The Brilliance of the Land Raider Redeemer

I'm being serious - lets talk about what the Land Raider Redeemer can do, and why it's my favourite variant (and a shout out to Jason Collins for informing me on it's usefulness!).

The Land Raider Redeemer is probably the 2nd choice of Land Raider. You hardly see the double las cannon variant (I for one have never seen one on the tabletop), and competitive players rant and rave about how the only Land Raider to take is the Crusader variant - and they're right, the Crusader is damn good. The Land Raider (and AV14 in general), however, is quite a sub meta at the moment - the stuff is out there, but it's not auto include like it used to be. People are often saying Mech is dead in 6th, and as such the meta has shifted quite a bit - more and more are you seeing high strength dakka *ahem, Tau, ahem* lists to ruin infantry, and the Melta Gun has pretty much been replaced by the Plasma Gun.

This is why I want to talk to you about the Land Raider Redeemer. The Land Raider Redeemer is probably one of the most useful tools for Mid-Field domination. As it can almost ALWAYS fire a weapon (thank you Power of the Machine Spirit!), it has a 20" threat range to pretty much everything, apart from models with a 2+ save.

And when it hits, it hits hard. Say a flame template hits roughly 5 models per shot. That's 10 models covered by the Redeemer's two Flamestorm Cannons. Do the math, and that's 8.3 MEQs (or weaker) removed a turn. If you're completely stationary, then throw in the assault cannon too. That's another 2.96 wounds, which, to a 3+ save, is pretty much another casualty (this excludes rending results). So a bare bones Redeemer (240pts or 245pts, depending on the Codex) spits out9.3 MEQ deaths per turn - nothing to sneeze at. To put this into perspective, aDevastation-Influenced Dark Angels Land Raider Crusader kills 3.5 MEQs with it's 24 Twin-Linked shots, 4.5 if you add on the extra casualty from the Assault Cannon.

Now lets be honest, you aren't usually going to be close enough to hit with all 3 weapons, as units will be either moving away from you, or you will be moving to them (and therefore firing less weapons). And that's the main reason people probably steer clear from the Redeemer - because you have to get close and personal to use it - fair enough, I don't want to throw my 240-odd point Land Raider right at where Meltas or competent assault units can hurt it. That's a waste, yes? But didn't we say that Meltas have quite often been replaced by Plasma? That's right. I speak from experience - I only have three 12" range Melta Guns in my 1850pts list, as I don't see that much high AV saturation in my gaming area. Two Melta guns in one Dark Angels Bike unit, and one in another. To hurt a Redeemer I need to be within 6" of it's hull. If I miss or fail to damage the Redeemer, I WILL lose the unit from the return fire.

But ignore getting close for just a second; where I think the Redeemer shines the most is, as stated before, dominating the mid field. If the opponent has plenty of Anti-Tank, then sit back. Hide the Redeemer until late game. Got a 5 man Grey Knight Strike Squad or 5 man Tactical Squad? The Redeemer will almost guarantee their survival. Make the opponent come to you, and then make the opponent disappear. If you have the second turn, the Land Raider Redeemer is the ultimate tool for late game objective clearing. Drop that 5 man squad off at a back field objective and race up into the mid field. Flame whatever unit you want. If the game continues, they're going to have to deal with that Redeemer immediately, or they could lose their objectives. You wouldn't want a Heldrake around on your last or second last turn would you? Well try having an AV14, 4 Hull point monster with not one, but TWO Heldrake flamers (albeit, not Torrent weapons) in your face.

People should think about the usefulness of something like this, and it's definitely played too aggressively. Keep it around! Keep it safe! Set up a denial zone on the board, beg people to come near you, and remember that 20" potential. Remember it if your opponent has one too!  

That would be my two cents. I hope you enjoyed the article - lots more to come!

Alles Gute,

TommyH