Playing a Dark Angel Opponent

[MalevolentPixel]

I am a Vanila Chapter Player (Marines Malevolent) and a fellow PA Player offered me out after we had both finished our Project army's mine is a Versatile, all opponents, adaptable force, with dedicated squads to tasks.

 

His force comprimises soley of Deathwing and Ravenwing. with about 4- 6 Squads of Deathwing and Fast Attack support.....

 

Too be honest, im bricking it, it doesnt matter if i lose, to hell with it, ill call a rematch again and again just to try and figure it out. but i dont want to be wiped from the table by a massive horde of Terminators.

 

Have Deathwing got any weaknesses for all their bulk, there has to be some downsides to a full Terminator Clad troops loadout?

[Bringer of Redemption]

If Deathwing is on foot, then they're slow. It's probably their biggest weakness. For units that don't have TH/SS loadouts, plasma or fire saturation is your friend--make your opponent take enough saves and he'll start failing them eventually.

 

And if they come in by deepstrike, you have a one turn window of opportunity to take out the squad while they can't move.

 

If you friend plays Ravenwing right, then you won't get many opportunities to hit them--they move in, do damage, and move out.

 

--BoR

[RayJ]

In the past Deathwing has had a weakness against dedicated close combat units and didn't have the suppression power to stay ahead of a lot of armies. If the player in question is capitalizing on the recent updates, however, those weaknesses have been removed, and as Bringer of Redemption says, mobility is really their only weakness. They key against them is going to be luring a squad out of support range and picking it off with your whole force. Most Deathwing squads will die just fine to small arms fire. The 5-man squads have the same staying power as 10 tactical marines against small arms. Plan accordingly.

 

The Apothecary's unit, however can take twice the punishment, so your best bet is going to be to isolate and ignore them if possible. If your opponent is smart, he'll ram that unit down your throat with lots of storm shields and the Deathwing banner, which then makes your job a whole lot harder. Still, your weapons will be twice as effective against almost any of his other Deathwing squads, so try to focus on those.

[Brom MKIV]

Lots of good advice so far and I second everything that has been said. Remember that terminators will die to volumn. Focus on isolating units and overkilling them with assaults and torrents of fire.Most of my losses come from my own bad decisions by leaving units unsupported. The bikes are the easiest prey but may be hard to capitalize on if he is an experienced RW/DW player. By the same token dont allow your units to be caught alone. Not sure what you roll with but try and keep units near enough to support each other as this may deter assaults and you should be able to out shoot him.

[Firedrake28]

I'd suggest ignoring the Command Squad as much as possible (within reason. Don't lose the game because you refuse to shoot at this unit, because that'd be silly). It takes such a vicious amount of firepower to do any appreciable damage that it's rarely worthwhile - focus down the other units instead, preferably one or two at a time. The exception to this is if you have the sort of unit that can rapid fire with something silly like 3-4 plasma guns in one go. In that case, it'd be worth trying to take out the Command Squad since their Feel No Pain won't work against the plasma wounds.

[MalevolentPixel]

Thanks a bundle, feeling alot better about this now, cant wait to play, ive always wanted to play the Deathwing Terminator list. should be really enjoyable, thanks all for the advice :lol:!

 

Manuverability is my freind, Single out and pick of unsuported squads, Stay away from Uberunmits and focus on his eakpoints D:!

Thanks all :3

[publius]

Have Deathwing got any weaknesses for all their bulk, there has to be some downsides to a full Terminator Clad troops loadout?

 

Their biggest weakness is that they are 43 points per model. For almost 3 times the cost, they're only twice as durable against bolter fire as normal Marines are, and this isn't even considering AP 1/2 weaponry, or power weapons. Ravenwing is the same, except horrendously overcosted for what they do.

 

Their advantage is tactical flexibility, unless one tools out a squad for close combat.

[shortysl]

This has got to be a 2000 point game for your opponent to have 6 squads of Terminators plus Ravenwing support. 30-40 infantry models in a 2000 point game means you'll outnimber him for sure. As much as it goes against the grain to give advice on how to beat Terminators, i'd say massed Bolter fire every time. AP 1 and 2 weapons are all well and good but use them sparingly, they'll eat up valuable points otherwise. Despite what people are saying about them being slow, a clever Deathwing Assault on turn 1 will put the pressure on you early. Remember that Deathwing and Ravenwing are Fearless, they'll never run. Prioritise your targets and don't be pressured into switching targets until you've completely destroyed the first. Even a single Deathwing Terminator can put a very large Power Fist-shaped spanner in your works.

[LardO'Blood]

Avoid the Deathwing command squad, it will kill pretty much anything it wants to.

Like Shorysl said, this is a high point value game, with 6 terminator squads and ravenwing, he will not have land raiders. Go melta light and break out the plasma. Skip plasma pistols though, power weapons will do a better job because they strike first. Power fists will also work well in 10 man squads.