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So we just say we're doing Raven Guard? I'm putting together the fourth and 1st companies at the moment using a mix of DA and C:SM rules. Here's a picture of my 4th company so far from a couple of weeks ago.

 

http://bolterandchainsword.com/uploads/gallery/album_10149/gallery_72861_10149_743587.jpg

 

I'll find a picture of the what's assembled of the 1st when I can.

Cheers Chaps

So, that post might not be dedicated to recruiting members but rather to boost morale among the Sons of the Raven !

 

I'm definitely going on with my Raven Guard 2nd company project : today was their christening battle and they performed admirably ! Against a 1000 point local club tournament game against Astra Mililtarum, Strike Force Maddeus led by my Epistolary won by 6 vs 4 points in a Purge the Alien game. That might not seem much at first glance, but we had to call it by the end of turn 4 for time constraints, and by that point I had lost only 40% of my force while I erased 68% of his. Had the game continued in Turn 5, I would have killed 80 to 85% of his force without taking more than 5% casualties because I had neutralized any major threat against the strikeforce, and by Turn 6 I would have tabled him ! :D

 

I had a few lucky dice rolls for sure (it appeared I made a decent number amount of armour saves, while the amount I made was very probabilistic), more than he did (except when his Pask wiped 8 out of 10 of one of my Tactica squad due to Rending shots in the open, which was quite unexpected and could have changed the game), but overall the victory was possible thanks to the Chapter Tactics our Primarch has given us. I had a fluffy force which my opponent smiled at and qualified as "cute", while his list was built around very strong units able to dish out the pain... He stopped smiling at the beginning of Turn 2 ^^

 

At first glance, the Raven Guard CT seems subpar compared to other CTs but it gives utter, complete and absolute Tactical Control on the game, and allows to create so many opportunities for disabling the enemy units or protecting yours. What is fun is that the bonuses you get are so subtle that they are easiy forgotten by the opponent, so subtle that an opponent will mistake them as luck. The opponent will believe you are lucky while this is all part of a carefully crafted plan and positioning because you are given the tools to design and execute that plan. Even gaining 6" during the Scout redeployment will allow you to still move 6", fire your Razorback while getting your 4+ cover save from the ruins in the first turn, and scare him away... while redeploying 12" will make him forget that your initial placement had scared him away from taking advantage from the best fire corridor in the game ! Once the Assault Marines have spent 2 rounds of combat tying up the only shooty infantry unit in his army that you were scared of, he'll have forgotten that the Chapter Tactic allowed you to ensure a Turn 2 charge with your Assault Marines. The most juicy part is that he'll laugh at an army and Chapter Tactic the interwebz classify as subpar because it doesn't give any statistical boost to the army, then will be completely unable to understand why he is losing.

 

I might go on a limb there, but I believe that the Raven Guard Chapter Tactics to be top tier in terms of competitiveness. They aren't the ugly duckling of Codex: Space Marine everyone thinks they are. They might not make our units definitely more skilled in one aspect, but they give us so many strategic and tactical control it's ridiculous : going first, the opponent is forced to react to us ; going second, we are able to take the control over the battlefield back. To be honest, I'm so pumped up I can't wait to finish my demi company goal and after today's experience I am very confident we can stand up against the most competitive and the cheesiest lists out there.

 

Tactically and strategically, a Raven Guard strikeforce would not only make Corax proud, but would show Guilliman that his Ultramarines might not be the ones making the most of the Codex Astartes and its teachings. The Raven Guard take control of the battlefield and the opponent when he thinks he is in control, we are the Batmen of the 40k loyalists, we outsmart the opponent without him seeing it and we win the battle before a single shot has even been fired.

 

I'm proud to be a member of a community of like-minded individuals, who adhere to and proudly represent the teachings of Corax ! I'm glad we've registered a little under 16 members in this thread and I hope we'll register more Battle Brothers ! :D

 

For the Ravenlord, Victorus Aut Mortis !

 

PS : Can someone PM how to link this threa to my badge in my signature as well as my Victorus Aut Mortis text ? I've tried a few stuff and none seem to work so far...

The force I field is Shadow Captain Kyrul Synidus, Raven Guard 1st Company.

 

While majority of the first company serves elsewhere seconded to various other companies, he has kept 2 squads of veterans, unofficially designated Dawn and Dusk. The strikeforce also has elements from the tactical reserve and assault companies.

 

All marines under his command are ordered to repaint their company identifiers to dark blue in order to foster unity within the strikeforce and also to denote their ulterior mission.

 

Strikeforce Synidus operates close to the Eye of Terror and on occassion has venture into the roiling warp storm. His task is two-fold: to turn back (and if need be, avenge) attacks by heretic and Xenos alike, and; to investigate sightings of the lost Raven Guard's Primarch.

Done!

gallery_70393_10089_5572.png

I had a fluffy force which my opponent smiled at and qualified as "cute", while his list was built around very strong units able to dish out the pain... He stopped smiling at the beginning of Turn 2 ^^

The greatest joy in Warhammer 40,000 is to crush little toy soldiers, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their power gamers.

Here's my own lil contribution to the XIX.


 


Moritat Hlad Navala of the 9th Shadow Company


 


"The Pale Magpie is not a sobriquet spoken within audible distance of Operative Navala. A veteran with centuries of experience, he received a near lethal dose of radiation from the detonation of a xenos weapons stockpile sometime in his long and distinguished service. It bleached the color from his eyes and hair, leaving them as pale as the complexion of Corax's sons.


 


Like his name sake, the Ravens shun the Magpie, regardless of his previous contributions. He had always stood apart from the rest of them,  relying on the veils of shadow only so far as it would serve his purposes. Operations headed by the Moritat would often end in detonations of a most spectacular variety. Those same voices who echoed jesting moniker could also commonly be heard avowing that their father had mistakenly received one of the Khan's sons into his companies through some odd happenstance."


 


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/537/lo1AP7.jpg


 


"If he had not been of the XIX shadowed, he would have been bound for the Chaplaincy... his fellow operatives could often hear his near silent benedictions and prayers floating through the ether of the vox-net during pre-mission briefings."


 


"Never shall innocent blood be shed, yet the blood of the wicked shall flow forth as a river."


 


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/910/OithLL.jpg


 


"They had no idea what they were walking into. Exiting nonchalantly, in full view of their squad from the front of the building, he faced down no less than twelve combat ready Astartes with bolters drawn. It was an ambush that did not end well... for a few seconds, this humble manufactorum complex was Armageddon..."


 


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/743/SCNdmz.jpg


 


"Through the analysis of thousands of recorded Astartes engagements, the Mor Deythan has determined that the geometric distribution of enemy weapons in any combat action is a statistically predictable element. The Chain Fire technique treats the bolt pistol as a total weapon, each position of the art representing a maximum kill zone, inflicting maximum damage on the maximum number of enemy combatants, while keeping the Moritat clear of the statistically traditional trajectories of return fire."


 


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/540/AE9V6Q.jpg


 


"He placed spent bolt casings over the eyes of each of the twelve targets. What's the symbology there?  


Edited by Flint13

On a totally side note, is there any news about a Raven Guard supplement ? There were some rumours at some point but then no news since...

 

I just pray to the Emprah that our Chapter Tactics won't change too much in later codexes or FAQs... The interweb seems unable to perceive their tactical value or dismisses them as the weakest of the set, while they are the sneakiest and so powerful on the table !

I don't want a supplement. I don't want Shrike's company to decide to forego their tactics because "stealth is for pansies." I don't want Corax to become the dreaded daemon prince the Obsidian Lord, who keeps trying to get the Raven Guard to go back to sneakiness and keeps failing because his sons think he's a pathetic coward. I don't want Clan Raukaan to happen to my favorite loyalist chapter.

I haven't heard squat about any SM supplements and I follow the rumor sites pretty religiously. I agree with Knight, though... I welcome new fluff, but I fear for what it could mean. Luckily I play a DIY successor, so if y'all are hosed I can cut you off. :) 

 

Just kidding. Creating my chapter, I almost picked RG at random. Not really, but I could have justified several others as well. I opted for them due to stealth tactics, and also because the RG were the primogenitor of the Raptors, whom I felt were closer to what I was going for. Reading more about them, though, I really fell in love with the RG and have been deepening ties straight to the root ever since. If I ever were to go 30K, it'd be a no-brainer. What little fluff there is, though, is dangerously close to the edge of going into some lame territory. 

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