What have your Raven Guard done lately?

[Frater Cornelius]

Exams done for now, finally some time. Two HQs are reporting for duty for 9th.

 

 

I am really scared of painting them :D

[Alcyon]

yeah they are legends.

 

Thank the Emperor, totally unfluffy and way too spammable in 8th. If people have one and want to run it for flavour purposes that's rad, I'm glad it lives on in Legends.

 

Exams done for now, finally some time. Two HQs are reporting for duty for 9th.

 

I am really scared of painting them

 

These are so cool it's almost obscene. The Chaplain's ridiculous leather cloak suddenly makes sense as an... Australian cowboy jacket. I love the giant papal mace and the falconer pose, too. Awesome!

[Frater Cornelius]

Exams done for now, finally some time. Two HQs are reporting for duty for 9th.

 

I am really scared of painting them

 

These are so cool it's almost obscene. The Chaplain's ridiculous leather cloak suddenly makes sense as an... Australian cowboy jacket. I love the giant papal mace and the falconer pose, too. Awesome!

 

Heh, thanks a lot. These aren't quite the finished models. I did some more alterations, like treating the Chaplain's robes with fire to reshape them a bit and I gave the Phobos Captain a Beaky instead, so he fits with my beaky Eliminators, which are a bit of an homage to the 30k Mor Deythan. But man, if you like this Outrider Chaplain, then you gonna love the actual Outrider Bikes, because those boys will be made from Vanguard Palladors

Edited July 27, 2020 by Frater Cornelius

[Dracos]

Exams done for now, finally some time. Two HQs are reporting for duty for 9th.

 

 

I am really scared of painting them

 

Please Empruh yes paint them. Those are magnificent.

[Dracos]

Pretty sure I've convinced myself to see if flgs has a Indomitus set left (they did yesterday). Those a Outrider Chaplain and two of those new tanks. should hit close to 2k

[Jaipii]

Picked up my box today! Going to swap the Necrons part for a second set of Indomitus Marines. 2x Eradicators will go "pew-pew" ;)

Edited July 28, 2020 by Jaipii

[Frater Cornelius]

Please Empruh yes paint them. Those are magnificent.

 

Bruh, I am scared I mess them up. This goes doubly for my Shrike conversion. It is easily my favourite and arguably best model I ever made. It would be a disservice to what that model means to me to have it commissioned, but on the other hand, my painting skills are far from my conversion skills...

[Alcyon]

 

my Shrike conversion

 

 

I've looked in vain for a Frater Cornelius gallery, thread or post... Where can I see it!?

[Frater Cornelius]

 

 

my Shrike conversion

 

 

I've looked in vain for a Frater Cornelius gallery, thread or post... Where can I see it!?

 

Soon™.

 

I need better lighting than I have access to right now, seeing as I already based the model black (I am not yet sure about the scheme). Plus this model has a bit of a story, so it may warrant its own thread. He is the third of the three HQs that I have planned to focus on for the 9th for this yet unnamed Chapter. I am not sure there even will be a name, but I nicknamed the project "slave knights". The idea was born from quite a dark depressive episode, serving as a bit of an outlet.

 

But all in due time ;)

[Frater Cornelius]

Here, that should tide you over while you wait. They are done now and ready to be painted.

Hidden Content

 

 

 

 

 

Those are two are the Chaplain and the second in command, representing Captain or Lieutenant, depending on rules and situation.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Frater Cornelius

[thewarriorhunter]

Wow those look great up close.

 

I saw on Reddit that Battlescribe was updated so I plugged all of my playable units into it and was pleased to see I've got ~1450 points / 76 PL playable (yay for points increases!). It'll go up slightly when I get all of my infiltrators done and then I'll be able to field three troops units that are all Primaris.

 

Of that 1450 HQs are 400.... and there's a 10 man tac squad and drop pod in there so playable primaris is really around 1200. That's not including my Xiphone either. I need to make it's base and then I can at least stick it on the stand to use until it's completely painted.

[jpwyrm]

My Raptors had their first skirmish in 9th edition last night. They faced off against the vile Tau and prevailed! Here's the list I used followed by my first thoughts on this new edition :

 

Battalion Detachment (0 CP)

 

Primaris Chaplain (Warlord)
Phobos Captain
Phobos Lt
5 x Incursors
5 x Incursors
5 x Intercessors (auto) + PF
Judicar
5 x Aggressors
Bladeguard Vets
Invictor Warsuit
Outriders
3 x Eradicators
Elminators
Elminators
Stormtalon (TwinLas)

 

Patrol Detachment (-2 CP)

 

Phobos Librarian
5 x Intercessors (auto)

 

CT was Raven Guard Successors with Stealthy (played using the previewed RG CT - Soft Cover for units when beign targeted more than 18" away) and Hungry for Battle. My Warlord had Wise Orator and Master of Ambush from Trifold Path and I gave Heroe of the Chapter to the Judiciar (Swift and Deadly).  My opponent had two big units of  Broadsides (1 missile, 1 Railcannon), 2 x Fire Warrior Squads, 2 x Breacher Squads, 3 Devifishes, 3 Marksman, Shadowsun, an Ethereal and a bunch of Drones. We played Overrun.

 

What went well : Boxing my opponent in his DZ with early pressure. I gambled MoA with the Chaplain and Aggressor, taking position behind the big Obscuring Ruin in the center of the board. I got first turn and was able to press on with them and the Warsuit and Stormtalon to apply pressure. Most of my other Concealed Position units moved and advanced toward objectives and deployed smoke to help them weather the storm. All this early positionning, along with the general toughness of Astartes units won me the game.

 

What went bad : Aggressors being smoked by the Broadsides in OVERWATCH  I mean : yeah, I don't expect them to reach the buggers unscathe, but being wiped out completely in Overwatch left a bad taste in my mouth. It didn't change the course of the game that much though...

 

 

9th edition thoughts :

 

- Assault is lethal. Not literally, but technicaly if you get assaulted, chances are that unit you intended to use for moving/shooting/anything else is bogged down for the rest of the game. This will impact some army more than others (i.e. : Tau are in serious trouble as it stands right now to be honnest). 

 

- Smaller boards : We played on a 60x44 board. This just exacerbate my first point since it's easier to reach your opponent in the first turn. It also makes certain armies (Raven Guard for instance) a lot more efficient at scoring Primary and Secondary Objectives since they get many deployment and mobility options. For a balance point of view, it's not good. It is very good for the Brothers of the Ravenspire though.

 

- Objectives : This is the name of the game now. That and Objective Secure (or whatever the different names are). Secure the objective, score the Primary Points, destroy your opponents ObjSec units and you have a very high chance of winning the game.

 

General thoughts on the units :

 

- Aggressors : Firemagnets, Leadfarmers, destroyers of soft targets. Even with the updated point cost, they're worth it;

 

- Primaris Chaplain : Very good. Not sure Wise Orator is needed in hindsight though...

 

- Phobos Cpt and LT : Always usefull. I did not pay for Korvidari bolts on the captain and I should have in this game. So many T3 characters with 3-4 wounds, it would have been glorious and I could have kept him hidden longer. Ex Tenebris Lt is still very efficient and native DS is nice to have. I dropped him Turn 2 with the Eradicators and I have a feeling it will become a staple of my lists.

 

- Incursors : very cool. In my original list I had one squad with Mines and the other Squad was Infiltrators but I made a mistake while adding up the list and posted the edited list. I forgot to use the Mines, but regreted it since it would have helped either keeping some units further and preventing them from scoring, or thining them down as they closed in on the Objective.

 

- Intercessors : Autobolters are nasty! I'm keeping them as is for now.

 

- Outriders : For three models, this guys put out some serious hurt, both in shooting and assault. 4 Wounds and T5 makes them quite durable as well.

 

- Judiciar : Not sure if I like him or not. And did not get to use him that much and for the same points, I think the Banner would have been better. Might be another story against armies stronger in melee.

 

- Elminator : My favourite unit in the game bar none. They kept the closest objectives secured, peppered the opposition with MWs and tanked Smart and High-yield missiles alike. Allstar unit.

 

- Eradicators : For the point cost, they are great. I have a feeling they are undercosted though. Definitely worth protecting in the first turns to make sure you get to their intended targets though.

 

Stormtalon : Not bad. He was focused fired so did see the light of the second turn. Ate a lot of flack before going down, so at least he made the life of the rest of my army easier.

 

Bladeguard Vets : Very durable unit. Against AP - fire, they are near unstopable with 3 Wounds each and will weather a lot of shooting. This means dedicated AT fire is needed to shift them, but then Aggressors and other vehicles are left unchecked... And of course, once they reach melee, they're quite good also considering the high number of attacks they can put out for such a small squad.

 

Invictor Warsuit : it's nice to fire without penalty while moving! But with only one, it's easy to kill it. Then again, it cannot be left alone otherwise it will wreck most things it can get into melee with. Good distraction Carnifex, but unless you field 2-3 of them, I would not base any strategy on it.

 

 

Now that's a wall of text! Feel free to comment and share battlefield experience too ;) 

[Frater Cornelius]

@jpwyrm - Very nice. Very nice, indeed. Do you recon that RG can function as a board control infiltration army with Invictors, Aggressors, Bikes and Troops? Or is it time to include some heavy hitters like tanks to cripple the opponent from afar?

[jpwyrm]

@jpwyrm - Very nice. Very nice, indeed. Do you recon that RG can function as a board control infiltration army with Invictors, Aggressors, Bikes and Troops? Or is it time to include some heavy hitters like tanks to cripple the opponent from afar?

I think we are better of making sure we have a good board presence and send tough units like bikes or Inceptors to tie up the opposition's heavy hitters. I'm considering doubling my Eradicators and bringing an Apothecary with Father of the Future with them to occupy the center of the board. With more and more units with 3 wounds per model, the Apothecary is really tempting. Plus I would get to field my competition entry

Edited July 31, 2020 by jpwyrm

[Dracos]

I knew an Phobos Apothecary would come in handy . . . . now if only GW would make it legal ;)

[thewarriorhunter]

Helix Adept? Probably as close as we'll get to a Phobos Apothecary.

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

My Raven Guard received Reinforcements! 2 Leviathan Dreads, 30 Bolter Boys, 5 Cataphractii Terminators, a Cataphractii Captain, 2 vindicators, 2 contemptors, and 4 rhino chassis.

[Frater Cornelius]

So I had a 2000 points game against transport-heavy Harlequins and I have to say that I find the 9th edition really cool. Initially, anyway. The missions are amazing and the resulting new dynamic is really fun.

 

This was a list

Hidden Content

Phobos cap - warlord, marksman's honour, k-bolts

Chaplain on bike - MoA, the +1 wound litany, benediction of fury

Shrike

 

10 intercessors - pf

2x5 infiltrators - coms

 

6 aggressors

2 invictors with ac

 

2x3 outriders

 

2x3 sniper eliminators

3 eradicators

 

1995

 

A bit of a hodgepodge, but I wanted to try things out. Here is my impression of RG in 9th:

 

- Troops are king. Those 20 I had? Not enough. I want at least one more unit of 5 Intercessors and maybe even another unit of 5. Objectives matter A LOT and our troops are hard to shift, cheap but durable enough to have them do Actions, pack enough of a punch to be threatening. After the game, my first sentiment was MOAR TROOPS, which is a first.

 

- Aggressors are... ok? I used MoA to bring 'em forward and they lived for 2 turns. My question is whether they are truly worth. People know exactly why they are there and will prepare. My gut tells my that 10 Intercessors or even vet. Int. are a safer target for MoA. I also think Aggressors conflict with the RG gameplan.

 

- Bikes are great if they are used defensively. Yes, sounds weird. I lost one bike unit due to overextension quickly. When charging, they are great. If not, they are quite naff, actually. In a list like RG, they are great mobile objective holders that can cover your troops and deliver the bestest countercharge.

 

- Phobos with k-bolts is hit or miss. I am really starting to feel ex tenebris, however. There are plenty of -1 modifiers, which is balanced out by the relic, keeping the cap at 2+. If no modifiers are present, just advance if need be.

 

- My biggest question mark are the Invictors. I feel I mishandled them. The AC variant just feels so solid on paper, but anti tank will be common in 9th, I feel, and these guys aren't the hardest units around. Maybe if I used them more defensibly?

 

The rest of the units did like you'd expect, which means great.

 

And, now the biggest point of contention. Hot take: RG are not a melee army. Sure, you can build a melee pressure army, but if you do, you need to commit heavily to it and make it a Successor. A melee pressure army seems like an Elite slot army, i.e. Centurions, Aggressors, Invictors, BGV, etc.

However, with the RG CT being what it is, I felt like the longer ranged variants worked just a little bit better during the game. Getting dense cover in any terrain feature is bonkers good with the new terrain rules and 18" stealthy can go a long way. In turn, the more aggressive elements just felt very meh.

And yes, you could say that I can play Aggressors and Invictors more defensively. However, this brings me to my second big issue: not enough meat. Once you deal with the Aggressors and Intercessors, what is left apart from some small units? This is the main reason I advocate Troops right now. More meat.

 

The other issue I encountered is having solid anti tank, but there's a whole different thread on that.

 

Anyway, back to the drawing board. I think I will drop the aggressors for now and see whether I keep both Invictors. Maybe I'd even drop one bike unit, but I think having 1-2 units is just solid.

But man, anti tank is really a woe if I go heavier on Troops with less Fists on the board.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Frater Cornelius

[duz_]

Great insights! So would assault Marines be good for grabbing objectives :D

 

We should really start an impressions of 9th thread...

 

I did some hobby chores this weekend

Primed my Indomitus characters although I'm not sure if I should airbrush them black since a lot have robes covering their main torso and their arms and helmets will obviously be white ;)

 

Also varnished some Marines I hadn't got a chance to yet. I thought I had been varnishing my Primaris Marines in gloss but when I hit these guys they turned out super shiny. Not sure if I accidentally double varnished them or if I changed my mixture some how :ermm:

 

Esit:

Thread made :tu:

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/365650-9th-ed-raven-guard-impressions/

Edited August 3, 2020 by duz_

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

My Raven Guard have been getting stomped in all three games of 9th I've played, because I don't understand how to play the army. I need more experience, and I need to understand my army, and I need to stop putting units in charge range so that they get charged and die.

[Frater Cornelius]

My Raven Guard have been getting stomped in all three games of 9th I've played, because I don't understand how to play the army. I need more experience, and I need to understand my army, and I need to stop putting units in charge range so that they get charged and die.

Deployment is arguably one of the hardest parts of the game. You need to know your army and the opponent's. Given how extensively RG can deploy, it makes it even harder. Go too far forward and you're busted. Be too defensive and you're too slow to get to objectives. Spread too far apart and the opponent will dismantle you. Even more experienced players need to rediscover RG, because of how important objectives suddenly are and with all the new units and missions. Gone are the days where one would aim to kill the opponent in turn 1. This is the age of Primary and Secondary Objectives, and I bet you that RG can be on top of those.

[Dracos]

My Raven Guard have been getting stomped in all three games of 9th I've played, because I don't understand how to play the army. I need more experience, and I need to understand my army, and I need to stop putting units in charge range so that they get charged and die.

 

9e is looking very similar to some old edition play so I'm excited by this but Frater C is on the nose about deployment. It's the beginning and the end of every game in my mind. Through the years I've spent more time studying deployment possibilities than all the other phases combined.

 

This new rule about declaring units that are going into reserve is another RG nerf in my opinion. Delaying that decision unit deployment was one of things that gave RG an edge with unusual units. Now your opponent can deploy knowing beforehand. I'm not saying it makes RG unusable, just that each trick we had is getting slashed while others Marines are unaffected. It's going to make getting the most out of RG harder but once we get it figured out it'll be boss.

 

Never deploy on the line. Everyone figures their math with this as the base. Either Infiltrate into dense terrain or deploy in the back of your own zone imo.

[tentagil]

Started a Crusade campaign this weekend and had my first battle at 25 PL vs a Sisters of Battle force.

Not sure on his exact list off hand, but he brought a transport and a Penitent Engine along with some battle sisters, Repentias, and three characters. 

My list was:
Phobos Captain with Ex Tenebris - this guy killed all three characters from range over the course of the game.
2x 5 man Infiltrators squads - sadly I made several tactical mistakes that led to these guys getting slaughtered by end of turn 2

2x 3 man Eliminator squads with Sniper Rifles - these guys cleared out two units and put a fair bit of damage on the transport and the Engine, but I simply didn't have enough armor cracking tools to remove them from the board.

Big take aways were first, just how much the smaller board speeds up how quickly armies are in engagement range, and two that I seriously need more armor cracking in my tool box.
On the other hand the Phobos Captain with Ex Tenebris and the Shoot and Fade tactic along with the Eliminators can do some serious work while also shifting around the board. Felt like a very thematic force, but at the end of the day I brought the wrong tools to this particular fight.

Edited August 4, 2020 by tentagil

[Alcyon]

I felt very similarly running the Vanguard box against BA. Boards are small and you can't deploy forward with Concealed Positions unless you have a fair bit of support. Anti-tank definitely critical. Thanks for the report!

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

My Raven Guard Have received reinforcements!

 

I bought an Indomitus Box, so that's 10 Assault Intercessors, Eradicators, Bladeguard Veterans, Bladeguard Ancient, Lieutenant, Captain, and Outriders. I also Got My 10 Dark Furies, Vigilator, Master of Signals, Legion Champion, 4 Apothecaries, and I'm now just waiting for my Storm Eagle to arrive.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Ulrik_Ironfist