Horus Heresy Review: Imperial Avenger Strike Fighter

This is a somewhat fragile flier that is also a Lord of War. But it more than makes up for its fragility through its Avenger Bolt Cannon. This beast pumps out 7 S6 AP3 hits every turn. This means that it will literally mow through enemy space marine units with relative ease. But more than that: it poses a distinct threat to low AV tanks on top of that. When combined with some more serious anti-tank weapons on its hard points, this thing can tear apart light transports and their contents with contemptuous ease. Anything other than a terminator should get worried about this flier. And it is also the reason that Heresy armies really need to think hard about sky fire units to help bring down targets like this.

There are many options for the flier, but I think the basis for any build should be to strongly consider how to take best advantage of the Avenger Bolt Cannon.

That said, its important to remember that the flier also comes with a heavy stubber that also has skyfire. It might be able to take down the lightest of fliers (like itself), but in general, I think the Avenger should be kitted out to take on ground units rather than tackle other fliers.

Here are some sample builds.

Imperial Avenger Strike Fighter, battle servitor control, chaff launcher (175 points)
I think this is about the basic build that one should consider fielding. Its still flimsy with AV10 on the sides -- not much can be done about that -- but with the ability to tank hunt, this flier can pose real problems to almost anything on the ground that isn't a land raider or terminator.

Imperial Avenger Strike Fighter, battle servitor control, chaff launcher, two missile launchers (215 points)
This version is capable of taking on most things in the game -- at least on the ground. A land raider will still be hard to crack (krak?!), but otherwise, almost everything else is in danger from this one. Take infrared targeting if you think night fighting is going to be an issue.