Tiny bit surprised this is Loyal, just for flavor reasons.  Aren't the Orks renowned for stealing these things?

There will probably be an ork version made later on... painted red so it will get mobility

Really suprised the Leman Russ ended up being designed like this.

No AoE (wtf?) being my biggest problem with this card.

Because of that and abilities that are not that relevant because it's a late drop. 3/5.

This guy wins commands alone. The lack of either AoE or Ranged is sad.

3/5

I wonder if in the later set the Leman Russ would get it other variant such as the Punisher, Exterminator e.t.c.

This tank wins command struggles easily and can REALLY mess with your opponent in the realm of threat evaluation. I've seen the tank draw fire from a lot of other units before and help win battles even as it goes down in flames from drawing three attacks. Of course, that's when I crush my opponent's spirit by playing Fall Back! LOL!

I think it does not have aoe because it would be too powerful combined with Preemptive Barrage. But still it could have ranged or something instead of so many command points.

I'm surprised by how unpopular this card has been.  Fluff-wise, it's iconic, and as far as value for resources spent, I think it's definitely at or above the power curve.  I think the main thing is that it doesn't synergize with either AM warlord right now.  It's not a soldier for Straken, and it's too expensive for Coteaz who wants as many of his units as possible to be expendable sacrifice-fodder.  Otherwise, it compares favorably to many other 5 cost units that see at least occasional play - Crisis Battleguard has -1 hammer, -1 ATK, -1 HP, + mobile.  Land Raider has -1 hammer, -1 ATK, +1 HP, and a sort of useful ability.

I think I'm going to start playing Leman Russ when Broderick Worr comes out.  +1 ATK and immunity to Archon's Terror at a green planet, or just as a unit that doesn't really need the ATK boost and can hold a non-green planet barring routing effects.  Pity it's loyal, as it would probably be Gorzod's #1 looted tank otherwise.

Edit to add: Like some other cards (cough...  Mordian Hellhound), I think it partially suffers from versatility, in that it's unlikely to get full use out of both the 4 hammers AND its good ATK and high survivability.  One way of looking at it: Sanctioned Psyker + Iron Guard Recruits = 4 CMD / 1 ATK / 6 HP for 2C4R, Leman Russ = 4 CMD / 4 ATK / 6 HP for 1C5R.  Seems like a reasonable trade, no?  Of course, the Psyker and Recruits can go to separate planets while the Russ concentrates all of its hammers at one location, which is definitely a thing, too.

The problem with the Russ is that it's a generalist, which the game doesn't really suit. If you're using its combat ability, there's a good chance you're not using it's massive command, because it's a planet you're already winning etc. And if you're not using it's combat ability, well...it doesn't matter how many icons you have, you can still only win command once.

That and the lack of any ability/synergy is why it doesn't work out well against most other similar cards. You can't really compare it to something like the Crisis suits, because they can take an Ion Rifle for a 6/5 Mobile Warlord hunter. Land Raider's ability is actually pretty great. Then you've got stuff like the Fire Drake Terminators and their in-built swarm control. Those cards can do something other than be a big stick. It also doesn't help that IG have the Valkyrie, which is actually better than the Russ in combat in most situations and costs one less.

Worr will make it better, but still not sure it'll be a top pick. I do think we'll eventually get a tanky IG Warlord, or cards that make # of command icons matter more, and that's when the Russ might get it's chance to shine.

I agree that it suffers a little from being a generalist, but I think it has several things going for it that will allow it to be a star with Worr.  

As an attack unit with just 1 hammer, it would only be overcosted by 1.  Attack Squig Herd is a 0/4/6 for 4, but it's terrible.  However, add on a command icon, and it's at least playable right?  1/4/6 stacks up reasonably well to the Killer Kans that are 2/2/5 Brutal.  So you're only paying an extra 1 resource for 3 extra hammers.  (I had a hard time finding comparable units other than the terrible Squig Herd, because most 4 cost units aren't simply a beat stick, and none of them are really a command unit - most of them have funky things going on, or at least Range, making them hard to compare.)

As a command unit, they are one of the most efficient cost-per-hammer units in the game.  If you assume that a card is worth 1.5 resources, then they are better efficiency than a 2-for-2 (1.625 total cost per hammer vs. 1.75), and are only beaten by Ripper Swarm (1.5), Biel Tan Guardians (1.25), and Recon Drones (.75).  All loyal(ish) and two of those are limited.  Even if you only consider a card to be worth 1 resource, then Leman Russ ties the 2-for-2's for command efficiency.  Yes, it's definitely a thing that two guys with 2 command are easier to deploy flexibly than one guy with 4, but there aren't that many 2-hammer units (edit: for 2 cost, I mean), and there are NO 3 hammer units that are cheaper than the Leman Russ.  And it's not like you never have use for a guy that can swing a 2-hammer loss to a command win - I'm stuck in that situation all the time, but there's usually nothing I can do about it except go elsewhere.

Their biggest weakness is cheap removal.  I hate cheap removal in all games that have it as a feature - I consider it a big design flaw.  However at least removal in Conquest is relatively rare and relatively expensive - in most cases (with 2 notable exceptions) actually being pretty close to reasonable.  And more to the point - in Broderick Worr, you can deny Archon's Terror, Indescribable Horror, and Inquisitorial Fortress (and the routing planet...  can't think of any others...  Does it affect Nurgling Bomb or just force you to choose the damage?).  

And while 1C5R for 4 hammers is more prone to avoidance or removal than 2C4R for 2 guys with 2 hammers each, those 2 guys are more prone to AE or pings than the 6 HP tank.

Also immune to Squiggify because it is a Vehicle.

And more to the point - in Broderick Worr, you can deny Archon's Terror, Indescribable Horror, and Inquisitorial Fortress (and the routing planet...  can't think of any others...  Does it affect Nurgling Bomb or just force you to choose the damage?).  

Regarding the Nurgling Bomb, I'd presume that you could just choose to rout the unit, which would get immediately blocked by Worr in a similar fashion to his synergy with his signature squad, which would also make it immune to that. The only "removal" effect I can think of is Sicarus' Chosen, which is more a "moving" effect rather than a "removal" but it can still have the same effect given when it's played (so your point stands).

Regarding its value, the two most similar units that I can think of are the Goff Nob (0/6/6) and the Deathwing Guard (4/2/9) since the both share a stat with the Leman Russ and both don't have extra abilities. I would argue that the 4 command trumps the +2 attack the Nobs have, however if it's being played late game (like it most likely is) then it doesn't hugely matter, meaning the extra attack is more useful, especially given the possibility of Brutal and Cybork Body. The Deathwing, however, use the command better in my opinion, since the +3hp makes them the ultimate command capper since they can't be easily dealt with, and at least have synergy with Rally the Charge (+2att for each command icon on an army unit at a planet with your warlord), thereby making it slightly more useful than the Leman Russ in my opinion. However, if we ignore possible combos, the Leman Russ is the most solid of the 3 just due to its versatility, but the other 2 can at least be augmented somehow.

Leman Russ + Worr at a Green planet trumps all of the above. Whether a Worr deck has space for it, however, remains to be seen.

Agree with that. This is an endgame play, and when the game is down to 2 or 3 planets a stack of 4 command in one place WITH a decent combat unit is actually a really strong play. I tried running 2 copies out of Coteaz as a finisher, just after I got the promo art Leman Russes, and I was surprised at how important those command hammers were, and just how happy I was to see Leman Russ in my hand during the endgame.

Generally its not a bad idea for most decks to have a couple of big hitters for the endgame, and in AM the options are limited. Assault Valkyrie is cheaper than this, and just as durable and fighty, but its those extra command icons that can often make a difference.

Leman Russ is no longer in my main Coteaz deck, as my main Coteaz deck has SM allies and runs a little differently, but in my Coteaz-Ork build I still have 2 copies.

I think 2 copies for Worr is probably not a bad thing to experiment with. This is one of those cards that is always better in play than theorycrafting would suggest. Yes, Klaivex ruins its day, but Klaivex ruins everyone's day.

I'm thinking about adding 2 Lemans in my Corteaz deck, and with 3x Muster I can have a good chance to playing it for 4 instead of 5. I know that Corteaz likes cheap units he can eat, but toward the end game it's hard to find a big unit to counter against your opponent. Besides, I just like this tank, but I wish it has an ability like Land Raider or Crisis Battle Suit so it won't be so vanilla. 

I'm thinking about adding 2 Lemans in my Corteaz deck, and with 3x Muster I can have a good chance to playing it for 4 instead of 5. I know that Corteaz likes cheap units he can eat, but toward the end game it's hard to find a big unit to counter against your opponent. Besides, I just like this tank, but I wish it has an ability like Land Raider or Crisis Battle Suit so it won't be so vanilla. 

Try it I've been playing with one as a wild card in my Coteaz setup for some months now and it's nice to have when the game draws towards the final battles or if the opponent feels smug in triggering Y'varn in the confidence that Coteaz usually doesn't have a heavy hitter for that, just like you pointed out.

Of course it's sweet under the influence of a barrage as well.

However, while I find the Leman Russ fun to play, it rarely is a game-changer per se. But go for it. Experience is always good.

Leman Russ in Broderick is a little silly. At a green planet it's a 5/6 with four command that can't be routed... I've never had it die and not have it's cost's worth of kills in. Barring a Klaivex the opponent is going to have a tough time dealing with it. 

Leman Russ in Broderick is a little silly. At a green planet it's a 5/6 with four command that can't be routed... I've never had it die and not have it's cost's worth of kills in. Barring a Klaivex the opponent is going to have a tough time dealing with it. 

Yeah, I know just about everything is better with Worr than Corteaz, including Leman Russ. Worr is the new Zarathur, who makes the other 2 warlords in his faction look bad by comparison. I'm keeping my Corteaz deck for now but it's hard not to get tempted joining on the Worr bandwagon.

When a card is remade a couple of years later, you know there is a problem.

2/5