Whirlwind vs. Ravenwing Support Squadron

[Vanguard06]

The Ravenwing Support Squadron is a great formation that has served me well in every game it has been fielded.  It is very resilient, except of course against the ignores cover types, and provides great fire support.

 

The question is:  Against Guard/Nids/Ork are we better served with a Squadron of Whirlwinds compared to a Ravenwing Support Squadron.  Assuming you are facing a horde variant of the aforementioned armies I submit that the Whirlwinds provide greater fire support.

 

I have only fielded the Whirlwinds in a couple of games and have limited experience; does any one have experiences which may provide us all anecdotal evidence for our future choices.

 

I am going to field a CAD with both a Whirlwind Squadron and the formation of the Ravenwing Support Squadron face off against some Guard this weekend, I believe the Shroud may add to the survivability of the Whirlwind Squadrons.

[frostbite]

The RWSS is more versatile thanks to the ability of the Typhoon launchers to fire Frag or Krak rounds. However, a squadron of three Whirlwinds is absolutely devastating against infantry thanks to shred and the potential to ignore cover. The Whirlwinds are also cheaper at only 195pts for 3.

[SnakeChisler]

Whirlwinds in a squad of 3 have a big footprint

 

You can hide 1 but your not going to get away with 3 the Support squad while only having av10 as opposed to 11 has an inbuilt cover save so taking cover saves on the lead speeder who is partially obscured by terrain gives you a 2+ without jinking

 

If your taking a CAD make them singles then you have a greater target selection more places to hide them and a fallback when they start missing

 

There pretty cheap and useful as I say the chassis is a bit big so there difficult to keep out the way, its a shame we don't have access to thunderfire cannons but hey ho

[aura_enchanted]

Whirlwinds in a squad of 3 have a big footprint

 

You can hide 1 but your not going to get away with 3 the Support squad while only having av10 as opposed to 11 has an inbuilt cover save so taking cover saves on the lead speeder who is partially obscured by terrain gives you a 2+ without jinking

 

If your taking a CAD make them singles then you have a greater target selection more places to hide them and a fallback when they start missing

 

There pretty cheap and useful as I say the chassis is a bit big so there difficult to keep out the way, its a shame we don't have access to thunderfire cannons but hey ho

why you want them to mothhball every unit in our army and just replace them with more speeders and bikes?

[dalleron]

A rwss is 4 models so they'll probably have a larger footprint than 3 whirlwinds.

 

frostbite basically sums it all up.

[Vanguard06]

Given your responses three primary options seem to be clear to me for Fire Support for Greenwing/Multiwing:

 

First-Ravenwing Support Squadron-well discussed

 

Second-Whirlwind Squadron-well discussed

 

Third- Bring both squadrons to work in conjunction: Whirlwind and Ravenwing Support Squadron, the Icon of Old Caliban on the Dark Shroud can help add additional stealth to the Whirlwind Squadron and if the Whirlwind Squadron is placed in a large ruin potentially have a solid cover save of 3+,  for the AV 11 Artillery Vehicles.

 

Has anyone worked the two squadrons together in a game?

[Interrogator Stobz]

Yep, they are great together. The long range is a fantastic way to soften up baddies from turn one.

Despite the good bonuses for having a Sqn. of three Whirlwinds, I agree with Snake that they can be too hard to hide. The RWSS is more mobile and has jink etc to keep it alive and functions well enough after a few casualties, but the opposition only needs to take out one WW and they are back to normal...an easy task for most armies. Then I've found shooting at multiple targets is better than all at one.

 

One slightly different approach I have used against footslogging baddies is FW Deathwind Drop pods, for only ten points more than a WW they get D3 shots at EVERY unit within 12" when they land, then they are regular WWs for the rest of the game but are AV12! I have found they become a great distraction and a good but cheap middle of the range target priority for the opposition. And what is even cooler, if you don't pay extra you don't have to land them first turn while all the enemies infantry are still in their transports, the RWSS de-mechs them and the DWPods go to town on the debussed infantry.  Expensive option though in dollar terms.

 

Your plan to hide the WWs behind the shroud has merit, I do wonder how much the really large footprint and not using the mobility of the RWSS will come into play. I look forward to reading about how it goes...

[frostbite]

If you're running a CAD, you could always buy a second Darkshroud as an FA choice and use it to hide the Whirlwinds. But then you are getting into questions about how many points you want to sink to make the Whirlwinds effective and, as many other have pointed out, the footprint is getting pretty large.