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Smashing Deathwing with the new Codex


BlackJackal

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Now I have a friend who plays Deathwing. He is a smug :D about having an all Terminator army. He has beaten me in the 4 games I have fought him using SW and with the new codex right around the corner, I wanted to ask if anybody had any ideas on how to kill his terminators?

 

Originally I thought of maxing out on power weapons in bloodclaw squads. (With all those attacks he is going to fail a save sooner or later and he has a distinct lack of shooting to boot)

 

Then I thought of Logan Grimnar and his all Terminator army. (I don't like this idea because it is too small of a force for my tastes)

 

Throughout every game I have observed his play style and tactics, I know what he usually fields and what problems most people have.

 

Using the new codex I have tried to create a list which has superior mobility and can crack his transports (Land Raiders) away from a far.

 

 

But it is proving exceedingly difficult. Aby suggestions on how to do this?

The best way to deal with TDA is mass plasma.. been a long time since I played against DW though, but I'm assuming 3 raiders, and a few dreads + his Termis?

 

Meltas are the best way to crack his raiders, so either Landspeeders with MMs, or podding GH/WG with 2+ meltaguns/combimeltas.

 

6 Long Fangs with 5 Plasma Cannons is now only 190pts (5 with 4 plasma used to be 248 XD), splitting fire they can cause a lot of headaches for DW, but you need to protect them.

Take Ragnar, and take Grey Hunters with 2 Plasmaguns and a Plasma Pistol. Also take some Lascannon / Plasmacannon Longfangs. You'll force his Termies to run the turn they Teleport or get plasma'd while they are clustered up. Ragnar will be great because you can use Furious Charge to strike first and take out his Termies before he even swings any power weapons at you.
Bear in mind though that if he is like all the other Deathwing players out there he'll have switched to a SW list!!!

 

So tailor your tactics accordingly.

 

 

I take offence to that! As a long-term Deathwing player, I'm of the opinion that any Dark Angels player who uses another Codex to represent his or her Angels is not in fact a Dark Angel, he or she is a member of The Fallen, and should be hunted accordingly! (I jest of course, but I do hate the name that we Dark Angel players appear to have earned!)

 

Anyway, how to deal with Deathwing...

 

Engage them on your terms. I play a shooting heavy list when it comes to Deathwing, I like to be able to control how the game goes... if my opponent is shooty, I'll charge him. If he's CC focussed, I'll hold back and thin him down. You need to get around this, the easiest way being by utilising mobility, us Deathwing are not as fast as some of our more sprightly battle brethren, and are occasionally the victims of Terminator-Tipping shenanigans in The Rock when the Battle companies have had just a little too much victory wine.

 

Vindicators. Eugh, just typing the word makes me shudder. Whatever you do, don't plonk it out in the open - It will die. You're not taking a vindicator in order to kill his Terminators, you're taking it to make him think it's going to kill his Terminators! Mind games are key. If he's terrified of it, you have instant area denial. If you're going to be a fiend and place it aggressively, or covering a key objective, beware a lone squad of Deathwing assault to kill it off (Hey, it's what I'd do!), so keep some bodies nearby to see them off.

 

Weight of attacks. I love it when someone is kind enough to roll up with one squad of Space Marines and charge my Terminators, one squad on one squad. When they do this, I tend to win! I find it very irritating when I suddenly have to fight more than one squad at once, with only one of mine, I tend to lose! Deathwing is all about synergy, all the squads need to work in concert in order to survive, picking on one squad will damage your opponent's calm, and wind him up. Oh... and helps you win too!

 

Mobility, mobility, mobility! You need lots, and you need to kill his off ASAP! Now, you mentioned that he has an 'all Terminator army', but I'll hark on about this anyway. At 1500pts, he's not likely to have fielded more than two Land Raiders, in which case, you should know how to kill them. Also, this reduces the number of Terminators he has over all. If he's gone infantry heavy, shooting light, he's playing wrong. Rack up two Vindicators in your list and watch him sweat!

 

Kill them all! Loathe as I am to borrow a phrase from our slightly zealous cousins, the Black Templars, you really should be killing off an entire squad at once. The Fearless rule means there's nothing worse than killing 4 Deathwing Terminators, only to leave one running around to grab an objective in the late game.

 

Belial, Master of the Deathwing, Captain Useless and Cheap Distraction. In oh so many of my games my opponents focus on killing Belial, which they see as a victory in itself. Great! Can't stand the bloke! He's my distraction unit, don't get tied up in killing him when all he is, is a 3 wound Terminator Sergeant. No super sexy rules that are going to ruin your day, he's not good. If you opponent is like me, he'll big him up to be this ungodly character killer and sit back & smile while you move heaven and earth to finish him off.

 

 

Anyway, I hope I've helped by giving you a run down of the Deathwing from a Deathwing Player's perspective! I'll keep an eye on the thread and see if I can chime in with any more meaningless babble... wait... I mean nuggets of golden tactical advice!

 

Now it's time for me and my Terminator squad to teleport out of The Fang, before you pups try anything!

Bear in mind though that if he is like all the other Deathwing players out there he'll have switched to a SW list!!!

 

So tailor your tactics accordingly.

 

 

space wolf players cant take an all terminator army. logan grimnars rule says "count as" not "taken as" so you can only take 3 wolf guard squads AND you still need to take the normal 2+ grey hunter/blood claws units.

drop pod, grey hunters 2 plasma guns 1 plasma pistol, wash rinse repeat.

long fangs with lascannons for those pesky raiders.

and blood claws weight of attacks should of a terminator squad in a charge with a little luck.

It always amazes me how fast Terminators die. Ran a 13th Company Wulfenlord into a squad of ten Deathwing Termies, and not only did he manage to kill them all within 1 turn (two rounds), he didn't take a single wound in return. He dropped nine on the charge, and the remaining one whiffed horribly.

 

A model worth slightly over 200 points makes mincemeat of a 350 point squad without getting hurt? Puh-Shah. Initiative for the win.

 

And if you're playing those new Green Space Wolves, don't do much different, although keep a watch for potential special characters hiding in the back. If they have Storm Shields, the terminators will likely not make back their points unless you give them the opportunity. Smash them hard, with BCs of any variety, or swamp them with Fenrisians while you pick apart their friends.

 

In either case, an all-Terminator army is a sucker for anything faster than them. I look forward to playing ANY iteration of the Deathwing, just because I know it's an easy win.

 

If you need more help, I can throw you more detail in a PM, just send one yourself.

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