Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Renegades And Heretics (section)

===Heavy Support===
* '''Renegade Heavy Weapons Squad:''' A pair of Militia with a big gun, able to be taken up to six teams in a single unit. Very unreliable yet statistically mighty cost-efficient if spammed and kept the hell away from enemies.
**A heavy weapons team with 3 mortars is 36 points, indirect fire for a ton of potential shots is useful for such a cheap unit, against hordes or even as a distraction, when you end up rolling 6d6 shots against one unit, they draw the eye ever so slightly.
**These are more points efficient with Lascannons than Disciples. You can get two HWTs with lascannons for 9 less points than a minimum Las-Disciples squad, with the same chance of landing a single hit. This also makes them slightly more points efficient than a las-predator, just a lot weaker on the defence.
**As of CA19 the fortifications still don't count them as two passengers, meaning you can stick two 5-men squads in a bunker and hose everything down with HBs or Autocannons, although their cost-effectiveness diminishes sharply in that case. Still, 14 Autocannons on a Leman Russ-grade metal box that can't be shut down with melee in hilarious. And very menacing.

* '''Leman Russ Battle Tank:''' The sturdiest tank in the galaxy, point-for-point. For 122 points, a T8 W12 platform with a 3+ save will consume a lot of [[Dakka|firepower]] before dying. Its basic Battle Tank Cannon is Heavy D6 S8 AP-2 and took some big hits. It (along with many others) practically lost large blast, with it being lucky to get 2 hits <strike>(sorry but, 2 hits would be 5/6 of the time? Far from "lucky". That's not even average. 3 hits would be average.)</strike> (No, because you roll d6 for the number of shots which then roll to hit - so 3 or 4 shots average, 1.5 to 2 hits on BS4+) and getting 4 or more will be a rare occurrence indeed. MEQ now get a darn 5+ save instead of being auto-pasted like its 5th-7th edition iteration, but this thing's now decent against enemies with 2+ armor which is a decent trade-off. The Exterminator took a 1/3 firepower hit as well, placing it squarely worse than a predator autocannon versus big targets, and is no longer more accurate with heavy bolters than ordnance Russes. Speaking of which, with Heavy Bolters also being worth a mere 8 points each (less than half of a Heavy Flamer), adding 3 Heavy 3 S5 AP-1 weapons is a thrifty 24 points, making them more worth their points. Unlike the vanquisher. The vanquisher is proof that GW is incapable of statistics, as it performs worse against heavy armour than every leman russ turret except the exterminator, but is now one of the cheapest options (doing 0.93 wounds to another russ, every other variant manages at least 1 wound). Sad thing is if GW had given it a flat 2+ to wound against vehicles or flat 2D6 damage instead of 2D6 drop the lowest, it’d perform better against most vehicles than other russes. Hopefully this will be corrected in the codex. Chapter Approved saw the Vanquisher get a 5-point cut, making it one of the cheapest variants now. The other mixed bag is the often overlooked Eradicator. You are effectively getting a Vanilla Russ that drops two Strength from its cannon in exchange for Ignores Cover. It's better against cover camping infantry squads (like those squishy Eldar and Tau) but may struggle against anything else. Let’s not forget that the Grinding Advance rule allows you to shoot the main gun twice if you moved less than 6”. A solid buff!  Because of the wording of Defenders of Humanity in the IG codex, our Leman Russes also get ObSec when in a spearhead detachment. Not sure if this is applicable only for loyalist Imperial Guard, so it's quite possible Renegades and Heretics don't get Objective Secured for their Leman Russ tanks...

* '''Leman Russ Demolisher Tanks:'''The brawlers of the battle tank variants; no guns over 36" (except the Lascannon) and a LOT more power in exchange. The Punisher and Demolisher are statistically your best friends against troops and vehicles/monsters, respectively - a Punisher with 3 heavy bolters (166 points) or a Demolisher with 2 multi-meltas and a lascannon (222 points) can wreak impressive amounts of havoc for a single model, and unlike previous editions they don't mind being in melee (in fact with a trio of heavy flamers they'll be quite painful to charge). Also back in the running is the Executioner. With 2 plasma cannons and a hull lascannon (192 points) it can put out an impressive amount of MEQ-hate. And unlike every other model with plasma, a 1 on the hit roll of an overcharge shot doesn't kill you! Instead it inflicts 1 mortal wound. So...yeah it’s safe enough, the Dark Mechanicus fellas said so! Really if you want to overcharge any plasma weapons, go for the Executioner cannon, a gets hot will only inflict D6 mortal wounds, it won't be disabled after overheating, and it isn't penalized for firing on the move.  Like the other Leman Russes, they get ObSec when in a Spearhead detachment. Again, unsure if it's only a Loyalist Imperial Guard thing, so it's possible Renegades and Heretics don't get them.
**A great Russ to consider is the cheapest (150 pts) for a Punisher and hull heavy bolter (add on storm bolter and sponsons if you have spare points). This is a very effective anti horde platform and since you are able to bring huge amounts of nearly unbreakable hordes a few of these is your ticket to heavily out mobbing every army you come across. Just clean up your opponent’s zerg swarm with the Punisher then charge in your cultists to tie up their entire army. If your opponent doesn't have a swarm army then you're already laughing.

* '''Basilisk:''' One of your better units for hitting hard targets, the old Basilisk is back in action. Sitting at 110 points, its one of our more efficient units for hitting targets with 2+ wounds from across the table. Focus on that last bit - keep it away from enemy units.

* '''Earthshaker Battery:''' Since it's not in production anymore, you'll have to convert them down from the Basilisk Kit. What you would get from your work is just what you expect it to be; a stripped down Earthshaker cannon without any of the Basilisk's mobility and less survivability. Not that you took it for either of those. At 5 points more than the Basilisk, it drops the HB but gains one of the sillier rules: Immobile. Which makes you get autohit in melee (in case something clearly went wrong in your backline) but lets you shoot that giant cannon while in melee (and even at the chumps punching you since [[derp|the Earthshaker no longer has a minimum shot range]], I guess it just fires directly upwards or something). Overall the Basilisk is way better because 4 more Wounds on the same gun for less points, so avoid it like the plague, unless you really dig the aesthetics.
**Do note, this battery (conveniently) has no crew, and is technically a separate unit from the crewed, carriage earthshaker one to which Renegades have no access, despite all the other batteries being crewed ones. They are also 'not' Immobile but still have M0. Just... make of it what you will...

* '''Medusa:''' Normal Medusae are not a thing anymore, but instead we get access to the Armageddon Pattern Medusa. Effectively a vindicator, but always has D6 shots, at the cost of D3 damage, and 1 less toughness (Which is compensated for by the gun shooting 12 inches further. Similar enough to be replaced by the vindicator if it fits your style better, but as with everything on this list YMMV.

* '''Medusa (Carriage) Battery:''' Same deal as with the Earthshaker, this is a stationary Medusa cannon that has less wounds and costs the same. This one is crewed, so one more downside to a pile of downsides. Hard pass.

* '''Wyvern:''' Its infamous Wyvern quad mortars generate more attacks they did before, doing 4d6 S4 AP0 hits that re-roll to wound. Thanks to the new 8th Edition rules, the old "enemy spreads their models out to avoid blasts" tactic is moot. It's lost its "Ignores Cover" ability, which really hurts given its lack of AP. It gets 14 shots and 7 hits on an average roll, which at S4 and AP- will only reliably kill 2 or so marines. (Wait, marines? Why didn't you take a basilisk?) The Wyvern excels at killing GEQ and similar lightly armored infantry blobs, whether they're footslogging Orks, loyalist Guardsmen, or other traitors. Using this thing to target Marines is just a waste of fire and not what the weapon is designed for.

* '''Griffon:''' A Str6 AP -1, 2d6 taking the highest dice shots, ignores cover and line of sight on a Chimera EQ chassis. A strong little weapon platform, especially since it can move and shoot without much penalty other than -1 to hit. Keep it in the back, or with your other light vehicles like your Chimeras for the extra firepower. Good for killing T3 infantry squads and light vehicles, but for marines the volume of fire of the Wyvern is better.

*'''Hydra:''' The original AAA is back in action! with the revision to Skyfire, the Hydra can hit ground troops on 5s, and with its '''eight''' autocannon shots it's a potentially good investment even if you didn't expect flyers from your opponent. The power comes at a price, though: 123 points, up from 75. Flyers will learn to fear it, though; it puts out enough power to statistically guarantee damage versus most aircraft.
** It doesn't just get +1 to hit against flyer. It gets it against anything with the '''FLY''' tag. Guess who has the Fly tag? Eldar Jetbikes. You did magnetize that Wyvern you bought, right?
** There's a surprising number of other units with '''FLY''', like the aforementioned jetbikes, Jump troops, anything that used to be a skimmer in 7th, Monoliths, half of the Dark Eldar and Tau Army Lists... It's really quite staggering. Make sure you check the tags on your target's datasheet before opening fire. And do take a picture of your opponent's face when you inform them of this.

*'''Malcador Tank Family:''' Down(?)-graded from Lord of War to Heavy Support, the light-super-heavy tanks of the Malcador family has been smiled upon in 8th by the removal of weapon facing. This means the bizarre fixed-transfer casement the main gun sits in (and the fact that the sponsons can't train forward) no longer limits its shooting ability; also gone is the chance to break down every time it moves, apparently they finally fixed the engines on these things. The Demolisher cannons have Grinding Advance, as well. Note: The Valdor tank destroyer is still taking a Lord of War, so no spamming Neutron Lasers (not that you could spam a tank this size anyway).

*'''Malcador Heavy Tank:''' The basic Malcador is a Russ on a steroid binge - 18 wounds instead of 12 (this is standard across all Malcadors), and it can carry autocannons or lascannons in the sponsons.

*'''Malcador Defender:''' ''Now we're talkin'!'' In a remarkable display of foresight, the Defender eschews the nerfed turret weapons of its brothers for an interwar-style turret fitted with ''five(!)'' heavy bolters. Two more on the sponson mounts make for a bullet hose to rival the Stormlord - at 21 shots, it can chew up blobs but good! It also adds 1 to its overwatch hit rolls, making it a very solid charge deterrent to protect your gunline. Shame Chaos Covenants don't effect Vehicles, or else Tzeentch's Covenant would be outright mean. A demolisher cannon is still present on the hull for tougher targets.

*'''Rapier Laser Destroyer Battery:''' Got nerfed hard and went from auto-include to nope. Twin-linked is gone but it still fires only one shot; so there is no chance to reroll that 4+ except CPs. Still the gun is S12 and '''if''' the shot hits on a roll of 3-5 it does 2D6 damage and on a 6 it's upped to 3D6 (so you ''could'' hypothetically one-shot a Land Raider but it is highly unlikely). The price got almost doubled to 74 points for one gun and a crew of two. The rapier has 3 wounds now but unfortunately is only T5. Mathhammer says it will only beat out a team of lascannons (of similar cost) against 2+ models, models of T6 and below, and 3+ models of T9 and above. Not worth buying, but if you have it, save it for the ''really'' tough stuff.
**'''Alternate opinion:''' These are all valid criticisms and Forgeworld should really refund the money of any poor soul who bought these in the twilight days of 7th Edition, but putting this out here: if this thing does hit, it will kill almost anything you point it at. 
**It is also more durable than a lascannon in general, as the crew can't be targeted unless they are the closest model (even by sniper fire). It also helps you out by adding the one thing R&H need: Infantry based mid range Anti-Tank firepower. The insane wound potential also helps as a selling point, since 2d6 wounds is the average, and the gun has potential to do more on a good roll. It may be niche, but this gun fits nicely with renegades.

*'''Heavy Mortar Battery:''' Another crewed gun, the Heavy Mortar hits like a midway between a normal mortar and the Earthshaker Cannon. Unfortunately it takes after the latter in price - 72 points for a 3-man team and the gun carriage. Potentially viable if you've got the models, but nothing special.

*'''Heavy Quad Launcher Battery:''' Also known as the Thudd Gun. Invented by [[squats|a race of abhumans]] whose worlds were lost to the Tyranids sometime in the mid-M40s (it's not clear) and much beloved by [[Death Korps of Krieg|Grim loyalists]], 8th Edition's Thudd Gun behaves like a Wyvern's quad-gun, without the rerolls to wound (perhaps it doesn't use airburst ammunition?). It's also the exact same cost as a Wyvern, sans the heavy bolter the latter gets with its Chimera mobile platform. Workable if you have it, not worth the money if you don't.

*'''Colossus Bombard:''' Finally gaining the toughness of the Leman Russ chassis it's mounted on, the Colossus still ignores cover, though that doesn't do as much now. Downside, it costs as much as a Leman Russ, too. The mortar itself has gotten a HUGE range increase (In fact this might be a typo - 240 inches), and hits like a Heavy Mortar with slightly better AP. It fires twice as many shots, too.