For many years I've been a proponent of 3 man eldar jetbikes with no upgrades. Upgrading the cannon really was a trap, I would want to shoot it. If I shot it it meant I wasn't turboboosting, which was usually a mistake. So eventually I just stopped taking the upgrade. In 6th this changed slightly as the bonus for turboboosting was only +1 to your save rather than a 3+. This makes the bikes purpose very clear, win games by claiming objectives. One of my big fears for this codex was that bikes would be taken out of the troop slot, fortunately this didn't happen. In fact they got even better in the role because they are now only 51 points, instead of 66 points.
The trap is now that they are cheaper you can get the cannon and the unit is still cheaper than it was before. See above why this is trap, however the basic catapults have also gotten better gaining pseudo-rending. Did they change enough to change the calculas on the trap, I'm not sure. I will definately be trying out a variety of jetbikes units. I suspect I will still be returning to small three man squads but that is the glory of a new codex, you don't know what you have until you do it.
I've always found a unit with 2 or 3 shuriken cannons to be very effective at getting at the back armor of vehicles. I think with the addition of the bladestorm rule and cheaper bikes they'll be more combat effective this time around.
ReplyDeleteI was never hugely sold on the three man bike units. I tried them several times because I kept reading about how people swore by them. The best luck I had with them was actually with the Cannons.
ReplyDeleteI was always a bigger fan of 6-7 bikes, two Cannons and a Warlock with Embolden.
Given the changes to the now Windriders, I have to begin collecting all of my jet bike field data all over again. The BS4, twin linked, baby Rending catapults may end up being a legitimate option for direct attack for me. I love that the slate has been cleared and it is now up to us to rethink everything, I just hope that there aren't too many people that can't leave the old ways behind.
They are definitely more effective now. As spellduckwrong said this is a new book. Just because larger squads with upgrades didn't work for me last edition (or at least not as well as smaller squads) doesn't mean they won't this codex.
ReplyDeleteBesides that is one of the great things (to me) about eldar in general (and this book in particular) because the units are so specialized, it is up to each player to find what works best for them. The army list and general have to fit and work together. So small squads may work for some and large squads for others.