I want to enter my first GT next year, and with a brand new army type, just to get the rawest experience.

The only army I've never tried in 40k is Eldar.
The only elemental army type I've never tried is "Air".

So I was thinking.

20-30 Bikes
20-30 Swooping Hawks
2-3 Fire Prisms with Star Engines in case of what would effectively be "rapid redeployment"

Of course I'd prefer to convert plastic Swooping Hawks and Fire Prisms, but I'm not sure that it's possible as I'd need to have the army painted and ready in a few months time in order to practice using them in time for next June.

Any thoughts?

ps.
UK GT are 1500pts, unless that changes next year.



Calaith recommended;

- Autarch with Shining Spear, Mandi Blasters
- 2x 8-10 Jetbikes with Shuriken Cannon and Warlock
- Shining Spears
- 2x 6-10 Swooping Hawks with Exarch
- 2 Fire Prisms with Holo-fields and Spirit Stones



It's probably idiotic not to just follow his lead, but my thoughts once I picked up the codex were more along the following lines;

Autarch
with Hawk Wings, Banshee Mask, Fusion Gun and Power Weapon
113

4 Jet Bikes including 1 with Shuriken Cannon
4 Jet Bikes including 1 with Shuriken Cannon
4 Jet Bikes including 1 with Shuriken Cannon
4 Jet Bikes including 1 with Shuriken Cannon
392

8 Hawks inc. Exarch with Leap, Intercept and Power Weapon
8 Hawks inc. Exarch with Leap and Sunrifle
8 Hawks inc. Exarch with Leap and Sunrifle
630

Prism with Catapults
Prism with Cannon
Prism with Cannon
365

1500



198 (8 Jet Bikes with 2 Cannon)
135 (Holo-fields and Spirit Stones for prisms)
167 (Replace Autarch with Baharroth and an Autarch with only a Power Weapon)
2000



Should I attempt this, or leave it well alone?
Any advice?
What should I drop for Shining Spears?

1stly welcome to the craftworld.

now im not that up to speed on the elder yet but do have some advice on the jet bikes.
My darkelder army is themed around jet bikes. ( i usually run with 17)

What do you want your guardian jet bikes to do tactically? do you want them to just sit back and provide fire support, use them mostly in assaults or provide distraction?

You probably should add a warlock to at least one unit of them, just to give them a bit more punch should they need it.

On the whole bikes are great but not invincable. Due to the small unit sizes, making a lot of saves is bad even if its an invulnerable one. ( I particularly hate heavy bolters & guass cannons)

As your looking for an "Air" army as such, Id probaly go with, 1 squad each of swooping hawks, vypers and shining spears. these will give you the air
manourverability your looking for while providing the extra punch you guardian jetbikes lack.

I was thinking of using the jetbikes to confound the enemy, in the first two turns presenting lots of targets just out of reach, using whatever cover is available, while the hawks hopefully thin his numbers with grenade packs, sunrifles and haywire grenades. At this point I'd hope that few of the bikes would even have to fire.
Then from turn 3 the bikes begin to enclose and all engage any single unit that is divided from the main force.

The autarch, along with the reserve rolls, is responsible for guarding the fire prisms. Using his jump pack to extend the fusion gun's range to some effect should be interesting.

Second to last turn, all surviving Hawks jump. Last turn, landing hawks and turbo-boosting jetbikes take or contest all available objectives.


Anyways, this list is now being downgraded by another year or so, awaiting the new Jetbike model and for me to plan plastic Hawks and Prisms, and generally take my time.

If I go to the GT next summer, it'll probably be with Necrons, though I may wait until 2009, in which case it'd be this list or one of it's descendants I'd take.

For now, I'll take your advice willingly, and I do like Vypers and love Shining Spears, it's just that I'm kind of addicted to the idea of Swooping Hawks.

I'll consider dropping a Squad of Bikes for a pair of Warlock Bikers.

ok sweet, lots & lots a hawks. gota go with what you love that would look pretty cool,
but watch out for the haywire grenades, they look so good on paper but rarely achieve anything.


edit: just read the intercept rule for the hawkes and take back what i said before. you shouldn't have any trouble hitting vehicles with your haywire grenades.

Still not sure about this list. I haven't replied because I haven't been able to think of suitable changes that still keep the theme you want.

I can say that you may have a hard time facing Space Marines and Necrons, as you have next to now AP3 weaponry apart from your Fire Prisms, and they are known to miss. This list would however perhaps do will against lower armour save armies...

I suggest maybe take away a single prism and adding some more bikes to the squads, making them meatier and harder to take down.

Cal

Why not add a Farseer with Spear, doom, mindwar, spiritstone, jetbike. (thats a S9 against vehicles)

I agree on the AP3 front, especially as 60% of the armies I face are 3+ (templars, blood angels, dark angels, space wolves, world eaters, necrons, scorpion heavy eldar, bike heavy dark-eldar, sisters of battle on the one hand, 2 tyranids 2 orks, 1 tau and 3 guard armies on the other), but I can't really think what'd fix it, unless I drop a fire prism for a serpent full of either banshees or dragons, but that worked out too points costly.

Likewise the same bottom fell out of my plans for a farseer and warlocks on jetbikes with spears. I could probably still afford one, but the hawks can handle any vehicles anyway (especially the squad with intercept as noted).

The army does need bulk though, so I'll rethink on that count, but it still looks like either more bikes or some Warlock squad leaders, I can't see how I can do both, and surely dropping any prisms is a BAD idea if they're all that's holding back the space marine masses?