Horus Heresy Review: Legion Fellblade Super-Heavy Tank

The first entry in the Lords of War section of Betrayal is the humble (or humbling) Fellblade. Costing more than Horus himself, this super-heavy tank better be worth the points. But is it?

The primary weapon of the Fellblade is the Accelerator Cannon that can be shot in two modes: a high strength piercing round, or a slightly lower strength massive blast round. The former can pick off almost any opposing tank or structure, the latter will wipe entire squads of space marines off the table. On top of this, it has two quad-las cannons on sponsons. Fire these off at your enemy tank and follow up with the accelerator cannon and you will be posing a threat to even titans with the Fellblade. Additionally, there's the hull mounted heavy bolter (don't forget about it - its quite easy to get carried away with the bigger guns!), as well as the hull mounted demolisher cannon for extra bang if things get up close and personal and you just need to take care of the titan's knee joint at such ranges.

But to be honest, with AV12 on the rear of the tank, this is one that you will probably be wanting to keep near the back lines (assuming you're looking out for any infiltrating / outflanking units coming in trying to take advantage of the AV12 -- keep your eyes open!). With 4 structure points, it is going to hang around a while, but the rear armour (and indeed the side armour to a different degree) is always going to be an on-going concern.

There are a number of upgrades that are worth-while, but top of my list has to be the space marine crew. Obtaining BS=4 on the Fellblade is terrific for the work it needs to do - particularly the sponsons - and can make all the difference. With that in mind, here are a few builds to consider.

Legion Fellblade, space marine crew (540 points)
Pretty much the "naked" or vanilla flavour Fellblade that I think should be fielded. This version will sit near the back lines and do its duty.

Legion Fellblade, laser destroyer sponsons, armoured ceramite, space marine crew, hull-mounted heavy flamer, pintle mounted havoc launcher, command tank (605 points)
Well, the laser destroyers are great and worth thinking about if you're going to go up close and personal (all out style!). The heavy flamers are to counter chargers. and the havoc launcher is for mild sniping. Arrange units around the tank so they gain the morale re-roll from the command tank designation and you've got a hell of a spear tip to drive across the board. Pricey, though!