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The hellions...
- Aren't Jetbikes, but Jump Infantry
- Can only have one Special Weapon
- S4 only on first turn of assault
- T3
- Hellions can Hit and Run!  Is this enough to tip the scales towards them?

On another note, Hellions are listed as a 5+ save, but the unit entry says Hellion Skyboards have additional special rules, and in the wargear section it says that Skyboards add +1 to the armor save.  So do Hellions have a 4+ armor save?

They are quite a bit cheaper than Reaver Jetbikes, and can potentially hit just as hard, as well as leave combat and charge again!  They are just a little more fragile, but does that make them TOO fragile?

Hit and run is nice, but reavers ftw hands down.

To enumerate on this, they get the invulnerable save while turbo-boosting, you can take two blasters in the squad, and...  Well, that's it, mostly.  Take the reavers.

Posted By whitedragon on 05/28/2007 2:20 PM

On another note, Hellions are listed as a 5+ save, but the unit entry says Hellion Skyboards have additional special rules, and in the wargear section it says that Skyboards add +1 to the armor save.  So do Hellions have a 4+ armor save?

actually hellions are wyches on flying carpets, and you'll notice that wyches only have a base 6+ save...so with the board bonus, it goes down to 5+

another point in favor of the jetbikes is that you don't need to charge to get str 4

so reavers all the way

A better question is why would you take either one?

There both underpowered, underpreforming, point hogs.

Reaver Jetbikes all the way!

Also due note that in the Wargear book (most wastefull suplement ever released) the Reaver jetbike is listed as an Eldar jetbike. So you can also move in the assault phase... good for pop-up blaster attacks: move on top of cover for the good view, shoot and then back down behind cover!

Espen A. Johnsen

Reavers aren't bad, especially if you use the wargear book clarification giving them the move in the assault phase. But I'm still hoping they get the same treatment as eldar bikes (cheaper and made into a troop choice).

Hellions seem like garbage (IMHO based on stats, never used them or seen them used). I doubt they'd survive long enough to even make a hit and run without all the wyches toys.

Reavers all the way. They can be particularly deadly when used as a lord delivery system.

Into the rain you have NO clue. Reavers will break a game and hellions are just fine.

The problem with both Reavers and Hellions is that there are better places to put your points elsewhere in the FoC. For what they do, they are both overcosted. Neither are as effective or durable as wyches in close combat and do not shoot better than warrior squads/raider squads or the ravager. They have no greater speed than raiders or ravagers, and ironically, due to the humongous size of the bases that come with the jetbikes, a single vehicle is easier to hide behind terrain than a 4 bike unit of reavers is.

I've been playing DE for, um....six years now. I own at least one unit of everything in the codex, including grots, mandrakes and hellions. Heck, I own 20 incubi, 21 reavers, 100+ warriors, 30+ wyches, 3 taloi, etc., etc. With all the different permutations that I have tried over the years, I just cannot find a competitive use for Hellions or Reavers compared to what I have to lose to take them. For example, a naked unit of 4 jetbikes costs me a sniper squad. Sure, you can have two blasters with the bikes, but you have to put them into rapid fire range to use them (it only takes 24 bolter shots to eliminate the unit totally with average rolling, and one SM unit could do most of that). I'd rather have the two dark lances.

Sal