Anyone have enlightening commentary on Reavers to share?

I want to try them out in a Wych Cult/WWP list I am working on (also includes a few Coven units) but am still pretty new to the game, what are some tatics/tricks to maximize the Jet Bike effectiveness? I was thinking of running 6 with 2 Heat Lances (as my other Fast Attack slots are filled up with Beasts and Scourges, Hellions in Troops).

Well, I personally don't know any great tactics with Reavers, but in the one time I used them, I had a squad of 9 of them repeatedly turbo-boost over a squad of like 5 Nobs and a Warboss, and in 2 turns I killed all the Nobs and did a wound on the boss, however, I don't know if that was really lucky or not since I don't have another occasion to compare it to. Hopefully that can give you some information to use!

Actually, they're best used as early game harrassers, going after heavy weapons squads, so Caltrops are a must in this regard. What you might want to consider is using their turbo-boost move to position them for a heat-lance strike against an isolated target (or just spend the entire game zooming around the table with them, lopping off heads with wanton glee).

Don't forget that unlike many other bikers in the game, they have Skilled Rider, so if they have to slow down to fire, keep them near some area terrain and Eldar Jetbike Assault Move back into the area terrain after firing to get them their 4+ Cover Save without too much fear.

Try Blasters instead of defaulting to Heat Lances. The extra range, especially coupled with the tactic Smurfy just touched upon, really helps out.

I like running them with the heat lances. I just ran 2 squads of 6 in a tourny and they worked wonders. I use them different from most people. I kepp them back out of line of sight first turn then turbo boost them out to give cover to my venoms and raiders then if they dont get killed which was rare as i have so many threats in my list. next turn i am usually close enought to haras a tank next turn.
that with a big blob of hellions giving my vehicles cover won me my games and i took the tournment.

In the end, Heat Lances are really just the best thing to use them for. Six with two Lances can get into people quickly and knock them down.

The Bladevanes can be a neat trick, and I like that you can use it to Boost into position while still hitting a squad (look to try and finish squads down to their last few models) but like several other expensive options, the Bladevanes and Cluster Caltrops aren't worth it in an army with so much AI as it is.

Skilled Rider makes the Eldar Jetbike move amazing and gives the unit very solid survivability, while getting a single pain token and combat drugs (and maybe a Champ wiht a Venom Blade) gives the squad legitimate combat punch (not enough to tangle with heavy hitters, but puts the bikes over in fights against most C+/B- combat squads).

I have gotten to the point I include three units of six in many of my armies for the disruptive power they possess. They also should be able to screen Raiders to some degree, which means an opening move of a Boost in front of a Raider gives your bikes a 3+ save and the Raider a 4+ while still being able to fire.

Blasters on Reavers turn them into quite the annoyance, but they aren't going to be as big of a threat, especially since most DE armies have a fair amount of Darklight weaponry outside of FA.

Bikes are my favorite unit...well, favorite unit that isn't a Wych squad with Haywire grenades.

I like to use them no smaller than 6 with heatlances - sometimes with caltrops (I know expensive). However I take them for their heatlances as they perform better for me than blasters do.

I usually do not take bikes in a "rush" list - I tried it and didn't fare well, just not my style. In a web way portal list they are probably the best unit to use it as they can reach just about anywhere on the board as soon as they emerge even with a conservative drop.

I can't get myself use a small squad of 3, I tend to use my FA slots and thus forces larger squad numbers.

im using two units of 6 with 2 heat lances each. usually turbo burst turn one spread out to give venoms/raiders some cover behind them. i find they excell at hunting dreads, able to get into melta range open fire and if they dont manage to kill it they can move away 6" either into cover or out of assault range. any armour is a target though.... the bladevanes dont really come into use very much for me. i find them a great distraction unit with a high threat factor the enemy cant ignore without paying for it. i think the best way to equip is 6 with lances or 9 with cluster caltrops etc for troop hunting. i really like the unit though, very fast and almost always earns back its points.

I think RJBs have a good use. Though I find them optimal in squads of 3 regardless of the upgrades I desire. They have no purpose getting into assault in my opinion.

Thor665 wrote:

I think RJBs have a good use. Though I find them optimal in squads of 3 regardless of the upgrades I desire. They have no purpose getting into assault in my opinion.

And why should they assault? They get an attack in the Movement phase with an effective 36" range, and can be a serious wrench in the works if ignored.

Plus, there's the psychological "it's turn 1 and I'm in your face, shankin' your dudes" aspect, which more often than not makes them a target, but better them than your approaching Raiders...

@jackel - I said they shouldn't assault so...yes?
I agree with your stated uses - just that they should be done by 3 man squads as opposed to 6 (though personally I don't see a large value in them as troop hunters, but it is a viable option to use them for)

Six Reavers on the charge get 18 attacks and combat drugs. Against MEQ, depending on the drug you get, they will probably do 1-2(maybe 3) wounds. With Bladevanes you are looking close to the same. The difference? Reavers have I6 and so just about auto-sweep anything they break in combat.

It all depends on what you are facing and what drug you get, but Reavers are killers in combat because of that high initiative. Not worth it when there are vehicles around to target, but anything Wych-y is great for knocking out units in combat.

What do you do with them in squads of 3?

Six Reavers on the charge get 18 Str 3 attacks that allow armor saves.

2/6 Drugs won't help them kill things (FNP and the running boost) So let's crunch these numbers versus 5 Space Marines.

...we'll also presume these are 5 Space Marines who weren't in cover for some reason - so no point in using them as Devestators or Long Fangs, who would be great to assault if we had grenades on our bikes...

6 Reavers w. FNP or running boost drug - 2.6 wounds = .8 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. +1 WS drug - 3.5 wounds = 1.18 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. +1 Str drug - 4.5 wounds = 1.5 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. re-roll to wound - 5 wounds = 1.6 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. +1 A drug - 6 wounds = 2 Dead Space Marines.
Marines swing back = .5 dead Reavers. (.25 with FNP)

So, a 10 man Marine squad (with Sarge) stands a good chance of winning.
A 5 man squad that breaks...well...they can't be run down because they're Marines, but would probably be chopped up fairly handily with 2-3 dead for the cost of 1 Reaver, and you're locked in combat for another turn or two to finish them.

You have to look out for MEQ in cover, who will come close to winning even with only 5 guys.
You have to look out for Sarges packing anything like a Power Fist, which will definitely get the Marines winning.

Versus other things it sort of depends on how many there are - I certainly wouldn't want to mess with really any variety of Orks. Nor would I want to deal with any IG blob. Tau, small units of guard, and small units of certain Eldar types are probably all fair game. But really, anything I could assault and beat with RJBs I could probably just bladevane or shoot with something else. Hmmm, an option, I'm hardly sold on it. Waaay too conditional for what and when I can assault.

If they had grenades, or, like in the old Dex, we could put an IC on a bike to ride with them I'd be way more tempted.

I use RJBs as a suicide 'deal with me or else' unit.

Turn 1 - I turbo boost and bladevane something if at all possible. I put the bike into easy strike range of some vehicle's rear armor.

I then hope the enemy wastes time and effort killing them.

Turn 2 - if he doesn't I pop out and shoot up rear armor with Blasters/Heat Lances to try to smoke something that will hurt enough he won't want to ignore them again.

Rinse and repeat after that.

Thor665 wrote:

Six Reavers on the charge get 18 Str 3 attacks that allow armor saves.

2/6 Drugs won't help them kill things (FNP and the running boost) So let's crunch these numbers versus 5 Space Marines.

...we'll also presume these are 5 Space Marines who weren't in cover for some reason - so no point in using them as Devestators or Long Fangs, who would be great to assault if we had grenades on our bikes...

6 Reavers w. FNP or running boost drug - 2.6 wounds = .8 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. +1 WS drug - 3.5 wounds = 1.18 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. +1 Str drug - 4.5 wounds = 1.5 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. re-roll to wound - 5 wounds = 1.6 Dead Space Marines.
6 Reavers w. +1 A drug - 6 wounds = 2 Dead Space Marines.
Marines swing back = .5 dead Reavers. (.25 with FNP)

So, a 10 man Marine squad (with Sarge) stands a good chance of winning.
A 5 man squad that breaks...well...they can't be run down because they're Marines, but would probably be chopped up fairly handily with 2-3 dead for the cost of 1 Reaver, and you're locked in combat for another turn or two to finish them.

You have to look out for MEQ in cover, who will come close to winning even with only 5 guys.
You have to look out for Sarges packing anything like a Power Fist, which will definitely get the Marines winning.

Versus other things it sort of depends on how many there are - I certainly wouldn't want to mess with really any variety of Orks. Nor would I want to deal with any IG blob. Tau, small units of guard, and small units of certain Eldar types are probably all fair game. But really, anything I could assault and beat with RJBs I could probably just bladevane or shoot with something else. Hmmm, an option, I'm hardly sold on it. Waaay too conditional for what and when I can assault.

If they had grenades, or, like in the old Dex, we could put an IC on a bike to ride with them I'd be way more tempted.

I use RJBs as a suicide 'deal with me or else' unit.

Turn 1 - I turbo boost and bladevane something if at all possible. I put the bike into easy strike range of some vehicle's rear armor.

I then hope the enemy wastes time and effort killing them.

Turn 2 - if he doesn't I pop out and shoot up rear armor with Blasters/Heat Lances to try to smoke something that will hurt enough he won't want to ignore them again.

Rinse and repeat after that.

These are all good arguments for running units of 3 and I'm very happy with all that I've been able to learn from this thread (keep it going! haha).
Unfortunately, like Kwi, my FA slots fill up before my Elite slots in the WWP list I am trying out.
I feel like I need 6 because the Reavers, the Scourges, and my Razorwing Jetfighter are all coordinating an alpha strike.
Turn 1 the Reavers (who start on the board with the Baron) Turbo Boost near the enemy, bladevaning if possible. The Baron flies off to one of the Wrack/WWP units to steal a pain token for whatever starts coming out of the portal Turn 2. (The reason I start the Baron with them is in case my opponent steals the initiative, my Wracks are bigger units with T4 and FNP, where as my Reavers would be sitting ducks.)
Turn 2 the Reavers try to melta one of my opponent's transports.
If for some reason they fail, then hopefully the Scourges came out of the portal and they can crack open some armour.
Now that a transport is open, cue the Razorwing. Come in off my table edge, and unleash 3-4 missiles, a Splinter Cannon, and two Disintegrator Cannons. Against your average Marine squad, theyre gone, or even better leave one or two alive for a Wych squad to mop up & gain an easy pain token.
After watching the Razorwing devistate one of their squads, my opponent will hopefully try to take it out, meaning they either have to come closer to my portals or they have to shift fire, letting the rest of my army pour out with less resistance.
And thats just what my Reavers and my Razorwing are up to! Teamwork, baby!

Could always have your Reavers assault the last one or two guys to get a pain token to get feel no pain and be more of a pain to your enemy. He would have to waste more firepower to kill them to stop them from popping more tanks and that is more firepower not shooting at your other stuff.

Cailos wrote:

Could always have your Reavers assault the last one or two guys to get a pain token to get feel no pain and be more of a pain to your enemy.

I thought if the bikes kill the last 2 (and lets say those were the only 2 they killed) they wouldn't necessarily get the token, it would be randomized amongst all the units that contributed to the destruction of the enemy unit, no? So in this case the bikes might get the token or they might not, yes?

At least that is how I have been playing it

Grumpy Kwi wrote:

Cailos wrote:

Could always have your Reavers assault the last one or two guys to get a pain token to get feel no pain and be more of a pain to your enemy.

I thought if the bikes kill the last 2 (and lets say those were the only 2 they killed) they wouldn't necessarily get the token, it would be randomized amongst all the units that contributed to the destruction of the enemy unit, no? So in this case the bikes might get the token or they might not, yes?

At least that is how I have been playing it

I thought it was the last unit to completely wipe the unit out was the one that got the pain token.

If one DE unit wipes out an enemy non-vehicle unit they get a pain token - done.
In multi-assault if two DE units wipe a non-vehicle unit they get a pain token and it is randomized who gets it.

Thor665 wrote:

If one DE unit wipes out an enemy non-vehicle unit they get a pain token - done.
In multi-assault if two DE units wipe a non-vehicle unit they get a pain token and it is randomized who gets it.

There we go.