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Putting a few bikers together right now, and I was wondering if the Deathwatch would mainly use bikers from chapters who are known to have excellent bikers or from just any chapter? If I made all my bikers Ravenwing and White Scars, would that go against the fluff?

Thanks

SG

No, the Deathwatch deploy in whatever style is most effective both to the individual marine and to the mission. In the former case, this would mean a Ravenwing or White Scar would deploy on a bike, a Raven Guard or Blood Angel as a Assault Marine, for examples, as a preference. But when the mission demands all Bikes, all Jump Pack, all Terminator or all on foot, that's how they deploy.

You could equally have a Biker from the Ultramarines who comes from the Assault Squads, 6th Company or 8th company, since all Assault Marines, 6th Company, Battle Company Tacticals train in the use of Bikes

Deathwatch are supposedly the best of the best of the best of the Marines so they'd definitely use bikers from wherever they find suitable candidates. There could be a disproportionate amount from the Scars and Ravenwing but they'd take them from everywhere.

That said I don't think it's that unreasonable the Bikers for one area would be mainly from those two so I wouldn't say it's against fluff.

in fact breaking with the norm a bit can easily be a way to stand out, a raven guard assault marine? people go "meh whatever" a raven guard with a lascanon? mildly differant

Every Marines will be proficient with almost anything in the Space Marine arsenal, including bikes. I'd say it was more likely that, for an all Bike team, they'd have Space Marines from a variety of Chapters, even traditionally slower ones like Salamanders and Iron Hands.

It wouldn't be against the fluff to have all-White Scars and Ravenwing, but it's certainly disproportionate. But, then again, it's disproportionate to have a First Founder in nearly every Deathwatch squad, so it's hardly unheard of in the hobby.

U could have a marine from any chapter be better on a bike than an average white scar, he would just be a very very good biker. Much more likely a white scar will be better than an average biker from an other chapter.

Ravenwing bikers might be unreliable, being on secret missions and being traitors!

I thought as well that as well as the best being sent to the deathwatch sometimes it was trouble makers and the like too. I agree though that a non typical biker being the biker is more interesting.

My question would be, would a Deathwatch biker from the Ravenwing wear a Ravenwing shoulder icon, or a standard Dark Angels one?

 ZergSmasher wrote:
My question would be, would a Deathwatch biker from the Ravenwing wear a Ravenwing shoulder icon, or a standard Dark Angels one?

well a space wolf in the death watch wears his great company logo still so my guess would be the raven wing icon.

 ZergSmasher wrote:
My question would be, would a Deathwatch biker from the Ravenwing wear a Ravenwing shoulder icon, or a standard Dark Angels one?

IIRC, there's a Deathwatch terminator model in the codex with a Deathwing shoulder pad. The same would apply to the Ravenwing, presumably.

 Duskweaver wrote:

 ZergSmasher wrote:
My question would be, would a Deathwatch biker from the Ravenwing wear a Ravenwing shoulder icon, or a standard Dark Angels one?

IIRC, there's a Deathwatch terminator model in the codex with a Deathwing shoulder pad. The same would apply to the Ravenwing, presumably.

Its an interesting question that could also be applied to Space Wolves. According to almost all official depictions, every Space Wolf to join the Deathwatch is from Ragnar Blackmane's company - even before he was born! But by logic they would either wear their own company badge of that of the Wolf that Walks Between the Stars the badge of Grimnar's Great Company, Leman Russ and I suppose by extension the Chapter itself

 ServiceGames wrote:
Putting a few bikers together right now, and I was wondering if the Deathwatch would mainly use bikers from chapters who are known to have excellent bikers or from just any chapter? If I made all my bikers Ravenwing and White Scars, would that go against the fluff?

Thanks

SG

Well there are a thousand chapters (give or take) and so its liekly at least some will produce bikers as good as those of the Scars or Raven Guard, or even be focussed on that as priamry tactic.

Also there are not many Scars of Ravenguard to "borrow"

But rule of cool/ making your own army what you want is the only thing you need to worry about.

 Mr Morden wrote:

 ServiceGames wrote:
Putting a few bikers together right now, and I was wondering if the Deathwatch would mainly use bikers from chapters who are known to have excellent bikers or from just any chapter? If I made all my bikers Ravenwing and White Scars, would that go against the fluff?

Thanks

SG

Well there are a thousand chapters (give or take) and so its liekly at least some will produce bikers as good as those of the Scars or Raven Guard, or even be focussed on that as priamry tactic.

Also there are not many Scars of Ravenguard to "borrow"

But rule of cool/ making your own army what you want is the only thing you need to worry about.

For a start there are a bunch of White Scar and Dark Angel successor Chapters, who typically are organised along the same lines as their parent Chapters.

Therefore having Consecrator and Storm Lord bikers would be a way of keeping the fast attack specialty, but keeping the variety.

Having said that, I like the idea of a maverick biker from a Chapter not remowned for bikers, who has been seconded to the Deathwatch because they don't fit in well with their Chapter's doctrine.

The White Scar in the Kill Team Cassius set is a biker because the characters there were all chosen (by the authors) to be exemplars of their Chapters.

On the other hand, the White Scars have plenty of Tactical Marines who ride in Rhinos (or Devastators who stand at the back with lascannons), and the Imperial Fists have plenty of bikes and jump packs. In addition, the various watch-fortresses will have to make do with whichever Marines they actually have available. I don't think it's more or less "fluffy" to have a White Scars biker than a Novamarine, Praetor of Orpheus or Silver Skulls biker.

They’d use Thunderwolf Cavalry who have had their wolves shot out from underneath them.
They write the name of the wolf on the petrol tank, cover the bike in fur rugs and go meet the Allfather.

Every Marine is proficient in bike riding. This is why prior to 8th, we had Bikers as Troops choices.

My own Home brew Loyalist (mostly Biker) army list is taken from the 8th company, which are the reserves Assault squads, traditionally in Jump packs, but could also bring bikes.

6th company is the traditional Tactical reserve, (that can be deployed fully with Bikes) Company but I didn't like painting orange trim...