New kill team: Aquilla

[Darwhine]

The datasheet and point cost for the new "Aquila" kill team unit have been released.

It's very similar to the Death Watch Veterans, with the following specific features:

- 1 to 2 mandatory Gravis, carrying heavy weapons (frag cannon/hellstorm).

These take up 2 transports slots and whose endurance of 6 can only be used for tanking when the same number of endurances remains (4, i.e. 2 models for a squad of 5, and 4 for a squad of 10).

The gravis will slow down the squad because they only have movement 5.

 

- Many new ranged weapon options (grenade launcher, weapons with lethal hit/precision, access to plasma incinerators, and many F5 weapons with damage of 2). Access to combat knives. - 2 hammers OR shields maximum per unit of 10 (1 per unit of 5).

 

- Upgrades to existing weapons (frag cannon, heavy bolter hit on 3+, powerswords gain sustained hit of 1, bolt pistols lethal hit).

 

- New "bug": no datasheet for the xenophase blade (mandatory on the sergeant by 10), the heavy bolter is PA-1, 2 damages, while it has gone PA-2 Damages 3 in the deathwatch datasheet.

 

It's a safe bet that the Death Watch Veteran datasheet is likely to be replaced by this new kill team (the Veterans are on the first-born scale and have just been removed from sale).

But for the moment, it hasn't become legendary and remains playable in tournaments alongside the new one.

 

https://assets.warhammer-community.com/eng_22-10_warhammer40000_faction_pack_imperial_agents-gkigsp72rt-on7uyt6opf.pdf

 

I just ran some stats, they're much better at shooting.

-A squad of 10 can take out 5 Marines, 7 with Artemis (8 with a Veiled Blade strata).

-In close combat, they're pretty defensive: 5 Marines, 8 with Artemis. Against tougher targets, it becomes less obvious: 4 HP on an IK with shooting, 4 on contact with hammers (3 with power swords).

With Artemis, however: 6 on shooting, 9 with power swords, 12 with hammers.

 

The problem is that 10+ characters no longer fit into a rhino; so you have to plan for rapid ingress or play them in defensive staging to bring them into close combat (unlike DW veterans).

Otherwise there remains the option on foot with watch master who can advance/shoot/charge and who will do on an IK 5hp when shooting, 9 in melee (which can go up to 11 in veiled blade with the reroll of 1 to the wound).

The dw veterans full melee (4 hammers, 4 power swords, 1 black shield, 1 xenophage blade +) + watch master, do 11 hp to an IK (14 with the reroll stratagem of 1 veiled blade).

Dw vet + artemis: 15 hp on an IK, 16 with the reroll strata of 1.

 

We are therefore on the same statistics if we combine the shooting phase and combat on the big endurance.

 

The Aquila will be MUCH more effective against infantry (barely 8 Marines killed with Veterans + Artemis in close combat).

But again: Veterans can level up by 10 with a character where the Aquila can't (unless you deliberately sacrifice a model during list creation to be able to include them).

 

To conclude on this first impression:

 

 I would say that the Aquila can be played alone without a character against infantry, with a good range (which is great because we lacked this kind of unit). It is better to stay on veteran dw + character if you want to go close, unless you plan a rapid ingress/destroy a model.

In terms of raw firepower, the breachers remain better (2 squads for 180 points take out 6), even against heavily armored infantry units (terminator type).

The Aquila only takes out 1 when shooting, while two squads of breachers take out 2 (if they are on an objective).

 

The Aquila is still interesting for staging fire, the breachers only having a range of 12 inches, they cannot look for a target too far away that would expose themselves.

In this sense, taking a squad of 10 aquila with draxus to have the lone op 18 can be very interesting, especially since many weapons are heavy and they could in theory move in the open and no longer move T1 to deny an area.

 

And you, what do you think of this new kill team?

Edited 4 hours ago by Darwhine