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Looking to get some work done on my HH project that's been ongoing for a couple years now and hoping for some input.

I'm wondering what the RG looked like after Istvaan and if my plans fit in with the lore, there is just one thing I'm stuck on and that's this box of Mk3 PA I've got. As I understand it Mk3 might not have been the RGs first choice when it comes to armour marks, but I just can't see where else to use them in my collection. Anyway, just wondering how viable a squad of 10 Iron Armour dudes is and if I can reasonably get away with using them in a RG collection.

You would represent a RG force post Isstvan, so I guess that would be definitely suitable. Like, after their narrow escape and almost near destruction, I can see them pushing older / uncommon marks of power armor in service, it's all they have left. I don't have my black book with me right now, and some others dakkanautes may be more knowledgeable about the Raven Guard, but I see them as pretty practical and if there is a moment in their history where they used every asset available, it was this one. Remember they even made (by accident) mutant marines. Go for it !

 godardc wrote:
You would represent a RG force post Isstvan, so I guess that would be definitely suitable. Like, after their narrow escape and almost near destruction, I can see them pushing older / uncommon marks of power armor in service, it's all they have left. I don't have my black book with me right now, and some others dakkanautes may be more knowledgeable about the Raven Guard, but I see them as pretty practical and if there is a moment in their history where they used every asset available, it was this one. Remember they even made (by accident) mutant marines. Go for it !

I figured being so depleted they'd make exceptions, but I wonder how they'd make use of it? Mk3 seems more purpose-built and so doesn't seem suitable for a mixed armour squad. Now, what about Mk4? I can't afford official FW, at least not much of it, so I want to make use of the plastic kits wherever possible but I don't want to shoehorn things in and ruin the theme. Did RG get much Mk4?

First Heretic has a Captain wearing Mk2 before he and his men get gunned down by Argel Tal's Word Bearers. Post-Isstvan the RG were in bad shape and would have taken anything they could get their hands on to fight their shadow war against the Traitors. Mk3 would be absolutely fine.
Something to keep in mind is how large and spread out the Legions were. The armour they wore ranged from Mk2 to Mk6 during the Heresy with the Shattered Legions (Raven Guard, Iron Hands and Salamanders) especially likely to have mixed armour in squads due to the need to make patchwork units from various survivors.

These are all Raven Guard Astartes (with the second on the left being their pre-Corax colours).

You know what, you're right. I'm thinking too much into it for a post-Dropsite Massacre RG force. These guys are down to 3000 dudes and running around fighting guerilla wars. That's a damn cool theme and I should accept it for what it is because it could be really fun. What I should be doing instead of fretting over Mk3 armour is converting up that Mk5 and Mk6!

Think of it this way, how good must the Raven Guard be at stealth if they can sneak around wearing clunky and heavy Mk3 armour?

Quite true.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
So, looking at my collection and some .pdfs I found and I've come to the conclusion that I can't use my two Drop Pods without taking either Orbital Assault or Decapitation strike. So I think I'm gonna have to go with the fluffy option here.

I'd start a new thread but I don't like the clutter so I'll just muse about my list here. Here is a rundown of what I've got so far.

1x HQ lookin' dude with a plasma pistol and fancy power sword. The one guy I have so far in Mk6 who actually has a helmet.

1x Legion Command with 3x dudes in Mk3. I noticed these guys can be kitted for melee so I used the LC and PF that comes with the Mk3 kit. The Standard Bearer has the power sword from the same kit. These guys remind me of Honour Guard from 6th.

2x Drop Pods.

1x Contemptor w/Kheres cannon.

1x Predator with autocannon and las sponsons.

2x 5 man Recon Squads w/ bolters and recon armour.

1x 5 man Recon Squad w/ sniper rifles and recon armour.

2x 10 man Tactical Squads. These are both mixed armour squads using Mk3 - 6. I managed two suits of Mk4 miraculously so in they went. I am frightfully short on beakie helmets though so the Mk6 dudes in these squads are helmetless. Oh well, I guess I better use them as an opportunity to do some emo hair and pale skin.

1x 5 man squad of Indomitus Terminators w/ dual lightning claws. Gotta trim off some crux terminatus, but it's not like I don't have a ton of work to do anyway.

So that's what I've got so far. I'd like to add a Tac Support Squad with 5 plasma guns since, well that's what is in the bitz box, lol. But I have to source more appropriate armour, hopefully I can get some helmeted Mk6 marines! Lol!

Anyway, couple of questions. What am I gaining from Move Through Cover on the Recon Marines and can I use a 40k Land Raider in 30k if it's got the correct loadout?

The Phobos LR was already in service in times of the HH. The only diference was the pintle mounted weaponry, wich were heavy weapons and/or a havoc launcher. You can pick up some in your bits box if you have.

Let's break this down into what these units would be in HH.

I think the biggest thing you need to decide on is what you want from this army as while a theme is important, selecting a Rite of War to build your army around will help a lot. I would suggest using the Legion Recon Company as your Recon Squads become Compulsory Troops, you get to re-roll for Seizing the Initiative and deciding who gets the first turn, and all units that deploy using the Scout or Infiltrate rules get Shrouded (+2 to Cover Save).
Honestly, there isn't much you can do to research rules or armies as rumours suggest that HH is getting a new edition this year and anything said now could be completely worthless by the summer. Coupled with the fact the Legion army book just got taken off Forgeworld it's going to be a rough start.
Right now I would suggest getting things you like the look of and playing smaller games to keep your interest going, focus on the building/painting side so that if the new edition drops this year you have a small force ready to go.

TheLastLegionaire wrote:
The Phobos LR was already in service in times of the HH. The only diference was the pintle mounted weaponry, wich were heavy weapons and/or a havoc launcher. You can pick up some in your bits box if you have.

Sadly I bought the Crusader/Redeemer kit and so I don't have the appropriate bitz. I should really leave my Black Templars project alone and stop stealing things from it to feed other projects. I think I may just do that because I know for a fact I'll want fancy Terminators later on so I might as well save the LR and Termies for what I originally bought them for.

 Gert wrote:
Let's break this down into what these units would be in HH.

Spoiler:

1x HQ lookin' dude with a plasma pistol and fancy power sword. The one guy I have so far in Mk6 who actually has a helmet.

This would be your Praetor, your mandatory HQ for the Force Org. They fill the same role as Captains in 40k. The Power Sword he has can be used as a Paragon Blade which is a better but more expensive weapon. Importantly the Praetor has Master of the Legion, which allows you to select a Rite of War for your army.

1x Legion Command with 3x dudes in Mk3. I noticed these guys can be kitted for melee so I used the LC and PF that comes with the Mk3 kit. The Standard Bearer has the power sword from the same kit. These guys remind me of Honour Guard from 6th.

The Command Squad is indeed just the Legion version of the 40k Marine Command Squad. They're pretty good and the Legion Standard (the banner) gives a 6" bubble of Fearless, a rule that is kept to a premium in HH.

2x Drop Pods.

Unless you run a Rite of War that allows you to take these as a Dedicated Transport option for a unit, you can't take Drop Pods in a list. A unit's Dedicated Transport options are listed in their profile.

1x Contemptor w/Kheres cannon.

Solid choice, Contemptors are always a good shout.

1x Predator with autocannon and las sponsons.

Not a brilliant unit but not completely awful, although with Raven Guard its not really worth it when it doesn't benefit from their Legion Rules.

2x 5 man Recon Squads w/ bolters and recon armour.

1x 5 man Recon Squad w/ sniper rifles and recon armour.

This many Recon Squads is a bit of a waste, especially the Bolter armed units. Tactical Squads do the job better and with Raven Guard, you already get Infiltrate and Fleet on them through the Legion Rules. Maybe keep the Sniper armed unit to go after Characters but drop the other two.

2x 10 man Tactical Squads. These are both mixed armour squads using Mk3 - 6. I managed two suits of Mk4 miraculously so in they went. I am frightfully short on beakie helmets though so the Mk6 dudes in these squads are helmetless. Oh well, I guess I better use them as an opportunity to do some emo hair and pale skin.

Tacticals are always a solid choice. Although it is important to note they cannot take Special or Heavy weapons.

1x 5 man squad of Indomitus Terminators w/ dual lightning claws. Gotta trim off some crux terminatus, but it's not like I don't have a ton of work to do anyway.

I would drop these. Indomitus Terminators are the worst option as they don't get any of the bonuses seen with Cataphractii (4+ invuln save) or Tartaros (ability to Sweeping Advance).

I think the biggest thing you need to decide on is what you want from this army as while a theme is important, selecting a Rite of War to build your army around will help a lot. I would suggest using the Legion Recon Company as your Recon Squads become Compulsory Troops, you get to re-roll for Seizing the Initiative and deciding who gets the first turn, and all units that deploy using the Scout or Infiltrate rules get Shrouded (+2 to Cover Save).
Honestly, there isn't much you can do to research rules or armies as rumours suggest that HH is getting a new edition this year and anything said now could be completely worthless by the summer. Coupled with the fact the Legion army book just got taken off Forgeworld it's going to be a rough start.
Right now I would suggest getting things you like the look of and playing smaller games to keep your interest going, focus on the building/painting side so that if the new edition drops this year you have a small force ready to go.

This is some good advice. Thanks! I figure the bolter scouts are pretty useless but I do have the bitz to give them all BP&CCWs or shotguns, would that make any difference? I should probably leave some of these guys for my Black Templars project too, ahaha. I bought some stuff to make a BT army awhile ago but then got bored with the project so this is what happens. Anyway, do you think the Drop Pods are worth using vs the ability to infiltrate? Looking at that Recon RoW, that could be deadly but it seems like the sort of thing you have to go big on, like you don't want to place anything that isn't infiltrating during deployment. Remind me, can units infiltrate inside their dedicated transports? I seem to remember doing that years ago... Or was that Outflank or Scout?

Anyway, you've given me something to think about. I'm worried GW is going to bollocks up the new HH stuff so that is something to consider too. That new jump pack dude looks okay but has an atrocious pose like much of their new lines. I'm also worried about scale creep. At any rate I'm certainly not spending any money on toys these days and probably not again for awhile. I've got enough to make a small list and enough stuff to trade if I need to so I'm not really all that worried about GW and their chicanery anyway. If it's too awful most people will probably stick to the old edition. This is really more of a special project for me to get creative with, I miss some of my old armies and I want to make something unique. It's really more about things like making my own Mk5 marines and enjoying the build process again. That being said, I am here for movement shenanigans! Gimme that null deploy all infiltrating army that lives or dies on the initiative roll! Lets make that Dawn of War guy jealous of our Drop Pod Assault!