Catachans "Deathworld Style" in 6th Edition...?

[Piousservant]

I’ve always liked the idea of doing a Deathworld Veterans army, as in the old Catachan min-dex but was put off by the though of painting camo. I’m finally getting around to putting together that style of army but would like to make it fit within the normal codex and also be, if not competitive, at least not fall apart like a wet paper bag at the first sign of trouble (which would hardly be very Catachan...).

 

Normally I wouldn't worry much about competitiveness, but since joining a club again back at the start of the year I need to pick up my game a little, so would appreciate some thoughts on how I can build an army which remains close to the fluffy Deathworld army I’d like but still stands a chance of not getting tabled every game...

 

In my minds eye, for the core of the army I'm looking at a CCS, probably one Platoon (inc Hvy Weapon teams - thinking Missile Launchers and Mortars - no Lascannons) and then a number of veteran squads built as Catachan Devils / Recon or Assault Teams with demo charges, plus a sentinel squadron. I'd think as little armour as possible (definately no artillery), although I had wondered about a Hellhound and/or a Russ Exterminator as a reasonable armour that would fit (ish) with the theme.

I don't see fortifications really fitting in, so unsure what I could include to cope with fliers, whilst I just tend to ignore them in my DW army I'm not sure that's such a good idea with soft, squidgy guardsmen...?

[WarriorFish]

The thing with background is that it's pretty malleable. There's nothing stopping your traditional Catachan regiment getting some appropriate support from other elements so as long as you're not suddenly fielding a tank force or something silly nobody should complain.

So don't feel you have to limit yourself to just Sentinels, though the armoured variety can offer some more robust support. The Hellhound is almost made for jungle fighting, as is the Exterminator as if your regiment is fighting in dense terrain it would stand to reason that they bring the capability to negate it's benefits to the enemy. Maybe something like one of something would give you flexibility while still retaining the feel of a mostly Catachan force with limited and valuable support?

Your idea is certainly viable, you might need to get a healthy number of heavy weapon squads in to give yourself some hitting power. May I suggest the humble mortar team as a fluffy, cheap and effective unit? You'd be relying on strength of numbers to push to victory so don't scrimp on boots on the ground - cheap and cheerful works best.

I'm sure someone with a more in depth knowledge of the Catachan way can illuminate us with more It'd help if you could let us know what sort of enemies you'll face so the advice can be more specific and helpful, for example if you said you played in a Vulkan Space Marine heavy group we might need to re-evaluate things

[Beachymike123]

i remember the codex:catachans very well - it was my first IG army and one i loved the look of. i didn't have the IG to start with, i used units just from C:Cat. and i had a really bad time with it. the rules were based on you and your opponent agreeing to fight in all terrain boards, which didn't always happen. and i remember my first thrashing was against a eldar player who has far too many grav tanks than one should field. if you didn't have the terrain, you got big style. was fun and fluffy, i had 1 commisar who just didn't fit in all the time, my platoon leaders were young killers in their stride to the top. but i was glad when catachans were rolled into the main dex.

1st off why shouldn't catachan regiments have access to everything else other IG regiments have? they aren't based on the style of their homeworld - they will be equipped to fight in their given warzone by the adeptus munitorium, who can be slow but the majority of regiments will be veterans of a few battles, these are fluffier than granting +1WS, which catachans, although better at CC than anybody else, wouldn't engage in unless ambushing. 2 - the infantry squads in the boxes aren't the greatest, but they are the first of the plastic guard, and i have had plenty of them over the years whether as catachans themselves, average guardsmen from different worlds or necromundan gangs. atm, they are being used as the mercenary element to my traitor guard.

however, i did feel the 3.5 Regimental Doctrines represented catachans well. the fact they had access to the majority of the codex while taking certain restrictions but had decent buffs at the time meant a lot. for example, you couldn't take lascannons and your Sv was reduced to 6+, but you gained cover bonuses and your vet squads started to look like downgraded tactical squads (imho).

if i were to think of a fluffy catachans list, i'd say 6+ Sv, no 'heavy' heavy weaponry but things that can still pack a punch; cover and 'go to ground' bonuses, and maybe poison upgrades for CC. just my honest opinion as a ex-player of codex:catachans.

[hendrik]

you could always get the tank heavy elements from together regiments such as cadian,vostroyan, steel legion, etc. having different regiments fight a single conflict is quite common for the imperial guard

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Special Weapon Squads, especially with demo packs, were always a mainstay in my good friend's Death World Army (3rd Edition). They're the reason that Inquisitor Soulis now uses Straken's rules: one of them insta-gibbed him with a demo pack when I failed my terminator armour 5++. An ignonimous end to a hero who had once taken down a full chaos raptor squad single-handed.

[Piousservant]

 

Thanks for the thoughts guys!

 

Yeah, I think including a Hellhound and an Exterminator provides a bit more heavy firepower whilst still being fairly fluffy. Not keen on using another regiment, whilst it's perfectly fluffy I'd rather keep everything uniform. And I've not painted camo on vehicles before so I'm looking forward to the challenge (and adding camo netting, etc too).

 

The group I play with is a bit of a mix, nothing too crazy (so not lots of Vulkan lists thankfully!), but still mostly power armour though and a few xenos (mainly Tau/Necrons).

 

I'm aiming for 1750 points, so CCS, the tanks and a sentinel squadron, maybe good old Sly (...) and then troops-wise thinking 2 Veteran squads (they will be kitted out a bit more, demo charges and camo definately, probably meltas - or maybe one squad with melta and one with flamer/heavy flamer?). The platoons would be more cheap and cheerful - some squads with just flamers and some with grenade launchers/heavy bolters? Then hvy weapon squads a mix of some with missile launchers and some with mortars? I like the idea of a special weapons team with sniper rifles but I suspect they're probably not worth it? (I'm planning this with my codexes a few thousand miles away so can't remember how many heavy/special weapon squads you can take in each platoon?) Does that seem reasonable?

 

I was unsure whether to equip the scout sentinel squadron with autocannons or multilasers? I have the old catachan bits (canopies, pilots and chainswaws!) so could kit them out with heavy flamers but I suspect they'd rarely survive to use them. The autocannons look better (IMO) and help out with some light anti-tank but not sure whether to stick with the trusty multilaser?

[WarriorFish]

Sounds like a pretty solid plan, I think Sly Marbo is one of the requirements if you're fielding a Catachan force :P Veterans provide ample opportunity to customise and do different things which would also fit your theme, being able to take HFs is another positive.

 

I run my infantry squads with flamers and grenade launchers too and I find it works well. Gives you plenty of numbers by being cheap and the ability to remain mobile without losing fire power - something that is very useful for Guard who might otherwise be static and predictable. Snipers would again be a Catachan thing and perhaps worth a small expenditure for the chance to pick of high value targets, not that bad for 50pts that can sit on an objective.

 

Sentinels are difficult though, I find they have too many options so I can't decide :P My Scouts tend to run with Autocannons for some outflanking side shots and I've been fairly satisfied with my Armoured Lascannon ones as they move with my infantry to provide anti-tank and some combat support. I think as you'll be heavy on infantry you could do with more punch from bigger guns so I'd recommend paying some points to upgrade their weaponry, at least on some.