Fitting in 40k - This assessment of the tank is based on fluff. As you know, fluff doesn't dictate the battle. The tank is the cheapest most powerful indirect ordnance tank in 40k. Does it fit? Yes it fits on the table top. It's one of the only tanks you'll find in many I.G. armies at cut throat competitions, and you'll find Chaos Iron Warrior armies getting one nearly every time at those same competitions. It is referred to as not fitting, literally, due to the fluff of the tank as a long range siege weapon. 40k is a small game skirmish practically, where massive ranged weak armored artillery shouldn't be represented. So keep that in mind. The statement is cosmetic.
Range? - So long as you're on a standard 4x6 board, and so long as you have decent cover and terrain, you can manage to place your bassies (one or more) in the corners separated as much as possible. You can reach out and crush someone that way while managing your critical zone of 36 minimum inches when firing indirectly. You have nearly infinite max range in 40k's scale with this gun, but the minimum range is the range you have to keep in mind. Anything closer than 36 inches to you (the max range of a heavy bolter) cannot be targeted by your indirect firing earthshaker. This is a huge problem, if someone's army moves up to you, because the board edge to edge is only 48" and your deployment zones are 12" each. You will quickly have no shots if you were in the middle of your deployment zone and he in his, some of this units already would be untargetable due to that minimum range. This is why you spread out, to make sure you can fire at things with added range from the corners of the boards. The two corners arch in, so that you can cover more area and hit places that are in the minimum distance of one tank, while that tank cannot fire within that minimum distance. They cover each other's "blind spots" so to speak.
Style? How's it used? - This has a big impact, because too much indirect firing really cheap costing ordnance quickly earns you the title "Mr. Cheddar" with locals typically. People will moan when nothing is safe, because two bassies, which cost you 250 points, end up dropping plates on their marines and destroying hundreds of points with them because they failed to spread out their models, sit in cover, have a way to deal with hidden vehicles, etc. The style has given it a reputation and many slang names, which aren't necessary to mention here. But it's very much associated with "new" players, if you get my drift. Now, on the contrary (the funny part) many veteran players at tournaments will not play without one because it's so cheap costing and the style of it's use means it will either cause damage for real, being a scoring unit, or cause psychological damage and mess with tactical choices and possibly cause your opponent to make mistakes. It has fear factor. It's a new and old man's tank.
Least liked? - Really, that's not accurate. The griffon was long heralded as perfection, but also called complete garbage by others. It's much more longed for now that they don't have it anymore without playing armored company (chapter approved all-tank force). Now, the low costing, low armor indirect firing massive earth shaker cannon is all that's left, short of the Leman Russ to get picked on, heralded or used. If someone took three leman russes, people would cry Cheese. If you took three basilisks, people would cry cheese (unless they were a fast moving assault army anyways or skimmer force). Really, don't even worry about this. I guarantee you that globally, the Chimera is less "liked" than the Basilisk, and GW's sales can probably prove that (totally guessing there though). It's not "liked" on many forums, but real-world-gaming seems to show otherwise, as everyone and their brother seems to have one, and not just in I.G., but in Chaos as well when available.
Bottom Line:
If you want to just place a 125 point unit on the board, roll scatter dice, and hope to blow things up. Then this tank is for you. If you are facing someone, like Tau players, who just have a bunch of battle suits jumping in cover all the time but are always far away and it annoys you and you want to pound them, this tank could be for you. If you're facing marine players or necron players, who play castle and just sit in one place, all bunched together, trying to gun you down, then this tank can be for you.
If you are facing fast moving assault armies, skimmer mechanized forces, etc, this tank will not service you well typically.
So think about what you need. Why you would take it. If it fits into your army's plan of action. Remember, a lot of fuss has nothing to do with the actual tank. But more, the fluff. If you want three--take three. Just know, it limits your army a lot and could be a pit fall for you against many foes. If you want just one--don't hesitate. One cannot hurt.
I say all that, as someone who doesn't like the Bassy, because I too think it has no place in 40k, and I want the Griffon back. But I'm not going to tell you not to, just because of my personal bias. Instead, I'm going to tell you that the Bassy is a very powerful and widely used tank in competitive and casual I.G. gaming and in several other armies. It's not a bad tank, in the slightest. Cheap, powerful ordnance. If you want that, then take it!
