Deathwatch Codex- What I'd Like to See

Games Workshop recently announced that the Deathwatch codex will be coming this year. This was quite a surprise, as I expected this to be one of the last to come out, being a relatively new Faction in the game. I was very happy about this, as the Deathwatch are one of my favourite armies. I love the look of the army, as well as the background for the force. 

It helps that my Deathwatch are one of the armies that I have painted to a higher standard than my others, so any excuse to field it or take it to tournaments is something that I would jump at. 

I've made no secret of the fact that my Deathwatch are struggling in 8th edition. They are very expensive Marines that lack a lot of durability. They can hit hard in shooting and combat in the early turns, but really suffer in the long game. 

With the new codex coming out, here are some of my thoughts on what I would like to see in the book and how the Deathwatch could potentially improve. 

Deathwatch Veterans

The basic Deathwatch Veteran is a little overpriced for what he can bring to the table. At 19 pts per model, he is just a Veteran Marine with some Special Issue Ammunition. This discrepancy got even worse with the release of Chapter Approved, where Primaris Intercessors went down to 18 points per model. 

Comparing the Deathwatch Veteran and Primaris Marine is not too favourable. The Primaris Marine costs 1 point less, but gets an extra wound and attack on their profile. The Deathwatch Veteran does get special issue ammunition, but the Primaris Marine does get a decent basic weapon that pretty much matches one of the special issue bolts.

The initial fix would be to lower the points cost of the Deathwatch Veterans. However, I'm sort of in agreement with Nick over at the Burning Eye. He mentioned a while back that the Deathwatch should remain an elite force. Lowering the points would go against this, allowing you to field more models in the army.

Therefore, I think it would be nice to increase the number of wounds each model has to 2. This would take them into line with Primaris Marines and make their price comparable. Alternatively, some form of feel no pain save for the army would be a nice boost if they wanted to keep them at one wound each.

GFTW Tournament- White Scars Army Review

I recently attended the Greetings From the Warp 40k tournament with a new style of White Scars army than I am used to playing. This new army focuses on massed infantry and board control in the force, and lots of Jump Pack units to take advantage of the White Scars Chapter Tactics. 

As is customary after a tournament, I'll take a look through the army to see what worked and what didn't in my games, and how I could modify the army to make it a bit more successful in the future. 

My army consisted of:

Brigade Detachment

Captain on Bike- Thunder Hammer, The Shield Eternal, Twin Boltgun, Iron Resolve Warlord Trait

Captain with Jump Pack- Lightning Claw, Combi-Melta 

Librarian with Jump Pack- Force Stave, Boltgun, Null Zone, Psychic Fortress 

Lieutenant with Jump Pack- Power Axe, Master-Crafted Boltgun, Bolt Pistol

5 Scouts- Boltguns 

5 Scouts- Boltguns, Sergeant has Bolt Pistol and Combat Knife
5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols and Combat Knives 

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter 

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter 

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Missile Launcher 

Company Ancient- Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, Chainsword 

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 5 Pairs of Lightning Claws 

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 2 Chainswords each

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Plasma Pistol 

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Fist and Meltabombs 

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Sword 

6 Scout Bikers- Twin Boltguns, Astartes Shotguns, Combat Knives 

Thunderfire Cannon. Techmarine Gunner with 2 Servo-arms, Plasma Cutter, Flamer, Bolt Pistol 

5 Devastator Marines- 2 Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannon, Bolters 

5 Devastator Marines- 3 Missile Launchers, Bolters

I'm going to take a look at each unit and see how they performed.

Captain on Bike
The Captain was armed with a Thunder Hammer and the Shield Eternal. He was a solid combat character, able to put out a lot of damage in the fight phase. His Bike allows him to get into combat very quickly, especially when combined with the Born in the Saddle Stratagem.

He is fairly durable, with 7 wounds, a 3+ invulnerable save and halving the damage thanks to the Shield Eternal. He was able to take on entire mobs of Orks and some tough combat characters in my games.

The extra wound from the Iron Resolve warlord trait was nice, but I don't think I ever made one of the 6+ FNP saves over the course of my three games. I would consider swapping it for one of the other Space Marine warlord traits, such as the Imperium's Sword (re-roll charges and +1A on the charge), Storm of Fire (extra AP on shooting attacks for nearby units) or Champion of Humanity (+1 to hit and wound against enemy characters).

The Captain probably performed best in game 1. He was able to use the Honour the Chapter stratagem to attack twice in a turn and kill off the Bloodthirster before it could do too much damage.

I would definitely take the Captain on Bike again. The only change is that I would probably not be so aggressive with him all the time. I tend to rush him at the enemy army, so it is easier for him to be killed and give up warlord in my games.

Hobby Update 23/03/18- Dark Angels Primaris Marine, Test Model

Today I have a test model that I painted for my Dark Angels army. 

I decided that my Dark Angels army needed a bit of  a re-vamp with 8th edition. My current Dark Angels army was painted up in 3rd edition and were among the very first 40k models that I ever painted. As a result, they are looking a bit dated. 

I wanted to the get the Primaris Marines painted up and decided they would do well in my Dark Angels army. I had a look at videos on Youtube and found the Dark Angels Hellblaster video and Dark Vengeance Tactical Squad from Warhammer TV to be very useful. 

I painted them up with a variation on the colour schemes in the videos. I undercoated them with Caliban Green, then gave them a wash with Nuln Oil. 

Battle Report 139- 2000 pts Orks vs Space Wolves

This week's battle report sees the first outing for my Orks in 8th edition 40k. I would be taking on Ben's Space Wolves once more in an Eternal War mission.

I've been playing a lot of maelstrom missions recently, but decided to give one of the new Eternal War missions from Chapter Approved a shot for this game. We decided to do a toss up between Dominate and Destroy and Ascension. This was actually a mistake, as I mixed up the rules for the two missions.

For this mission, we would be using 6 objectives. Players gain a point for each objective they held at the end of their turn, as well as a kill point for each enemy unit destroyed. In addition, we used the Ascendancy rules, meaning that Characters control the objective if they are in range. In addition, they score bonus points for each consecutive turn they hold the objective. This was totally a conscious effort to spice up the mission and not down to me confusing the two scenarios.......... honest.

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment 
Warboss- Power Klaw, Kustom Shoota (W)
Big Mek- Kustom Force Field, Slugga, Choppa (BM1)
30 Ork Boyz- Shootas, 3 Big Shootas, Nob with Power Klaw (BM1)
30 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (BM2)
12 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (BM3)
Trukk- Big Shoota (T1)
12 Ork Boyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (DM3)
Trukk- Big Shoota (T2)
15 Lootas- Deffguns (L)
Deff Dread- 2 Scorchas, 2 Klaws (DD)
21 Stormboyz- Sluggas, Choppas, Nob with Power Klaw (S)

Battalion Detachment
Warboss- Big Choppa, Kustom Shoota (W)
Painboy- Urty Syringe, Power Klaw (P)
10 Grots (G1)
10 Grots (G2)
Kustom Mega Kannon (MG1)
Kustom Mega Kannon (MG2)
Kustom Mega Kannon (MG3)

Dakkajet-6 Supa Shootas (D)

I decided to take a mix of units as this was my first time out with the Orks. I thought the Painboy was a HQ unit by mistake, so thought I had 2 Battalions, but wouldn't have been able to field them due to lacking a fourth HQ unit.

I took two big mobs of Boyz to move towards the enemy army. They were backed up by two Warbosses, allowing them to advance and charge and giving them some morale mitigation. In the backfield, I had two units of Grots, three Mek guns and Lootas. The faster elements of the army were the Stormboyz and two units of Trukk Boyz.

Hobby Update 19/03/18- Genestealer Cult Sentinels WIP

Today's Hobby Update features some work in progress on my Genestealer Cults Scout Sentinels. 

I had previously done some work on these models, but they had taken a back seat recently as I worked on painting some reinforcements for my White Scars. 

Hobby Sunday 18/03/18- Genestealer Cults Purestrain Genestealers

This week's Hobby Sunday features some more completed Purestrain Genestealers for my Genestealer Cults army. 

These 8 Purestrains will be added to the ten that I already have in the army. I have another 16 to assemble and paint up to give me two units in my army. These are a really strong unit in the army, able to put out a lot of attacks and able to go through enemy armour saves more effectively.

Greetings From the Warp Tournament- Armies on Display photos

There were some fantastic armies on display at the recent tournament I attended, held by Greetings From the Warp. Here are some pics of the armies, as well as some of the awesome board set ups used on the day. 

GFTW Tournament Game 3- White Scars vs Orks

In my final game of the tournament, I would be facing Mark and his Ork army. The third mission of the day was Targets of Opportunity with the Vanguard Strike deployment zone. This is the mission where you only get one turn to score your three cards, having to draw new cards each turn. 

The board featured some more fantastic scenery with a lot of line of sight blocking terrain and a large section in the middle. This would be useful, potentially forcing Mark to split his army to come at my gunline. 

My army consisted of:

Brigade Detachment

Captain on Bike- Thunder Hammer, The Shield Eternal, Twin Boltgun, Iron Resolve Warlord Trait (C1)

Captain with Jump Pack- Lightning Claw, Combi-Melta (C2)

Librarian with Jump Pack- Force Stave, Boltgun, Null Zone, Psychic Fortress (L2)

Lieutenant with Jump Pack- Power Axe, Master-Crafted Boltgun, Bolt Pistol (L1)

5 Scouts- Boltguns (S1)

5 Scouts- Boltguns, Sergeant has Bolt Pistol and Combat Knife (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols and Combat Knives (S3)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (TS1)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (TS2)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Missile Launcher (TS3)

Company Ancient- Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, Chainsword (A)

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 5 Pairs of Lightning Claws (VV1)

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 2 Chainswords each (VV2)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Plasma Pistol (AS1)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Fist and Meltabombs (AS2)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Sword (AS3)

6 Scout Bikers- Twin Boltguns, Astartes Shotguns, Combat Knives (SB)

Thunderfire Cannon. Techmarine Gunner (T) with 2 Servo-arms, Plasma Cutter, Flamer, Bolt Pistol (TC)

5 Devastator Marines- 2 Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannon, Bolters (D1)

5 Devastator Marines- 3 Missile Launchers, Bolters (D2)

The Biker Captain was my warlord.

GFTW Tournament Game 2: White Scars vs Grey Knights

Game 2 of the Greetings From the Warp tournament saw my White Scars Space Marines taking on Ken and his Grey Knights army. 

The mission for game 2 was the Kill Confirmed Maelstrom of War mission with Hammer and Anvil deployment. This was the mission I was most worried about of the three. My army does well at maelstrom games, but my MSU style army can give up a lot of kill points. 

My army consisted of:

Brigade Detachment

Captain on Bike- Thunder Hammer, The Shield Eternal, Twin Boltgun, Iron Resolve Warlord Trait (C1)

Captain with Jump Pack- Lightning Claw, Combi-Melta (C2)

Librarian with Jump Pack- Force Stave, Boltgun, Null Zone, Psychic Fortress (L2)

Lieutenant with Jump Pack- Power Axe, Master-Crafted Boltgun, Bolt Pistol (L1)

5 Scouts- Boltguns (S1)

5 Scouts- Boltguns, Sergeant has Bolt Pistol and Combat Knife (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols and Combat Knives (S3)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (TS1)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (TS2)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Missile Launcher (TS3)

Company Ancient- Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, Chainsword (A)

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 5 Pairs of Lightning Claws (VV1)

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 2 Chainswords each (VV2)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Plasma Pistol (AS1)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Fist and Meltabombs (AS2)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Sword (AS3)

6 Scout Bikers- Twin Boltguns, Astartes Shotguns, Combat Knives (SB)

Thunderfire Cannon. Techmarine Gunner (T) with 2 Servo-arms, Plasma Cutter, Flamer, Bolt Pistol (TC)

5 Devastator Marines- 2 Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannon, Bolters (D1)

5 Devastator Marines- 3 Missile Launchers, Bolters (D2)

The Biker Captain was my warlord.

Ken's army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Kaldor Draigo (D)
Grandmaster in Dreadknight- Gatling Psilencer, Heavy Psycannon, Greathammer, Personal Teleporter (G)
5 Strike Squad- Storm Bolters, Psylencer (SS1)
5 Strike Squad- Storm Bolters, Psylencer (SS2)
5 Strike Squad- Storm Bolters, Psylencer (SS3)

Outrider Detachment
Brother Captain- Hammer, Psycannon (BC)
5 Inceptor Squad- Justicar with Hammer, Psilencer (I)
5 Inceptor Squad- Justicar with Hammer, Psilencer (I2)
10 Inceptor Squad- 2 Psilencers (I3)
Stormraven Gunship- Twin Lascannon, Twin Multi-melta, 2 Hurricane Bolters, 2 Stormstrike Missiles (SR)
Apothecary (A)

I had yet to face the Grey Knights since the codex was released. My experiences with the in the index were not great, struggling against the army with my Deathwatch. The Stormraven is still a tough unit to take down. Hopefully, I would have some good firepower to take it out quickly.

GFTW Tournament Game 1: White Scars vs Chaos Space Marines/Chaos Daemons

Welcome to the first battle report from a recent tournament that I attended. The tournament was held by Greetings From the Warp, and consisted of three games of maelstrom of war. 

For the tournament, I have been practicing with a new type of army for my White Scars Space Marines. This army focuses on infantry and board control, with some potent firepower and close combat units. 

Game 1 saw me facing off against Justin and his Chaos Space Marine and Chaos Daemon army. If you are on Instagram, you can follow Justin at BlueMarbleChomper. (Remember, you can now follow the St Andrews Wargaming Facebook page to keep up to date on all the latest battle reports too).

First off, let me say that the guys at Greetings From the Warp put on a great event. The tables looked amazing, with plenty of terrain, and the standard of the armies was really high as well. They were great to chat with and were very helpful throughout the day. I hope to attend many of their events in the future.

The first game was the Sealed Orders maelstrom mission with Dawn of War deployment. In this mission, you start with 6 maelstrom cards that you keep secret from your opponent. Once you have scored/discarded your initial 6 cards, you draw 5 more, then 4, then 3, etc. This means that a bad hand can stay with you for a while, making it harder to score.

My army consisted of:

Brigade Detachment

Captain on Bike- Thunder Hammer, The Shield Eternal, Twin Boltgun, Iron Resolve Warlord Trait (C1)

Captain with Jump Pack- Lightning Claw, Combi-Melta (C2)

Librarian with Jump Pack- Force Stave, Boltgun, Null Zone, Psychic Fortress (L2)

Lieutenant with Jump Pack- Power Axe, Master-Crafted Boltgun, Bolt Pistol (L1)

5 Scouts- Boltguns (S1)

5 Scouts- Boltguns, Sergeant has Bolt Pistol and Combat Knife (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols and Combat Knives (S3)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (TS1)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter (TS2)

5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Missile Launcher (TS3)

Company Ancient- Standard of the Emperor Ascendant, Chainsword (A)

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 5 Pairs of Lightning Claws (VV1)

5 Vanguard Veterans- Jump Packs, 2 Chainswords each (VV2)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Plasma Pistol (AS1)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Fist and Meltabombs (AS2)

5 Assault Marines- Jump Packs, 2 Plasma Pistols, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Sergeant with Power Sword (AS3)

6 Scout Bikers- Twin Boltguns, Astartes Shotguns, Combat Knives (SB)

Thunderfire Cannon. Techmarine Gunner (T) with 2 Servo-arms, Plasma Cutter, Flamer, Bolt Pistol (TC)

5 Devastator Marines- 2 Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannon, Bolters (D1)

5 Devastator Marines- 3 Missile Launchers, Bolters (D2)

The Biker Captain was my warlord. I have been having some success with the army in maelstrom games, as I have a lot of units for holding objectives and fast units to grab them.