Azrael with Death Company allies

[L30n1d4s]

Many have recognized the utility of taking Azrael in a DA primary detachment for the many enhancements he provides, both to his immediate unit (e.g. Invul save; potential buff to assault capability, mobility, or survivability with selected WL trait; solid CC/challenge ability with good stats, Artificer Armor, and a MCed Relic Blade) and the army as whole (e.g. Ld 10 for all units lacking Inner Circle; DW and RW as Troops; potential Reserve manipulation with selected WL trait).

 

Astute players have also realized what a boon he can bring to allied units, whether attaching to an IG Blob squad, buffing a unit of C: SM Honor Guard, or even making a maxed out BT Crusader squad much more potent in combat. In this regard, I think he was one of the best characters for enhancing a Dark Angel army with selected allied units attached.

 

One of the potential allied units which may have been discussed, but perhaps is not generally considered by many players, is using Death Company from an allied Blood Angel detachment with Azrael. As one of the best “pound for pound” close combat units in the game, Death Company have excellent rules for their cost (i.e. MEQ Veteran stats with built in WS5, Rage, Fearless, FNP, and Furious Charge, all for only 2 points more than a bare bones DA Veteran ) and tremendous offensive potential, even unassisted. They can also be taken in larger than normal squad size, with up to (20) DC in a single unit. About the only disadvantage of this unit is that, despite being a Troops option, it is not scoring and upgrading it to have Jump Packs becomes exceptionally expensive very quickly.

 

So, how might Death Company combine with Azrael? Well, let’s say we take a 16 man foot-slogging DC unit and attach the DA Supreme Grand Master. Let’s also take (8) power axes on the DC for some anti-TEQ capability and have Azrael take “Rapid Maneuver” for his WL trait, so increasing their Run ability. Finally, let’s attach a BA Reclusiarch for re-rolls (to hit and to wound) on the charge and to fulfill the allied detachment HQ requirement. In total, that gives us a unit costing over 750 tokens, but what does it give back on the investment. This unit has:

-22 Fearless wounds with a 3+/4++, FNP, and the ability to roll two dice and pick the highest when running

-2 solid combat characters with S6, I5 weapons that can accept/offer challenges, backed up by a 2+/4++ (Azrael) or a 3+/4++ (Reclusiarch)

-On the charge… 40 S5 AP- Initiative 4 attacks with re-rolls to hit or to wound; 40 S6 AP2 Unwieldy attacks with double re-rolls; 5 S6 AP4 attacks with double re-rolls; and 6 S6 AP3 Initiative 5 attacks.

 

Let’s put this unit up against the ultimate “gold standard” of WH40k close combat… TH/SS Terminators:

-On the charge, “regular” DC get 40 attacks, average 35 hits, average 31 wounds, with about 5 unsaved wounds against the Hammernators

-On the charge, Azrael/Reclusiarch gets 11 attacks, averaging 7-8 hits, 6-7 wounds, and 1-2 unsaved wounds.

 

At this point, Hammernators have already lost 6-7 unsaved wounds before they can even strike back.

 

-Hammernators hit back with 8 S8 attacks, averaging 4 hits, 4 wounds, of which 2 are unsaved against the units 4++

-The Power Axe DC strike simultaneously, inflicting 40 attacks, 35 hits, 29 wounds, and 9-10 unsaved wounds on average, after the Hammernator’s 3++ is taken into account.

 

Net result, DC/Azrael/Reclusiarch (approximately a 750+ token unit), lose between 1-2 models (hopefully DC, with proper placement), and the entire 10 man Hammernator squad (400 dineros total) is wiped out in a single charge.

 

Now, this is the ideal scenario for DC, since the charge gives them so many buffs (+1S, +2A, re-roll to hit/to wound) and would not be nearly as lop-sided if the Hammernators were the ones charging. That said, this scenario demonstrates the raw damage output of the Azrael/DC/Reclusiarch combo.

 

In the event that DC + Azrael/Reclusiarch were charged by Hammernators, then:

-“Regular” DC get 24 attacks, average 16 hits, average 8 wounds, with about 1-2 unsaved wounds against the Hammernators.

-Azrael/Reclusiarch gets 9 attacks, averaging 6 hits, 5 wounds, and 1 unsaved wound.

***Hammernators hit the DC/Azrael/Reclusiarch with 24 attacks, 12 hits, 10 wounds, and 5 unsaved wounds.

-Simultaneously, Power Axe DC hit back with 24 attacks, 16 hits, 10 wounds, and 3 unsaved wounds.

 

Net result is 5-6 dead Hammernators and 5 dead DC…since they are Fearless, DC/Azrael/Reclusiarch stay put, even if by unlucky chance they lose the combat result.

 

-Next round, 3 non-Power Axe DC and Azrael/Reclusiarch cause 1 unsaved wound before Hammernators strike.

***4 remaining Hammernators this round have 8 attacks, 4 hits, 4 wounds, and 2 unsaved wounds.

-Remaining 8 Power Axe DC models inflict 3 unsaved wounds back.

 

That leaves (1) Hammernator left against a remaining 1 “vanilla” DC + 8 Power Axe DC + Azrael + Reclusiarch. One more sees the last Hammernator die before it can strike to Azrael/Reclusiarch/”vanilla CD.”

 

Final average is 10 dead TH/SS Terminators (400 tokens) and 7 dead Death Company (140 tokens).

NOTE: All of this math-hammer is based on Azrael/Reclusiarch avoiding ID from S8 THs by using Look out Sir!, 4++ save, and positioning of DC to absorb the Hammernator attacks. Obviously, if this fails, then the calculations are not valid.

 

This is the worst case scenario, with the prime close combat unit in the entire game (e.g. 10 Hammernators) getting the charge off on the DC/Azrael/Reclusiarch, and they still come out ahead in terms of both points value and net combat power removed from the fight.

 

Honestly, the critical vulnerability of the Azrael/DC/Reclusiarch combo is torrent shooting (despite their 4++, they still only have a MEQ save at the end of the day) and their foot-slogging mobility, despite Azrael’s WL trait increasing their Run speed. FNP does help mitigate their vulnerability to torrent Bolter fire (on average, it takes 13-14 BS4 bolter shots to cause an unsaved wound on DC) and the 4++/FNP definitely increases their survivability against Plasma weaponry, Power Weapons, and the like (on average, it takes 5-6 BS4 plasma shots to cause an unsaved wound on DC from this unit).

[Garath]

   However good  it might seem (and 2 thumbs up for the creative idea )- it will rarely make a real impact.

 

  My reasoning behind this is that the squad is short ranged and costs a LOT of  pts.  For 750 pts you can have a lot of more useful things like long ranged firepower,scoring units etc,

 

  They are one of the best cc units we can field- but DA are not a cc chapter to begin with.  And as soon as the opposition start firing big templates they will fall.   No one in their right mind will charge this unit- true.

 

  But if you really want to massacre people beyond recognition - take a Death company Dread.

 

  With a Lucious Pattern Drop pod it can charge as soon as it lands. And boy will it hurt.  Put Prescience on it and let it rip!

 

  5 attacks hitting on 3s with a re-roll, and wounding on 2s- again with a re-roll.  Every time it kills a model it will gain another attack!!!!

 

  That model costs under 200 pts with the Pod. 

[Dirrain]

Anything that you can't catch will destroy you. Facing biker armies/airforces you might as well concede the match before you start. It's brilliant on paper, but lacks a delivery system to get your DC to where you want it. (Unless you're playing apocalypse, then hello storm eagles and thunderhawks!) 

 

BUT! If you're using this list purely for laughs, I see enormous potential. It's about 785 points by my calculation, and in a 1000 point game you can REALLY troll unsuspecting people with this list. 2 squads of 5 man DA tacticals with Plasma Cannons/Missile Launchers and you're good to go. At 1000 points people will rarely have the tools to deal with 22 wounds with 3+/4++ and FnP.

 

Fantastic idea anyways mate. I fancy I'll run a variation of this at 1500 points with DWTs and RWBKs and see how it goes!

 

Cheers!

[Phoebus]

I don't know about this "Death Company" you speak of...  But I have a vision of a formation of "Asmodai's Disciples", who, during battle, unleash all the rage that can build up when you're never allowed to smile and might have gone years without being allowed to speak.

 

I kid, I kid.  This does sound very intriguing, though!

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

such a shame we cannot use LR with allies :P

[Garath]

  Indeed.  That would lead to serious awesomeness !   

[AngelVeto]

However good it might seem (and 2 thumbs up for the creative idea )- it will rarely make a real impact.

 

My reasoning behind this is that the squad is short ranged and costs a LOT of pts. For 750 pts you can have a lot of more useful things like long ranged firepower,scoring units etc,

 

They are one of the best cc units we can field- but DA are not a cc chapter to begin with. And as soon as the opposition start firing big templates they will fall. No one in their right mind will charge this unit- true.

 

But if you really want to massacre people beyond recognition - take a Death company Dread.

 

With a Lucious Pattern Drop pod it can charge as soon as it lands. And boy will it hurt. Put Prescience on it and let it rip!

 

5 attacks hitting on 3s with a re-roll, and wounding on 2s- again with a re-roll. Every time it kills a model it will gain another attack!!!!

 

That model costs under 200 pts with the Pod.

Unfortunately Forgeworld saw how... Beardy a DC dread in Lucius pattern DP was. Blood angels are no longer allowed to take them.

[Garath]

.... didn't know that....

It is ,(was) the best cc thing out there!