How should I kit my predators?

[Camael]

I am currently working on a list where I am running 2 Predators with the full lascannon load out as I feel I need the oopmh to to kill AV 14 stuff. What does everybody else think. I really like the extra firepower but is it worth 90 points? Thanks in advance!

[ChacoStylez]

I'll go off of personal experience, and advice from Kirby over at 3++ is the new black, you are spending too much for the ability to shoot at something that can be taken out via other means for less and with better survivability.

If you have Codex: Space Marines, I would use something else, storm talon with twin linked las (150), 5 man sternguard with 2 las cannons (145?), attack bikes turbo boosting with multi-melta (70?), land speeder with multi-melta (60?).

If you have Codex: Blood Angels, i'd go with just the twin linked las cannon turret, take advantage of that Fast vehicle upgrade.

This is just my 2 cents though.

[Gir]

I always preferred Autocannon and 2 lascannons on my preds.

[Deadlift]

land speeder with multi-melta


This is just my 2 cents though.

totally agree with this, you could also add another melta and still have points to play with. Land speeders are great, I don't mix load outs on them, it's either 2 flamers or 2 meltas and both do their jobs very well. I know they can be a fire magnet, which is why when I take them I take 2 or 3 but with jink etc, they do very well :)

[Wolfshade]

Mathammer people will tell in you in great lenght that multimeltas are more reliable at taking out AV14 than Lascannons.
At the end of the day, you need to consider what you are up against.
If I play against horde I take Autocannon & Heavy Bolters, if I am against armour then I take the lascannon turret and heavy bolters as it works out cheaper than alscannon sponsons and autocannon turret, or is that the otherway round? Hmm. Either way I go for the cheaper option of the two.
But I play BA so I usually take Baals instead, but that falls into my Fast slot rather than Heavy so might require more rejigging.

[Iceman]

My suggestion is to use magnets so you can swap things around and see what works best for you. There are a number of tutorials out that will help you do that. My experience over the years is that between different armies, codexes and FAQs what is "effective" tends to change so now I build everything with magnets.

[Hurons_Champion]

I recommend using Destructors, if you use them at all, if not Devastators and Landraiders for that AV12+ Hammering.

[ElectricPaladin]

My suggestion is to use magnets so you can swap things around and see what works best for you. There are a number of tutorials out that will help you do that. My experience over the years is that between different armies, codexes and FAQs what is "effective" tends to change so now I build everything with magnets.

I'm a big painting and modeling guy, so I'm usually leery of "magnetize everything!" advice. However, creating a swappable predator is so easy. You just need to buy extra sponsons and extra turrets. Total eBay cost: about $20. Adding magnets to the sponsons is a breeze, and saves you from having to glue them into the sides. The turret need no magnets - it just pops in.

Now, another benefit of the dakka pred (autocannon & heavy bolters) is that it can still contribute even if your opponent choses to field no vehicles, a choice that may become somewhat more common in the new environment, now that vehicles are no longer quite as hard to kill. They are also a lot cheaper. I also agree that there are better las platforms, as well as other sources of weaponry that can glance AV 14 to death. Consider both melta and long-range Strength 8 weapons that can get lucky - like typhoon missile launchers - or assault cannons, which combine strength 6 and rending. It's a longshot, but remember that you only have to get lucky four times to kill even a land raider or monolith or whatever.

[Chumbalaya]

The two main variants to consider are the AC/HB and AC/LC variants. The AC/HB Pred is dirt cheap and works as fire support to knock out very light armor (11 or less) or putting wounds on something. The AC/LC Pred is more focused on knocking out tougher vehicles (AV12/13). The TLLC variants are too pricey when you have other anti-armor options available for cheaper.

[Mr Mystery]

For smaller games, around 1,000 downwards, twin lascannon and heavy Bolters does well. It will struggle to run out of targets with that kit. Bung in a Hunter Killer to really punish a vehicle squadron caught in the open!

Overall, helps to know the rest of your army. Predator is typically at it's best plugging gaps.

[Cap'nSmurfs]

Personally, the dakka Predator (Autocannon and Heavy Bolters), always and forever. It's cheaper too.

[Mr Mystery]

It is something of a bargain. I love AV13 in larger games. Sure it's not the best, but then it's immune to most weapons.

Drop in a Land Raider, and that Predator will most likely not be targeted, allowing it to reap a fearsome tally.

Plus, the Destructor Pattern is cheap enough to be taken en masse...

[thecactusman17]

If you simply must take a predator, I would suggest AC/hb for a few critical reasons. Firstly they do a good job at swatting light flyers, with plenty of mid strength shots to throw at range. They also do a great job of flooding units with wounds. Finally, can safely harass most objective grabbers, which is a huge issue now with most games being objective based.

However, I do think that other units do these jobs better. Dev squads are now much better with the way wound allocation works, and missile launchers can put the hurt on everything outside of apocalypse.

[Lost Vyper]

I´m facing BA´s regularly (i got the Eldar), and the dakka Predator is the most annoying :) it´s just the amount of shots and the T3
combination which annihilates my guys if they are out of cover...

[ElectricPaladin]

I'd like to chime in again to say that a game I had last night really shook my faith in autocannons. My army had a decent amount of strength 7 and 8 weaponry, and even with glancing-to-death, I found it almost impossible to crack enough of my opponent's vehicles to make a difference. I think that having that extra Strength 9, AP 2 kick might be a good idea.

At the moment, I'm leaning towards the Las/Dakka predator - or skipping the predator entirely for a hellfire dreadnought - which seems to combine the best of both worlds. I'll come back once I've had a chance to play with it.

[Cap'nSmurfs]

To be fair, my fondness for the dakka is based on being able to roll with Land Raider lascannon, a Razorback with twin-linked lascannon, lascannon Devastators... as the man said, it's all about filling gaps in your army.

[helvexis]

my 2 cents worth is dont mix and match what you want your predator doing its all well and good being able to pop one shot at tanks and 6 shots at infantry but then you are wasting shots whatever you are shooting at. so i play dark eldar and every model has a specific target and if there are no such targets then it is a subpar unit for that game however each unit shoots at a target and i know it is likely to kill what i want it to as that is its job it has been kitted out to kill that type of target.

a laspred with las sponsons does one thing very well it will kill heavy tanks reliably and even when there are no vehicles it is good to put a few shots through any heavy infantry there happens to be.

a dakkapred will turn any light vehicle to paste also any 4+ or worse save vanishes. or if you are playing dark eldar it will ruin all of the dark eldar but thats the way they are :)

so its a choice of what your list lacks and how you want to fill it ... marines are great in that they have lots of options for lots of roles so if you think the laspred is too expensive take a dakkepred and some mm attack bikes or landspeeders or anything else you happen to want that does the same job