Shrikes and raveners...

I love the idea of shrikes, I just don't know why they have a 5+ save...like they took something that was already pretty bad, gave it wings (good) and then said "better make this bad again" and took the save down.

I'd go hard or go home (as I texted you), giving them boneswords for some ID, and go mini-monster hunting with mini-tyrants. Anything without a 2+, go knock it in the teeth. Yeah, its like 45-50 ppm at that point, but would be fun in a big game of apoc or something.

They seem like a ton of fun and some people on The Tyranid Hive love the hell out of them and say they get a lot more mileage from them than Raveners. Just the thought of what Bolters can do to them makes me want to cry though. Also, FYI, there are rumors that the Shrike wing upgrade from FW is degrading and out of date with the new kit so that will be update soon either with another upgrade kit or actual Shrike models. Also, FYI, nothing in the Nid book actually says they have wings... just chop them legs up and make em all grasshoppery. Jump Infantry indeed, amirite?

You can equally use Raveners as Shrikes, using their ability to tunnel under the enemy as an equivalent to flying over.

The thought of what bolters do makes me throw up in my mouth... but some people swear by them, even going so far as to say they really don't attract attention... I guess it really does just depend on what threats you have in the enemy's face (their threat range is pretty deceptively large, all things considered...). You could feasibly psyke out the opponent with a "more pressing threat"... or just give them option of what unit eats them.

I really should give them a run... in the days of 4+ cover they were fine (for me) with a gargoyle screen... so utilizing "good cover" on the board should work the same way. They're just expensive. Adrenals, Hooks, and Claws puts them at 45 each. And many will tell you to take Toxin, too. But S5, re-rolling to wound vs most things, on the charge.... nasty. Plus rending. And AP5 isn't completely worthless (here's lookin' at you, ScyTals).

I think you gotta go all melee. You want these guys in assault, either wiping completely or getting stuck in for one round. The last thing you want is to shoot yourself out of assault range and really find out what a 5+ Save feels like.

5 Shrikes - RC/Talons (175), BS/Talons (225)

25 Attacks on Charge, WS4-or-lower opponent = 16.6 Hits

Spheze Mahrinzez
RC/Talons - 2.7 Rends, 5.5 Wounds, 4.5 Deadsies --- .025 Kills per Point
BS/Talons - 8.3 Deadsies --- .036 Kills per Point (so after adjusting for cost, about a 33% increase in effectiveness... solid)

Tau/DA
RC/Talons - 2.7 Rends, 8.3 Wounds, 6.8 Deadsies --- .039 KpP
BS/Talons - 11.1 Deadsies --- .049 KpP (So, still close to a 25% boost vs "medium infantry"... although perhaps overkill vs the "standard" 10-man squad, leaving you stranded)

IG
RC/Talons - 11.1 Deadsies --- .063 KpP (a what, 20+% increase? Oh how the tides have turned)
BS/Talons - 11.1 Deadsies --- .049 KpP

Terminators
RC/Talons - 2.7 Rends, 5.5 Wounds, 3.6 Deadsies --- .020 Kills per Point (something like 350% effectiveness, but go figure the thing that has a chance to bypass a 2+ pulls ahead here)
BS/Talons - 8.3 Wounds, 1.3 Deadsies --- .006 KpP

Left out any upgrades because they should increase effectiveness at more or less the same rate.

As a generalist (and inexpensive upgrade) weapon, I think RC's do some decent damage. Being able to drop half a squad of marines on the charge is a decent feat. Of course, dropping 8 of them is even more impressive. As expected, light armor (where the Claws' AP5 kicks in) and 2+ saves favor the RC's, where Swords conquer the medium to heavy infantry.
I have to wonder, though, if Swords are going to be too much overkill vs most things? Shrikes are not happy being left out in the open, so clearing 11 T3 models in one fell swoop can actually be a very bad thing.

The ID ability, though, is another item to consider. Common targets...
Riptides - 2+ save renders it a crapshoot, whereas the RC's are putting a nearly-3 wounds, plus any change from the rest of the hits
Wraithknight - requires upgrades to be hit, but you'll probably have them, so it's an ideal-type target
Ogryns/Grotesques/other nid Warriors - ID will really help put some hurts on these squads, although you have to be careful, as I think you can still allocate that wound (potentially) to a wounded model and nullify the benefits
HQ's - Anything with a 2+ won't sweat too hard, anything else will... but the damage put out by either of these broods is enough to make your average T4 3+-ish HQ quiver
Non-2+ MC's - Nids, DE, probably some Chaos... this is probably the slew of things that the Swords really start to shine against. Funny how Nid weapons work such wonders vs other Nids...

Next up, comparing BS/Talon warriors to RC/Adrenals/Toxin (equal points).

Hmm... as much as I want to justify keeping the Swords on my Shrikes, I feel like (a majority of) Claws would be better. Seems more generalist, and adds Rending vs Armor, which is always a plus. And of course the cost, so you cry less when people shoot bolters at you...

Let me do the math here...

3 Flyrants/3 Imp Knights - 1850 pts
100% Narrative Forged

Forged.