2:48 FWIW, all the vulkite weapon names are all historical words for various types of cannons. The saker is a type of large European falcon, and as a cannon was the biggest of three common classifications of medium-light cannons, the smallest being the falconet and the middle being a just plain falcon. The bird names probably come from the fact that cannons were frequently decorated with animal motifs back then, and the three "raptor" ones fired shot that weighed about the same as a various birds of prey. Probably tied to the popularity of falconry as well and some superstition about your cannonball striking true like a well-trained falcon. Culverins were originally long-barreled handguns, then light cannons, and were frequently decorated with snakes, most likely because they were long and thin and there's a breed of grass snake that was known as a culverin (a mutilation of a French word) back in the day. Caliver was just a term for any arquebus/handgun manufactured with a consistent bore size, and is a corruption of the French word caliber. Early guns (including all the "animal" cannons) tended to be wildly erratic about bore sizes, so the more standardized calivers were a pretty big technical innovation that allowed soldiers to load and fire more quickly and ammunition to be made en masse to standard sizes. Prior to that (so pre-16th century or so) handgunners often had to cast their own ammo using molds sold with their particular gun, or resort to shaving or hammering issued rounds into a size that would fit their weapon. "Macro-" just means "big" here. "Vulkite" is an entirely made-up word AFAIK. And yes, I was a history major in my college days and have played a lot of historical minis games over the decades. :)
@@Hearesy It is, isn't it? If you wanted to show off your know-wots (as da boyz would call it) you could convert the guns to have birds of prey on them somewhere. Most people would probably just assume it's an Imperial eagle thing, but you'd still know. :)
The biggest consideration with a predator is the opportunity cost. The heavy support slot is already heavily contested between sicarians, squads, dreadnoughts, spartans, the kratos, and artillery.
Generally true but the pred’s definitely one of the more cost efficient selections in this bracket. Its also a solid pick regardless of whether you’re playing a small or large point game and I’m finding I bring them more and more - even when compared to some of the more glamorous choices
Great video as always! Very surprised to see you didn’t list the other weapon options for the unit, but it makes sense you didn’t because you just covered what comes in the current box. Maybe in the next Predator vid (when the inevitable upgrade box/sprue comes out) you could also cover more Legion specific options for them as well? Super curious to see your thoughts on a few things. Also a worthwhile comparison to note is that 3 Preds with Las sponsons is cheaper and more efficient than 2 Sicarans with Las sponsons; the Preds having S8 vs S7 makes the whole unit much better at MEQ and armor killing compared to the Sicarans, albeit with a bigger footprint. On a personal note I’d love to see how you rate other interesting options like the Neutron Blaster option, especially since it was only previously available on the Sabre. I currently have a pair of Iliastus Assault Cannon Preds (or BRRT Boats as my friends lovingly call them), and while they’re not the most efficient unit around, they’re incredibly fun. I’d be very curious to see how you feel about adding a third Pred with a Magna Melta and Las sponsons to it; it would target armor and TEQ’s while the 2 IAC Preds would hammer the nearest infantry units due to the nature of all their Defensive weapons, and in a pinch 32 IAC shots (8 of which are TL) can pop open quite a bit of armor. I feel this could be hilarious fun if you have a Siege Breaker give the unit Sunder for IAC’s fishing for plenty of 6’s and the Melta basically guaranteeing hard Pens every turn.
Another great video, thanks! I’m with you on that classic autocannon / lascannon loadout, it makes this tank surprisingly good for the points. Remember: the Predator has 4 hull points, it’s as durable as a Sicaran and almost as well armoured.
That's certainly something to keep in mind, I'm pry more 'rule of cool' orientated to the Sicaran but points and such are always worth keeping in mind.
I hadn't been aware that a squadron of tanks is treated as a unit for shooting purposes, so that was a good call. I was planning on three but a squad of two seems ideal. I like the idea of running an area denial graviton loadout since I run Fists and controlling enemy movement is the name of the game. Great video as always!
Often long enough to be on two sides of an LoS blocking ruin though, which makes them hard to target. Angling the vehicle’s backend and 4” can go quite far. But still not as good as talon!
Now you’ve got me thinking about an Iron Warriors pred rocking three shrapnel cannons under Hammer of Olympia. They’ll have to get up close but no Crew Shaken/Stunned results. Or they can help defend the gunline.
I will be making mine Autocannon + Lascannons sponsons as well. I really like the look, and will have a squadron of 4 of them. I know 4 is not ideal in a squadron for several reasons, but they look so cool.
Why is 4 not the best decision? As a new player (that's done theory crafting but no playing) having more in a squad makes predators 2,3 and 4 cheaper. Is it simply investing 400plus points in to the squadron? Edit got a bit further in to video, do they have to stay in coherency like troops?
Yep, and all shoot the same target, and your enemy can shoot the whole squad at once. So a unit of 10 lascannons shooting them can potentially kill all 4 in one round of shooting.
yeah kind of....but then he shouldnt say ,,for imperial fists and iron warriors obviously better'' I dont have a clue why but i guess they have special rules to buff them (the heavy bolters) ....but guessing is not knowing!
Split fire is not possible with predators, as they do not have the Power of the Machine Spirit special rule. In keeping this in mind, you'll really want to prioritize what kind of threat response you want out of your predators, and at what range you want them to engage their targets. This is doubly important if you're intent on fielding any weapon with a range higher than 24" in part due to the near-certainty of Night Fighting in the first turn (searchlights are but a 5-pt upgrade, after all) While the "Annihilator" build with searchlights is 5pts more expensive than the average minimum-sized lascannon heavy support squad with augury scanner (not counting Legion-specific bonuses), the big thing that you're paying for with it is the mobility - even while possessing one less lascannon than the squad, it can move and shoot at full ballistic skill. Pairing that off with Night Fighting, and you can keep this thing on the back line as a long range fire support platform that can quickly move to where it needs to in order to fire off some anti-tank lascannon shots. As for flame tanks, your mileage may vary, especially if you're intent on taking them as Troops choices in a Salamanders army using the "Covenant of Fire" rite of war. You will often find that they lack quite a bit in the way of actual firepower outside of 8" beyond the use of the Flamestorm Cannon (FW only at the moment), but you're probably not going to be taking them for the sponsons anyway. Nonetheless, range really hampers their ability to function in this game, as most anti-tank weapons will have considerably longer range than anything mounted on it with may be the sole exception being melta weapons.
Regarding splitting fire, with sponsons and defensive fire they are actually pretty good at doing this. Its pretty easy to get 2/3 targets a lot of the time, if you want/need to.
@@Hearesy Yes and no. Under normal vehicle weapon rules, the only time in which a sponson weapon may shoot at a separate target from your main shooting attack is if the main shooting attack is not in its firing arc. Otherwise you must engage your primary target with as many weapons in the unit as you can. Land Raiders and Spartans can get around this just by virtue of having the Power of the Machine Spirit special rule, but as of yet I can't say I've seen any situation thus far in which a Predator or Sicaran has been in a deliberate position to split fire as such, especially when it's much more efficient to focus fire with all of its weapons instead. Lascannons being single shot weapons may have a lot to say about that, though.
Little late to the party, but your videos have helped tremendously so far. Two questions. How does.this compare to the coming Predator support tank and what would be the best loadout for dark angels? :)
So I have two I'm building and was looking at doing both with the Graviton Cannons because they're not available in 40k, and look fun. What are some thoughts, sponson/pintle suggestions(I was leaning towards sponson lascannons) and great targets for them?
No pintle, lascannon sponsons would br my vote. Shoot hard targets with it all, or shoot sponsons at a tank and defensive fire the turret at infantry you want to impede.
Obligatory magnetization comment: the kit comes with separate mantlets and bustle boxes for each turret weapon so magnetizing will be relatively easy, two magnets inside opposite ends of the turret, one magnet in each bustle box and gun.
I plan on running a squadron of 3 of the "Destructor" variant as an allied Dark Angels Iron Wing detachment with my Alpha Legion. With the Mobius Configuration warlord trait I'll get a VP if the opponent kills my allied detachment. So, I'm less worried about them being killed.
It is debatable if the Grav Cannon is a defensive weapon as S(x) is technically not smaller then S6 but something else entirely. It would be different if the wording for defensive weapons would the other way around (as in "not a defensive weapon when above S6"). I think the best part of the cannon is probably dangerous terrain vs. infantry. Without armour saves in this edition, this can hurt a big blob massively while slowing it down. What about the incredible Magna-melta or the somewhat ok Plasma, C-Beam and Flamestorm turrets?
Defensive weapon/battle weapon rules is very clear. It says “anything above s6 is a battle weapon and therefore any other weapon in considered defensive”. I dont think theres any RAW issue at all personally but agree it could be FAQd (unlikely though) Other weapons I’m going to cover in a future video but I think you summed up my thoughts in that sentence :)
@@Hearesy Problem is, that it does start with defining a specific range a Defensive Weapons as well and the Grav Cannon cannot be classified as such from that definition because S(x) is neither here nor there. You are right though that it also is not a Battle Weapon, going from the next paragraph. In such cases I'll prefer to err on the side of caution and go with the less powerful option.
Say, what is your opinion about assault cannon sponsons for Imperial Fists Predators? Seems like a straight upgrade over heavy bolters on the offense, but you lose the ability to use them defensely without a lot of risk.
Love the Kratos model, but the fact that you can get 3 Auto/Las predators for the same points always gives me pause! Maybe both in an armoured company..😂
Armour 15 IS a really big deal though. Even when you think “I have plenty thank can kill av 15”, including melta weapons, in practice they are genuinely hard to shift.
Best option seems to be the magna-melta, so I am waiting for a future kit. That is a lot of twin-linked melta shots at decent range for the cost. EDIT: Um, the DG chem-flamers on a vehicle seem like a terrible idea. High chance of glancing yourself? No thanks.
And covered HH instead of 9th edition. It amazes me that you can even notice something so petty when you can't even tell the difference between the two games these channels specialize in.
The gravis lascannon is so frustrating and it pulls people out of the setting. The game is liked because of the historical setting and its why its so much more interesting then 40k, stuff being there that shouldnt be there is such an annoying thing and many casual players who have been playing 30k for ages simply dont want to play agianst lists with lots of these.
2:48 FWIW, all the vulkite weapon names are all historical words for various types of cannons. The saker is a type of large European falcon, and as a cannon was the biggest of three common classifications of medium-light cannons, the smallest being the falconet and the middle being a just plain falcon. The bird names probably come from the fact that cannons were frequently decorated with animal motifs back then, and the three "raptor" ones fired shot that weighed about the same as a various birds of prey. Probably tied to the popularity of falconry as well and some superstition about your cannonball striking true like a well-trained falcon.
Culverins were originally long-barreled handguns, then light cannons, and were frequently decorated with snakes, most likely because they were long and thin and there's a breed of grass snake that was known as a culverin (a mutilation of a French word) back in the day.
Caliver was just a term for any arquebus/handgun manufactured with a consistent bore size, and is a corruption of the French word caliber. Early guns (including all the "animal" cannons) tended to be wildly erratic about bore sizes, so the more standardized calivers were a pretty big technical innovation that allowed soldiers to load and fire more quickly and ammunition to be made en masse to standard sizes. Prior to that (so pre-16th century or so) handgunners often had to cast their own ammo using molds sold with their particular gun, or resort to shaving or hammering issued rounds into a size that would fit their weapon.
"Macro-" just means "big" here. "Vulkite" is an entirely made-up word AFAIK.
And yes, I was a history major in my college days and have played a lot of historical minis games over the decades. :)
Thanks Rich! Interesting etymology for a death ray!
@@Hearesy It is, isn't it? If you wanted to show off your know-wots (as da boyz would call it) you could convert the guns to have birds of prey on them somewhere. Most people would probably just assume it's an Imperial eagle thing, but you'd still know. :)
You dont need a major for this haha. Just play total war or similar strategic computer games.
Really that's very interesting
@@richmcgee434 THAT is probably the coolest nod to history I think I could add to my Imperial fists.
I'm gonna have to do that now.
All flamer everything is what I'm thinking. Is it good? No. But I'm still gonna do it.
I like you and you belong in Heresy
Perfect reasoning!
Salamanders can take all-flamer Predators as Troops with one of their rites of war.
Where would you acquire the flame turret?
@@yuliydubovyk3080 Baal Predator?
The biggest consideration with a predator is the opportunity cost. The heavy support slot is already heavily contested between sicarians, squads, dreadnoughts, spartans, the kratos, and artillery.
And I'm blessed to have them as fast attack as World Eaters lmao Tanks! TANKS FOR DAYS!!
Generally true but the pred’s definitely one of the more cost efficient selections in this bracket. Its also a solid pick regardless of whether you’re playing a small or large point game and I’m finding I bring them more and more - even when compared to some of the more glamorous choices
@@Kalron9 sorry I'm late by 4 months, but this man speaks the truth
@@finnymathew6400I'm even later. But blood for the blood God brother.
Heyo, he's back!
Tell you what fella doing a cracking job with these vids. Helped me out so much with my SoH army
Great video as always! Very surprised to see you didn’t list the other weapon options for the unit, but it makes sense you didn’t because you just covered what comes in the current box.
Maybe in the next Predator vid (when the inevitable upgrade box/sprue comes out) you could also cover more Legion specific options for them as well? Super curious to see your thoughts on a few things.
Also a worthwhile comparison to note is that 3 Preds with Las sponsons is cheaper and more efficient than 2 Sicarans with Las sponsons; the Preds having S8 vs S7 makes the whole unit much better at MEQ and armor killing compared to the Sicarans, albeit with a bigger footprint.
On a personal note I’d love to see how you rate other interesting options like the Neutron Blaster option, especially since it was only previously available on the Sabre. I currently have a pair of Iliastus Assault Cannon Preds (or BRRT Boats as my friends lovingly call them), and while they’re not the most efficient unit around, they’re incredibly fun. I’d be very curious to see how you feel about adding a third Pred with a Magna Melta and Las sponsons to it; it would target armor and TEQ’s while the 2 IAC Preds would hammer the nearest infantry units due to the nature of all their Defensive weapons, and in a pinch 32 IAC shots (8 of which are TL) can pop open quite a bit of armor. I feel this could be hilarious fun if you have a Siege Breaker give the unit Sunder for IAC’s fishing for plenty of 6’s and the Melta basically guaranteeing hard Pens every turn.
Another great video, thanks! I’m with you on that classic autocannon / lascannon loadout, it makes this tank surprisingly good for the points.
Remember: the Predator has 4 hull points, it’s as durable as a Sicaran and almost as well armoured.
That's certainly something to keep in mind, I'm pry more 'rule of cool' orientated to the Sicaran but points and such are always worth keeping in mind.
Great video. Just what I was looking for!
I hadn't been aware that a squadron of tanks is treated as a unit for shooting purposes, so that was a good call. I was planning on three but a squad of two seems ideal. I like the idea of running an area denial graviton loadout since I run Fists and controlling enemy movement is the name of the game. Great video as always!
Thanks! Yeh for some reason dreadnoughts get to split up, nobody else does…
@@Hearesy 4" coherency for tanks squadrons is rough
Often long enough to be on two sides of an LoS blocking ruin though, which makes them hard to target. Angling the vehicle’s backend and 4” can go quite far. But still not as good as talon!
Now you’ve got me thinking about an Iron Warriors pred rocking three shrapnel cannons under Hammer of Olympia. They’ll have to get up close but no Crew Shaken/Stunned results. Or they can help defend the gunline.
Yeh! Iron warriors can do so much cool stuff with any heavy bolter
I will be making mine Autocannon + Lascannons sponsons as well. I really like the look, and will have a squadron of 4 of them. I know 4 is not ideal in a squadron for several reasons, but they look so cool.
Why is 4 not the best decision?
As a new player (that's done theory crafting but no playing) having more in a squad makes predators 2,3 and 4 cheaper. Is it simply investing 400plus points in to the squadron?
Edit got a bit further in to video, do they have to stay in coherency like troops?
Yep, and all shoot the same target, and your enemy can shoot the whole squad at once. So a unit of 10 lascannons shooting them can potentially kill all 4 in one round of shooting.
@@leestride2285 Vehicles have a 4 inch coherency range that they have to maintain.
Excellent! Particularly valuable to players new to Heresy.
yeah kind of....but then he shouldnt say ,,for imperial fists and iron warriors obviously better'' I dont have a clue why but i guess they have special rules to buff them (the heavy bolters) ....but guessing is not knowing!
I was just screwing around on battlescribe and the predator is a troops choice for blood angels? That's very interesting.
Great video. Very timely since I have two on the way!
Split fire is not possible with predators, as they do not have the Power of the Machine Spirit special rule. In keeping this in mind, you'll really want to prioritize what kind of threat response you want out of your predators, and at what range you want them to engage their targets. This is doubly important if you're intent on fielding any weapon with a range higher than 24" in part due to the near-certainty of Night Fighting in the first turn (searchlights are but a 5-pt upgrade, after all)
While the "Annihilator" build with searchlights is 5pts more expensive than the average minimum-sized lascannon heavy support squad with augury scanner (not counting Legion-specific bonuses), the big thing that you're paying for with it is the mobility - even while possessing one less lascannon than the squad, it can move and shoot at full ballistic skill. Pairing that off with Night Fighting, and you can keep this thing on the back line as a long range fire support platform that can quickly move to where it needs to in order to fire off some anti-tank lascannon shots.
As for flame tanks, your mileage may vary, especially if you're intent on taking them as Troops choices in a Salamanders army using the "Covenant of Fire" rite of war. You will often find that they lack quite a bit in the way of actual firepower outside of 8" beyond the use of the Flamestorm Cannon (FW only at the moment), but you're probably not going to be taking them for the sponsons anyway. Nonetheless, range really hampers their ability to function in this game, as most anti-tank weapons will have considerably longer range than anything mounted on it with may be the sole exception being melta weapons.
Regarding splitting fire, with sponsons and defensive fire they are actually pretty good at doing this. Its pretty easy to get 2/3 targets a lot of the time, if you want/need to.
@@Hearesy Yes and no. Under normal vehicle weapon rules, the only time in which a sponson weapon may shoot at a separate target from your main shooting attack is if the main shooting attack is not in its firing arc. Otherwise you must engage your primary target with as many weapons in the unit as you can.
Land Raiders and Spartans can get around this just by virtue of having the Power of the Machine Spirit special rule, but as of yet I can't say I've seen any situation thus far in which a Predator or Sicaran has been in a deliberate position to split fire as such, especially when it's much more efficient to focus fire with all of its weapons instead. Lascannons being single shot weapons may have a lot to say about that, though.
You just turn your tank so the sponson cant see your main target…
Running 4 Volkite predators in a squad just so I can have some good dakka feels from rolling ork levels of dice.
I like the magna melta turret, 3 twinlinked melta shots at 36 inch even beats the levianthan cyclonic melta.
Its excellent, but isnt in this kit!
@@Hearesy probably an upgrade kit soon.
Little late to the party, but your videos have helped tremendously so far. Two questions. How does.this compare to the coming Predator support tank and what would be the best loadout for dark angels? :)
So I have two I'm building and was looking at doing both with the Graviton Cannons because they're not available in 40k, and look fun. What are some thoughts, sponson/pintle suggestions(I was leaning towards sponson lascannons) and great targets for them?
No pintle, lascannon sponsons would br my vote. Shoot hard targets with it all, or shoot sponsons at a tank and defensive fire the turret at infantry you want to impede.
@@Hearesy thanks for the reply! I'm new to HH, so this is definitely helpful!
Obligatory magnetization comment: the kit comes with separate mantlets and bustle boxes for each turret weapon so magnetizing will be relatively easy, two magnets inside opposite ends of the turret, one magnet in each bustle box and gun.
I usually like to remind everybody about magnetising and forgot to do so this time. Thanks!
I plan on running a squadron of 3 of the "Destructor" variant as an allied Dark Angels Iron Wing detachment with my Alpha Legion. With the Mobius Configuration warlord trait I'll get a VP if the opponent kills my allied detachment. So, I'm less worried about them being killed.
Cool idea!
The way I see it best to keep the range past 20 inches so for me atlest auto cannon with spouse volkite and pintle heavy bolter
Taking 6 of these since World Eaters can take them for fast attack and supporting footslogging despoilers and tacticals
Will you be doing a round 2 on this topic now that the support pred is due to be released? Cheers
Lovely as usual. You mentioning autocannon for IW. Do you mean predator cannon or some another?
Predator Cannon, yep.
Thank you :)
Illustrations will be good .
So what is considered a Defenseabull weapon?
Will you also be doing a video of the other possible weapons, for ppl who want to convert the other guns onto predators? Plasma looks super juicy.
For sure! I expect we’ll see the upgrades soon and then ill cover the lot like I did with the dreads.
@@Hearesy sounds great, let's hope GW don't take too long with the Predator and hopefully Sicaran turret sprues
@@Hearesy just noticed that all remaining Predator variants have been removed from Forgeworld, so hopefully upgrade sprues will arrive soon 😁
Oh, great! Good spot. Cant wait!
nice, want a pair in the near future
It is debatable if the Grav Cannon is a defensive weapon as S(x) is technically not smaller then S6 but something else entirely. It would be different if the wording for defensive weapons would the other way around (as in "not a defensive weapon when above S6").
I think the best part of the cannon is probably dangerous terrain vs. infantry. Without armour saves in this edition, this can hurt a big blob massively while slowing it down.
What about the incredible Magna-melta or the somewhat ok Plasma, C-Beam and Flamestorm turrets?
Defensive weapon/battle weapon rules is very clear. It says “anything above s6 is a battle weapon and therefore any other weapon in considered defensive”. I dont think theres any RAW issue at all personally but agree it could be FAQd (unlikely though)
Other weapons I’m going to cover in a future video but I think you summed up my thoughts in that sentence :)
@@Hearesy Problem is, that it does start with defining a specific range a Defensive Weapons as well and the Grav Cannon cannot be classified as such from that definition because S(x) is neither here nor there.
You are right though that it also is not a Battle Weapon, going from the next paragraph.
In such cases I'll prefer to err on the side of caution and go with the less powerful option.
What's your thought on going all Iliastus for Fists/Blood Angels?
Volite weapon naming convention: “let’s find the most archaic firearm/cannon names from history and confuse the hell out of people!”
Say, what is your opinion about assault cannon sponsons for Imperial Fists Predators? Seems like a straight upgrade over heavy bolters on the offense, but you lose the ability to use them defensely without a lot of risk.
A little expensive for my tastes but very effective!
Any recommendations as to how World Eaters may best utilise them?
It depends if you want to snipe vehicles (lascannons) or if you want to use them as a battering ram (flamers) or as a broom (volkites)
Wait s6 is instant death to marines with t4?Not shure about that one...
Choom Wagon for life!
Love the Kratos model, but the fact that you can get 3 Auto/Las predators for the same points always gives me pause! Maybe both in an armoured company..😂
Armour 15 IS a really big deal though. Even when you think “I have plenty thank can kill av 15”, including melta weapons, in practice they are genuinely hard to shift.
can a fists predator replace its heavy flamers with assault cannons?
Yes, it can, I'm actually curious about them as sponson options.
Hey he’s alive
Best option seems to be the magna-melta, so I am waiting for a future kit. That is a lot of twin-linked melta shots at decent range for the cost.
EDIT: Um, the DG chem-flamers on a vehicle seem like a terrible idea. High chance of glancing yourself? No thanks.
Magna melta?
/me pulls out my Dark Millenium era predator; Graviton Gun and Heavy Flamer sponsons...
Does the predator autocannon have 8 shots ? Data sheet shows 4 shots ?
Its the sicaran autocannon that have 8 shots innit
4 shots. S8. Did I say 8 shots somewhere?
@@Hearesy at the beginning when mentioning the predator cannon . No worries. Awesome video and very useful and I have 4 to build
Maybe just a slip of the tongue! And thanks
@@Hearesy Well, if you had two-vehicle squadrons it would be 8 shots, right? :)
Iron Within
This channel is what Auspex Tactics could be if he fixed his tooth whistle.
And covered HH instead of 9th edition.
It amazes me that you can even notice something so petty when you can't even tell the difference between the two games these channels specialize in.
This channel is nothing like auspex. Auspex just reads datasheets off theres practically no analysis. Hearesy is far superior
Did this guy like fall off the face of the Earth he hasn't made anything in a while?
The gravis lascannon is so frustrating and it pulls people out of the setting. The game is liked because of the historical setting and its why its so much more interesting then 40k, stuff being there that shouldnt be there is such an annoying thing and many casual players who have been playing 30k for ages simply dont want to play agianst lists with lots of these.