...ANYway, this got me to thinking of a different way in which to try and use the Fleeting Shadow Captain in an army list, way in which I haven't seen him employed. Granted, it's highly unlikely I was first to think this up - but I've never seen it - due credit can and will be apportioned to actual pioneers. :p
What I basically wanted to set out to do was to create a list that really inflicted a knock-out blow like conventional Shrike Bomb, but with the fire support elements that are usually, shall we say, LESS prevalent when people start taking Rocks, realise they need Double- or Triple-Rock to reasonably hit the foe early/hard enough (at all?!) and start going Points-Sinks galore...
*Ahem*
Like I said, I didn't want to quite go down that road, so I needed, basically, a SHOOTY version. Immediately (much, much faster than it took you to read this sentence) I thought of the Raven Guard I plan to build after the summer - my Forge World-heavy, Black Templar-Codexed, Always Infiltrating All The Time list.
Granted, it's next to impossible to reasonably expect this kind of strategy (one-dimensional as it is) to really pass muster with Servo Skulls and especially Coteaz in the game...however, it looks like a hella fun, so imma try it, homes. Word. (Bearer? [No. Talk normally. Idiot.])
So, we shall start with the core of the army...
Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike: - 195
Rifleman - 125
Rifleman - 125
10 Tactical Marines:
Drop Pod, Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-melta - 220
10 Tactical Marines:
Drop Pod, Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-melta - 220
10 Tactical Marines:
Drop Pod, Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-melta - 220
Land Speeder:
Heavy Bolter, Typhoon Missile Launcher - 90
Land Speeder:
Heavy Bolter, Typhoon Missile Launcher - 90
5 Devastators:
4 Missile Launchers - 150
5 Devastators:
4 Missile Launchers - 150
10 Devastators:
4 Multi-Meltas - 230
SUBTOTAL:1815
That is the core of the list worked out, though I'd really quite like to add a Power Weapon or somesuch to the Devastators, hopefully Shrike being with the unit will suffice. it'd be nice, too, to get some sort of forward punch unit for Shrike to accompany...but that take us into Rock/Deathstar territory, and that's to be avoided. Not to mention that with so few points left that's unlikely at best. lol
With 185 points, we could get another 2 Land Speeder Typhoons into the list, adding to the firebase elements, and in fact allowing us to set up a second small firebase if required, though Speeders are reasonably fragile, and I don't think that would really b the most efficient addition.
Sternguard are an idea, but delivery then becomes an issue. As we presently have an even number of Pods in the list, another pod isn't viable, and if they're on foot anyway, surely using them to accompany Shrike works just as well? Extra CC prowess, extra flexibility, extra anti-infantry power, extra Melta shots, albeit one-use...
Overall, it's possible that the list would function better based on that - but it would play differently, and that wasn't what I was aiming for. :p
Getting back to the Firebase idea, there IS a way we could do that with added resilience and in a way that increases the mobility of the list overall, while also covering the major deficiency of the list at present - lack of AP2 fire. The answer? Razorbacks of course. At 75 points apiece we can't unfortunately grab three, but if we get two (for the ML Devs) that leaves 35 points, with which we can net ourselves a Power Weapon for the MM Dev sergeant, and 2 Locator Beacons for Tactical Drop Pods, ensuring the third comes down more accurately, and gets to add the further Melta to the fray. Hunter-killer missiles are also an option that quite possibly should be considered instead.
This makes the list:
Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike: - 195
Rifleman - 125
Rifleman - 125
10 Tactical Marines:
Drop Pod, Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-Melta - 220
10 Tactical Marines:
Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod [Locator Beacon] - 230
10 Tactical Marines:
Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod [Locator Beacon] - 230
Land Speeder:
Heavy Bolter, Typhoon Missile Launcher - 90
Land Speeder:
Heavy Bolter, Typhoon Missile Launcher - 90
5 Devastators:
4 Missile Launchers, Razorback [Las/Plas] - 225
5 Devastators:
4 Missile Launchers, Razorback [Las/Plas] - 225
10 Devastators:
4 Multi-Meltas, Power Weapon - 245
Tactically, it is a little less flexible than I would consider ideal, but it has a very different approach to traditional Shrike Bomb. With the unit he accompanies being merely passable in CC instead of dependant on it, the list instead revolves around their ability to completely obliterate one major enemy threat on a flank while the rest of the list concentrates upon suppression, using the Drop Pods to isolate one segment of the enemy army and act as buffer between their halves - with that additional Melta of course being used to continue the job of beating up one flank of the foe. With any luck you will cripple half of their army with the initial strike, allowing you to begin mopping up rather than having to fight evenly matched forces - that is not the Raven Guard way! :p
