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So, me and my friends are gearing up for our first ever 40k games together, and as it's clearly the Emperor's will, I decided to go for DW.

Deathwath CAD

HQ:
Librarian ML1 Dominus Aegis
90 pts

Troops:
DW Veterans x5
1 Frag Cannon
2 DW Shotguns
Either Rhino or a Drop Pod, I don't know yet
170 pts

DW Veterans x5
5 Stalker Bolters
135 pts

For what I'have here, the idea would be to have the Librarians join the Stalker Squad and boost their to hit with Prescience while giving them the 4+ invul from the Aegis. Meanwhile the other Veterans would go up in the face of the enemy in a DP and try to do as much damage as possible, or drive around in the Rhino and use it to take objectives (if we end up playing with them, still discussing among ourselves).

However, you may have noticed, there's still 105 points left in this list. Truth is, I'm just unsure how to spend them: Mastery Level 2, further upgrading the Veterans, more vehicles (altough I can go only up to 2 rhinos, 2 razorbacks or 1 of each)...
I just don't know...

If it matters, my two fellows in this adventure in the 41st millenium have picked Necrons and GK respectively, and I at least know that the Necrons are bringing a Reclamation Legion.

I don't have any siggestions but a question for the first veterans, why not have four heavy weapons?

Thor0298 wrote:
I don't have any siggestions but a question for the first veterans, why not have four heavy weapons?

Because I want to try out the Shotguns because I think they're cool, and also because I was afraid of how much each Vet squad was gonna cost me so I went for the bare minimum of heavy weapons (I know that the frag cannon costs 5 pts more than the Infernus, but I preffered it as it could work against vehicles up close if I used the Drop Pod).

Although, looking at my extra points, maybe I could go for +1 heavy weapon on the 1st time, as well as a couple of extra models?

I'm new to 40k. Only played a few times with a borrowed eldar army. I just bought the deathwatch codex and have the overkill and death masque box. So I was just asking because I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do the drag cannons sound great

I'm pretty new myself, this list if for my first game ever actually.

As a general piece of advice for any 500 point army list, it can be nice to take quantity over quality in some cases, as taking objectives and covering more of the board can be instrumental depending on the mission.

Mobilized troops makes scoring objectives and getting around a lot easier, so using two rhinos and small tac squads generally works well for your troops.

Try to keep HQ choices cheap in small points games, as too many points leaves you without enough models on the table.

On the other hand, having something tough like an Ironclad dreadnought can make it difficult for your opponent if they lack anti-tank while still being relatively cheap.

Hope that helps at all!

Nukes4You wrote:
As a general piece of advice for any 500 point army list, it can be nice to take quantity over quality in some cases, as taking objectives and covering more of the board can be instrumental depending on the mission.

Mobilized troops makes scoring objectives and getting around a lot easier, so using two rhinos and small tac squads generally works well for your troops.

Try to keep HQ choices cheap in small points games, as too many points leaves you without enough models on the table.

On the other hand, having something tough like an Ironclad dreadnought can make it difficult for your opponent if they lack anti-tank while still being relatively cheap.

Hope that helps at all!

Yeah, generally more bodies is better in small points games; upgrades can be added as the points get bigger. However, if your opponent isn't expecting a small but elite force, it can take them by surprise and catch them with very little to deal with it. I once ran dante, a sanguinary priest and a unit of sanguinary guard in a 500 point game and my opponent just couldn't hurt them as they didn't have any Ap2. I one that game only taking two wounds on dante. However if my opponent had been playing his other army (he was playing militarum tempestus but he also had a tau army) it would have likely gone the other way.

 snykyninja wrote:

Nukes4You wrote:
As a general piece of advice for any 500 point army list, it can be nice to take quantity over quality in some cases, as taking objectives and covering more of the board can be instrumental depending on the mission.

Mobilized troops makes scoring objectives and getting around a lot easier, so using two rhinos and small tac squads generally works well for your troops.

Try to keep HQ choices cheap in small points games, as too many points leaves you without enough models on the table.

On the other hand, having something tough like an Ironclad dreadnought can make it difficult for your opponent if they lack anti-tank while still being relatively cheap.

Hope that helps at all!

Yeah, generally more bodies is better in small points games; upgrades can be added as the points get bigger. However, if your opponent isn't expecting a small but elite force, it can take them by surprise and catch them with very little to deal with it. I once ran dante, a sanguinary priest and a unit of sanguinary guard in a 500 point game and my opponent just couldn't hurt them as they didn't have any Ap2. I one that game only taking two wounds on dante. However if my opponent had been playing his other army (he was playing militarum tempestus but he also had a tau army) it would have likely gone the other way.

Yeah that can be effective. I don't have a cheap tyranid HQ in my force right now so I run Swarmlord no matter the points and when my friend wants to play 600 points or so he gets stuck fighting Swarmy! It can really throw them off to face so many wounds and relatively high toughness, but again, if he has just 4 missile launchers or something similar, Swarmy doesn't stand much of a chance.

Remember you can equip all your vets with BOTH shotguns and bolters.

If you have random points left over I would suggest 1 man squads of Termies and Bikers.

Also, a Frag Cannon or two shooting out the top of a Rhino is pretty good.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
I'm still thinking how to re-work it, and here's how it's looking now:

CAD
HQ:
Librarian ML1 rolling on Divination
70 pts

Troops:
DW Veterans x5
1 Frag Cannon
1 Combi-melta
All with Shotguns
Drop Pod/Rhino
180 pts

DW Veterans x5
5 Stalker Bolters
135 pts


Which leaves now 115 points, which could see going into a few things :
- a naked 5-man Veteran squad, which would be unfortunately foot sloggin it, +5 point for a melta bomb
- Dreadnought with TWL lascannon, again without points for a drop pod
- 2 Terminators with TH/SS, or one with TH/SS and one with an asscan or a Cyclone missile launcher
- 2 Razorbacks
- 4 Vanguard Vets with 1 PF, or 3 Vanguards with 1 power fist and the others with double LCs, or (really crazy) 2 Vets with a Heavy Thunder Hammer Each
- 3 Bikers, all with power weapons and 1 melta bomb

Opinions?

I also am experimenting with the Deathwatch Codex as a supplement (so <1000 points worth) and found a few things so far:

1) Perfect timing (or better yet, the Fulmination equivalent) is super nasty on a unit of stalker boltguns... in fact, consider making that unit a Purgatus Killteam (I'd just add a Terminator with cyclone) and put the libby there... it's a nice sniping fearless unit.

2) The Furor Killteam is almost always a must-take... I know, again, adding a Terminator may seem expensive, but the bonuses to troops (and remember, that includes their dedicated transports!) is awesome. Plus it scales up... you'll almost always still fight troops in larger games.

I think just taking those 2 killteams at 500 would be fun!

 xTHExCLINCHERx wrote:
I also am experimenting with the Deathwatch Codex as a supplement (so <1000 points worth) and found a few things so far:

1) Perfect timing (or better yet, the Fulmination equivalent) is super nasty on a unit of stalker boltguns... in fact, consider making that unit a Purgatus Killteam (I'd just add a Terminator with cyclone) and put the libby there... it's a nice sniping fearless unit.

2) The Furor Killteam is almost always a must-take... I know, again, adding a Terminator may seem expensive, but the bonuses to troops (and remember, that includes their dedicated transports!) is awesome. Plus it scales up... you'll almost always still fight troops in larger games.

I think just taking those 2 killteams at 500 would be fun!

Hmm, I may consider this, especially since we have decided that at least our first few games will be Kill points + Secondary Objectives, so ObSec is a bit less important.
A couple of questions, while I make an alternative list:
1) Isn't perfect timing redundant with the special ammo that the Stalker Bolters have access to?

2)I'm curious, how would you kit the Furor Terminator? Lightning Claws?

1) I just meant so that you could use the AP3 rounds (remember you're re-rolling 1s to wound if you use your mission tactics for that target) or re-rolling 1's to wound with poison 2+, all while not worrying about their cover saves. Just examples. Regardless, there is so much versatility there.

2) I have been using 2 frag cannons, 2 shotguns, and a blackshield with a heavy thunderhammer, terminator with power fist/aux melta and heavy flamer... that way if you need to shoot a troop transport, you've got the anti-tank, and if you need to shoot the contents, you've got that covered. That's an expensive unit though... not really trying to fit it in the points, just an example


At 500 I have used this to some success:

Purgatus Killteam
vet w/stalker pattern boltguns x5, terminator w/cyclone, librarian w/stalker pattern boltgun w/banebolts of eryxia

Furor Killteam
vets w/shotgun x3, vet w/frag cannon x2, terminator w/heavy flamer & power fist/aux melta, pod



It may be unlikely that you will pop a transport with just the frag cannons' solid shells and one melta shot... but at 500 points I guess it's really your only option lol. Plus this list sticks to the models you mentioned above (pretty close) just makes use of some of the formations.
With the libby, you could just go on divination to bank on Prescience and hope for perfect timing I suppose. Either way, that sniping unit can be really really awesome in a small points game.. it will make their HQ go away ha

Having just had a look at my friends lists, the only vehicle I have to worry about is the rhino for the Grey Knights, while the Necrons are bringing a mostly barebones Reclamation Legion.

What worries me though is that the GK list looks unbound: its a Dreadknight with a personal teleporter, Purifiers, Terminators and a rhino, all without upgrades.

Still, I like the two KT idea, and I must admit I was a little bummed at the idea of using a CAD over the DW own formations, but this could work.

Hmm all that at 500? I don't think so.. not up to date on the GK codex but that list sounds like at least 700 points..
Oh sorry... no upgrades you said. Yeah, that makes more sense.

The upgrades are what makes them good... I wouldn't be worried. Every time you roll a 6 to wound he's gonna cry points

Shoot the DK with the sniper squad and maybe even the libby will roll a 6 to wound, causing instant death thanks to those banebolts (they rock for just the price of 2 melta bombs, especially on a BS5 model!)
I would still drop in, just next to the terminators and make them take like ... 30 saves with your frag cannons and shotguns. Remember, the frag cannons are a flamer template, 2 shots, and any 6 you roll means he takes a terminator off the board... that's nuts.

 xTHExCLINCHERx wrote:
Hmm all that at 500? I don't think so.. not up to date on the GK codex but that list sounds like at least 700 points..
Oh sorry... no upgrades you said. Yeah, that makes more sense.

The upgrades are what makes them good... I wouldn't be worried. Every time you roll a 6 to wound he's gonna cry points

Shoot the DK with the sniper squad and maybe even the libby will roll a 6 to wound, causing instant death thanks to those banebolts (they rock for just the price of 2 melta bombs, especially on a BS5 model!)
I would still drop in, just next to the terminators and make them take like ... 30 saves with your frag cannons and shotguns. Remember, the frag cannons are a flamer template, 2 shots, and any 6 you roll means he takes a terminator off the board... that's nuts.

What worries me is that his own Termies could Deep Strike right next to the Purgatus KT, and if they are in reserve I can't confortably take them out by going Drop pod assault next to them.

The Reclamation Legion otoh worries me mostly because of it's highier model count and gauss weapons, although from what he told me all his upgrade points went into the Tomb Blades.

Hmm well you'll just have to adapt depending on who goes first (for the GK player). You could always try for some of the new psychic powers that help guard against deep strike... i don't remember them though, I think there is a new tree taht has 2 on it that make the ground around you dangerous... may be a deterrent.

I'm also not that familiar with Necrons at this point level, so I don't know how many bodies there are... but yeah, Deathwatch is a super elite army so you'll struggle in most cases where you're out-manned. Weight of fire will be difficult.

Good luck though!