As I progress through Death Wing list development (the last game of 'Ard boyz was my 7th game with them in 5th ed), I have the feeling I might need some stormbolters. I love my Hammers and Shields, but I am starting to feel the need for fire support beyond missiles and lascannons. Perhaps some of you could chime in with constructive advice. Here is the list I am working with at 1850:
Belial
5x termie squads all hammer and shield with cyclones in each squad and one upgraded with a apothecary and standard.
3x single typhoons with multi-meltas
2x las/auto cannon preds
My 'Ard Boyz list just added a 6th squad of termies and a dakka pred.
I am thinking maybe two squads should take storm bolters and fists with cyclones, so I can plug those nearby squads without having to chase them down. The cyclone on krak mode should kill a marine or two and so should the storm bolters, while a frag and storm bolters will do dome damage to any lesser troops.
This is a conclusion I have come to over the last few games, where scrapping a handful of the enemy could have made the difference in a game. Furthermore, I think that two squads without shields would mess up the enemy target priority a little more and further ensure the survival of the command squad to do its job or maybe buy some time for the preds (which I am not convinced belong in my list).
Anyway, those are my current musings. Any DW players out there have an expert opinion? Any non DW players want to throw down their thoughts? Let's hear what you think?
I have, since the FAQ, thought the death wing players needed to not go all th/ss. One horde matchup will ruin your weekend.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought mixing is the best option - 2 th/ss, 2 sb/pf and the cyclone guy with a stormshield. This also means you can wound allocate a little to get rid of the options that won't help as much vs a particular enemy.
Caveat: I'm not a Deathwing player and probably never will be :)
Your running into the same problem I have been pondering over.
ReplyDeleteThe second storm bolter does help against hordes while an extra shield helps against CC units you encounter.
I played against a horde Ork player in 'Ard Boys and never even got close to killing enough boyz and went without the second storm bolter.
I cannot, due to my skill, use only four units of Deathwing. I end up being over aggressive and losing way to many units early. Perhaps you could lose one unit and add in some fire support.
I feel like I'm in the sweet spot for the amount of termies in each list. My thoughts involve ditching the wound allocation squads with mixed hammers and bolters and instead having a dedicated amount of hammer squads and a couple of support termies squads that are just bolters and cyclones.
ReplyDeleteMy thought process is that the hammer units can handle most anything if they support each other, while the shooty squads aren't exactly slouches and provide 24" gunfire while still packing the threat of cyclones.
This way, dedicated cc units will have no choice but to fight the hammer squads, while the shooty squads can help mop up and still lay down fire. If the opponent lays in too much either way, he can expose himself to the other, while my fire support (speeders, preds) do their thing as well.
I just don't know if anyone else has tried it out and seen how it handles over a series of games.
This is currently the list I run at 1850:
ReplyDeleteBelial w/TH&SS
Upgraded Deathwing Terminators with TH&SS w/Cyclone, Banner, Apothecary
Deathwing Terminators with TH&SS w/Cyclone, 1w/Chainfist
Deathwing Terminators with TH&SS w/Cyclone, 1w/Chainfist
Deathwing Terminators with TH&SS w/Cyclone, 1w/Chainfist
Deathwing Terminators with TH&SS w/Cyclone, 1w/Chainfist
Deathwing Terminators with TH&SS w/Cyclone, 1w/Chainfist
Landspeeder Typhoon with MM
Landspeeder Typhoon with MM
Landspeeder Typhoon with MM
1845 Points
I have often thought about adding in a shooting Stormbolter squad to spice things up; then I face a Dark Eldar list, a Grey Knight List, or a Khorne Daemon list and I am glad I stuck with Storm Shields.
The biggest asset to a Deathwing army is its survivability versus a host of enemies; as such, I have found vehicle to be less of an asset and more of a liability – as they are less survivable than TH/SS terminators.
At 2000 points, I have often contemplated adding another Terminators Squad or a max bike Squad with attack bike (with the extra 150 points and buy dropping two speeders); I think the bikes are a nice asset as they will give you the torrent of fire and they provide teleport homers.
Oh, my Blog: www.tabletopwar.net
I have only played 23 games with the army so far, so I am far from an expert, but I have had some minor success, so hopefully this helps.
I forgot to add congrats on making it to semi-finals for 'ard boyz.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mag, I have only whipped out the bikes in ard boyz practice and they couldn't last in 2500, but I think at 1850, they might fit the bill.
ReplyDelete