This final part of my Deathwatch review will take a look at the formations available in the new codex. Most of these formations are based on different Kill Teams available to the Deathwatch squads.
Kill Teams
The majority of the formations available to the Deathwatch are in the form of Kill Teams, made up of combined units from the codex.
All Kill Teams are fixed at a maximum of 10 models in the unit, excluding transport vehicles. Each member of the Kill Team forms a single unit that can't be combat squaded and cannot be broken up as the game proceeds.
Aquila Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and one or more of the following:
Librarian
Termintors
Vanguard Veterans
Bikes
This kill team gets the Aquila Doctrine, re-rolling to Wound and AP rolls of 1. This is a decent generic kill team that gets a bonus on its wound rolls. Adding a Terminator will limit the transport options of the kill team and adding a bike will limit the mobility of the bike.
Furor Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans (one must have a Frag Cannon or Infernus Heavy Bolter) and unit of Terminators, along with any number of the following:
Librarian
Vanguard Veterans
Bikers
This kill team gets the Furor Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against Troops. Full re-rolls to wound for this unit are great and you will definitely want to target troops for maximum effect. You will probably want to arm the Terminator with an assault cannon and/or cyclone missile launcher for maximum effect. The compulsory Terminator squad will stop you taking a Rhino or Razorback to get them round, but this unit would be well suited for a drop pod strike on a troops unit holding an objective.
Venator Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and unit of Bikers (must include at least 2), and any number of the following:
Librarian
Terminators
Vanguard Veterans
This kill team gets the Venator Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against fast attack. I'm not wild about having to attach a unit of bikes to infantry as it will seriously hinder the mobility of the bikers. Split fire is nice, allowing you to take a Heavy Weapon and target one enemy unit while you bolters target another. This unit is designed to go after Fast Attack units, but you may struggle to catch most of them unless you put the unit in a Corvus Blackstar, as it cannot take any other transport vehicle.
Dominatus Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and a unit of Vanguard Veterans (must include at least 2), and any number of the following:
Librarian
Terminators
Bikers
This kill team gets the Dominatus Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against Elites.
Unlike regular Vanguard Veterans, Deathwatch Vanguard come with Jump Packs as standard (they are listed as jump infantry, despite not having jump packs in their wargear). This again limits their transport options in this kill team. This kill team does get to re-roll failed charges and ignores disorded charges thanks to the Vanguard Veterans. I would be inclined to arm this unit for assault and go after enemy elites.
Malleus Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and a unit of Terminators, and any number of the following:
Librarian
Vanguard Veterans
Bikers
Two models must be armed with Thunder Hammers or Heavy Thunder Hammers. This kill team gets the Malleus Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against Heavy Support. This kill team seems very well suited for taking on enemy tanks and monstrous creatures that are heavy support choices. Again, the terminators limits mobility options for the unit, requiring a drop pod to close with enemy tanks quickly.
Purgatus Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans, a Librarian, a unit of Terminators, and any number of the following:
Librarian
Vanguard Veterans
Bikers
This kill team gets the Purgatus Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against HQ units. The Librarian in this kill team might be better suited with Witchfire powers to take on enemy HQ characters to try and kill them.
Overall, I am not wild about the Kill Teams. Mixing units of infantry, terminators, bikes and jump infantry is a bit odd to me as you are inhibiting the mobility and transport options of all the units involved. I don't think that any of the bonuses are worth the loss of Objective Secured on the Veterans or the loss of mobility for the Bike or Jump infantry units.
One bonus of the Kill Teams is that it gives you an easy way to field lots of Librarians if you want. This is not as useful as the Librarius Conclave as you get no power sharing or casting bonuses, but it is one way to get a lot of power dice for your army.
Strategium Command Team
This formation consists of:
One Watch Captain, Librarian or Chaplain
One unit of Veterans or one of the Kill Teams.
The formation special rules give you:
Fight to the Last Breath- If led by the Captain, all non-vehicle models get 6+ Feel No Pain while he is alive.
Suffer not the Alien to Live- If led by a Chaplain, all non-vehicle units get Furious Charge as long as he is alive.
Pure of Spirit, Strong of Soul- If led by a Librarian, all non-vehicle units get Stubborn and Adamantium Will while he is alive.
Some nice bonuses depending on which leader you take for the formation. I like the Librarian one, he will be able to block powers against the unit on a 4+ and Stubborn is very useful for the morale of the unit. The Captain bonus is nice, if it was a 5+ FNP, it would be a very strong choice!
Watch Company
This formation consists of a Watch Captain and four units of veterans or any of the kill teams.
The Watch Company gains the Decapitation Doctrine, giving them re-rolls to wound and AP rolls against enemy units containing the Warlord, a Psyker or independent characters.
This is a nice bonus when added to the individual Doctrine bonuses of the kill teams and should provide you with a good number of re-rolls against a variety of enemy units.
Corvus Dropship Wing
This formation consists of 3 Corvus Blackstars.
The formation gains the Burning Skies Doctrine, giving them re-rolls to wound and armour penetration against enemy flyers or flying monstrous creatures. This should help you obliterate any enemy flyers with your three flyers.
Black Spear Strike Force
This is the Decurion-type formation available for the Deathwatch. It consists of 1+ core and 1+ auxiliary formations and 1-3 Command Formations.
The Core formations consist of a unit of Veterans, any of the kill teams, the Watch Company, or the Strategium Command Team. The auxiliary formations are a Corvus Blackstar, Dreadnought (including Venerable) or Land Raider. The Command consists of any of the HQ units or a Dreadnought (including Venerable).
The Command Benefits for the formation allow you to re-roll your warlord trait on the Deathwatch table, allows you to change your Mission Tactics and allows all non-vehicle units to Deep Strike.
This formation my be the cheapest Decurion available in 40k. You could take this with a single unit of Veterans and a Dreadnought. This Strike Force allows you to build your army exactly how you want and there are no real "tax units" in the formation. If only it had objective secured, this would be a must take for the Deathwatch.
Overall
The formations for the Deathwatch give some nice thematic ways to run your army and some decent bonuses for each formation. There are none that I see as must have and I would probably not bother with most of them.
Deathwatch Codex Review
Kill Teams
The majority of the formations available to the Deathwatch are in the form of Kill Teams, made up of combined units from the codex.
All Kill Teams are fixed at a maximum of 10 models in the unit, excluding transport vehicles. Each member of the Kill Team forms a single unit that can't be combat squaded and cannot be broken up as the game proceeds.
Aquila Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and one or more of the following:
Librarian
Termintors
Vanguard Veterans
Bikes
This kill team gets the Aquila Doctrine, re-rolling to Wound and AP rolls of 1. This is a decent generic kill team that gets a bonus on its wound rolls. Adding a Terminator will limit the transport options of the kill team and adding a bike will limit the mobility of the bike.
Furor Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans (one must have a Frag Cannon or Infernus Heavy Bolter) and unit of Terminators, along with any number of the following:
Librarian
Vanguard Veterans
Bikers
This kill team gets the Furor Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against Troops. Full re-rolls to wound for this unit are great and you will definitely want to target troops for maximum effect. You will probably want to arm the Terminator with an assault cannon and/or cyclone missile launcher for maximum effect. The compulsory Terminator squad will stop you taking a Rhino or Razorback to get them round, but this unit would be well suited for a drop pod strike on a troops unit holding an objective.
Venator Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and unit of Bikers (must include at least 2), and any number of the following:
Librarian
Terminators
Vanguard Veterans
This kill team gets the Venator Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against fast attack. I'm not wild about having to attach a unit of bikes to infantry as it will seriously hinder the mobility of the bikers. Split fire is nice, allowing you to take a Heavy Weapon and target one enemy unit while you bolters target another. This unit is designed to go after Fast Attack units, but you may struggle to catch most of them unless you put the unit in a Corvus Blackstar, as it cannot take any other transport vehicle.
Dominatus Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and a unit of Vanguard Veterans (must include at least 2), and any number of the following:
Librarian
Terminators
Bikers
This kill team gets the Dominatus Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against Elites.
Unlike regular Vanguard Veterans, Deathwatch Vanguard come with Jump Packs as standard (they are listed as jump infantry, despite not having jump packs in their wargear). This again limits their transport options in this kill team. This kill team does get to re-roll failed charges and ignores disorded charges thanks to the Vanguard Veterans. I would be inclined to arm this unit for assault and go after enemy elites.
Malleus Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans and a unit of Terminators, and any number of the following:
Librarian
Vanguard Veterans
Bikers
Two models must be armed with Thunder Hammers or Heavy Thunder Hammers. This kill team gets the Malleus Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against Heavy Support. This kill team seems very well suited for taking on enemy tanks and monstrous creatures that are heavy support choices. Again, the terminators limits mobility options for the unit, requiring a drop pod to close with enemy tanks quickly.
Purgatus Kill Team
This consists of a unit of Veterans, a Librarian, a unit of Terminators, and any number of the following:
Librarian
Vanguard Veterans
Bikers
This kill team gets the Purgatus Doctrine, allowing it to re-roll all failed to Wound and AP rolls against HQ units. The Librarian in this kill team might be better suited with Witchfire powers to take on enemy HQ characters to try and kill them.
Overall, I am not wild about the Kill Teams. Mixing units of infantry, terminators, bikes and jump infantry is a bit odd to me as you are inhibiting the mobility and transport options of all the units involved. I don't think that any of the bonuses are worth the loss of Objective Secured on the Veterans or the loss of mobility for the Bike or Jump infantry units.
One bonus of the Kill Teams is that it gives you an easy way to field lots of Librarians if you want. This is not as useful as the Librarius Conclave as you get no power sharing or casting bonuses, but it is one way to get a lot of power dice for your army.
Strategium Command Team
This formation consists of:
One Watch Captain, Librarian or Chaplain
One unit of Veterans or one of the Kill Teams.
The formation special rules give you:
Fight to the Last Breath- If led by the Captain, all non-vehicle models get 6+ Feel No Pain while he is alive.
Suffer not the Alien to Live- If led by a Chaplain, all non-vehicle units get Furious Charge as long as he is alive.
Pure of Spirit, Strong of Soul- If led by a Librarian, all non-vehicle units get Stubborn and Adamantium Will while he is alive.
Some nice bonuses depending on which leader you take for the formation. I like the Librarian one, he will be able to block powers against the unit on a 4+ and Stubborn is very useful for the morale of the unit. The Captain bonus is nice, if it was a 5+ FNP, it would be a very strong choice!
Watch Company
This formation consists of a Watch Captain and four units of veterans or any of the kill teams.
The Watch Company gains the Decapitation Doctrine, giving them re-rolls to wound and AP rolls against enemy units containing the Warlord, a Psyker or independent characters.
This is a nice bonus when added to the individual Doctrine bonuses of the kill teams and should provide you with a good number of re-rolls against a variety of enemy units.
Corvus Dropship Wing
This formation consists of 3 Corvus Blackstars.
The formation gains the Burning Skies Doctrine, giving them re-rolls to wound and armour penetration against enemy flyers or flying monstrous creatures. This should help you obliterate any enemy flyers with your three flyers.
Black Spear Strike Force
This is the Decurion-type formation available for the Deathwatch. It consists of 1+ core and 1+ auxiliary formations and 1-3 Command Formations.
The Core formations consist of a unit of Veterans, any of the kill teams, the Watch Company, or the Strategium Command Team. The auxiliary formations are a Corvus Blackstar, Dreadnought (including Venerable) or Land Raider. The Command consists of any of the HQ units or a Dreadnought (including Venerable).
The Command Benefits for the formation allow you to re-roll your warlord trait on the Deathwatch table, allows you to change your Mission Tactics and allows all non-vehicle units to Deep Strike.
This formation my be the cheapest Decurion available in 40k. You could take this with a single unit of Veterans and a Dreadnought. This Strike Force allows you to build your army exactly how you want and there are no real "tax units" in the formation. If only it had objective secured, this would be a must take for the Deathwatch.
Overall
The formations for the Deathwatch give some nice thematic ways to run your army and some decent bonuses for each formation. There are none that I see as must have and I would probably not bother with most of them.
Deathwatch Codex Review
I can see a use for the killteams... if you mix in bikes/jump infantry, you mix in their special rules too, at least on any that say "if at least one model in the squad has this special rule" So you could drop a bunch of frag launchers down and shoot at a horde unit with up to 8 str 6 rending templates, while your terminator buddy with the fist mounted meltagun tries to pop the transport on the other side (instructed by the bike) You would then be able to charge the guys that fell out of the transport (if you killed it) and any survivors of the frag onslaught without suffering the penalty for a disordered charge (by including a vanguard vet) Of course, this does run this squad cost up quite high, but for sheer awesomeness it'd be difficult to match...
ReplyDeleteDon't think of adding in the Vanguard/Bikers as slowing down the faster Unit. Think of a Biker as spending 8 Points to make one of your Veterans T5, Twin-Link his Bolter, and give the Unit Split Fire. If you give him a Power Weapon, it's actually 2 Points cheaper than if you just gave a regular Veteran a Power Weapon.
ReplyDeleteSimilar story with the Vanguard Vet. 3 Points and trading a Bolter for a Bolt Pistol in order to get re-rolls on Charges and no penalty for Disordered Charges. And again, super cheap special CCWs. If you were planning on taking one of them in a Squad, it's cheaper to just add a Vanguard Vet with one instead.
The real key, tho, is how they come together in the BlackSpear. One of the big disadvantages to the Kill Teams is how they limit your Mobility, but with the BlackSpear giving them all Deep Strike, and the Bikers' Teleport Homers (and possibly also the Beacon Angelis) working for those Units, it helps a great deal with that, especially if accompanied by a "first wave" of a couple of Drop Pods with Locator Beacons.
The other reason that the Furor Kill Team in particular caught my eye is Battle Companies. They often get packed tightly enough together that a Template can hit 2-3 Rhinos/Razorbacks. When the Templates in question are 4 Frag Cannon coming out of a Drop Pod, with re-rolls to Penetrate, you're looking at very good odds of ripping open multiple Transports per Turn. They'll absolutely shred ScatBikes, too.
Some good thoughts and points there. I guess Kill Teams are one of these things I will need to play around with and see their usefulness in game.
DeleteWell, with this release my BaC boxset has finally found a use. I guess I will have to find some jump packs fir my vanguards and bodge together some infernus heavy bolters and drag cannons.
ReplyDeleteIs there a standard force organisation chart for the deathwatch or is it only formations?
ReplyDeleteYou can always use the standard Combined Arms Detachment if you don't want to use the formations.
DeleteOk thanks so with kill teams such as veterans and bikers once they are in the field do you have to keep them together as a kill team or can you use as two units? I think they should of used the standard foc for them like the same as blood angels
ReplyDeleteYou must keep the unit together as a Kill Team, so you cannot split off the Vanguard Veterans or Bikers. To me, this limits the mobility of the kill teams a bit, but you do benefit from some of the additional special rules that the Vanguard or Bikers get, such as Split Fire.
Delete