Where this unit stands
According to press coverage of the PC Gaming Show on 7 June 2026, the Baneblade was among the Astra Militarum units shown during the gameplay reveal — not confirmed by the publisher in any material we were able to open. On the tabletop it is the Imperial Guard’s principal super-heavy tank: ten crew, a turret-mounted Baneblade cannon, a hull demolisher cannon, and optional sponsons. No statistics of any kind have been published for any unit in this game.
What the tabletop establishes
The Baneblade is one of the oldest armoured vehicles still in Imperial service, built from a Standard Template Construct pattern dating to the Dark Age of Technology. Entire divisions of them are said to have served during the Great Crusade; by the 41st Millennium a regiment counts itself fortunate to field a single company. The same plastic kit builds seven other super-heavy variants — Banehammer, Banesword, Doomhammer, Hellhammer, Shadowsword, Stormlord, Stormsword — which is worth remembering, because a game that ships one of them has a ready-made path to the rest.
The Astra Militarum’s principal super-heavy tank and one of the oldest armoured vehicles still in Imperial service, built from a Standard Template Construct pattern. Ten crew. Its turret-mounted Baneblade cannon is backed by a hull demolisher cannon and optional sponsons.
Tabletop identity, as established by Games Workshop. It says nothing about the video game.What has actually been shown
There is nothing to say here about how to use it, and saying otherwise would be an invention. What the reveal showed, per the press accounts, is that the Baneblade exists in the game and appears in Astra Militarum forces. What no source states: whether it is recruitable, a campaign reward, or a scripted set-piece; what it costs; what stops it. We will rewrite this section the day the publisher, or a playable build, gives us something to describe.
What to watch next
The question people will ask is how you kill one, and the honest answer today is that nobody knows — the game has not been played by anyone outside Creative Assembly. But there is a better question, and it is the one worth watching. Total War has never fielded a single-model super-heavy vehicle in a line unit slot. The Warhammer trilogy’s largest monsters were still units you fought with infantry; a tank that outranges everything on the field is a different problem. Either it is rare and expensive, or the game ships dedicated anti-tank answers from day one. Creative Assembly has announced neither. Reported by press coverage of 8 June 2026, not confirmed by the publisher. Information correct as of 16 August 2026.
What is not known
These questions have no published answer as of 8 June 2026. They are listed because an absence of information is information — and because we would rather name the gap than fill it.