[Tactics] Fun with….Cap’n Shrike
On battlefields across the universe there clings a low haze, pungent with the stench of soggy fur, ale-breath, and bad metal haircuts. Around table-tops everywhere, it’s Njal this, Ragnar that, Thundercalvary what-have-you. So much talk of pigs—err-wolves—in space, one might think that the only chapter to escape the Horus Heresy still loyal to the Emperor were those smelly superhumans, whose mane and tail shampoo is shipped in infathomable quantities to the address: Fang, Fenris. In spite of what those gentlefolk in wolf t-shirts and ponytails would have you believe there still are actually other space marines out there—and many who don’t chase after rhinos that race by at combat speed. You’re going to be surprised with what they can do.
This “Fun with…” article looks at a sometimes discussed, but rarely seen hero of the Raven Guards 3rd company, Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike. Shrike has attained some popularity through his simple—but highly useful— Chapter Tactics where by you exchange Combat Tactics for the Fleet universal special rule. A whole space marine army with Fleet is nothing to shake a chainsword at; that extra D6 assault for your assault marines and terminators makes the marines all the more effective at initiating assaults on Imperial terms, when marines can pick their fights and finish them are at their best. As well, Kayvaan Shrike comes with a second special ability, See, But Remain Unseen that, as we will see shortly, allows for a little more fun than maybe we thought possible at first glance of the codex entry.
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| Kayvaan Shrike | 6 |
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| Special Rules | And They Shall Know No Fear, Combat Tactics, Independent Character, See But Remain Unseen, Chapter Tactics
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| Equipment | Power Armor, Frag & Krak Grenades, Bolt Pistol, The Raven’s talons, Jump Pack, Iron Halo
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(Codex Space Marines, p. 92)
Shrike at Play:
While there are some obvious uses for Shrike - putting him in assault squads and letting him go to work shredding with those master-crafted, rending lighting claws of his, there are some more subtle uses and advantages that Shrike can add to the forces of the more creative general. Let’s see how we can have some fun with sneaky ol’ Cap’n Shrike, and lets start with looking at army-wide boons:
Army-wide Fun:
Want an all infiltrating space marine army? Well, you can certainly go with a force of space marine scouts and scout bikes…but just who would lead this force at the front? The Chapter Master? The Captain? Even the 10th company’s captain? Nope, none have infilitrate. Okay, what about the Chaplain? Nope. Much too loud, what with yelling the litanies of Imperial faith. The Librarian and Master of the Forge are hardly any sneakier. Uh oh, this isn’t looking hopeful. Maybe something in the back pages, you know where they keep those special characters, the ones that ride the short rhino to school. Oh, right, of course, what was I thinking, Shrike can do it! Sure, he’s no scout captain, but he’s the closest thing in the codex if you want to infiltrate anything and everything (Cato Sicarius, can infiltrate a unit as well, but only a lone tactical squad, not quite as good as Shrike, no sir) . And because See, But Remain Unseen allows shrike to infiltrate any unit he is with, you can make just about any one infantry, bike, or jump unit an infiltrator for a game.
Fun with… Chapter Tactics: Fleet
Like assaulting on the first turn? With Vanguard Vets? Without deviating? So does Shrike. See, But Remain Unseen allows Shrike and a unit of jump-packed equip troops to infiltrate to within 12” inches (if they do in fact remain unseen), or 18” (if someone actually can get a glimpse). You could could also do this with bikes, perhaps even a tricked out command squad, that Shrike conveniently lets you take as a Raven Guard captain. Whether you go with 10-man squad of Vanguard vets, 10 bikers, or feel-no-pain-having command squads on bikes, you can get as much as 24” inches out of your first turn assaults with assault troops (18” for bikes), and thats quite a bit more than the 18” (or 12”) you have to keep away from your opponents during deployment.
Doesn’t hitting your opponent in the face with one of the toughest cc units in the game, on the first turn, sound like fun? Join a chaplain on bike or even Kasarro Khan on Moondrakken, joined with a tricked out vanguard vet squad with lightning claws, storm shields & jump packs, and you have one brutal (and spendy) assault units that will be within assault range on the first turn. And remember Khan’s furious charge makes those Lighting Claws I5 S5 attacks. Just hope your opponent doesn’t steal the initiative.
Care to make your scouts an actual threat? Shrike gets the extra mile out of the 10th company’s youngest and finest. Combine infiltrate with a 6” scout move (12” scout bike move) and you’re within 12” of your enemies before the game even begins. Then with 6” move, d6 fleet, and 6” assault, you’re potentially 6” behind your enemies forward line, getting to the juicier units to assault. Wanna take out some armor? Scouts come standard with krak grenades and the sergeant can take a combi-melta and or melta-bombs, and on that first turn assault they’re auto hitting, because the unit hasn’t had a chance to move yet (and CC against a non-moving vehicle auto hits and goes against REAR armor. And on most anything except the Landraider, that’s AV10, and more than vulnerable to krak grenades) And this can be achieved with a 5-man, 75 pt scout squad (+5 pts for melta bombs to ensure busting a tank). Or, if you’re aim is to lay into some infantry, 10 man scout squads, armed with extra close combat weapons get 3 attacks on the charge, at initiative 4 with a sergeant with power sergeant or power fist and all for a base cost of 140pts (155 w. Power Weapon, or 165 with Power Fist.) And the added perk, because of infiltrate and scout move, your scouts will be able to support their Cap’n with his own infiltrating assault hammer unit, to allow for a fast, hard striking strategy for your Raven Guard army (or “counts as” army).
Tired of small Threat Ranges with Land Raider/Assault Terminator Marines? Shrike can fix that as well. He really is the miracle character. There should be an informercial. That 450+ point combo-unit of SS/TH,LC terminators with landraider can be devastating on the charge—except when that lone 10 point melta slags the ride and strands your terminators in the middle of nowhere, with not but a ranged attack amonst the squad. But with Shrike’s Fleet, they’ll get back into the fight, sooner than later. And even better, when that Landraider survives that first turn of shooting. Shrikes extra d6 Fleet assault adds between 1-6” to those dedicated assault troops range. And if termies aren’t your thing, the same range is added to a 10 man vanguard veteran or assault unit (without jump packs) that steams headlong out of that landraider looking for blood.
Fun with… See(ing), but Remain(ing) Unseen
Wanna get up into the face of your opponents with plasma and melta? Shrike may be the man for you. Consider Shrike infiltrating a squad of Sternguard vets and he can get those bad-boys to within 12” inches of your opponents, and while that’s not within the 6” melta range, S8 AP1 is nothing to shake a stick at, and 12” plasma rapid-fire will put a hurting on whatever backfield unit or vehicle is sitting there less than ideally defensible. And remember, all that fragile back and side armor doesn’t like str 6 or 7 much more and those veterans are no slouches in close combat, should they perchance face a counter charge.
Doesn’t putting 4 multi-meltas in your opponents backfield sound like fun? With Shrike in a squad of Devastators you can. While it’s true at best you won’t be able to get within their 12” melta threat range, on the first turn, on account of needing to deploy at least 12” away, you still get S8 AP 1 shots, possibly on side/rear armor, and present one hell of threat to any vehicle that thinks about getting too close. But if that’s not enough…
Okay, how does 3 multi-meltas that can get within 12” on the first turn sound? Shrike likes this sort of thinking. Attach him to a 3-model attack bike squad and you have an effective 24” melta range before your opponent can try and get away from you.
Might the sneaky Shrike have the subterfuge skills to sneak a cannon into your enemies backfield? Well, considering he can join the techmarine crew of a Thunderfire cannon, he can infiltrate that big, hunking peice of metal and give it a clear line of sight on your enemies horde, turn 1 . (Thanks to Josh for coming up with this one).
And the bonus for all these tactics, because turn 1 takes place after deployment, Shrike can jump off and join another unit, assault someone, dance a jig, whatever, while the attack bikes, thunderfire cannon, or devastators get to work wreaking firey havoc in your enemy’s backfield. And if you join Shrike with a chaplain, let’s say, with a jumpack, you’ve actually got a decent little 2-man killing squad for wreaking havoc where it would be impossible with a less skulking special character.
More Fun with…Shrike’s Specialities
Ever wanted to outflank a unit without having to pay the premium for Khan or risk also losing the ability to fleet? Shrike hates losing fleet, so he’s got this one covered too. Such a thoughtful guy, our Cap’n. Don’t know how to outflank a unit of bikes, or scouts or vanguard or foot-slogging termies in a Non-Khan army? Shrike can show you how. See, But Remain Unseen, because it offers Infiltrate allows the unit with this Universal Special Rule (USR) to deploy via outflanking, when kept in reserve. And as we’ve pointed out above, Shrike can join, or become the linch-pin for a great many assault and other units. With a bike squad or jump pad marines, that can create a potential 19-24” assault threat range from the left or right flank, and a slightly further shooting threat range with attack bikes (36” ST8 AP1 multi-melta, 48” heavy bolter. This of course only suits those generals who allow reserves and outflank to be employed in their armies strategies. This should be everyone, according to Shrike, but most people don’t listen to voices coming from the shadows.
Strategic Fun with… Shrike
Let’s consider a little more fully what Shrike’s Chapter Tactics do for us strategically. As mentioned above, people have been singing the praises of Fleet since day one, but how can such an advantage influence a general’s battle strategy? With nearly army-wide fleet, Shrike really does change how his space marine forces plays on the table-top, in that suddenly your footslogging power-armored super men are about as maneuverable as Eldar aspect warriors, and can essentially “waaaaaaggggh” every damned turn. Not the static marine gun-line army of old, eh?
Wanna make your Alpha-strike marine force better? D6 extra assault makes every infantry unit with the Combat Tactics rule in the space marine’s codex more able to get into assault earlier and more often. Combined with some of the tactics discussed above, in using See, But Remain to infiltrate a dedicated assault unit to within first turn charge range, if a shrewd (yes, aggressive general) were to combine this with other space marine alpha-strike units (drop-dreads, raider rush, etc.).
But what if I prefer a Strategy of counter-fighting, can Shrike do anything for me? Of course, he can. In keeping your forces at the ready to pounce when the enemy reveals his plans, your counter-assault and reserves forces will have that extra d6” fleet to launch counter-attacks from farther away than ever possible, as well as to allow a more stretched line, one that is less susceptible to barrages and that cannot support farther flanks than ever before.
Fun with…Messing with Your Opponent’s Mind
And don’t forget that because Shrike makes space marines play very differently and provides some potentially insane infiltrating units, Shrike offers you a weapon in your psychological arsenal, as your opponent cannot ignore the fact that your once slower space marine armies is now 4th edition Eldar, and you will have a potentially devastating unit deploying after he/she has set up the bulk of their forces. And if your opponent doesn’t take Shrike and his abilities into account, they might already have made a noteworthy strategic error. You can never overlook the value of psychology when engaging in contests and conflicts, no matter the forum or medium. Shrike knows this. That’s why he’s always playing hide and seek all the time. Because, doesn’t everybody know, what you can’t see can’t hurt you?
Fun with… Shrike and Beyond
Are these all the possible uses for sneaky Cap’n Shrike? We tried to ask him ourselves, but that allusive super human didn’t return our calls. Maybe you’ve witnessed some other sneakery yourselves that you’d care to share with the internet as a whole. Or maybe you’d rather hide in shadows and kill orks, just like the Cap’n. Each to their own.
