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| By Dan Moore, March 27, 2003
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| Introduction: The Reaver jetbike is my favorite dark eldar model. The rules for the jetbike and the reasoning behind them however have always been a bit of a puzzle to me. I guess the first thing that I wonder about is the model itself. In the boxed jetbike set the metal wyche riders that they supply are all armed with splinter pistols. As far as I can tell these pistols offer no benefit whatsoever. The pistols do not allow an extra shooting or HTH attack, and they likewise offer no improvement over the splinter rifle that comes standard with the bike. The second thing that I find perplexing about jetbikes is how they increase the rider's Strength. Originally, this strength increase was justified as a result of there being many sharp blades attached to the jetbike. In the codex description for the jetbike it talks about riders slicing enemies with the blades on the bike. This makes sense up until I decide to equip my Reaver succubus with a power weapon. Is the power weapon S3 for the wyche or S4 for the jetbike? Since the power weapon is not part of the bike, why would it gain a strength increase since it presumably is still wielded by the wyche rider? The third thing that intrigues me about jetbikes is the fact they only have one attack regardless of how you equip the wyche rider, with pistol/CCW or without. Regular wyches gain +1A for having a pistol and close combat weapon. Wyche jetbike riders gain no such benefits even though the bike itself is considered as a weapon (remember the +1S for the bike) and the rider can carry a second weapon. The revised dark eldar codex added another question to my list when it allowed hellions to make hit-and-run attacks but not jetbikes. Arguably Reaver jetbikes move faster than hellion skyboards since they have the ability to turbo-boost 24" in a turn. Why is it then that jetbikes do not have the option to use hit-and-run attacks? The final question I have about jetbikes is why they cannot attack when they use their turbo-boost ability to move 24"? If the rider is using the jetbike to attack enemy models, then it would seem reasonable that they could do it at the end of a turbo run just as easily as when they assault. The effective difference in movement is only 6" (24" turbo vs. 18" for move+assault). |
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| Some proposed rules changes
for Reaver jetbikes: My opinion on jetbikes is that they could use some rules tweaking to clear up any questions about how they are used in close combat and to offer some more options on how they can be used. First, Reaver jetbike riders should have the option to carry a splinter pistol or other close combat weapon. The extra weapon plus the bike itself as a weapon would allow a +1 attack in close combat just as it would for normal wyches that have two weapons. The attacks would all be at either S4 if the bike is the primary weapon or at the Strength of the extra weapon. The cost for the pistol or close combat weapon upgrade should probably be around 5 points. Wargear upgrades such as an agonizer or power weapon would also be an option for the Reaver succubus at the normal cost. Second, when Reaver jetbikes assault they should have the option to attack in one of two ways. One option would be the hit and run attack similar to hellions. The squad moves, assaults, and then moves again after close combat. The second option would be a turbo charge where the squad turbo-boosts straight at an enemy unit and attacks it with the jetbikes only. Once all attacks are resolved any remaining jetbikes continue their turbo-boost movement in the same direction until their total movement for the turn is 24". Third, Reaver jetbikes should have the option to be equipped with snares at a cost of 5 points per model. These snares are chains with sharp hooks at their ends that trail behind the jetbikes. If an enemy model rolls a "1" to hit for HTH attacks against a jetbike equipped with snares then the enemy model takes a S4 hit from the snares. Armor saves are made normally. Finally, Reaver jetbikes should have the option of being deployed via deep-strike just as hellions do. The only difference here would be in placement of the models relative to the large 5" ordnance template that is normally used to place deep striking models. As many jetbike models as will fit are placed on the 5" template initially. Any remaining models are placed around the models on the template in base to base contact. Once the models on the template are completely surrounded, any additional models are placed in base to base with models in the cluster of jetbikes centered on the 5" template. |