Razorbacks

[Azash]

If you really love this tactic I would suggest BA not RG. Baal preds come with scout they are fast and they can take flame storm cannons. They are also armor 13 and the flame storm has a longer barrel making the template more effective.

[Syphid]

According to BRB, templates are placed at the firing model's base and not the weapon. Would this mean that a Razorback's TL heavy flamer template would be placed at its hull, not at the turret?

[Azash]

Vehicle weapons are measured from the weapon. Infantry models, walkers, and MC's measure from the base. Also vehicles don't have a base so there is no base to measure from.

 

The only exception I am aware of is fliers specifically the hell drake which measures its weapon from the base but that's specific to that particular model.

[shandwen]

playing with all the different options for the razorback, i now never run the heavy bolter. If you want dakka, storm bolters on a rhino are so much cheaper, and not thhhaaaaatttt much worse. I ran ravenguard heavy flamer one, worked decently to outflank a squad, but not great. When i ran assault cannons i didn't have enough target satuation, and those guns are a huge target. If i had 4 or 5 razorbacks i would run them all with assualt cannons, but not less than three for sure.

[GreyCrow]

I think there are 3 loadouts for the Razorbacks that are really worth it in terms of points and tactical flexibility :

- Heavy Bolter, to keep it cheap and have a little dakka

- LasPlas turret, for the armour piercing punch (twin-linking a lascannon doesn't bring much imho, because you only get to reroll a dice with already a 66% chance to hit. Twin-linked syncs better with higher volume of shots, like the Heavy Bolter, or...)

- Assault Cannon, for advancing forward

 

I see a problem however with Razorbacks advancing forward. Their low armour means they will be taken out relatively easily, even from the front. After all, you only need a 3+ with a Lascannon equivalent to cause a penetrating hit, and rushing forward will bring you in Melta range.

 

I imagine Razorbacks have 2 roles with which they will excel at :

1) Flank guard and a delivery transport for small, hard hitting.

2) Long range fire support and mobile bunker for scoring units.

 

1) Razorbacks are mobile and very lightly armoured. You can't expect them to be the main advancing transport in open ground, because they will be shot to pieces. That means you want to stick them on the flanks, preferably behind terrain, where they will be out of range or line of sight from anti-vehicle armour.

 

In the current 40k ruleset, the goal of flanking is very similar to what you can find in most ancient maneuver warfare battles. Originally, because of shields, the toughest bit of your army would be its front, and you had to take the sides where people were unprotected. In 40k, enemies will "shield" themselves from your firepower in cover, both for infantry and vehicles. You want to flank because you want them to prevent from getting a cover save when you shoot at them, even with Bolters.

 

However, your Razorback, on its own will not have the firepower to do that alone, even with the upgrades. Because it can transport infantry, you want it to deliver hard hitting units. And in the meantime, you want to provide fire support to the rest of your army.

 

But you don't want your Razorback to attract too much attention on itself early on. Which is why I would recommend the Assault Cannon ! Being on the side, and with such short range, you are likely to not get to shoot it before Turn 2 or 3 where you deliver your payload.

A Rhino with a 10-man squad would still be better for the flanking maneuvers, because it will attract even less attention. That said, if you have a very elite unit of 5-man that is capable to cause some trouble, a Razorback is more suited because it brings firepower on a flank that is likely to be outmanned.

 

2) 3 of the Razorback's loadout have long range (HB, LC, LC+PG), and the good thing about the Razorback is that it ignores AP3. This is a way to shield your marines from incoming and damaging firepower until it is destroyed, while still firing off some shots and contributing from afar to the rest of your army.

 

I would personally place it behind cover so you can take pot shots, and try to maximize survivability until the later turns, where most of its threats will be taken care of. Then, you can use it to deliver a 5 or 6-man Tactical squad to where it is supposed to be, preferably an objective.

 

My 2cents on the Razoback. They are not as straightforward as one might think, and with unconventional thinking, they can be used in unexpected ways against your opponent !

[thebymster]

I use at least 3 AssBacks with my Wolves, Long fangs can have em as transports, GH too, obvs! So love taking 4 with Ass Cann and 2 with las. AssCann so versatile, great for flyers. Las for range if castling vs big armour, or just lurking at back. On wheels = mobile, even if imobalised turret can 360!

Rending is your friend!

[tdemayo]

I played a game this weekend.  I tried six Razorbacks, two with TL lascannons and four with lascannons and TL plasmaguns.  I was not impressed with their performance, although that migth just have been the dice.  My opponent had a predator annihilator in cover.  It shrugged off multiple lascannon shots a turn, while killing several transports over the course of the game.  The plasma on the Razorbacks did reasonably well, letting me double up shots on some terminators.  Other than that, they mostly just died.  I kept thinking I'd rather have Rhinos and the extra 5 Marines for each squad.  The Razorbacks did successfully deliver my small squads to the desired area, but the disembarking squads seemed too small once they got there.

[GreyCrow]

Interesting feedback tdemayo !

 

I do beleive that spamming Razorbacks gets very expensive very quickly for the small firepower they get. I beleive they are more appropriate when flanking rather than constitute a main attack force.

 

I saw a video of a Battle Report with Rhino rush on Raven Guard Tactics, with 60 Tactical Marines. This was very impressive although they suffered nasty casualties ! For advancing forward, Rhinos seem like a better option because you have more bodies. Razorbacks lurk behind or in the flanks in my humble opinion ;)

[d@n]

I regularly play against a guard player, who castles 3 leman russes behind a defence line. He hates outflanking razorbacks. Razorbacks work very well with raven guard and white scars tactics, due to the being able to outflank. Another good trick is to keep them hidden behind vindicators, for the cover save and to protect the vindicators rear armour.

[minigun762]

If it wasn't for Tau and Eldar, I'd really see the value of a line of razorbacks behind behind an ADL.

[Gentlemanloser]

If you like Razorbacks, then you should heavily consider taking three or more from Codex: Inquisition.

 

For just a 25 point unlock (but I would suggest 55 minimum, or 80, 110 or 100 for more useful options, that will be Battle Brothers and able to buff your other Squads), you can get 57 point S6 Heavy Bolter Razorbacks, with three bodies (potentially Scoring units) as well.

 

What's not to like for a S6, TL, 36" range Heavy 3 gun and three Lasguns, for only 57 points?