Death Company

[syypher]

@Gv0zD: A few tips for ya and your mech adventures:

 

All my assumptions and advice is based on the fact that you might want a competitive mech BA army. I'm unsure if you wanted a fluffy or comp type list so I'll just base it on competitive. Sorry if I'm off the mark.

 

1) Like others have said I have found DC to be great but only in more non-competitive sense. If you do want them as your hammer unit then I would suggest to put them in a Land Raider with a Chaplain or Reclusiarch. The reason I say this is because like others have said they will get led around by a smart player. I learned this the hard way when I first started and bought them because they were shiny and cool. Since your investing so many points in them already make them a killer squad. Invest to protect them with a Land Raider. (Of course this is mostly around 1,500 point range...or higher.)

 

The reason you should always include a Reclusiarch or Chaplain is because of the force multiplier. You will hit and wound SO much. It will almost always be overkill. Their very deadly with one of those special guys with them!

 

2) Don't take them if your going all mech. Especially if your doing them JP or Walking around. Going all mech is great because it nullifies the opponents anti-infantry weapons because of all the AV all over the place. Once you give them something to shoot for you are no longer taking advantage of that.

 

3) To answer your question real quickly, no DC are not mandatory to a mech BA army. With my above suggestion once you start playing 1,500-1850 I would probably rather take Assault Terminators in the Land Raiders in a Mech BA army.

 

4) Everyone here will agree that yes they are a hammer unit, especially with a chaplain attached. They will punch something so hard it won't get back up. However the "glass" part is seen in different contexts. Some people thing since their infantry their squishy to all the med-high str low ap weapons. What infantry isn't? They are definitely hammers, but the weapons that make others see them as "glass" is med-high str low ap fire. Your running a mech list..so those are the same weapons they need to kill all your vehicles. Get where this is going? :) They definitely won't be "glass" to anti-infantry fire with a 3+ and FNP. They will live for a LONG time. However once they start shooting you with anything that will nullify your armor save/FNP you'll want to rip your hair out because of all the points you just lost...

 

5) To really get the goodies out of them you need to tool them up real nice and find a way to deliver them to your enemys doorstep unharmed + it'd be such a waste to not include a chaplain or reclusiarch with them. That makes them EXPENSIVE. Higher point games go for it, they are awesome. Below 1,500 I wouldn't field them in all their glory and awesomeness.

 

6) Personal experience and opinion: I hate them. Too much points for something that can be wiped out too easily. They'll kill a lot of stuff if they get the opportunity too but as others have mentioned on this thread, after they do they will die after or be close to dead.

 

7) Their models rock. I use a bunch of their bits for VV and Honour Guard.

 

8) If you want some jumpers in your Mech list which I would be against but if you really want to, I would suggest Vanguard Veterans or Honour Guard. They both serve purposes to help the Mech BA strategy. Mech BA has tons of str6/str7 shots and a few str9 las cannons if you go Heavy Pred Las Sponsoons. (I however go Heavy Dred Dual TL ACs) So that's not very many anti-av14 right there...So what I will normally do is pod in 5 honour guard with 4 meltas. to pop a LR or some AV13/14 nuisance. They have a free priest with them so they have FNP which makes them just as survivable to anti-infantry fire as DC! (I know you have RAS with Meltas in RBs but this usually doesn't want to come out until it really really needs to)

 

Or go Vanguard Veterans. Another problem Mech BA has to deal with is backfield anti-vehicle weaponry. Devastators, DakkaDreds, HeavyPreds etc. A 5 man unit of Vanguard with 1 PF, 2 PW, 2 SS, 1 Naked is what I take. They can multi-charge in and take out 2x 5-6 man devastator squads or deal with heavy weapons in the back with a PF. Deepstrike and charge same turn? Yes please :)

 

 

Remember most of these are from my experience and research with Mech BA and is only that. (Been playing them Mech since I picked up their Codex) None of this is cold hard fact that I've learned through years of playing 'ard boys tournaments or what not. :P So ya...good luck hf

[Gv0zD]

@ syypher

 

Wow! Thanks, mate! Those are just great tips  :)

 

As for what army I'll run, I'm moving towards DoA list. In 4th ed I had mech list, and there were almost no jumpy units (except for DC and Lemartes), so I'd like to change things  :)

 

I've been searching for DC tactics, particularly I've been interested in how people equipped them. I've found this link. Some guys there suggest that Bolter-DC are pretty good. So, I've finally decided to try DropPod bolter-DC (just for fun, if it turns out to be useless). I'm going to face mostly infantry-heavy armies (Orks and Tau, in particular), so I think that shooty DC would wreak some havoc (and without consuming a lot points for weapon upgrades). I'm already building my list around VV and melta-HG, so DC could be (or maybe not :P ) just 'fluffy' addition and I see them just as my 'expendables'.

[shatter]

A mech list that includes a SR can use Astorath and use multiple 60 point DC squads and get a transports 5 points cheaper than RAS. (95 vs 100)