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This will be the first army list that I have written in more than ten years, I believe. Any constructive criticism is welcome.

Preface: I've always wanted to make a bike-heavy list, but frankly think the GW Space Marine bike models are some of the ugliest models ever made. I recently found a site that has files for 3d printers, and a person on that site has files for amazing models that would fit for a SM bike and look infinitely better. So, I'm trying to make a bike heavy (if not entirely bike) army that still manages to be effective in game. Here's my first attempt. Keep in mind, I have not played 40K since the very beginning of 6th ed, so I am so out of the loop that I don't know what is needed in a list to be effective on the tabletop.

Outrider Detachment

HQ:

Sammael

Primaris Master of Sanctity on Bike

Elite:

Black Knights x 5
1 Astartes Grenade Launcher
5 CCW (haven't decided what mix, maybe 4 corvus hammers and one power sword to have at least one weapon with strong AP)

Black Knights x 5
same as above

Ravenwing Chief Apothecary

Troops:

Outriders x 3

Outriders x 3

Outriders x 3

Bike squad x 5 (including sgt)
2 x melta gun
1 x lightning claw on sgt
1 x multi-melta attack bike

Bike squad x 5
same as above

Bike squad x 5
Same as above

Total points: 1995
(I could throw a storm bolter on a bike squad sgt to use the final five points, I guess.)

Conclusion:

So, I think the aesthetic will be awesome, with 37 bike dudes. However, I have concerns:

1. Is there enough higher damage shooting? There are six melta guns, three multi-meltas, and 8 plasma talons; but no idea if that's enough to handle vehicles and monsters.

2. Are there enough bodies? There are only 37 models, but there are 115+ wounds at T5 with 3+ saves and Jink for invulnerable saves against shooting. Also, the MOS can provide a 5+ old school Feel No Pain effect for a portion of the army, and there's the Chief Apothecary that can heal and res models. I'd considered ditching an Outrider squad to get another Apothecary. Worth it?

3. Is there sufficient ability to deal with swarm type armies? There are lots of bolters and stuff, and a decent number of CC attacks, but nothing that really seems like it can mow down hordes of Ork boys, gaunts, IG squads, etc.

4. I'm sure my absence from the game for more than a decade leaves me ignorant enough of the current state of the game that I'm missing a ton off in-game issues when designing this list. What glaring weaknesses would a list like this face? What is the best way to deal with those, whether through list re-design or in-game use of resources this list has available?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

I would go with a full squad of attack bikes instead of the outriders. i been using them and they are an awesome 6 melta threat with 12 bolter shots as well. I find using them in squads gives range complications

From the points, I could replace the attack bike in each squad with a regular bike, eliminate all three Outrider squads, and then replace them with 3 Attack Bike squads with 3 Multi-Meltas each. I'd have 30 points left over, so I could then either upgrade the Bike Squad sergeants to have Power Fists instead of Lightning Claws or give them each a combi-weapon.

My concern is that then I wouldn't really have any dedicated close combat units, though the Black Knights don't seem terrible in close combat.

What would be the overall game impact of that sort of change? I feel like this kind of Attack Bike squad would be a fire magnet, which may or may not be a bad thing.

Definitely try to find the points to take a Ravenwing Apothecary with the Chief Apothecary upgrade in there. His ability to resurrect dead models is clutch.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Definitely try to find the points to take a Ravenwing Apothecary with the Chief Apothecary upgrade in there. His ability to resurrect dead models is clutch.

I'm an idiot. There is one; I just forgot to include it when transcribing from my hand-written army list. Editing the OP now to include it.

Saldiven wrote:
My concern is that then I wouldn't really have any dedicated close combat units, though the Black Knights don't seem terrible in close combat.

You really shouldn't be going into combat for the purpose of dealing damage with Ravenwing as the list's forte is kiting. You should always be at an arm's length (18"~24" as bolter discipline allows RF at full range) as RW can't really stand up against dedicated melee units. It can deal some reputable damage, but it just barely holds its own against units of equal melee-caliber. You should only be charging for the purpose of denying shooting phase/forcing cp expenditure to fall back and shoot, rather than trying to kill it in melee.

Also I would consider adding dark shroud one way or another. Even though it usually gets shot down turn 1, the buff to jink is pretty substantial which adds some survivability and it redirects a lot of alpha strike offense away from your other key units.

Also, Talonmaster synergizes really well with melta bikers so I would think about that too.

I'd love to have a couple of Talonmasters in the army, but the Outrider detachment is limited to 2 HQ choices, so I'd have to either ditch Samael or the Chaplain, or take another detachment which would cost CP and bring a Troop tax.

I chose Samael and Chaplain over the Talonmasters for a few reasons. Samael brings the re-roll 1's aura, a re-roll misses for one unit ability, decent shooting, and decent CC ability if it's necessary. The Chaplain brings a 5+ FNP bubble and (most likely) +1 to-wound for shooting bubble. Both of these characters are cheaper than a Talonmaster.

Now, if I absolutely had to get one or more Talonmasters, getting rid of Samael and making the Chaplain the Warlord is possible and wouldn't require much re-working. Two Talonmasters would require finding another 160 points somewhere. Would it be worth ditching an entire troop choice just for another Talonmaster?

Litany of faith is +5 save for mortal wounds, not a FNP. Apothecary provides 6+++.

Chaplain of any sort in pure RW list is a trap IMO. The model looks damn cool though. I have a converted azmodai on bike (count as int chap on bike) that rarely sees game time.

Talonmaster provides static reroll 1's to wound aura, which is better than +1 to wound in some cases (like melta) and brings a lot more fire power for +25 points. Also, you can take two lieutenants per slot, so you can effectively take 3 hq units in single outrider detachment.

Lastly, because pure RW lacks the capacity to saturate high S weapons, high ROF S6 weapon (assault cannon) helps bridge that damage gap a bit better.

Ok. What about something like this. Almost completely ditches CC, except for the Black Knights just to have something that can effectively finish things off if shooting comes up short.

HQ:

Sammael

2x Talonmaster

Elite:

10x Black Knights with CCW
(Mix of CCW to be determined. One unit or two? I've heard one unit maximizes the plasma stratagem the best.)

Chief Apoth on bike

Troop:

3 x Bike Squad with four models
2x special weapon and combi-weapon on seargent. Which mix of weapons would be best? I lean towards melta, but plasma has better range.

3 x Attack Bike with three models
All Multi-melta

This comes to 1980. Not sure what to do with the last 20 points.

I would drop 1 special weapon and give 1 more bike in one of the squads, or make one of the 4-man bike squad combi plas, 2x plas + HB AB.

Also, this reduces the flexibility of the units a bit, but consider splitting up one of the attack bike squad and attach AB within the bike squads for better utilization of your apothecary.

Because it has 1 more wound, it can soak up 1 more damage than the 4th biker serving as ablative wounds, and you get slightly better value out of your combat revival stratagem. This way, your opponents always has to kill the AB first in order to get to your bikers, and when it dies you revive him back up to full 4W to repeat the process.