Running DW in 5 man unit

[IndigoJack]

 

Anyone trying to assault the 10 ma squad will get their ass handed to them.

With 5 man squad you can be selective.

 

 

I wouldn't say anyone. I saw a swarmlord and some hive guard single handedly crush 10 terminators over 3 turns. That was almost half an army gone to four models. There are other units that are also just as scary.

[JeffJedi]

If you have 2 five man squads or a ten man squad against say a 40 man Imperial Guard blob squad the 10 man squad could be whiped out but only 1 five man squad could be whiped out.

[Garath]

If you have 2 five man squads or a ten man squad against say a 40 man Imperial Guard blob squad the 10 man squad could be whiped out but only 1 five man squad could be whiped out.

 

40 man imperial guard block charging 10 termies?

 

First we have overwatch- so 2-3 IG less...

 

Then IG with 76 attacks, 38 hits, 10 wound... one or 2 termies gone.

 

16 attacks back (Im' leaving Libby out), 12 hits (on 3+) , 10 dead

 

Next turn...

 

IG 28 guys, 28 attacks, 14 hits, 4 wounds... less then one Termie dead

 

Termies have again 16 attacks ...10 dead

I'd say 10 man squad will triumph .

 

 

This is in case Termies get charged- if THEY charge- they will whipe the IG out in 2 turns

[John_f]

Another good point is that a single 10 man blobb can only ever deny och claim one obejective whereas two 5 man can claim two.

[Garath]

As I pointed out a few posts ago-

 

One 10 man squad + Libby to get in the opponent's face

 

Second 5 man squad

 

Third 5 man squad

 

 

5 man sqauds have their upsides - I'm not going to ignore the presented facts- like scoring objectives etc...

 

I will take the best from both options. I was waiting for the new codex to arrive to get 10 man deathwing squads we had in 3rd ed.

 

If any codex can pull it if, it's Dark Angles- the best pschic powers to support them, mixed weapons and the best heavy weapons ,split fire and scoring units.

[Cactus]

I experimented today in my first game with our new codex, taking one ten-man squad and four 5-man squads, and discussed the pros and cons of the ten-man Deathwing squad with my opponent afterwards. Empirical evidence supports everything said above - you get more benefit from bonuses affecting one unit but lose some flexibility. I would say that unless you have a definite plan for that ten-man unit that involves buffing it, or you're right on the edge of the 50% reserves rule*, then two squads are better.

 

To answer John_f's original question, there are no serious drawbacks to fielding your Deathwing in 5-man squads.

 

[edit] The battle report is here -> http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=270003

 

*Assuming it applies blah blah etc.

[CovertToaster]

If you want to know how a 10-man terminator squad operates vs. a 5-man squad you only need to look at a 10-man terminator squad that has been in regular tournament play for a long time.

 

Ok so Draigowing actually uses an 11-man squad but you're all going to put your HQ in there too!

 

So, is draigowing an effective army even though it uses one huge squad that costs 800 points base? Tournament evidence would suggest that it is!

 

Can draigowing be beaten? Tournament evidence would suggest that it can!

 

In fact the way you beat it is by leading the big, expensive squad around by the nose with smaller, less expensive squads and shoot the hell out of it. Squads just like a 5-man deathwing terminator squad and you throw remnants of these squads into combat to try and buy time to reposition if you need to.

 

Maybe in a bubble a 10-man squad can deal more damage than a 5-man squad if you're opponent conveniently stands still and allows you to butt beat him. But I never play in a bubble and only occasionally do my opponents have the intelligence of a bubble!

 

If anyone thinks they can come up with a workable DW draigowing replacement then go for it but I'll stick to 5-man DW squads for now thanks!

[Haranin]

Just played in a tournament with deathwing yesterday- I'll do a full battlereport this afternoon.

 

I took Belial, lvl 2 librarian;

DW cmd squad with banner of FNP

2x 5 termies with CML

2x 6 termies with AC

 

Worked pretty good; split fire is great, vengful strike means you really want to DWA then deploy on the table.

 

5/6 man squads meant I could go for 2-3 objectives reliable. They did suffer from attrition fast.

 

I will be experimenting with a 10 man squad for belial's squad, as the no scatter is awesome. DWA means you are relying on the first hits to cripple the enemy.

 

Game 2 I suffered against necrons where my DWA had one unit mishaping into bedrock (1 on mishap table); and of the three tanks I picked on, none were destroyed. (he managed to roll 5/6 5++ for dodging the penetration hits).

 

So I think in the future I will go one ten man squad and two or three five man squads.