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Okay, I've come back to 40K, and DakkaDakka, for 7th edition nad it's like people are talking a completely new language.
Taudar, Sypder-star, This-Star, That-Star...
Can someone take a minute to illuminate me what combos make up these Death Stars, so I know what I'm coming up against, or at least point me to a resource that does ?
As a side note, Tau and Eldar were both considered kinda crap when I stopped playing, so to hear they are top tier armies now made me chuckle.
The Focused Deathray is a S10 AP1 beam weapon that deals double hits to anything underneath it's 3D6" line (so if you have a unit of 5 marines and the line touches 3 of them, the unit will take 6 S10 AP1 auto hits) [note: be aware that there is some RAW/RAI argument going on right now because the way the rule is currently written could loophole-allow you to generate a massive amount of hits if you manage to hit two separate units with the same line].
To make matters worse, because the Focused Deathray gets around targeting, it can be used against invisible units without penalty. [RAW also doesn't prevent it from hitting flyers. At least, until the end up FAQ'ing it]. Because the Deathray is not targeted Jink is useless against it. It can also technically split fire 3 ways, giving you a 48+3d6" death bubble.
When you attach Obyron, he can, instead of moving normally, teleport-deepstrike them anywhere on the table in the movement phase (he can even deepstrike them out of combat and into range of new targets every turn).
The Pylons follow the Artillery rules and are fearless but with zero CC capability. Normally, because the weapon is heavy, they wouldn't be able to fire the same turn they deepstrike/move with Obyron. But with a Phaeron attached they gain relentless (plus he's there to tank for Obyron).
Eldar SeerStar:
Spoiler:
Eldar + DEldar Allies
The Baron
Farseer on Jetbike
Farseer on Jetboke
Large unit of Warlocks on Jetbikes
The Baron gives Hit and Run to the unit, and stealth. Warlocks have a primaris power for shrouded, which can be used with jink or terrain for a 2+ cover save. Farseers both try to get Fortune, for a re-roll to saves. It is quite likely this unit will have a 2+ rerollable cover save. The unit can also boost their armor save to a 2+ with the right powers from the Warlocks, resulting in a 2+ rerollable armor save. They're very fast, indestructable to most shooting and pretty good at assault. Deal with through anti psychic units to deny their more rediculous powers.
Demon ScreamerStar
Spoiler:
Chaos Daemons
9 Screamers of Tzeentch
4 Heralds of Tzeentch on Disc with ML 3 and one Exalted reward
Fateweaver
The Heralds of Tzeentch all attempt to get Fortune for a 4++ on the screamers. The Exalted reward is the Grimoire of True Names. This, added to the 4++, gives a 2++ invulnerable save to the unit. Tzeentch Daemons reroll 1s on their saving rolls, resulting in a 2++ rerollable save. The Screamers are mega fast, can use slash attacks to murder units and in assault are Strength 5 Ap. 2 Armorbane... ouch.
Tau Farsight Bomb:
Spoiler:
Tau Empire:
Farsight
Commander with C&C node, Hit and Run, Iridium Armor, Puretide chip, Multi Spectrum Scanner
9 Crisis suits in a bodyguard squad, with lots of drones. They get their choice of Melta, plasma, missiles, and other upgrades
Basically, the unit deep strikes in no scatter thanks to Farsight, then just shoots melta and plasma that is twinlinked and ignores cover into whatever unit they want to. They can split fire with upgrades, and jet away after they've shot. Once they get assaulted, they Hit and Run away and shoot you again. So, they deep strike in and nuke 2-3 vehicles or cripple units. They inflict a massive amount of pain!
This is a very simple one, that often has multiples taken. Usually two. The D-Lord has a 2+ Armor save and tanks wounds He can look out sir to the Wraiths, who have a 3++ invulnerable save. The D-Lord grants them preferred enemy and they are absolutely brutal in Close combat. The lord delivers Strength 7Ap.2 Armorbane, while the Wraiths have a boatload of Rending attacks. The only real answer is to back up while shooting a ton into them. Once you kill the lord, killing the wraiths is as "easy" as killing 12 marines with weight of fire.
Space Marine BikeStar:
Spoiler:
Codex Space Marines:
Chapter Master with Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal on Bike
Bike unit with various weapons
Other attached characters optional
There's a few variants of these all with a basic principle: Command Squad for Feel no Pain, then add a 4 wound super beefy character to the front to tank wounds. Popular options are a Chapter Master with Shield Eternal for a 2+/3++, or an Iron Hands CM with the Gorgon Chain for the same, with +1 to Feel no Pain. Other characters are added to the unit, like a Librarian for defense or Prescience, or Khan for his various bonuses. White Scars are popular choices here for Skilled Rider and Hit and Run, as are Iron Hands for a particularly nasty Chapter Master to tank wounds. Basically, just shoot this unit to hell because they come armed to the teeth. Sadly, they are very very resilient, and so require tons of dakka or just avoid the unit. It has literally no answer for flyers.
Necron Royal Court Disco Inferno
Spoiler:
• Zahndrekh (there to grant Hit & Run/Furious Charge/Stealth/etc., as well as deny those same rules to enemy units).
• Obyron (there as an extra Warscythe, plus an emergency eject teleport from combat, if necessary)
• Overlord (WS, MSS, SW, PS)
• 5x Lords (WS, MSS, SW, PS, x2 ResOrbs)
• Harbinger of Eternity (Chronometron)
• Any additional flavor of Harbinger you wish (Destruction to give defensive grenades, Trans for -D3" off of charge range of anyone trying to assault the unit, Storm to give D6 auto hits to anyone trying to assault the unit, Despair for teleport if you decided to omit Obyron or to cause instant "pass a leadership test or run away" checks)
7 Warscythes, granted FC, give you at least 28 S8 AP1 attacks on the charge (potentially more, with Obyron's Cleaving Counter Blow rule, which grants him extra attacks for each miss the enemy makes against him that round of combat).
As well as 6 Mindshackle Scarabs to deal with.
The whole unit is majority toughness 5, with multiple 2+/3++ saves, and every one that gets knocked down has a 50% chance to stand back up.
AND once each phase they can reroll a single D6.
Tying them up in combat doesn't work, because they can teleport out of it in their movement phase (meaning they can jump on an unclaimed objective and potentially steal a win at the last second).
They're pretty slow on foot, so typically they'll hijack a Ghost Ark from some Warriors, convert it to a party bus, and motor around the table in their AV13 skimmer assault transport (with stealth, if Zahndrekh grants it).
There isn't a lot that can be done against this deathstar, but you're still very unlikely to play against it.
Why?
The price.
It averages somewhere around 1000 points for an optimum build RCDI.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/07/02 22:29:04
Tau's death star is now illegal, made so by disallowing Independent Characters to join monstrous creatures. It was one Riptide, a Commander with all of the buff upgrades, Commander Farsight, and the Farsight Enclaves special independent character Riptide O'Vesa. It gave you a unit that was majority t6, with a 2+/3++, FnP, could jump shoot jump, hit and run at I5, and put out a massive amount of firepower that ignored cover and was twin linked. I miss it a bit but I felt dirty using it in anything but the most competitive settings.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/07/01 23:02:21
Think about the original Deathstar in Star Wars and you get the idea.
In 40K Deathstars are combination of a base unit and ICs or only ICs formed together in a on blob of cheese that atleast should be either indestructable and deal a lot of damage or both.
Unit that has 2++ invusave that rerolls saving throws of 1 is good example of nearly indestructible deathstar and a unit that has plenty of good Strength and AP firepower that Ignores Cover and has some more good rules is an example of a damage dealing deathstar.
Deathstars also make up a good chunk of points in a list.
Mostly these all are onetime tricks that can be countered in a multiple ways if you are good at building lists and therefore not a viable option but you cant ignore them while you are building your competitive list.
Somehow it happens to be so that when someone figures out an deathstar combo and uses it in a tournament, all routers around the world heat up and every board flames up with very "original" army lists and on a next tournament these are flooded all over but still won't win
Any demon list that results in a re-rollable 2+ invulnerable save.
Save yourself some time and decline the game.
Unless you are in a tournament...then good luck.
Captain Killhammer McFighterson stared down at the surface of Earth from his high vantage point on the bridge of Starship Facemelter. Something ominous was looming on the surface. He could see a great shadow looming just underneath the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, slowly spreading northward. "That can't be good..." he muttered to himself while rubbing the super manly stubble on his chin with one hand. "But... on the other hand..." he looked at his shiny new bionic murder-arm. "This could be the perfect chance for that promotion." A perfect roundhouse kick slammed the ship's throttle into full gear. Soon orange jets of superheated plasma were visible from the space-windshield as Facemelter reentered the atmosphere at breakneck speed.
The Focused Deathray is a S10 AP1 beam weapon that deals double hits to anything underneath it's 3D6" line (so if you have a unit of 5 marines and the line touches 3 of them, the unit will take 6 S10 AP1 auto hits) [note: be aware that there is some RAW/RAI argument going on right now because the way the rule is currently written could loophole-allow you to generate a massive amount of hits if you manage to hit two separate units with the same line].
To make matters worse, because the Focused Deathray gets around targeting, it can be used against invisible units without penalty. [RAW also doesn't prevent it from hitting flyers. At least, until the end up FAQ'ing it]. Because the Deathray is not targeted Jink is useless against it. It can also technically split fire 3 ways, giving you a 48+3d6" death bubble.
When you attach Obyron, he can, instead of moving normally, teleport-deepstrike them anywhere on the table in the movement phase (he can even deepstrike them out of combat and into range of new targets every turn).
The Pylons follow the Artillery rules and are fearless but with zero CC capability. Normally, because the weapon is heavy, they wouldn't be able to fire the same turn they deepstrike/move with Obyron. But with a Phaeron attached they gain relentless (plus he's there to tank for Obyron).
The Baron
Farseer on Jetbike
Farseer on Jetboke
Large unit of Warlocks on Jetbikes
The Baron gives Hit and Run to the unit, and stealth. Warlocks have a primaris power for shrouded, which can be used with jink or terrain for a 2+ cover save. Farseers both try to get Fortune, for a re-roll to saves. It is quite likely this unit will have a 2+ rerollable cover save. The unit can also boost their armor save to a 2+ with the right powers from the Warlocks, resulting in a 2+ rerollable armor save. They're very fast, indestructable to most shooting and pretty good at assault. Deal with through anti psychic units to deny their more rediculous powers.
ScreamerStar
Spoiler:
Chaos Daemons
9 Screamers of Tzeentch
4 Heralds of Tzeentch on Disc with ML 3 and one Exalted reward
Fateweaver
The Heralds of Tzeentch all attempt to get Fortune for a 4++ on the screamers. The Exalted reward is the Grimoire of True Names. This, added to the 4++, gives a 2++ invulnerable save to the unit. Tzeentch Daemons reroll 1s on their saving rolls, resulting in a 2++ rerollable save. The Screamers are mega fast, can use slash attacks to murder units and in assault are Strength 5 Ap. 2 Armorbane... ouch.
The Farsight Bomb:
Spoiler:
Tau Empire:
Farsight
Commander with C&C node, Hit and Run, Iridium Armor, Puretide chip, Multi Spectrum Scanner
9 Crisis suits in a bodyguard squad, with lots of drones. They get their choice of Melta, plasma, missiles, and other upgrades
Basically, the unit deep strikes in no scatter thanks to Farsight, then just shoots melta and plasma that is twinlinked and ignores cover into whatever unit they want to. They can split fire with upgrades, and jet away after they've shot. Once they get assaulted, they Hit and Run away and shoot you again. So, they deep strike in and nuke 2-3 vehicles or cripple units. They inflict a massive amount of pain!
This is a very simple one, that often has multiples taken. Usually two. The D-Lord has a 2+ Armor save and tanks wounds He can look out sir to the Wraiths, who have a 3++ invulnerable save. The D-Lord grants them preferred enemy and they are absolutely brutal in Close combat. The lord delivers Strength 7Ap.2 Armorbane, while the Wraiths have a boatload of Rending attacks. The only real answer is to back up while shooting a ton into them. Once you kill the lord, killing the wraiths is as "easy" as killing 12 marines with weight of fire.
BikeStar:
Spoiler:
Codex Space Marines:
Chapter Master with Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal on Bike
Bike unit with various weapons
Other attached characters optional
There's a few variants of these all with a basic principle: Command Squad for Feel no Pain, then add a 4 wound super beefy character to the front to tank wounds. Popular options are a Chapter Master with Shield Eternal for a 2+/3++, or an Iron Hands CM with the Gorgon Chain for the same, with +1 to Feel no Pain. Other characters are added to the unit, like a Librarian for defense or Prescience, or Khan for his various bonuses. White Scars are popular choices here for Skilled Rider and Hit and Run, as are Iron Hands for a particularly nasty Chapter Master to tank wounds. Basically, just shoot this unit to hell because they come armed to the teeth. Sadly, they are very very resilient, and so require tons of dakka or just avoid the unit. It has literally no answer for flyers.
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2014/07/02 02:52:18
• Zahndrekh (there to grant Hit & Run/Furious Charge/Stealth/etc., as well as deny those same rules to enemy units).
• Obyron (there as an extra Warscythe, plus an emergency eject teleport from combat, if necessary)
• Overlord (WS, MSS, SW, PS)
• 5x Lords (WS, MSS, SW, PS, x2 ResOrbs)
• Harbinger of Eternity (Chronometron)
• Any additional flavor of Harbinger you wish (Destruction to give defensive grenades, Trans for -D3" off of charge range of anyone trying to assault the unit, Storm to give D6 auto hits to anyone trying to assault the unit, Despair for teleport if you decided to omit Obyron or to cause instant "pass a leadership test or run away" checks)
7 Warscythes, granted FC, give you at least 28 S8 AP1 attacks on the charge (potentially more, with Obyron's Cleaving Counter Blow rule, which grants him extra attacks for each miss the enemy makes against him that round of combat).
As well as 6 Mindshackle Scarabs to deal with.
The whole unit is majority toughness 5, with multiple 2+/3++ saves, and every one that gets knocked down has a 50% chance to stand back up.
AND once each phase they can reroll a single D6.
Tying them up in combat doesn't work, because they can teleport out of it in their movement phase (meaning they can jump on an unclaimed objective and potentially steal a win at the last second).
They're pretty slow on foot, so typically they'll hijack a Ghost Ark from some Warriors, convert it to a party bus, and motor around the table in their AV13 skimmer assault transport (with stealth, if Zahndrekh grants it).
There isn't a lot that can be done against this deathstar, but you're still very unlikely to play against it.
Why?
The price.
It averages somewhere around 1000 points for an optimum build RCDI.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/07/02 05:03:43
nob bikers, with all the tools
bikerboss(es) with powerklaws etc and one blitzabike
KFF bikermek
painboy, on a bike
so you've got 5+ invulns to the unit from shooting, 4+ saves, 3+ jink, feel-no-pain and a very fast assaulty unit at T5. boxed-in by trukks that are just in range of the KFF, it can't even bee seen to be targeted.
the other nasty one is 7 meganobs, ghazzy, KFF megamek and a painboy in a battlewagon.
12,300 points of Orks
9th W/D/L with Orks, 4/0/2
I am Thoruk, the Barbarian, Slayer of Ducks, and This is my blog!
FinnSeer wrote: Think about the original Deathstar in Star Wars and you get the idea.
Except in 40k there aren't conveniently torpedo-sized holes that can blow them apart in a single shot...
Another newer one is the Mephiston-Star, only seen really in Unbound lists:
Mephiston (not an IC, so he's the 'glue' of the squad)
Chapter Master on bike+toys
Corbulo
Inquisitor with Rad Grenades and other fun things.
This works thanks to the majority toughness rule; as each model has a different T value, there is no majority, so you use the highest, in this case Mephy's T6. You've then got 2 exceptionally powerful combat characters (Mephy and the CM), a buff/debuff dispenser (The Inquisitor) and Corbulo to give them all FNP (And he has a 2+ FNP himself, so can tank a lot of wounds if you put him at the front, and LOS the stuff that would instakill him to Mephy or the Chapter Master)
It's gimmicky, quite rare and really rather silly, but it can be nasty, I imagine.
FinnSeer wrote: Think about the original Deathstar in Star Wars and you get the idea.
Except in 40k there aren't conveniently torpedo-sized holes that can blow them apart in a single shot...
Luckily the gamer wielding silliest deathstar in a "friendly" battle against new player still has an conveniently sized hole, which is mostly used for jettisoning biological waste to a golden throne, where you can shove his deathstar and the end result will be same
Mostly I don't see deathstars as a bad thing in a competitive environment like standard tournaments as everyone taking part to those are used to see and deal with deathstars and most use them by themselves. It is that minority who take them to a local FLGS for a random matches or to a fluffy events who I dislike.
nob bikers, with all the tools
bikerboss(es) with powerklaws etc and one blitzabike
KFF bikermek
painboy, on a bike
so you've got 5+ invulns to the unit from shooting, 4+ saves, 3+ jink, feel-no-pain and a very fast assaulty unit at T5. boxed-in by trukks that are just in range of the KFF, it can't even bee seen to be targeted.
the other nasty one is 7 meganobs, ghazzy, KFF megamek and a painboy in a battlewagon.
Actually, I'd expect to see this ran in a normal unit of Warbikers, they pack more punch than the Nobz for the same cost.
I haven't fielded them yet in 7E, but yeah the consensus, and Math Hammer, point to Nob Bikers taking a back seat to regular Warbike Mobz with attached painboyz
nob bikers, with all the tools
bikerboss(es) with powerklaws etc and one blitzabike
KFF bikermek
painboy, on a bike
so you've got 5+ invulns to the unit from shooting, 4+ saves, 3+ jink, feel-no-pain and a very fast assaulty unit at T5. boxed-in by trukks that are just in range of the KFF, it can't even bee seen to be targeted.
the other nasty one is 7 meganobs, ghazzy, KFF megamek and a painboy in a battlewagon.
Actually, I'd expect to see this ran in a normal unit of Warbikers, they pack more punch than the Nobz for the same cost.
And a lucky stikk over the blitzabike.
They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines, and they shall know no fear.
How about Draigo, Librarian or Coteaz, and 10 Paladins (Apothecary, 4 psycannons, 2-4 daemon hammers).
With the right psychic powers this unit can be incredibly resilient.
Former moderator 40kOnline
Lanchester's square law - please obey in list building!
Illumini: "And thank you for not finishing your post with a "" I'm sorry, but after 7200 's that has to be the most annoying sign-off ever."
Azrael gives the entire unit 4++ Invuln's. Sammuel gives the unit Hit-&-Run. Sammuel is optional but if you run these 2 characters, then you either have to run 2x CAD's (2 armies) or run Dark Angels as the primary army and AM as allies. Primaris Psykers will fish for Invisibility, Prescience, Gate of Infinity, Sanctuary or Endurance psychic powers.
Or instead of Dark Angels, you can Sevrin Loth (a Forgeworld SM Chapter, forgot which). He will basically give you guaranteed Invisibility or Endurance. For his price, you can then ally in Coteaz as well for more psychic shenanigans.
Inquisitor Ally - "the Grenade Caddy" - Rad Grenades, Psyka-troke Grenades, Lvl 1 Psyker
10x Paladins - 4x Psycannons, Brotherhood Banner, Apothecary, Warding Stave, Psybolt Ammo, a bunch of Hammers
A slow but shooty and assaulty deathstar. Between Draigo, Coteaz and Inquisitor, you get 5 powers. You can fish for Sanctuary, Prescience, Gate of Infinity, Invisibility and even Hammerhand. Any of those powers become really useful on Draigowing.
For an even more deadly deathstar, dump the Inquisitor ally and ally in AM instead. Now you have access to up to 3 Primaris Psykers and 3 Ministorum Priests.
Be'lakor
Fateweaver (you can leave him out, but he is very useful)
Khorne Herald - Juggernaut, Locus, Gifts (1 has to take the Grimoire)
Khorne Herald - Juggernaut, Locus, Gifts
Khorne Herald - Juggernaut, Locus, Gifts (or Skulltaker on a Juggernaut)
Khorne Herald - Juggernaut, Locus, Gifts (or Karanak)
20x Flesh Hounds
This unit is super fast. Be'lakor gives them guaranteed Invisibility. Combine that with a potential 3++ from the Grimoire and they become quite sturdy.
Another super-fast deathstar like the Khorne Dogstar and seer council. If you can get Fortune and Invisibility, this unit becomes almost as indestructible as the seer council.
This is a shooty deathstar that puts out a lot of AP2 shots. Loth will give you basically automatic Invisibility or Endurance. For Tigurius, you can use him to fish for a number of very useful powers: Gate of Infinity, Forewarning, Prescience and Perfect Timing.
GW's release of 7th edition is in the business of "do we feth you and how?" to the casual gamer.
Nothing ever changes.
I dunno, deathstars are nothing new, and honestly? casual gamers are less likely to see one then competitive gamers.
BTW as for dragio Wing, I know you'd have to take some sort of troops. but what about replacing Dragio with a grand Master with a warding staff of a 2++ invul save?
Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two
This is pretty unconventional but entertaining none the less. Requires two CADs:
Oby
PhaeronOlord
DLord Orikan
6 Wraiths w/Trans Beamers
Its a bucket load of points just to hop around the field and insta death Wraithknights and stuff....but you get to hop around the field and insta-death Wraithknights and stuff. You use to be able to run Trazyn as your Phaeron to make it scoring, but no dice on that. The DLord to give it PE is pretty superfluous, but that's what Deathstar are all about right ?
Obviously, to maximize it's effectiveness, you would likely split the HQ's off once you got close enough to assault.
Eldrad or Farseer
5x Spiritseers
Baron
Max Beastmasters and Khymerae
2 spiritseers on Telepathy or shrouded and invis.
2 spiritseers on Sanctic hoping for hammerhand and sanctuary
1 spiritseer on whatever depending on what you get.
Eldrad / Farseer goes for fortune and then misfortune.
Potencially s7 Khymerae with invis, 2+, 3++, rending, shrieks, perhaps strength d templates.'
Its fun!
If you want to be really lame take a second CAD and take 2 more jetseers.
1515 pts, min troops...
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2014/07/11 11:42:13
Uriah and/or Celestine
A few Minostorum Priests, with power mauls and one with Litanies of Faith (for auto-pass war hymns)
10 Crusaders
Space Marine captain/Chapter Master with 2+,3++, Burning Blade, Eternal Warrior
Librarian/Another Captain with 2+
Sprinkle in Coteaz/Inquisitors for grenades/psyker
Take the Crusaders from Inquisition and mount them in a dedicated Land Raider Crusader and scout with the Inquisition book.
Unit with:
re-roll all saves in CC re-roll to-wound in CC re-roll to-hit first round
buffy marine to tank hits with plenty of Crusaders to Look Out, Sir! to
priests for AP2 at S5 or 1 hit at S10 with re-roll penetration
etc..
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2014/07/11 12:02:18
Cratfworld Alaitoc (Gallery)
Order of the Red Mantle (Gallery)
Grand (little) Army of Chaos, now painting! (Blog)
BTW as for dragio Wing, I know you'd have to take some sort of troops. but what about replacing Dragio with a grand Master with a warding staff of a 2++ invul save?
The Warding Staff only works in close combat while Draigo's 3++ works for everything.
BTW as for dragio Wing, I know you'd have to take some sort of troops. but what about replacing Dragio with a grand Master with a warding staff of a 2++ invul save?
The Warding Staff only works in close combat while Draigo's 3++ works for everything.
ahh good point missed that. I was thinking even for ward a 2+ invul save just for having a peice of wargear seemed a touch excessive, even for a Wardex.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/07/11 18:02:38
Opinions are not facts please don't confuse the two
Any one Care too uppdate a new player as to what the current/new death stars are? are the above listed death stars still relevant or obsolete. fex. the pylon start for necrons seems super interesting but is that even possible anymore?