DC and Astoroth

[jadebullet]

So I am slowly building my Skulls of the Archangels chapter and I have run into a question that I was wondering if you guys would be able to answer for me.

 

I personally would like to have quite a bit of Death Company troops in my army list, but I also want them to be able to have the versatility of transport. The obvious solution would be to take an Astoroth counts as for my chapter and have multiple smaller DC squads rather than one larger one, but I am really not sure if Astoroth is worth it.

 

In your guys opinion, is it worth it to take Astoroth so that I can take more DC squads, or should I make one squad of DC and round out my army with other selections?

 

 

Also, is a Stormraven a good transport method to drop DC in? I like the idea of dropping insane death troopers into the enemy's ranks.

 

Finally, how are you guys kitting out your death company?

[cypherthefallenangel]

This is a post I made for another thread but it can apply to you to.

Give the powerfist guys bolters. They don't get the extra attack so take advantage of relentless and give them free rapid fire weapons.

Personally I prefer foot DC over jump DC. The foot DC are way more cost effective but you need a transport.

The reclusiarch is a HQ chaplain thats like 90pts cheaper than asteroth.

Asteroth is jump infantry just like lamartes so they can't join non jump infantry.

Dc with jp, chain sword, and bolt pistol= 35pts. ea. Ouch, that's just the normal guy. That is a lot for no invul and AP-. Add a pw or a pfist.$$$

death comp are expendable. You through them at your opponents death star unit or their back field to reek havoc. They draw alot of attention but kick lots of ass before they die.

DC can't capture objectives so every game is annihilation for an all DC army.

Stormravens are the best flier/transport in the game. Well right now anyways.

I personally like the CML & TLLC raven. The CML is S8 ap3 or S4 ap5 hvy2 with 48” range so its good for fliers, tanks, and infantry.

Here is a sample of a strong DC unit.

Hq.

Rec. Chaplain. W/ powerfist 155

Troop.

10x DC w/ 3x PF, 2 pwr swords, infernus pistol 320

Heavy

Stormraven with CML, TLLC 225

I4 on charge 35 attacks (10 ap3 + 25 ap-) at S5

I1 16 attacks at S9 ap2.

Thats 51 attacks!!! Reroll everything.

For 700pts Compare to...

Hq

Asteroth 220

Troop

5x Dc w/ 5xjp, th, pfist, psword, infernus 260

Heavy

Stormraven with TLMM, TLAC, H-bolters 230 (lots of shots but 24” range)

I4 15 attacks @S5 (5ap3)

I1 12 attacks ap2 (8 S9 and 4 S6)

So thats 27 attacks with rerolls.

For 710 pts. For 10 less pts you would get almost twice the damage output.

[Dallas Drake]

I am really not sure if Astoroth is worth it.

 

He's not. But if you want multiple units of DC you have no choice. Personally, I'd run him in a Honour Guard w/Jump Packs, give them a few meltaguns & a power fist/thunder hammer & he'll do fine.

 

In your guys opinion, is it worth it to take Astoroth so that I can take more DC squads, or should I make one squad of DC and round out my army with other selections?

 

I would run one unit of DC & then take other solid selections. All DC sounds like fun but really it's not. I ran a proxy list against IG & it was pretty boring & one-dimensional. DC are great with a Chaplain but they are also glass hammers. I found that I spent so many points on 4 units of DC that I had no points left to get dedicated anti-tank in there.

 

 

Also, is a Stormraven a good transport method to drop DC in? I like the idea of dropping insane death troopers into the enemy's ranks.

 

That depends on what the other army has. If they have things with Skyfire then probably ''no'. If they have an Aegis or something else with dedicated anti-air then you'll need to deal with it ASAP. Skyfire & Interceptor makes Ravens sad. Also watch out for enemy flyers, I've lost my SR in every game I've played now although it seems to be on turn 3 when I've just switched to Hover mode so I can drop off my DC. I've actually started running them in a Rhino, I'll explain why later but I put my DC Dread in the Storm Raven, it still gives me a nasty units I can drop in & it means I'm not losing 700 odd points when my jammy opponent rolls a 6 & then a 6. People think Flyers are broken but really they're not, I've lost mine to a single Zoanthrope & a unit of Devastators... people can and will roll sixes, you can and will fail your jink save, that's life ^_^

 

Finally, how are you guys kitting out your death company?

 

Keep them cheap. I run them on foot in a Rhino & generally add one special weapon for every 4 or 5 guys, so in a 9/10 man squad I'll have 2 power fists. I also give them bolters, the ability to rapid fire then charge at 4 attacks is great but I also think that bolters give them more tactical flexibility, you're not going to want to charge everything & rapid firing bolters can be quite useful, even more so when you get charged (i.e by Genestealers).

 

Example.

10 DC

- Bolters

- Drop Pod

- Power Fist x2

285 points

 

Don't waste points giving them too many upgrades & don't bother with crap like hand-flamers etc. One of the best things about DC is they are cheap. If you go silly on them then they will end up running into the 300-400 points region & that will generally be a bad thing. This is why I don't use Jump Packs. I actually have no issue with the price they pay for Jump Packs, it makes sense with the new jump pack & charging out of vehicle rules, my gripe is with losing I5 on the charge, now they hit at the same time as stuff they used to hit first, with power weapons being AP3 I just don't see them as the same hammer they used to be.

 

As for Chaplain or not, it's up to people but I don't bother. I use a Librarian with a Force Axe & Divination & find I get good use out of them. I just refuse challenges against things that will hurt my Librarian & then use hidden fists to try & win.

 

Either way, have fun with them, they are a great unit!

 

Dallas