Are deathstrike missile launchers worth it?

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**rogersss**

Im making an imperial guard army and im thinking of having a deathstrike missile as i like the idea of it but are they any good?

**Kolath**

Fluffy and fun. But not points effective.

**cheapbuster**

BOOM!

**Ruckdog**

I'm thinking about picking one up to have for fun and display (it certainly looks like a neat model!), but it does seem like a big risk for a game since it is likely to attract a lot of attention and my not go off for a while. Ideally, this kind of weapon would be used in an alpha strike, but it is hard to get the thing off early in the game unless you have a lucky roll!

**Ailaros**

It hugely depends on what your opponent does.

If your opponent likes to castle their forces, you're good to go. Otherwise, you've got to be kind of lucky with getting the missile ready before they're all up in your lines, making it likely that you'll kill as much of your own stuff as of the enemy (if not moreso).

They are pretty loltastic, and infrequently devestating, but most of the time you're probably not going to see them be the game-breaker the advertise to be.

**DarkHound**

Basically what Ailaros said. If you go up against other gunline IG, Tau, Space Marines, whatever, they'll get their points back. They're also effective against Hordes, but you need a bit of luck to get the missile off in time. Against a mech heavy or balanced gaming scene, you're better off with conventional weapons.

**Kolath**

On the plus side, the kit also makes the manticore which is a very effective support weapon, so you could also set it up so that you could switch back and forth.

**rdlb**

I've run three missiles several times. While this gives up all the heavy support slots and is not really a great idea, it is fun and ensures that you will get to fire at least one.

Combining them with fast moving Valkyries with vets, lascannon teams to pop transports, and deep striking storm troopers usually keeps the fire off them long enough to get them to launch.

But again, the main point of this build is the launching of the missile, not the winning of the game...

**Miguelsan**

I like your spirit rdlb, winning is cool but seeing your opponent sweat as he tries to kill his way to your nukes before they launch and wipe half the board must be priceless.

M.

**raptor8**

Id get a deathstrike and keep it for A-poc Vortex FTW

**Ailaros**

Actually, I forgot to mention something else as well. When your opponent isn't trying to get near to you (and even when they are), you're trying to get close to your opponent. This means that the only way the missile doesn't seriously endanger your own forces is if you run a static gunline and so does your opponent (in which case, he deserves to get deathstruck).

**Lord Commander Phyrus**

In short they are'nt effective if you want to win. they are probably the most loltastic unit out there and the sheer look of horror on your opponents face if you do mannage to launch turn 2 is totaly worth loosing the other 5/6 games

.

I would second Kolath, buy one and when your playing for serious you can use the manticore, of for laughs you can use the Deathstrike

.

personaly i like them, i actualy modded up one before they released the models

**thehod**

Its worth doing with the deathstrike APOC formation. Vortex missile is nasty.

**Jay-Man McDougall**

Isnt the DeathStrike a void missile? Like the kind they use to exterminatus a planet void missile?

**schadenfreude**

Ailaros wrote:It hugely depends on what your opponent does.

If your opponent likes to castle their forces, you're good to go. Otherwise, you've got to be kind of lucky with getting the missile ready before they're all up in your lines, making it likely that you'll kill as much of your own stuff as of the enemy (if not moreso).

They are pretty loltastic, and infrequently devestating, but most of the time you're probably not going to see them be the game-breaker the advertise to be.

Most giant 10,000+ point apoc games are just for fun and less competitive than tournament games. In giant multiplayer games take everything good Ailaros said about the deathstrike and multiply it by the umpteenth power. That's worth buying one, building one, and keeping one around in my book, but I would never use one in a competitive game.

**GoDz BuZzSaW**

BIG BOOM!

**Snowman90**

I've only ever had one used agenst me once. It killed a squad of gun drones. That's it. 120 points for what? Maybe 500?

**Illumini**

500pts LOL

It costs 160, so it wasn't THAT bad of a trade

**Snowman90**

Illumini wrote:500pts LOL

It costs 160, so it wasn't THAT bad of a trade

Ah, I was under the assumption it was ubsurdly expensive. So, I guess not. I would use it from time to time then...

**raptor8**

Snowman90 wrote:
Illumini wrote:500pts LOL

It costs 160, so it wasn't THAT bad of a trade

Ah, I was under the assumption it was ubsurdly expensive. So, I guess not. I would use it from time to time then...

the vortex missle is expensive 600 pts but you also have 2 guard squads, 1 PCS ,1 lord commisair within those 600 pts and it realy is its points worth 20-40"blast radius

**Bonde**

I would definately bring one to every apoc game of opportunity, but that is what the deathstrike is - an apocalypse weapon, both the "standard" version and the suped-up apoc version.
The launch special rule simply makes firing the deathstrike too lenghty a process to make proper use of it in standard games, because when it fires, it will have no proper targets anymore.
It isn't fluffy either, because fluff-wise it IS a rare weapon only used in apocalyptic battles. In regular games the manticore simply is a much better option in all regards.

**Sanctjud**

Heh, Darkhound and I will find out when we finish our next game

.
With respect to one game that is, so it won't say very much mind you

**TheRhino**

They're frakkin hilarious, even when used against you.

A player at my local shop uses a couple of them, and they're just so fun to face. The one game I had against him was a blast, as I was frantically trying to chop through chaff troops to get a shot off on it to delay it, or blow it up. Due to cover and the tying up of my units with rabble, it fired on turn three or four, and vaporized my immobile, weaponless Vindicator.

I could see a themed "Send in the Next Wave" force full of Deathstrikes and Conscripts to be great fun to play in non-tourney games. Send the Conscripts in to die, possibly under the pie plate of your own ordnance!

**Terminus**

Define "worth it"? They are fun, but I wouldn't bring them to a tournament.

**JSK-Fox**

I would bring it to the tourament, and fill all three slots with it.

OUR MISSILES WILL BLOT OUT THE SUN!!!
The we will fight in the... oshi- KA-BOOM!!!

**Sanctjud**

You forget they were ThunderHammer Termies with StormSheilds.

They will fight in the shade...2/3 of the time

**JSK-Fox**

That is why there is three of them. Go to an apoc match, blot out the sun. Imagine 1000 deathstrike missiles.

Edit: Oh god this is my 666th post. D:

**QuietOrkmi**

One of the local IG players at the Tournament scene brings 1... He tries to deploy it in the corner away from everything and out of LOS...

His mind set is that people will either ignore it or devote too many resources to it. Either way it is good for him.

**Deceiver**

LOL! I proxied a deathstrike a few week back against my cousins necrons. It actually fired and he was removing models like I would after the assault phase. It's not points effective and if theres no terrain to block LOS and so on, dont make it a permanent fixture to your list but if you're playing in a friendly game, FIRE ZE MISSILES!!!

**Terminus**

I really like the Vortex Deathstrike apocalypse datasheet.

I'm thinking next time we play Apocalypse, I will buy up a bunch of cheap toy rockets and use all of my chimera-chassis tanks as proxies. With 12 dice, you're bound to get at least one 6!