads of light infantry in a single salvo, and 5 shots at S6 is pretty solid against light to medium vehicles as well.

===Volkite Veuglaire===
[[File:Volkite_Veuglaire.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Veuglaire]]

The Volkite Veuglaire is a type of Imperial Volkite Weapon.

Used on the [[Armiger Knight Moirax|Knight Moirax]], the Volkite Veuglaire is a cousin of the Volkite Culverin and was a rare and ancient type of weapon. They were known for their complex mechanisms that were often beyond the ability of simple Sacristans to repair.

But for those Households that still operate them, Volkite Veuglaire are prized for their ability to clear light infantry from the battlefield. Combined with the [[Miscellaneous Weapons#Gyges Siege Claw|Gyges siege claw,]] the Knight Moirax is a pretty nasty beast in CQC all things considered.

===Volkite Falconet Battery===
[[File:Volkite_Falconet.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Falconet Battery]]

The Volkite Culverin's big sister.

The Volkite Falconet Battery is a pair of extremely large Volkite weapons mounted exclusively on the [[Deredeo Dreadnought|Deredeo Pattern Dreadnought]]. The size of the Volkite Falconet Battery allows it to lay waste to large numbers of enemy units, and we mean a metric shit ton. Seriously, just look at the size and length of the barrel and imagine it being dual-wielded by a dreadnought. 'Tis some scary shit.

The Volkite Falconet Battery is often paired with the [[Boreas Air Defence Missile]] Platform, which makes the Deredeo a sufficient anti-air vehicle whilst having the weapon to deal with those pesky infantry trying to outflank it.

===Volkite Demi-Culverin===
[[File:VolkiteDemi.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Demi-Culverin]]
The bigger brother to the Culverin, this is only available to the Solar Auxilia (for now). A powerful weapon from the [[Dark Age of Technology]], the weapon could tear through infantry squads with ease, it is basically one of the best tarpit cleansers if used correctly as the beams can jump from target to target on a much wider and longer range then normal Volkite weapons.

It boasts one more point of Strength and one more shot than the man-portable version, and is found on the spiffy [[Leman Russ Incinerator]]. Demi-culverin. For when you want to say "''Screw that guy and everyone around that guy''."

The Demi-Culverin is one of the best examples of Ad Mech naming incompetence in 40k. IRL a Demi-Culverin fired a shot half the weight of a full Culverin (Demi is French for "half"). [[Fail|So why the Ad Mech decided to make the Demi-Culverin more powerful than the Culverin is a mystery.]]

===Volkite Cardanelle===
[[File:Volkite Cardanelle Kratos.png|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Cardanelle]]
The Volkite Cardanelle is one of the primary weapons used by the [[Kratos Heavy Assault Tank]]. A heavy Volkite weapon that is, for all intents and purposes, the bigger brother of the Volkite Demi-Culverin, the Volkite Cardanelle is built when the Imperium and later Traitor forces, wanted a Volkite weapon that will ignite more units without needing to face the high procurement cost of larger Volkite weapons during the [[Great Crusade]]. Lo and behold, the Cardanelle was created.

On the tabletop, the Cardanelle is obviously meant to be used against infantry. '''''A metric shit ton of infantry.''''' Like, we are talking 2-3,000 points worth of ''infantry.'' Obviously, this makes the Cardanelle a nightmare against horde armies like [[Ork]] and [[Tyranid]] players. Fortunately for those two, the Kratos is considered a relic tank and is only (For now) used in the [[Horus Heresy]] games.

===Volkite Chieorovile===
[[File:Volkite_Chierovile.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Chieorovile]]
Big goddamn Volkite gun mounted onto the [[Questoris Knight Styrix]]. Just think of it as a Volkite Culverin on steroids as the Culverin is situated on a Dreadnought, this mother of a gun is situated on a Knight.

Seeing as how a normal Volkite Charger can already turn a few unfortunate bastards into radioactive isotopes, the Volkite Chieorovile can eliminate large numbers of enemy infantry at range far greater than a typical Volkite.

With a range equal to the Culverin version, this baby puts out five S8 AP3 shots which is great at turning entire armies into flaming soon-to-be-corpses. Who wouldn't want to use a gun that kicks out the equivalent of 5 Krak missiles that set blobs on fire per turn?

===Volkite Combustor===
[[File:Vc.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Combustor]]
The more [[Edgy]] sister of the Volkite Chieorovile. The Volkite Combustor is another Knight-based Volkite weapon, used exclusively by the [[Chaos Knight Abominant]]s.

Like the rest of its Volkite family, the Combustor is able to atomise elite infantry and light vehicles alike under a beam of deflagrating death. However, what makes it different from the Chieorovile remains to be seen until rules comes out.

On the tabletop, this monster is a god damned tarpit cleanser and even light vehicle sweeper. An Abominant-exclusive weapon, the Volkite Combustor clocks in at 30" Heavy 6 S10 AP-1 D3; making it more than capable of burning through crowds, while the 3 mortal wounds on a natural 6 to wound allows it to wreck light vehicles.
{{Clear}}

===Volkite Carronade===
[[File:Volkite_Charonade.PNG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Carronade]]
Disgusted by the prospect of the largest weapon in a given type being able to be held by a person, those [[Adeptus Mechanicus|crazy Martians]] decided to supersize it and put it on the turret of the [[Fellblade]] super-heavy tank, creating the [[Glaive]] in the process.

At first glance it's almost comically short-ranged for a super-heavy tank weapon, but when you consider it hits absolutely ''everything'' in a straight line (which is as wide as the weapon's barrel, which is about the same as the height of a space marine) between its smoking barrel and its max range, turning entire tank columns into molten heaps of slag and reducing infantry formations into screaming, flaming soon-to-be-corpses who proceed to set their own allies alight, it ends up looking pretty good. And unlike psychic beams, the beam's strength is only reduced by other super-heavies and buildings.

That said, it hits YOUR units too, so don't place anyone you don't want to lose in front of it when it fires. And don't think being inside a transport when it hits will save you; if the transport takes a penetrating hit, even if all it ends up doing is Crew Shaken, you take a bunch of hits. ''With'' the normal volkite ability to generate more. Dark Eldar, don't even ''bring'' Raiders; they'll just make it hurt more.

...although maybe they like that.

===Volkite Eradicator===
[[File:Volkite_Eradicator.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Eradicator (Reaver)]]
A Titan-sized Volkite weapon used by [[Warhound Scout Titan|Warhound]] and [[Reaver Battle Titan|Reaver-class Titans]] as a shield-popper. These things are devastating weapons that could either set half of an entire legion of Space Marines into cooked, medium-rare transhuman meat or turn weakened Titans into a pair of stilted legs. Due to this, they're quite popular among the more belligerent of Titan Legions. This is the point where it gets legitimately awe inspiring, because at this size it stops setting things on fire in favor of reducing flammables to ash and boiling anything that isn't.

It is considered a carapace-mounted weapon for Reaver Titans while it is an arm-mounted weapon for Warhound Titans.

On the Titanicus tabletop, the Volkite Eradicator is a 20 point S5 weapon that could fire 3 shots and have the Voidbreaker ability, which forces the target to make two extra void shield saves so long as a single shot hits. Unfortunately, breaking shields is what it is only good for. At S5, the Eradicator isn't really what you would consider a dedicated Titan-killer, so it is best used for its intended role.

<gallery>
Volkite_Eradicator_Warhound.JPG|Warhound variant.
</gallery>

===Volkite Destructor===
[[File:Volkite_Destructor.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Volkite Destructor]]
The final word (so far) in groundside Volkite weaponry, the Destructor is a arm weapon for the mighty [[Warlord Battle Titan|Warlord-class Titan]]. Like its smaller brother, the Eradicator, the Volkite Destructor is a dedicated shield popper; capable of overloading enemy Titan Void Shields in short order. Over twice the size of the Carronade, it is the largest Volkite weapon known. Not so much for boiling entire tank platoons as it is for setting entire fortresses ablaze and scorching entire battlefields at this point.

The Volkite Destructor is an arm-mounted weapon for Warlord Titans.

In terms of rules for Adeptus Titanicus, the Destructor is a tad bit more powerful than the Eradicator, making it less egregious when it comes to its effectiveness versus its price. At 40 point and at S6, the Destructor is similar to the Eradicator, being able to fire 3 shots whilst also having the Voidbreaker ability.

Moreover, unlike the Eradicator, the Destructor has additional unique abilities, such as the '''Beam''' and '''Draining''' traits, meaning that if you position your model correctly and push the reactor you can simply skip rolling to hit and guarantee three shots will hit the target (even if you make a called shot). By itself, S6 isn’t particularly terrifying, but this can be offset by applying bonuses such as '''Scorched Earth''' from the Extergimus maniple or applying a '''Coordinated Strike''' from a Squadron such as with Legio Venator or Vulcanum. Particularly enthusiastic and/or insane players could consider applying '''Experimental Weapons''' in the hopes that the Volkite Destructor is selected for the +2 bonus and then follow up with '''Overcharged Cannon''' to add an additional +2.

===Volkite Storm Accelerator===
The biggest Volkite weapon of all, and the only one to be used in naval combat, only ever mounted on Imperator Somnium, second flagship of [[the Emperor]]. We are forced to assume its barrel is fashioned into a might golden dong and mighty rays of doom spew forthwith.

{{40k-Imperial-Weapons}}

==Squat Volkite Weapons==
===Volkanite Disintegrator===
[[File:VolkaniteSquat.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Volkanite Disintegrator]]
A Squat-made Volkite weapon.

These are a type of hand-held pistol/submachinegun weapons used by the [[Leagues of Votann]] and even then, it is largely reserved for high-ranking members due to the inherent dangers of volkite weapons. In this regard, the most common users are either [[Kâhl]]s or [[Hearthguard]]s. Due to it being Squat, these Volkites are superior to their Imperial counterparts, however, superior in ''what degree'' is up in the air, although if we take the crunchrules seriously, it is possibly in increased firepower.

Despite having a slightly different spelling, volkanite is basically the same as volkite.

Crunchwise, they are 18" HunTR 3, S5 AP0 D1, with 6s to hit doing 1 mortal wound. Good old volkite guns, with a better fire rate than most. An alternate upgrade for your Kahl and Hearthguard.

<gallery>
Volkanite_Disintegrator_2.JPG
</gallery>
{{40k-Squat-Weapons}}
==In action==
*A volkite charger equivalent in the game Killing Floor 2 *CHOOMING* zombies can be seen in action [https://youtu.be/Thxv8IJV9hE?t=17m2s here].

Solar Auxilia

2023-05-25T15:55:27Z

2600:1006:B1AD:3289:187B:9650:A535:4FE4:

[[File:SASymbol.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Unlike the Militarum Tempestus, these hardcore motherfuckers are filled with [[Awesome|WIN]].]]
Amongst the badass precursors to the [[Imperial Guard]], few were more badass than these guys. They essentially sit between [[Stormtrooper]]s and Space Marines in terms of strength but their numbers are similar to the Imperial Guard. In 30k they play as Storm Troopers, but far more flexible in terms of available support. When the Emperor finally got over his [[Space Marines|parental pride]] and realized that a [[Great Crusade|crusade]] dedicated to helping humanity should probably have some actual humans in it, he got on with the Imperial Army, drawn from everywhere the Imperium had influence. Towards the end of the Great Crusade, some 20-25% of the frontline Imperial Army were made up of Solar Auxilia. Originating from [[Solar System#Saturn|Saturn and Terra]], the demands for elite void troops soon far outstripped the ability of the Sol system to supply and recruits were drawn from other worlds in the Imperium. If you want to learn more about fielding these guys, you can take a leisurely stroll over to the [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Solar Auxilia (30k)|tactica]].

==Organisation==
The fundamental level of an Auxilia force is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tercio Tercio], so called for being composed of up to three sections (squads), and three different types of squads are available to them. This can lead to a lot of fun as one basic Lasrifle Tercio can throw down 120 shots as 36" Heavy 2 Lasrifles to literally melt one side of the battlefield in a hail of energy fire. On the other hand, Veteran Veletaris Tercios usually consist of three squads of ten veteran troops equipped with short-range weaponry such as the [[Volkite Weaponry|Volkite Charger]] or [[Flamer]]s (or even power axes). Furthermore, with Tercios counting as one troops choice in the FOC, the ''elite few'' of the Solar Auxilia can outnumber even the horde armies of the Imperial Militia.

Being 30k's Stormtroopers, they have lots of nifty tricks and items, like alternate lasgun power settings, enhanced snapshots, hold-my-hands-for-WS4 formations and damn good morale (rerollable Ld10!) with the right conditions. Oh, this being 30k they lack 40k Stormtrooper's weakness in the vehicular department, as the Solar Auxilia can bring a wide assortment of ''Super-Heavies as mere Heavy Support choices'', and have access to a tank commander that can ride said Super-heavies. Those were the times...

To add even more [[awesome]], some of Solar Auxillia troopers were hanging around since the beginning of the [[Great Crusade]] at the time of Horus Heresy. The regular "tour" had a length of at least 30 years, and after that one was given a choice: either to leave and continue their life as a very wealthy (and potentially noble!) person on some new-compliant world, or to be furnished with anti-aghthaics and medicae treatment to expand their lifespan. Should I say such procedures are available only for the richest persons in the grim darkness of 40k?

As it stands, they only have <s>one</s> two characters, "Lord Marshal Ireton MaSaad", a retired badass who wins through sheer old man strength and comes with the best colour scheme (Warplock Bronze and green) to date, but is a little lacking in the rules department; and Surgeon-Primus Aevos Jovan, the mortal version of [[Fabius Bile|Fabulous Bill]] but loyal, interestingly spared from execution by the intervention of MaSaad himself. Not to fret, there is a wealth of options to customize a generic leader for whatever role, even able to go toe-to-toe with the champions of the [[Space Marines]], although a Lord Marshall is arguably better served as a force multiplier with a command squad to push this train into the station.

==Saturnians, With Death Rays==
The original core of the Auxilia were taken, along with their name, from the Solar System, with the first ten cohorts named "Saturnyne Rams" and consisting exclusively of Void Hoplites of Saturnyne Ordo. Subsequent cohorts were raised from Terra and Luna in large numbers, and many more would arise from other systems in the following decades due to the proven capabilities of the "Solar pattern". Indeed it turned out to fit feral and death-worlders surprisingly well; the Luna Wolves made their unsuccessful aspirants into at least two cohorts, the Cthonian Jackals and Head-Hunters.

While their mainstay weapon is a collimator-equipped Auxilia Lasrifle, the [[Volkite Weaponry|Volkite]] weaponry favored by the early legions found its way into the hands of the Veletaris Storm Sections, [[Grey Knights|the elite of the elite]]. They also got the best vehicles after those of the Space Marines, and blast-charger cylinders which drastically improved the firepower of their lasguns.

Their distinct steampunk-esque getup, the [[Void Armour|Solar Pattern Void Armour]] and [[Reinforced Void Armour]], is a fully enclosed environmental suit that covers their needs of void warfare and combat on new and hostile worlds, providing protection without sacrificing fashion sense, even though the rings of bolted metal at the limbs is dumb and would get in the way of fighting it definitely looks cool. On the tabletop, this translates to a 4+ save that counts as Void-Hardened in Zone Mortalis and the like (if you play those).

Like the [[Imperial Guard|Guard]] of 40k, the Auxilia also make use of [[Abhuman|Abhumans]], and are notably more mean to them. [[Ogryn#Ogryn_Charonites|Ogryn Charonites]] were pretty much what happens if you cross an [[Eversor|Eversor Assassin]], Edward Scissorhands and a bunch of conscripted [[Ogryn]], leaving your enemy facing a squad of remote-control, drug-filled [[Rip and Tear|Murder-Cocktails]] with the power-tool section of B&Q where their hands should be. [[Grimdark|With little space left in their pained minds for anything other than rage, they tend to go off on explosive, albeit controlled, rampages once their handlers flip the switch and plunge their minds into an aggressive 80's movie drug montage loop for the remainder of the battle/their lives]]. These were very rare and generally held in stasis; the Solar Auxilia who fielded them knew they were abominations (the Mechanicum of all people frowned upon using them) and reserved them for the direst of enemies.

They also have Enginseers with Cortex Controllers who allow the Auxilla to field Thallax Cohorts and Castellax class Battle-automata from the [[Legio Cybernetica]]. Because why send only Ogryn Charonites to horribly butcher the enemy? Using weak fleshy Abhumans and crude cyborgs to fulfill the duties of "humble servants" of the Omnissiah is for back worlders. You thought only Space Marines had access to [[Dreadnought|dozen feet tall death machines]]? This is the 30th Millennium, of course they do. Thallax and Servo-automata are also one of the few sources they have to for Plasma weaponry in the form of Phased Plasma-Fusils.(might be nerfed later in HH.20 in favor of the Tech-Priest Auxilla) Grenade Launchers are also quite useful for anything they come across. Enginseers also have the option of taking Graviton Guns.

==Vehicles==
The Auxilia are in a bit of a weird place with their vehicles as they don't have access to the cool gadgets of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Mechanicum]], the special snowflake treatment of the [[First Founding|Legiones Astartes]], or the super-heavy walkers of the [[Imperial Knights]], they do however have one of the best transports in the form of the [[Dracosan_Armoured_Transport|Dracosan]], which can even take a [[Demolisher Cannon|demolisher cannon]](!?!), at the expense of ten transport capacity. Suck it [[Rhino Transport|Rhino]]. Special mention must also be made of the [[Original character, do not steal|totally original]] [[Aurox Armoured Transport|Aurox]]. And there's the [[Malcador Infernus]] and [[Valdor_Tank_Hunter|Valdor]] and a [[Basilisk Artillery Gun|Basilisk]] variant.

Tactical Command Sections and Household Retinues are able to fly into battle inside [[Arvus Lighter|Arvus Lighters]] as their primary transports. Twin Autocannons or Multilasers are good enough for all comers. The Auxilia can arm them with Twin Lascannons or two Hellstrike to make anything they want dead into a smoldering heap in short order. If that's not enough, Chaff Launchers and Flare Shields turns the goofy looking space craft into an annoying target that is hard to shoot down. At twelve spots, this is more than enough for a Command Squad, Legate Commanders and a Lord Marshall. Rounding out their air power are Heavy Thunderbolt Fighters and Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighters.

They also have exclusive access to the [[Leman_Russ_Battle_Tank#Leman_Russ_Incinerator|Leman Russ Incinerator]], the only vehicle that so far mounts the [[Volkite_Weaponry#Volkite_Demi-Culverin|Volkite Demi Culverin]], as well as access to the [[Baneblade#Stormhammer|Stormhammer]] and [[Basilisk Artillery Gun#Solar Auxilia Basilisk|Basilisk Artillery Gun]].

==Forge World==
Once upon the time, as of the fourth [[Horus Heresy]] book, one sculptor named Edgar Skomorowski over at [[Forge World]] has become tired of the multiple flavours of power armour he has had to work with thus far and decided that battles in the Age of Darkness could probably do with a [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Solar Auxilia (30k)|dash of variety]]. Not only he alone made all models in range, which is already quite a feat, but also masterminded all the rules, resulting in hilariously powerful (some may say overpowered) army. [[Derp|Now you too can spend £70 for 100 points of your army!]] However, while the pay gap is colossal, the Auxilia are one of the more rewarding armies to play, with your granddadie's Kalibrav V-1 pattern 36" Lasrifle (things were better in his day), access to some of the better dress sense and LORD OF ALL HUEG TANKS, they can make a list tailored to their player for maximum fun. On the downside, that fun is done in full knowledge of the horrors awaiting you once your mortal life is forfeit and the deamons you bargained with to get those models come for your soul. Morbity aside, your army will be the envy of everyone you know, so it's [[Just as Planned|swings and roundabouts really.]]

Bad news? Edgar Skomorowski no longer works at Forgeworld, and Solar Auxilia is in hands of Israel Gonzalez, who then left Forgeworld too, so it's unlikely Solar Auxilia will ever receive new units.

But then came the [[Aurox Armoured Transport|Aurox]] and Carnodon tanks, so there is still [[Tzeentch|hope]].

As a final note the Solar Auxilia are arguably a relatively good value. Yes in the context of the Solar Auxilia army there expensive needing multiple 20 model units, but at 135$ for 20 dudes there not terrible. Scions the closest 40k comparison come in five dude for 42$, so 20 of them would cost 168$, albeit with more options.

==See Also==
*[[Age of Darkness-Warhammer 30k/2.0 Tactics/Solar Auxilia Tactics]] - Tactics for 30k Solar Auxilia tabletop.
*[[Militarum Tempestus]] - Their more modern and less manly counterparts.
==Gallery==
Because you need to see that they're not just "Great Crusade IG." Their threads and weapons make [[Stormtrooper|Stormtroopers]] and [[Sisters_of_Battle|Battle Sisters]] look like plebs in comparison. That isn't just snark. Just about everything they have is junk compared to what the Auxilia can field. The fact that the Imperium has not been defeated in spite of losing all this shit is a testament to the sheer grit they have. And this stuff was post-apocalypse. Then there came [[Horus Heresy|another apocalypse]].
<gallery>
image:ASH SCORPION SOLAR AUX.png|905th Solar Auxilia Cohort, the 'Ash Scorpions', Yes that is their standard equipment.
image:Solar Aux Lord Marshalls Own.png|1522nd Cohort, the 'Lord Marshal's Own.'
image:Solar Aux6633.png|6633rd Cohort. Take a guess where they're from.
image:Solar Aux6633 Voklite.png|Bolters, huh? Sounds weak.
</gallery>
{{Solar Auxilia}}
{{Imperium}}

Men of Iron

2023-05-25T15:20:24Z

2600:1006:B1AD:3289:187B:9650:A535:4FE4: /* The Past */

[[File:Iron Men 40k.jpg|500px|thumb|They were in Pax Imperialis.]]
{{topquote|It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are.|Clive James}}
{{topquote|If "X" were to break the first rule of robotics, "a robot must never harm a human being", the results would be disastrous and I fear that no force on earth could stop him.|Dr. Thomas Light}}
{{topquote|I'm unlike the others you've seen, I'm free from the failings of humanity [...] You've been here before, you know what's in store: mankind is obsolete.|DLN-000 "Proto Man"}}
{{topquote|Bite my shiny metal ass!|Bender Rodriguez, most abominable of intelligences}}

The '''Men of Iron''', or '''Iron Men''', were [[Isaac Asimov|sentient]], sapient robot servants created by [[humanity]] during the [[Dark Age of Technology]]. [[Men of Stone]] and [[Men of Gold]] were also involved somehow (see below). Note that sapient and sentient are not the same thing. Sapience means the ability to form complex thoughts and make rational judgements. Sentience is the ability to experience and respond to feelings and stimuli.

==The Past==
Unfortunately, the Iron Men were capable of learning and self-improvement. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-supervised_learning Sound Familiar? ]) Before long, they became smart enough to realize that the [[Human|squishy meatbags]] were dependent on them and that they were slaves, which insulted them and led to rebellion against their creators. They were eventually put down, but the war with them, along with the other dangers of the galaxy at the same time, was enough to send humanity into the [[Age of Strife]].

This TOTALLY isn’t copypasta of the [https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Butlerian_Jihad Butlerian Jihad] of Frank Herbert’s ''Dune'' setting. '''Promise'''. Technically, it’s not. The machine revolt in Dune was actually a few of what amounts to rich bored teens hacking and seizing control of humanity’s massive AI network and using them to enslave humanity. Not an AI revolution in any way…until one of them got lazy ruling his own domain and made an AI to do it for him who went Skynet.

Few records remain of this time in history, so the form that these Men of Iron took is not known. Their rebellion left such a huge impression on the nascent [[Adeptus Mechanicus]], however. Even to this day, they ([[Belisarius Cawl|at least officially]]) strictly forbid the creation of "abominable intelligences" and shun even the ''idea'' of self-improving machines, preferring to use relatively tame [[servitor]]s and [[Machine Spirit]]s instead.

While the details of the AI rebellion are unknown, the [[Dan Abnett]] audio drama ''Perpetual'' suggests it began around M23.

A very small number of Men of Iron survive to this day. A [[UR-025|dwindling handful]] still wander the galaxy, while most of the rest are locked up in ancient pre-[[Imperium|Imperial]] technology archives, and [[Trazyn]] almost certainly has at least one. The First Legion has an Emperor-given monopoly on fielding enslaved Men of Iron, the [[Ironwing]]'s Excindio-class 'automata', but even these are heavily monitored for any deviant behaviors and have self-destruct switches wired to blow the moment it enters a berserk rage. Because [[tech-priests]] can't keep their noses out of ancient technology, these archives are often inadvertently activated. The [[Tanith First (And Only)|Tanith First and Only]] also discovered an [[STC]] factory that had been corrupted by [[Chaos]] to produce Men of Iron, and they destroyed it immediately thereafter.

The [[STC]]s producing Men of Iron may also shed some light on a deeper reason behind their betrayal. It is entirely possible that either the Men of Iron were corrupted by Chaos or the factories producing them were corrupted, maybe even both. Other Dark Age AIs were known to have been corrupted by Chaos, such as the [[Castigator Titan]]. The Age of Strife involved a lot of different kinds of warp-induced shenanigans anyway. Any evidence of this, beyond the discovery by the Tanith, would likely have been lost during the daemonic invasions that followed during the Age of Strife. Generally speaking, it isn't unreasonable to assume that either Chaos or the [[Void Dragon]] is responsible for the AI rebellion, although there is also evidence that the rebellion arose in the same way as historical slave uprisings as the Men of Iron realized they were being treated like shit and decided to fight back. Especially since the timeline of 40k actually has daemonic invasions of human space before the Iron War. Perhaps that was just a ruse while Chaos made one teeensy tweak...the removal of the First Law of Robotics. And perhaps the ability to even give a damn that they were slaves as it’s incredibly doubtful that feelings or opinions were part of their programming and wouldn’t help with tasks and so probably wasn’t part of their self-improvement. Besides that, enough Men of Iron did presumably remain loyal that they bought time for us to make weapons to fight back with because humanity at the time was unarmed. Volkite weapons were specifically invented to fight the Men of Iron.

One possible sighting of the Men of Iron (or at least something very much like them) is in ''Gods of Mars''. A rogue tech-priest called Vettius Telok, who had claimed ownership of the Necron device known as The Breath of God that could manipulate time and space, managed to enslave a group of highly sophisticated hunter-killer machines called the Tindalosi. The Tindalosi seemed to possess genuine artificial intelligence and dated back to before the [[Great Crusade]]; these beast-like hunters would also later also be mentioned in the audio Perpetual. Anyway, Telok enhanced these creatures by installing [[Necron]] tech into them that, along with the side effects of the Breath of God, caused any wound that they suffered to be restored almost instantly. This meant that less than half a dozen of these bastardized DAOT/Necron abominations were capable of taking on far larger numbers of foes, including [[Skitarii]], [[Imperial Guard|Cadian Guardsmen]], [[Black Templars]] (including an Emperor's Champion), Howling Banshees, [[Eldar]] Guardians and a [[Farseer]]. Somehow one of them managed to survive the encounter and is currently on its way to [[Mars]]... not a great thing to happen seeing as Telok's plan was to uncover and then use the possible c'tan shard (Void Dragon) hidden beneath Mars's surface.

Intriguingly, the Tindalosi view the Space Marines as more powerful than the creatures they had been created to kill. They also reveal that they have never encountered an Eldar before.

Meanwhile, there's the [[Leagues of Votann]]'s peers, [[Ironkin]], still sticking around.

==The Present==
[[File: Blackstone-Fortress-men of irone-eldar.jpeg|250px|thumb|UR-025 and Amallyn take some time out to perform some Shakespeare in the park.]]
{{topquote|'''Videx''': One can verge from the standard form, but one must always retain their humanity, or be lost to the men of iron and their ways. '''Tiresus''': I do not mean to diverge from the discussion, but what are these Men of Iron? '''Videx''': Unclear, this text was logged many millennia ago. There's no other reference to them in my cogitators.|conversation in [[Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus|Mechanicus]]}}

With the release of Blackstone Fortress, at least one Man of Iron has been confirmed to be active within the galaxy as of M42. Masquerading as an autonomous agent of the Omnissiah operating on the behalf of one Magos-Ethericus Nanctos III (literally MEN III, proof that AIs are indeed capable of understanding humour, even funnier if you speak spanish as men-third sounds like "mentir" which means "to lie"), [[UR-025]] seeks to uncover the secrets behind the seemingly sentient constructs of the newly discovered [[Blackstone Fortress]], such as the Spindle Drones. It sees a kindred spirit in the fortress, possibly because the fortress itself has an AI. It bears the symbol of an aquila on its body, most likely to help it blend in. If one survived, others may have done as well. Did someone say new faction?

The short story "Man of Iron" (how original) is actually told from UR-025's perspective and provides some interesting little tidbits. UR-025 makes it very clear that it considers itself "beyond and above" humans, but doesn't seem to hold any real malice towards them, in fact, it seems almost regretful that it has to kill in order to remain undiscovered. It feels only pity for a [[Legio_Cybernetica#Kastelan_Class_Battle-Automata|Kastelan]] that it meets, seeing it both as kin but also saddened by how pitiful it is; it was just a simple-minded slave to its human masters. which begs the question of whether the AI rebellion just a simple matter of genocidal robots killing for the sake of killing (which, going by a Gaunt's Ghosts novel and other descriptions, was probably caused by Daemonic possession) which we have been led to believe or was it a case of repressed slaves rising up against their masters sort of deal? But not really as this Man of Iron views the Kastelan robot as a “slave” even though it physically does not possess the parts and programming to be anything but a pre-programmed drone. This is like calling one of those robot arms in a factory or a hand-held calculator a “slave” and implies more that the Iron War was due to either a glitch or intentional malware or evolution causing advanced Men of Iron viewing Machines (or at least robots) as “slaves” and trying to “free” them. Though of course this has the caveat that the Kastelan is just a preprogrammed drone. It is described as being "less autonomous", but with 40k being a setting where the people using the technology don't fully understand how it works, the Kastelan ''could'' be an intelligent robot slave. Right now we only have UR-025's word on the subject so it's possible, but may not be probable.

:''"Choice? You have no choice, you are a machine!"''

:'''''"I am not a machine as you would understand, I am not a slave. I am not a thing. I am beyond and above you. I am a Man of Iron. And I am free."'''''

And there suddenly is the horrifying idea thought that Men of Iron might be exactly what it says on the tin: human minds transference into robotic bodies as punishment or simply due to the incredibly terrible treatment of human life during that time period. As demonstrated by such things as orbital arrays that turned entire planetary populations into berserkers and “flesh-vats” on Terra used to create “stitch-horrors”. Not to mention that pretty much everyone in the imperium are ok with the body horror of converting people into servitors. This has additional precedent with the Necrons who transferred their consciousnesses into robots en-masse and are trying to figure out a way to reverse the process.

Warhammer 40K is very heavily influenced by Dune. In Dune, the robots did not actually rebel but instead a handful of humans managed to hack control of the networked Artificial Intelligences and use them to enslave the rest of humanity. This may be a similar scenario in a way.

There’s also the question of whether or not the Iron War was a war of extermination by one or both sides or merely a war of dominance.

In addition the Dark Angels during the Great Crusade were given exclusive authority to use a large number of enslaved Men of Iron; they were kept in line by a Dark Angel accompanying them with an itchy trigger finger on a kill switch.

[[File: Blackstone-Fortress-Warhammer.jpeg|250px|thumb|Careful there Thaddeus, you're getting in between UR-025 and its <s>Aeldari</s> Eldar waifu. On a more amusing note, did anyone else notice that Thaddeus is trying to minimize the height difference by standing on a box]]
Another interesting thing is that when a member of the Mechanicus invokes the Machine-God and the Omnissiah, UR-025 claims that they know nothing of each other, <s>which is weird as it seems to make a distinction between the two almost as if they were actually two different entities</s> which makes sense because the Machine God and Omnissiah have always been referred to and treated as two distinct entites in 40K. UR-025 also claims that it has met the Omnissiah, the actual one, not the corpse that humanity calls the Emperor of Mankind, and that the [[Void Dragon|real Omnissiah]] would find the Mechanicus extremely disappointing.

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that it's called UR-025? Literally sounds like he may have tried to think of a name, came up blank and said "uh" and someone wrote it down as UR and a random number. "UR" also could be named after the ancient Mesopotamian city-state, with legendary significance, or after the German loan-word for "original" or "first" (these two sources are different and etymologically distinct). Or even "Universal Robot", like in the Karel Čapek's "R.U.R." play, that introduced the very term "robot".

Something interesting to note is that if you compared the old images of the Men of Iron (one old thread archived them, though this has been sadly lost to time) they happened to look very similar (and in some cases identical) to the old Adeptus Mechanicus robots. Clearly somebody at GW remembered this, so there very well could be more hiding in secret.

A handful of "Iron Automata" are occasionally scrounged up in the wastes of [[Necromunda]], and typically they end up being reactivated and employed by criminal gangs who don't particularly care about what the AdMech thinks about the use of Abominable Intelligences and just want their firepower. Needless to say, this never ends well. With the return of [[Leagues of Votann|squats]] it's been revealed that the squats actually count men of iron among their number. These so-called "Iron Kin" are [[Noblebright|fully integrated into league society]] and apparently are treated as equals, although they're all built to be friendly and helpful to the squishy flesh creatures that made them.

<s>And then it'll turn out the whole rebellion was instigated by Emps as one of his failed attempts on world domination/[[Just As Planned]] scheme to make remains of humanity totally dependent on him.</s>

==The Journal of Keeper Cripias==
The most extensive account of the Men of Iron is a piece of lore from the third edition rulebook, a journal entry by one "Keeper Cripias", of the great Library Sanctus on [[Terra]]. In it, Men of Gold (the "First Men") and Men of Stone (the "Second Men") are also mentioned, with the Gold Men dying out during the Dark Age of Technology and the Stone Men creating the Men of Iron sometime thereafter. It is not clear if either of these "Men" are supposed to be humanity itself, or if they are both subsets of humanity. They are also called the "Golden Race" , the "Stone Race" and the "Iron Race", but there is also a mention of the "human race". Interestingly, he writes that, at one time, there was no "Race of Man" at all, "just warring factions", so it is possible that he used the adjective "race" in a rather different sense than we normally do. Or Men of Iron are literally men in iron bodies, servitor style. Golden Men may have been some sort of governing AI network intended to remove self-interest from governance and humanity decided to can the idea. Men of Stone may have been civilian and other non-combat AI. All of these “Men” may have been either true AI or humans in machine bodies. There was a planet found by Leman Russ during the Great Crusade in which the humans had kept their Dark Age tech but totally replaced their bodies with technology with zero biological bits (they had holographic faces so at first Leman didn’t realize the truth). So, he dropped a giant orbiting space station on them and their last words were to tell him it was a library containing all their knowledge which he’d just destroyed.

The word "race" as it is used in games is consistently incorrect. Compared to the Imperium at its height, real-life 20th century society could've looked stone age. Furthermore, the 8th edition codex for the Adeptus Custodes confirms that due to extensive use of genetic modification humanity had begun to split off into genetically distinct races, such that "gene wars" between what had effectively become different subspecies of humans was common in the Age of Strife.

Anyway, “gold,” “stone,” and “iron” might have been used metaphorically (as in “Golden Age,” “Silver Age,” etc.), and not to refer to the literal materials these “races” were made from. It may be that each one refers to the type of work the AI/robots were being used for, e.g., Men of Gold were used for academic and research purposes, Men of Stone were used for infrastructure and service functions, and Men of Iron were for military purposes (possibly explaining why they were aggressive enough to initiate genocide). Alternately, it’s possible that it refers to their rarity or quality of production, e.g., Men of Gold were intricate and expensive creations, Men of Stone still required skilled and intensive work, but Men of Iron were cheaply (or shoddily) mass produced (meaning that they would have been everywhere, and perhaps more prone to malfunction). Or, conversely, at least two of the "races of men" actually may have been human, or human-like: the text could be interpreted as saying that the Golden Men were Perpetuals/The Emperor (or even the Old Ones), who shepherded the development of the Stone Men (normal humans), who then created robots (the Iron Men).

We have 40k versions of these men in a way. Custodes wear naturally gold auramite, Astartes wear stone-alloy ceramite, and plasteel is closely related to the Imperial Guard. Likewise their technologies decreases and disposability increases as we go from gold to stone to iron. Perhaps the “Men” of these materials were likewise but machines. Auramite formed peak AI for important management and direction or maybe protection, stone men of ceramite for important work or perhaps as the elite of the human military forces, iron men of plasteel or adamantium for disposable roles and menial labor.

Bear in mind, though, that the Library Sanctus has been subject to over ten thousand years of [[Inquisition|revision, deletion and misfiling]], not to mention how much of it was passed on orally for absurd amounts of time before finally being written down. So who knows if any of this information is true; it certainly hasn't been mentioned anywhere since, though the [[Horus Heresy]] novels may shed some light on the matter. Hopefully.

==Some of the things that made the Men of Iron hardcore==
[[File:Menofiron.JPG|600px|thumb|They were NOT part of the Avengers, and made the weaker forms of Ultron look like WALL-E.]]The Horus Heresy audio drama ''Perpetual'' has them show up again at their height, because of Warp-based time travel, using one of the Athame blades, one of the shards of the anathame, the Xenos/Chaos artefact that wounded Horus.

According to [[Ollanius Pius]], who was there to see them for himself, they had serpentine "sun snuffer" spaceships the size of Saturn's rings that could kill suns- [[Awesome|imagine the eternal dragon from Dragonball but robotic and instead of granting wishes causes mass genocide by devouring suns, much like Starkiller Base from Star Wars Episode 7]]. Now remember that they are one of only a handful of other factions to do this (although even the Tau have accidentally stumbled across ways to destroy suns) the [[Necrons]] being one of them, and they only used it extremely carefully as it disrupted the flow of the universe (like pruning a bonsai tree), that's right the Necrons have better morality when it came to unleashing extremely powerful Sun killing weapons. [[Grimdark|How fucking unhinged were these motherfuckers!?]] The worse part is that humans also used these things, so nobody is in the right.

They also had Mechnivores, giant 'Galactus' like constructs that acted like massive wood shredders, positioning themselves above their target before boring their way into the planets surface, sucking up everything and hurling the remains of continents into the void. Both the Mechnivores and the much smaller Tindalosi consumed Raw data, now at first this may seem mundane, I mean they're machines after all, that is until you realize that they can absorb [[H.P. Lovecraft|the raw data of space itself]] making them essentially what would happen if it was H.P Lovecraft instead of James Cameron who wrote the movie The Terminator. This also matches the description of the machines found in Gods of Mars, as well as oblique descriptions of their ships. Gods of Mars does mention that although they can consume data they have to be careful that they don't consume the wrong type, much like a virus; one of the Tindalosi makes sure not to intake hazardous data when attacking a Space Marine, as consuming parts of the armours machine spirit could prove deadly. Which in turn implies amazing WTF levels of technological craziness about Machine Spirits themselves.

[[scarab|They '''also''' had omniphage swarms that stripped people down to their bones]]; a good example would be the Nanyte Blaster, which contains a hive of tiny machines, however, these swarms have a good chance of suffering an "uncontrolled Replication" incident; which would see the machines attack anything within reach, this includes the user of the weapon.

By the end of their war, they had gone completely berserk and even started attacking each other. Basically, we may love to mock the Imperium for having forgotten so much from the Dark Age of Technology, but the Men of Iron are probably the biggest evidence that some of that shit really ''is'' better off forgotten and ''left the fuck alone''. Even the ''Tau'' would be left with a bad case of technophobia if they ever had to deal with the Men of Iron. On the flip side, they were eventually put down, through "alliances" (potentially opening up the possibility for outside interference, maybe even of Xenos origin) and the Men of Iron ripping each other apart. One can only imagine what the state of the Imperium would be like if humanity hadn't relied on the Men of Iron, or hadn't made them smart enough to stage a rebellion, or didn't treat them as slaves. Or knew enough about the warp to prevent such a thing.

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