Editing Leman Russ Battle Tank (section)

==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*'''}} 
'''<span style='color:green;font-size:115%'>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.