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Now I'm a noob and I don't think I play in a very competitive area.

But I simply don't get what is so good about Razorback versus a Rhino.

Usually splitting my squad in 2 5 man group and than putting the 'assault' part (the sarge, the melta and 3 marines) in a Razorback while I leave 4 Marine + Heavy in the back doesn't do much good... the 1 heavy weapon in the back rarely make its point back and 5 Marines aren't very solid objective holder. And by the same token, 5 Marines getting in an assault (even if they do have a sarge with a PF) usually get slaughtered by pretty much anything. I tend to move my transport 12'' anyway, so the Razorback rarely even gets to fire its gun anyway...

Razorback also get popped just as easily as Rhinos... and while they don't cost much more, they do still cost a bit more.

I play SM mind you (not SW or BA), so that might be part of the problem... but yeah, I keep reading how razorback are awesome, best transport in the game, etc... and well, I guess I need somebody to spell out the obvious here, because I don't get it

they move. AND shoot. and you can use them for cover. and they look badass. and they can be given loadouts depending on your enemy.
mind you, BA razors do get fast so it makes getting there / still having fire support easier.

You need at least three to see results from them. And they need to be either las/plas or TL heavy flamer(s).

What's so good about it? It turns your obligatory crappy Tactical Marines into something worth having.

Blood Angels do it best. 5 Assault Marines w/ a 35 point rebate on a Fast Razorback...you run them as Las-Plas Razorbacks. Not only are they more durable than the Rhino (for weapon destroyed results), you can move 12 and fire one weapon, or 6 and fire both.

Theyre a good transport for 5 man squads with an IC, such as a Captain and Command Squad for example. That's how I field mine at least. So it may not work out as well for other people. Plus they have some nice weapon options so can be used for cover and fire support after they've disembarked.

its a train mentality! if someone else finds that they can be good then 70% of everyone else must think they are good!

I never use them and prob never will. I win plenty of games just fine ^.^

Just seems to me that most of what it does can also be done with a Rhino... you're essentially trading 4 transport spots for an extra heavy weapon... for like 40 points. Not really seeing the 'omg! it's so much better than Rhino' angle...

Mind you, I can see it being much better for BA (Who have Fast vehicle, so you can move 12'' and shoot) or Space Wolves (As even a squad of 6 Gray Hunter can pack some decent CC abilities)... but for vanilla marines, I remain confused.

Depens on game size as well dude. (i seem to say that alot these day) a razorback is 40pts with HB well HB aint great but there better than most free weps on armour, and only carrying 6 Sm being a bad thing, its not that bad depending on what you want to use em for and the HB on the razorback can support em.

Ok in larger games there ok but not great.

In groups, with other tanks on the table too, they create too many targets, the extra 5 points for a weapon so it can acually do something once it drops off its cargo seems worth it to me. I almost always split my tactical squads, and seldom stay in transports for long anyway. I don't like weapon upgrading them because they are so easy to kill, but a twin linked HB is a nice little 5 points well spent. Rhinos are just mobile terrain. For 5 more points you have mobile terrain that can kill something once in a while.

They're invaluable to Gunline marines, especially if you can get them into cover somehow - an extra Heavy weapon for just 40+ points that's hard to kill (unless the opponent wants to waste high strength shots)

Or as transports - if you have 2-3 Preds/Vins and a Dread/Ironclad etc then no-one is going to target your transports - make up for the small squad size by having 3-4 of them and/or deliver Sternguard - then use them as mobile heavy weapon platforms. You then have one set of demi-squads on your objective, one set on theirs, and a bunch of mobile heavy weapons moving about blowing stuff up!

Remember that the value of demi-squads lies in being in being able to hold 2 objectives for the price of 1, assault/shoot at 2 different targets, and if the squad gets wiped out by a super-unit like SG or TW it's not as bad as if they'd just run through a full 10 man squad!

It's just the newest 'popular' spam list. I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually play with it (Razorbacks aren't cheap) and I'd be just as surprised to people win with it.

They're not any harder to kill than a rhino, carry a less useful and more easily handled unit...I just don't get it.

I love the model, but it's just 'internet list creep' for the most part Tark. Razorback spam is the new drop pod spam is the new rhino spam to infinity and beyond!

The Razorback offers considerable ( and in the case of the las-plas variant flexible ) firepower + some transport capability ( which is great with combat squads since you probably won't move the heavy weapons guy very often ) for a good price, which makes it spamable and therefore difficult to counter unless your opponent is loaded with anti tank weapons.

Well for my SW it's the flexability of the Razorback that's the key.

Let's say, for example, I take a standard 1500 point Raz-orientated list and use 4 Razorbacks with 6 Grey Hunters inside. If I want to, I can sit at the back of the table and wait for an enemy to come to me with 4 lascannon shots and 8 plasma gun shots per turn. I can also hold objectives midfield and also double back if a pesky Vendetta has landed and is in need of Powerfist to the face. Finally, if i'm feeling confident, I might even be hyper aggressive and push all of them forward. The point is that I have the choice. With the Rhino I dont. What the Rhino does have in it's favour is transport capacity. What I tend to do with my army is take 2 Raz and 2 Rhinos, all at full capacity, and push the Rhinos forward. The Raz almost always dont get shot at in the next round as the enemy deals with the two Rhino assault.

I fully expect the Rhinos to be popped. In fact, in some ways, I want them to be popped as it unleashes a metric feth ton of marines armed with melta and power weapons. Another thing to consider is, do you really want 10 marines coming out and assualting? Unless you're playing something uber tough like Nobs or a massive unit of Nids, a 10 man Grey Hunter squad with 3 attacks on the charge (1 normal, 1 charge, 1 for CC weapons) will destroy most units leaving you in the middle of nowhere and ready to be shot at. So smaller squads can often be better value for points in terms of survivability.

Hope that helps.

Razorbacks are basically rhinos with the ability to provide fire support.

Need an extra las cannon? Heavy bolter? Heavy flamer? I think plasma is the other one you can add on it.

It's cheaper than a predator with a las, though it dies faster on average but you can have six of these suckers on the field, or more.

Considering I have and tend to run my three thunderfire cannons, lascannon razorbacks are my main long range anti-tank.

75 points for a Lasplas or TL Lascannon Razorback. It's 30 points cheaper than a Predator that has the same loadout. Lower armor, but a good deal cheaper and it doesnt take up a Heavy Support Choice. Razorspam also deals with low cost, highly mobile units, something that the Pred nor the Rhino cannot do (Rhinos would not have any sort of heavy weapons, since the passenger would need Relentless to be able to fire on the move).

I run 3 razorbacks currently, I play C:SMs, which isn't even the best army for them.

3 ten man squads, with the free options. 3 TL plas, LC razorbacks. Each total unit costs 245 points. I get a plasma gun, a flamer, a missile launcher, and a lascannon. For 205 points I just get a ML and flamer.

So for a small points increase (about what some people pay for their sarge upgrades) I get twice the heavy and special weapons. The drawback? I lose the ability to put the full squad into it.

Good thing for combat squads. Since a razor carries 6 models, I can attach an IC into the carried combat squad. Which you can't do with a full unit riding in a rhino (capacity 10) Most of the time combat squading isn't even bad, since it is rare that you can or want to fire the special and heavy weapon at the same target.

In kill points missions, who cares how many kill points your army can potentially give up. Focus on killing your enemy.

if you shave it's back it will shave yours??

It's a cheap tank, and it looks cool.