BA Reivers

[Lord_Ikka]

What does everybody think about BA's Reivers? I'm helping out my brother with starting out a BA army, and was wondering what everyone's opinions on the Reivers were. I'm not too fond of primaris marines in general, but think that out of all of them the Reiver might actually work decently for BA.

 

I was thinking he could use them similar to a standard jumppack Assault squad by giving them all grav chutes, Deep Striking against backfield units like Devastators and snipers. Since a bare bones 10-man Reiver squad only costs 40 points more than a bare bones Assault squad, the trade-off of slightly more points for double the wounds/attacks seems worthwhile. Yes, the Assault squad can take special weapons and has more variety, but aren't so useful otherwise. The Reiver heavy bolt pistol seems to be nice as well, with the -1 armor pen helping make armor saves slightly worse.

 

So Reivers, in my mind, can easily replace Assault marines (which are pretty terrible in my mind normally) but how do they stack up against other BA units? This is where I need your help, as I'm not terribly familiar with how BA armies are put together generally. Is there a use for a Deep Striking unit like Reivers in BA that isn't already taken up by more useful units?

[Panzer]

Haven't tried them yet but I do think they work good enough for BA rules-wise. Fluff-wise they don't like deploying them much since BA aren't big on the whole terror tactic approach. That being said it doesn't mean they don't use them at all and the models do look great.

 

Take a look at Inceptors. Those work really well for BA as well due them having Jump Packs and everything and they put out a lot of hurt for their points (and have as many attacks in melee as Assault Marines with Chainswords...just like any other Primaris Marine).

 

Assault Marines/Devastators -> Inceptors

melee Assault Marines/Scouts -> Reivers

[Charlo]

They're strong.

 

Lots of Synergy with stopping overwatch for our other units too.

[Crimson Ghost IX]

I like their utility belt scale the building sneak attack to save a few inches charge manuever I have been reading about.

Their stats are good for the points. As Charlo mentioned the grenades can be a boon.

 

I dislike they don't qualify for Descending Angels and such because of lacking a jump pack...

But CP only go so far anyhow so...

 

They don't suck for us and are totally useable.

I would rather spend the points on proper Jump Troops myself I think, tho the models are neat for rule of cool.

[Charlo]

The shooting can't be ignored either, S4 AP-1 is nothing to sneeze at for a quick volley!

[Dont-Be-Haten]

Firstly, what kind of BA is your brother wishing to play?

 

I advocate them. If you're wanting a resistant melee unit. Both with an active leadership modifier and a unit that I feel synergies well with BA regardless of fluff, they gel well with our rules.

 

Personally I prefer them over Death Company in some of my list because of their MSU capabilities, or as full 10 men squads.

 

In these list I favor Sanguinary Guard as the wrecking ball. And there is nothing wrong with DC. Thats preference.

[Lord_Ikka]

He likes both the DC and SG, and will most likely get a start collecting set. He has a few HQs already, with me getting him a magnetized captain/lieutenant, termie librarian, and jumppack chaplain. He also managed to snag a tactical squad from another friend. So I believe he is looking at a core army of tacs for objective security, with specialist assault units to back them up. Maybe grabbing a Cataphractii termie squad as well.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

I wouldn't run all three in the same list. I would pick two and proxy one. If he likes the way reivers play, then invest.

 

BA need a balanced list, so troops are good options. Just be aware of two things. 1 we have become a finesse army, 2 if you aren't careful you can end up with a glass cannon list very quickly.

[Lord_Ikka]

He's going to be playing against my varied DA (I run all wings in my lists) and T'au, in the main, so I think he'll learn finesse pretty well against that firepower. My main point for this topic was to see whether or not my original supposition was correct about Reivers- good for a replacement for Assault squads, but not at the same level as DC or SG. Sort of a mid-level harasser unit rather than a full-fledged assaulting unit.

[Panzer]

 Sort of a mid-level harasser unit rather than a full-fledged assaulting unit.

That describes them pretty well. If you want a little bit more punch and the utility of Jump Packs for the same kind of role then it's Inceptors instead, however those are obviously more vulnerable to multi-damage weapons due to their noticeably higher ppm cost.

[brother_b]

I'm not a fan of the models, I think the masks look cartoony. They have some interesting abilities, just not sure where I'll put them in to the army I'm making.

[Pendent]

I still like 5 man squads of carbine reivers a lot for harassing people's backfield. If you drop them into cover they're generally going to look like more trouble than they're worth to remove and from their you just focus on making them as much of a nuisance as you possibly can. It's a pretty minimal investment and even if they only tie up a tank for a turn they're totally worth it.