[Terminator]

Hello all!

Whether you're a White Scars player or not, looking for suggestions for incorporating a bike squad into my balanced Ultramarine list. I've been using attack bikes and I like their mobility (and the models themselves) so much that I'm thinking of getting a full bike squad and trying them out. Here's the setup I was thinking of:

1 Attack Bike w/ Heavy Bolter
4 Bikes, 2 w/ Meltaguns
1 Bike Sergeant w/ Powerfist & Teleport Homer
TOTAL POINTS = 265 (If my calcs are correct...)

Any thoughts? Good or bad? I picture a unit that can roll in and put down lots of bolter fire on infantry - but that can also shoot armor or assault if need be (meltaguns/powerfist) and another teleport homer spot for my termies.

Has anyone seen other effective setups for bike squads? All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

 

[Blackhiker]

I wouldn't put so many assault points into them. keep the basic assault gear that they start with, but extra just seems a waste of points that could be used elsewhere. because for assault they move fast have higher toughness and get the extra assaulting attack. that alone should help in most assaults. but IMO bikes should be used as ranged units and only hinder the enemy not assault them.

 

[Archangel]

I agree with Blackhiker, I don't waste the points on the PF because I use my bikes to harass the enemy and capture objectives. My bikes squad hunts armor.

 

[Someguy]

I find that bike squads are inefficient to use in a combat role. You just pay too many points for each gun once you have taken the price of the bike itself into account.

You can have things like 3 man units with 2 melta guns but I think there are other options that are better for killing vehicles. I'd probably just take land speeders for my fast attack.

To illustrate this, your unit costs slightly more points than 3 land speeder tornados with assault cannons and heavy bolters. I can't really think of any situation where it would be preferable to have the bikes instead of the land speeders. I don't really see the bikes' ability to assault as an advantage, since it means they can be pinned in assault and taken out of the game. Their short range weapons makes that pretty hard to avoid.

 

[Terminator]

I definitely don't think bikes are a frontline assault unit - but thought the powerfist would be useful if assault seemed advantageous or for a follow-up charge on a tank. Plus the vet can carry another tele homer for my termies, might as well give him a weapon? Or maybe I'm way off.

 

[Blackhiker]

by using the homer you form an assault group that way. using the bikes teleport your termies in there and instant assault group

 

[Terminator]

Yeah, my whole thinking behind it is after using attack bikes - their speed is amazing. Plus getting to pack a pair of meltaguns, what's not to love?

 

[Archangel]

Two words: Turbo Boosters - arguably the best thing bikes have.

 

[Red Orc]

There's a topic here on bike squads in Codex SM armies (my Ultramarines battle company, in fact...) - hope it's of some interest/relevance.

 

[Sons of Russ]

I definitely don't think bikes are a frontline assault unit - but thought the powerfist would be useful if assault seemed advantageous or for a follow-up charge on a tank. Plus the vet can carry another tele homer for my termies, might as well give him a weapon? Or maybe I'm way off.

In your specific case, your fielding terminators, so it makes sense to give the sgt a powerfist if you already have to spend points for the veteran upgrade to get that all important homer.

otherwise no teleport homer= no fist

That's a great combo , BTW... The loss of teleport homers for terminators on the BA list made me a sad panda....

 

[Terminator]

There's a topic here on bike squads in Codex SM armies (my Ultramarines battle company, in fact...) - hope it's of some interest/relevance.

Oh! Well I'll have to look then!

 

[Someguy]

what's not to love?

The price, really. You are paying more for this unit than for a terminator squad, a land raider or a pair of predators and you really are not getting anywhere near the power that you could get for the price. Bikes just cost too many points.

For a much cheaper teleport homer carrier try scout bikers.

Actually that probably won't work in the long term. I think that scout bikes will be missing from the next version of the codex. They aren't in the BT, DA or BA lists as I recall and you can't get the models any more.

 

[Spector]

The price, really. You are paying more for this unit than for a terminator squad, a land raider or a pair of predators and you really are not getting anywhere near the power that you could get for the price. Bikes just cost too many points.

I don't think it is that they are overpriced as much as people don't utilize them properly. I think people tend to think of them as "fast" Space Marines, and play with them in the exact same fashion.

Both White Scars and Ravenwing armies are competitive, they just have a much higher learning curve than most armies in 40k. They play differently, and VP denial becomes a much larger factor when using them.

 

[Someguy]

True. That is different from using a single unit in a space marine army though. In one case you have a balanced marine army (as the OP originally stated) and you are looking at what you could spend 250ish points on. In the other you are talking about an army of bikes.

I think that a marine army, if it was looking for a unit that could move fast, claim quarters and attack vehicles, would be much better off getting land speeders than bikes. Even if you just have 1 FA slot then I think a squadron of 3 tornados, maybe one with multi melta and hvy flamer and the other 2 with assault cannons and heavy bolters, would be far more effective than the bikes against any opposition.

If their main job is getting your termies up close then maybe a land raider crusader could work. On the other hand, my experience with terminators is that they work best walking forwards shooting stuff with their assault cannons and that there is usually no reason to deep strike. I'd probably spend the points on another terminator squad, as 15 terminators walking forwards and shooting 6 assault cannons is quite formidable.

 

[Terminator]

The price, really. You are paying more for this unit than for a terminator squad, a land raider or a pair of predators and you really are not getting anywhere near the power that you could get for the price. Bikes just cost too many points.

For a much cheaper teleport homer carrier try scout bikers.

Actually that probably won't work in the long term. I think that scout bikes will be missing from the next version of the codex. They aren't in the BT, DA or BA lists as I recall and you can't get the models any more.

Upon further thought I think I'll keep my HB attack bikes. I think that bikes have niche uses in certain armies, but I'm sure I'm better off with the 3 cheap HB attack bikes and spending the points elsewhere.

That's a bit sad about the scout bikes. Even though I haven't used them, they're kind of a cool unit. I'm not sure if anyone uses them though.