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You know, I’ve looked at many Deathwing articles over the last 2 years. And there’s one thing they don’t seem to touch on. Is Deathwing a good army to play, either for first timers or for veterans? With this article I hope to give you a genuine answer. I myself am sort of in the middle. I’m not old enough to be considered a veteran, but I’ve also been playing for a number of years, so I can’t really be called a first timer either. It should be noted that this article is done after the FAQ for Dark Angels and Black Templar’s came out, and fixed many of their flaws. Thus why I deemed it fit to make this, as some of the other articles I mentioned no longer function as they should. Let’s get cracking.
So why all the doom and gloom?
- Pitiful access to teleport homers – due to some stupid choices all teleport homers were taken out of units except for the Ravenwing Bikers. Now while they do have scout, they made it damn sure we couldn’t use it to its best advantage.
- A general lack of goodies – being the first codex in this new format, they made it rather bland. Unlike chapters like space wolves or blood angels, we have no access to frost weapons or blood talons or a myriad others.
- A mandatory hq – as stated above, the codex is pretty bland, and it doesn’t get any blander then Belial. Sure he’s cheap, but that’s all that he has going for him. I grant he got a slight boost with the new update. Now that Storm shields give us that 3+ invulnerable save he can now have one! Instead of the Iron Halo they “forgot to give him”.
- A lacklustre Librarian – I mean WHAT! In all seriousness though, he does have a place in a list, just a very small one. We’ll get to that later though.
- Cheap but not quite as good venerable Dreadnoughts – it’s really not as bad as it sounds. I mean you still get the main special ability of re-rolling the damage table...but it just doesn’t make up for the lowered stat line.
So what’s good about it all?
- Fearless – Yep, Fearless is brilliant. I should probably state now that Deathwing is primarily a shooting force, and should be adhered to. There are some close combat units, but you’ll find it doesn’t really matter for them much. Again, I’ll come to that in a bit.
- Mix and match Terminator Squads – Is absolutely fantastic. This is your best defence, not the 2+ armour saves, THIS. Being able to allocate wounds as you see fit helps this army out no end. It also allows you to have the right guys for the right jobs and to make sure the guys you want on the board, stay on the board.
- Access to updated Wargear – FINALLY! I can tell you with quite a bit of certainty that this is a godsend to all you Deathwing players. 2 years we’ve been waiting to use 3+ invulnerable saves, heavy 2 cyclone missiles and Feel No Pain Apothecaries. This one update brings us to the competitive side in one day. It was this that set us apart from all those other codexes. Now that we have them there’s not much difference between us.
- Deathwing assault – This is more of a minor buff. Sometime you’ll want to use it, and you’ll certainly be glad you had it. It’s not something you’re going to use all the time, but in the right situations it can be devastating.
- It simple – No other way of saying it really. Deathwing is just very easy to use. You have a small model count, high save, good allocation bonuses and a hard hitting army. And if you use the Deathwing assault rules also relatively fast.
So what generally goes in a pure Deathwing force?
HQs
- Belial, Master of the Deathwing
- Librarian in Terminator Armour
- Chaplain in Terminator Armour
Troops
- Deathwing Terminators
Elites
- Dreadnoughts
Fast Attack
- Nothing
Heavy Support
- Land Raider Godhammers
- Land Raider Crusaders
Dedicated Transports
- Drop Pods
Ok so not a lot of stuff to choose from, but at least it’s pretty much all good. Below I will review each of these units in detail. I will also give a number out of 10 on how good it is, 1 being the least good and 10 being the best.
Belial – 6/10
Ok so already we see he’s not that great, now here’s why. He’s so BORING. Apart from being able to take Deathwing units as troops he has no special rules what-so-ever. The stat line is worse than a normal captain now and even the weapons he gets aren’t that great. Ok so let’s look at his weapons for a minute. The first is the standard Master Crafted Power Weapon and a Storm Bolter. In some situations this is not too bad, but on the whole it’s a pretty flimsy excuse for a special character weapon set. The second weapon on the list is the Twin Lightning Claws. Now this used to be the best upgrade of the lot, being that he gets a bucket load of attacks on the charge and re-rolling wounds, sounds great, and still is. But there is still 1 massive flaw that the Power Weapon and Storm Bolter has as well, an Invulnerable Save, which brings me to his best load out, the Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield. Because Games workshop didn’t give him his basic Iron Halo for being a Captain, so he only has his basic Invulnerable Save of 5+. This option gives you a 3+ one. That’s fantastic, because it gives us another use for him as a whole, a wound soaker. 130 points for 3 wounds with a 3+ Invulnerable Save is pretty good, and that Thunder Hammer can even help against Monstrous Creatures and Vehicles. By far the Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield is the better option. Lastly s the Command Squad option, this is the only reason this guy isn’t lower. +1 Attack and Feel No Pain for one squad is fantastic. Coupled with a Librarian this makes one of the best anvil units in the entire game...use it!
Librarian in Terminator Armour – 4/10
For people who are just getting into Deathwing it can be very hard to justify the librarian. I mean if you look at his entry he has nothing of value...until you notice that Psychic Power called Force Barrier that is. It may not seem much but being able to pass a save on a psychic test is utterly fantastic. With the addition of Feel No Pain on Apothecaries, Deathwing have one of the hardest units in the game, their no Nob biker squads though, so don’t get stupid with them. If you have a few points left over, it’s well worth getting him a Combi-Melta for a quick easy wound. Hell, he might even be able to kill a tank on Deep Strike, how awesome would that be...just don’t plan for it.
Chaplain in Terminator Armour – 8/10
This guy is really high up on the To Get List as you can see. His only downside is that he can’t be the sole HQ choice. Just remember to put him in your assaulting squad, but I really shouldn’t have to tell you that. Like the Librarian it’s well worth giving him a Combi-Melta.
Deathwing Terminator Squads – 9/10
I love these guys, and you do as well if you’re reading this. Deathwing have two major things that stand them apart from other loyalist Terminators. The first is that both the Assault and Tactical Terminators are in the same unit. This is a pretty big deal as it allows you to mess around with wound allocation shenanigans. It also allows you to make a nice balance between shooting and assault without having to rely on two units, and thus an extra kill point. The second big thing is fearless. While this is usually considered a drawback for assault units, let’s not forget shall we that you’re playing with an army full of 2+ Armour Save models...it’s not going to affect you that much, trust me. But what’s even better is that it’s utterly fantastic for shooting squads. I favour Shooting Deathwing over any other for the simple reason that you need to constantly whittle the enemy down before the assault, sometimes pure assault just doesn’t work.
In terms of what to arm them with, the first port of call is the heavy weapon, always take Cyclone Missile Launchers. There’s simply no reason not to take them, it’s cheap, it’s your main anti tank and it can go over a models other gear. It’s a flipping bargain. As for the rest of the squad I suggest the following setup:
Sergeant with Power Weapon and Storm Bolter
Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield with a Cyclone Missile on its back
Lightning Claws
Chainfist and Storm Bolter
Power Fist and Storm Bolter
This gives you a decent amount of shooting, as well as decent close combat. It has a high number of attacks going at different Initiatives (Good to negate an enemy’s wound allocation shenanigans) and lastly it has your anti tank...all in one squad. And as previously stated, means you can abuse wound allocation to no end.
There will be times when more dedicated rolls are needed. Such as against a high number of horde armies suddenly appear. In this instance I would suggest just a very basic setup:
Sergeant with Power Weapon and Storm Bolter
Power Fist and Storm Bolter with a Cyclone Missile on its back
Power Fist and Storm Bolter (Or if it’s against Imperial Guard, a Chainfist if you can afford it)
Power Fist and Storm Bolter
Power Fist and Storm Bolter
But generally I’ll leave that decision to you, as there are so many setups available to you.
Dreadnoughts – 7/10
Yes fairly high up the scale again. The way I see it, a Dreadnought has two main rolls, both of which can go on the same dreadnought. The first is high end anti tank. Against some of the heavy armour lists, even 12 Krak missiles won’t help that much, and this is where you’re going to need a few Twin linked Lascannons. The second thing it does fantastically well is tying up units. It’s very hard to get rid of armour 12 walkers in combat, use that to your advantage; all the while your Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon is pounding them to the floor. Just remember to get rid of the annoying tank BEFOR you charge headlong into a long winded combat.
Again like the Deathwing troops, certain situations are going to make this useless, so change accordingly, if you’re up against a lot of marines...maybe plasma cannons instead. Also if points allow and you plan on Deathwing Assaulting, get a Drop Pod...
Land Raider Godhammers – 5/10
I don’t rate these very high for a couple of reasons. The first is that the transport capacity is too low...I don’t think I need to explain that one. The second is the blatant useless antitank, antitank which is much better served on two Dreadnoughts instead. No I certainly don’t rate it very high. Its Armour 14 all round, but that’s all it has going for it.
Land Raider Crusaders – 6/10
I like Crusaders, mainly because the main weapons are the Hurricane Bolters, which count as defensive, which means it’s actually fairly fast. The troop capacity is slightly more as well so it works well as a transport. So having one of these transports transport an Assault Command Squad with Belial and a Chaplain would be simply devastating. But still, the simple cost lets it down somewhat.
To sum up
Being old it can’t help but have flaws. This is just something everyone has to get around. It has nowhere near as many as it did before the update and it wasn’t exactly unplayable before. To me it’s the player that wins the games, not the codex. For me I love playing this type of army. But you ask a horde player to play it and there’ll just fall over not knowing where to go or what to do. If you end up not being able to win game after game after game, maybe this just isn’t for you. For me, this is a fantastic codex; it’s simple, straight to the point, and just plain fun. If you’re a new player this is a great starting point. Because not only is it simple and straight to the point, but it’s also a very cheap army to buy and a small enough army that you can quit happily store 3-4k in just your backpack. For all you veterans out there it just depends on your type of play style, but I urge you to try it, this is not a dead codex and I’ll bet my left nut it can be competitive if you just give it a go.
In Part 2 of my Deathwing Tactica I will expand on some Non-Deathwing units and show how they may be incorporated into a Deathwing Force.
Thank you for reading.
Dark Pwner
Your Comments
edmundblack: One thing I haven't mentioned, and I don't think you have either DP - Deathwing is Cool.
And if there's one rule which wins, it's the Rule Of Cool.
And if there's one rule which wins, it's the Rule Of Cool.
Brother-Captain Sharp: Finally, I would lastly disagree that Deathwing are simple. While yes, they do have a low model count, that means every model and every action has to be a positive. Case in point, you put Lightning Claws into your shooting oriented unit. While that can help you in assault, it removes 2 storm bolter shots a turn before and after you are in assault. So there's one model out of ~25 usually that is performing at a subpar level in shooting with a boost in assault. Is that trade off worth it?
Brother-Captain Sharp: lot of it comes to personal preference. I would rather a cheap effective character than a character like Marneus or Logan.
Brother-Captain Sharp: For the lightning claws, my biggest reason for not taking them is simple: they don't help on defense against shooting or in your own shooting.
Brother-Captain Sharp: Maybe, but compared to those characters, Belial leaves us with an extra 70-140 points to play around with which go where they need to; the army.
edmundblack: Everyone writes off the Godhammer somewhat unfairly I think. Granted, they're not the most useful for Deathwing however and Dreadnoughts fit their theme far better. Not arguing their analysis in this context however.
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