Leman Russ Battle Tank

The biggest pain in the ass, for points, a player will encounter when fighting the Imperial Guard, the Leman Russ Battle Tank is not-very-creatively named for the Space Wolf Primarch, Leman Russ. Despite this 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, and its ability to rape Necron and SPESS MEHREEN players through judicious use of ordnance and weapons fire make this thing a complete pain in the ass to deal with. Heavy-as-hell front armor (Superior to all Space Marine tanks barring the Land Raider) and reasonable side armor make these a tough nut to crack (just don't let them get shot from behind), and the ability to fire their main gun (even if that main gun is an ordnance weapon) if they move slowly makes them capable of delivering serious punishment - and that's before their ability to pack on Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons, and Multi-Meltas is factored in.

At 500 Points, Fucking Cheese

A lot of players used to 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 been known to induce ragequits.

Flavor of the Week

There are a dizzying number of Leman Russes with tons of different payloads. The most common variations seen in the tabletop game are as follows:

Leman Russ Battle Tank

The original boasts a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter and a Battle Cannon by default, the latter of which is widely regarded for its ability to fuck up squads of Space Marines and Necrons. It can swap the Heavy Bolter for a Lascannon and add a Pair of Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons, or Heavy Flamers in a set of sponsons, making it good for blasting the fuck out of just about anything that pisses it off.

Leman Russ Vanquisher

The Leman Russ Vanquisher trades out the Battle Cannon for a heavy-duty anti-tank gun that will usually let it one-shot enemy vehicles at long range. If a Lascannon or Battlecannon just isn't doing it for your tankhunting purposes, and you don't really feel like grabbing a Melta, this weapon will more than adequately fill the need. The downside is that it doesn't have any blast effects from its main gun (so consider the Plasma Cannon options for this thing).

Leman Russ Exterminator

If you aren't quite sold on the Hydra Flak Tank's ability to rape infantry and light vehicles, there's always the Exterminator, which uses a twin-linked Autocannon with a doubled fire rate as its main gun. One of several vehicles capable of driving Ork players into a frothing, white-hot RAGE when used with Heavy Bolter Sponson, the Exterminator's main drawback is that it relies on its sponson/hull weapons to deal with enemy heavy armor (or a hunter-killer missile if you're a jackass).

Leman Russ Eradicator

Fuck your cover saves. The Eradicator has a shorter-range gun that ignores cover saves. It's a little weaker than the Battle Cannon in every stat (lower strength, shorter range, worse AP), but is still a respectable tank, especially against Eldar or any unit that is trying to take advantage of the Small Targets or Stealth rule. It's otherwise basically the same as the regular version, range and power aside.

Leman Russ Demolisher

The first of the "Reinforced" Leman Russ models (they have additional rear armor), the Leman Russ Demolisher packs a short range gun that is much stronger than the normal battle cannon and virtually guaranteed to threaten entire formations with the instant death rule should it shoot. It kind of sucks at anything but line-breaking, but there's little question that it does it better than the SPESS MEHREEN Vindicator, which is pretty hilarious when one thinks about it.

Leman Russ Punisher

About as close to "enuff Dakka," as the Imperial Guard can get, the Punisher boasts an S5 AP- main gun that has a fire rate of Heavy 20. The range is poor for a vehicle weapon, but the fact that one of these things can crank out more firepower than an entire squad of guardsmen under that order that boosts fire rate is absolutely hilarious; normally only Orks with Shootas get to roll this many dice. When backed up with other weapons, the Punisher can basically destroy huge numbers of troops at once, though it lacks AP.

Leman Russ Executioner

Jokingly called the "Leman Russ Trollface" or "Leman Russ Blast Template Dropper" by some players, the Executioner is the bane of Smurfs everywhere, for it packs a Plasma Cannon that fires in 3-round bursts. For maximum hilarity, pair with Plasma Cannon sponsons (ergo allowing 5 Plasma Cannon shots a turn from one vehicle) and try not to laugh when killing about double the tank's point cost in heavy infantry every turn. For maximum hilarity, employ against Grey Knights and vaporise the majority of a Terminator squad in a round before asking: "Problem, SPESS MEHREENS?"

And Commanders Too

Knight Commander Pask Not really a Leman Russ but an upgrade therefore, Knight Commander Pask raises the BS of any Russ he's placed in to 4, ergo making the tank more accurate. Widely considered conditionally broken against some factions when paired with a Punisher, Executioner, or Exterminator. 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 thusly considered somewhere between Vance Motherfucking Stubbs and Colonel "I tore a Landshark's throat out with my teeth" Straken.

Gallery

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  The Leman Russ Punisher. A lot of dakka, this.
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  The Leman Russ Executioner, known for making marines break out in hives.
• FUCK YOUR COVER SAVES DOG I HAS AN ERADICATOR
  FUCK YOUR COVER SAVES DOG I HAS AN ERADICATOR
• Even the basic Leman Russ is better than your army's tanks.
  Even the basic Leman Russ is better than your army's tanks.
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  If the Leman Russ Demolisher hasn't absorbed at least 6 attempts to destroy it by turn 2, you're doing it wrong.
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  When you need to fuck up a Land Raider, accept no substitutes.
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  The Exterminator likes to party. At 500 shots per minute.
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  Knight Commander Pask is in dire need of some juvenat drugs. Jesus.