Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm trying to make a TAC list that will be competitive in my soon to be local area. I will be moving soon, so I don't know what to expect.

I'm having trouble coming up with a good way to divide arc rifles and plasma calivers between my vanguard and rangers. It seems like the 18" range of the carbines and calivers would match well, but that puts rangers as the front line unit (15" rapid fire on the galvanic rifles, 12" for arc rifles) and vanguard abilities make them better suited for that role (in case they get into melee). Although I could just keep my rangers out of rapid fire range, I don't know if I will be making the most of them then.

Giving arc rifles to vanguard will lead to a big range discrepancy for them and not making the most of your carbines, even if it keeps your units in an orderly formation. Plasma calivers on rangers won't seem too out of place since you won't be advancing with them any way.
So whats the best way to take skitarii special weapons, vanguard + plasma and rangers + arc rifle or vanguard + arc rifle and rangers + plasma?

Another question I have is whether or not to take omnispexes on my rangers, are they worth their points on an MSU? Most competitive players seem to take them when they have special weapons, but it seems like a very small gain. If I drop them, I would just take more misericordias.

Last and least, I am wondering if I should take chainswords over bolt pistols on my killteams. Bolt pistols are better against 2+ save or T5, while chainswords are better against everything else. Chainswords have a slight advantage when you charge, but bolt pistols are comparable when used defensively. Bolt pistols can target units you did not charge (if positioned correctly) and units far away, but chainswords can directly target models. While I understand the most competitive deathwatch killteam is storm bolters, 2 stormshields, and maybe a frag cannon, I would feel remiss if I didn't give my black shields melee weapons and proper shields. It looks to me like DW shotguns are completely useless, but stalker boltguns have an inbuilt AP value, making them better than storm bolters at range. I'm just trying to not have to dig up 6 more storm bolters.


Total: 1999pts, 13CP

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Deathwatch) [60 PL, 986pts, 8CP] ++

Battle-forged CP [+3CP]

+ HQ +

Librarian [6 PL, 96pts]: 1) Veil of Time, 6) Null Zone, Bolt Pistol, Force stave
. Tome of the Ectoclades

Watch Captain Artemis [7 PL, 130pts]: Vigilance Incarnate, Warlord

+ Troops +

Veterans [9 PL, 124pts]
. Black Shield: Power maul, Storm shield
. Veteran: Storm Bolter, Storm shield
. Veteran: Bolt Pistol, Stalker Pattern Boltgun
. Veteran w/ Heavy Weapon: Deathwatch Frag Cannon
. Watch Sergeant: Storm Bolter, Xenophase Blade

Veterans [9 PL, 124pts]
. Black Shield: Power maul, Storm shield
. Veteran: Storm Bolter, Storm shield
. Veteran: Bolt Pistol, Stalker Pattern Boltgun
. Veteran w/ Heavy Weapon: Deathwatch Frag Cannon
. Watch Sergeant: Storm Bolter, Xenophase Blade

Veterans [9 PL, 124pts]
. Black Shield: Power maul, Storm shield
. Veteran: Storm Bolter, Storm shield
. Veteran: Bolt Pistol, Stalker Pattern Boltgun
. Veteran w/ Heavy Weapon: Deathwatch Frag Cannon
. Watch Sergeant: Storm Bolter, Xenophase Blade

+ Elites +

Venerable Dreadnought [8 PL, 152pts]: Twin lascannon
. Dreadnought combat weapon w/Storm Bolter: Storm bolter

+ Flyer +

Corvus Blackstar [12 PL, 236pts]: Auspex Array, Hurricane bolter, Twin assault cannon
. 2x Stormstrike Missile Launchers: 2x Stormstrike missile launcher

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium - Adeptus Mechanicus) [40 PL, 577pts, 5CP] ++

Forge World Choice
. Forge World: Graia

+ HQ +

Tech-Priest Dominus [7 PL, 92pts]: Phosphor Serpenta, Volkite Blaster

Tech-Priest Enginseer [3 PL, 30pts]

+ Troops +

Skitarii Rangers [4 PL, 72pts]: Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 2x Skitarii Ranger
. 2x Skitarii Ranger (Transuranic Arquebus): 2x Transuranic Arquebus

Skitarii Rangers [4 PL, 50pts]: Omnispex
. Ranger Alpha: Galvanic Rifle
. 2x Skitarii Ranger
. 2x Skitarii Ranger (Arc Rifle): 2x Arc Rifle

Skitarii Vanguards [4 PL, 51pts]
. 3x Skitarii Vanguard
. Skitarii Vanguard (Plasma Caliver): Plasma Caliver
. Vanguard Alpha: Radium Carbine

Skitarii Vanguards [4 PL, 51pts]
. 3x Skitarii Vanguard
. Skitarii Vanguard (Plasma Caliver): Plasma Caliver
. Vanguard Alpha: Radium Carbine

+ Heavy Support +

Onager Dunecrawler [7 PL, 119pts]: Broad Spectrum Data-tether, Cognis Heavy Stubber
. Neutron Laser and Cognis Heavy Stubber: Cognis Heavy Stubber, Neutron Laser

Onager Dunecrawler [7 PL, 112pts]: Broad Spectrum Data-tether, Cognis Heavy Stubber, Icarus Array

++ Patrol Detachment (Imperium - Adeptus Custodes) [24 PL, 436pts, -1CP] ++

Open the Vaults (1 Relic) [-1CP]

+ HQ +

Shield-Captain [7 PL, 116pts]: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Castellan's Mark

+ Troops +

Custodian Guard Squad [17 PL, 320pts]
. Custodian: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Custodian: Guardian Spear, Misericordia
. Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Custodian: Guardian Spear
. Custodian: Guardian Spear

Created with BattleScribe

Thank you for your critiques.

Give a couple of your Custodes the Sentinal/SS combination, drop the 2 Misericordias, your weight of attacks should make up for it.

Your Deathwatch squads seem too varied to be effective. A decent setup is usually just Storm Bolter/Storm Shield with a couple of Frag Cannons, but like you said, the odd Power Weapon couldn't hurt on the Blackshields.

I would keep your Rangers with 2x Arquebus' for sniping, wouldn't bother with the Arc Rifles. Alternatively dropping one squad and a Custodian or 2 could get you a unit of Kataphrons with Plasma.

Does a 3++ make that big of a difference on custodes? Sometimes I have given my shield captain eagle eye, but it's never been a game changer. I was hoping I could use the piercing strike stratagem to give a lot of spears +1 to wound most turns.

My killteams have 3 bolt weapons, 2 power weapons, 2 SS, and a frag cannon. I suppose it is towing the line between competitive and casual.

I might make kataphrons my next purchase then, but in the mean time the admech is just two start collecting boxes I bought back in January (and an enginseer I still need to get).

But what is the verdict on using omnispexes? Give them to snipers only?

I've generally found at least 1 3++ to be necessary in a Custodes squad. Your opponent is going to start focusing high-Ap fire into them, you need all the protection you can get. If you can fit a -1BS Vexilla into the list then even better. Piercing Strike is an excellent Strat but you don't need large numbers for it to pay off; I once used it along with Avenge the Fallen, and my single remaining Custodian took out 5 Paladins without taking a single wound in return.

I'm a bit on the fence about Omnispexes. Ignoring cover is nice, but your snipers are already high-Ap, the targets you'll most likely be firing them at will probably have an Invuln save of some kind, will the cover make much of a difference?

How many custodes does the vexilla need to buff in order to be worth the points?

Against most main HQ units (e.g. SM captain, guard commander) the AP is sufficient to deal with armor and cover before running into invulns. Secondary HQ units (e.g. librarians, tech priests, commissars, demon princes strangely enough) don't seem to have many invulns so you can really eat into their armor save with an omnispex. Exceptions would include daemons, eldar, necrons, and ork HQ's in force fields (everything has an invuln) and nids, t'au, and ork HQ's out of force fields (who don't have as many strong invulns). But I don't know what to make this. It still seems like things could go either way.