Dark Angel Tactica, Death Wing Madness.
This is a guest article, as I love hearing from ideas and thoughts that are from the community, this one is particularly interesting. I have always had an appreciation for Deathwing, and always wish for them to be something to be feared. This may be it.
This article is by Jonathan, (kept his surname name out, since I was not permission to use it).
I am also curious if there is any interest in a series of articles called "Community Tactica". I have been so overwhelmed with the interest of "What's On Your Table" that I am interested to see if a series on tactics and combinations from the community would be of interest. It would be a fun little series that would highlight combinations or load outs that players are enjoying using.
via Jonathan
Hey natfka - just a nice bit of tactica for you that may have gone unnoticed by most people.
Not only did they remove the bit about power field gens from inside vehicles from the DA FAQ, they removed the bit about what constitutes a boltgun - for the purposes of the Standard of Devastation. Furthermore, in 7th ed. rulebook there is clearly a section on "Boltguns" with all the different types below it. Included within that is the mighty storm bolter!
Why does this matter? If taken as legit, the banner represents a powerful strategy for the Deathwing now - whereas before it really only was usable with bikes or pricey land raider crusaders from an offensive stance.
Moving tactical marines giving them a 12" range and 2 shots was a huge handicap with the banner. Sure, you can sit and wait for enemy to come into your bubble. But given that even the basic Tau Warrior has a 30" range, sitting around waiting for the enemy to come to you doesn't usually work well for Space Marines without heavy Astra Militarum or other allies.
But now you can take the fight to the enemy! The effectiveness of the storm bolter is doubled + because termies are relentless, so no worries about range or salvo inhibiting use. 15 termies will have 60 bolter shots, instead of 30 - all at 24" range. This is all for the price of about 1 and a 1/2 terminators. Add in that they have split fire and heavy weapons and the Deathwing can be a force to be feared, rather than the underwhelming performance (given their cost) we usually see from Deathwing assault strategies. Teleporting in behind the aegis line, popping tanks AND completely shredding infantry units turn 1 or 2 is now a realistic outcome to expect.
Now the banner's range is only 6" so I think this strategy is best used with only 2-3 squads to ensure they pay off their points with a vengeance. Deathwing are still very pricey - and packing anything in clumps in front of enemy guns is still dangerous. My method would be a DW Cmd. Squad comes on first, Belial with 10 termies follows (not scattering). You're guaranteed to be able to get that 10 man unit within 6" of the banner. Teleport them on a flank where they can ignore aegis lines/void shields, get first blood, and yet still not be in rapid fire range of the entire enemy army - while still being close enough to charge something next turn. If you have points to spend, 1 more squad in reserve (not deathwing assaulting) coming down on Belial's homer could pay off too.
The DA / Angels of Absolution etc. may have got more love than we realized!
...although i'm pissed they made missile lock applicable to the Nephilim Jetfighter in 7th (re-roll hits on all one use weapons) but then kept it in the FAQ to remove this rule (which made no sense in 6th ed.)
--
Jonathan
