What Makes the new Deathwatch Work

Deathwatch was released just prior to Imperial Knights then seem to have been forgotten. Several prominent competitive players stated prior to that they thought Deathwatch is solid and can go the distance shortly after their official release. So since then they have slipped back into anonymity and honestly you never seem to really hear anything about them anymore. Is Deathwatch truly competitive now that the dust has finally settled? My answer is yes they are but they require tactical play and need an ally to shore up their weaknesses. I would even go so far to say Deathwatch is currently the best all around Space Marine army right now. Personally I have no plans to play Knights with my army because I like to avoid crutch units, which is what they are in my mind.

If you watch video Battle Reports you might come away with the feeling Knights are nigh unbeatable and the games I’ve seen that featured the newly released Deathwatch just can’t seem to win. The thing is it doesn’t have to be that way. Consider that Deathwatch has some solid core units, great stratagems and some fantastic wargear. So how to put it altogether is the question.


-Veterans and Primaris Space Marines-
These two units are your core troops (objsec) and they are both quite solid. Veterans have access to some unique special weapons such as the frag cannon and a lot of really good options. Their bolt weapons have Special Issue Ammo (SIA) which offers a plethora of versatility - Vets can quickly bolter down a lot of of tough enemy units. Think of Vets as Sternguard on crack due to the various types of superior SIA rounds plus other options such as spamming chainswords for those sweet sweet extra attacks. For example Hellfire rounds automatically wound on 2+ and depending on what slot the target enemy units comes from the Vets are rerolling 1s to wound... that’s really really good. Stick them beside a Watchmaster and they are rerolling misses too. There are means to change the chosen enemy slot such as using a stratagem - for example you can first focus fire on enemy troops to sweep aside chaff then later switch to enemy elites. My current build is four veterans with stormbolters and chainswords, Watch Sergeant with a power axe and stormbolter plus another veteran with either a frag cannon or Infernus Heavy Bolter. One of the Vets replaces his chainsword for a stormshield for some much needed resilience. There are many good builds though, this is just one example. Add a Black Shield and the killteam CSM suddenly heroically intervene.

Primaris killteams have the option to mix various models from different units and gain extra abilities. Primaris killteams also have access to SIA... Bolt rifles at AP2 for example. My current build is a five man Intercessor squad which is mandatory and attach two plasma Inceptors. There’s some good strong synergy here for sure. Plasma is always a good thing which shores up one of the major drawbacks to fielding Intercessors.


-HQ-
The Watchmaster is must take and functions similar to a Chapter Master plus he sports a Guardian Spear (think Custodes). Watch Captains have access to some very powerful wargear, relics and Warlord traits for the super buffs. My favorite combination is jump pack, Thunderhammer, stormbolter, Castellan of the Black Vault (Warlord trait) which makes a weapon +1 damage plus inflict mortal wounds on rolls of 6 to wound, plus Bane bolts (relic) which also inflict mortal wounds and has access to SIA as well... this is ubër Captain Smashfucker. I think a Librarian is a solid third pick if you’ve got the points left over for psychic defense and Smite; I’d equip him with a jump pack as well for the mobility.


-Core-
So these units form your core for a battalion. Run this with another battalion such as Blood Angels and you’ve suddenly got 13 command points to start the game which is not shabby.


-Forgeworld-
I have to mention the Leviathan dreadnaught armed with two storm cannons and two heavy flamers... it can potentially delete an enemy unit per turn plus you can use a stratagem to place him in deep strike reserve to ward off enemy alpha strikes. You’ll need another heavy support - my go to unit is the quad launcher - it doesn’t need line of sight to target enemy units and is excellent for clearing out more chaff.


-Conclusion-
I’d like to write more articles on Deathwatch and would like to know what types of topics you’d like featured.

Part II. Cavalcade • A Fresh Look on Tactics & Strategy for 40k 5th Edition

Okay so in the first part of htis article I discussed elements of the game that I have seen others claim are a detriment to competitive play. This included composition, sportsmanship, & FAQs. These deal primarily with tournaments but can also apply to leagues as well. If you play at often at the same shop you will be affected by the atmosphere projected by others who play there. Often you will find discussion on the Internet that deals with certain types of gamers you will often encounter. The TFG (that f*cking guy) is always a subject of much discussion. The term TFG could apply to WAAC (win at all cost) gamers, cheaters and other types that people generally do not enjoy playing. TFG is somewhat of an archetype. We have all run across them. Often they are also referred to as cheesy or beardy. Rules lawyers also fall under the heading of TFG. Personally I think most of us progress through various players and at some point we will decide what direction we focus upon... Some players like the background of their armies and focus upon building armies that they believe represent this aspect. Others will decide to focus upon competitive play to the exclusion of other aspects. Of course background and competitive are just two poles, most gamers fall somewhere in between and there are also the hobbyists that focus upon modeling, conversions and painting. I am a competitive tournament gamer plus I am into building nice looking armies. I also like to build unique armies.

To me and my way of thinking if you want to be a competitive gamer that wins a lot then it's important not to get hung up on the issues I discussed in the first part of this series of articles. If you decide to play in a tournament then you have in effect agreed to abide by the terms and rules set forth by the TO (tournament organizer). If you don't like comp for instance then why waste your time participating in a tournament or league that uses comp? Good players can make due with these various aspects and do well. I prefer to play in tournaments because they are competitive. Anyone who plays in a tournament that does not like competitive play is bound to not have fun and will most likely not be fun to play against. Let's face it, this is a game so there will always be winners and losers. Losing is a great opportunity to learn and improve your game.

I tend to avoid tournaments that favor the local players. I play at a lot of different stores so I run across all kinds of gamers and tournament formats. The more you can play different people the more you can improve your game.

So one little rant then I will focus on the main emphasis of this series of articles. Sometimes you will run across a gamer who plays armies that are built around some subtle rule. I often find these gamers to be rules lawyers and they will bend some rule in order to win. While I don't enjoy this type of gamer playing against them can help you to improve your grasp of the rules. If you want to be a competitive gamer then you must learn all the rules of the game and know them inside and out, otherwise you will be in for some unpleasant surprises. That is why players who build entire armies around some subtle interpretation of a certain rule are people I don't enjoy playing. They are hoping to exploit the rule in such a manner to help them win. Seriously I think this type of gamer is in actuality not a true good general since they rely upon tricks to win.

G