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I have built lists for Orks, SM, and DA bike armies but who is the king of the heap? I know each army brings slightly modified gear and slightly modified stat based HQ but beyond that the largest difference I feel is that the marines bring melta and the Orks don't.

In terms of numbers I believe the marines lag behind (as they should) but they make up for it with better weapons.

What do you all think?

I am trying to decide on either a SM bike army (any codex for marines) or an Ork bike army. I already play guard so I am leaning away from another horde army and more towards a elite army.

i would say you left out my pick of the best bike army, that being Eldar/DE. JSM is powerful, and the seer council available to a bike army is a crazy good deathstar unit.

I half forgot and half don't like eldar as they are just not for me really.

I think the Banner of the Bountiful bolter pushes Dark Angels ahead of SM biker lists, can't comment on how they compete against an Ork list though, as I don't have any experience with one.

With the Standard of Devastation, cheap Typhoon Speeders, detached Attack Bike MM and most importantly, Ravenwing Knights/Command Squad, DA get my vote.

Just take Sammael + three 6-bike, naked RAS with a 5-bike RWCS+SoD+Narthecium as your core. Then take two stripped down 3-bike, 2-melta RAS with Attack Bike MM and outflank.

Fill in your remaining points as the games go up in size with Typhoons for long range goodness, a Dark Shroud for improved cover saves and Ravenwing Knights. They're sneaky good in close combat with Ravenwing Banner (virtually guaranteeing hit and run) S5 and rending. Their grenade launcher debuff is just icing on the cake to all that. And then of course they have a TL plasma talon.

There's actually a thread floating around here that starts with a challenge to come up with a better close combat army than one that has 2 full RWCS and 3 big RWK squads. This unit just dominates all three phases of the game.

Hope this helps you decide.

I do like that really, if I do do a SM army it will be Imperial Fists so I can just swap codexes at will and completely change my game. As sinking myself in to a particular model range is not really appealing to me. Also if the list is nothing but WAAC then I doubt I will have long term fun sadly.

Ork bike army lead by a warboss on bike and Wazdakka.

tons of warbikers and two/three groups of nob bikers

I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

 marv335 wrote:
I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

So does every bike army out there...

Thatguyhsagun wrote:

 marv335 wrote:
I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

So does every bike army out there...

you forgot the best part about nob bikers, take a painboy! ALLWAYS! 5+ inv 5+ fnp :3

 marv335 wrote:
I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

...what doesn't....

Eldercaveman wrote:

 marv335 wrote:
I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

...what doesn't....

dragiowing and deathwing would like a word with you

Thatguyhsagun wrote:

Eldercaveman wrote:

 marv335 wrote:
I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

...what doesn't....

dragiowing and deathwing would like a word with you

This is true, although a strength 6 template, and a strength 7 no armour save vector strike will still hurt them.

Well my Ork bike list I feel is pretty great.

Hq
War boss - squig, bike, pk
7 bikers
Nob - pk, boss pole

Wazdakka
7 bikers
Nob - pk

Troops:
7 bikers
Nob - pk, boss pole

7 bikers
Nob - pk, boss pole

Fast:
2 dakkajets - RPJ, 3 supa shootas, flyer ace

2 deffkoptas - 2 buzz saws, 2 TL rokkits

Heavy:
2 battlewagons - rolla, RPJ


I may drop the koptas for another wagon with rolla, RPJ, and more shootas through out the wagons.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Since everything will be there by turn 2 anyway the third wagon will offer more cover.

Nurgle Bikers are pretty badass.

I think an Ork Biker Army would actually be pretty nails! Low Ld is a problem but that's why you take a Nob w/boss Pole.
Advantages, smoke cloud (permant 4+ Cover), 2W on each model, bigger gun 3 shots Str5, 2 Attacks base (+1 for 2 CCW), Nob Biker DeathStar
I'd be tempted to run 5/6 models with the Nob bikers inc. a painboy and waagh banner. Also the 2W on every model Nob bikers + Ork bikers mean they can suck up a helldrakes shooting better than MeQ bikes, with proper spacing the flamer will only get 3 models, 1/3 of those won't wound which equals 1 dead ork biker, as opposed to 2 Meq Ones (not factoring in Cybork or FNP on the Nob Bikers).

Ravenwing have black knights, HnR, Power Field Generator, teleport homers, Scout and the bolter banner. Sammual's a bit rubbish, especially compared to a Biker Boss or SM equivalent (w/exception of having Eternal Warrior). Going first is huge for this army as it allow everything to scout up and unleash a pretty devastating alpha strike, but it hates going second. It also suffers from smaller squad sizes and single attack bikes (easy KPs).

I've been running bike/hybrid marines for a 1/2 year now with a pretty good level of success. I take a Biker Captain w/Artificer Armour, PF + LC for a cool 190pts, not as choppy as the Ork Biker Boss, but much choppier than Sammual (getting legendary fighter with him is also amusing), I love Combat tactics to escape combat/charges etc, which is argubably similar to having HnR, it lacks a black knight style deathstar (our biker command squads are seriously overpriced in comparison, 265pts for FNP and 4 plasma guns vs. 230pts for 5 TL-plasma talons, FNP + Corvus Hammers), I find I have to be more tactical with it and the support elements are very important (TFC, Attack Bike Squads + Storm Talons all spring to mind). I also like the bigger bike squads as it provides a little more resisilance/can soak more wounds.

I think Ork Biker and RW armies are more like hammers where as I've found my SM bikes to be more of a 'water' style army, having to be careful of when/where to strike as they don't have unit(s) that can simply smash/shoot through the opposing army.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Eldercaveman wrote:

Thatguyhsagun wrote:

Eldercaveman wrote:

 marv335 wrote:
I'll reserve judgement on this, until the new Eldar 'dex comes out, but the Ork list is fairly powerful.
Wazdakka,
Biker Boss, PK,BP,AS, Combi Flamer, Cybork)
4x 3 Nob Bikers (1PK, 2BC)
4x 5 Warbikers (Nob /PK, BP)
3x 3 Deffcoptas (Rokkits)
It's fast, it's shooty, it hits hard in combat.

It does evaporate very quickly to heldrakes unfortunately.

...what doesn't....

dragiowing and deathwing would like a word with you

This is true, although a strength 6 template, and a strength 7 no armour save vector strike will still hurt them.

Vector Strike is 1+d3 hits at AP3 no cover :-P so not so much

Ravenwing by a country mile.

Aside from vanilla Marines (who are obviously a lesser option anyway) they're the only ones you can easily build as a TAC list, or tailored to suit different threats. They've got sufficient variety in bike units alone.
With Orks and Eldar there's only so much specialist weaponry you can give them - to stand a chance against certain lists you need to take backup units from elsewhere in the Codex.

Chaos only get the one type of bike unit and let's face it, its wargear options are pretty run-of-the-mill even with marks - so building a bike-centric list isn't really that viable.

Yeah, Orks have an awesome Bikes focused list, but can't really do an all bikes list.

If you want nothing but bikes, and maybe a couple speeders, do Ravenwing.

If you want Bikes and lootas and a deffrollas with some boyz in them. Do orks.

You may have already seen them, but I've recently started playing a White Scars army, and have been battle-reporting my efforts on Dakka - latest post (with links to others) is in my sig...

Hedgehog, I love your batreps!

Seriously OP, you should read this guys reports. They are well-written, detailed, and help to pass the time at work. Also the army is nicely painted.

Gotta go with the Ravenwing, at least till the new Space Marine dex comes out and we see what the White Scars get.

 Icculus wrote:
Hedgehog, I love your batreps!

Seriously OP, you should read this guys reports. They are well-written, detailed, and help to pass the time at work. Also the army is nicely painted.

Thank you

As an all bike player I thought long and hard about swapping to Dark Angels.

Raven Wing Knigts! Bolters for days! Decent in Assault!

But then i remembered that bike armies should be shooting, this isn't a standard cavalry force (where the cavalry is usually the charge that breaks the lines) but a mobile gunline. Lots of shooting with very special weapons.

Oh and Dark Angels don't have TFC. Good luck against those path finders.