Knight Commander Pask

Before I begin going over Pask...I've had quite a few players ask why to bring an Executioner Russ. Plasma is dead, so I hear.

In 2000 points, you can't really afford to bring 2 of the beasts (as they are very pricey).

You can bring one. Is it better than bringing along say a full Hydra battery? To be honest, it's just a different choice.

Now to understand this, we need to look at Knight Commander Pask.

Tank Ace: Makes his Russ BS4. Remember he can ONLY be mounted in a Russ.

Crack Shot: When standing still, add +1 to any armor pen rolls (or re-roll to wound against MC).

Is it, however, that expensive to bring along Pask? He does make even the cheapest Russ cost 200 points. Do you really need a dedicated tank killing tank, or a dedicated infantry killing tank?

As ever, you want a vehicle that does well in both roles.

Bring along any of the single shot Russes (Eradicator, Vanquisher, Demolisher, Battle) and if you scatter badly...you've just paid for a very expensive miss.

So, not only do you need Duality--you need Redundancy.

What vehicle offers both? Yep, the Executioner. With 5 templates, and BS4...you will hit your target unit (and your scatters are dangerous).

It also offers decent range, good enough for most games of 5th edition.

You also bypass every armor save, which is what makes the Executioner so nasty. Marines are the new cover save, but with a 36" 'WHY HELLO!' unit around, they'll think twice before they get out of their Rhino. Being obliterated isn't what they want to gain with being able to move around freely. ;)

Speaking of Rhinos, while the Guard have a bunch of ways to take down armor...having 5 S8 templates isn't one of them. Oh yeah, unless you add Pask to the equation. All of a sudden, even Rhinos aren't exactly thrilled when you start firing at them. It's not great, but it is dangerous. Sure you can run Pask in other Russes, but those only give ONE shot. I'll take FIVE shots instead, thank you. :) Don't forget when firing at vehicles, to put the hole on the vehicle (anywhere you want within range) and put the template onto infantry nearby. If you hit, you get the shot at the vehicle and you get to hurt the infantry too. Lots of people forget this, so I'm reminding you. lol

Versus most MC, S7 Plasma wounds on a 3+. With re-rolls to wound, you should be able to put wounds onto every MC. Now let's examine the wording for the rule. "When firing...any hits that failed to wound may be re-rolled." Think about it. Go read it before you EMO on me. If I fire at your Fex, but I scatter onto your Stealers and roll a bunch of 1's...yep, I get to re-roll them.

So, that's how I'd run Pask.

Don't forget to give him another tank in his squadron, to absorb hits on. Personally I'd run an Eradicator with triple Heavy Flamers.

Reason why: Pask dumps wounds into the enemy, but the Eradicator removes cover saves. It's a nasty 1-2 punch people won't like.