Why White Scars in 6th Edition?

So you’ve decided to play a real man’s army in sixth edition.  Bikes armies have become reincarnated as the ultimate flying glasshammer, but White Scars have only gotten better since sixth edition. 

I’ll forgo the normal banter of, “ZOMG we be true tough 5!!””I canz turbo in da shoosting phase now?!”  And skip to something a little more substantial.

What do bikes do well?  We’re a fast army.  Only Dark Eldar, Eldar Saim-hann are really faster than we are.  White Scars pack enough firepower to turn the tide against these fast armies by disabling their transports (looking at you Dark Eldar).   In essence, White Scars to me resemble mobile gun platforms more than speeding Tactical Marines.

Remember, White Scars are based on the Mongols during the time of Genghis Khan.  Genghis tended to bring an overwhelming amount of firepower in surgical strikes to dismember his enemy.  The same can be said for White Scars.  We can bring overwhelming force on one portion of the battlefield and quickly redeploy to move onto the next target. 

What about support elements?  In 5^th edition the vaunted Land Speeder Typhoon was the given choice for long-range anti-tank suppression and could even help in removing blobs of infantry.  Did hull points hurt the Land Speeder?  Yes.  No one will deny that.  Did First blood also hurt Land Speeders? Of course.  But smart reserving and hiding the speeder behind LOS blocking terrain can increase survivability ten – fold.  I’ve noticed in some different metas that long-range firepower has taken a bit of a dive in most army lists.  With lots of infantry killing, mid-range firepower absorbing the bulk of points in an army, the typhoon can out deploy, out maneuver and still brings a mobile firepower that packs a nasty punch.

I’ll write a quick blurb about my heavy support choices.  I’ve currently been having excellent success with three vindicators with dozer blades.  I used to find the dozer blade a waste of 5pts but after attending a tournament where in the first 3 games all three of my vindicators immobilized on turn 1, now the FAQ has clarified that the immobilization also removes a hull point the 5pts are a must buy on each vindicator. 

Vindicators have that shock and awe ability that can be lacking in a bike army.  White Scars tend to avoid terminators, we don’t run death stars, and the nerf to the Command Squad really left bike armies reeling for that sledgehammeresque squad to turn the tide of battle.  Vindicators + Null Zone = hell for any terminator, Nob squad, or any tank.  Thank – you ordnance and AP2 tank modifiers!

Here’s a quick look at my current White Scar list at 1750.  I’m focusing on the MSU aspect on the bike army and bringing loads of weapons to fire where I need them quickly.   The librarian is there to crush daemons and terminators alike.  With the newness of 6^th edition and the knee jerk reaction away from Rhinos, walking Marines make a juicy target for Avenger.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to continued contribution and conversation! FOR THE KHANNN!