Taking on Death Guard

[Tom Foolery]

Greetings,

I have just started playing some 9e games at 500 points to learn the new rules.  My opponent playing Death Guard has taken 2 units of Plague Marines x5, a Daemon Prince, and 4 units of Chaos Spawn.   In my first game I used Ragnar, Intercessors x8, Outriders x3, Eliminators x3. In my second game I used Grey hunters x5 (power axe, plasma gun) & Krom in a Razorback with Twin Assault Cannon, Dred w/ assault cannon, and Land Speeder Tempest.  Both games ended horribly for the boys of Fenris.

 

The main problem has been the Chaos Spawn. For only 23 points they are M 7", S5/T5, 4W, 5++ and 5+++, D6 Attacks, AP-2/D2 weapon and that's before their "Mutated Beyond Reason" rule which either increases AP to AP-4, increases attacks +2, or allows for rerolls of wounds.  These things are a nightmare!  Because of the 5++/5+++ they essentially ignore AP modifiers, and I have found them very difficult to remove...they are on top of my line before any damage from shooting has taken place. I don't like to complain and say that a unit is "overpowered" but I will say that the Chaos Spawn in a Death Guard army is a very very very good bargain for them.

 

In my first list, S4 weapons were very ineffective at wounding T5. In my second list with plenty of S6 weapons, the Chaos Spawn basically made their saves then ran up an ate my Razorback and everything inside.  

 

Part of the problem may be the smaller board at 500 points, not being able to bring enough firepower at 500 points...or just me.

 

How have you dealt with the new Chaos Spawn...or Death Guard in general?

 

 

 

 

[Rune Priest Jbickb]

Full claw wulfen would do well i suspect. If I was specifically choosing a unit to take down spawn. Smaller board and advance and charge make for a pretty reliable charge turn 1 for them on that little board. And they come in at 190 which, while not cheap, is not really too pricey for them.

 

Side note spawn in a 500 point game are really really efficient, larger games where there is more opportunity to shoot it they are much less effective.

[TiguriusX]

In the few combat patrol games I have watched on YouTube it is always a bloodbath.

 

Forget objectives and find your most OP/point efficient unit then kill everyone with it.

 

 

This is my 500 point combat patrol I intend to enter when my pod starts.

 

Sit back in a defensive position and kill the spawn first

 

Then ulrik can sing about tales of the deep while we charge out and kill the rest

 

Everything has S5 or more attacks available

 

 

 

 

++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) [28 PL, 3CP, 500pts] ++

 

+ Configuration [3CP] +

 

Battle Size [3CP]: 1. Combat Patrol (0-50 Total PL / 0-500 Points) [3CP]

 

Detachment CP

 

+ HQ [6 PL, 100pts] +

 

Ulrik The Slayer [6 PL, 100pts]: 2. Canticle of Hate, 5. Recitation of Focus, Crozius arcanum, Frag & Krak grenades, Plasma pistol, Tale of the Wolf King and the Lord of the Deeps

 

+ Troops [6 PL, 80pts] +

 

Blood Claws [6 PL, 80pts]

. 4x Blood Claw [60pts]: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Chainsword, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

. Blood Claw Pack Leader [20pts]: Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades, Power axe [5pts]

 

+ Elites [16 PL, 320pts] +

 

Judiciar [4 PL, 85pts]: Absolver Bolt Pistol, Executioner Relic Blade, Frag & Krak grenades, Saga of the Wolfkin, The Wulfen Stone, Warlord

 

Relic Whirlwind Scorpius [12 PL, 235pts]: Scorpius multi-launcher [40pts]

 

++ Total: [28 PL, 3CP, 500pts] ++

 

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

 

 

Or you can swap ulrik for a rune priest in phobos armor. Give him armor of russ...living lightning...fury of wolf spirits and have a different version that brings psyker death but loses priest buffs

 

Basically as a SW you should never fear the enemy charge. We have tools to shut down melee and kill them first (judiciar and armor of russ).

 

They have to spend CP to attack after dying if they want to hurt you.

 

The judiciar has S7 attacks so he can basically chop down anything you see in a combat patrol game.

 

You can always give him saga of the beastslayer for a buff too

 

A SW judiciar is one of the best in the game because we have relics and WL traits synergies

Edited September 25, 2020 by TiguriusX

[Tom Foolery]

In the few combat patrol games I have watched on YouTube it is always a bloodbath.

 

Forget objectives and find your most OP/point efficient unit then kill everyone with it.

 

 

This is my 500 point combat patrol I intend to enter when my pod starts.

 

Sit back in a defensive position and kill the spawn first

 

Then ulrik can sing about tales of the deep while we charge out and kill the rest

 

Everything has S5 or more attacks available

 

 

 

 

++ Patrol Detachment 0CP (Imperium - Space Wolves) [28 PL, 3CP, 500pts] ++

 

+ Configuration [3CP] +

 

Battle Size [3CP]: 1. Combat Patrol (0-50 Total PL / 0-500 Points) [3CP]

 

Detachment CP

 

+ HQ [6 PL, 100pts] +

 

Ulrik The Slayer [6 PL, 100pts]: 2. Canticle of Hate, 5. Recitation of Focus, Crozius arcanum, Frag & Krak grenades, Plasma pistol, Tale of the Wolf King and the Lord of the Deeps

 

+ Troops [6 PL, 80pts] +

 

Blood Claws [6 PL, 80pts]

. 4x Blood Claw [60pts]: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Chainsword, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

. Blood Claw Pack Leader [20pts]: Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades, Power axe [5pts]

 

+ Elites [16 PL, 320pts] +

 

Judiciar [4 PL, 85pts]: Absolver Bolt Pistol, Executioner Relic Blade, Frag & Krak grenades, Saga of the Wolfkin, The Wulfen Stone, Warlord

 

Relic Whirlwind Scorpius [12 PL, 235pts]: Scorpius multi-launcher [40pts]

 

++ Total: [28 PL, 3CP, 500pts] ++

 

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

 

 

Or you can swap ulrik for a rune priest in phobos armor. Give him armor of russ...living lightning...fury of wolf spirits and have a different version that brings psyker death but loses priest buffs

 

Basically as a SW you should never fear the enemy charge. We have tools to shut down melee and kill them first (judiciar and armor of russ).

 

They have to spend CP to attack after dying if they want to hurt you.

 

The judiciar has S7 attacks so he can basically chop down anything you see in a combat patrol game.

 

You can always give him saga of the beastslayer for a buff too

 

A SW judiciar is one of the best in the game because we have relics and WL traits synergies

Thanks...that's a lot of good strategies for me to try out.

[Chazzmos]

I'll shoot you straight, right now those spawn are one of the most, if not the most, point efficient unit in the game. In a 500 point game, you are really up against it. 4 squads of those things will be unbelievably hard to shift.

 

My first recommendation, if it's a casual game, is talk about taking some balanced lists so you both have fun as you're learning the edition. Maybe 2 squads to start with?

 

If you do want to beat the snotty scum, then you really need high damage weapons. Thunder hammers are your number one winner, so a squad of 5 wulfen is your first bet, followed by characters with a thunder hammer, or probably a master crafted Power fist. A Wolf Priest with a master crafted Power fist and the mantra of rage going should punch a few holes in them

[Jorin Helm-splitter]

Looking at your lists I think the main issue is a lack of multi-damage weapons. Death Guard are really good at shrugging off 1D wounds. It's hard to fit more than 1 ranged unit in combat patrol so something like the whirlwind scorpious that TiguriousX is planning to use is ideal because it is good against a wide range of targets. Its sounds like you have a decent selection of firstborn so maybe some long fangs with missile launchers?

[clanfield]

or go with speed death guard are slow out manuver him grab the objectives at the end

 

also "blood claws" fly paper him a bit shoot the rest