Standard of Devastation: What's the Life Expectancy?

[Ultra Magnus]

The RWCS born Standard of Devastation is the centerpiece of almost every Ravenwing list  and is surely the #1 target priority of any opponent who has the slightest familiarity with our Codex and what it can do. As I am building out my Ravenwing list, I was hoping to tap the broader Ravenwing community with experience running these types of lists and ask the following:

 

1. How long does it usually last? Does it get shot off the board 1st turn? Turn 2? 3? If I am building a list based around the presence of the dakka banner, can I expect it to be around long enough to really earn its keep?

 

2. Does the PFG toting IC Make a difference in the result? Are you losing the banner mostly to volume of fire or is it heavy/special weapons fire or cover ignoring shenanigans that require the PFG to really guarantee it sticks around?

 

Would really appreciate any insight you guys can contribute. I was realizing how dependent some of my list candidates were on the banner (lots of bolter bike squads) and started to wonder what I would be left with if that flag went down earlier than planned.

 

Thanks for the input.

 

UM

[Pyro X]

1. Most games my banner.will last till turn 4+. Its all about placement. For me he tends to die after my have started wiping up but it really depends who I am facing. Tau he dies to losing cover saves (because the unit dies also) or volume of fire. Marines is heavy weapons or volume. Worse case is take a.normal command with dakka and put it in a land raider :D

[JeffJedi]

With my Ravenwing list I tend to have 2 6-man Attack Squads and a Command squad at the heart. I usually add a Techmarine with PFG as the Standard Bearer's bodyguard. This puts out 52 Bolter shots or "Quadbolters" as we have taken to calling them. I put the Grenade Launcher on the Standard to really make those first shots hurt. Pick on weak large units or concentrate on small expensive units.

 

This causes a lot of attention and by turn two between 3 and 6 bikes are killed. it's your job to make sure they are the basic bolters and not the special weapons. You really want to protect your Command squad at this point and you can call down the Deathwing to help. I only have a 3 man command squad so I let the Apothecary and Champion die first to protect the standard.

 

Now you are in range of the bike squads special weapons and plasma talons, here you vape tanks and blast terminator squads/expensive units. Attack Bikes roll in from the flanks and wreck their long range firepower. At this point what ever plan your opponent had will have turned into "Kill the bikes! Kill the Standard!" it starts to get ugly, special weapons die, Sgts too. The squads are so reduced I pull them tighter and they act like a single squad, using the banner and PFG to stay alive and keep putting out firepower. Even the attack bikes, if their targets are dead try to get a few more Quadbolter shots to help gun down the last of that bodyguard before Sammael charges in.

 

I've had the Standard Bearer last 4-5 turns easily, by the time the bikes are killed down the banner becomes less important and the PFG grows in value.