With the increased melta meta game light armored transports have taken over the 40k battlefield instead of heavy armored Landraiders. This goes to question which Razorback is the best option?
Is it....
The twin linked assault cannon, Lascannon/Twin Linked Plasma Gun, Twin Linked Lascannon, Twin Linked Heavy Flamer, or base Twin Linked Heavy bolter?
The base Razorback is 40 points for most armies. It comes with the Twin Linked Heavy Bolter which I think is very underrated in its use. The twin linked heavy bolter is Str 5, twin linked, AP 4, 3 shot gun. This is great vs anything with Armor 4+ as it pretty much kills them without saves. It also works mildly well against AV 10. It is not the greatest choice but does provide a great 40 point vehicle in my opinion. But it is not even close to the other options in choice of anti-tank, and killing power.
The costs of the following Heavy Razorback Weapons is an additional 35 points almost doubling the cost of the Razorback. To pay for them an important choice must be made. Is it worth the cost?
The Twin Linked Heavy Flamer:
The benefits of a Twin Linked Heavy flamer is invaluable against Guard, Orcs, Tyranids, Scouts, etc, but I just cannot see using this variant with any army except maybe blood angles who get fast razorbacks. 35 points is alot for this 1 template vehicle. If you are using a ton of Razorbacks I could see having maybe 1, but otherwise this is not the best option. I would rate this weapon the worst option to use at 5th place.
The Twin Linked Lascannon:
Lascannons are always awesome. The twin linked lascannon is a strength 9, AP2, 1 Shot but twin linked, 48" range weapon that is capable of cracking any armor, but best at AV 10-13. The lascannon is great at sniping Independent characters or models who happen to be alone by themselves. They excel at taking out speeders, and other AV 10 vehicles. The issue with this vehicle is that you only get 1 shot. Only 1 damage result against the vehicle damage chart will not always wreck a vehicle. One dead person in a unit will not always make a difference. A weapon destroyed result ensures this vehicle is useless as with the other options. I would rate this choice the 4th option to take because of the 1 shot ability that just doesn't make that much of a difference.
The Twin Linked Heavy Bolter:
See above. I would rate this weapon 3rd best for the point cost and what you can do with it. This vehicle will also not be targeted as much in your army causing it to last longer and therefore be more valuable.
Twin Linked Assault Cannon:
This weapon is Strength 6 with Rending, AP4, 24" Range, Twin Linked, 4 Shot beast. This weapon is good at pretty much everything. Great at glancing light armored vehicles such as AV 10, 11. Ok at AV 12, 13, and even has the ability to penetrate AV 14. It is great at anti infantry as 4 strength 6 shots that are twin linked will cause wounds and rend a good portion of the time. The only issue with the twin linked assault cannon is the 24" range. This being said this type of razorback is named exactly for what its purpose is: Assault based. If you are using is mid field, or to get in close and provide fire support for other assault units then this is your guy. I would rate this as the 2nd best option to use as a Razorback weapon. Now I will put this disclaimer if you are using a heavy assault force, the Twin Linked Assault Cannon Razorback could be the best option for you.
The Lascannon/Twin Lined Plasma Gun:
This Weapon is a dual weapon and has the only option of getting a weapon destroyed result and still having a useful weapon. This has a lascannon as mentioned above but a single shot, and a twin linked plasma cannon which is 24" range, 1 shot if 12" to 24" and 2 shots if within 12", Strength 7, AP 2. The twin linked plasma cannon is what makes this weapon so beautiful. 2 low AP 2 shots is great against monstrous creatures, mephiston, terminators, etc. Being twin linked is a great advantage, and when moving you will often use the plasma gun instead of the lascannon due to the twin linked ability. This weapon has combines the power and options of the Lascannon and the plasma gun together. While not moving you get 2 shots at 24" or 3 at 12". This is one of the best options for low AP shots and being a transport in the game. I would rate this being the best choice of a Razorback weapon overall.
That being said, I have been testing Razorbacks with my Space Wolves again and like how they work with my lists and play styles. My favorite set up has been:
2 Las/Plas
2 TL Ass/Can
2 Rhino's
Space Wolf Stuff with 6 Thunderwolves
What do you use and how have they been effective?
For BA:
ReplyDeleteAssBack, FlameBack, LasPlas
For SW/SM:
LasPlas, BolterBack (has uses but no a fan)
For GK:
Psyback, LasPlas
It all depends on the army ^^. Most RBacks suffer from one gun syndrome and this hurts the short ranged ones (Assback, Flamerback) a lot except in BA where they can get up close quickly. LasPlas mitigates this somewhat and is versatile in being able to go midfield and backfield which is why it trumps the TLLC. Bolterbacks offer ranged firepower in a pinch which isn't very high on your opponents target priority but really shines with GK where it gets S6 (wounds MEQ 2+, ID T3).
i would agree with your assessment as far as Space Wolves and Vanilla Marines goes. for Angels though, Flamerbacks are actually extremely good. twin linked flamers get re-rolls to wound and pen don't forget, and can fire if the tank moved 12". the lasplas is also even better as you can move 6" and fire both guns.
ReplyDeletealso, with GK's the order changes even more dramatically. the lasplas is still good for them, but the heavy bolter and assault cannon get much better with the addition of psybolts.
Great comments!! BA and GK definitely have options that other armies wish they had. I can see the benefit of the TL HFlamer with only the BA codex.
ReplyDeleteWith my GK army I haven't incorporated the Razorback as of yet, but intend to try our the basic HB/Psyback and the TLASS/Psyback. After all Str 6 is great against AV 10 and infantry units. But Str 7 with Rending is just too good to pass up.
As others have said, depends of the codex.
ReplyDeleteSM and SW aren't fast or have Psybolt ammo so they default mostly to Las/Plas and in really rare ocassions, Bolterbacks.
BA are fast and can pack 2 melta weapons in 5 guys, so they want Heavy Flamers and Assault Cannons. Las/Plas is ok-ish, but I don't like lists that don't take full advantage of a codex.
GK are expensive, so Las/Plas bunkers are not points-efficient. They aren't fast, so Heavy Flamers and Assault Cannons are out. Luckily, they have Psybolts, so Bolterbacks go to a decent S6 and they are 36" range, which helps the short range of Psycannons.
Also, since Grey Knights have a serious lack of melta except on squishy Coteaz troops or expensive Stormravens, they are far, far more dependant on the Razorback.
From the BA perspective I prefer the lasplas because it offers the possibility of first turn tank kills that I can't get with the assback and follows it up with a killer midfield in the twin-linked plasma. The benefit for the BA's is that the threat range of the plasma is large enough to cover most of the board after the fist turn of movement so I often get to rapid fire when other codexes would only get the single shot. The assault marines inside the tanks are invariably kitted out with melta and a pw so med/light armor troop and tank kill are handled. The lasplas offers the anti 2+ that the squad inside might have trouble dealing with.
ReplyDeleteThat being said the assback might be the better option for standard codexes just because of the additional shots. Most of the time your going to be moving and at 6" you're only going to get one gun so choosing 1 AP2 shot over 4 rending shots is kind of a hard sell.
The other options are pretty much garbage by comparison.
As stated, for Blood Angels, Las/plas is one of the best options. Being a fast vehicle, they have the mobility need to be where they need to be, and they can fire all weapons when moving 6".
ReplyDeleteIt is also worth mentioning that for BA, the TL Heavy Flamer is a free upgrade, it fits the aggressive nature of the codex, and you can easily fit 3 melta weapons into a Razorback.
35 pts is not a lot for any vehicle, much less a transport with a heavy weapon that isn't AV 10. The Razorback is the single biggest reason for the current tournament meta - light vehicle spam. It is, simply, very very cheap for what it does.
ReplyDeleteThe other excellent transports in the game still aren't as good as the Razorback. You can, frankly, stick any weapon you like on it and it's still undercosted.