Some things never go out of styleThe most common Reaver carapace weapon (due to being the only one currently in production by Forge World) it is fortunate that tha AML is a very good weapon.
It's main strengths are its ludicrous range (30 feet - just in case you need to kill someone in another game) and accuracy. The AML uses the Apocalypse Blast Template - this is the clover shaped one - and even when firing indirectly it does not scatter. The fall of the five large blast size shots are determined using the template.
There is a 2/6 chance of hitting the centre circle, and 1/6 for each of the four. The template is placed in any orientation, so it can provide very close support to friendly units without fear of it scattering onto them. It has a reasonable strength of 7, with AP3. It can't Instant Death T4 units, but with the multiple shots it cna stack up wounds very easily.
Targets with large bases are especially vulnerable, as it is possible to get three blasts overlapping on a large based target such as a Greater Daemon or Carnifex. However I would recomend using the AML as an anti-infantry weapon, targeting higher toughness multi-wound targets first (Wraithguard, Nobz, Destroyers etc) or high concentrations of light infantry (big ork mobz, guard platoons around an officer etc). Even if a unit is only under one template multiple wounds can easily be put on them to quite nasty effect.
The only real downside is that it has a minimum range indirectly of 24" and directly of 18" due to the Towering Monstrosity rule (remember G range weapons ignore the minimum when firing directly). This negates it's most useful potential for eliminating close in enemy targets and its use on smaller boards. However on larger boards it is a wonder for 'sniping' soft, but valuable, targets out of LoS (like valuable commanders who need to stay alive to give assets).
In a pinch it can be targeted on light vehicles, but the accuracy of the template isn't that reliable to generally warrant it. Lucky rolls could put five S7 hits on a target, but a bad ones could yield nothing. The only real vehicle target should be enemy artillery hiding out of sight, such as a squadron of Bassilisks, and then only if nothing else can do the job.
The only carapace systems I would consider aside from the AML are the Twin Turbo Lasers or Vortex Missile, and then only if they were guaranteed to be more uselful.
