Standard bike squads - unsung heroes of the imperium

[SnakeChisler]

I've just done a series of practice games and a local tourney and after trying various options have been playing with 2/3 bike squads.

 

These guys have been doing a serious amount of work from hosing Eldar guardians to tying up tanks for round after round by charging them to providing a 4++ screen for characters.

 

The 3+ 4++ 2 wounds T5 makes them really sticky and for what they can do there a points efficient choice if your running them with buckup from a Talon Master and Sammael.

 

People are also using cheap screening troops which bolter spam with ignores cover eats for breakfast

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Good to see them getting used.

Do you use any special weapons? If so which ones and why?

[SnakeChisler]

melta gun because its assault and puts fear into my enemies and its hard to block bike squads completely unless you have a lot of chaff

 

Storm bolter on the Sgt because who doesn't want an extra 4 shots (use designers commentary for sgt's wargear) to get rid of said chaff

 

A key factor is the ignores cover from the Talon Master and the stratagem 'Speed of the Raven' comboed with jink, you can also get inventive and box vehicles against terrain features especially if they have side weapons sticking out or string across sideways and snag extra vehicles in the charge and pile in move.

 

We can also blow a couple of CP's on retreating and shooting worth it if you have a full squad and a good spread of targets

[Darkangeldentist]

Have to agree, although I've not used the regular bikers much, when I have they have been good. The weight of fire they can deliver (in part due to the speed which means they invariably get to rapid-fire) can be very punishing on small squads and even tougher targets can find themselves worn down by the number of saves they are forced to make. 

[Brother Chaplain Tyranus]

I've really wanted to use bikes. I've tried over and over again and my opponents target them really fast so they are usually gone by turn 2. I'm building a sammael currently and 2ould like to try bikes with a darkshroud. Does anyone use the grenade launcher stratagem? Does it work?

[Berzul]

Bikes do get targetted a lot.

 

My bikes are usually top priority kills for my opponents, but it is becase they are simply amazing. Specially this edition, with the changes to Twin weapons.

 

A full squad of bikers, with a Storm Bolter on the Sgt., can dish out 36 S4 AP0 D1 shots a turn at 12 inches. That is an insane amount of shots! And the squad has a 14 inch move, turbo boost, T5 and a 3+ save, with 2 wounds a piece! That is arguably more survivable than Terminators even.

 

An opponent would be a fool not to focus fire your bikes.

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Hmm.. You guys are giving me the itch to try them out... :)

[Berzul]

Hmm.. You guys are giving me the itch to try them out...

 

Come to the 2nd Company Side... we have cookies...

[SnakeChisler]

Bikes do get targetted a lot.

 

My bikes are usually top priority kills for my opponents, but it is becase they are simply amazing. Specially this edition, with the changes to Twin weapons.

 

A full squad of bikers, with a Storm Bolter on the Sgt., can dish out 36 S4 AP0 D1 shots a turn at 12 inches. That is an insane amount of shots! And the squad has a 14 inch move, turbo boost, T5 and a 3+ save, with 2 wounds a piece! That is arguably more survivable than Terminators even.

 

An opponent would be a fool not to focus fire your bikes.

And you throw in a couple of melta guns add Sammael and the Talon Master for ignores cover re-rolls while backing up with Azreal and the Helblaster blob

 

Your opponent is now between a rock and a hard place deal with 4++ bikes or have them swarming all over you or try kill the hellblasters who shoot anyways when they die 50% of the time because you've an ancient and a 4++ Azreal bubble.

 

There really good at butchering screening units denying your opponent cheap scoring troops he can use to snag points and as I said previously snagging vehicles so they can't shoot.

[Brother Chaplain Tyranus]

Bikes do get targetted a lot.

 

My bikes are usually top priority kills for my opponents, but it is becase they are simply amazing. Specially this edition, with the changes to Twin weapons.

 

A full squad of bikers, with a Storm Bolter on the Sgt., can dish out 36 S4 AP0 D1 shots a turn at 12 inches. That is an insane amount of shots! And the squad has a 14 inch move, turbo boost, T5 and a 3+ save, with 2 wounds a piece! That is arguably more survivable than Terminators even.

 

An opponent would be a fool not to focus fire your bikes.

So how do you keep them alive along enough to be worth anything? Especially when I have second turn (which is way more often than it should be). I have tried hiding them behind the lines and even putting them in azraels invuln aura first turn but for some reason they still get blown right up. I have actually never gotten them far enough down the field to actually do anything. I do like the price of the standard bikes for us though. they are fairly cheap and are pretty survivable for what they are. I'm having trouble taking units if they don't have rerolls (which seems to be very popular this edition) and taking sammael with a bike squad doesn't sound that smart to me without some sort of guarantee that they will survive long enough to protect their esteemed leader. I can totally see why people are using a darkshroud with it but then the cost is getting up there. I can't figure out a balance.

 

Ill try and put them in azraels aura to start the game. that might keep a couple of them alive. What else do you guys do?

[Berzul]

What I do is:

Take them in numbers no lower than 6

Take an Attack Bike to tank wounds, if points allow

Take a RW Apothecary to tag along and bring them back along the way

Put them inside the Icon of old Caliban's aura

Turbo Boost them whenever possible, through Speed of the Raven

 

And if after all that they STILL die, then, you know what?

Edited March 13, 2018 by Grand Master Belial
Removed Offensive Picture

[Brother Chaplain Tyranus]

I wish I could like that picture more than once. I didn't think about the icon.  thats a good idea.  Maybe Ill pull them out again.

[SnakeChisler]

I run between 9 & 12 models, squads of 4 or greater

 

It's like any tactic you have to commit, I start enough within range of Azreal to make it through the 1St wave

[Berzul]

Commiting to a strategy is key.

 

Part of that is sometimes doubling up key units.

 

A single squad of bikers can be taken out easier than two or three.

 

A list that uses Bikers as the main focus of the army should be bringing at least twi squads of 4+ bikes, an Apothecary or two, a Darkshroud, maybe a Talon Master... a good formation, in short.

[derelinqueren]

I just wanted to chip in on the appreciation of the humble basic bike squad. If you pop for the stratagem, they move mighty fast and you might as well toss them into assault with whatever you have just decimated or a chaff squad. Without specialised close combat weapons they are very difficult to kill.

 

Whilst an opponent can fall back I find few do, due to keeping your firepower quiet. That of course makes it safer for Sammy and friends to arrive and free up the bikers.

 

I agree with Berzul too, go big on Raven wing, most opponents do not enjoy your entire army being on top of them immediately. One bike squad especially if the rest of your army is static is just begging to be shot off the table.

 

P.S. I have also found MM attack bikes good too (barring Kill point games) Cheap and scary. Do what guard do, don't aim one MM at what you want to destroy aim a few.

[GenerationTerrorist]

Love this thread!

Played a game last weekend where my opponent (Orks) ignored all 4 of my 6-strong Ravenwing squads having won the first turn, and concentrated all that Dakka on the Sammy/Shroud/Knight bubble.

The standard Ravenwing squads tore shreds from his Green Tide type army; They were all bog standard (no special weapons - just because you can, doesn't mean you must!) apart from each of the Sgt with a Plasma Pistol.

4 co-ordinated units each putting out 24 shots in half range was beautiful.

[march10k]

I used them once recently.  Mainly thought of them as an escort for the bike librarian, but they were actually pretty effective in their own right.  The table had a decent amount of LOS-blocking terrain, so they were able to shape LOS with their high mobility in order to limit how many enemy units could shoot at them, often it was only their target that could shoot back!  Also, they weren't out there flapping on their own, I had terminators, lascannons, and other threats around to divide the enemy's attention, so that one squad of bikes never really made it to the top of his priority list.

[Hoots]

After a few games with just one supporting bike squad my current force takes two small squads (3 man) with the Sgt getting a storm bolter making them super cheap.  whilst the BKs, biker libby, apothecary and shroud move forward to support the scout squads with my other characters these two bike units will be kept in my back lines for a couple of turns to support my ven dreads from deepstrikes. I'm hoping that holding them back should keep them alive until later turns where they are going to be super useful in zooming forward to clear out remaining units camping objectives.  Even if just a sgt survives, with 8 shots at 12" he'll do work!