Food for Thought: Thunderfire Cannon MADNESS!

by | Dec 18, 2012

I have been noticing a distinct trend in various  published Space Marine lists on the web following the launch of 6th edition.

Thunderfire Cannons are EVERYWHERE!!!

Apparently Thunderfire Cannons have gone from complete trash to the most amazing unit in the codex.

Talk about a radical change of events!

However, faithful followers of this blog will notice that Dameon and I have been talking up Thunderfire Cannons for over a year before the release of 6th edition. 


There have been numerous "controversial" articles on this blog about the validity of thunderfire cannons.  I will admit that when I first came across them I was skeptical, but after numerous playtests and tournament successes, throughout fifth edition, those cannons have been invaluable resource in my army.


I'm finally loved!
Here are some of the articles which have been published about thunderfire cannons:

Food for Thought: Thunderfire Cannons
Thunderfire Cannons =/= Fail.  Believe it!  Part One
Thunderfire Cannons =/= Fail.  Believe it!  Part Two
Thunderfire Cannons =/= Fail.  Believe it!  Part Three

Now that sixth edition is here, these cannons are even better then ever.  But there have been subtle changes to how they operate.
  1. They are more durable (except against poison weapons)
  2. They are more reliable against tanks (full damage regardless of the template placement)
  3. Infantry are all over the place.  Be it cultists, zombies, orks, guardsmen, or gaunts
  4. Heavy Support Choices can occasionally count as scoring
  5. Forcing dangerous terrain checks against bikes and jump infantry is not as effective, however against vehicles it still works well and can cause hull points!
  6. Bolstering ruins still provides the gamer with a 3+ cover save.  
Custom TFC! (Not mine)
 So whenever you guys see someone talking up thunder fire cannons in 6th edition.  Just remember that they have always been awesome, especially in a bike army.  The benefits that this piece of equipment adds to a space marine army is astronomical.  It adds unparallelled levels of flexibility which allows Space Marines to still be effective in 6th edition.

I am coming to get you!