tedwin183 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Alright, let me ask another question. How many bikes do you guys deem "enough" for a scout biker squad whose main design is to help terminators get down on target? What loadout would you take, what squad size would you take? Any grenade launchers/cluster mines? Fire away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatcrusade08 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Not an easy question but ill try my best. 3 scout bikes is the minimum and great for first turn hurt (suicide anti tank etc). But it lacks staying power. Since terminators come down from turn 2 onwards you need some ablative wounds to make sure you can stick around long enough. A ten man squad is large and will attract alot of attention but will stay around alot longer (obviously), however you will probably combat squad them for extra first turn charges anyway, so i would suggest 5-7 scout bikes as the optimum for the DS'ing job. Large enough to stick around but not too large as to attract too much attention. I always suggest taking mines, and if your using 5 or more take the max 3 grenade launchers. Gc08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedwin183 Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 GreatCrusade, I know you're fancy for scouts and I know we've had some productive discussions about optimizing cc scouts, so I will definitely take what you said into account. I was considering 5 bikes, myself. Anything special for the serg or just barebones + the grenade launchers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatEscape_13 Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I'll suggest an alternative... Take a squad with exactly ZERO scout bikes in it. If your main design is to get terminators down on target, then you're placing far too much importance in deep striking terminators arriving in "just the right place" in your battle plan. I'd suggest that you put the points into a better unit than scout bikers, and be flexible enough to allow your terminators to arrive a bit off target on occasion. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadaeux Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I'll suggest an alternative... Take a squad with exactly ZERO scout bikes in it. If your main design is to get terminators down on target, then you're placing far too much importance in deep striking terminators arriving in "just the right place" in your battle plan. I'd suggest that you put the points into a better unit than scout bikers, and be flexible enough to allow your terminators to arrive a bit off target on occasion. Cheers. I suggest an alternative, take your useless comments elsewhere, this is a thread on optimum Scout Biker tactics, you knew this when you clicked on the thread and yet feel the need to waste our time with "don't bother". You don't like them fine, but don't waste the time of people who do. Especially as they have abilities OTHER than their locator beacons that make them valuable. I'd go with 5, 3GL and the Cluster bombs. The cluster mines are a cheap and easy way to boobytrap somewhere to make it costly for the enemy to enter or use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Rik Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I started using Scout Bikers as soon as they came out. Everyone dimissed them as useless... until they met mine and changed their opinion! Scout Bikers are fantastic! I've never regretted taking them. Back then I used only 3, since that's all I had to begin with. I gave them all Astartes Grenade Launchers and Cluster Mines. Even three scout bikers were sufficient to tie up enemy units from turn one long enough for my jump-pack captain and assault squad to get there and finish the squad. Indeed they even tied up a squad of 5 terminators from turn 1, and even killed 2 or 3 of them, which my commander then arrived in the nick of time to finish off! Now I use 6 bikers, and find this works just as well, with added staying power. I tend to use them in one of two ways, depending on whether I have turn one or not: If I have turn 1 I will deploy them on my lines, normally on a flank, in front of my assault unit(s). They will then scout and commence a first turn rapid firing grenading and charge to either take out weaker units, or tie units up in combat long enough for my assault squad to arrive. If I don't have turn one, I usually outflank with them. They are absaloutely fantastic for turning up unannounced and wiping an enemy unit off of an objective in one fell swoop, for my Rhino-mounted Tactical squads to then drive up and claim for me. With T5 the scout bikers are pretty hard to kill, however they do only have a 4+ save, as opposed to the 3+ save of normal bikers and the rest of your army, so you do need to bear in mind that they can be a wee bit more fragile than your normal Space Marine, and are best used as harrassing units and flankers, and for sneaky tactics, rather than as the core of a force. I'd reccommend the Astartes Grenade Launchers. Take all three if you can afford it. You always have bolt pistols and shotguns to fall back on if you really need to, but to be honest, since you have the relentless rule and so can move, shoot and assault with rapid fire weapons, having a rapid-firing grenade launcher is fantastic! They have caused considerable woe to an unsuspecting enemy unit in their time for me. I personally have gone off of the Cluster Mines. I did take them at first, but found that, for me at least, they are rarely set off at all, and if they are, you have to hope they kill a decent amount of enemy models, because once they are activated, that's it. They can be a nasty surprise if you are lucky, but I would advise against taking them, unless you really have nothing else to spend those 10 points on. Well, that's what my experience using Scout Bikers has taught me. Hope that all gives you a bit of help and insight into your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatcrusade08 Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I personally have gone off of the Cluster Mines. I did take them at first, but found that, for me at least, they are rarely set off at all, and if they are, you have to hope they kill a decent amount of enemy models, because once they are activated, that's it. They can be a nasty surprise if you are lucky, but I would advise against taking them, unless you really have nothing else to spend those 10 points on. Yeah i have gasmes when they dont even get used.. BUT when they do they always kill more than ten points and even if not used they are useful for the psychological game! 5 scouts with 3AGL and cluster mines is pretty good and keeps them cheap in both points and actual £££$$$. If you want to get something on the sergeant, perhaps a nice cheap combi-weapon? Gc08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedwin183 Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 Alright, so 5-6 looks like the optimum number here. I was wondering about the grenade launchers, myself. They look like they could be fantastic. I am still piecing the list together, but oh, how I know the value of fast things that can outflank. Khan with a bike command squad in reserve is a nasty, nasty little thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatEscape_13 Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 this is a thread on optimum Scout Biker tactics Indeed. And thus pointing out that fielding them just to get a fast-moving beacon on the table was not "optimizing" their usage. Since instead of doing what they do best, they would simply be racing to the spot to bring down another unit. Seems pretty non-optimal in use to me. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.