Deathwing: Now with viable Death-wing-star?

This is a good day for my Deathwing

Ahoyhoy internets, DaveHowitzer here with a little pondering -for a change- If it hasn't come to your attention as yet, GW have just released a new batch of updated FAQ articles for Black Templars and Dark Angels which brings their wargear up to 5th Ed Marine standards. -2 years late GW...but at least you did it in the end- This means good things for my lovely DA who have been gathering dust for the past couple of years when games quickly became a matter of my army of Terminator goodness being outgunned, out manouvered and generally trodden on.

But with this new update to the rules, what does this mean for the humble 1st of the 1st?



Well let's look at the Deathwing Terminator shall we:

Statline is the same as their 'nilla cousins which isn't too shabby, however the only option available to DW is squads of 5 with no ability to make that to ten. Further, Deathwing Terminators lose Combat Tactics and Combat Squads (well...you can only have 5 so that's fair) but gain Fearless and Deathwing Assault. Useful. Cost wise: you're paying 15 points more for your standard Deathwing Terminator Squads than Vanilla, which considering it's an older book, isn't too bad.

Ron from FtW will be happy too.

Now, the interesting bits. Deathwing do not have an assault and a shooty option, it all comes in one bag. Thus an example squad could contain two DWTs with Lighting Claws, one DTW with a powerfist and assault cannon, one DTW with storm bolter and chainfist and one Deathwing Terminator Sergeant with a storm bolter and power sword. Interesting option. Also, if we look at points for weapon upgrades, they are on a par with the vanilla book with the exception of the Cyclone Missile Launcher which is a steal at 20pts -down from 30 in C:SM- and can be equipped even to a Terminator with combat weapons.

-Let's optimise that squad shall we: Give all the boys TH/SS (now giving 3+ inv save) AND give one a Cyclone Missile Launcher, which is now Heavy 2 like C:SM. We'll continue this train of thought later.-

Let's continue with our Deathwing theme. Since we can have an army of dudes with a 2+/3++ why not make it so by adding Master of The Fail Deathwing, Mr Belial himself. Stat wise, he is nothing to shout about with a statline that's actually poorer than a vanilla captain. -only with respect to WS- We take him for his special rules: the ability to make DWT units troops and the ability to include a DW Standard Bearer and a DW Apothecary (now with added FNP).

Lets go back to our hypothetical unit. Let's add in Master of the Deathwing and upgrade one TH/SS termy to an apothecary. Now we have a unit of 6 models with a 2+/3++, Feel No Pain S8 ignore armour save CC attacks and a Heavy 2 S8 weapon that can fire on the move. Throw that into a LRC and this is the closest DA can get to a Deathstar unit, or at the very least, something that can combat Thunderwolves and all those jazzy new 5th edition monsters out there.

Can we get greedy with this unit? Yes we can if we have points. What about adding an Interrogator Chaplain with combi flamer (heresy in 5th ed?) with Litanies of Hate the unit are re-rolling their misses on the charge and you get a flame template before the charge. Plus another Termy armoured psychopath. What about upgrading one to the Deathwing Standard Bearer giving all models in the unit +1 attack all the time? for 25 points, perhaps an option.

I'm no super duper 40k genius like Kirby or Stelek, but I think Deathwing may have some hope now with this latest FAQ. Finally after lots...and lots...and lots of moaning, DA players are more on a par with their vanilla cousins and dare I say it, with BA and SW too. We still don't have their super shiney toys, but maybe now we can put up more of a fight!

So dust off those Terminators and Repent, for tomorrow you die!

Love, Dave