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.

Hello Dakka,

I'm looking to get some assistance on a list for an upcoming tournament. What I've got listed here is what I have in my collection and I'm intending to use. I can make a few changes to the design and equipment load out, but a total revamp is not within my abilities.

Feel free to give some criticism and any tactical advice.

Raven Guard Talon Strike Force

Pinion Battle Demi Company

- Captain (Warlord) – Armour of Shadows, Raven’s Fury, Swiftstrike and Murder, Melta bombs and Auspex
- 5 man Command Squad – x4 Grav guns in a drop pod with locator beacon
- 5 man Tactical Squad – Missile Launcher with Flakk Missiles, Veteran Sergeant with Power fist
- 5 man Tactical Squad – Missile Launcher with Flakk Missiles, Veteran Sergeant with Power axe and Melta Bombs
- 5 man Tactical Squad – Meltagun, Sergeant with Combi-melta and Melta Bombs in a drop pod with locator beacon
- 10 Man Assault Squad – x2 Plasma Pistols, Veteran Sergeant with Thunder hammer and Melta Bombs
- 10 man Devastator Squad – x4 Missile Launchers, Veteran Sergeant with Melta Bombs
- 5 man Scout Squad – 4 sniper rifles, missile launcher and camo cloaks
- 3 man Scout Bike Squad – Sergeant with Combi-grav, melta bombs, locator beacon

Shadowstrike Kill Team

- 5 man Scout Squad – Camo cloaks, Bolt Pistol/CCW, Sergeant with Melta-Bombs
- 5 man Scout Squad – Camo cloaks, Bolt Pistol/CCW, Sergeant with Melta-Bombs
- 5 Man Vanguard Squad – 2 Power Weapons, Sergeant with Relic Blade and Melta-Bombs
- 5 Man Vanguard Squad – 2 Dual Lightning Claws, 1 thunder Hammer, 1 storm shield

The basis it to keep the sniper scouts and devs in the back lines for ignoring cover shenanigans while the rest of the scouts infiltrate/scout for prime deep strike locations for the vanguards. Then when I have to face something monstrous I can use the 2 drop pod units to come in behind enemy lines and provide additional locations for vanguards if I need the hold them for turn 2.

So I like where your list is going, but I feel you're not utilizing the main draw to the Talon Strike Force with a Pinion Demi-company. The scouts ability to bring a unit on outflanking is outrageous and is my main reason for running it. Regarding all the rocket launchers and flakk missiles: I never get any good use out of them. They are CRAZY expensive points wise and almost never get their points back. I'd go with outflanking grav cannons (again my opinion) and then lascannons with the ignores cover. Now flakk missiles in the devastators might work, but at strength 7 you're still needing 5s and 6s against most flyers, I'd still prefer the lascannons as they will help you with MC's better as well.

I might suggest not having your assault squad kitted out that heavily, but I know people do things differently than me. Hammers rock, but I might suggest making it a claw and giving an eviscerator to a regular marine so it doesn't get challenged out.

Big issue is your captain. Unfortunately you can only have 1 relic per guy. I go with raven's fury and melta bombs on a chappy personally, but captains can be more killy in combat certainly. I go the chappy route for rerolls in the first round and him coming with a power weapon and invul save.

Your vanguard vets look fine and will do some work for you. Hope my comments help man. I am taking a TSF to a GT in May, but I'll be allying my RG with white scars. I'm interested to see how your list does! Please report back and let us know!

Thanks for the response, I was contemplating the outflanking abilities but thought I would build the list as if I was going first thanks to the formation's reroll. I do however think that if I was to go second and depending on the opponent, that I could utilize the a ability to outflank the bikers and the command squad for some backfield shenanigans.

I do however like the idea of swapping out the missiles and flak for grav-cannons, that would give me another unit option for outflanking in case I go second. The original idea was to use them as a flier deterrent in case one should show up and that way I have 2 potential threats instead of one.

"Unfortunately you can only have 1 relic per guy." - I did not know that was the rule, I read it as I can only take one of each item per army. Can you point out to me where it states this? only so that I can show it to a couple pother people in my group.

It's the original wording for relics. Raven Guard relics do not have the rule.

Your command squad needs the Standard of Ascendant, if you are taking a command squad mine as well. All your deepstrikeing Vanguard within 12" of the Standard will get +1 Attack.

Like Castellan said ditch the Flakk Missiles on your Tacticals. Ditch the Plasma Pistols in favor of Flamers on your Assault Squad. The Armour of Shadows is meh... Ditch the Auspex as you won't use it on your CC oriented Captain. Drop the Locator Beacons on your Drop Pod. Love the Missile Launcher Devs, make them Flakk Missiles with ignore cover they are a huge threat to flyers no jinxing for you! Your Vanguard should all have some type of Power Weapon it's 5 points and you already pay through the roof for them. Your scout squads in the SSKT are great. How I have started to run mine. In your 5 man with Missile Launchers give them Melta guns or Grav Cannons in a Pod. I would seriously drop the vet sgts with Powerfist and weapons. Upgrade your scout sgt to vet and give him Nihilius. Gives you two stationary AT platforms.

+1 wolverine. Grab all them relics! I think some people might say codex trumps campaign book? Idk man. I love the idea of raven's fury and swiftstrike and murder though. Wreck some face.

Agree on the vanguard as well. I'd give everyone some fluffy RG lightning claw goodness. I proxied a squad of double claw vanguard and it was super fun. Now you will need some ap2 in there so maybe an axe or hammer will do the trick.

Looks like you are on the right track!

I'd also say dropping all the tooled up sergeants. They probably won't even get to use their shiny 25pt power fists lol

Removing the shiny stuff from the Tactical vets makes sense. I want to keep the melta bombs though in case I have deep striking drop pods and dreadnoughts in my deployment zone. Too many times have they denied my objectives.

Oh melta bombs for the win boss. Pretty much all my squad sergeants have them. They are too useful NOT to have.

So I played my first game with these dudes over the weekend against daemons... ended up with a lose.

So I deployed and went first, infiltrated the bikes & SSKT scouts while the PDC scouts sat back with the devastators. Meanwhile he minimal deployed with a unit of cultists, Belakor, and 8 plague drones with a herald and Kairos fateweaver. The bikes were able to scout move and the locator beacon provided an excellent location for one of my vanguard vets to assault both the cultists and Belakor but managed to nerf the re-roll able charge distance of 6", after that everything ended up going south. Managed to kill Belakor on my second round of shooting thanks to the ignores cover devs but everything else was able to avoid being in line of site pretty easily after that so they became a static objective holder at that point.

The assault squad I had ran around but most of his reserves (hell drake, 2 unit of pink horrors) didn't come in until turn 4 with the exception of his creamer star coming in turn 2 and obliterating the SSKT scouts.

So now my question to whoever's out there. Do you have any suggestions for opponents who null/min deploy. I'm having a hard time determining when/if someone's going to do this when I look at their list. Is there a couple things I should look for in their list that would tell me their thinking this? I've been in the hobby for some time now and played lost of games but now just getting into the more competitive side of the hobby.

Because ultimately I'm thinking about going from here on out trying to go second with my reroll and outflank the SSKT and biker scouts and have the assault squad follow the bikes - seem viable?