Using the New Grey Knights as Deathwing, Part One

Posted by Ranillon on 1. May 2011 22:48

The new Grey Knight codex has been out for a while now and is, in my humble opinion, pretty damn cool no matter how you look at it.  Certainly, for someone like me who already owns most of a terminator chapter the notion of getting even more termies with even more options and even more things that go boom is irresistible. 

Of course, the problem there is that I've been using my terminators primarily as a Deathwing force.  Before that wasn't a problem as I could include Grey Knights with any allied Imperial force (like, say, Dark Angels) thanks to the handy-dandy rules included in the old Daemonhunters codex.  Only, the new replacement has absolutely zero such rules in it.  Thus, it is now technically impossible (except in cases like Apocalypse when you can mix and match pretty much however you like) for your Deathwing to pair up with your Grey Knights to put the smack down on the nearest convenient anti-Imperial target.

So, rather than be consigned to paint up two different forces of terminators just to fit the two types of (mostly) all terminator forces the obvious solution is to see if you can't just use one paint scheme and flip between the two rules sets as necessary.

Not too long ago I would have said just stick to the Grey Knight rules and just "count as" Deathwing without a second thought, but thanks to the latest Dark Angels update the Deathwing finally, FINALLY!!!..

...gets access to all the nice upgraded goodies we've seen in available for Space Marines for a while (like 2 shot Cyclone Missile Launchers or Storm Shields with continuous 3+ saves).  Thus, using the "old" Dark Angels rules is now actually a viable choice (at least in terms of effectiveness -- you might have used the old rules anyway for the sake of nostaglia regardless).

Nevertheless, there are still numerous advantages to using the new Grey Knight rules as "count as" in place of the straightforward Deathwing rules, most notably because you get a wider range of still appropriate models, more powerful units, and lots of nifty abilities.

Speaking of Which...

There are a number of Grey Knight units that directly mimic what the Deathwing can take:  Terminators as troops and improved Terminators as Elites; dreadnoughts, venerable and normal; all three types of Land Raiders, and; a selection of HQ (generic and to a lesser extent characters) choices.  These can be used pretty much on a one-to-one basis although the Grey Knights tend to be more expensive, but likewise more capable.

Then there are a few other choices that are near duplicates of current Deathwing units, but which I think will fit in quite well:  Dreadknights and Stormraven Gunships.

Dreadknights are no brainers -- basically terminators on steroids (that is, terminators with better strength and toughness) with a nice selection of nasty ranged and close-combat weapons.  They can teleport down into battle (and even teleport once again if you pay the rather hefty 75 points for the ability) while having the punch to take on anything else on the battlefield.

Yet, the true gem is the ability to have Stormravens.  The primary reason is that they are just simply cool as Hell.  The secondary reason is that they are akin to flying Land Raiders, but with the ability to carry any type of infantry and a dreadnought at the same time as well.  Being a fast skimmer it allows you to turn a normally fairly slow Deathwing army into a speedy strike force -- and without losing any firepower thanks to all the guns the Stormraven can take.

Both of these two are natural additions -- at least in concept -- to a Deathwing while likewise giving you a couple of new "centerpieces" for your army.

More to come...