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OK, I can't see myself ever, ever, ever using this thing but as a thought experiment here's what I see.

Take 3 Deathstrike missiles. They're so unreliable you'll need 3.
Take a fast moving assault element and a second wave to follow them (I'm thinking 3 valks with Straken in 1 and carapace vets in the other 2 followed by armored sentinels).

The assualt element hits the enemy on turn 1 or 2 with the goal of holding them until the ICBMs launch. 2nd wave is there to help hold. Then as the enemy punches through the ICBMs hit.

Anyone see any other way for them to work?

Take 1 and keep it as a "just in case." That thing is going to fire off eventually, so long as you keep it hidden, and when it does you'll wipe out a good chunk of the map. I can't see an entire list being built around them for anything more than hilarious fun.

yeah one could be fun for a lark but can anyone build a winning, or potentially winning army off it?

I think it is a cool unit as it has such a wide AOE. It forces even vehicles to space out which is a rare ability.

I've used it as a great objective clearer twice. The last game it melted a buch of plague marines turn 5 on my Opponet's home objective. You can bury it so far away that wasting shots on it is impossible and useless. take things like Penal Legion or anything with inflitrate or outflank/deepstrike to tie the enemy up. Remember that it also come with an heavy bolter free. I shot down outflanking genestealers with it the first game.

Very fun unit. I already have built a 1,850 around 3 of them as a cult army. The deathstrikes are the only tanks in the list. Its like having a ork unit in a IG codex. Extremely unreliable but they have the potential of being incredible or incredibly bad.

I took one in my elysian list (joint elysian ground and air forces) and i've only played 2 games but both times it lived since my opponent would not waste shots trying to shoot it when there were 2 executioners and 2 vendettas on the board. Scattered into my own stuff but then again I was firing danger close.

It's a FUN unit, it's for people who have FUN with casual lists. The number crunching everything must rock power list guys can pass on this one, this is a unit for people who like a little flavor and uncertainty. Just keep it in the back corner and put at least 3 troops squads around it to keep people away.

A battery of these in Apocalypse would be awesome.

As for a competitive list... I developed something for 3 Manticores, I imagine it would function reasonably well applied to Deathstrikes:

245 - CCS
x - Officer of the Fleet
x - Astropath
x - Master of Ordnance
x - Bodyguards (2)
x - Meltaguns (2)
Chimera
x - Multi-Laser/Heavy Bolter

225 - CCS
x - Officer of the Fleet
x - Master of Ordnance
x - Bodyguards (2)
x - Meltaguns (3)
Chimera
x - Multi-Laser/Heavy Bolter

275 - 1st and 2nd Platoon (1x Headquarters, 3x Infantry Squad)
PCS
x - Grenade Launchers (4)
Infantry Squad
x - Autocannon/Plasma Gun

480 - 3x Deathstrike SRBM

1. Point at target.
2. Target dies.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:OK, I can't see myself ever, ever, ever using this thing but as a thought experiment here's what I see.

Take 3 Deathstrike missiles. They're so unreliable you'll need 3.
Take a fast moving assault element and a second wave to follow them (I'm thinking 3 valks with Straken in 1 and carapace vets in the other 2 followed by armored sentinels).

The assualt element hits the enemy on turn 1 or 2 with the goal of holding them until the ICBMs launch. 2nd wave is there to help hold. Then as the enemy punches through the ICBMs hit.

Anyone see any other way for them to work?

From what I've seen, alot depends on if they hit or not. When they miss its blah, when it hits....its devestating.

I've seen it be a huge disrtaction for the rest of a force.