Warhammer 40K: Can The Kratos Cut It In The 41st Millennium?
Ten thousand years after it’s heyday, does the Kratos heavy assault tank still have what it takes?
The Kratos is a pretty cool looking tank. It’s got a great kit. We were all pretty excited when it was first announced. Of course one of the first questions we had was: “Is it going to get 40K rules?” This week we got a definitive yes answer on that. So lets take a look at this new monster tank and see if its actually any good.
Heavy Firepower
The Kratos isn’t a cheap tank, but it does come with a ton of weapons. This thing can put out some serious firepower, though a few options seem better than the rest. At 320-330 pts its pricy, but about on par with other heavy Space Marine tanks. It’s priced to be taken, but not be a steal. Having to pay an additional CP to take one also hurts. While its got a lot of guns, it’s a little lacking in the defensive department. I wouldn’t call anything with T8, 18 wounds and 2+ a glass cannon, but without an invulnerable save its not going to last long against the kind of firepower that will be thrown its way. But enough about costs, lets talk about the two loadouts I see people using.
The Marine Killer
The stock Kratos is a pretty solid Marine killer. Five heavy bolters (adding one on top) and an autocannon put out a respectable about of firepower off the bat. The battle cannon is also a solid anti-MEQ or terminator weapon, though its hilarious short ranged. This guy can lay waste to a squad or two of Marines a turn. That make a lot of sense for the Heresy Era when it’s fighting Marines all the time. I’m not sure its that great in modern 40K as its not really great at killing other things. For example, the anti-tank version of the battle cannon is pretty bad with only one shot.
Volkite Time!
Another version of the tank is the Volkite monster. Fully decked out this guy can put about 20 Volkite shots a turn. All of these are D2, and while they don’t have great AP, all of them can produce mortal wounds. You are generally looking to get a little luck here. Statically you’ll only get 2-4 MW a volley. However you could get 28. I think this version will draw a lot of people in, hoping to get really swinging turns. Honestly however the anti-MEQ version is likely a better average damage dealer.
The Volkite version has a max damage output of 72 damage. The Anti-MEQ version can put out 59 damage a turn at max. This is a little less that the Volkite version, but not reliant on tons of 6s to wound and generate MWs. Better average AP also helps. Overall I feel like the Volkite version is a little bit of a trap.
Other Versions
There are some other variations you can build of course, this guy has a lot of options. I don’t however feel they will get a lot of play. You can kit it out for anti-tank for instance, with a bunch of las and melta guns. However ultimately there are better anti-tank options out there. For the points you are likely better off taking a sackful of attack bikes or something like that.
Will It be Good?
The Kratos is I think in the running for best Marine heavy tank. If we compare it with the Repulsor or Repulsor Executioner, two tanks that are pretty close in points to it, it comes out ahead as a fire support platform. It can outshoot both with ease. While both newer grav-tanks can carry troops, this is normally not their main role. I think we may see players replacing fire support Repulsor Executioners with Kratos’ as they are better in the role.
The real question is if the CP cost for them will make them too expensive to take. Given rumored changes to CPs in the game’s future, this may cut pretty deeply. It’s also a lot of points to pay for something without an invulnerable save. Overall I don’t think the Kratos is going to be a game changer, or dominat the meta. I do think it has a place in certain Marine armies. This is a unit I’d expect to start seeing on tables.
Let us know what you think of the Kratos, down in the comments!
