Topic: 1500 Ravenwing

[Herm_777]

Hey everyone,

Putting a 1500 list together for my favorite chapter. Definitely could use some feeback on it. Not sure if a librarian is worth it and would love to hear everyone's opinion. This is mostly a fun list but it would be nice to give it as much bite as I can to keep the games interesting. Thanks in advance for the help

HQ

Sam on jet bike

Librarian w/ force axe and bike

Command squad
5 bikes, 1 grenade launcher, apothecary
Banner of devastation

Taking Sam because ravenwing. Need the daka banner to be a threat to hordes. Not sure on the librarian. Gave him a force axe as Sam has the termie slicing sword at initiative

TROOPS

Bike squad 1
6 bikes, 2 meltas, 1 attack bike

Bike squad 2
6 bikes, 2 meltas, 1 attack bike

Bike squad 3
5 bikes, 2 flame throwers

My troops. Tried to give them melta and some flame throwers as the Knights bring the plasma. My answer to hordes and heavy tanks

FAST ATTACK

Black Knights
5 bikes, 1 grenade launcher

Land speeder "give everyone cover" (forgot the name)

Knights are there for more close combat punch and for the plasma guns. They will work very closely with the command squad. Landspeeder does its best to keep everyone alive.

[Dread]

It looks pretty solid to me. In my own, I usually run full ravenwing units with the landspeeders in them. I'm not sure about the libby, I take chaplains. Let us know how it fairs.

[Grand Master Lomandalis]

A Librarian can be worth it, but for what he brings to the list at this points level, you may want to look into taking some Land Speeder Typhoons instead.

Now, for the actual list, it really is a matter of what you see your army doing that I have to bring up.  Personally, when I run my Ravenwing, I see them as 95% shooting and 5% close combat.  The Standard of Devastation really is an effective banner against all forms of infantry, because even against terminators, throw enough dice at something and it will die.  That being said, with a 5 man command squad already, I think you could benefit a bit more from having more bikers with bolters to benefit from the banner, and that second squad of knights takes a pretty big chunk out of your list.

The other thing is regarding the Darkshroud Land Speeder.  Even though it is cheap, I just don't see the value in this edition.  With the short range, you will have to have your army crowded around the Darkshroud to benefit from Stealth in the event your units are shot with something that would force them to jink.  Take into account that you will also have your army crowded around the Command Squad with the Standard, and that is a lot of business in a small area.  From experience, it is very hard to accomplish. 

Just some food for thought, but if you were to drop the second unit of black knights, and relied on the Command squad for counter charge and plasma duty, you can probably add another unit of 6 Bikes, and may have room left over for some Land Speeder Typhoons to give you some long range anti-tank, which this list is sorely lacking.

[Herm_777]

Thanks for all the advice so far concerning the list. Based on the comments I have decided to make the following changes.

- Removed the librarian and added another bike squad with a melta gun for the much needed bolter shots.

- Upon weighing whether I should drop the unit of knights and the dark shroud for2-3 land speeders with missile launchers, I’ve decided to keep knights because of their versatility and survivability. While it’s absolutely clear that missile equipped landspeeders would provide long distance heavy weapons, I just don’t think it’s enough to change my mind. With the changes in 7th edition, missiles can no longer cause vehicles to explode (unlike plasma) and speeders themselves are easy to destroy with all the strength 6 and 7 spam that is so common. While knights don’t have the same range or gun power, they are far more survivable thanks to their 3+ armor save and can be effective in both shooting and assault. Also, the knights are twin linked and will actually have an easier time with flyers.

- Regarding the dark shroud, I know it may not be able to cover the whole army but I will likely cover 2-3 units that are most at risk. The longer I keep the daka banner and the bolters that benefit from it alive, the more utility the army maintains as a whole.

Thanks again for everyone’s comments. I look forward to reading any additional thoughts.


HQ

Sam on Jetbike:

Command Squad:
5 bikes, 1 grenade launcher, banner of devastation, apothecary

HQ Total: 495

TROOPS

Bike squad #1
6 bikes, 2 melta guns,
Attack bike with multi-melta

Bike squad #2
6 bikes, 2 melta guns,
Attack bike with multi-melta

Bike squad #3
4 bikes, 2 flammers

Bike Squad #4
4 Bikes, 1 melta,

Troop Total: 706

FAST ATTACK

Black Knights
5 Knights, 1 grenade launcher, melta bombs

Darkshroud

Fast Attack Total: 290

Total: 1,496

[Keira]

My Eldar faced a very similar list in a game last week (95% similar) & it didn't go very well for the Ravenwing player

What I learnt from that experience is that if u force DA's to jink they can't put out much in the way of effective firepower & that one wave serpent can eliminate the Dark Shroud in a single turn of shooting - So depending on your opponent don't rely too heavily on the cover save bubble & have a plan B to deal with units that can churn out high strength fire that ignores cover. Suicide melta attack bikes could fit this role but I'd suggest maybe a Predator seconded from one of the other companies.

[Grand Master Lomandalis]

Part of the reason I recommend having Typhoons in the list.  The long range fire power is something that Ravenwing do need to be successful.  One thing to remember, is that while the two missile shots will not cause a vehicle to explode, two missile shots and a melta shot have the potential to glace a vehicle to death.

While suiciding melta bikes may seem like a valid method for tank hunting, the issue with it is that you have to have your bikes within 12" to make those melta shots, and within 6" to make those shots count, often meaning that if your bikes are in range of the enemy vehicles, they are probably within range of other units which can deal with 6 bikes and you have to accept the fact when taking the chance that you will lose the squad.  "Plan for the worst, hope for the best."

With Land Speeders, you can safely sit back and pre-measure so you know you have the multi-melta within range and put three high strength shots into a vehicle, or put two of those shots into a vehicle across the board that you really need to disable.

While the list ultimately if your choice, I strongly recommend the land speeders.  My Ravenwing never leave my house without a pair of the Typhoons.  And I do understand your apprehention with regards to the amount of strength 6 and 7 shots that you see in games these days, when you have units in range of the Standard of Devastation, I have found that people are more concerned about silencing the potential 24 bolter shots than they are the about silencing the land speeders.  That being said, if you do decide to include the speeders, you don't want to make them the obvious choice for targets.  Start of the game they need to be hidden and move at the very limits of their weapons range.

[Herm_777]

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to everyone. Firstly I want to thank everyone for their offered advice and help, dread, Keira, and especially grand master lomandalis for the multiple posts. I'll definitely include typhoons when I increase the army to higher point levels. They come with the ravenwing bike box anyways and will always be there in case the Knights don't pan out the way I envisioned them.

Thanks again

[Grand Master Lomandalis]

I am always willing to help out my Unforgiven brethren!  And the great thing about posting a list online is that while we can make comments and suggestions on the changes we feel you should make, ultimately you know what would work best with the meta game of the people you play against.

Play several games with the revised list you posted and let us know how it works out.  I'm going through a similar thing right now, trying a few games to find out if a Vindicare Assassin is beneficial to have in my Ravenwing or not.