Tonight I had the chance to play five short games with some new friends, and these short skirmishes against a variety of different armies taught me a lot about fielding a Deathwing force. As before, the focus will be: (1) what worked and (2) what didn't and how can I improve?
In case you haven't read my earlier post, my Warhammer 40,000 army is 685 points and contains:
- Belial as a H.Q., armed with a thunder hammer and storm shield,
- Five terminators with stormbolters and power fists, except the sergeant who has power sword and,
- Five more terminators for the second choice, all armed with thunder hammers and storm shields.
This is going to be a long one, but will have a lot of useful information for anyone starting a Deathwing army! So here's some chill music for you while you read (I know, I think of everything! ;).
- Deathwing is scary.
I learned that simply having Deathwing terminators on the battlefield is somewhat like having a Carnifex back in fourth and fifth edition. Basically that means two things: (1) it has a psychological impact, and (2) it's what I like to call "a bullet magnet", perfect for creating distractions.
- Deathwing (invulnerable) saves are OUTSTANDING!!!
On one hand this is a given -- on the other hand, I never realised just how good they are! Why? Because I'm keenly aware that the laws of probability and statistics will eventually kill your men, so I never wanted to create my strategy and gaming-style around the idea that my terminators don't care about cover. However I've realised that my terminators are cover!
- Prioritise.
Without priorities we're lost in life. Without priorities terminators die.
- 5 Terminators: Thunder Hammer & Storm Shields
Although sometimes a double-edged sword (as we'll soon see when looking at how much firepower I'm lacking), these guys can take out almost anything in close combat!!! I was surprised by how much Chaos Daemons/Monstrous Creatures avoided them! :)
Now for the fun bit: what didn't work, and how can I improve? :) Let's break it down by armies I faced, because well.. that's more fun! ;)
- Too slow and lack of maneuverability.
Deepstriking with Belial is amazing! However my army is thin and easily spread apart, like butter scraped over too much bread (if you know where that quote comes from, you're awesome -- and a geek! Maybe even a hipster..?)
Once my guys hit the ground, I'm pretty much stuck there, like a blob of awesome-steel that moves at the rate of turtle. Perhaps I should steal some Blood Angels vehicles. Why? Cuz da red wunz go fasta. Yes. That was a joke. On a 5+ you will "lol".
- Not enough guns.
I don't have any artillery, and having 1/2 of my army entirely geared towards close combat, and attracting all the attention like dancing frogs, not to mention that I'm missing out on the twin-linked awesomeness that is Vengeful Strike, means that I inflict less damage than my potential allows.
- Too slow and lack of maneuverability.
Same lesson as before, but more critical this time: after shooting, some of his jumpy guys were able to back away. In turn, my turtle-nators decided to ignore them and press forward with other matters, all the while receiving shots in their backs, as they were picked off like boogers in the nose of that girl you were about to go talk to, but then decided otherwise for obvious reasons..
- Being a bullet-magnet eventually hurts: red-shirts are useful
This was my worry when starting Deathwing: facing Tau and Imperial Guard armies, because I knew they'd be able to dish out so much firepower, that my termies wouldn't be able to handle it, and as the laws of Mathhammer would have it, my army eventually buckled under the weight of countless Tau laser pointers..
- Not knowing the rules can kill you.
I walked into a forest. The forest killed a man. The end.
Moral of the story: read the friggin' rule book or suffer the consequences. Conversely, this added some interesting dynamism to the narrative of the gameplay. :)
- Difficult terrain slows turtles down to the speed of snail.
My models move slow. That much has been ascertained. What happens when they go through difficult terrain? They move extra slow. What happens when they move slow(er)? They get shot more, and die.
- (1) Not enough guns, (2) too slow and lack of maneuverability
My opponent wasn't particularly keen on tangoing with my close combat terminators, but thoroughly enjoyed serving knuckle-sandwiches to my shooty guys until their teeth were a red and white paste.
In the end, I lost because I wasn't able to deny him enough objectives and score enough victory points. This was because (1) I lacked any kind of firepower to reach his chaos daemons that were covering an objective that was impossible for me to reach and (2) even if I still had a second squad, I couldn't move fast enough to claim enough objective markers, that could help me win the game.
To summarise the lessons learned from my first five games with a Deathwing army (remember: I played my first game on Friday):
1. Prioritise.
Pick your target carefully and annihilate it.
2. Being a bullet-magnet eventually hurts: red-shirts are useful
Red-shirts. I need 'em. For this reason many people recommend Imperial Guard as allies.
3. Too slow and lack of maneuverability
I have a Need for Speed. Lame joke. "lol" on a 6+
4. Not enough guns.
I need more boom-sticks.
5. Know the rules; know the victory conditions.
If you don't know how to play, you may lose.
Out of these lessons, which can be fixed by making changes to my army, and which ones are purely intellectual? Well, lessons (1) and (4) are based on intellect and knowledge, whereas lessons (2), (3) and (4) are based on what I actually field in my army.
This means that I need to add something that (1) attracts a lot of attention and is tough (or has a large number of wounds/models), (2) is fast and (3) is shooty. What comes to mind right now are the following options:
An allied force such as:
1. ImperialCheap-Wounds Guards,
3. Space Wolf cavalry (yep, they'll cooperate with Dark Angels!) or,
4. Another Spess Mehreen chaptah(?)
Or Dark Angel units such as:
4. Ravenwing bikes,
5. Flyers,
6. Tanks or,
7. Regular marines or scouts (possibly arriving via drop-pod).
In my next few articles I'll review the allies options, and consider the pros and cons of the Dark Angel units mentioned above. Finally I'll draw a conclusion based on a balance between points cost, over-all benefits and even actual price (because as we all know,40k is dirt cheap expensive as hell).
If you have any other option ideas, please leave a comment and let me know what you think! :)
In case you haven't read my earlier post, my Warhammer 40,000 army is 685 points and contains:
- Belial as a H.Q., armed with a thunder hammer and storm shield,
- Five terminators with stormbolters and power fists, except the sergeant who has power sword and,
- Five more terminators for the second choice, all armed with thunder hammers and storm shields.
This is going to be a long one, but will have a lot of useful information for anyone starting a Deathwing army! So here's some chill music for you while you read (I know, I think of everything! ;).
What Worked?
- Deathwing is scary.
I learned that simply having Deathwing terminators on the battlefield is somewhat like having a Carnifex back in fourth and fifth edition. Basically that means two things: (1) it has a psychological impact, and (2) it's what I like to call "a bullet magnet", perfect for creating distractions.
- Deathwing (invulnerable) saves are OUTSTANDING!!!
On one hand this is a given -- on the other hand, I never realised just how good they are! Why? Because I'm keenly aware that the laws of probability and statistics will eventually kill your men, so I never wanted to create my strategy and gaming-style around the idea that my terminators don't care about cover. However I've realised that my terminators are cover!
- Prioritise.
Without priorities we're lost in life. Without priorities terminators die.
- 5 Terminators: Thunder Hammer & Storm Shields
Although sometimes a double-edged sword (as we'll soon see when looking at how much firepower I'm lacking), these guys can take out almost anything in close combat!!! I was surprised by how much Chaos Daemons/Monstrous Creatures avoided them! :)
Now for the fun bit: what didn't work, and how can I improve? :) Let's break it down by armies I faced, because well.. that's more fun! ;)
What Didn't Work vs. Chaos Daemons
- Too slow and lack of maneuverability.
Deepstriking with Belial is amazing! However my army is thin and easily spread apart, like butter scraped over too much bread (if you know where that quote comes from, you're awesome -- and a geek! Maybe even a hipster..?)
Once my guys hit the ground, I'm pretty much stuck there, like a blob of awesome-steel that moves at the rate of turtle. Perhaps I should steal some Blood Angels vehicles. Why? Cuz da red wunz go fasta. Yes. That was a joke. On a 5+ you will "lol".
- Not enough guns.
I don't have any artillery, and having 1/2 of my army entirely geared towards close combat, and attracting all the attention like dancing frogs, not to mention that I'm missing out on the twin-linked awesomeness that is Vengeful Strike, means that I inflict less damage than my potential allows.
What Didn't Work vs. Tau
Same lesson as before, but more critical this time: after shooting, some of his jumpy guys were able to back away. In turn, my turtle-nators decided to ignore them and press forward with other matters, all the while receiving shots in their backs, as they were picked off like boogers in the nose of that girl you were about to go talk to, but then decided otherwise for obvious reasons..
- Being a bullet-magnet eventually hurts: red-shirts are useful
This was my worry when starting Deathwing: facing Tau and Imperial Guard armies, because I knew they'd be able to dish out so much firepower, that my termies wouldn't be able to handle it, and as the laws of Mathhammer would have it, my army eventually buckled under the weight of countless Tau laser pointers..
- Not knowing the rules can kill you.
I walked into a forest. The forest killed a man. The end.
Moral of the story: read the friggin' rule book or suffer the consequences. Conversely, this added some interesting dynamism to the narrative of the gameplay. :)
- Difficult terrain slows turtles down to the speed of snail.
My models move slow. That much has been ascertained. What happens when they go through difficult terrain? They move extra slow. What happens when they move slow(er)? They get shot more, and die.
What Didn't Work vs. Deathwing
- Keep the victory points in mind.
I played against an army that nearly mirrored my own and reduced them all to a single model: Belial. However my opponent had more victory points, especially after killing my Belial, with his Belial. Now, I'm not sure if it's "legal" or not to have the same unique character in the opposing force, but that's beside the point. The point here is: keep the victory points in mind.
On the other hand, I do enjoy the moral victory of thinking "Objectives? I'll just smite all his men!" >:) In the end, he had only Belial left -- yet still, he won by a fair margin, because he kept the essentials in mind.
What Didn't Work vs. Chaos Daemons (redux)
- (1) Not enough guns, (2) too slow and lack of maneuverability
My opponent wasn't particularly keen on tangoing with my close combat terminators, but thoroughly enjoyed serving knuckle-sandwiches to my shooty guys until their teeth were a red and white paste.
In the end, I lost because I wasn't able to deny him enough objectives and score enough victory points. This was because (1) I lacked any kind of firepower to reach his chaos daemons that were covering an objective that was impossible for me to reach and (2) even if I still had a second squad, I couldn't move fast enough to claim enough objective markers, that could help me win the game.
Conclusion: Deathwing Tactics
1. Prioritise.
Pick your target carefully and annihilate it.
2. Being a bullet-magnet eventually hurts: red-shirts are useful
Red-shirts. I need 'em. For this reason many people recommend Imperial Guard as allies.
3. Too slow and lack of maneuverability
I have a Need for Speed. Lame joke. "lol" on a 6+
4. Not enough guns.
I need more boom-sticks.
5. Know the rules; know the victory conditions.
If you don't know how to play, you may lose.
This means that I need to add something that (1) attracts a lot of attention and is tough (or has a large number of wounds/models), (2) is fast and (3) is shooty. What comes to mind right now are the following options:
An allied force such as:
1. Imperial
3. Space Wolf cavalry (yep, they'll cooperate with Dark Angels!) or,
4. Another Spess Mehreen chaptah(?)
Or Dark Angel units such as:
4. Ravenwing bikes,
5. Flyers,
6. Tanks or,
7. Regular marines or scouts (possibly arriving via drop-pod).
In my next few articles I'll review the allies options, and consider the pros and cons of the Dark Angel units mentioned above. Finally I'll draw a conclusion based on a balance between points cost, over-all benefits and even actual price (because as we all know,
If you have any other option ideas, please leave a comment and let me know what you think! :)
I'm liking your blog so far, good to see a record of you picking up a new army and seeing what you're learning as you learn.
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to come back and keep up with you :)
Thanks! I really appreciate the comment! :)
ReplyDeleteI've already got a strategy article typed up and the blog's popularity has really surprised me -- I might have to transfer it to a bigger site and host videos as well, and spend more time on it
Could get interesting ;D
I would invest in some Bikes personally. They give you the speed, the Jink save, a way to protect your termies and can be just as hard to kill as your termies if played right.
ReplyDeleteAt such a low point level, you're investing a lot of points into some small units, so they will draw lots of fire. While adding IG will add more wounds, I would recommend something cheap and fast. Maybe some land speeders with Typhoons and Multi-melta or Marines in Drop pods. Remember DA are the only
Main thing to remember is to MAGNETIZE EVERYTHING.
It's worth the $$ for some good rare earth magnets, that will allow you to swap out weapons anytime you want, beats having to buy all new models!
Yeah I was going to write about the bikers -- and if I chose the right H.Q. they could count as troops (if I really want them to).
ReplyDeleteTo be honest another issue is the cost of models, and time put into painting them. As a student, I chose Deathwing because I could play with relatively few models, and that speaks to what you mentioned: if I have some bikes or land speeders, it could be cheap to add them to the mix ("cheap" being a relative term, depending on whether you're buying a new car of warhammer stuff lol)
However I hear land speeders are very easy to down.. what do you think?
Also, thanks for commenting! :)