Some of you may or have may not heard, but a Ravenwing bike army recently went 5-0 at a major tournament on the West Coast. The Event was TSHFT and apparently he beat necrons, chaos, and nids among other armies. Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was new codex syndrome, or perhaps it is simply a great army. So lets take a look at it and dissect all of the choices which were made!
List was originally found here.
For reference, this is a 2000 point list
HQ – Sammael – Raven Sword, Adamantine Mantle, Corvex, Night Halo.
HQ – Librarian – Mastery Level 2, Auspex, Space Marine Bike, Force Staff, Psychic Hood.
HQ* – Ravenwing Command Squad – 3x – 2 Corvus Hammer, 2 Plasma Talons, Champion w/ Blade of Caliban, Apothecary w/ Narthecium, Standard Bearer w/ Banner of Devastation & Grenade Launcher.
Troops – Ravenwing Attack Squad – 6x + 1x Atk Bike – 2 Plasmaguns, Multimelta.
Troops – Ravenwing Attack Squad – 6x + 1x Atk Bike – 2 Flamers, Multimelta.
Troops – Ravenwing Attack Squad – 6x + 1x Atk Bike – 2 Meltaguns, Multimelta.
Troops – Ravenwing Attack Squad – 6x + 1x Atk Bike – 2 Meltaguns, Multimelta.
Troops – Ravenwing Attack Squad – 6x + 1x Atk Bike – 2 Meltaguns, Multimelta.
Fast Attck – Ravenwing Black Knights – 5x – 4 Plasma Talons, Power Sword, 1 Grenade Launcher.
At first glance, I am noticing a distinct lack of long range fire power. This can be mitigated somewhat with scout, however it is something in which I believe players will be more prepared for in the future (Servo skulls and chooser of the slain anyone?). In future lists, I do believe this type of army is going to need either devestator squads, drednoughts, land speeders or the like. Long range fire power is essential for knocking out transports and thinning out squads before moving into the kill.
Figuring out the points (I have done this 4 times), the list is 53 points under 2000. I am not sure why you wouldn't double check and triple check your list, but it is a big deal. Another possibility is that the person who recorded this army list is wrong. He may have paid for veteran sergeant upgrades and not listed them. At least he wasn't over!
Sam on a jetbike? BEST OPTION EVER! Even before the release of the new codex, I never understood why you would take him on a speeder. A plasma cannon zooming around with BS5 is amazing. Even now, it is significantly better as he gives a whole bunch of buffs to the squad he joins.
So, why a level two libby? According to the author, the list is trying to get invisibility on the libby so the command squad becomes much more resilient. However I foresee two problems with this. Foremost, it is not a guarantee that you'll even get the power and second, it is not going to save you from hell drakes and other ignore cover weapons. I do like how this individual took an auspex on the libby. It is a great upgrade and will work amazingly will all of those plasma weapons.
An interesting note about the command squad, the plasma talons are located on characters, while the grenade launcher is not. That means with those plasma talons roll a 6 to hit, they can allocate where the shot is going. In tandem with the grenade launcher, you can insta kill all sorts of hq choices! Not a bad strategy.
The Bike Squads look fine and it is a significant amount of scoring. I personally would like to see some typhoons, but I understand why people would rather have all of those lone multi-melta attack bikes around.
In regards to the black knights, I like that unit. I wouldn't mind seeing a slightly larger unit so it just doesn't get killed off quickly. It would also bring more plasma to the table. I will say, I am not really sure why he is paying for a power weapon outside aesthetics. I am not sure it really adds much to that units assaulting capability. However, all of those twin linked plasma weapons will definitely assist with hunting flyers. Especially with being able to reliably get rear armor shots.
In conclusion, this recent occurrence proves that the army has all of the necessary tools to be competitive. I like the army, but there is room for some improvement. I think there are some glaring weaknesses in the army which need to be addressed in future versions of the army.
So what do you guys think about this list? Is it similar to what you have been fielding?