Deathwing Tactica: problems

1. armies you will struggle with

pure deathwing has little to no antiair.  since aircraft is new, it’s only via justifications that you can actually include provisions while keeping the list pure.  allies can solve the problem, but drain away points for more terminators.  instead, you can add a Storm Eagle, a Fire Raptor, a Dev Squad of green marines with Flakk missiles, or if you’re not playing with babies you can field a Mortis or a Contemptor Mortis -- i use a Rifleman Mortis and a twin TLLas (Or twin Kheres, since many aircraft are av12 or less) Contemptor Mortis with roof rack.  with Interceptor and Skyfire, they are both really handy and almost always earn their points back anyway.  still, high-count flyer armies are tricky.

Horde armies will cause problems for you.  you just cannot put enough bullets into the air to cut them down fast enough, so if your decoys and deployment shenanigans don’t give you control of the board, you will be hip-deep in green or gribblies that will saturate your field.  and the easy ways to handle this are also potential problems with other armies.  let’s face it: terminators with heavy flamers (one of the best weapons against hordes) aren’t optimally used… their short range means harder to participate in the distance games needed to play well.  but dedicated antitroop units -- such as a set of deepstriking dual-heavy-flamer landspeders, or allies with large blasts -- take away your ability to field more terminators.  

2. weapons you must eliminate

part of target priority is finding those weapons that most endanger your units and eliminating them quickly.  for Deathwing, this is very important, but also very easy.  find high rate-of-fire (RoF) weapons that would cause you to have to make a large volume of saves.  find AP2 weapons.  find heavy weapons with high strength that will threaten the dreads and landraiders.  

then kill them.

there isn’t that much more than that.  true, there are some considerations about in what order, and how exactly, but mostly it’s according to what you want to protect.  personally, i try to take out their antiarmor first, so that landraider can cruise around doing stupid vehicle tricks for the rest of the game.  After that is taken care of, or if the need is more pressing, high-strength low-ap blasts are dangerous -- particularly if you are required to cluster close due to terrain.  plasma guns are less dangerous, because if you are paying attention you’ll be staying out of their rapid-fire abilities, but attempting to eliminate them early if possible, or wiping out units that have access to many of such weapons (veterans, crisis suits, etc) as early as possible is key.

if you can, especially if you have the first real turn, target an easily-killable unit to guarantee first blood.  if you can, wipe away the enemy general.  but since you can do that later (since actually killing a unit of terminators is difficult for most armies to do quickly without devoting everything to achieve that goal… which you can use to your advantage), the threats are more important.  if you protect yourself, your survivability increases dramatically, and you are more able to act aggressively when action is needed.  but with a 2+5++, you have some level of protection against most weapons, and you have the ability to neglect cover in favor of more maneuverability, and you have the option to dictate the flow of the game through your actions.

3. luck

once, when the only place you were likely to see assault cannons was being held by terminators, and they were only 3-shot weapons, they used to be less reliable.  if ever you rolled three 1s, you “jammed your assault cannon” and it was unusable the next round.  the same series of (old metal) models were on standard bases, and the cyclone-carriers had a targeting device in their off-hand.  it was an interesting time just before the real heyday of the Deathwing list.

it’s important to remember, because as unlikely as it sounds, it happens at the worst possible time.

the majority of sidearms will wound you on 4s or 5s, but you will shrug off most of the hits with a 2+ save… up until the game-changing round when you will jam your assault cannon.  you will cream virtually anyone if you’re left alive to swing in combat… up until your opponent’s general is cornered by a unit of Deathwing, but you jam your assault cannon.  you will have an enemy general with one wound left cornered in the last round and just needing a single round to finish them off… up until you jam your assault cannon.

it is much more likely that the decisions you made earlier are more at fault than the one set of rolls.  don’t feel that the dice hate you, don’t get angry and throw away your army (or do so, but do it near me so i can snag them).  make a joke of it and move on.  play another short game, and learn from your mistakes.  that above all is what makes a winner over the long haul. their shooting.

Deathwing tactia: army-specific rules

Fearless

Deathwing Assault

FNP (banner/apoth)

Preferred Enemy: Chaos

fearless terminators are great.  there are certain issues that you will avoid.  still, it’s not much different from Ld10ATSKNF.  it might be a boost, but it isn’t a significant alteration from a normal strategy.  it might actually cause you to play a little more boldly, but conservation of bodies is still a significant issue, so this is actually a detriment.  

Preferred enemy is great too, but hardly changes strategy.  you can really cut your way through chaos, but unless there are chaos players in your meta, it’s not terribly important.

you have access to Feel No Pain.  the key is a command squad.  you can either add an apothecary in the squad (which you can join to Belial, to a Librarian for added protection, to a chaplain for use with effectiveness of assault), or you can take the banner that affects units close by.  one possible tactic is to join Belial to a command squad, deepstrike multiple 5-man units into enemy territory, then plunking Belial and his command squad down into the middle of said units to guarantee maximum coverage.  while with Vindicare access, this strategy is less effective and certainly not reliable, it is a partial solution to Aegis firebases by allowing multiple squads of twinlinked terminators to choose their firing angle, then resist retaliation.

the above is a great way to take advantage of the other -- most important -- specific rule that the Deathwing have… the Deathwing Assault. this rule really has two parts: first, that you choose the round they come in (either round 1 or 2, as written down before the start of the game); second, that any Deathwing Terminator coming in from deepstrike counts weapons as twinlinked.

this is the reason some people want to play Deathwing.  it’s commonly referred to as an “alpha strike,” as a reference to the old Mechwarrior games… it is a surprise show of force where you let an enemy unit have the full force of all your weapons at once -- specifically, an important enemy unit such as a retinue (command squad including a character), a dangerous dev/havoc squad camped on an objective, a deathstar, or the like is on the receiving end of suddenly being surrounded by twinlinked terminators.

some math… let’s say you have one fully-kitted ten-man squad with belial, and two five-man squads on its flanks.  one model in each is prepared with a close combat spec.  four have special weapons (we will make the math easy and focus on just assault cannons, often the choice all-purpose anti-infantry anti-light-vehicle weapon).  18 storm bolters don’t seem like much, but they have the advantage of choosing better line of sight and potentially circumventing cover.  four assault cannons added to the mix add some serious weight.  some people prefer to throw a CML onto a combat-kit so they can shoot as well (i really like the idea of missiles on a model with a storm shield to boost survivability), but you’ll find that you develop a preference for certain weapons as you play, and i most definitely favor the assault cannon.

17 SB = 22.66 hits… tl = about 28 hits.

Belial 2 shots =1.7 hits, balanced out with his ability to call the shot on 5s and 6s.

assault cannons ... 16 shots = 10.66 hits… tl = about 14 hits… about 2 will be rending

44 hits.  at once.  without cover.  even a unit with a 2+ will lose 9 models.  that command squad, that tau firebase, that horde of orks, that unit of 5 paladins, squished.  that’s 44 less shootas/rail rifles coming your way when you cannot assault them to stop their shooting.

Deathwing tactica: deployment

there was an older player at one gaming store i used to frequent who was a professor of ancient history.  During WHFB games, he would quickly liken the deployment to a famous battle… and then explain why he was going to win.  and he usually did.  deployment is critical.

there are reasons why you might want to deploy in a battle line.  most of these reasons are wrong.  with units that can be wiped from the board before they do anything, you want your models to be optimally positioned to take advantage of small numbers and of terrain.  can you place all of your units out of sight of your opponent?  can you place a Mortis or Contemptor Mortis such that they cannot be targeted, but can see incoming aircraft?  can you rely on your Land Raiders to shrug off shooting, or do you need cover?  do you want to clump up?

one of my favorite tricks is to deploy second.  it doesn’t really sound like a trick, but i pick it every time.  that way, i can see where my biggest dangers and biggest targets are, and react accordingly.  more than that though: when unsure of where your opponent will be, our normal impulse is to battle-line it up.  the reason why a battle-line is wrong?  because a strong-flank deployment limits how many models can come into range.

Deployment 1: Strong Flank

place all your models on one half of your deployment zone, preferably closer to the midline of that half.  this means that all your opponent’s units on the neglected flank have nothing to shoot at with most of their weapons, their vehicles need to move out of cover saves to find a firing lane, those behind an Aegis are not necessarily all covered if they are hanging out the sides, you may have side armor exposed on some vehicles -- but most of all, your first couple rounds you are bringing your entire strength upon half of your opponent’s army.  this is a classic Napoleonic strategy to play defense on the weaker flank to minimize casualties while attempting to maximize the elimination of the stronger flank.

Deployment 2: Decoy Flank

as above, but place one unit on the neglected flank.  Preferably, this unit will have no upgrades past a CML or perhaps a PCannon.  This unit cannot be ignored due to its dangerous capabilities.  but committing units to its destruction means further delay approaching the majority of the army.  you will lose the unit.  you will play that unit as if it is critical to your strategy.  you will shoot with it every round, hopefully taking out something nasty early on to establish its danger.  you will do nothing to prevent them from being outflanked, or surrounded, or any other potentially disastrous situation.  they will go down fighting.  it’s a heroic tale if they die.  then again, if they are ignored, you will move them forward to harass your opponent every round until they decide to try to deal with them.  at best, they are a distraction that controls the flow of the game.  at worst, they easily win back their points but are unable to turn the tide.

Deployment 3: deep strike madness.

i don’t actually like deepstriking.  then again, i never roll well.  i have lost games because of deepstrike, and yet it has its place as a strategy.  

the one unit you should be mindful of with deepstrike is whatever unit that Belial accompanies.  some people like to buff his entourage by making them a command squad, but i have found that optimal damage comes from a unit of ten terminators with two special weapons… preferably ones tailored to your uses.  heavy flamers can get close without risking mishap.  assault cannons supply maximum volume of fire.  plasma cannons are always options (and the twinlinking gives both a better chance of dropping a killer template and less of a chance to overheat).  whatever you choose, be prepared to engage swiftly.  

another option is to use another model with a homer to remove the chance of mishap, but that means considering the inclusion of another unit -- ravenwing bikers, black knights, non-DA scouts, or whatever has a teleport homer these days.  turbo-boosting a unit of bikes in round one gets you close enough to bring in terminators where you want them in round two.  still, you run the risk of losing the bikes early, or of being unable to use them effectively due to countermeasures.  

whenever you choose to deepstrike (and you have the choice), you should be ready to take risk.  the most effective locations for units are often in the midst of dangerous positions, and (as stated before) putting your terminators in harm’s way is rarely a good idea. this is countered by the need to get models on the table so your limited shooting isn't wasted.

there is debate as to when to deepstrike.  another local Deathwing player was utterly convinced that second-turn entry affected the game more than first.  others like the most turns to use their units.  i like to have as many guns killing as many models as early as possible, but i understand the schemes that would benefit from late-entry into the game.  to that end, i would recommend Belial’s unit to come down early and hard, then other units to use his homer to cover that unit’s flanks.  still, this is not foolproof. even in a 10-man unit with FNP, Belial can still die if your luck is bad and your opponent is prepared.

Deathwing tactica: playing skills

you can do surprisingly well without a solid grasp of certain game-centered skills. you might win games more than the kid who does the "march forward and shoot" strategy of losing, but experienced players might take you apart without even blinking. this comes form a certain degree of mastery of the underlying concepts of the game. here are three that are crucial to master if you are playing Deathwing.

1. target priority

definition: focusing your fire on destroying specific units -- usually the most dangerous first -- before moving on to other (often less dangerous or less crucial) units once they are eliminated.  

using target priority is a must.  you need to clearly identify both short-term and long-term threats, and engage them quickly.  you also need to be prepared to meet said challenges.

to that end, you should have a plan for what battlefield role each squad will serve.  are they your long-range anti-armor, with bait written all over them?  are they going to back up a unit that will be claiming an objective?  will they find that they have to switch roles based on events?  be ready.  have a plan.

one way to manage this is to set units with dedicated tasks.  one unit might primarily be used to target specific threats, another to move forward and present a threat, another to occupy a location in order to score, another to aggressively encounter certain enemy units in order to prevent their scoring.  a predator should be tasked with destruction with this unit… then this unit… then this unit.  ravenwing should be first a delivery of the teleport homer, then resilient flankers and speedy objective-contester.  some will have a goal for the whole game, others will be better off ditching their plan to seize the opportunity (a solitary independent character might be a better target for that trilas predator, for instance), and others will realize that their role needs to change in order to make a difference in the game.  

often, pairing up units can help them take care of their objective.  two units that have the same goal make much more progress by cooperation -- both shooting or charging the same unit, both hovering around the same objective, both protecting the same character or region.  that way, they will often team up to overwhelm one enemy unit, or one can countercharge the other unit’s attackers.  if their target is eliminated, they can move together to counter another together.  this gets expensive, and it means identifying the primary targets first, but it can really make a difference.

2. firing lanes

definition: creation (via terrain and movement) of zones in which certain models can see designated targets while avoiding the line of sight of other dangerous opponents.

believe it or not, line of sight is a big deal for such small squads.  if you are playing with enough terrain, you will be able to reduce the number of units that can shoot at you each round.  keep that in mind as you seek position -- use every tree, every enemy tank to shield yourself from the buckets of dice that your opponent will send your way just to kill one of your terminators.  each model is an investment.  IG can afford to lose ten models at the blink of an eye and it changes little, whereas even one will limit your options.

thus, you cannot afford to place yourself in danger.

One way to influence this is to make sure you have terrain on your side.  be sure to check not only where units are, but the distance they can move, to use terrain best for you.  keeping the wall of a building or ruins between you and the brunt of your opponent’s forces can allow you to take apart one unit at a time while limiting your own casualties.  i know this sounds like it is obvious, but normally we are concerned with gaining cover saves while achieving our primary goals, not isolation and limitation.  the good part is that with so few units and models, it is easier to limit shooting than in other larger armies.

many of my better-performing games have one thing in common: i went second.  my units were placed in such a way that none of my opponent’s units had line of sight to my army, even after moving.  their first turn allowed them to move, but an entire phase of the game was irrelevant to them.  then, as they had moved closer and partially out of terrain or into visual range, during my turn i could bring them into the open and utilize my shooting phase.  in a 1500-point game -- especially with deepstriking units taking up a sizable chunk of your army -- there will be few models on the board at the start of turn one, and outside of your AV14 vehicles presenting a difficulty to hide you should be able to secret them in nooks and crannies until that first volley has passed.

it’s a game of numbers.  if a model stays on the board for six rounds, they have six opportunities to shoot.  removing them early is best to limit their shooting, but neutralizing them (such as giving them no targets) can also limit effectiveness.

3. distance games

definition: specific attention to distances within the game in order to keep away from certain units while remaining in range of others

“distance games” is how i think of using range for your benefit. there are two kinds of distance games -- those in the shooting phase and those in the assault phase.

shooting phase distance games are all about maximizing your potential.  The ranged armament of terminator squads is really at three levels: short range is the heavy flamer (which i rarely use due to the sacrificial nature of the squad that ends up using this weapon), medium range is the storm bolter and the assault cannon, and long range is the cyclone and the plasma cannon.  you will notice that the majority of your models will be medium range -- specifically 24” effectiveness.  for that reason, you will probably spend the first part of the game moving forward to encounter units to blow to pieces, then you will begin to retreat in order to keep them coming at you piecemeal.  remember -- you want to charge, not be charged.  as resilient as terminators are, losing the extra attack and allowing your opponents that attack can be disastrous for a small unit.  as a comparison, a full squad of Dark Eldar Wyches without their extra weapons have 30 attacks if they can all close, and 40 if they charge -- meaning that they would get 15/20 hits, and 5/7 wounds.  statistically, you will lose one model for every six wounds you have to save (though we all know that’s rarely the case), so you are looking at a slight chance of losing none to a virtual statistical guarantee of losing one.  closing to optimal distance also means being outside of rapid fire range for most weapons, meaning keeping at least 15” away from Tau and 12” from most others when you are moving toward your opponent’s units.  moreover, if optimal charge range with reasonable success is somewhere around 6” and movement is the same, brushing the outside of the charge range (or being just inside of it) is necessary to end up in combat if that’s your need.

the Cyclone and the Plasma Cannon both give you slightly different scenarios, however.  a unit with no upgrades past the CML means a long-range antagonist that an opponent cannot ignore.  it is good for popping AV12 and under reliably, and has the potential to scratch anything (however slim).  it can also do damage to tightly-massed troops, though with limited effect on Marine EQuivalents (MEQ = t4 3+).  on the other hand, the plasma cannon is a great (if slightly unreliable) intensifier for the same situation.  either way, these units are perfectly suited to operate independently on a flank, targeting specific elements of the army you most want to whittle down.

assault phase distance games are harder.  your goal is to assault on your terms.  in older editions, you knew what charge range was -- it was set at a static amount.  you could get used to an estimate of a specific distance -- such as 24” being half the short length of the board -- and then concentrate on keeping the opponent at that distance.  now, with random charge length, there is always the possibility when you’re within 18” of infantry that they will get the charge on you.  thus, until you are ready to charge, you should stay between 18” and 24” of your opponent’s units, erring on the side of caution if you have to.  often, a charge will be more successful if you manipulate the odds in your favor, so waiting until two units are in range is a plus.  additionally, if you know there are dangerous weapons in the unit -- grav, plasma, melta, or the like -- then you need to be cautious, and may want to reduce the unit down before you charge, but therein lies the juggling between allowing them to shoot once more and allowing them a lucky overwatch potshot.

Deathwing Tactica: unit choices

purists like the old lists.  in the 3rd ed mini-codex, Deathwing could only take three non-HQ units: Dreadnoughts, Terminators, and Land Raiders.  This was before variants -- there was one kind of land raider (though the Crusader came out soon after), there was no line between assault and shooting terminators, and past armament (which created the Mortis and the Hellfire), there was only one kind of dreadnought.

today, you have more options.  but, sadly, you really are limited as to how many of them you will have access to if you plan on playing deathwing effectively.  terminators work better with backup, and there is no better backup than more terminators.  plus, with objective secured on your hardest-to-kill unit, you have reason to take as many as you can fit.  if you can kit the terminators out so as to cope with every general threat, you are able to include more terminators.  if you have the capability to deal with hordes, armor, combat, and everything in between, then you don’t need to include another unit to fill that role.

in addition to the three units mentioned above, consider the effect of the following support units:

-Ravenwing bikers (including Black Knights).  turbo-boost toward the enemy firebase, jinking all the way, only to drop teleport homer-guided Terminators directly in place.

-predator.  you need firepower.  a standard godhammer LR will give you access to armor-killing power, and a Crusader will give you volley of fire.  if the FAQ ever allows the Standard of Devastation to work on stormbolters, it’s worth consideration to bring more than one Crusader.  adding a predator to your list rounds out either one -- from the triple-las vehicle hunter to the volume-of-fire Hbolter/autocannon combo to kill troops. some people will swear by the fire-magnet of a vindicator, or the utilitarian nature of a tac squad in a razorback, but i've found that "go big or go home" is really the main compulsion of playing Deathwing.

-command squad.  useful if you need a banner, or if you want access to the special weapon for a combat model.  their disadvantage is that they are not troops, and they get expensive quickly, but they have their uses.  personally, i don’t bother with them, but i would reconsider if the Standard of Devastation was explicitly applicable to stormbolters.

-Deathwing Knights.  if you want to run a squad with all TH/SS, consider these instead.  the shield wall power and the smite come free, and they are durable.  again, though, they are not troops, so cannot secure objectives, but they have their uses and they gain the Smite ability and the Shield Wall as a tradeoff.

-Land Speeders.  the Vengeance is no longer viable without the ability to shoot the plasma array when jinking.  the Darkshroud is a cheap way to add cover to other armies, but provides no benefit to the 5++ terminators.  regular speeders, though, kitted out with some specific armament is a great addition… particularly with an alphastriking Belial squad (wait for it…) giving you access to a teleport homer to position yourself optimally.  thus, even the cheap Hflamer/Hbolter variants can rack up the kills and neutralize threats to the deathstar.  dual heavy flamers from each of the squadron when placed optimally could be the secret to defending against hordes or taking out firebases behind an Aegis.  What’s better, since Belial can come in during round 1, speeders can enter normally starting around round 2 with the others, backing up the Deathwing with volume of models hit.

-scouts.  i see little difference between scouts and regular tac marines at this point, with only a 2-point difference per model (and less if you give them camo cloaks.  i love playing with my sniper rifle squad, but i fully acknowledge they have little place unless you have spare points to spend.  if you’re 50 short of limit, throw in 5 to secure an objective, but past that it’s largely irrelevant.

Deathwing Tactica: intro

you want to play deathwing, but aren’t sure how to start winning?  good luck.  deathwing-specific armies are hard to win with, and hard to plan with, and hard to counter some of the more dangerous leading builds with.

so why would you even want to try?

firstoff, it’s a great introduction to the elite army style of army, with a relatively low pricetag.  while terminators might be $10/model, their price has really stayed almost static since their creation, which with the inflation we have seen since their debut in 05 means they’ve actually gone down in relative prince since then.

second, it’s a gauntlet army.  i don’t mean you need to wear your own homemade powerfist, or that you need to worry about shooting food and life force running out, but that you really need to deal with juggling a lot of balls in order to play effectively.  but… once you get used to playing like that, you end up a better tactician and player as a whole.  but it is not to be entered into lightly -- it means you will have a harder time winning for a little while, until you figure out the mechanics. if you can brave the gauntlet, you reap the reward.

the good side is that your games will be shorter, since you have so few models to move around that turns are quick.  and it means that you will either be winning quickly or losing quickly, so you can possibly get in another game after this first disastrous one.

sadly, i’m not kidding.  really, the only way to get better is to practice.

so, again, why would you want to?

Deathwing have a great feel.  sometimes, you can use your army to intimidate an opponent.  sometimes, you can use your smaller numbers to stay focused.  sometimes, you can use certain strategies to dictate your opponent’s moves and thus control the game.  they also have the advantage of low model count for chronic paint-skippers.  if you can field 2500 points with 32 models (five of which are vehicles), you have no excuse for letting them remain unpainted for too long.