The Tyranids have unleashed a new-and-improved Screamer-Killer, and the Imperium needs a way to shoot it down before it gets too close and starts slicing things up. It’s time to bring a gun to a claw fight.
We’ve seen the hand-to-hand combat expert in the Brutalis Dreadnought, the jack-of-all-trades Redemptor Dreadnought, and now there’s the shooty one – the Ballistus Dreadnought.
Like all classic gunslingers, it strolls into town and solves problems with its guns, before heading off into the sunset.* Don’t you dare try shooting it in the back either – as we saw at Warhammer Fest, it’s incredibly tough with an exceptional Save characteristic. It also has an Objective Control value of 4, making it excellent at sitting on an objective and blasting away.
While the Brutalis Dreadnought is loosely based on the classic Furioso Dreadnought, the Ballistus owes its loadout to the original metal Dark Angels Dreadnought.**
When the metal Dreadnoughts were replaced with a plastic kit, the twin lascannons and missile launcher options were in the box. The Ballistus Dreadnought has longer legs than the Castra Ferrum, though – more akin to a long-distance runner, so it’s much cooler when it strolls out at high noon.
Along with those big guns, the Ballistus sports a twin storm bolter*** giving it enough dakka to make an Ork green with envy. It can also stomp its feet if anything gets too close.**** While it might struggle against dedicated melee monsters such as the Trygon, this should be enough to prevent the odd Termagant from tying it up in combat.
We’ve shown it before, but in case you missed it, here’s another look at its datasheet:
The Ballistus Dreadnought will be available in the Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan boxed set, which will go on pre-order soon.
* Sadly, the hero found within the sarcophagus is so badly injured they can neither wear a cowboy hat nor hold a toothpick in their teeth.
** While the Dark Angels Dreadnought was excellent at long-range, it was so heavy that the Codex Astartes also recommends that it can be alternately used as a paperweight.
*** Think of these as the Dreadnought’s derringer.
**** Who knew that a Dreadnought had something in common with a toddler?