5 Primaris Intercessors sit behind a wall, sharing stories of battles fought and battles yet to come. Suddenly, a loud bang in the distance rings out, and before these poor marines get a chance to respond, fire rains upon them from above.
How many Intercessors die? Well, that depends on what's firing the artillery, and I’m here to help you answer that question. Before I do, let's take a look into out-of-line-of-sight shooting, and why it’s become more pertinent than ever to know what these units can do.
Chances are you’ve faced off against one such unit before, the Plagueburst Crawler from Death Guard. The ol’ Crawler isn’t the only unit in the galaxy shooting those guys you hid behind the wall! Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Orks, and so many more factions have started to do a deep dive in their codices to find the perfect unit to pepper unsuspecting victims from far away. These “Artillery” units specialize in shooting out of line-of-sight, holding backfield objectives and screening your deployment zones, but where did all of these units come from, and why are they seeing such an uptick in play?
The short answer is: Terrain. For anyone who's been playing Warhammer 40K competitively you’re very aware that terrain can and SHOULD impact list building going into an event. At the back half of 2021 Games Workshop held 3 Open Series events in Orlando, New Orleans, and Austin. These events featured standardized terrain setups that most notably had four 12”x12” Acrylic pieces with ruins upon them. Most importantly these ruins had no bottom floor windows meaning drawing true line-of-sight to units within them was near impossible until you crossed the threshold of the ruin base. Enter the units that care not: Artillery. People began to add these units to their list to combat those hiding behind walls, help secure secondaries such as Stranglehold, and even add in a layer of cheeky list design that makes these units often times be so high in points that, when taking the “To the Last” secondary, these units that will sit back most of the game will be worth 5 points for still being alive at the end. But just how efficient are these units, and which of them should you be looking to add to your list? I’ll be using a baseline of one of these units shooting at 5 Primaris Intercessors, who are not in cover, and Transhuman Physiology is not active. I will be on the more generous side of averages when it comes to odd intervals, so be aware of that. Let’s dive in!
SPACE MARINES
There’s only one unit I felt was worth covering in this section, The Whirlwind (135 PTS). The Whirlwind puts out 2D3 Blast shots at S7 -1AP 2DMG. It has a BS (Ballistic Skill) of a 3+ and maths out to an average of 1 dead Intercessor after shooting. The most notable thing about the Whirlwind is the utility it provides in a 1CP stratagem called Suppression Fire. As long as you score a hit the unit that was shot at cannot Fire Overwatch, Hold Steady, Set to Defend, and must Fight Last in the ensuing combat. You’ll usually see the Whirlwind in melee focused Space Marine lists as a way to ensure that a combat they are about to charge into has a better chance of going their way. The Whirlwind has largely fallen out of favor as another unit of anything in Space Marines can be so crucial with how elite and costly the army is.
Whirlwind Rating: 1/5
ASTRA MILITARUM
Let’s start the good ol’ guard with the Basilisk (125 PTS). The Basilisk puts out D6 Blast shots, (you roll 2 dice and drop the lowest), at S9 -3AP D3DMG. With a BS of a 4+ the Basilisk on average can kill 2 Intercessors.
Next is the Manticore (145 PTS), the most common pick of the two. The Manticore shoots 2D6 Blast shots at S10 -2AP D3DMG. At a BS of a 4+ the Manticore will average 2-3 Intercessors killed. The Manticore is traditionally the better pick because it can take the “Full Payload” tank ace, which makes it’s damage 3, instead of the unruly D3.
It’s worth noting that both vehicles may now receive orders per the recent Dataslate changes put out by Games Workshop. While not the biggest deal in the world, any order for re-rolls can come in clutch and help you achieve the desired outcome when shooting either of these tanks.
Basilisk Rating: 1/5
Manticore Rating: 3/5
ADEPTUS MECHANICUS
Only one pick here to talk about with AdMech, the Skorpius Disintegrator (145 PTS). The Disintegrator puts out 3D3 Blast shots at S5 -1AP 2DMG at a BS of a 3+. This puts it’s average marine body count at 1-2 Intercessors. This of course is the average just for it’s weapon that doesn’t need line of sight, and Cawl made sure this bad boy had so many Cognis Heavy Stubbers on it. At a 12” move and T7 this Tank can’t get better right? RIGHT?! It absolutely gets better, because the Disintegrator has the Skitarii keyword. This keyword unlocks the Disintegrator being affected by Doctrina Imperatives, and putting it in a Mars detachment will unlock it benefiting from Canticles as well. On top of all of this the Skorpius has the Data-Tether keyword which means it’s relevant in your chain of abilities and buffs for your army. All in all the tank is worth looking at, in a sea of AdMech datasheets that are all worth looking at.
Skorpius Disintegrator Rating: 3/5
DEATH GUARD
Coming in next on our list is the slimeball spewing Plagueburst Crawler (165 PTS). The PBC, as it’s affectionately referred to, shoots D6 Blast shots at S8 -2AP 2DMG and natively re-rolls wound rolls of 1 due to the Mortar being a Plague Weapon. At a BS of a 3+ you can expect the PBC to kill 2 Intercessors on average. The durability of the PBC at toughness 8 and -1 damage makes it the perfect candidate for To the Last and survivability on a home objective. Last but not least this unit has a stratagem for 1CP called Disgusting Force. This Stratagem dials the damage of the Mortar up to 3 as well as providing a 3” bubble of a mortal wound to nearby units if you roll a 4+ per unit. All in all the Plagueburst Crawler fulfills a much needed role in a fairly slow army.
PBC Rating: 4/5
CRAFTWORLDS
The Xenos armies of 40K pack a relevant punch on the artillery front, and first up we have the Night Spinner (135 PTS) from Craftworld Eldar. The Night Spinner slings 2D6 Blast shots at S7 0AP (-4AP on 6’s) 2DMG. At a 3+BS you can expect to kill 1 Intercessor on average.
Next we’ll dive into Dark Reapers, specifically a minimum squad with an Exarch that has a Tempest Launcher (106 PTS). The Tempest Launcher puts in 2D6 Blast shots at S4 -2AP 1DMG. Dark Reapers notably have a 3+ unmodifiable BS. They’ll most likely take out 1 Intercessor on average.
Where the Craftworlds indirect fire shines is as an addition to an army like Harlequins. You can use the custom Craftworld traits Masterful Shots & Expert Crafters to provide a few re-rolls and the ability to ignore cover. On top of all of this a Farseer with Guide & Doom or an Autarch can really amp up the re-rolls and consistency of these units more than most other armies can.
Night Spinner Rating: 3/5
Dark Reaper Rating: 2/5
TYRANIDS
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, (and trust me, they’d even find you there), you’re well aware of the killing powerhouse that is Hive Guard (210 PTS for 6 Models). These absolute monsters dish out 2 shots per model at S8 -2AP D3DMG. With no buffs at a BS of a 3+ you can expect 3 dead intercessors on average. I specified with no buffs because Tyranids just got a huge boost in power from new Synapse powers in a recent Warzone supplement as well as retaining their shoot twice stratagem.
Where the math really gets crazy is when we take these buffs and apply them. With a +1 to hit from the Tyranid Warriors Synapse power, Re-roll Damage & extra AP from the Maleceptor and last but not least full re-rolls to hit from one of the new Leviathan traits. After adding all of the buffs you can easily expect 7 dead intercessors, BEFORE you shoot again with the 2CP Stratagem. This is absolutely bonkers efficiency and dials this unit up to 11! Expect to see Hive Guard across the table from you more and more in the coming months.
Hive Guard Rating: 5/5
ORKS
Rounding out our breakdown, our last bit covers units so impressive and oppressive that Games Workshop had to put a limit on how many of one of these units you’re allowed to take. Let’s start with that unit, the Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies (270 PTS for a unit of 3). This unit throws out 2D6 squiggy mortars at S5 -2AP 2DMG at a BS of a 5+. On average this sheer number of dice alone can kill 3 Intercessors. This isn’t even bringing into account the Squig mines, or the D6 18” squig launcha that also doesn’t need line-of-sight!
Last of all is our first character keyworded artillery, the Kill Rig (190 PTS). This crazy cool model throws D6 shots at S6 -1AP 2DMG and at it’s BS of a 5+ so you’ll be killing 0-1 Intercessors. I know what you’re thinking, “woah Chad, this is easily the worst output we’ve seen on this list thus far, why is the Kill Rig so good?”. Well to answer that you may want to look into just what all this model can do. First off, it’s a transport and can carry 10 Beast Snagga Boyz! Secondly, it’s a Psyker and can manifest 2 Psychic powers from Smite & 2 Beasthead Discipline powers. Third, it’s hyper durable and features Ramshackle, (which is also on the Rukkatrukk’s), an ability meaning that the Kill Rig will take -1 DMG to a minimum of 1 against S7 or less weapons. On top of Ramshackle this guy features a Toughness of 8, and is a Character, meaning it can benefit from the Advance & Charge as well as the +1 ATK that the regular Waaaagh! offers. It has more guns, can fight respectably and operates in nearly every phase of the game.
All in all the Ork indirect is monstrous and only gets better when you factor in that they can be Freebooterz and get a nasty +1 to hit once you’ve killed your first unit!
Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy Rating: 4/5
Kill Rig Rating: 4/5
That concludes our deep dive into some of the best artillery that Warhammer 40K has to offer. Thanks for reading along and hopefully going into your next game you’ll know a little bit more about that unit behind that wall shooting your unit behind this wall!
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