Boys in black - death co discussion

[greatcrusade08]

Hi guys

im quite liking the idea of running an all death company army. In fact its a good way to repurpose all those reivers ill never use.

I guess other than to take non DC units and paint them black with red crosses, it limits us to being very close range.

Assuming 2k, how would you build a DC army? and would you use lost brethren or not?

Would you limit yourself to only DC units or not?

[DemonGSides]

I wouldn't use lost brethren as I feel like it's mostly meh.  You also don't need the battle line addition to still fill out 2k points with DC and DC adjacent units.

 

Here's my "Herding cats" list, only missing 10 DC to actually run it;

 

Herding Cats (2000 points)

 

Space Marines

Blood Angels

Strike Force (2000 points)

Liberator Assault Group

 

 

CHARACTERS

 

Astorath (95 points)

  • Warlord

  • 1x The Executioner’s Axe

 

Chaplain (60 points)

  • 1x Absolvor bolt pistol

    1x Crozius arcanum

 

Chaplain (60 points)

  • 1x Absolvor bolt pistol

    1x Crozius arcanum

 

Chaplain with Jump Pack (75 points)

  • 1x Bolt pistol

    1x Crozius arcanum

 

Lemartes (100 points)

  • 1x Absolvor bolt pistol

    1x The Blood Crozius

 

 

BATTLELINE

 

Intercessor Squad (80 points)

  • 1x Intercessor Sergeant

    • 1x Bolt pistol

      1x Bolt rifle

      1x Close combat weapon

  • 4x Intercessor

    • 4x Bolt pistol

      4x Bolt rifle

      4x Close combat weapon

 

 

OTHER DATASHEETS

 

Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs (90 points)

  • 1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant with Jump Pack

    • 1x Plasma pistol

      1x Power fist

  • 4x Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs

    • 4x Astartes chainsword

      3x Heavy bolt pistol

      1x Plasma pistol

 

Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs (90 points)

  • 1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant with Jump Pack

    • 1x Plasma pistol

      1x Power fist

  • 4x Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs

    • 4x Astartes chainsword

      3x Heavy bolt pistol

      1x Plasma pistol

 

Death Company Dreadnought (160 points)

  • 1x Blood talons

    1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber

    1x Twin multi-melta

 

Death Company Dreadnought (160 points)

  • 1x Blood talons

    1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber

    1x Twin multi-melta

 

Death Company Marines (160 points)

  • 10x Death Company Marine

    • 7x Astartes chainsword

      2x Eviscerator

      9x Heavy bolt pistol

      1x Inferno pistol

      1x Power fist

 

Death Company Marines with Jump Packs (230 points)

  • 10x Death Company Marine with Jump Packs

    • 5x Astartes chainsword

      2x Eviscerator

      6x Heavy bolt pistol

      2x Inferno pistol

      2x Plasma pistol

      3x Power fist

 

Death Company Marines with Jump Packs (230 points)

  • 10x Death Company Marine with Jump Packs

    • 5x Astartes chainsword

      2x Eviscerator

      6x Heavy bolt pistol

      2x Inferno pistol

      2x Plasma pistol

      3x Power fist

 

Death Company Marines with Jump Packs (230 points)

  • 10x Death Company Marine with Jump Packs

    • 5x Astartes chainsword

      2x Eviscerator

      6x Heavy bolt pistol

      2x Inferno pistol

      2x Plasma pistol

      3x Power fist

 

Repulsor (180 points)

  • 1x Armoured hull

    1x Heavy onslaught gatling cannon

    1x Hunter-slayer missile

    1x Repulsor defensive array

    1x Twin heavy bolter

 

Exported with App Version: v1.40.1 (94), Data Version: v675

 

 

Probably would switch the Intercessors with Bladrguard at this point. Them with a Chaplain is nice.

 

Not a competitive list but it will smash face. 

[greatcrusade08]

looks tasty, what would you use instead of lost brethren? LAG?

DC do lack long range fire support, but has alot of speed, which helps for taking objectives too. Might have to actually table a list and see what happens.

[Karhedron]

1 hour ago, greatcrusade08 said:

looks tasty, what would you use instead of lost brethren? LAG?

 

Yes, I think LAG is a really good Detachment and it synergises well with DC units. LAG also has tools to mitigate the lack of anti-tank firepower if you wish to run a pure DC army. Red Rampage means your charging units will be wounding most targets on a 4+ and will have Lethal Hits. That will shred anything less than T12 (which now means most Knights too).

[Rhavien]

I feel like LAG represents the death company's frenzy far better than lost brethren. Why would they care if their teammates get taken down?There are also plenty of DC units and chaplains to fill out 2k without making the doors loggers battle line. You could also throw in some ranged anti tank. Guess noone would beat an eye if you take a predator, ballistus etc alongside. 

[DemonGSides]

5 hours ago, greatcrusade08 said:

looks tasty, what would you use instead of lost brethren? LAG?

DC do lack long range fire support, but has alot of speed, which helps for taking objectives too. Might have to actually table a list and see what happens.

Yeah I think LAG makes sense; not enough leading to make AI make sense, and all of our other Detatchments are just meh if not outright bad, and I would feel dirty playing a regular Space Marine detatchment when my theming is so heavily BA specific.

 

Long range for this force is launching post-human missiles at the enemy and forcing them to deal with it.  Just waves of schizophrenic nutjobs slamming into them as often as humanly possible while their slightly slower brothers run to keep up and hold the positions they had.  Switch the Repulsor for whatever other Las equipped unit you have to take down something nasty hopefully early, but probably just be a target for their stuff so your psychopaths can close the gap.

[Ash]

LAG all the way, lately  i've run

10XDC with Lemartes,

5xDC with Death Company Captain, 

5xDC with Death Company Captain

6x SG with Dante

5 Sternguard with BA captain and RFW

Mephiston 

 

Thats the core of the list no shooting units only 1 Impulsor in it for transport

Using so many DC frees up your OOM for the Sternguard Captain and Mephiston  and I believe you need to include them in any melee focused list.

You'll need cheaper units to put down on objectives and force opponents to get close and set up charges, you need non DC for that.  Outriders, JAI, AI, Scouts etc.  If DC aren't lead they are useless and lead DC are not a trading unit. 

 

Took down an Imperial Knights shooty list and an all foot Black Templars list I'm really happy with that. I guess you could easily changeout SG and Dante for Astorath and more DC. I'd still include that Sternguard RFW Cpt even in a Death Company themed list.  Because with LAG OOM and RFW + Sternguard rules you've got the baddest captain in the imperium.  He one shots knights or damn near it and  throws Helbricht over his shoulder like an empty beer can on the way to the real party.    Mephiston was Death Company so he's in.  

Remember even a chain sword in our LAG detachment can wound a T11 knight on a roll of 4 if using a strat or not at all if a chaplain is there. Liking that  the DC captain gives sustained 1 and has a devastating effect on death every single time, but the plus 1 to wound running a chaplain is a free strat of even higher value every charge. 

 

 

Edited September 9 by Ash
Adding stabby goodness fact

[greatcrusade08]

yeah ive been on the fence about mephy, 120 points is a lot though and whilst he is a beatstick, im not sure what else he brings to the list.

 

so what im potentially looking at is

Astorath

Lemartes

Chaplain - gift of foresight (with 10 x death co in repulsor)

Chaplain

Chaplain

 

10 death co

-power fist/plasma pistol

-power fist

- 2 eviscerator

 

5 death co

-power fist/plasma pistol

-eviscerator

 

5 death co

-power fist/plasma pistol

-eviscerator

 

10 death co

-power fist/bolt rifle

-2 eviscerator

 

10 death co

-power fist/bolt rifle

-2 eviscerator

 

10 death co with jump packs

-3 power fist/plasma pistol

-2 eviscerator

 

10 death co with jump packs

-3 power fist/plasma pistol

-2 eviscerator

 

Death co dread

-blood talons

-twin melta

 

Death co dread

-blood talons

-twin melta

 

Repulsor

-Twin las

-las talon

[DemonGSides]

He's a melee monster and also does actions well being a lone operative. A bit pricey but he is truly a blender. 

[Ash]

4 hours ago, DemonGSides said:

He's a melee monster and also does actions well being a lone operative. A bit pricey but he is truly a blender. 

I use Mephiston as a scoring unit mostly. He seems to scare opponents more than he should. He usually lurks in the impulsor with the Sternguard giving them a fight first defence.  Otherwise he's fast and a serious threat to light infantry MSU scoring units.  Once there he's lone op and virtually untouchable unless they dedicate a melee unit to dig him out.   Thats his real roll, scoring objectives and bullying MSU.  No idea how your DC Dreads will go but full credit for running them keep us informed    

[DemonGSides]

19 hours ago, Ash said:

I use Mephiston as a scoring unit mostly. He seems to scare opponents more than he should. He usually lurks in the impulsor with the Sternguard giving them a fight first defence.  Otherwise he's fast and a serious threat to light infantry MSU scoring units.  Once there he's lone op and virtually untouchable unless they dedicate a melee unit to dig him out.   Thats his real roll, scoring objectives and bullying MSU.  No idea how your DC Dreads will go but full credit for running them keep us informed    

 

Probably terribly, if my expectations hold.  I don't think they're good, they're mostly overpriced, but they're thematically fun and they definitely feel more imposing than the old DC dread.

 

Mephiston can just solo clear basically anything else in the infantry bracket, and that's why I like him.  He has solid movement and as mentioned, great at doing Game Actions.  A bit pricey for a "game piece" but he also looks cool as :cuss: and is definitely our coolest looking model by a long shot.

[greatcrusade08]

Armour has a weird impact on the game imo. Most balanced armies will have a mixed amount of anti tank and anti infantry shooting. Thats why i like left field armies to an extent. All tank or all infantry armies reduce the effectiveness of a portion of their armies.

With only a couple of dreads and a repulsor im not expecting them to last long, but as long as the repulsor gets to do its job, its all gravy (and a couple extra meltas is always nice)

 

i suppose the alternative is just to focus on angry infantry to do all the heavy lifting.

 

[Karhedron]

1 hour ago, greatcrusade08 said:

I suppose the alternative is just to focus on angry infantry to do all the heavy lifting.

 

Yes, BAs are one of the few lists that can reliably do anti-tank with melee infantry. The combination of Red Thirst and +1 to Wound (either from Chaplains or Red Rampage) means they can wound up to T11 on a 4+ (which crucially includes big Knights now). BGVs, VanVets and SangGuard can wound even T12-13 on a 4+ on the charge.