Every single time I think I've settled into a list that I love for Imperium something changes and I get drawn back into the dojo. With the release of Deathwatch I've been able to make some changes to my army that "may" fix a lot of the problems that I was having. With that in mind I would love to crowd-source this. Please be aware in advance, I am extremely selective with feedback and will go in detail if I attempt to refute something. Please explain yourself very clearly so I can make sure I'm on the same page as you. Thank you!
++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Deathwatch) [32 PL, 599pts] ++
+ HQ +
Librarian with Jump Pack [7 PL, 120pts]: Bolt pistol, Force stave, Jump Pack
Watch Captain [5 PL, 79pts]: Bolt Pistol, Chainsword, Storm Bolter
+ Troops +
Intercessors [10 PL, 200pts]
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor Sergeant: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle, Chainsword
Intercessors [5 PL, 100pts]
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor Sergeant: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle, Chainsword
Intercessors [5 PL, 100pts]
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle
. Intercessor Sergeant: Bolt Pistol, Bolt rifle, Chainsword
++ Brigade Detachment +12CP (Imperium - Astra Militarum) [48 PL, 742pts] ++
+ No Force Org Slot +
Regimental Doctrine: Catachan
+ HQ +
Company Commander [2 PL, 30pts]: Chainsword, Grand Strategist, Kurov's Aquila, Shotgun, Warlord
Primaris Psyker [2 PL, 46pts]: Force Stave, Nightshroud, Psychic Maelstrom
Primaris Psyker [2 PL, 46pts]: Force Stave, Psychic Maelstrom, Terrifying Visions
+ Troops +
Infantry Squad [3 PL, 45pts]
. 7x Guardsman
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Sergeant: Chainsword, Laspistol
Infantry Squad [3 PL, 45pts]
. 7x Guardsman
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Sergeant: Chainsword, Laspistol
Infantry Squad [3 PL, 45pts]
. 7x Guardsman
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Sergeant: Chainsword, Laspistol
Infantry Squad [3 PL, 45pts]
. 7x Guardsman
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Sergeant: Chainsword, Laspistol
Infantry Squad [3 PL, 45pts]
. 7x Guardsman
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Sergeant: Chainsword, Laspistol
Infantry Squad [3 PL, 40pts]: 9x Guardsman
. Sergeant: Chainsword, Laspistol
+ Elites +
Astropath [1 PL, 30pts]: Laspistol, Psychic Maelstrom
Platoon Commander [2 PL, 20pts]: Chainsword, Shotgun
Sergeant Harker [3 PL, 50pts]
+ Fast Attack +
Scout Sentinels [3 PL, 52pts]
. Scout Sentinel: Heavy Flamer
Scout Sentinels [3 PL, 52pts]
. Scout Sentinel: Heavy Flamer
Scout Sentinels [3 PL, 52pts]
. Scout Sentinel: Heavy Flamer
+ Heavy Support +
Heavy Weapons Squad [3 PL, 33pts]
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
Heavy Weapons Squad [3 PL, 33pts]
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
Heavy Weapons Squad [3 PL, 33pts]
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
. Heavy Weapon Team: Mortar
++ Supreme Command Detachment +1CP (Imperium - Blood Angels) [30 PL, 659pts] ++
+ HQ +
Captain [6 PL, 129pts]: Jump Pack, Storm shield, Thunder hammer
Captain [6 PL, 129pts]: Jump Pack, Storm shield, Thunder hammer
Captain [6 PL, 129pts]: Jump Pack, Storm shield, Thunder hammer
Captain on Bike [6 PL, 136pts]: Storm shield, Thunder hammer, Twin boltgun
Captain on Bike [6 PL, 136pts]: Storm shield, Thunder hammer, Twin boltgun
++ Total: [110 PL, 2000pts] ++
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Overview
Originally this list was all Guardsmen and Blood Angels, the post-
FAQ idea was to use Guardsmen Command Points to enable Blood Angels to do some truly dirty things. So far from a macro perspective this has worked out and the list performs very well. I have been testing a lot of builds before this one. I'll start with the staples and move onto the new stuff which is the Deathwatch.
I've fluctuated between running a lot of Captains and some Captains with Death Company. Lately I've been favoring the Captains for their ability to survive and granularity when it comes to Stratagem use. For example using Forlorn Fury with Death Company is a huge gamble whereas with a Captain it's never a gamble. Captains make better use of some Stratagems, worse for others, so that's about a wash. Death Company certainly hit harder but they also make demands of my positioning and sometimes have to come in piece-meal whereas the Captains can be/are more immediate. I think Death Company are very powerful but for this specific army I think the Captains do the job of hitting things better by living longer and giving me more flexibility. They all have the very familiar "Smash Captain" loadout, each game one of the Jump Pack Captains will buy The Angel's Wings because it's an amazing item.
I used to run a lot more Guard but I've cut back for several reasons. One is to make room for the new additions, another was to help out with Secondaries in the ITC Missions. Running ~100 Guardsmen really opens up Death By a Thousand Cuts. I was also running more support pieces which are vulnerable to fast models, Deep Strike, etc. Much of that has been replaced with stockier units that are more difficult to completely remove. What Guard I have remaining is now more strictly on screen duty. The
HWS, Commanders, and Harker will form a backline bunker while the Infantry Squads hold the line. To fill out the Brigade I have a Psyker assortment, mostly for Deny the Witch but having some Mortal Wounds is also very helpful. I also went with Scout Sentinels as cheap Fast Attack, they're actually quite useful with the Heavy Flamers and being able to tie things up.
For Regiment I'm sticking with Catachans right now. The odds on re-roll 1's to Hit/Wound are VERY similar for Mortars are re-roll all Hits. However the Infantry Squads very rarely stay still, they're more of a mid-field inclusion. By running Catachans I can get Harker, who is an awesome piece by himself, get a very mild melee bonus, and a Leadership bonus when I need one (this matters more than it looks like). I would also drop all the Mortars if I could but the Heavy Weapon denies The Reaper in the ITC Missions so that's completely worth the points.
Finally I have the new stuff, the Deathwatch. I was having issues with being able to shoot things off both to clear space for my Blood Angels and just to remove threats. This was particularly bad against Monster Heavy armies or big, durable pieces ala Mortarion. While I think Deathwatch are overall a very weak army, their Intercessors solve all these problems via Special Issue Ammunition. Being able to wound on 2's solves a lot of problems while being able to get AP2-3 shots off really helps against other Marine armies. Deathwatch also allow you to put up to three units in Deep Strike, which my army loves, meaning I can avoid gunlines getting first word against my Intercessors while the Characters just stand around.
I went with the easy re-roll Aura in a Captain as I don't think a Watch Master is worth it unless you're running a lot more Deathwatch. I also took a Librarian as even though the Space Marine Lore is very weak I love having access to Null Zone in this army. There's some other corner case powers to make him worth taking but mostly I just want Null Zone because it can win entire games with ease, really there also isn't another good option for an
HQ either unless I take another Stormbolter Captain.
Weaknesses
While the list has a lot of strengths it also has some problems. -1 to Hit Spam is still hard to deal with in certain compositions although the Deathwatch help out a lot with this compared to simply massing Guardsmen. -1 to Hit Vehicles are worse as I have to chase them down with the Captains, possibly trading one for one. This hasn't been a problem with Wave Serpents thus far because their damage output for their points isn't that high and melee is a great way to deal with them because of Serpent Shields. Venoms are much worse because they're usually more numerous and Dark Eldar can easily (and should) make a fully mechanized army that invalidates a lot of my list until I start breaking those open. Overall Dark Eldar is by far my worst matchup because there are too many targets for the Captains to handle when you look at Ravagers, Venoms, and Fliers. This is why I've gone a bit heavy on Psychic Powers as those can usually crack a Venom but most of the other units are fairly ineffective.
Prior to this iteration I think Monster heavy 'Nids was a problem because it's hard to kill Carnifexes with Guard but the Deathwatch really help this. There are still some concerns because of how much dakka that army can put out but the Captains really shine in that matchup by tying stuff up and not dying while I can focus on the Flyrants. I think triple Vault is still a very bad match for me, as well as most lists, but that is very likely to be nerfed in
CA if it gets any traction. I've probably lost ground against that list by removing the Death Company and having less of an Objective game via swarms. Tau is another worry although I haven't gotten to test against them, three Riptides can be hard to handle but I think the rest of the usual Tau stuff dies very quickly and having the opportunity to Deep Strike the Deathwatch is very big there.
Against most of the ITC Meta lists I've seen I think I'm favored or even while having some really bad matchups that are out there but more corner-case. Very anti-Infantry gunlines can certainly provide some problems but I'm not seeing as much of that lately as gunlines have a hard time in the ITC and armies like Guard have to dedicate a lot to make their anti-tank work. The lists are certainly out there but I'm doing the best I can by denying targets and being able to close the gap quickly.
Finally as far as Missions go I think I'm at about a wash with my old list. I can still grab Objectives very efficiently via Deep Strike but I've lost Guardsmen to swarm the mid-field and stick around. This makes my "Control More" a bit worse but my "Kill More" a bit better as I have fewer easy to remove units. My list will always give up Headhunter unless the game is a complete stomp, past that I think I'm in good shape on Secondaries. DbaTC is still possible but now much more risky, most armies would probably average 2-3 Points there. I also still have counter-attack and board presence for things like Recon/BEL and I don't give up any of the specific target Secondaries. This is what I'm relying on for some of the bad matchups as I can keep the score low and try to pull the game out.
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So that's the list, I hope to try it out soon but I know a good portion of it is very reliable. I'm still on the fence about the Librarian, the Regiment, and possibly the Detachments. I think I have to run the Detachments as is because the tax for a Blood Angels Battalion within my style of army is very high and I'd have to go back to the very expendable Death Company which I'm not too keen on. Plus it's fun to start the game with 20 Command Points and have all the Guard recycling tricks.
10000 pts
4000 pts
