Editing Baneblade (section)

====On the Tabletop====

The Baneblade and its variants are all profiled in the 8th Edition ''Codex: Astra Militarum''. The premier superheavy tank of the Imperial Guard, the Baneblade tanks make for a formidable base to build an army around and a source of a lot of heavy weapons fire. All Baneblades have the same statline: at T8, W26 and a 3+ save they're more than able to soak up quite a lot of the fire they will inevitably attract. And while its BS4+ doesn't seem like a lot, thanks to its Steel Behemoth rule it can fire all of its Heavy Weapons (which is everything it has except its Storm Bolter, which as a Rapid Fire weapon isn't affected by this anyway), as well as fire and charge on the same turn it Fell Back. And thanks to 9 attacks at S9 AP-2 DD3 it can deal a surprising amount of damage in close combat, but don't send it into a fight against things like [[Terminator]]s (unless you use the "Crush Them!" Stratagem to boost it up to WS 2+ and let it advance and charge in the same turn- then it can take on a [[Bloodthirster]] in melee and still have a good chance of winning). The Baneblade starts to deteriorate at half wounds, losing three of its 10" movement, its BS goes down by one and it loses 3 attacks. But because it's so tough, it can take quite a beating before being diminished as long as your opponent doesn't have Lords of War on the battlefield as well.

At 370 points for most of the variants with a maximum of 410 for the Stormlord, Baneblades are at a base level pretty affordable. They all get different main weapons, and all of them have a pair of Heavy Bolters as well. The Baneblade and Hellhammer get an additional [[Autocannon]] and [[Demolisher Cannon]], and the Hellhammer also has a [[Lasgun]] for some reason. All of them can take either one or two pairs of sponsons, each equipped with a [[Lascannon]] and either two [[Heavy Bolter]]s or two [[Heavy Flamer]]s. Note that you can mix and match as you see fit: if you have only one pair you can pick one with a Heavy Bolter and the other with a Heavy Flamer. Sponsons cost 34 for the Heavy Bolter and 48 for the Heavy Flamer. The points really add up though: 68 for a pair and 136 for a full set of Heavy Bolters, and 96 and 192 for the Heavy Flamers. But when you look at the firepower you know you've got the good stuff. Four Heavy Flamers net you 8D6 S5 AP-1 D1 shots that auto-hit, while the four double Heavy Bolters, paired with the standard one, nets you 30 S5 AP-1 D1 shots at 36" range. And don't forget the 4 S9 AP-3 DD6 shots from the four Lascannons. Note that the Heavy Bolter option is 20 points cheaper than an equally-equipped [[Heavy Weapons Squad]]. The Heavy Flamers are expensive, but other tanks are bound to a maximum of 3 for a comparative higher price tag (aka the tank they're on). The Baneblade can also take a pintle-mounted [[Heavy Stubber]] or [[Storm Bolter]], and a [[Hunter-Killer Missile]] for good measure. The Heavy Stubber is the superior option (especially now that they are at the same price as a Storm Bolter as of Chapter Approved 2018) most of the time: only when decked out with Heavy Flamers or when facing enemies that charge the tank the Storm Bolter is superior. The Hunter-Killer Missile is neat, but with the massive arsenal the tank's lugging around it's not necessary. Because of its massive array of weapons charging one is a very bad idea: even when only hitting on sixes the sheer volume of fire will mean that you'll get hit.

{|border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 align=right style="margin: 1em;"
|-
! Tank || Name || Range || Type || S || AP || D || Abilities
|-
| Baneblade || Baneblade Cannon || 72" || Heavy 3D6 || 9 || -3 || 3 || N/A
|-
| Banehammer || Tremor Cannon || 60" || Heavy 3D6 || 8 || -2 || 3 || Anyone hit by the cannon must halve their movement and cannot advance.
|-
| Banesword || Quake Cannon || 140" || Heavy 2D6 || 14 || -4 || D6 || Damage rolls of 1-2 are 3 instead.
|-
| Doomhammer || Magma Cannon || 60" || Heavy 2D6 || 10 || -5 || D6 || If within half range, roll 2d6 and drop the lowest for damage.
|-
| Hellhammer || Hellhammer Cannon || 36" || Heavy 3D6 || 10 || -4 || 3 || Ignores cover.
|-
| Shadowsword || Volcano Cannon || 120" || Heavy 3D3 || 16 || -5 || 2D6 || Reroll failed wound rolls against {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units.
|-
| Stormlord || Vulcan Mega-Bolter || 60" || Heavy 20 || 6 || -2 || 2 || N/A
|-
| Stormsword || Stomsword Siege Cannon || 36" || Heavy 2D6 || 10 || -4 || D6 || Ignores cover, and rerolls damage rolls of 1.
|}

The table contains the main guns of all eight tanks, but they're more than just statlines attached to a tank:

* The '''Baneblade''' is the standard against which all other tanks are held. The Baneblade Cannon drops potent damage at a reliable rate, allowing you to blow up all but the heaviest of tanks in a single shot of its main cannon. It is also one of the two variants that carries an Autocannon and a Demolisher Cannon for that extra bit damage. As is, the Baneblade is a great long-range support tank.
* The '''Banehammer''' is more of a tactical vehicle for the special rule that applies to its Banehammer Cannon: if a unit is hit by the gun (not wounded, no unsaved wounds: ''hit'') its movement is halved and it cannot advance next turn. This makes it an ideal gun to shut down enemy units that need to be places to be the most effective: this especially works well agains tanks or transports. While lacking the firepower of the Baneblade, the Banehammer grants a unique tactical option. While the Banehammer is a transport, its long range means that you'll have to consider if you want to get close to disgorge your cargo and risk being shot at even more.
* The '''Banesword''' hits less often than most other variants, but it hits ''hard'' with its Quake Cannon. S14 means that all T7 and lower targets are wounded on a 2+, and its hefty AP-4 means that even Terminators have to watch out lest they are vaporized. On top of that, its D6 damage comes with the catch that all rolls of 1 and 2 count as 3, so infantry that gets hit will be vaporized immediately and even monsters will think twice about walking into its range of fire. And with 140" it's a lot of range indeed.
* The '''Doomhammer''' has a gun that is more or less a Melta weapon in that it gets to roll twice for damage and take the best one. At S10 AP-5 it's more than capable of dealing with super-heavy vehicles like [[Land Raider]]s and [[Monolith]]s. The 30" range that this requires you to be in is very close, but this does make it a more viable transport than the Banehammer. Chapter Approved 2018 has seen its cost cut to 400 points.
* The '''Hellhammer''' is the second variant with a Demolisher Cannon. Its main gun ignores the bonuses granted by cover, but with only 36" range you'll have to get very close in order to get its shots in. Its range might be short, but its firepower makes it a souped-up version of the Baneblade Cannon. Costs 410 bare.
* The '''Shadowsword''' is what you field if you want to bring down enemy Titanic units. 3D3 is an odd roll, but puts out a reliable 6 shots that at S16 down even T8 targets on a 2+. And with 2D6 damage anything hit by it will feel it. On top of that, the Shadowsword gets to re-roll failed Wound rolls against Titanic units, and it gets +1 To Hit against them as well. That means that the Shadowsword has to take out any fitting targets it faces ASAP lest it gets put down before it can do so.
* The '''Stormlord''' is the odd duck out with its Vulcan Mega-Bolter. A flat Heavy 20 means that it is ideal for putting down large swathes of infantry and has a good chance of damaging tougher targets as well. Despite being a Bolter weapon it's got a massive 60" range, making it a powerful anti-vehicle weapon at range. But because of its massive transport capability (40!) it's used best as a close-range fire support vehicle, allowing you to haul a massive force towards the enemy to disgorge onto the objectives you cleared with your massive firepower. Because of this the array of Heavy Flamers work well to support the Stormlord, but do note that this nearly increases by 50% the hefty 410 point cost of the vehicle.
* The '''Stormsword''' is tank meant for short range attacks, carrying a Stormsword Siege Cannon to deal with tough targets. Not only does it ignore the bonuses granted by cover, it also has re-rolls on damage rolls of 1. While those two things only really overlap against tanks in cover, the Stormsword can deal a decent amount of damage against just about any target.

All in all, most Baneblade variants are really helped by the Heavy Bolter sponsons: not only are they cheaper they don't need you to be as close to your enemies. While the Heavy Flamers can deal more damage they are hampered by their range and damage output, and work best on those variants who already need to be close to the enemy to use effectively. The pintle-mounted weapons are good, but not required; the same goes for the Hunter-Killer Missile.

Not to invalidate all of the above, but if Baneblades are so damn shooty, why doesn't anyone take them? Well, they're just too damn expensive points-wise, and have suffered quite a bit from the lack of real Guard updates.

The heyday of the Baneblade and its variants was in early 8th, when the Guard was strongest. Cheap artillery and tanks but even cheaper bodies in the form of Conscripts made Unbreakable by Commissars [[Blam|instilling Discipline]] meant that Baneblades were often the least of someone's problems. Eventually, though, the introduction of the 8th edition Knights codex shifted a ton of lists to deal with superheavies in melee, which was one of the easiest ways to deal with a Baneblade: yes, it was the '''only''' vehicle in the Guard codex that could be in melee and shoot, but keeping it tarpitted would at least ensure it was tied up with the guys around, especially if you managed to encircle it entirely and not give it a way out (such as with assault squads). Also, so long as you wounded a Baneblade enough, its lackluster guard BS+ of 4+ meant that once it took enough damage, or by stacking enough to-hit penalties on it (such as if you had to fight certain [[Crimson Hunter|speedy eldar Exarchs]]) it would become absolutely impossible to hit anything.


9th edition didn't do it much better, because superheavy detachments, besides being expensive points-wise, now also cost CP; while they made superheavy auxiliaries free in 2022, the points cost of the damn things still mean that filling your detachment with more Leman Russes (which have the same damn Toughness and Armor now) would almost always be better. T8 26 W and a 2+ save is ''vicious'', but there are now [[Railgun|quite]] [[Imperial Knights|a]] [[Necrons|few]] [[Exocrine|units]] in the game that can at least wound it enough times to drastically lower its efficiency.

Two years into 9th and the guard codex ''still isn't out,'' so theyve benefited from several balance "updates," like Armor of Contempt to reduce incoming AP and the ability to autowound on 6s, but as mentioned above, these changes also made it much more worth it to take more tanks than just one big one. ( ironically mirroring IRL tank history). One can only hope that they buff the Baneblade and its variants with stats actually ''worth'' the superheavy title, like improved Toughness or resistance to degrading. Rumors that GW will release a new T9 superheavy named the [[Rogal Dorn Battle Tank|Rogal Dorn]] (very original) that sits between the Russ and Baneblade can at least give Guard players hope that the Baneblade will at least be updated, but those remain just rumors.


=====Power Ratings=====
The tanks find themselves in the 26-30 points range, which is rather hefty. This point cost does include all the goodies, so don't be afraid to splurge on two sets of sponsons, a pintle-mounted weapon and a Hunter-Killer Missile. You've paid for them already, so you might as well use them.