THE FIRST COMPANY:TACTICA DEATHWING By ( Brother Azariah ) |
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Elites: I do not use any elites with frequency. It's my experience that fielding Dreadnoughts only provides your foe with an expensive soft-target that they would otherwise not have to shoot with their lower-strength weapons. Were I to field dreadnoughts, I would field no less than three, in an effort to give them too many targets to easily kill. Troops:The Deathwing Terminator Squad lacks flexibility, due to recent orders from the administratum. In this manner, all squads should and will consist only of 2x Terminators with standard equipment. 2x with Heavy Weaponry, and their Sergeant. Of these heavy weapons, I think it's rare that these squads would ever wield heavy flamers, since they do not often approach close combat. The Cyclone is a great choice, as it's our anti-armour weapon with great availability. The Assault Cannon too, is a great choice, against targets of greater number. It's my opinion that the Assault Cannon is one of the strengths of the Deathwing, and if possible, you should field at least 4. The Tank-Hunter Skill combines nicely with these squads. The Assault Squad also lacks flexibility. With a transport, they're a fearsome force, but can be fragile against certain foes. Often I equip a single model with the Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, in case a tank is giving this squad problems. Heavy Support: The Blessed Land Raider is the pinnacle of Imperial might. The psychological effect of these alone will often intimidate your foes into poor choices. An entire mechanized Deathwing army, while expensive, has its own advantages. I find an entirely mechanized army often lacks enough firepower to finish off large numbers of foes. That said, I recommend fielding at least 1 land raider at all times, for the much needed lascannon firepower. If you wish to move a larger squad, or frequently fight massive numbers of alien, then consider too the land raider crusader. I will defer discussion upon the other variants to other chapter brothers who field them more than I. I will remind you to never select land raiders as a transport option, unless you've already filled your Heavy Support slots. As a Deathwing player, you'll want as many scoring units as possible, and transports are not scoring vehicles. Chapter III - In the Fray On the battlefields of war, it's easy to make a mistake that will cost the Emperor much. This you must not do. Below, I share with you five major rules that I've learned in my days. 1) Control Line of Sight The Deathwing is a very mobile force, in a roundabout way. No unit ever needs to stand still, and as such, you should be able to constantly adjust your position in response to your opponents' manoeuvres. It's very important to pay attention to what will be able to fire at you the following turn. The only things that should be able to shoot you, are things that you are shooting at first. By doing this, you'll find our brothers remain much safer. 2) No Terrain? Sure there is. I always field at least two land raiders. One of their least remembered uses is as a moving shield. The armour on a land raider is much tougher than the armour on any terminator. It's true as well, that any foes wishing to shoot past your land raiders at your terminators must test their leadership if the vehicle is the closest target. In this manner, many of the less steadfast armies might waste lesser fire on your impenetratable vehicle hull. 3) Do not spread yourself too thin. The worst mistake a commander can make is to spread his forces farther than their can control. You must keep your forces concentrated. Remembering the rule #1, the only things that can shoot at you, are things you're shooting at. If you have enough firepower to finish off those foes first, you'll survive longer. If you spread yourself out, you lose fire concentration, and lack the durability to hold positions. 4) Use deployment to your advantage. By deploying vehicles first, (as Heavy Support selections), you'll find that you can force your opponent to guess where you're going to deploy the body of your force. Since your land raiders have the speed necessary to cover the board laterally, you can actually have a faux deployment on one table edge. Once your opponent commits some of his heavy support and troops units to that table edge, you can deploy the rest of your army (concentrated, see #3) on the other end of the battlefield. You'll find that this often results in your entire army fighting only 50% of your enemies' army. An enviable position indeed. 5) Never waffle. The Deathwing doesn't have enough troops to be indecisive. If you walk a squad of terminators east for 4 turns, then turn around and walk west for 2 more, you've wasted 25% of your army doing nothing. Develop a strategy early, and once you commit, stick with it! Remember these rules, and you'll be at the advantage. Good luck, for the Honour of the Lion and the Glory of the Emperor. Brother Azariah. |
TACTICA DEATHWING |
