I have every intention of playing Night Lords on occasion. If Raven Guard don't make it then I'll play Night Lord more. I've always preferred stuff like subterfuge and sneakiness. Alpha Legion is my favorite Chaos legion but I have a lot of respect for Night Lords. If you have super soldiers that are all geniuses compared to normal humans and they'll all armed with very powerful tech, why not use hit and run tactics? An ambush laid by marines will be more devastating because you get surprise plus the space marine element. That's why drop pod assaults are cool to me. Hit your enemy hard and fast in multiple places at the same time. Never let them fight on their terms. I think people forget that Corax wasn't just the stealthiest of the primarchs. He was also one of the most strategic. He wasn't the best by any means but his cunning was his talent as much as his practicality. That's why I love RG so much. They're practical and always try to catch you off guard. That's why Raven Guard actually excel at war, not battles. As usual, they're kind of passed over for that. But that's their way and that's how I like it. Low key.
With respects to guerilla warfare, it is a very good manner of defeating ones enemy with less resources and casualties. However the type of warfare you can exercise depends on the situation. In scenarios where you can't do so abound in 40K. Rapid Conquest, defending a point until civilians are evacuated, holding to a strategically important point (otherwise you could jeopardize the whole defence system of a sector), destroy a Norn Queen before a small Tyranid infestation forms into a full blown hivefleet etc. Problem with guerilla warfare is that it requires either good support or time or both. Although Raven Guard and Night Lords do use these tactics, they're approach with optimal conditions are surprise lighting strikers. Underwhelming their enemies through indirect means.
Respectfully, I will disagree with a couple of your points. 1. Guerrilla forces are not the main effort, they should be in support of conventional forces. This does not mean they are in capable of operating independently, they are just far better suited for supporting. They are also self sustaining forces, meaning they support them selves or require very little outside support to maintain operations. 2. Rapid conquest - a role Guerrilla forces are completely capable of undertaking. Rapid massing of fire power, and the ability to dissolve and go back to unconventional operations make them a prime force for this. 3. Defending a point. While not best suited for this, supporting a conventional force as they hold a point would be right up a guerrilla forces alley. If the enemy can't reinforce, then they won'e be able to hold against a force that can. 4. Destroying a norn queen before it becomes...that is a classic rapid assault mission. Get in and make this stop before ti gets worse...yeah speed is your friend there. Don't wrap yourself around they (unconventional warfare, guerrilla forces) are only 1 dimensional. This would be folly. They are capable of far more than that, and just because they 'specialize' in one form of warfare does not mean they are not well versed in other forms. There is always a place for unconventional forces in any battle plan, to an experiences commander
You guys both bring up good points. That's the strength of the chapter system. Raven Guard can team up with a more defensive chapter and play on each other's strengths. I wish RG got more good fluff. They're command structure is pretty decentralized because shadow captains go where they're needed and are pretty autonomous. I don't get why they don't get something similar to Wolf Scouts. The codex layout doesn't suit Raven Guard very well. They should have scouts in the 2nd company, or even 1st. I think their veterans should be more dispersed throughout the companies, as well as having their own. RG always have trouble staying at chapter strength because of gene-seed issues so they don't go throwing new recruits into the meat grinder. Veterans just feel right for them since it's a small number of marines doing drawn out campaigns. If Raven Guard need to blow down a door, they'll blow down a door. But they will gather intelligence long before, possibly infiltrate people inside, then blow down the door. Deliverance was a prison colony so they were formed by breaking out of fortified areas. Secretly place blast charges in elevator shafts and such. That's another thing the fluff doesn't play up. Raven Guard hate slavery.
Actually, Lion El'Jonson was supposed to be the best strategist. This sort of because he is cold, calculating, he sees the entire field and knows exactly what the enemy will do before they do.
I thought Guilliman was the best at strategy. I know Corax wasn't the best but he was known for his strategic ability.
Hey quick question, sort of off topic, but I know they said Black Templars were not on the table as far as voting for the 5th chapter, did they nix the Raven Guard as well?
