There may be tons of weapons to choose from in 8th Edition. But take a look at our top five weapons to spam if you’re bringing Imperium.
Top meta Imperial lists are running all sorts of soup. But no matter what, they’ve all got the (roughly) the same weapons to choose from. Here’s a list of our top weapons to bring with your Loyalist factions.
Keep in mind that there isn’t one better than the other. It comes down to being the right tool for the right job.
1. Autocannons
Autocannons are the cheapest in the Imperial Guard. Mainly because a one-wound T3 model is sitting behind it. But you can also find some beefy Forge World Autocannons on Leviathans. Depending on which way you choose to go, these things are perfect for taking down medium armor and kills things twice as fast as a normal weapon would.
They’re cheaper than the plasma and the -1 AP is usually enough to force an invuln save on something like a Daemon Primarch anyway. That failed save stings hard when it happens.
2. Plasma
Plasma has some niche uses because it’s expensive and you might be paying extra points for -AP that doesn’t matter. (i.e Plasma against Orks or something with a 3++/4++ invuln save. However, if you’re going up against a bunch of Chaos Marines (or maybe even some Tyranids), this is a great option.
The real value is in Hellblasters right now. Don’t even bother getting the random D3 shots for plasma cannons. It’s heavy and you could be only getting one shot on an overcosted one-wound model.
Just run a ten-man squad of Hellblasters and protect them.
3. Assault Cannons
Terminators and some Flyers can take Assault Cannons but they are the most spammable on Razorbacks. The cool thing is that Razorbacks are a dedicated transport which means you can bring tons of them.
That’s twelve shots on a T7 chassis. Not too shabby. Where these weapons really shine is when it comes to taking our droves of infantry. Assault Cannons are an Orks worst nightmare. It negates any kind of normal armor save they might get and wounds them on a 3+.
They pack a bit more punch than a Heavy Bolter and can be taken easier. The Heavy Bolter is a good option just because of the D3 mortal wound Hellfire Round stratagem, however, we think it gets outclassed by the Assault Cannon overall.
4. Mortars
With screens being prevalent in roughly 80% of any kind of competitive list, we think Mortars really come in clutch still. These guys can fire at things out of LOS and can be massed in squads of 3 as a Weapons Team. They can sit on objectives within your deployment and have firepower that stays relevant all game. While they can really only bully small units that are meant to act like speed bumps, they can still chip off a few (final) wounds to vehicles and larger units too.
5. Missile Launchers
Last but not least, we’ve got Missile Launchers. These things make our top five because they are so versatile. If you need to pop armor, you can shoot S8 shots at it with D6 damage a pop. But if you’ve already taken care of the armor, you can load Frag missiles and get D6 S4 shots per model! These are best used in Devastator squads with a few extra guys standing in as ablative wounds. The Missile Launchers may not have the thumping power that a Lascannon has. But they are definitely a threat to enemy models all game.
And there you have it! That’s our top 5 list of the best spammable weapons that the Imperium has to offer! Maybe you should take some of these weapons and experiment with them in your local meta.
Be sure you tell us how it worked in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
