Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey there Dakkanauts. In anticipation of what I hope will be a summer session of expansion, I'm preparing to delve into my army's fast attack options. How do you all like to load and use your attack bikes and speeders?

Multimeltas on Attack Bikes and usually Typhoon Missile and Multi Melta on speeders.

With DftS lowering the cost of a Storm Talon, having two or three isn't too bad, but i you like bikes you might have to trad a bike squad/land speeder squadron for a single storm talon. Imo, the talno seems pretty good, but the guys i play with dont have much for AA, so i pretty much rampage with impunity.

Bikes combine high survivability with reasonable firepower for their cost... Attack Bikes, more so. A triple multimelta squadron is a damn good way to get rid of vehicles quick, and flamer bikers are very good at anti-horde.
The key is not to be tempted to throw the latter into combat early and get bogged down. If you can't be sure that a combined flaming and charge will win you the combat straight away, keep your distance and plink away at them. Or, turbo-boost towards a softer/smaller target.
Scout Bikes are a bit less sturdy and don't do as much damage, and their cheaper points cost doesn't usually make up for that, *BUT* they are a damn good way of getting Deep Striking Termies right where you want them. Trouble is, a drop pod will do the same job for cheaper.

Don't forget that if you take a Captain on a bike, your Bike squads then become Troops.

Stormtalons are great. But I love me some Typhoon speeders.

Personally, I only own one attack bike. It has the HB glued on and only see the table as support for my bike squad.

Theoretically, there is a lot you can do with them. 50 points for a MM bike, rolling around blowing up tanks. Bikes got some very nice boosts this edition, so they are just as viable as they used to be. Squad up to 2-3 if you have the points.

120 points will get you a squad of 3 HB attack bikes. That's a lot of dakka for not a lot of points. Sure, you can get a TFC or auto/HB pred for less over is the HS slot, but they don't have the mobility of the bikes. Plus you get the TL bolters and the ability to charge in if needed (with hammer of wrath)

Speeders are one of those units you can equip in a variety of ways depending on what you need them to do. The MM/HF is the classic load for close support. It is flexible, but you will almost never get to use both guns on the same target. With 6th, the double loads became viable. MM/MM and HF/HF speeders do one thing, but do it well.

Lately I've become enamored with the typhoon/HB speeder. It has the advantage of being able to sit back at long range and pepper your opponent from relative safety. They are effective, but not so threatening as to draw the ire of anti tank weaponry, who have more pressing targets. A cheeper version would be the HB/HB speeder, which clocking in at 60 points lets you field 2 for the price of the attack bike squad above. With directional wound allocation there is something to be said for hammering 4 HBs into the flank of a unit.

Not a fan of ACs on speeders. I love the gun, but you need to be in bolter range to use it, and massed small arms fire can bring you down. Too expensive for that kind of risk.

Don't forget the rest of the FA slot. I know you specified attack bikes and speeders in the OP, but there are lots of nice options here.

+1 on the attack bikes. They're a scary threat: T5 W2 with a 3+ cover save if they don't shoot. Weight of fire will bring them down, but people only have so much they can afford to shoot at a multimelta platform. Couple that with other bikes and you've got a fast threat: something marines can't usually bring. Add drop pods to taste.

The double MM or double HF speeders seem to be doing well from what I've seen too. A highly specialised, highly fragile unit. If you're ballsy with them they can really pay off.

My fast attack core for a TAC marine list is a squad of 3x multimelta bikes (150 points) and a lascannon stormtalon (140 points). This gives a lot of mobile anti-tank/anti-TEQ firepower and has the added bonus of providing an anti-aircraft platform. I used to run 3x heavy bolter bikes in 5th edition and they are still a good unit but they usually get squeezed out of the list at lower point games in favor of the storm talon. The ability to put out 15 shots a turn (9x HB, 6x bolter) and then assault with 12 attacks (3 from hammer of wrath at I10, 9 from the models at I4) can be decisive late in the game for clearing units off objectives and with jinx they always have a 5+ cover now (4+ if you forego shooting to turbo boost).

Landspeeders are pretty bad right now. AV10, 2HP dies very quickly. The only variant I still use is the Typhoon/HB because it can stay out of small arms range and be effective. I'd consider using dual HBs as well for the range factor but I'd always take attack bikes or storm talons first. Take regular bike squads only with a bike captain to make them scoring.