I need your input!

Hey guys so just gettin back into 40k after over 10years off, i have been playing WHF for about 8 months now and decided to branch out back into 40k

anyways enough of my life story, so i would like to no afew things

1.why take blasters, i mean stupid question but whats there main goal from what im guessing AT, but if there AT what stops your opponent from simply shooting them out of there raider or venom before you can get remotely close to them?

2.RJB are they viable and what role should they fill? bladvane or AT? ino it personal preffrence but iv seen a game where 6 of them killed probably 4 units of Tac Marines with bladevane...

so whats your input on these first 2 questions and any feedback or advice would be GREAT

cheers

Post edited - please don't use chat/l33t speak. Thanks. Count Adhemar

I can't answer #2 because I've never had good luck with the bikes.

But blasters? Blasters!? they're awesome.

wreck2564 wrote:

whats there main goal from what im guessing AT

Sure, their main goal is at, but they'll skewer MEQS and TEQs as well.

Wreck2564 wrote:

but if there AT what stops your opponent from simply shooting them out of there raider or venom before u can get remotely close to them?

A few things actually. 1. Flickerfields. ++5 save on your transports can make them seem less like paper airplaines. 2. Blasters are assault weapons. Meaning you can move and fire, unlike dark lances.  3. Fast, open-topped skimmers.

Blaster are strength 8 ap2 weapons with Lance which is awesome because that's means you'll always at least glacé on 4 and pin on a 5+ assuming the armor is 12+. Against infantry it's evil it denies armor saves which leave your opponent to rely in either cover or inv. saves. Against certain units it can mean instant death.

Reavers, though hard to master, can be mobile hard to kill jacks of all trades. So they get a +4 jinx for just crusing around and shooting, if they decide to turbo then they get a 3+ cover save. Their standar move is 12", with either 18 to 24" shooting attack.", so their threat range for shooting is 30" - 36"! If they elect to turbo their threat range to a crazy 48"!, this huge they can just about travel the entire table in 1 turn.

What stops your opponent shooting them down straight away?  Not all that much. But, playing Dark Eldar, you should expect to lose quite a few units (you're playing with paper planes, after all).  The thing is, the Blasters shouldn't be the only major threat.  The idea is that if your opponent shoots down one thing, there'll be something else just as dangerous somewhere else.  

For instance; you might see your Blasterborn shot down turn one, but then the Ravager up the back field gets off Scott free to reak havoc.  Or, he might make an effort to completely nuter your anti-tank straight off the bat.  But then he realises that all of your splinter fire is going to absolutely mess up his infantry come your turn, or an Archon with some Incubi might get clear way to hammer a killing streak through his deployment.  Similarly, if he makes sure that any Close Combat threats are dealt with, then you hit him hard with your untouched ranged force.  

Naturally, this assumes that you're playing with an even balance of Ranged, Close Combat, Anti-tank, anti-infantry, etc.  but, even if you've focused on only a couple of aspects, then there's no feasible way that your opponent can eliminate all of the threats at once (without blind luck, of course).  

Good Raiding!

RJB are a top unit, take a bit of getting good at tho. Too enthusiastic to bladevane can leave them open to a sudden and ultimately sticky end, more of a red mist end. I use them for both, running two heat lances in my squad of six (most likely you can get to melta range of 9" and then jump away on average 6-7" in your assault turn). If played well and hugging cover like a lover they should be fine.

Ah, the blaster conundrum. I have not been taking them. Play with them lots and by all means draw your own conclusions but I found them wanting. My warriors focus is on AI shooting, objective grabbing/denial.
You are about to see the popularity of Bike riding marines rise due to their new codex. In 2 weeks I will be in a tournament that is half full of SM units and white scars are the business for many. Poison cares not what toughness you are. The simple truth is 3+ armour saves fail 1/3 times. Termies are too heavy for bikes. Better to bring more poison, exploit rapid fire and rapidly redeploy my kabalites, I reckon!
If you want reliable AT, well, assault has been working WAY better for me than reliance on Darklight.
There are no cover saves from assault, so Haywire grenade toting Wyches, furious charging grotesques and flock upon flock of razorwings have been outperforming my ravagers consistently. I love to reflect on my units performance at the end of a game, especially after a loss, to appraise my list building and be honest about what is working. I have recently (and FINALLY) beaten an IG armoured company Forge world list, so I feel I am on the right track.
RJBs are wicked cool. Look for Mushkillas battle reports to understand the utility and devastation of 20-odd automatically hitting S4 bladevane attacks. But more importantly the measured risk/reward of his tactical acumen means that he is always positioning them after the turbo hammer into places where they cannot receive significant damage. He kits them out for AT roles so when needed they deliver the goods in that department. 9 reavers are now a proud cornerstone in my army.

Jet bikes are pretty amazing kit them out for AT and turbo boost them and then move them 2d6 in your assault phase and they can get into a damn good position to do damage and they take the heat from ravagers and venoms

Reaver Jetbikes are fantastic, but like everyone has said they take some getting used to. 48" movement can get you in all kinds of trouble.

These battle reports might be helpful to you if you plan on using reavers (I recommend reading from BR17 onwards).