Codex: DW next week

[Panzer]

Somehow I don't think that's a motto the deathwatch adapted..

 

Well they do use Xenos weaponry unlike most other imperial forces ...

[Irbis]

 

Somehow I don't think that's a motto the deathwatch adapted..

 

Well they do use Xenos weaponry unlike most other imperial forces ...

 

What xenos weaponry? It's totally legit archeotech that, um... fell off the back of a Rhino over there, honest

[mjrwaud]

These strategems look prettty gooooood!

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/05/03/3rd-may-deathwatch-a-stratagem-for-every-enemygw-homepage-post-2/

[Moostick]

Some strategems do look good. The +1 to wound rolls on any model are going to be pretty nifty, and the nid one can affect any model, not just infantry.

 

Now to see how much our troops cost before full judgement. If we live by strategems, we need a lot of CP.

[PiñaColada]

That seems very solid in my opinion. I've always liked deathwatch as a fun twist on "normal" space marines and I might just have to dip my toe in with sometime in the near future. Also all black, if done right, looks astonishing. The doctrines combined with access to high ap weapons can be a real interesting threat.

[Irbis]

Primaris apothecary confirmed, it seems, one is in new photos.

 

Is that Deathwing guy with DW pad new? I don't recall seeing that mini before in previous publicity shots...

[Chris521]

I was expecting stratagems to reflect the old kill team tactics, but I wish they modified hit rolls instead. 

[Irbis]

I was expecting stratagems to reflect the old kill team tactics, but I wish they modified hit rolls instead. 

 

Why? Modifiers to these are plentiful, from both DW captains and WM, then there is Venerable dreadnought strat. Modifiers to wound are vastly more valuable, especially with massed bolters. You literally double your effectiveness against vehicles and other tough foes...

[TheUbikator]

Ooooh boy those strategems look fantastic!

[Chris521]

The mission tactics already help for wounds and a +1 to hit would help against -1 to hit. 

[TheFinisher4Ever]

Splitting the +1 to wound into different stratagems let's us use more than one of them per phase. I could definitely see us burning through CP super fast using this but it could be really strong against diverse armies.

[Irbis]

One thing that is mildly disappointing is warlord trait refunding 1 CP per stratagem, not per CP spent like in some other armies.

 

I also mildly chuckled seeing anti-eldar stratagem, I don't recall what the other Eldar varieties do, but against Craftworlders stuff with FLY has often so many -1 to hit modifiers stacked on it another -1 makes the stratagem pretty much pointless...

[Mr4Minutes]

They also don’t specify a phase, just add +1 to wound. Buffing both CC and shooting. Definitely some interesting strats revealed.

 

I really want more buffs for the original Marines, but the Primaris rules definitely look to be fun. I’m looking at my unbuilt DI box as possible DW instead of Ultramarines.

 

But, like what has been said here multiple times, points are going to make or break us.

[Toomanyprojects]

Anyone know if they are gonna do DW boxes of the Primaris models? Like the DE termies and bikers - the conventional sprees plus a couple of upgrade sprees in each box?

 

Makes sense, they did it for Dark Angels and Blood Angels. And deathwatch was doing it anyway

[PiñaColada]

They also don’t specify a phase, just add +1 to wound. Buffing both CC and shooting. Definitely some interesting strats revealed.

 

I really want more buffs for the original Marines, but the Primaris rules definitely look to be fun. I’m looking at my unbuilt DI box as possible DW instead of Ultramarines.

 

But, like what has been said here multiple times, points are going to make or break us.

They specify for that attack so I'm pretty sure you'd have to use it every phase. The amount of CP you can realistically burn through every round with this army is insane. Expect to see alot of deathwatch with a CP battery astra militarum battalion detachment.

[Vel'Cona]

Out of the gate, these Strategems are EXACTLY what I was hoping for with the new DW codex!  They're not all-powerful, army destroying counters but they each deal with the Xenos armies in unique ways and with direct nods to the background of the DW.  My early thoughts:

 

Necrons: Overkill - Anything that nerfs RP is pretty solid in my book and this one comes in at a bargain cost.  The limited range is prohibitive but DW SIA Boltguns often want to be there anyway (among other units) so it's not unheard of, especially if we are utilizing transports or other deployment shenanigans (12" range is just fine for "Deep Striking").

 

Orks: Stem the Green Tide - This one is a bit iffy.  Orks in general aren't a huge deal to face as it is, but this Strategem could be clutch if they're going for a long charge.  That being said, 2 CP is a tough opportunity cost to swallow unless you're confident in high Overwatch casualties, typically via auto-hit weapons (as the article also confirms).  Keep in mind that most flamers and similar weapons have 8" range, so if the Orks ARE going for a long charge (perhaps out of Deep Strike?) then you won't get to use these weapons anyway.

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary.  2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

 

Aeldari: Intercepting Volley - 12" range is the crummy part for this one.  Interrupt shooting is cool and all, but smart Eldar players have plenty of ways to avoid this Strategem with ease.  Dark Eldar and Harlequins will be harder hit since they like to deploy/move/Deep Strike close with their Open Topped transports, though it certainly won't shut them down entirely.

 

Tau: Targeting Scramblers - For the bargain rate of 1 CP, DW can shut down Markerlight shenanigans.  Since you can only do this once per phase, it's possible for a canny Tau player to just distribute his Markerlights around, but this still has the decent effect of preventing intense debuff stacking.  This may be the best anti-Xenos Strategem in the list, IMO.

[Moostick]

We've always had access to Primaris apothecaries. I've seen several people mention it here and elsewhere, but it's the regular one we couldn't bring.

 

I'd be surprised if they didn't release a DW box for Primaris. They're much more attractive to DW than they are to BA and DA. But who knows what their planners are thinking.

[Sea-People]

Finally a solid preview! I'll spare the points rant today. Hopefully we get some of that info tomorrow. My initial thoughts:

 

Warlord Trait: CP regeneration is never bad. Solid.

 

Necron strat: Solid. Only getting back up on a 6+ is good.

 

Ork strat: Can be useful. Best used on frag cannons, or if you're good at rolling 6s.

 

Tyranid strat: Most synapse creatures can be targeted anyway, but it will be good to kill malanthropes and broodlords.

 

Aeldari strat: Won't see much use against Craftworlds. Dark Reapers won't be that close anyway. Against Dark Eldar and Harlequins torching a transport or flyer when it gets into range is never a bad thing.

 

Tau strat: "Oh you just used uplinked markerlight and rolled a 6? It'd be a shame if something were to... happen to them."

 

All the +1 to wound strats: Look good, until you realize that "Veterans of the Long War" costs 1 CP and works against everything.

 

Also: Deathwatch apothecaries! More than regular marines they might be an auto-take due to how expensive our guys are.

 

I'm more interested in what we haven't seen yet. Bring on the leaks! And get the guard CP batteries ready... we're gonna need them!

[shanewatts]

The mission tactics already help for wounds and a +1 to hit would help against -1 to hit. Also, unless I'm mixing up the rules, you can't actually take advantage of mission tactics since with +1 to wound, you will never have 1 to reroll.

 

 

Also, is there any unit not covered by these stratagems? Since they all give +1 to wound and all cost 2 CP and can be used against all enemy units, why not just make it one stratagem that gives +1 to wound any unit. --forgot that it allows for more than one use per phase.

Rerolls are before modifiers, so you still reroll ones.

What makes this awesome is vs vehicles, you are now wounding on 4s instead of 5s with SIA, with -1 to -3 depending on ammo and range. Also you can use this vs T3 and use -2 ammo, and wound on 2s. Which is crazy.

[Chris521]

 

The mission tactics already help for wounds and a +1 to hit would help against -1 to hit. Also, unless I'm mixing up the rules, you can't actually take advantage of mission tactics since with +1 to wound, you will never have 1 to reroll.

 

 

Also, is there any unit not covered by these stratagems? Since they all give +1 to wound and all cost 2 CP and can be used against all enemy units, why not just make it one stratagem that gives +1 to wound any unit. --forgot that it allows for more than one use per phase.

Rerolls are before modifiers, so you still reroll ones.

What makes this awesome is vs vehicles, you are now wounding on 4s instead of 5s with SIA, with -1 to -3 depending on ammo and range. Also you can use this vs T3 and use -2 ammo, and wound on 2s. Which is crazy.

 

yeah, I got mixed up for a minute, I just deleted that part.

[PiñaColada]

Sure, the +1 to wound are 2CP each but unlike Veterans of the Long War you can use several of them every round, assuming you're attacking different types of units. If that simply cost one command point each it would probably be too good. +1 to wound with plenty of S4 ap-2/3/4 weapons will still make for some tasty damage. A group of hellblasters hiding in a unit of intercessors wounding basically anything in the game on 2's rerolling 1's is a scary thought. Especially because of the extra wounds your opponent has to chew through befoe getting to them and the fact that you can squeeze in more than one of those units.

 

The rate this army is going to burn CP is crazy but so will the damage be

[Lysere]

Finally a solid preview! I'll spare the points rant today. Hopefully we get some of that info tomorrow. My initial thoughts:

 

Warlord Trait: CP regeneration is never bad. Solid.

 

Necron strat: Solid. Only getting back up on a 6+ is good.

 

Ork strat: Can be useful. Best used on frag cannons, or if you're good at rolling 6s.

 

Tyranid strat: Most synapse creatures can be targeted anyway, but it will be good to kill malanthropes and broodlords.

 

Aeldari strat: Won't see much use against Craftworlds. Dark Reapers won't be that close anyway. Against Dark Eldar and Harlequins torching a transport or flyer when it gets into range is never a bad thing.

 

Tau strat: "Oh you just used uplinked markerlight and rolled a 6? It'd be a shame if something were to... happen to them."

 

All the +1 to wound strats: Look good, until you realize that "Veterans of the Long War" costs 1 CP and works against everything.

 

Also: Deathwatch apothecaries! More than regular marines they might be an auto-take due to how expensive our guys are.

 

I'm more interested in what we haven't seen yet. Bring on the leaks! And get the guard CP batteries ready... we're gonna need them!

 

Veterans of the Long war might be the same thing for 1 CP but that also means only one unit can use it a phase, and they don't have reroll ones to wound against targets of their choice as well. If the DW ones were only 1 CP I'd use 2-3 a turn minimum, possibly more if I get a few CP from the warlord trait.

 

I wasn't going to touch this codex but with how it's shaping up I think I'll have to work on my DW in tandem with my Knights.

[Lemondish]

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

[Aothaine]

I'm really happy to see the tone of this thread start to turn around. ^_^ I know I'll be picking up this codex asap. I wonder if they are going to re-release the dice again. I was late to the party in 2016 and only got 1 brick. I'd like at least two more.

[Vel'Cona]

 

Tyranids: Synaptic Severance - This sounds brutal, but in reality most Tyranid armies utilize Hive Tyrants for Synapse (Flyrants being the flavour of the month, at least until the FAQ goes gold) so it's not really that necessary. 2 CP is also a bit pricey given the comparatively limited target space, though it would be easy to maximize this with Hellblasters.

Why wouldn't it be necessary? A unit in the backfield can target a Hive Tyrant, ignoring the character rule. You can easily snipe out that Tyrant now.

 

 

Good point!  I think I'm a bit of an odd case in that locally it's 90% Flyrants and Swarmlord, who like to run far enough forward that picking them off is easy.  OFC, my thoughts are entirely conjecture at this point, so take 'em for opinion at best until we get the real deal :)