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How was the deatch watch new codex? I would imagine it would gain a lot from the new codex. But I have seen very few people talk about then, either here or elsewhere.

Are they not any good, or just few people play them?

Can somrbody give me a quick rundown of how they are dofferent then regular marines? I know they can take mixed squads witch seems like a cool mechanic.

I have it and am currently building a DW army.

In terms of differences: they can take any unit from C:SM (with some exceptions, like Assault Marines and Sternguard) and you can choose what Doctrine applies each turn.

They have Special Issue Ammunition, but it applies to fewer weapons - feel sorry for all those people who spent months tracking down storm bolters.

Other than that is the stuff you already know about. Mixed unit kill teams, some special weapons, etc. I'd argue they're better now than they were in 8th, changes to the mechanics more favor their style of play. Like being able to fire heavy weapons off a Corvus, that's a big deal having a useful gunboat / transport.

One thing people seem to overlook: they can do Drop Pod Assault better than most armies. With Kraken rounds, Vets basically become deep-striking Intercessors. Park a Drop Pod on an objective someone's advancing on and you have a pretty nice way to control it the rest of the game.

The main challenges facing the Deathwatch are:

They've never really been close enough to top tier to have competitive champions dedicated to making the faction work. The new codex is solid, but not wildly OP enough to get people to jump ship. They're also a lot more in line with other Marine chapters now (largely for the better) but it means there's less incentive to pick them up compared to something like White Scars or Salamanders right now.

The other main issue they face is there's not an obvious power strategy for them. Deathwatch specialize in flexibility rather than pushing one playstyle to its limits. The kill teams also represent a HUGE set of options, particularly on the OldMarine Kill Team (Proteus) that leaves a lot of room for suboptimal setups. A lot of the armies you see played online will have teams packing 4-5 different weapons with wildly different applications, that's certainly fluffy, but not how the game works. I think they're strong, but complicated.

That said, they're really fun and have strong unique tools that I think makes them as viable as most other SM Chapters. I just think for a lot of people it's more fun to take advantage of the cool options available than using them to make the strongest list possible.

I think we will need to wait for the FAQ to answer some questions. Points in the book and the electronic version have different points on some items.

Some awesome elements of the new Dex:

Relics:
the Aegis Dominus - to really make that Chief Apothecary obnoxious.

The Tome of Ectoclades - its like the Seal of Oath, but can target more than one unit.

The Beacon Angelus - it still works, a first turn alpha/beta strike could look like a Drop Pop full of your choice of Deathwatch Veterans - I like Frag Cannons for this one. A Master of Sanctity on a bike with the Beacon and Recitation of Focus, Catechism of Fire, Hero of the Chapter: Nowhere to Hide. And a second unit dedicated to killing whatever target youre pouncing on. Your list probably has a Kill team for killing armor, heavy and light infantry. Grab the appropriate tool, apply those litanies from the safety of your DZ. In the movement phase advance your chaplain, beacon over the unit and end with bringing in your drop pod. If you can wait a turn and have one - the Termite Drill is better.

WLT's: Optimized Priority is solid considering the bulk of your infantry are large chucks of your points, youll need to make use of them killing as well as scoring secondaries. If you add a unit of Company Vets, you may not need this one. I take it in ever list Ive built.
You have access to every chapter's WLT now via Paragon of Their Chapter. The standouts for me are: Adept of the Codex and Brilliant Strategist.

Teleport Homers are good. If you take Kill Teams with a terminator - take one.

We've lost SIA effectively but have gained large units of OBSEC units other chapters do not have access. I need more testing but I think you're better off with taking 4 bikers and having the 5th member being infantry so that you retain movement shenanigans. 5 Inceptors with ablative wounds (once we can buy Heavy Intercessors), 4 or 5 Eliminators with Lasfusils are good (so are snipers to kill opposing Chief Apothecaries) as are 4 Eliminators with an Infiltrator with the Helix.

I still like Proteus Kill Teams, but I would first have 2 Fortis Outrider Kill teams or one and a Proteus team with 1st Born bikers.

If you're going with the Chief Apothecary and Dominus Aegis, you'll want those units with bikers as they have a huge footprint and can string back to those character buffs. If not then combat squad'ing is something to consider. If combat sqad'ing then think about mixing units to gain maximum benefit from squad type/toughness rules.