Stormraven Underperforming

[igotsmeakabob!!]

So I've tried on multiple occasions now to use my Stormraven to good effect. Never once has it lived past turn two, and never has it actually delivered its payload unscathed. I usually load up Death Company with Lemmy and a Dread.

 

You can't hide it. If your opponent gets the first turn you can't even give it cover via Flat-out movement.

It dies on the first turn in 75% of my games. It gets made useless in the other 25% (immobilized, etc).

 

Has anyone had success with it? Has anyone played against opponents that just ignored it?

 

How do you use yours effectively?

[Arkio]

i find putting em in reserve works that or flooding the field with things that are more dangerous. when they have worked for me they work to amazing success. but i have noticed they are very fragile and due to the flyer/skimmer nature of them they are always out of cover.

 

when they have worked. they usually last a while because once the payload is down. that becomes the focus of most of the weapons capable of knocking down the raven go for the dread or marines that just came out of it. the TL MM's are a must in my opinion

[SamaNagol]

Get 2. Same as a Land Raider.

[igotsmeakabob!!]

A second one is off the table until GW released a real version.. I don't want to go through the pain of a second conversion.

[SamaNagol]

To be honest, you won't see results with it unless you provide target saturation. AV12 is never going to withstand the 'OMG KILL IT!' factor the Storm Raven has. Especially when you are loading it up with 400pts worth of CC death.

 

You need 2 of them plus other units in unison to tie up the things that could kill it easily. Outflanking Baals with Flamestorms to ruin Devastators. Sternguard in Drop Pods. Cheap MM Attack Bikes to kill mobile gun platforms. All that good stuff.

 

I'd run 2 of them with upgrades and Beacons

A unit of 10 RAS with Flamers and a Fist and Priest with Power Weapon on foot in the 1st Raven.

A 5 man RAS squad with Jump Packs, Power Fist, Reclusiarch with Jump Pack and a JP Priest with PW in the 2nd.

A full 10 man RAS squad with 2 MG and PFist with packs.

2 flamestorm Baals.

Sternguard with combi meltas and a Priest in a Pod.

A DC Dread.

2 Attack Bikes.

 

If I were going to try it. But the only Storm Ravens I will be buying are going to get painted gunmetal grey with books and swords all over them.

[Malus the Destroyer]

If you aren't going first, keep it in reserve. Run it bare bones, only EA. Always, ALWAYS move full speed, use PotMS to TLMM slag something. Got a payload of troops? Drop them off before the SR moves. Mine has performed amazingly like this. Haven't lost one yet.

[the jeske]

dont play with a single one, if you played with a single LR the same would happen . play with 2 [and a different load out . i mean really DC and DC dreads 0_o ] and make an alfa strike army.

[Morticon]

Your raven serves two functions.

1. Gunship

2. Delivery system for nasties.

 

Now, while it excels at its first role, its nowhere near as good at delivering a deadly cargo as the Land Raider.

 

Its been said already, the raven should not be deployed on the board if you are going 2nd.

 

Also, if situation/set-up allows it remember you can deepstrike. This is the perfect way of getting to a location quickly, without risking moving flatout and giving the opponent a 16% higher chance of killing your vehicle.

 

All of this is for naught however if you havent built your list to support units like this.

 

Forward pressure is what you need.

Drop Pods, scouting baals, rhinos etc.

[Slim Pickens]

If you aren't going first, keep it in reserve. Run it bare bones, only EA. Always, ALWAYS move full speed, use PotMS to TLMM slag something. Got a payload of troops? Drop them off before the SR moves. Mine has performed amazingly like this. Haven't lost one yet.

 

This.

 

I lose mine, but it sure does draw the hate, so everything else lives an extra turn. Run them with no less then 2-3 other hard targets is my approach. I wish I had the will to convert another to run a pair, as that would be the most effective format, but for now I usually run them with a pair of Baal preds and a hvy pred or gun Razorback to provide armor saturation. Ideally I think a pair of Ravens with close combat specialists/HQ/priests, a couple tanks in support plus the dreads the ravens carry makes for a pretty mean army that can run a blitzkrieg style attack that either sweeps all before it, or is caught wrongfooted and pays for its aggressiveness. Fun stuff either way.

 

I really like the Stormraven because if nothing else it offers a unique attack style no one else can play (for now...) so I use mine frequently. Sometimes it lives the whole game, sometimes it dies on first landing. But if you plan the army around it accordingly I think it performs perfectly. I try to keep the squads inside and the dreads cheap yet effective, as the problem with the raven is it is a all the eggs in one basket army at under 2000 pts.

[spu00sed]

I use mine as a pure gunship. It is hard to hide, but not too hard, plus I normally have a libby nearby with shield for the first turn or two.

 

The rest of my army is Dante and Sang guard, so high strength weapons are often pointed at them (since high strength often has low AP).

 

I've lost mine once in 4 games, though we are playing at 1250pts.

[Ridmasta]

I'm looking at making 2 stormravens, and loading them with an assault squad and death company, keeping them in reserve and using them as counter attack units for when my opponent has got across the board a bit

[Quantra]

I've used mine a few times now. And yes it usually gets blown to pieces early on. However this hasn't happened before it has made it's flat out move leaving it's cargo of Mephiston and DC Dread on enemy lines, that is generally all I want it to do. I have had it survive a few times though and I find coupling it's first turn flat out move with a first turn dread in drop pod forces my opponent to at best split it's fire or leave themselves with a dread/stormraven + mephiston and DC Dread too close for comfort.

 

It is awesome when it survives a few turns though, flying it around making swooshy noises and zapping things is just too much fun =x

[BAdragon]

Hey people,

 

I was thinking of adding one or two stormravens in my lists and maybe int osome competitive lists as well. The only thing that was bothering me was the fact that its armour 12 is not all that great and it might be a huge points sink if its fully packed as well.

 

After some deliberation I thought of this:

 

You can put a squad (a full 10 man RAS squad for example) into the stormraven and you will still be allowed to buy them a dedicated transport. This means that if you go first, you will be able to put them down into the SR and surge foreard with your dedicated transport eg. rhino in this case, can transport something else or can be used a LOS block for your other vehicles/troops. Now if you aren't going first and you are having trouble hiding your SR, you can put that 10 man squad in the dedicated transport and surge that one forward instead whilst having your SR provide long-range pew pew.

 

Now there are more ways in having your army safer, by including a libby with shield would help (if it applies to vehicles) or by simply adding more SR's.

 

Favourite setup for my SR would be with TL MM and TL AC + extra armour though, due to range being 24" on both guns and its handy when rushing forward.

 

Any other ideas for keeping it safe or getting max potential out of it? Or useful applications?

 

Share your thoughts ;-)

[Morticon]

I'm going to merge this with the other Storm Raven thread!!

 

Scouts are a great way of having a cheap, choppy unit available.

Along with a priest and a chappy or a libby with rage, you have a scary unit available to you!

 

Id consider getting more AV13 models on the board too if you field them.

Two baals and two ravens or two ravens a vindy and a baal would do wonders to distribute the incoming hurt.

[igotsmeakabob!!]

Scouts.. wow, that would be an excuse to actually field them!

Not a bad idea. Maybe stick the furioso librarian dread on it (might be a bit redundant with wings though).

[BAdragon]

And scouts score!