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 know that taking a spearhead and a krieg batallion would optimise my tanks and artillery, but I couldn't pass up on the incredibly juicy 15 command point Battle Forged Brigade (13 after stratagems).



Death Korps of Krieg, Brigade, Emperor's Fury Artillery Company

Stratagems: Imperial Commander's Armoury, Tank Ace



HQ:

Death Korps Field Officer

- Chainsword, Hot-shot Lasgun, Laspistol, Warlord and Old Grudges. Relic: The Laurels of Command

Death Korps Field Officer

- Chainsword, Hot-shot Lasgun, Laspistol. Relic: Kurov's Aquila.

Death Korps Death Rider Squadron Commander

- Laspistol, Lance, Power Axe

Tank Commander

- Demolisher Siege Cannon

Tank Commander

- Demolisher Siege Cannon



Troops:

6 squads of: 10-man Death Korps Infantry Squad

- Special weapon: Plasma.

- Watch Master: Boltgun and Chainsword



Elites:

3x Squads of: 5-man Death Korps Combat Engineer Squad, vanilla.



Fast Attack:

3x Squads of: 5-man Death Korps Death Rider Squadron



Heavy Support:

Basilisk

- Tanke Ace: "Support Ace Full Payload"

Basilisk

- Vanilla

Mars Pattern Leman Russ

- Demolisher Siege Cannon



The total army cost comes out at 1497, just shy of the 1500 mark. I am considering swapping the two relics around so that I can just sit my Old Grudges Warlord next to the two basilisks and burning command points early on to just fire and re-fire the two basilisks at whatever I have marked for death with Old Grudges.

However, I could also completely remove Old Grudges in order to take a second Tank Ace and make both basilisks carry a Full Payload.

Other general thoughts: I have really tried squeezing the list to try to get that third Tank Commander in there (and replacing the lost Heavy Support slot with some Autocannon or Mortar Heavy Weapon's Teams), but there just isn't enough points without starting to cut back on plasma-guns in the core squads. Is this something I should still consider doing to get those 3+ rather than 4+ hits on the third Demolisher?

Or do i go the other way and cut one Russ from the list in order to either size up or kit out the Engineers or Death Riders?

Or perhaps to bring some more artillery such as Heavy Mortars into the list?



And yes, I am a complete noob having to relearn army building, rules and gameplay balance, last I played was fourth edition 40k/sixth edition Fantasy.

Don't sweat it we are all complete newbs now -- the "upgrade" to ninth is going to change doctrines, the style of combate, point costs, rules, rules interactions, and generally everything but the names of the units. So we are all lost.

That being said, the thing ytou built here is a single brigade (15 start command points) which can be either designated empror's wrath artiller (allows one basilisk to double fire for 2 cp) or can be desingated as a emperor's fist brigade (the tanks get a strategem to move far and fire thei turret weapon as if they had not done so, and better overwatch, and a very situational suicide charge strat).

now, the trick is, you could do both of these things if you had 2 battaloins (you have enough officres) and organise it more like this.
Wrath of the emperor artillery company (-1 cp)
infantry commanders with infantry
artillery / basilisks
death korps riders and their officer character

and

Emperor's fist tanker battalion (-1 cp)
3 tank commanders!
One is a tank ace and his superpower is -1 damage (a really good one)
3 infantry
engeneers x2

You might therefore be able to declare the emperor's wrath every game and use a grudges guy to light up their guns -- but don't forget grudges also pairs very well with 3 angry tank commanders a bit further forward.

You may, or may not, dependign on the board, put the 3 tank commanders into an emporers fist .. maybe you sometimes do so when you are going to be needing to give the trait to 5,6 (better) overwatch, maybe you however sometimes save cp so that you can reroll all misses AND fire the tank ace basilisk twice.

Remember tank ace is a strat, so you can sort of flexibly assign it to the tanks or the artillery as you see need.

Yes, you do start with 2 cp fewer here, and that is an issue, but you will occasionally see yourself fighting an enemy with really elite hard to dig out 2+ save infantry, and want to wrath/ace/doubletap to wipe out whole squads of aggressors -- but you can also give the basilisk an ability (make a field commander for the warth and give him the wrath relic) to ignore cover, essentially all game, as long as the holder sticks nearby.

OR you can make your tank core overwatch on 5 or 6, with that field commander, and potentially surge the demolisher forward into close combat far more efficaciously.

Or both, but you will not have lots of cp left. Anyway. in my own armies, I usually build 3 battalion rather than a brigade -- the points tax for relatively not useful units ends up killing me.

Can DKOK take sentinals? I forgot this but it would give them an option to make a cheaper fast attack and maybe balance the points that way. Sentinal with a missle launcher or something, sits back and plink enemy lignt armor.

I personally am a fan of the griffin mortar carrier, simply because they are the artillery I painted best .. but its a way to drop 23 points off a list and that might give you a different means to upgrade yourself a new tank commander. I don't have my books to hand (in my car of course) but some of the forgeworld armor is about 20 points less than a tank commander, depending on which leman you buy.

Certainly consider the option of a basilisk + griffin in the arty battalion, dropping one engeneer 5 man, and upgrading to a thired tank commander -- then I think you have enough points to kit out the various dkok speciality squads a bit.

Alright, here are two versions after some tweaking, first out is my Double Battalion Artillery Company v 1:

2x Battalions, Battle Forged = 13CP

Imperial Commander's Armory x2, Specialist Detachment x2, Tank Ace, Field officer = -7

Total CP: 6

Battalion One, Emperor's Fury

HQ: Field Officer, hot-shot lasgun, warlord, old grudges, Aquila

HQ: Field Officer, hot-shot lasgun, laurels

Core: 3x 10-man squads, Boltgun watchmasters, plasma special

Elites: Death Korps Death Rider Command Squadron (mostly backline objective capping and hunting down wounded vehicles and monsters, these are not the frontline wave attack that the 15 in the other list is fielding)

Elites: Master of Ordnance, Emperor's Wrath, Field Commander Lord of Ordnance, Agripinaa-Class Orbital Tracker

Heavy Support: 2x Basilisks (one tank Ace with Full Payload)

Heavy Support: Heavy Quad Launcher Battery (3x heavy Quad launchers)


Battalion 2: Emperor's Hammer

HQ: 3x Tank Commanders with Demolisher cannons

Troops: 1x 10-man squad of Death Korps Infantry, boltgun watchmaster, plasma special

Troops: 2x 10-man squads of Death Korps Infantry, boltgun watchmaster, grenade launcher special

I lose some bodies with this version, however, I gain 3 quad launchers and all of my Demolisher Siege Canons are now hitting on 3+ instead of 4+ and they're part of an Emperor's Hammer detachment, meaning I can run stratagems on them if I want to rush them up the field.

Overall, I'm 3 CP's behind the Brigade configuration, but my units are all the more powerful for it.




And here is the Brigade that is heavier on the bodies but doesn't have quite as much artillery and fewer tank commanders.

HQ: Deathkorp Deathrider commander w power axe

HQ: Infantry officer warlord with old grudges, hotshot and aquila.

HQ: Infantry officer with hotshot and laurels

HQ: Tank commander demolisher


Troop: 6x10-man death korps squads with plasma and boltgun watchmasters.


Elites: 9x engineers

Elites: 8x engineers

Elites: Master of Ordnance, Field Commander - Lord of Ordnance, Orbital Tracker


Fast Attack: 3x5-man Death Rider squads


Heavy Support: Basilisk, tank ace full payload

Heavy Support: Basilisk

Heavy Support: Mars Alpha pattern demolisher rus

Heavy Support: Mars Alpha pattern demolisher rus


Battleforged + Brigade = 15 CP

Specialist detachment, Tank Ace, 2 extra relics, field commander -6 CP

Total CP: 9

Should still be enough to double fire the support ace basilisk and still get some nice charges or other battlefield maneuvers out there.


And some final thoughts:

I just don't like the griffin when I can take basilisks instead, I don't like manticores with their missiles (it just doesn't fit that imagery of WW1 trenches), It might turn out that I swap the three Quad Launchers for 2 Hydras and some more Death Riders to increase the size of the flanking force.