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Currently assembling my Death Company and I'm unsure on the best loadout to run them as. I was thinking 5 man unit Bolt Guns to make use of Relentless but then I also thought Astorath would be a fantastic character to support them and increase the squad size to about 10.

Help would be appreciated

I prefer 2 close combat weapons to get the most out of rage. On a five man squad I use jump packs, a powerfist and power weapon. I find that a pretty good amount for every five guys.

I like both types as they have their own uses. I think you'll need more than 5 though as I tend to find that isn't enough to last long. If you're set on astorath then its a big unit with jump packs and cc weapons for me. Special weapons to taste.

One power fist per 5 guys is fine. Give fist dudes bolters and everyone else pistols. Jump packs are a must. For 5 dudes, jump packs with 1 fist is perfect. If running a libby or Astorath with them, 10 dudes with packs and 2 fists is good.

They are best used to trample your foe under their weighted ceramite boots before you feast on the blood of the fallen.

I take 10 with one fist and two power swords. As long as those three make it into combat I can't fault the result. I originally ran 5, who packed a punch, but were ultimately the target of the whole game.

I've been running them with a Chaplain as re-rolling misses on potentially 30 attacks in each first round of combat is amazing. I've since bought a Librarian who runs at the same points cost as my Chaplain, so they're interchangeable depending on opponent.

So Pistols on anyone without a Specilist Weapon?

I like to mix bolters/pistols. They're already 2A plus Rage, but I like a power sword and a power fist per five, at ten I run two swords and one fist, and just avoid terminators that will double them out and negate the FNP anyways. The jump packs got way cheaper, otherwise they need a transport of some sort or they will just suck fire until they die without accomplishing much.

If you have a chaplain, or Astorath, I would take the bot pistols as extra attacks are great with rerolls. If they're going alone then bolters are fine. Jump packs are, as stated, required and I'd say at least 10 man (up to 15) is ideal. I personally like 2 fists and two swords, but it's a little spendy.

7-8 is fine in one unit, a fist and perhaps a power sword or even a lance, as you should be able to get the charge.

Bolt guns instead of pistols usually can kill to many and make you fail your charge distances...

Take them baal strike force and receive +1 Initative as they charge. This improves their punch much more than a chaplain will.

 triplegrim wrote:
7-8 is fine in one unit, a fist and perhaps a power sword or even a lance, as you should be able to get the charge.

Bolt guns instead of pistols usually can kill to many and make you fail your charge distances...

Take them baal strike force and receive +1 Initative as they charge. This improves their punch much more than a chaplain will.

Rerolls to hit > +1I, just saying. They're already durable and Fearless, so it isn't like something striking first is going to matter too much.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:


Rerolls to hit > +1I, just saying. They're already durable and Fearless, so it isn't like something striking first is going to matter too much.

Death company is not especially durable, and perhaps since they already have Fearless, the chaplain does not offer much more than rerolls in first hand to hand.

The difference at 10 Death company marines, 2 toting power swords against meqs, are 5,8 kills at I5, or 8,25 at I4 from a chaplain (not counting HoW or chaplains attacks).
Difference is that opponent cant fight back if killed at I5, which is a big deal, especially against power weapons.

I think a Librarian would be better, since Prescience can be used in subsequent turns of combat.

 Frozocrone wrote:
I think a Librarian would be better, since Prescience can be used in subsequent turns of combat.

I'm looking forward to running my Librarian alongside the DC. There's a potential to be getting 8 attacks in on the charge each if Quickening is cast and each have a postal + CC weapon combo. That's a hell of a lot of potential attacks before you even take power weapons into account. Brutal.

I do a 10-man jump squad with two fists. The fists have bolters, everyone else has pistols. Works well enough.

 slowclinic wrote:

 Frozocrone wrote:
I think a Librarian would be better, since Prescience can be used in subsequent turns of combat.

I'm looking forward to running my Librarian alongside the DC. There's a potential to be getting 8 attacks in on the charge each if Quickening is cast and each have a postal + CC weapon combo. That's a hell of a lot of potential attacks before you even take power weapons into account. Brutal.

The quickening only works on the psyker or another character within 12". It does not buff an entire unit.

Even worse, there aren't any characters in a unit of Death Company.

Brutal.

 Voidwraith wrote:

 slowclinic wrote:

 Frozocrone wrote:
I think a Librarian would be better, since Prescience can be used in subsequent turns of combat.

I'm looking forward to running my Librarian alongside the DC. There's a potential to be getting 8 attacks in on the charge each if Quickening is cast and each have a postal + CC weapon combo. That's a hell of a lot of potential attacks before you even take power weapons into account. Brutal.

The quickening only works on the psyker or another character within 12". It does not buff an entire unit.

Even worse, there aren't any characters in a unit of Death Company.

Brutal.

if you run Raphen's Death Company, Raphen is a Character. So if Cassie the Damned if you run him.

My friend runs them in a 10 man squad with a few power weapons/fists. Works pretty well. Throw in a chaplain for extra fun

 Voidwraith wrote:

 slowclinic wrote:

 Frozocrone wrote:
I think a Librarian would be better, since Prescience can be used in subsequent turns of combat.

I'm looking forward to running my Librarian alongside the DC. There's a potential to be getting 8 attacks in on the charge each if Quickening is cast and each have a postal + CC weapon combo. That's a hell of a lot of potential attacks before you even take power weapons into account. Brutal.

The quickening only works on the psyker or another character within 12". It does not buff an entire unit.

Even worse, there aren't any characters in a unit of Death Company.

Brutal.

Crap, you're right. I took some bad advice in a similar thread a few weeks ago… Maybe they were referring to Unleash The Rage for the DC. That would make more sense.

Oh Unleash Rage is a fantastic power, really on anything. But giving death co 6 str5 init5 attacks each is nasty.

Also Libbys are awesome with DC, though it's sad that our librarians outfight our captains...

All good stuff, thanks for the advice

What would you run around them to support them? I was originally thinking Drop Pods to get Assault Melta in range but now that I think about it, I think Rhinos to provide mobile LOS blocking terrarin to keep them alive would be better.

I've been using 9DC with 2Pfist,1Psword and 2Inferno Pistols in a droppod with Mephiston. Every single game they drop down on the flank and pop a vehicle, then tank a massive amount of shooting, leaving the rest of my army moving up the board unimpeded. Turn 2 usually 2-3 DC and Mephy are still alive and they just start ripping units apart.

The best thing to do is to run this with a Spriest/Dante/Sguard deathstar too and start them on the board behind a rhino/pred. Now your opponent has to get rid of Mephy and his boys and destroy some AV12 and then get a chance to stop Dante from jumping right on them turn 2


I've used this against GK/Decurion Necrons/Tau so far and its caused serious mayhem everytime. They drop down and pop a vehicle while Mephy usually uses Fear the Darkness/Blood Boil on a nearby unit. Next turn Mephy and any surviving DC split up and start charging stuff. By this time my full strength SGuard deathstar just jumped up to their front lines and is ready to multicharge/split off to cut down most of their front lines.

 Dioxalyn wrote:
I've been using 9DC with 2Pfist,1Psword and 2Inferno Pistols in a droppod with Mephiston. Every single game they drop down on the flank and pop a vehicle, then tank a massive amount of shooting, leaving the rest of my army moving up the board unimpeded. Turn 2 usually 2-3 DC and Mephy are still alive and they just start ripping units apart.

The best thing to do is to run this with a Spriest/Dante/Sguard deathstar too and start them on the board behind a rhino/pred. Now your opponent has to get rid of Mephy and his boys and destroy some AV12 and then get a chance to stop Dante from jumping right on them turn 2


I've used this against GK/Decurion Necrons/Tau so far and its caused serious mayhem everytime. They drop down and pop a vehicle while Mephy usually uses Fear the Darkness/Blood Boil on a nearby unit. Next turn Mephy and any surviving DC split up and start charging stuff. By this time my full strength SGuard deathstar just jumped up to their front lines and is ready to multicharge/split off to cut down most of their front lines.

One volley from grav cents will cripple this squad. White scars/RW will drive away and pepper you with grav. Eldar will just shoot the squad off the table or assault you with a WK. Good lists don't care about Mephy and Dante, as they are assault elements.

I have to agree with Martel 732 here. Its a fun army, but its not competative, you will be shot off the table by a dedicated opponent.

Martel732 wrote:

 Dioxalyn wrote:
I've been using 9DC with 2Pfist,1Psword and 2Inferno Pistols in a droppod with Mephiston. Every single game they drop down on the flank and pop a vehicle, then tank a massive amount of shooting, leaving the rest of my army moving up the board unimpeded. Turn 2 usually 2-3 DC and Mephy are still alive and they just start ripping units apart.

The best thing to do is to run this with a Spriest/Dante/Sguard deathstar too and start them on the board behind a rhino/pred. Now your opponent has to get rid of Mephy and his boys and destroy some AV12 and then get a chance to stop Dante from jumping right on them turn 2


I've used this against GK/Decurion Necrons/Tau so far and its caused serious mayhem everytime. They drop down and pop a vehicle while Mephy usually uses Fear the Darkness/Blood Boil on a nearby unit. Next turn Mephy and any surviving DC split up and start charging stuff. By this time my full strength SGuard deathstar just jumped up to their front lines and is ready to multicharge/split off to cut down most of their front lines.

One volley from grav cents will cripple this squad. White scars/RW will drive away and pepper you with grav. Eldar will just shoot the squad off the table or assault you with a WK. Good lists don't care about Mephy and Dante, as they are assault elements.

I can understand not caring about Mephiston (unless you're dropping him in a Pod or something silly of that nature), but Dante is still not that bad for durability and being an assault element. The only thing he's really lacking is a bike instead of the Jump Pack.

Dante is okay, but compared to a WK he's weak sauce. Not all LoW are created equally.

Martel732 wrote:
Dante is okay, but compared to a WK he's weak sauce. Not all LoW are created equally.

Well, Dante does cost at least 80 pts less than a WK, so there is that. However, the gulf is still large no matter what. Dante needed the ability to assault after deep strike and his Inferno Pistol should be a relic that has Meltagun range, but is still a pistol. And then he could cost what he does now. He is still a close combat beast, he just can't really get there due to the inability to assault after DS, meaning he does before he can get into combat.

Blood Angels Decurion - DS after Assault

One can dream...not exactly vanilla marines are we

 Frozocrone wrote:
Blood Angels Decurion - DS after Assault

One can dream...not exactly vanilla marines are we

I could get on board with that being one of the Blood Angels Decurion abilities. Have the Demi-Company be the +1I when charging then Charge After Deep Strike as the Battle Company Ability. Though, technically, Dante wouldn't benefit from that since he would be in the Command Section.

 casvalremdeikun wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
Dante is okay, but compared to a WK he's weak sauce. Not all LoW are created equally.

Well, Dante does cost at least 80 pts less than a WK, so there is that. However, the gulf is still large no matter what. Dante needed the ability to assault after deep strike and his Inferno Pistol should be a relic that has Meltagun range, but is still a pistol. And then he could cost what he does now. He is still a close combat beast, he just can't really get there due to the inability to assault after DS, meaning he does before he can get into combat.

Dante is also an independent character, and thus can hide from shooting in squads, something that a wraithknight can't do. I'm still not seeing the whole "impossible to get into assault" thing, particularly with units that move 12in a turn.