Space Marine Grotmas Ideas (?)

[L30n1d4s]

To date, during the recent weeks of Grotmas, Space Marine players have had the (very significant) Balance Dataslate updates, the new Librarius Conclave detachment, the new Lion's Blade Task Force detachment, and the updated Deathwatch Index. I know we are still waiting for Black Templar, Blood Angel, and Space Wolf specific detachments, but based on what we have gotten so far, what new rules are everyone most excited about / eager to try out on the tabletop as an Astartes player?


For me personally, I see lots of intriguing things, but I think I am most excited about the various possibilities opened up by the Deathwatch Index 2.0.



In particular, I am excited to try out the following ideas --



1) DW Kill Teams in a Firestorm Assault Force: 

** Talonstrike Kill Teams can be led by a Captain with Jump Pack (whose is a Tacticus model), meaning that he can take the "Champion of Humanity" enhancement. This means that the Dmg 2 Assault Bolt or Dmg3 Plasma Exterminators on the 5 Inceptors in this Kill-Team ignore all negative modifiers, including things like half-damage from Necron C'Tan or the Avatar of Khaine. Between that, rerolls to wound from Twin-Linked, and +1 to wound against Monsters/Vehicles from a supporting Stormspeeder Thunderstrike, this gives me a strong insurance policy against super durable enemy "centerpiece" units that otherwise are quite hard to deal with. Finally, if the unit is within 12" of its target, the Assault Bolters go up to S6 and the Plasma Exterminators go up to S9, both highly relevant break points against a variety of targets.


** A Gravis Captain (with the "War-Tempered Artifice" enhancement) leading an Indomitor Kill Team gets S13 on his attacks on the charge (plus, I can use the Crucible of Battle strat to give the Captain and his whole unit, which includes 9 x S10 AP-2 Dmg2 Twin-Linked PF attacks, +1 to wound in melee). The Captain can also reduce Immolation Protocols to 1 CP, giving the option to affordably turn the 3 + 3D6 twin-linked Flamestorm Gauntlet attacks into Devastating Wounds, reliably putting out about 4-5 MWs when you need them.


** Deathwatch Veterans in a Rhino can do a lot with the Burning Vengeance, Onslaught of Fire, and Rapid Embarkation strats, both in terms of maximizing their mobility/survivability and getting the most out of their shooting at close range before charging in with maximum Heavy Thunder Hammer carnage. Also, if they are led by a Lieutenant with the "Forged in Battle" enhancement, they can flip a failed Heavy Thunder Hammer attack to a Lethal Hit every turn and have the option to Fall Back and Shoot/Charge whenever necessary, making them even more dangerous.




2) DW Kill-Teams in a Anvil Siege Force --

** Indomitor Kill Teams with max Heavy Bolt Rifles, Heavy Bolters, and Melta Rifles/Multi-Meltas get a lot out of the Anvil Siege Force rules. Not only do they get +1 to Hit/+1 to Wound if they stand still (and they generally have the range to do so), but they get +2S for shooting at the nearest target and can benefit tremendously by being led by an Apothecary Biologist with the "Architect of War" enhancement for Ignores Cover. Additionally, if they can hold still, you can use the Battle Drill recall to give them Lethal Hits (from the Apothecary Biologist) and Sustained Hits on 5+s (both from the strat). Combine with the +1 to hit/+1 to wound from the Detachment rule and you can threaten enemy infantry and vehicles/monsters alike, all while holding down a key Objective from range (and if the opponent shoots them and kills at least one model, you can use the Hail of Vengeance strat to get a free shooting phase back at them).


** Spectrus Kill Teams can, surprisingly I think, benefit a lot from the Anvil Siege Force. First, by infiltrating/scouting up, they can easily get in position to use their DW Marksman Bolt Carbines and Las Fusils (both of which have "Heavy") without moving, meaning they get +1 to Hit/+1 to Wound, which goes quite well with their S5 AP-1 Dmg1 (Lethal Hits) and S9 AP-3 Dmg D6 profiles. They also can use Rigid Discipline to escape combat, Battle Drill Recall to get Sustained Hits (1)/Lethal Hits on 5+s, and if you are in a pinch, No Threat too Great to really amp up their damage vs vehicles/monsters. Leading them with a Phobos Librarian gives them stealth, "unit-style Lone Operative," and some solid additional shooting/close combat, all of which can help them survive and "uppy-downy" if you need to get them somewhere else on table.


** DW Terminators with 3 x PF/SB/CMLs and 2 x TH/SS, led by a TDA Librarian with the "Stoic Defender" enhancement, also can use Anvil Siege Force rules quite well, I think. If they stand still, then their CMLs hit on 2+s with Sustained Hits (1) and, if they are on an Objective, they get FNP (6+), making them even harder to kill off at range. They can hold their own in melee and, with great usage of Amour of Contempt and Rigid Discipline (plus their own inherent re-rolls to Charges), dictate when and how they fight, especially when holding a key Objective.

Edited December 17, 2024 by L30n1d4s

[HeadlessCross]

Firestorm might be fun for Deathwatch, but I think going their regular ol' detachment or the Librarius will be most effective. Start with a core of 2 minimum Terminators, 2 Spectrus Kill Teams, and a Sternguard squad with their respective Librarians. Then maybe add one regular Deathwatch Vets with Artemis or the Watch Master, and after a couple enhancements you got 350ish points to play with. 

[L30n1d4s]

Great ideas there, and agree, that's a strong place to start a DW list from!

[HeadlessCross]

12 hours ago, L30n1d4s said:

2) DW Kill-Teams in a Anvil Siege Force --
 

Going Deathwatch unfortunately doesn't solve the innate problems of Anvil, which is that Marines don't have enough indirect fire to take advantage of being able to stand still. 

[redmapa]

The Librarian detachment looks really fun, if I had any witches I would probably run a 1st company list with that, just Terminator bricks and Sternguard and Reivers all with Witches buffing each unit or Deathwatch kill teams with Librarian support, it's such a modular detachment that you can just tailor your army to do certain things and the buffs seem enough to make even mediocre units into at least interesting pieces that you can work. So yeah, DW+Coven of witches, heretical but sounds so fun.