Where this topic 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 — illustrating a tabletop family of vehicles whose possible inclusion in the video game remains to be specified.
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
According to PC Gamer’s 23 July 2026 account of the studio’s Alpha Strike livestream, the Baneblade has sweeping fire. The article does not explain how the player controls that fire or how effective it is in different situations. Recruitment method, cost and tested counters remain unspecified in the sources reviewed. This is a demonstration report, not a final unit guide.
What to watch next
The question people will ask is how to destroy a Baneblade. The game has been played at Gamescom, but the sources reviewed do not establish this unit’s final statistics, recruitment cost or tested counters. A preview session alone cannot settle its balance. The useful open question is what limits such a vehicle and what options the opposing army receives. Until those specific rules are documented, this page records the reported unit and its unknowns rather than offering a counter guide. Information correct as of 5 September 2026.
What is not known
These questions remain open in the cited sources. This page was last revised on 5 September 2026; each source keeps its own date.