Hammer of the Emperor: The 11th-Edition Guard Tank Mobility Detachment

One clause, and it works by removing a dice roll rather than adding a bonus.

Each time a SQUADRON unit from your army Advances, do not make an Advance roll for it; until the end of the phase, add 6 inches to the Move characteristic of models in that unit, and when making that Advance move that unit can move within Engagement Range of enemy models but cannot end that move within Engagement Range of them.

Three things follow, and the first is the important one:

• The 6 inches is guaranteed, not a D6. That converts tank movement from a gamble into a planning number. A Leman Russ that Advances always goes exactly the same distance, which means you can build a turn around arriving somewhere rather than hoping to. Compared to an average D6 of 3.5, it is also simply more distance most of the time, but the reliability is worth more than the average.
• The permission to move through Engagement Range means screens do not stop you. Your tanks drive over the chaff and out the other side. Note the limit: you cannot end the move there, so this is a way past a screen, not a way to ignore it.
• It names SQUADRON, so this is your tanks and transports, not your infantry. Nothing in this detachment touches a Guardsman.

The obvious tension is that Advancing normally costs you your shooting, which for a Guard tank is most of its value. The detachment's first two stratagems exist precisely to remove that cost, and reading the rule alongside Blazing Advance is how the detachment is meant to be understood.

Six, five at 1CP and one at 2CP. Note which name SQUADRON and which name the broader VEHICLE.

• Blazing Advance (your Movement). 1CP. Just after a SQUADRON unit Advances, that unit is eligible to shoot in a turn in which it Advanced, until the end of the turn. The natural partner to the detachment rule: Iron Tread guarantees the distance, and this removes the penalty for having gone the distance.
• Tactical Withdrawal (your Movement). 1CP. Just after a SQUADRON unit Falls Back, that unit is eligible to shoot in a turn in which it Fell Back. The mirror image of Blazing Advance, and the answer to a tank being tied up by something it does not want to fight.
• Crash Through (your Movement or Charge). 1CP. Target one ASTRA MILITARUM VEHICLE unit that has not moved or charged; until the end of the phase, each Normal, Advance or Charge move can move horizontally through terrain features as if they were not there. Note VEHICLE, so it is broader than the detachment rule and covers vehicles outside your squadrons.
• Furious Cannonade (your Shooting). 1CP. Target one SQUADRON unit that has not shot; until the end of the phase, attacks targeting a unit within 12 inches improve Armour Penetration by 1. The damage stratagem, and it rewards exactly the aggressive positioning the movement rule enables.
• Final Hour (your Command). 1CP. Target one SQUADRON unit that is Below Half-strength (excluding OFFICER units); until the end of the battle round its ranged weapons gain [HAZARDOUS] (excluding [ONE SHOT] weapons), and each ranged attack can ignore any or all modifiers to Ballistic Skill and to the Hit roll. A last stand for a broken squadron: better accuracy at the cost of hazarding your own models.
• Ablative Plating (your opponent's Shooting). 2CP. Just after an enemy unit selects targets, target one ASTRA MILITARUM VEHICLE unit that was selected; until the end of the phase, each time an attack is allocated to your unit, subtract 1 from the Damage characteristic. The most expensive stratagem here and the detachment's only real defence. Against multi-damage anti-tank fire, reducing damage by 1 per attack is worth more than any save modifier.

The habit to build: Blazing Advance every turn you Advance, and hold 2CP for Ablative Plating on the turn your opponent commits to killing a tank.

Four, and all four require a VEHICLE OFFICER, which is a significant list-building constraint worth stating plainly: a Hammer of the Emperor list that fields no Leman Russ Commander or Rogal Dorn Commander cannot use any of its enhancements at all.

• Calm Under Fire (15 pts). VEHICLE OFFICER model only. Once per turn, after the bearer issues an Order to a SQUADRON unit, it can issue the same Order to another SQUADRON unit. The Order-economy option, and the one that makes a tank commander worth his points beyond his guns.
• Veteran Crew (20 pts). VEHICLE OFFICER model only. Each time a model in the bearer's unit makes a ranged attack, re-roll a Hit roll of 1. Straightforward accuracy on a tank already shooting a lot of dice.
• Regimental Banner (20 pts). VEHICLE OFFICER model only. Add 3 to the bearer's Objective Control characteristic. Objective Control 3 higher on a tank commander turns a shooting platform into a scoring piece, which matters a great deal in a detachment whose entire rule is about driving somewhere.
• Indomitable Steed (15 pts). VEHICLE OFFICER model only. The bearer has Feel No Pain 6+. The cheapest durability option and a modest one: roughly a sixth more effective wounds, which on an already tough hull is worth having but is not a plan.

(Points come from the Munitorum Field Manual and move with updates; confirm in the app.)

• Leman Russ Commander is the VEHICLE OFFICER all four enhancements require, which makes it close to mandatory here. Faction Pack v1.2 rewrites its Death Befitting an Officer ability so that on a 2+ the unit is not removed when destroyed and can shoot the attacking unit before resolving its deadly demise.
• [Leman Russ Battle Tank](/40k/boxes/astra-militarum-leman-russ-battle-tank) is the SQUADRON workhorse Iron Tread is written for. A guaranteed 6 inch Advance plus Blazing Advance means it repositions and still shoots, which is the detachment in one sentence.
• [Rogal Dorn Battle Tank](/40k/boxes/astra-militarum-rogal-dorn-battle-tank) is the heavier SQUADRON option and the better carrier of Furious Cannonade, because it has more guns to improve when it closes inside 12 inches.
• Rogal Dorn Commander is the other VEHICLE OFFICER and the more durable carrier of Regimental Banner.
• [Hellhound](/40k/boxes/warhammer-imperial-guard-hellhound-new) is a fast SQUADRON vehicle whose short-ranged weapons want exactly what this detachment provides: a reliable way to close the distance without rolling for it.
• [Chimera](/40k/boxes/warhammer-imperial-guard-chimera-new) is a SQUADRON transport that benefits from Iron Tread as much as a battle tank, which is how an infantry element keeps pace with an armoured advance.
• [Cadian Shock Troops](/40k/boxes/astra-militarum-cadian-shock-troops) hold objectives. Nothing in this detachment touches infantry, so bring them for the mission and expect the tanks to do the work.

One buying note. Leman Russ Commander and Rogal Dorn Commander have no exact entry in our catalog, so we link no box for either; the Leman Russ and Rogal Dorn boxes build the standard tank datasheets rather than the commander variants.

Hammer of the Emperor carries no Unique Tag, so all three 1 DP detachments are legal partners at exactly 3 DP. Because this detachment does nothing at all for infantry, the partner is where your board presence comes from.

• [Designation Force](/40k/armies/astra-militarum/detachments/designation-force) (1 DP) is the most natural: eyes in front, guns behind, both moving. Sentinels infiltrate and mark while the armour Advances a guaranteed 6 inches into range.
• [Bridgehead Strike](/40k/armies/astra-militarum/detachments/bridgehead-strike) (1 DP) gets your tanks onto the objective at roughly the same time your Scions drop onto it, which turns a kill turn into a scoring turn.
• [Abhuman Auxiliaries](/40k/armies/astra-militarum/detachments/abhuman-auxiliaries) (1 DP) gives the list a melee answer, which a pure tank detachment badly lacks, while the armour takes the flanks.

Take it when tanks are the army rather than a component, and when you want their movement to be something you can plan around rather than roll for. It is also the most forgiving armoured detachment to learn, because the rule is unconditional and the stratagems are cheap and obvious.

Be clear-eyed about three things. It does nothing for infantry, so your scoring comes entirely from your 1 DP partner and from tanks with Regimental Banner. It requires a VEHICLE OFFICER to use any enhancement at all. And it is the weakest-evidenced detachment in this set: the Faction Pack does not mention it anywhere, so confirm the rule and stratagem wording in the Warhammer 40,000 app before an event rather than relying on this page.

Sample gameplan: pair with Designation Force (2 DP + 1 DP). Run a Leman Russ Commander carrying Calm Under Fire so one Order covers two squadrons, with two or three Leman Russ or Rogal Dorn tanks. Advance every turn and spend Blazing Advance so you shoot anyway, use Crash Through to cut across terrain rather than round it, and close to within 12 inches for Furious Cannonade once you have a target worth the risk. Let the Sentinels designate ahead, and hold 2CP for Ablative Plating.

For the fundamentals underneath all of it, read the Astra Militarum army guide.