This is a Solar Auxilia Shadowsword Super Heavy Tank on display at Warhammer World.
A single super-heavy tank is a dominant presence in an Astra Militarum battle line. As it ploughs inexorably forward it lays down a wide path of destruction. Enemy ranks shatter long before it reaches their position, and those unlucky few who are able to maintain their defensive formations are ground to paste under the slab-like plates of its tracks. The Shadowsword is equipped with one of the most fearsome primary weapons – the dreaded volcano cannon – and is capable of taking down Titans at extreme ranges. Nothing short of the most powerful energy fields can hope to stop a direct hit from its blasts.
The Shadowsword is armed with a fearsome array of weapons – none more so than the mighty volcano cannon on its turret. It can also be equipped with a pair of sponsons sporting a twin heavy bolter or twin heavy flamer, each capped by a lascannon turret!
The Shadowsword is the sister tank of the more common Baneblade super-heavy tank of the Astra Militarum. The Shadowsword is a nearly identical super-heavy tank to the Baneblade with the exception of its armament and battlefield role as a Titan-killer. Armed with a massive forward-firing gun known as a Volcano Cannon the Shadowsword’s primary focus during combat is the destruction of enemy Titans. The Shadowsword and Baneblade have been fighting alongside the forces of Mankind since the Dark Age of Technology, thus making it one of the oldest tank designs still in regular use by the Imperium. Each Shadowsword uses ancient Standard Template Construct (STC) designs that only a handful of Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds have at their disposal. Each Shadowsword is individually logged, registered, and tracked on Mars, not only to see where it is but to see where it has been and the honours it has received, as a Shadowsword’s deeds are celebrated as if they were those of a favorite child amongst its makers. The Shadowsword is a highly prized addition to any armoured regiment of the Imperial Guard.
