BIKE SQUADS

[rolloverbeethoven]

Hi y'all! I'm a returning player to the hobby, and pretty much a total noob to 40k, so I was just looking to canvas some opinion on bike squads. Effective? Expensive? Worthwhile?

 

Personally I think they're kinda cool looking, so I'll probably get some regardless! ;)

[G3Spoon]

They're fun. Different from the tactical squads, but I like them. Relentless and Turbo Boost are cool, along with the toughness 5.

If you want to tie up infantry without powerweapons, they are great. Take 5 with flamers and a powerweapon, and you'll come out on top. If you just want them to deal with tanks, Sarg with Powerfist, two bikes with Melta's and an attack bike with a Multi melta will get the job done.

I think they are great.

[rolloverbeethoven]

Cheers for the tips man. ;)

[Brother-Chaplain Gaius]

never used them, dont like them. played them before and beat them but i've seen them run tables. and I know for a fact they can be very effective

[Hubernator]

Used them a few times and they do their job somewhat. They get minced if not turbo-boosting but can be very scary when equipped right. Mine needs Khan to make them solid :ermm:

[Captain Juan Juarez]

Not a head on assault force as they can be quite fragile, use them to deny approaches and to harass.

[River Black]

I love bikes and run a bike heavy list as my primary army out of the space marine codex. If done right and done in mass it can be a very competitive army. My favorite thing about them is their speed but the fire power is lacking so you would need to bring stuff to supplement that. Over all they can be very flexible army and will force your opponent to react to you not the other way around. I have no experience in running them as a solo unit in a regular army.

[Corpse.]

I've used bike armies in the past. (all three variations, ork, eldar and marine chaos and loyalist)

 

Three things. Larger bike squads can surround transports with kraks+fist attacks and make sure the occupants die because of 1" distance rule. Especially rhinos, because vehicle explode results lets them be placed where the wreck used to be instead of disembarking like a wreck. Eldar vehicles are harder to do this to, so the larger the squad or using several squads can perform this way.

 

So on that note, I prefer flamers, since terrain is their weakness. With a few flamers on bikes, TL bolters who prefer to be close for rapid fire and a multi-melta attack bike for good balance makes a great balanced unit. Because if you're getting within 6" to get the 'melta' rule to take effect, you should assault the vehicle instead and try to turn it into cover for the unit, or get stuck in with an enemy unit if possible to prevent being shot.

 

Bikes assaulting vehicles is different from infantry. Because if you wreck a vehicle, it stays there. A fast bike unit can put the vehicle between them and the rest of an enemy army. Their speed uses terrain as their armor because they can GET there in the first place. Jump infantry have no turbo boost so they're forced to roam 12", 12" then assault the front. Turbo boost 24", move 12" probably around the flank of a tank, and then assault that vehicle, with the entire unit facing the vehicle with the long end of their bases lateral with the line of sight blockage.

 

 

You can put a bike unit on the left side of the table on long table deployment zones/dawn of war. Turbo boost your way to heaven hitting the other end of the table by turn 3, leaving even a basilisk helpless by the time they arrive.

 

 

Turbo boost a unit in front of your army, give them 4+ cover saves doing so. Bikes are even large enough to consider a model firing from ground level (like a guardsman heavy weapons team) to be forced to give a rhino that is behind some bikes obscure saves....

 

 

Many ways to use bikes. Average 10 models inside a rhino and upgrades forks out about 230 points. You pay some extra for toughness 5, and the twin linked bolters and the extra speed, and you have a very elite army of bikes. To be able to force Str3 in melee to hurt you on 6's. (that's 17% improvement over other marines, 1/6th the cost of a marine is 2.6 pts). Then add the better-than-storm bolter at 12" range, add another 5 pts to that base cost. Then add the idea of turbo boost, average 12" movement and you may feel like you just cheated the game.

 

Enjoy.

 

(I don't play bike armies because they are the bane of the new *fad* of mechanised, and can completely annihilate it without 10% casualties.)

[daemon*hunter]

I've been toying with the idea of getting Some nurgle Chaos bikers for the T6...

Not cost effective me thinks...

[chaplain belisarius]

im sorting out a white scars army at the moment...lots of bikes! I find if i use the speed of my bikers to pick my fights (and dont roll too many 1s!) my guys do ok...

 

good luck with using bikers-i find that everything counts in large amounts (lots of bikers are waaay better than a few bikers...)

[DarkGuard]

I have used bikes a couple of times when play testing new army lists. Didn't like them much, but my brother (I gave him the bikes I wasn't going to use) uses an 8 man squad with 2 meltaguns and power fist along with a Biker Captain with RB. It is effective, fast and durable, and he knows how to play them.

 

He knows they are tough and isn't shy to get them stuck in. Remember that, bikes are more durable than Tactical Squads and don't need external aids to help movement. Relentless and TL-bolters, along with options for 2 special weapons and a heavy weapon on the attack bike, plus sergeant wargear with their increased toughness and speed makes them good for getting in close, especially against less elite infantry (Terminators will still beat them to a pulp).

 

Remember also that with a Biker Captain (or mounted Khan) then you get a fast, durable scoring unit.

 

As to why I don't like them? I hate painting the models, and I dislike the fact that they are so bad in terrains, and I'm a fan of the footsoldier.

[Corpse.]

I've been toying with the idea of getting Some nurgle Chaos bikers for the T6...

Not cost effective me thinks...

 

10 bikes, icon of nurgle, powerfist champ will cost a clean 420 points before taking the pair of special weapons.

 

Chaos bikes get +1 attack and can summon daemons that can assault the turn they arrive, terminators with melta/flamer/plasma combi weapons off the icon that is also a homing becon. It's worth it, considering 3+ cover save boosting and T6 to anything str7 and under. Making the majority of the firepower in game very hard to press into them. It's essentially the opposite of a wraithguard and quite usable I found out.

 

Just the T6 is best thrown at Str4 stuff in melee where it is most effective. Str3 units like gaunts could care less. But still very worthwhile when you want a harder unit overall.

 

I prefer khorne though, since +1 attack each is like the attack bike for loyalists. Instead of depending on ranged combat, melee is where it's at and the speed comes with such a unit. On top of the synergy of the deep striking units+summoned daemons.

[Sanctjud]

They trade: guarenteed 18" for the possibility of death. Risk/Reward :D.

I'm a fan of biker armies, I run a full biker army at 1500.

 

I'd say keep it Water style and you should be good. Durable as they are, don't overestimate it. The numbers are still low, and the durability drops by a large margin when they are not turbo boosted. In addition (like the water comment) they are there to mostly shoot, while combat is to clean up. They are not a close combat hammer, they are a hammer in combination with shooting.