tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668255476316917252.post8421723039193292942..comments2024-03-25T20:55:48.523+00:00Comments on Didcot Wargames Club: Battle Report 19- 1850 pts Ravenwing vs White ScarsMike (Didcot Wargames Club)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04136576868354842829noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668255476316917252.post-84039411767760821312015-09-11T10:37:20.673+01:002015-09-11T10:37:20.673+01:00As for your army, I have a few suggestions based o...As for your army, I have a few suggestions based on the force you last took to blog wars:<br /><br />- A common choice I am now seeing with the new codex is to put your centurions in a fast attack drop pod with Librarian. This helps mitigate the short range of the centurions and helps prevent an alpha strike on the centurions in the first turn if you go second. <br /><br />- With all the drop pods, your army has a great ability for board control, striking where you need them the most in the turn. However, once on the ground, your mobility is more limited. You had a small bike squad that was taken out quite early in the game, restricting your movement around the board. Maybe a second bike unit would allow you to be more mobile in the game depending on what the mission required. If you could make them troops (maybe put the librarian on a bike) that would work in your favour for the objective missions. <br /><br />- I like the scouts and landspeeder storm. A very cheap scoring unit that can cause a lot of hassle for the enemy with a 30" move each turn (12" move and 18" turboboost). I give the sergeant meltabombs and use them as a mobile drop pod hunting unit as the meltabombs hit automatically. <br /><br />- I think you could built a battle demi-company with your army; 3 units of tacticals, grav centurions and bike squad. This would give you some strong objective secured units and a nice bonus with the tactical doctrine. <br /><br />- I always want to steer clear of Knights (using or playing). They are very powerful and seem to make games less fun. Either your opponent has no way to deal with them, leading to a boring game where they run away from it or get crushed by it, or they take it out too easily and you've lost the points investment. They seem to be too easy to use, just point them at the enemy you want to destroy and stomp them. Of all the superheavies, they seem to be the best and most undercosted. I have a Baneblade and Stompa, both much more expensive than the Knight, but they never seem to achieve a fraction of what it can do in a game. <br /><br />Obviously take these suggestions with a pinch of salt, you did beat me twice in our blog wars game, so the army is obviously doing something right. Hope that helps with some of my thought process. I am still evolving the Ravenwing in my practice games. I think I will drop the librarian and maybe drop the Support squadron and take individual speeders or another bike unit. Mike (Didcot Wargames Club)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04136576868354842829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668255476316917252.post-84393645138576588652015-09-11T10:37:13.467+01:002015-09-11T10:37:13.467+01:00I always like a good curveball, something to sink ...I always like a good curveball, something to sink my teeth into. <br /><br />Although there are obvious similarities between the White Scars and the Ravenwing, I actually find that I play the armies in different ways. <br />The White Scars have considerably more options when it comes to army building compared to a pure Ravenwing force. My Scars can take Grav centurions, devastators, drop pods, tactical squad, scouts, landspeeder storm, etc. I can build a White Scars themed fast force with a lot of options and tactical complexity to it. <br /><br />The Ravenwing are a lot more limited, consisting of bikes, speeders and maybe a flyer, but I think they make a much more thematic force and look good on the table. <br /><br />The good bits from the army are the high mobility; very useful for controlling the board and for seizing objectives. With the turbo-boost moves, I can get to pretty much anywhere on the board in a turn and the formation rule allows me to turboboost on the first turn and get a Jink save without having to fire snap shots- very useful for getting right in the enemy army's face on the first turn then being effective enough to make it count in the second turn. <br />The Ravenwing have a much lower model count but make up for it in durability- all these re-rollable cover saves make a big difference during the game. <br /><br />One of the big differences I have noticed in the Ravenwing is an increased combat ability over the White Scars. The Scars get the increased strength hammer of wrath hits, but once they are in combat, they are no more impressive than normal marines and really struggle against 3+ armour saves. In most of my games, I actively avoid combat with my white scars unless I am playing significantly weaker opponents such as guard or dark eldar. <br /><br />In contrast, the Black Knights and Sammael can actually cause a lot of damage in combat thanks to increased strength, number of attacks and rending (in the case of the black knights). I actually try and get these units in to combat, knowing I can use hit and run to get out if things start to get unfavourable. Stubborn is also a big boost for the Dark Angels in combat, helping them to stick around if you don't want them to flee. There were quite a few times when Khan and my Chapter Master would get charged, their squad would be butchered and they would flee off the table without taking any damage. <br />The Ravenwing also have a decent level of firepower thanks to the plasma talons and landspeeders. <br /><br />The one big loss is objective secured and having the manpower to win an attrition war with the enemy. With the loss of objective secured, I will need to butcher the enemy troops units and army to try and grab the objectives. You saw in our game how one landspeeder storm or scout squad can shut down your scoring ability in maelstrom missions if you don't deal with them quickly. <br /><br />I've always liked the Ravenwing and I frequently ran an all Ravenwing force before the new codex made them the new "it" army. I like the look of them on the table, but they are a very challenging army to use so far. They are extremely durable, but up against certain opponents (Eldar, Knights and Tau), I think they will really struggle. <br /><br />Mike (Didcot Wargames Club)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04136576868354842829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668255476316917252.post-15916820444064980542015-09-11T00:45:01.928+01:002015-09-11T00:45:01.928+01:00Really interesting read, thanks mike. Here's a...Really interesting read, thanks mike. Here's a curveball: what are the good bits from your white scars army that you are trying to emulate here? And also, what are you hoping will be different because of dark Angels? <br /><br />I ask partly because at the moment I find myself stuck I a rut. Short of<br />Buying two imperial Knights I don't know how to improve my space marines! I'm interested to hear your thought process!Luke Darksun https://www.blogger.com/profile/14416275320673777382noreply@blogger.com