My First Attempt at a Dark Angels List with the New Codex

As mentioned in my last post, I recently acquired the new Dark Angles codex. Having read through it I don't think Deathwing lists have improved a great deal despite their overall increase in points. With this in mind I have decided to create a dual-wing list with some Imperial Guard allies for support.

HQ
Belial

Librarian
Terminator Armour

Company Command Squad
Lascannon
Astropath

Elites
None

Troops
10x Deathwing Terminators (Belial's squad)
Chain Fist x2
Assault Cannon x2

5x Deathwing Terminators
Chain Fist
Cyclone Missile Launcher

5x Deathwing Terminators
Chain Fist
Cyclone Missile Launcher

Platoon Command Squad
Autocannon

Infantry Squad
Autocannon

Infantry Squad
Autocannon

Infantry Squad
Autocannon

Infantry Squad
Autocannon

Fast Attack
Vendetta

Ravenwing Attack Squadron
Plasma Gun
Sgt: Melta Bombs

Ravenwing Attack Squadron
Plasma Gun
Sgt: Melta Bombs

Heavy Support
None

Total: 1985

I think this list gives me plenty of firepower and flexibility to keep my opponents guessing where the Deathwing will come in. For example, I can send the Ravenwing up one flank and then Deep Strike on the other (Ravenwing have Teleport Homers). I could Deathwing assault with just Belial's squad on turn 1 and then use normal deep Strike for the rest who could come in on his Teleport Homer. The Astropath helps in regard to this, making normal reserves come in on a 2+. I could also Alpha Strike with a turn one Deep Strike and then reliably outflank with the Ravenwing. It's also possible to use a combination of all of these.

Going back to a previous post on getting the first turn, being able to Deep Strike means that you get to shoot your opponent before they can react. This gives Deathwing armies an instant advantage as they can take out key threats and ruin an opponents battle plan. Split Fire and Belial's accurate Deep Strike help in regards to this.

I will put the Librarian with Belial's squad and use the Divination powers for competitive games. In friendly games I'll use Telekinesis and  hope to get Gate of Infinity. This would allow an accurate Deep Strike each turn due to Belial's no scatter special rule and would mean that the Vengeful Strike rule, which makes Deathwing weapons Twin-linked on the turn they Deep Strike, could be used every turn. It also makes them very fast Terminators and keeps your opponent guessing what your next move will be. The only drawback is that they are unable to assault after Deep Strike.

The Imperial Guard will hold objectives and provide fire support. The Vendetta is to ensure there is a unit that can reliably take out enemy flyer's and heavily armoured vehicles.

The only question: What do I spend the remaining 15 points on? An Auspex, Infravisvor or Combi-weapon on the Librarian perhaps?  Or I could change a Cyclone Missile Launcher to an Assault Cannon and take the Lion's Roar.

Any comments and criticisms? How could this list be improved?

Dark Angles Codex Errors

Image courtesy of Games Workshop

I finally managed to get my hands on the Dark Angels codex yesterday and while I can say it's a big improvement over the previous one, the editing is absolutely awful.

I can't believe quite how many errors there are in this book, most of which could have been spotted by a 3 year old. It's no surprise that an FAQ was released so soon. However it begs the question: How did GW let it get to print in it's current state if they knew there was so many issues with it?

It shows a complete lack of respect for their customers to charge them £30 for a book that needs a major FAQ because the unit entries have been cocked up.

For example, Azrael is missing his Bolt Pistol and Belial once again is missing his Iron Halo. At least until you check the FAQ's.

Then there is the Deathwing command Squad where the Special rule Split Fire has been repeated as have the lines 'upgraded to the Deathwing Champion' and 'Any Deathwing Terminator may replace'.

In the Ravenwing Command Squad entry they refer to the Sacred Standards as Relic Banners. The Darkshroud doesn't have Stealth and the Nephilim Jetfighter doesn't have Missile Lock either according to the FAQ's.

There are many other mistakes but perhaps the worst is with the Company Veterans. The entry looks almost like a copy and paste from the previous codex and in the codex only allows for 3 veterans to take a Storm Bolter, Combi-Weapon, Power Weapon, Lightning Claw, Plasma Pistol, Power Fist or a Pair of Lightning Claws. In the FAQ however ANY model can take one of them to replace their Boltgun. Also, the FAQ allows for Bolt Pistols to be replaced with Chainswords.

Overall the book is very good but the sheer amount of errors is disgraceful-particularly with the price tag. If GW had any credibility they would recall all of them and give customers new copies so they would not have the need to constantly refer to the FAQ. Obviously this will never happen though.

I hope this does not become a trend and GW don't rush subsequent books to print without checking them properly first.

Does anyone have any opinions on this? Am I being too harsh on GW?

Snipers in 6th Edition

Snipers haven't really changed much in 6th Edition. The main changes are the ability to 'Snap Shot' on the move and 'Precision Shot' or 'snipe' individual models in units. This allows players to dig out that Melta/Plasma gunner/Power Fist Sergeant hiding behind the rest of his squad. However, this only works on the roll of a 6 to hit meaning there is a 1/6 chance of it actually happening. To make it worse characters can still use Look Out, Sir! to pass the wound onto the unlucky shmo next to them. This makes it very unlikely to happen and certainly not something to rely on.

They also wound everything on a 4+ which is why they have been the bane of Monstrous Creatures for several editions. This is a useful ability considering snipers are usually very cheap. They have Pinning but it is not very useful due to the amount of leadership 9/10 and Fearless units there are. Unlike 5th Edition though, pinning does work on Monstrous Creatures.

The other ability of Snipers is that they are rending weapons. This means a 6 on the To Wound roll is AP2 and allows an extra D3 to be rolled for vehicle penetration. This is unlikely to occur and the chance of rolling a 6 to hit and to wound is only 1/36.

There is a sniper in the game who can be relied for precision shots though, Sergeant Telion. All of his shots count as precision shots and he hits on a 2+ with Pinning and Rending. Unfortunately he is not cheap due his cost plus the cost of the mandatory Scout squad. Also, because he uses a special Boltgun he doesn't get the 4+ to wound against everything bonus. A 6 on the To Wound roll will wound anything though, due to the Rending rule.

There is also the Vindicare Assassin who is even better due to the fact that even if the Look Out Sir! roll is passed, the wounds are still allocated by the Vindicare's controlling player.

Eldar have Rangers and Pathfinders as a Troops choice. Rangers rend on a 6 but Pathfinders rend on a 5+. They both still need a 6 for a Precision Shot but come with Stealth, Infiltrate and Move Through Cover. Pathfinders also get +2 to their cover saves and Scout. However, they are not cheap at 19pts for a Ranger and 24pts for a Pathfinder.

I put 4 snipers in my Company Command Squad to give them a test run. Over 4 games against Tau, Space Marines, Blood Angels and Chaos Space Marines I found them very lacklustre and the only time I rolled a precision shot was when they were shooting at Mephiston.

Overall I am glad snipers are finally able to pick out individuals like they always should have been able to. They now seem more like actual snipers. However it is not something that can be relied on to work with the exception of Vindicare Assassin's and Telion. They may at least see some use now though for jobs other than wounding Monstrous Creatures (and Mephiston).

What do you think? Will you, or have you, run snipers in 6th Edition and what are your experiences with them?

Death from the Skies Review

Death from the Skies has caused some controversy and a backlash from gamers and independent stockists alike due to it being direct order only. The fact that GW is excluding the independent stockists from this release sets a bad precedent for future releases and shows that they want people to buy direct from them and cut out the middle man. Obviously this makes them more money but it could end up killing off the independent stockists. Politics aside, what do you actually get in the Death from the Skies book?

It's a 72 page full colour paperback book. The majority of it is pictures of pretty models and artwork though. Unfortunately, much of the artwork is regurgitated from previous codices.

There is The Battle for Cardrim which was already published in the White Dwarf magazine. It has been changed a little but not by a great deal.

The Burning Skies section appears to have been copied directly from the Crusade of Fire book although Chaos now has a fighter ace of their own.

The main section of the book is the bestiary which contains all the rules for the flyers. The Space marines and Black Templar's now have access to the Stormraven and the updates from the FAQ's have been included also.

The Stormtalon is also included and now has the Strafing Run rule. It is only available to Space Marines and Black Templar's.

The Valkyrie/Vendetta has Hull Points added along with the FAQ updates but has not been nerfed in any way as many (non-Imperial Guard) players were hoping. Other than that it is the same as before.

The Voidraven and Razorwing Jetfighter seem to be the same.

The Necron Doom Scythe and Night Scythe also look the same.

The Dakkajet looks the same as does the Burna/Blitza Bomber.

It's also worth noting that the Chaos Heldrake and the Dark Angels Nephilim Jetfighter and Dark Talon are missing from the book despite the Heldrake being in the some of the artwork. This is probably due to being released quite recently.

And that's what you get for £20. It mostly seems to be reprinted rules and the only reason I can see anyone wanting to buy it is so they can use a Stormraven or Stormtalon or because they need the rules for their Ork flyers. It seems too expensive for what it is and much of it could have just been released as FAQ's and Errata's.
Do you think the Death from the Skies compendium is worth £20?

photo credit: jsutcℓiffe via photopin cc

The Biggest Flaw in 40k?

I was discussing with a friend last club about how the player who goes first more often than not will win. Apparently this is why he stopped playing 40k and moved into other wargame systems. I decided to test this theory and so at the end went around to each table with 40k players and asked who had gone first and who had won.

5 of the 7 games had been won by the player who had got the first turn. In the two games where the player went second and won, one of them was running 3 Vendetta's and the other was an experienced Tau player with two Aegis Defence Lines against an inexperienced Space marine player.

I know more data would obviously need to be collected in order to prove that going first provides a significant advantage but it does show something of a problem with the game system that has been inherent for several editions. From personal experience I can say that if I go first I am more likely to win as I can bring my big guns to bear first and remove the biggest enemy threats. Looking at battle reports on the internet I can say the same thing, whoever goes first often wins. The night fighting rules have probably been more widely introduced in this edition to attempt to mitigate this problem somewhat but it does not help enough and actually gives an advantage to some armies. Also, in 6th edition an entire force cannot normally be put into reserves meaning that most of an army will still be vulnerable in the first turn, if they are going second.

A better system would, perhaps, be where there is more ability to react to threats or a better chance to seize the initiative. This would make both players think more about how they set up their forces rather than one hiding and the other preparing to blow them into oblivion on turn one. Hiding doesn't always work though, as it's very hard to hide from barrage and it all depends on how much terrain is being used.