Deathwing in 6th Edition

by Ishamael

In essence, this is a continuation of the previous article concerning where Deathwing currently stands in relation to other armies, as well as what to do with Allies.  To start, here is the 2000 point list that I currently use:

Belial, Shield/Hammer.

Elite DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, HF+CF
Elite DW: 4 Fists/SB, CML, 1 Shield/Hammer
Troop DW: 4 Fists/SB, CML, 1 Shield/Hammer
Troop DW: 4 Fists/SB, CML, 1 Shield/Hammer
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML

Unfortunately, due to the massive nerf that power weapons just got in this edition, with few exceptions, I have no reason to fear close combat units at all, excepting other Terminators.  Torrent of fire and an absurd amount of attacks still suck, but I almost always get my 2+ save.  On the side, Monstrous Creatures have AP2 on their melee weapons, but Tyranids didn't get the buff they needed to help them with AP3 ranged weapons, so they're out of the picture.

So, these guys just got very survivable, and they will not run, and their weapons are AP2, which makes melee vs. vehicles scary, just about each squad gets some AT fire, and most of them are troops.

Here's where Allies come in.  Although mass missiles is decent for an army, AV13 and 14 make Deathwing Q.Q all day long, so where can we get ahold of cheap support fire?

Originally I was thinking of bringing along some Tau, but then it was brought up that devastators would be great, specifically with lascannons.  To get this done, we'll assume I'll use Blood Angels, and drop my non-Cyclone Squad, and one Troop Choice Deathwing to free up my slots.  That nets me 460 points.  Let's see what I can do with it:

Librarian 125
Jump Pack, Blood Lance, Fear the Darkness
Assault Squad 110
Meltagun
Devastator Squad 190
Lascannon

This costs a nice 425 points, so let me put in a few more bodies in the Devastators.  Everything else has a 2+, so they're going to be the obvious target until the Libby/Assault squad Descends in.

With 2 additional bodies, that makes the Devstators 222 points with 7 bodies, leaving only 3 points left.

So, The question here is concerning the opportunity cost of having those extra lascannons.  Better against AV13, but 14 still remains a whore, and I only have a single flaming meltagun within my entire army.  And still, since I will put the sparklesquad in reserve, they're the most obvious target to screw with on the field, so I think that it's a decent idea, but I'll drop that Devastator for now because it won't be survivable.

So, if I need more meltaguns, I can just bring more Assault Marines.  With 222 points to spend, I can get a second Assault squad with the same equipment, then I'll toss in a Sanguinary Priest to help them out:

Librarian 125
Jump Pack, Blood Lance, Fear the Darkness
2x Assault Squad 220
Meltagun
Sanguinary Priest 75
Jump Pack

This takes me to 420 points, but that gets me only a couple meltaguns, and I still don't have the kind of annoyance I want.   Hmm.  Well, with 460 points, taking from my Elites slot instead of Troops, what do I have in-house that can help me out here?

My own Librarians and Ravenwing.  When it comes to Dark Angels Librarians, I would suggest having them use the Divination tree, because you're going to most likely put him with a shooting squad anyway, and the fallback power is basically a better Guide.  So, we're going to put him in Terminator Armor, because it's that good, then we'll flesh out the Fast Attack section:

Librarian 145
Divination, Combi-melta
Ravenwing Attack Squadron 180
Meltagun, Attack Bike with Multi-Melta
Ravenwing Attack Squadron 130
Meltagun

Alright, so this takes care of my 460 points, and gets me some very fast melta delivery.  Although, these squads need to be altered so just one has a Multi-Melta, while the other has double Meltaguns.  The Combi-Melta is self-explanatory.

So, here's the list in toto:


Belial, Shield/Hammer.
Librarian, Terminator Armor, Combi-Melta, Divination
Fast Attack RW: 3 Bikes with Multi-Melta
Fast Attack RW: 3 Bikes with 2 Meltaguns
Troop DW: 4 Fists/SB, CML, 1 Shield/Hammer
Troop DW: 4 Fists/SB, CML, 1 Shield/Hammer
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML
Troop DW: 4 Shield/Hammer, CML

This helps plug my melta problem substantially, and, due to Ravenwing having both Scout and teleport homers, I could Deathwing Assault half my units about halfway across the field.  I figure that I would put 3 on the field, DWA 2 in off the homers, then hold one in reserve, probably a melee squad.

I think that this list will help out anyone playing Deathwing that wants to use the new Librarian mechanics, and allow the rest of their army to use points efficiently to fill some gaps, because +2 on the penetration chart is terrifying.

6th edition.  Bring your First Company.

Ishamael