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It seems that no one plays deathmarks unless they're doing death & despair. Without a doubt, that's the most effective way to run them, but it does effectively limit the unit size to 5 and change the feel from close range assassin to flamer-nuke meat shield.

Has any one tried running deathmarks on their own? Can they still be effective?

They can be effective in that their real value comes from being able to mark a unit for 2+ to wound. Beyond that, they are normal, rapid fire snipers with RP. Overall, they are decent, and definitely help against MCs which is a debatable weakness with some Necron lists.

I, personally, am not too prone to deep strike them. I don't have good luck with the scattering and unlike a D&D squad, you want to be mindful where they end up so they don't get blasted the next turn.

In my last game, I played around using them in a non-D&D fashion with a Triarch Stalker. I had the stalker hit the unit the deathmarks had marked and now I had TL Rapid Fire Snipers that hit on a 3+ and wound on a 2+. It wasn't pretty for my opponent.

I was wondering about the synergy with a stalker. Good to know that works

Do you run them in a night scythe? If not, how do you get them where they need to be?

Objection!
They are not normal snipers; Normal snipers have like 36" range.
Their 24" is probably the biggest reason why I don't field them.

I like them because they have 3+ with RP and Rapid Fire, but that 24" is really ruining it for me.

Ok, just played a game with 10 of 'em in a scythe (friendly game vs. C:SM) and they took out 5 terminators, Pedro Kantor, and a couple of assault marines. Not only did they earn their points back, they gave me slay the warlord and cleared an objective. Will definitely have to keep trying them.

But how did you do that?
Within Rapid Fire range they kill around 2 Terminators, but next turn they will be dead when they get charged.

After killing exactly 2 terminators and knocking a wound off of Kantor, my opponent didn't want to eat overwatch, take 2 attacks per death mark (Zhandrekh buffed them with counterattack) that wounded on a 2+, and get counter charged by Obyron in my turn. Instead, he panicked, charged a small unit of warriors to try to hide, wiped them out, and got pounded in my turn.

TL;DR I used good positioning (or my opponent just really screwed up)

Xephen Knight wrote:
I was wondering about the synergy with a stalker. Good to know that works

Do you run them in a night scythe? If not, how do you get them where they need to be?

I tend to use a night scythe with them. If I want them to kill just infantry, i will foot slog them but really, we have much better (and cheaper) options for that purpose.

And I agree with Kangodo - the 24" range does hurt them.

24" hurts a deepstriking or transportable unit? and stop looking at them like they SM or Eldar snipers, they are not, they just happen to have the same type of weapons.

thb I never play them as my army has already enough shooting with scythes and Barges, but they can do very well when supported properly.

It depends on your plans for them.if your opponent has a vital unit you absolutely have to eliminate (command squads, pathfinders, etc) using them as a kamikaze strike for 95 pts isn't such a bad investment. Their reduced range means they aren't as versatile as conventional snipers IMO but in small size games they can hunker down in a building or a ruin and potentially wreak havoc. Regardless, pick the unit you mark very very carefully, or it will be a waste

Rapid fire has an additional benefit over heavy snipers - they can move and shoot at full BS. this effectively drops the range difference between eldar/SM snipers and necron snipers to 6". Add in their deep strike abilities as well as the awesome mobility a night scythe can provide, and I would say death marks rank in the top echelon of sniper weapon troopers.

 tetrisphreak wrote:
Rapid fire has an additional benefit over heavy snipers - they can move and shoot at full BS. this effectively drops the range difference between eldar/SM snipers and necron snipers to 6". Add in their deep strike abilities as well as the awesome mobility a night scythe can provide, and I would say death marks rank in the top echelon of sniper weapon troopers.

Actually put that way they're excellent, RP a 3+ save and guns like that with the "marking" system makes them a contender for best Elites choice in crons regardless of if DandD is run or not, especially with a stalker

Essentially most if the points have already been touched on, but for thoroughness sake-
• it helps if you stop thinking of them as "snipers", so much as assassins whose weapons have the sniper rule.
• deepstriking them right behind a key enemy infantry unit (within rapid fire range) is a sure way to ruin your opponent's day.
• one of the best way Necrons have to deal with Wraithknights/Riptides is to sic ten Deathmarks on them.

Additionally, if you want to be an utter bastard, you start them on the table (unit of ten) with a Veil-tek.
Now I know what you're thinking, "Deepstrike a D&D squad? You've gotta be mad! There's no way you're going to safely land within flame template range!"
Ah, but who says I'm going to be using the flame template?
No, instead, you're more looking to alpha strike your opponent's key unit before he has a chance to use it. (Actually, two units, if you give the Despair-tek a Nightmare Shroud as well, so you can rapid fire at one unit, and then force a second unit to take a morale test, and hopefully get them to run off the table edge.)
Normally Deathmarks who don't start the game already on the table have to worry about interceptor. If you play them this way, no more worries!

And don't even get me started on the cheese insanity that starts when you attach a Destroyer Lord to a D&D squad...

TL;DR- I really like Deathmarks.

Deathmarks are topnotch! Cryptek is icing bit seriously even without rapid fire is great the amount of time the precision shots and rending have ruined my picknick I can't even say, my misses loves ruining my keys bits with DMs.

Of course there are other viable cryptek attachments. A chrono-tek could make that awkward 1 to wound into a killing blow from rending. A transmogrification-tek with harp could strip the armour save from a key model before rapid fire murder, or make a vehicle more susceptible to any rending 6s. A stormtek lightning field could see off attackers, as could the seismic crucible or tremorstave. Every cryptek could very easily cause a problem for the opponent in a deathmark squad

I like the unit and for a while used a ten man. I ended up cutting them out because I have the single worse scatter luck of anyone in my area. I just always ended up out of RF range

 Roci wrote:
I like the unit and for a while used a ten man. I ended up cutting them out because I have the single worse scatter luck of anyone in my area. I just always ended up out of RF range

Perhaps run them in 2 5s? Less risk of a mishap, 2 units can be marked (I think) and you lose less if it all goes wrong

Yeah, I have done that. Its not the mishaps that get me.. I always miss the range I need. I shoot for about 8" from my target but it never fails that I will scatter about 10" on average. It's not just DM... any thing I have to roll scatter for, haunts me.

@Skoff, good idea with the Veiltek.
But I will try to run them with Obyron, he gives them quite some melee-defenses and it makes sure the opponent doesn't pack his stuff and leave the moment he sees a Despair-tek with your Deathmark
He also allows them to teleport away when you are locked in combat.

Oby has a decent veil, but you lose cleaving counter blow by having him in a group. So he is meh at best. You are paying 160 points just to veil when in combat. ( which also only triggers in movement, so your going threw a round of combat first) This also brings the group up to 350pt cost. Seems expensive for the one trick.

Sure it's expensive, but at least you dodge the QQ for bringing a Despairtek to a Deathmark-group

In another note: I really do hope they change those rules. My BA has the same issue with Gabriel Seth.

I'm with Roci, Obyron in this situation isn't the best HQ option. Tbh I'd put in someone like Zahndrekh in that squad with obyron elsewhere to intervene if things start to go sour. Or just leave it as a kamikaze strike and avoid relying on it. Deathmarks won't win a game single-handed most of the time, so don't go mad on the pts front


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm with Roci, Obyron in this situation isn't the best HQ option. Tbh I'd put in someone like Zahndrekh in that squad with obyron elsewhere to intervene if things start to go sour. Or just leave it as a kamikaze strike and avoid relying on it. Deathmarks won't win a game single-handed most of the time, so don't go mad on the pts front

Slightly on topic, but is anyone else holding out hope they'll eventually FAQ "Ethereal Interceptors" so they'll actually HAVE Interceptor?
I mean, it's blatantly obvious that they were supposed to have that rule (the ability is useless, otherwise), but every update that comes, they keep getting overlooked.

Hmm, never thought about that.
It would be a great change, but has GW ever added rules to units through a FAQ like that?

Only when editions change do rules get such a big tweak. So now that the advent of 6th has been and gone I find it very unlikely IMO