This is the first picture of the first bit of the space hulk model I am working on for next year's Origins -- one of the doors leading inside. This space hulk isn't just going to be made of paper or be lines on a map, but rather a full sized model. This is just a taste to wet your appetite -- and hopefully help convince you to attend Origins in 2009. Expect more updates in the future.
I am proud to announce that 40korigins.com has officially organized events for Origins. You can see more details under the “Scheduled Origins 2009 Events” link to the left, but here is the basic overview:
Warhammer 40K Space Hulk (Thursday at 11am and 3pm – 2 Hours – 2-6 Players): This is 40K in a space hulk setting. It is also a demo game where everything is provided, thus making it suitable for players of any skill level.
The World’s Largest Apocalypse Game (Friday at 10am – All Day – 10-40 Players): Come one, come all, come all super-heavies and titans. We want this to be as large and impressive as possible. This is meant to be a highlight of the show so we’ll be providing prizes to encourage people to show up.
We have not yet planned any tournament because of possible conflicts with other groups. Hopefully, we’ll be able to add one soon or at least provide information as to who else is running it.
What can you do to help? Please spread the word. To make these events work we need people to participate. So, if you and/or anyone else you know is thinking about being at Origins this upcoming year, please keep us in mind!
Last week I talked about basic tactics with a Deathwing. Necessary stuff, but also necessarily broad. This week let me get into specific choices when picking your Deathwing force.
Headquarters: Whether or not you want him you’ve got to take Belial. He’s basically a standard marine captain with a master-crafted power weapon, although you can take him with lightning claws (technically you can also take him with thunder hammer and storm shield, but just say no). I like both the standard and the clawed version. He may be vanilla, but he’s still nasty.
My other standard choice is an interrogator-chaplain (“mere” chaplains can’t take termy armor), although I confess this is partially because I really like the terminator chaplain model. His ability to reroll hits is handy against tougher opponents. However, getting the charge is iffy with terminators.
The librarian is also a good choice, although I have to admit I don’t have much practice with one as I just finished painting one for my army. Force Barrier and force weapon makes for a creditable close-combat threat. Best of all, his psychic hood still has an unlimited range.
One nice option for both the chaplain and/or librarian is the combi-meltagun. Considering the problem that the Deathwing can have with firepower even a single shot of a meltagun can provide much needed anti-vehicle. The tricky bit is how to use it in possible combination with any squad with which you put them. If you are feeling lucky you might want to try dropping the character alone. That way he can go after a vehicle while the squad he’d otherwise be with can concentrate fire someplace else.
Elites: Only one choice here for a “pure” Deathwing, namely a Dreadnought. I always take him with a drop pod so that he can deep strike with the rest of my force. Besides, the pod adds a little firepower and, more importantly, is a piece of expendable “terrain” suitable for blocking line-of-sight.
To my mind the main role of a dreadnought in a Deathwing force is heavy firepower. A twin-linked lascannon is a godsend (emperor send?) for an army otherwise struggling to deal with vehicles. Consider this your first choice. A multi-melta is almost as good, better perhaps if you can get him in close to his target when he drops in. Every other weapon load out is going to be inferior as they are better against infantry. Leave them to your terminators.
Making our dreadnought(s) venerable is nice if you have a spare twenty points. Extra armor is usually a waste.
Troops: Here is your bread and butter – your terminator squads. You need at least two, but in a typical 1500 to 1850 point force try to have at least four. Your options for them are somewhat limited, but that is okay. After all, they are the best infantry in the game.
Take advantage of Belial to make sure one of your terminator squads has an apothecary and standard bearer. I usually give these to the group that goes with the commander, thereby giving it real punch in close combat while also helping them to get there. Sometimes I have my chaplain with them as well to get the combined effect of everyone’s special abilities at once. A seven man terminator squad with two characters, the ability to reroll hits, +1 to their attacks, and able to ignore one otherwise lethal strike a turn is downright frightening.
Take a heavy weapon in every squad – remember, for a Deathwing firepower is at a premium. The best choice by a good margin is the assault cannon (even if it has been powered down in the latest edition). The heavy flamer is better only if you know you’ll be fighting a horde army. Otherwise, on average the assault cannon is the superior choice. By comparison, the Cyclone Missile Launcher is mediocre. With only one shot and just strength 8 it’s only so-so in an anti-vehicle role – and don’t bother using it in fragmentation mode unless there is literally nothing else to shoot at. Frankly, until the Deathwing gets the benefit of the new Cyclones pick them only if you are going pure infantry and won’t have anti-vehicle otherwise.
For a pure close-combat unit lightning claws are your only choice as walking around with the painfully inferior storm shields is only a waste of points. If the Deathwing someday gets the new storm shields then suddenly a hammer and shield unit becomes fearsome, but until then they are just embarrassing.
One advantage that the Deathwing has over their generic space marine cousins is the ability mix and match assault terminators with regular ones. Replacing a trooper or two with a lightning claw specialist is a reasonable choice, especially if your plan includes going up against powerful close-combat opponents. Regular terminators are no slouches in CC of course, but against specialized enemy units going last can be deadly. That’s where an extra clawed terminator can really shine.
Heavy Support: Again, when playing a “pure” force only land raiders are available. They are the best vehicles in the game, but in a Deathwing force I find them an iffy choice. Obviously, they can’t deep strike so they can easily end up fighting away from the rest of your army. They are also roughly equal in points to a terminator squad. All things being equal I’d rather have the terminators as they are more flexible and count as scoring.
However, vanilla land raiders do have the advantage of great anti-vehicle firepower and the ability to suck up a lot of fire. In a battle where you plan on deploying regularly a land raider is a good choice, but since I usually pick forces designed to potentially take on anyone using 250 points on a single model is really a straight judgment call.
If you have a lot of land raiders – preferably Crusaders since otherwise characters can’t tag along – then a mobile assault force is an option. It will certainly impress. However, a LR/terminator squad combo will be around 500 points. Go all the way with this concept and that’s just three units (with terminators riding inside) for your average Deathwing. That just seems too few for my tastes.
Fresh off the grill, here is a new Dreadnought for the Star Guard. In fact, it is the plastic dreadnought from the Black Reach box.
And, for some added flavor here is the new dreadnought with its proud parents -- my other two painted dreads.
Dreadnoughts are, of course, an important part of any Deathwing army (IMHO). They are the toughest walkers in the game and a source of much needed heavy firepower, especially anti-vehicle.
Here is a recent finished model -- a Penitent Engine. I've always like the model, but it wasn't until I could get it at half price that I bought one.
For me this is an Apocalypse model as I don't have a complete Witch Hunter army. What's nice about it is that it only took two nights to paint given that most of it is just metal in color. I think the final result had a good return on (time) investment.