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I have three viable DA armies: 5th company actually still works (and I don't have to use C:UM to make it work)...I get table wide LD10 from a cheap (115 points with no upgrades except a power sword) captain, and tactical squads with plasma cannons never go out of style. The second variant that's working for me is one that contains termies, bikes, and vennie dreads (this one's 23-1-2 since I got the formula down), and the third is "mechwing," which is three squads of termies mounted in land raiders, plus character(s) and vennie dread(s). Mechwing is actually pretty challenging, it doesn't take many casualties, but it has trouble (due to model count) with OBJ-based games where there are more than 3 OBJs (with three scoring land raiders, I can reliably hold two, and maybe contest one)

derek wrote:Your squads aren't "set" as other Terminators squads are into Assault and Shooty Squads. All Squads are come with the base 4 PF/SB and PW/SB sergeant by default, but allow for weapon upgrades on each model. So a single squad could have:

Sergeant with Power Weapon and Storm Bolter
Terminator with Power Fist and Heavy Flamer
Terminator with Chain Fist and Storm Bolter
Terminator with Power Fist and Storm Bolter
Terminator with Twin Lightning Claws

Or

Sergeant with Twin Lightning Claws
Terminator with Chain Fist and Assault Cannon
2x Terminator with Twin Lightning Claws
Terminator with TH/SS

Regardless of the other weapons in a Squad, you can always get a Terminator Heavy Weapon (CML, AC, HF), and an Assault equipped Terminator (2LC, or TH/SS). That kind of versatility is the one strength that I think stands out with the Deathwing.

Precisely. Being able to customize the loadout of each member of a deathwing squad allows the squad unprecedented versatility, and allows the deathwing player to "game" the wound-assignment rules by making each member unique, so that if you have a mix of AP2 and non AP2 wounds to save, you have the greatest possible flexibility in terms of which model rolls to save which wound. That lets you "sacrifice" carefully selected models to preserve your fighting strength. Locked in melee with a dreadnought? Well, the lightning claw termie is about as useful as mamaries on a fish, so he's the first one taking a 5+ save against that DCCW. Mobbed by an IG blob squad? Sacrifice the TH/SS termie, your lightning claws are desperately needed to chew through the mob.

That's actually a fairly minor benefit, though, in comparison to the ability to put a heavy weapon in an assault terminator squad, or put a set of claws into a shooty squad. Instead of straight stormbolters or straight melee weapons, you can "tune" the squad to sacrifice a minimal amount of assaultiness to gain a heavy weapon in an assault squad (a massive upgrade from zero shootiness) or sacrifice a single stormbolter to gain a pair of claws (a massive upgrade in at-initiative assaultiness). That second one is money. Think of all the times that you're facing I3/I4 enemies, and how glad you are for a sergeant's 2-3 power weapon attacks that go before or simultaneously with the enemy before you get to hit back with powerfists. Now you get those power sword attacks AND 3-4 lightning claw attacks, which due to rerolls is the equivalent of 5-6 more power sword attacks. That's an awfully big melee upgrade in exchange for two stormbolter shots!