Space Marine Predator tactics involve sitting back and blasting away. The Predator is based off the standard Rhino chassis and sacrifices transport capacity to support increased frontal armour and heavy weapon mounts. Predators are the main battle tank of the Space Wolves, designed to relentlessly blast apart the enemies of the Imperium at long range.
The basic version of the Predator is the “Destructor” pattern that fields an Autocannon in the turret. This allows them to engage the enemy at extreme range and has the power to threaten Infantry, Monsters and medium Tanks.
The “Annihilator” pattern replaces the turret weapon with a Twin-Linked Lascannon, designed for cracking open the strongest of armour.
Additionally, both versions have the capacity to take sponson Heavy Bolters or Lascannons to supplement or complement the main armament. Combined with their front AV of 13 and inexpensive base price, the Predator remains a common sight on the tabletop.
OPTIONS
Twin-Linked Lascannon Turret – Expensive, but increases anti-tank
Sponson Heavy Bolters – Excellent
Sponson Lascannons – Expensive, but increases anti-tank
Dozer Blade – Unnecessary
Storm Bolter – Not bad, but short range comparatively
Hunter Killer Missile – Extra cost, but worth it in some situations
Extra Armour – Unnecessary
A concern with Predators is that it is easy to get distracted by all the upgrades. While you can deck them out with all the bells and whistles, will that really be what your army needs? Several items are also of only situational value. A more basic and balanced build will often give you better overall results.
Predator (Destructor) Tank 1: 85 points
Autocannon Turret & Sponson Heavy Bolters
Colloquially known as the “DakkaPred”, this version is designed for long ranged support at a very inexpensive price. Pumping out 6x S5 and 2x S7 shots every turn, it is the bane of light vehicle squadrons and small units of Infantry. This is an excellent support platform for smaller games where points are tight. Consider giving it a Storm Bolter if you know you’re going to be on a small board.
Predator (Classic) Tank 2: 130 points
Autocannon Turret, Sponson Lascannons and a Hunter Killer Missile
A solid main tank, this version is designed as a cost-effective Tank and Monster hunter. It has the range to reach across the field and the power to drop the enemy in their tracks.
Predator (Annihilator) Tank 3: 175 points
Twin-Linked Lascannon Turret, Sponson Lascannons and a Hunter Killer Missile
The cream of anti-Tank options, no other 40k vehicle packs the same quality and quantity of tank busting weapons. This is a good option if you find yourself playing large games and needing to open heavy hulls, but is an excessive investment of points for most armies.
CONCLUSION
The only real problem with Space Wolf Predators is the quality of competition for Heavy Support slots. Long Fangs can provide a comparable price and number of weapons, but are footslogging and will not pull fire away from your other tanks. Land Raiders provide transport and additional protection for an assault oriented force, yet come at twice the price. It is the area in between these two units that Predators fill. They bring a unique balance of heavy weapons, good frontal armour, and cost efficiency. They will not mesh well with every army, but they are an optimal choice for a mechanised or semi-mechanised Space Wolves army.
-Guest post by Bill "Dverning" Lewis.
11 comments:
February 13, 2010 at 2:53 PM
"The cream of anti-Tank options, no other 40k vehicle packs the same quality and quantity of tank busting weapons."
*cough*Vendetta*cough*
February 13, 2010 at 5:52 PM
Nasty cough you've got there Max.
Yes, I think Dverning may have overlooked the Vendetta. Still, the Predator is a good tank :)
February 13, 2010 at 10:15 PM
I'm partial to the 'dakka' version myself. It's just cheap killy goodness.
Past that, i'd consider the AC w/ Las Sponsons. It gives you a decent chance to open up lighter-weight transports in a go.
While the Las/Las version has some nice ranged power, I'm just not feeling there's enough power there to KO heavy tanks, and I'd rather lay that on MM/HF speeders and other stuff.
February 14, 2010 at 12:04 AM
Max took the words right out of my mouth...
...and it can move 6" and fire all of them...
February 14, 2010 at 1:51 AM
Raptor: I'm with you there. The Destructor is cheap and cheerful, closely followed by the Classic Predator. I've always felt that the Annihilator was just that bit too expensive.
Jacob: Yep, the Vendetta is awesome, but it costs a little more and has a little less armour, but is generally more tactically versatile.
There's just one problem with the Vendetta -Space Marines can't have one!
February 14, 2010 at 4:15 AM
I've been considering a Predator Annihilator as part of my leap from 1000 points to 1500 points but at the minute I'm struggling to squeeze it in. The other option is the classic AC/2 LC sponson set up.....or a Vindi.
February 14, 2010 at 5:07 AM
Personally I'm not going for the Vindicator right away. My army seems to get stuck in, so should the Demolisher shell scatter wildly, it would spell disaster for my own troops.
Like you, I'm leaning towards the Destructor for small games and the Classic Predator for the cheaper anti-tank option. Just park it up and shoot :)
February 14, 2010 at 4:14 PM
I run a very heavy mech/ fluff list. I use 3 Dakka Preds, because I want heavy target saturation for my opponent. I use many vehicles to provide each other cover. I seem to cram 2-3 Dakka Preds into any list I make. I am a tank addict I guess.
February 14, 2010 at 6:59 PM
MM, Demolisher cannons and LC all have their place for AT work.
Something that the LC brings that it's ferocious but short ranged brothers don't is this; range.
I know that is obvious but think of this ~ the LC forces the foe to come and deal with your army (a boon for close ranged armies like SW and BT). 48" on a 6 x 4 table means you have the board covered. I have deployed my 3-las Pred in a corner and ravaged Killa Kan mobz (3 LC shots is horrendous against an AV 11 squadron) whilst being beyond the reach of 15 Lootas.
You don't have to hit hard if you are the only one swinging....
*I know 5th ed. Extra armour is expensive but an immobile tank is a dead tank. Say you get stunned, you can still hoon 12" and make cc hits practically impossible; or you can reposition so that in your next turn you'll be against side armour, or by moving that 12" you'll stay out of assault range of that mob with powa klaws.
All that for the cost of one GH. Seems like a good deal when you have already spent 100 pts on the tank in the first place....
February 16, 2010 at 5:45 PM
@Max & Jacob: I'd be happy to debate the idea. Let's try some math-hammer...
Vendetta: BS3 w 3x Twin-Linked Lascannons. Gives you 3 shots with a 75% hit rate, or sum total 225%.
Predator: BS4 w 1 Twin-Linked Lascannon, 2x Lascannons and 1x Hunter-Killer Missile. The Lascannons alone equate a 222% hit rate.
I'm pretty sure the Hunter-Killer Missile is worth more than 3% of a BS3 Lascannon. So while it can move 6" and fire all weapons, I do not consider the Vendetta's payload to be superior quality or quantity. Close, but no cigar. :-)
@40k Junkie: I run 3x Dakka Preds quite often and have been quite happy with them. They're very versatile options.
August 10, 2010 at 11:43 PM
Comparo between AutoLas & 4 ML. 120 versus 115 points.
AutoLas: 47.54% 37.79% 26.72% 14.27% 7.27%
4x ML: 47.34% 37.57% 26.50% 14.01% xx%
All but even. Spamming tanks in SUPPORT and in TROOPS is a great way to saturate the enemies guns with too many choices ;)
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