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Hey all! Just trying to wrap my head around the Deathwatch codex and one thing that puzzles me is what to put into the Corvus Blackstar Assault Flyer?

It has 12 slots and can take bikers and jumpers, but both bikers and jumpers are bulky so they take 2 slots each.
Any of the Kill Team formations requires at no more than 10 models, 5 minimum amount of Veterans usually. A lot of the formation requires 1 unit of terminators, which you can take only 1 model of.

It seems like there's no way to put a 10 model Kill Team in the Corvus Blackstar, because no space so:
A - Put in a Kill Team formation of less than 10 models
B - Forget Kill Team and put in 10 models of Veterans and a Terminator Libby.
C - Just use Blackstar as a locator beacon for your entire deep striking army.
D - Bring them as allies and put 10 tactical marines in with 2 Independent Characters.

What are you guys planning to put in the Corvus Blackstar?

5-man vet squad with frag cannons and anywhere from 1-3 hammernators, maybe my HQ choice as well. Drop out, frag everything, charge what's left, wash rinse repeat.

I guess this is what they want you to do: Strategium Command Team: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Strategium-Command-Team

Eh, I'll be putting an Aquila in there.

I'm putting a watch master with the tomb and auspex with malleus team with 2 hammernators, 1 heavy hammer vanguard, 2 frag vets, 2 bolters, and a SS/ Xeno blade.

Mine is empty.

maku wrote:
Hey all! Just trying to wrap my head around the Deathwatch codex and one thing that puzzles me is what to put into the Corvus Blackstar Assault Flyer?

It has 12 slots and can take bikers and jumpers, but both bikers and jumpers are bulky so they take 2 slots each.
Any of the Kill Team formations requires at no more than 10 models, 5 minimum amount of Veterans usually. A lot of the formation requires 1 unit of terminators, which you can take only 1 model of.

It seems like there's no way to put a 10 model Kill Team in the Corvus Blackstar, because no space so:
A - Put in a Kill Team formation of less than 10 models
B - Forget Kill Team and put in 10 models of Veterans and a Terminator Libby.
C - Just use Blackstar as a locator beacon for your entire deep striking army.
D - Bring them as allies and put 10 tactical marines in with 2 Independent Characters.

What are you guys planning to put in the Corvus Blackstar?

Just remember bikes are Very Bulky, so they actually take 3 slots of capacity.
Also, I wouldn't count on it as a locator beacon. The model with the beacon needs to have been on the table at the start of the turn, so if it's coming on Turn2 it won't eliminate scatter for anything that also deepstrikes on Turn2. So at best, it only benefits the latecomers, and that's if the plane arrives on time.

The Corvus Blackstar suffers the same drawbacks as the Stormraven as far as Transport utility is concerned. With no fire points and Assault Ramps, it really wants you to put a CC-tooled unit in there, but then you're only getting a T3 charge at best. You don't even get the SR's sorta-risky Death From the Skies option or whatever it's called.

In short, I'll second Cephalobeard and suggest leaving it empty. With hurricane bolters and the missile options, you can have that thing shoot up just about any kind of target.

Thanks guys! Some very nice things to continue mulling over

I plan on getting a landing pad with the upgrade so I can start with the Corvus on the table. No more waiting for reserves. Firepower off the bat and a more likely turn 2 assault or at least some sweet shooting from the frag cannons. Plus the visuals of having a Corvus starting on the landing pad with a squad on overwatch guarding the supplies and two Razorbacks on the flanks makes me happy.

A five-man Kill Team with some fun kit and an Inquisitor with a smallish Retinue?

 Spineyguy wrote:
A five-man Kill Team with some fun kit and an Inquisitor with a smallish Retinue?

I wish. Unfortunately inquisitor can't start in the Corvus.

 Crimson wrote:

 Spineyguy wrote:
A five-man Kill Team with some fun kit and an Inquisitor with a smallish Retinue?

I wish. Unfortunately inquisitor can't start in the Corvus.

Landing pad?
On the pad, turn one they board ?

There's no point getting into a corvus. Flying transports are awful, unless they are night scythes and have a special rule to get around needing to hover to let troops out. Flying transports carrying assault troops are unusable.

It's a pretty simple problem. The blackstar can't turn up before turn 2. It flys on and nobody can get out. Then it has to switch to hover mode the next turn, which it doesn't want to do, before the troops can get out.

So assuming you passed your reserve roll, it's turn 3 before your unit is on the board shooting or charging stuff. That's simply too late. It's not ok for a pricey unit to miss 40% (or more) of a 5-turn game.

Fortunately, death watch make great drop pod troops. A drop pod costs 1/5 of the price of a corvus, but lets you have your little men running around the table from turn 1 onwards. Cool stuff like dreadnoughts can go with them.

By the way I don't see the difficulty in getting a 10-man squad in the corvus, if you wanted. Just take a veteran squad as a troops choice, or as one of the decurion options (it's a core choice). Then add characters to taste. Don't actually do this of course, it's a horrendous waste of points.

The corvus is a decent ground attack craft. It has no value in getting your troops into assautl.

Mandragola wrote:
There's no point getting into a corvus. Flying transports are awful, unless they are night scythes and have a special rule to get around needing to hover to let troops out. Flying transports carrying assault troops are unusable.

It's a pretty simple problem. The blackstar can't turn up before turn 2. It flys on and nobody can get out. Then it has to switch to hover mode the next turn, which it doesn't want to do, before the troops can get out.

You can choose to enter in Hover mode with a Flyer coming in from reserves, which would your guys could get out. But like you said a Drop Pod makes a much better choice.

Personally I like it since there is very little anti air that people buy it is a solid little objective grabber if you take it for Cad veterans since it will have OS.

Otherwise I wouldn't bother in a competitive setting, I would save it for more fun games