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Decapitating Strike RavenGuard Tactics


Tiger9gamer

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So the RG thread is getting kinda bloated and I don't want to crowd it with one specific RoW, so this thread will be dedicated to it.

 

Now, I know the benefits for it pretty well. You get re-rolling to your turn dice so you have a better chance to get first turn, and you get Preferred Enemy to independent characters. I think legion Veterans, Seeker Squads and one other thing gets drop pods for transports. the downsides are that you can only have one Heavy support and Centurion, and you can't ally with fellow space marines.

 

 

Now, With the infiltrating on all standard marines, this solves a problem of turn 1 mobility quite well In my opinion. Who wants 20 tactical marines 18" away turn 1? The sheer shock force and ability to get into good lines of fire makes it pretty reasonable. I think that a ten man Autocannon Team infiltrating in a ruin can ruin someone's day. same with Volkite Chargers.

 

 

The downsides though is that having only 1 heavy support can make anti-tank limiting, but supplement a big heavy support squad or  a predator strike squadron with javelin speeders and Rapier platforms can help take tanks down.

 

 

Only one Centurion means that it's probably best to have a supporting one like a master of signals or Siege breaker to add to your firepower. 

 

What are your thoughts?

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Tacs, Vet Tacs, Tac Support, Seeker, and Heavy Support get drop pods.

 

I think that infiltrating is good for mobility.

 

Tactical Support squads can be devastating if you REALLY need something dead turn one.

 

Javelins and Rapiers will save you from tanks (A storm eagle kitted for AT can't hurt either)

 

Mor Deythan can give you a good source of either CC troops or shock troops (Dark Talon goes better with Close Combat oriented troops)

 

Dark Furies are MEQ destroyers with a 5+ cover on the turn they come in.

 

A sicaran or a spartan can be a good Heavy choice depending on what you're fielding or what you're fighting.

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Are Tactical support Squads Necessary? I have planned to make a ten man one with an apothecary bringing Volkite Calviers for long range fire. I am afraid that between that squad, the rapiers and a Full ten man autocannon squad means I might have too much standing around. Should I replace them with something like a podding seeker squad or an Infiltrating Mor Deythan squad? 

 

What about Centurions? should I have a big costly unit supported by one? And Should I even bother with the big Heavy support squad or go for tanks and other such units? I'm still trying to figure things out. 

 

Should I shell out for a custom Preator or someone like Alvarex? 

 

 

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I don't plan on using Tac Support or Heavy Support in my list. Most of my AT will come from fliers or Mor Deythan/ Seekers with Combi weapons. I would throw the centurion in a Tac Squad unless he's a master of signal or something you want to get into combat. If you want to get him into combat throw him in a CC specced Mor Deythan squad possibly with Dark Talon if you have the points. If he's a master of signal, put him in the Heavy Support team.
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Good that a thread devoted purely to Raven Guard tactics was started.

First, I think that FW really did the Raven Guard good. Legion-specific rules, units and independent characters are just brilliant. It just seems really difficult to create a coherent list with these guys...

As to the RoW - I've been playing Iron Hands for quite some time now and never gone for any RoW with them, it always seemed unnecessary and constricting. But with Raven Guard - you can go with Decapitating Strike, or Orbital Assault, or Descent of Angels - and all of these are quite fitting. It's a truly dynamic force and that I'd guess would make them difficult to master (maybe less if you ever played Dark Eldar :) )

If you want to go with Decapitating Strike then Alvarex seems to be the most obvious HQ choice, and you're probably looking at a flyer and pod-heavy list. You get a re-roll on who deploys/goes first, a re-roll of seize the initiative, re-rolls on reserves for flyers and pods, no scatter within 18" of Alvarex and Counter Attack on disembarking infantry... That in my humble opinion is quite a lot of buffs.

Now the limit of only one Heavy Support, that's a big downside. Normally HS slots are heavily contested, and if you only have one slot available? It's obvious that you won't be able to have any kind of armor saturation, so taking a single tank like a Sicarian or Whirlwind Scorpius, even though these are really good tanks, seems pointless to me. Perhaps a squadron of 3 Predators could be worth considering. But for this single slot I'd be primarily looking at a Fire Raptor Gunship, which, with the re-roll for reserves, will be arriving on turn 2. Bolt cannon dealing damage to infantry, independent autocannons possibly targeting side armor of lighter tanks and a Hellstrike missile fired with POTMS, all of the above with Strafing Run. Second choice would be a Heavy Support Squad - either podded Heavy Flamer team for 270 points, or Volkite Culvarin infiltrators. Infiltrating a Multi-Melta team could also be fun, but there are other ways to bring Melta/anti-tank.

Fast Attack slots will also be contested in a Decapitating Strike force, since here go Lightnings, and you probably want them with Kraken missiles for great AT. Also, here goes Darkwing Storm Eagle, unless taken as a dedicated transport. You pay a premium of 25 over the cost of a regular Storm Eagle with Lascannons for 1) Blind, Concussive missiles, 2) Outflank, 3) STEALTH. So if you need to Jink, Stealth will make that cover save better. Deepstrike in hover mode within 18" of Alvarex, disembark Terminators who get Counter Assault, fire all the guns, Jink if needed. And it's a dedicated transport for Mor Deythan, Veterans and Terminators. I'm not saying that's definitely a good choice, but it's worth considering.

Other FA choices for that force: Jetbike teams with Meltabombs for good tank hunting, Jetbikes with Sgts for CC (since they get Hammer of Wrath and Furious Assault and the now improved 2+ save). Javelin Speeders again for mobile AT from afar. Regular Speeders with Volkites for infantry hunting from afar. I'd say Havoc Launchers should synergize well with Volkites (similar range), but not sure if it wouldn't make this fragile unit too costly. Bikes and Attack Bikes are a good unit overall, but perhaps not for a Decapitating Strike force. Dark Furies are a bit overpriced, that could work well with Descent of Angels, where they'd be getting Hit and Run.

That's it for now. Comments? :)

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thinking about 2,000 points to start off, and I mostly have half stationary (1 autocannon squad, 1 Caviler squad, 1 rapier squadron) and half in your face (two  15 man tactical squads, two javelin speeder squadrons)

 

So it's kinda a mess for what I have in mind, but I think it may do well. maybe. hopefully.

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I think a squadron of three predators would work out well. two with lascannons and one with just an autocannon. It's either that, or I have a Drop pod with seekers in it. Choices choices... 

 

Personally I'm going Drop Pod seekers with a Sicaran for my heavy choice

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I think a squadron of three predators would work out well. two with lascannons and one with just an autocannon. It's either that, or I have a Drop pod with seekers in it. Choices choices... 

 

Personally I'm going Drop Pod seekers with a Sicaran for my heavy choice

 

Sicaran Venator or regular?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I haven't played against other Horus Heresy armies but i'm currently 3-1-0 against other MEQ armies, all under 2k and the only time I didn't use the RoW was my loss

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First one was a cut and dry lure the CSM into 12" and then Fury of the Legion them, worked like a charm and didn't really have much to do with the RoW
 

Second one I used my infiltrators to get near the Dark Angels while the Preferred Enemy ICs helped in taking down his Termie Libby

 

Third one I almost lost before deployment because it was a 4 person game and I decided, hey why not infiltrate everything, but other infiltrators nearly completely blocked me from getting on the board so it was close so that was a mistake, Preferred Enemy ICs once again helped me take out all 3 of the other enemy Warlords once I finally got out of the corner that was left for me to deploy in. People think challenges are useless now but they at least help us get one guy to get rerolls on 1s and that helps more than you think. I didn't take any heavy support in any of my games, my AT came from my infantry or in the second game a Darkwing or whatever it's called with the TL Lascannons.

 

My basic tactics were either put myself into close range or let them come to me. Mor Deythan with Volkites and Shotguns with their special rule wiped out a termie squad before I even got to charge with them. The praetor with Paragon Blade and Archaeotech Pistol worked wonders in all of the games, it took out two three man bike squads in the second game, in the third he and a tac squad shot a rhino to death from behind and then charged for the Praetor to take out the Chaos Sorceror and 6 marines over two turns.

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I've used the RoW pretty well against Death Guard. Dark Furies, Dark Wing and Mor Deythan are champs. Rending twin-linked flamers? Yes please. Or they can be better Recon marines.

 

A Siege Breaker with an infiltrated 10 man lascannon team is deadly as well.

 

The best, I found, is to ally with or be allies to AdMech.  Just allies alone can bring fearless tech-thrall blobs and Krios Venator squadrons. They take objectives and melt tanks. Left my RG to be more elite and disrupt the structure of my opponent while the AdMech was the anvil.

 

Kaedes Nex is terrifying and will finish of or maim just about anything.

 

Podded Seekers aren't bad, but More Deythan will usually do what they do better due to being more flexible.

 

Preferred Enemy ICs are great for champs or biomancy Libbies. Ganging up on a lone Primarch with Dark Furies equipped with Ravens Talons after Nex killed his retinue is especially satisfying. Another good way is to bait the enemy primarch with Corax and Dark Furies and have Corax fly out of combat after the Furies blend the unit and then let the Furies blend the Primarch.

 

Alpha Striking with a pair of Darkwings was great until Blind got nerf'd into the ground. As it is now not only does it make Corax bad against other Primarchs, it makes our Eclipse missiles less enticing to the point I asked my group if we can use 6th ed blind until FW updates at least Corax to have something like "Stagger" instead of 7th ed blind and works like 6th ed blind. (They all said "yes" to that, using 6th ed barrage and strikedown as well because functioning rules are tech). SO that really depends on your opponent.

 

Strike Captain with deathstorm drop pods is also very nice and can help ensure either your infantry hit turn 1 or turn 2.

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We can take Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighters, don't know what the difference is but I love my Darkwing, even if Blind and Concussive are almost completely useless. Also, I have a big game coming up around the beginning of August so I'll make sure to let you know how it goes there. 9k Points per side, I'm responsible for 3400 of my side's points.

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