Part 6 of my Deathwatch Codex review will look at the Elites section of the codex. This is an area which has seen a few new units added and some improvements to some existing units from the codex.
Elites
Primaris Apothecary
The Deathwatch finally get access to an Apothecary! You only get the Primaris version, though it would have been nice to have a normal version to join units in transports or take a Jump Pack. I'm not sure why they didn't include the normal option, it's not like the models are not available or the Primaris Apothecary is specific to the Deathwatch.
I'm not a big fan of taking the Apothecary in a "normal" Space Marine army, but I think there is a place for them in the Deathwatch. With such a small, elite army, every casualty counts, so having an Apothecary to revive members of squads or heal other Primaris models is a nice bonus to the army.
I see the Apothecary supporting backfield units, such as objective holding Veterans or models armed with long range firepower, such as Missile Launchers or Stalker Bolters. I have actually purchased a Primaris Apothecary to add to my Deathwatch army.
Dreadnoughts
On top of Venerable Dreadnoughts, the Deathwatch now have access to regular Dreadnoughts and Redemptor Dreadnoughts.
The various Dreadnoughts do not gain access to Special Issue Ammunition, but do get Mission Tactics, allowing them to re-roll 1's to wound against selected targets.
I see the Dreadnoughts as having a support role in the Deathwatch army, perhaps for tank-hunting abilities. They are one of the few units that can take a Twin Lascannon, so can provide some nice anti-armour punch to the army on a fairly durable gun platform. The benefit of Mission Tactics also allows them to have more chance of wounding in some cases, allowing you to re-roll half your failed wounds with a Lascannon against a standard vehicle.
One of the big bonuses of the Deathwatch Dreadnought is that they can use the Teleportarium stratagem to "deep strike" into battle. This allows them to get up close to the enemy lines very quickly, something it will take several turns for Dreadnoughts in other Space Marine armies to achieve. While Dreadnoughts may not be the best unit in the game, most armies probably won't do well with one rampaging around their deployment zone for long and it could quickly become a prime target.
I think it could be a powerful distraction unit for the Deathwatch. It's just a pity it can't deep strike out of your deployment zone on turn 1 now. It could have served as a nice distraction for the Corvus Blackstar on turn 1.
I look forward to trying out my Deathwatch Dreadnought in my army to see how it performs. I might even pick up a Redemptor for the army to test it out in my games.
Terminators
While Terminators are not great in 8th edition, the Deathwatch Terminators do get some nice bonuses over those of the regular Marine Chapters.
First off, they get access to special issue ammunition on their Storm Bolters. This does boost their firepower efficiency a great deal. Secondly, each Terminator can swap out their Power Fist for a Power Axe, Power Maul or Power Sword. This helps to make the unit a bit cheaper, as well as allowing them to hit on a 3+ in combat.
Each squad can also take up to three Heavy Weapons and each Terminator can take a Power Fist/Meltagun combination if you really wanted to. While this makes the squad incredibly expensive, it would be an incredibly potent unit for dealing with vehicles or monsters.
One of the big benefits of Terminators is that they can be added to Kill Teams. This makes the Kill Team immune to the effects of morale. This is a big boost, as you may want to field Kill Teams in larger numbers to get maximum benefit from the Teleportarium stratagem and other stratagems.
Overall, I still don't think the Deathwatch Terminators are worth their points cost, but they do get a lot closer than the regular Space Marine Terminators do.
Reivers
This Primaris unit can actually do quite well in a Deathwatch army.
First off, they have a number of deployment options to allow them to get closer to the enemy without having to use up command points.
They can be armed with either Bolt Carbines or Heavy Bolt Pistols. The Heavy Bolt Pistols are a strong option, being able to fire at 18" at AP-2. In addition, you could fire them in combat at AP-3, great for shredding your opponent's armour if you find yourself tied up in combat.
The Assault 2 Bolt Rifles are also quite nice. You won't have to worry about range thanks to their deployment options and special issue ammunition. They can also advance and still fire with good range if they find themselves out of position.
I think a squad of Reivers would be a strong addition to the Deathwatch army. The shock grenades would be great for stopping enemy overwatch if you want to charge in with a squad of combat Deathwatch Veterans on a key enemy unit.
Aggressors
This Primaris unit can put out a lot of S4 shooting if it remains stationary to fire. The problem with that is getting them into the 18" range to use their firepower. The Teleportarium stratagem is great for this, allowing the unit to deep strike close to the enemy army and use their firepower to full effect.
While they will not be able to fire twice on the turn they arrive, in subsequent turns they can use their full firepower to good effect. You can also use the stratagem to get them in close with their Flamestorm Gauntlets if you arm them with those. This will allow a unit of 3 to put out 6D6 automatic flamer hits. Unfortunately, the short range does not allow them to fire on the turn they arrive from the Teleportarium, but in following turns they should be a big threat to the enemy army.
The only issue with that is that they are not really durable enough to stand up to much enemy firepower, with only 2 wounds and a 3+ save. They are T5 which helps, but there are many weapons that will still take them out easily.
One big benefit of the Aggressors is adding them to a Primaris Kill Team. This allows a squad to advance and fire Assault Weapons without penalty or move and fire Heavy Weapons without penalty. With the right armament on a unit with Hellblasters, you can advance and fire your Plasma Weapons without penalty, giving them a great threat range.
I'm not sure there is much need for a unit of Agressors in a Deathwatch army. The Deathwatch army does not lack for anti-infantry firepower, so there are plenty of sources for that. The Frag Cannon can also compete with their Flamestorm Gauntlets, as well as being able to fire the solid shots to take on vehicles or monsters.
However, I think there are good reasons to take an Aggressor in a Primaris Kill Team, giving the squad much greater mobility, able to move and fire heavy weapons without penalty or advance and fire assault weapons without penalty.
Vanguard Veterans
I love these models and have a squad of them myself, but I don't think there is much need for the Vanguard Veteran squad in a Deathwatch army, now that we have the Teleportarium stratagem.
They are good melee specialists, but everything is reliant on the ability to charge out of deep strike reserve. I've been burned a lot of times bringing in a unit, only to fail the 9" charge, even with a re-roll.
Just a note that the Heavy Thunder Hammer is still ridiculously expensive for what it does. At 30 pts, this costs at least 10 pts more than it should. Given the fact it does D6 damage, so you do equal to or less damage than a normal Thunder Hammer half the time on average.
I think a bare bones Vanguard Veteran squad could be useful for deep striking in to grab objectives. Plus, you don't need to use a command point to deep strike them.
Overall
Of all the Elites choices, I think only a few are worth taking. The Apothecary, Dreadnought and Reivers may be worth adding to the army.
All the other choices are better folded into the appropriate kill teams, where they gain more benefit from overlapping special rules and better weapons options.
What do you think of the Deathwatch Elites choices? Anything stand out as an essential pick in the army?
Deathwatch Codex Review
Deathwatch Codex Video Review
Part 1- Special Rules, Relics and Warlord Traits
Part 2- Stratagems
Part 3- HQ Units
Part 4- Troops
Part 5- Fast Attack
Part 6- Elites
Part 7- Heavy Support
Part 8- Flyers and Dedicated Transports
The Deathwatch finally get access to an Apothecary! You only get the Primaris version, though it would have been nice to have a normal version to join units in transports or take a Jump Pack. I'm not sure why they didn't include the normal option, it's not like the models are not available or the Primaris Apothecary is specific to the Deathwatch.
I'm not a big fan of taking the Apothecary in a "normal" Space Marine army, but I think there is a place for them in the Deathwatch. With such a small, elite army, every casualty counts, so having an Apothecary to revive members of squads or heal other Primaris models is a nice bonus to the army.
I see the Apothecary supporting backfield units, such as objective holding Veterans or models armed with long range firepower, such as Missile Launchers or Stalker Bolters. I have actually purchased a Primaris Apothecary to add to my Deathwatch army.
Dreadnoughts
On top of Venerable Dreadnoughts, the Deathwatch now have access to regular Dreadnoughts and Redemptor Dreadnoughts.
The various Dreadnoughts do not gain access to Special Issue Ammunition, but do get Mission Tactics, allowing them to re-roll 1's to wound against selected targets.
I see the Dreadnoughts as having a support role in the Deathwatch army, perhaps for tank-hunting abilities. They are one of the few units that can take a Twin Lascannon, so can provide some nice anti-armour punch to the army on a fairly durable gun platform. The benefit of Mission Tactics also allows them to have more chance of wounding in some cases, allowing you to re-roll half your failed wounds with a Lascannon against a standard vehicle.
One of the big bonuses of the Deathwatch Dreadnought is that they can use the Teleportarium stratagem to "deep strike" into battle. This allows them to get up close to the enemy lines very quickly, something it will take several turns for Dreadnoughts in other Space Marine armies to achieve. While Dreadnoughts may not be the best unit in the game, most armies probably won't do well with one rampaging around their deployment zone for long and it could quickly become a prime target.
I think it could be a powerful distraction unit for the Deathwatch. It's just a pity it can't deep strike out of your deployment zone on turn 1 now. It could have served as a nice distraction for the Corvus Blackstar on turn 1.
I look forward to trying out my Deathwatch Dreadnought in my army to see how it performs. I might even pick up a Redemptor for the army to test it out in my games.
Terminators
While Terminators are not great in 8th edition, the Deathwatch Terminators do get some nice bonuses over those of the regular Marine Chapters.
First off, they get access to special issue ammunition on their Storm Bolters. This does boost their firepower efficiency a great deal. Secondly, each Terminator can swap out their Power Fist for a Power Axe, Power Maul or Power Sword. This helps to make the unit a bit cheaper, as well as allowing them to hit on a 3+ in combat.
Each squad can also take up to three Heavy Weapons and each Terminator can take a Power Fist/Meltagun combination if you really wanted to. While this makes the squad incredibly expensive, it would be an incredibly potent unit for dealing with vehicles or monsters.
One of the big benefits of Terminators is that they can be added to Kill Teams. This makes the Kill Team immune to the effects of morale. This is a big boost, as you may want to field Kill Teams in larger numbers to get maximum benefit from the Teleportarium stratagem and other stratagems.
Overall, I still don't think the Deathwatch Terminators are worth their points cost, but they do get a lot closer than the regular Space Marine Terminators do.
Reivers
This Primaris unit can actually do quite well in a Deathwatch army.
First off, they have a number of deployment options to allow them to get closer to the enemy without having to use up command points.
They can be armed with either Bolt Carbines or Heavy Bolt Pistols. The Heavy Bolt Pistols are a strong option, being able to fire at 18" at AP-2. In addition, you could fire them in combat at AP-3, great for shredding your opponent's armour if you find yourself tied up in combat.
The Assault 2 Bolt Rifles are also quite nice. You won't have to worry about range thanks to their deployment options and special issue ammunition. They can also advance and still fire with good range if they find themselves out of position.
I think a squad of Reivers would be a strong addition to the Deathwatch army. The shock grenades would be great for stopping enemy overwatch if you want to charge in with a squad of combat Deathwatch Veterans on a key enemy unit.
Aggressors
This Primaris unit can put out a lot of S4 shooting if it remains stationary to fire. The problem with that is getting them into the 18" range to use their firepower. The Teleportarium stratagem is great for this, allowing the unit to deep strike close to the enemy army and use their firepower to full effect.
While they will not be able to fire twice on the turn they arrive, in subsequent turns they can use their full firepower to good effect. You can also use the stratagem to get them in close with their Flamestorm Gauntlets if you arm them with those. This will allow a unit of 3 to put out 6D6 automatic flamer hits. Unfortunately, the short range does not allow them to fire on the turn they arrive from the Teleportarium, but in following turns they should be a big threat to the enemy army.
The only issue with that is that they are not really durable enough to stand up to much enemy firepower, with only 2 wounds and a 3+ save. They are T5 which helps, but there are many weapons that will still take them out easily.
One big benefit of the Aggressors is adding them to a Primaris Kill Team. This allows a squad to advance and fire Assault Weapons without penalty or move and fire Heavy Weapons without penalty. With the right armament on a unit with Hellblasters, you can advance and fire your Plasma Weapons without penalty, giving them a great threat range.
I'm not sure there is much need for a unit of Agressors in a Deathwatch army. The Deathwatch army does not lack for anti-infantry firepower, so there are plenty of sources for that. The Frag Cannon can also compete with their Flamestorm Gauntlets, as well as being able to fire the solid shots to take on vehicles or monsters.
However, I think there are good reasons to take an Aggressor in a Primaris Kill Team, giving the squad much greater mobility, able to move and fire heavy weapons without penalty or advance and fire assault weapons without penalty.
Vanguard Veterans
I love these models and have a squad of them myself, but I don't think there is much need for the Vanguard Veteran squad in a Deathwatch army, now that we have the Teleportarium stratagem.
They are good melee specialists, but everything is reliant on the ability to charge out of deep strike reserve. I've been burned a lot of times bringing in a unit, only to fail the 9" charge, even with a re-roll.
Just a note that the Heavy Thunder Hammer is still ridiculously expensive for what it does. At 30 pts, this costs at least 10 pts more than it should. Given the fact it does D6 damage, so you do equal to or less damage than a normal Thunder Hammer half the time on average.
I think a bare bones Vanguard Veteran squad could be useful for deep striking in to grab objectives. Plus, you don't need to use a command point to deep strike them.
Overall
Of all the Elites choices, I think only a few are worth taking. The Apothecary, Dreadnought and Reivers may be worth adding to the army.
All the other choices are better folded into the appropriate kill teams, where they gain more benefit from overlapping special rules and better weapons options.
What do you think of the Deathwatch Elites choices? Anything stand out as an essential pick in the army?
Deathwatch Codex Review
Deathwatch Codex Video Review
Part 1- Special Rules, Relics and Warlord Traits
Part 2- Stratagems
Part 3- HQ Units
Part 4- Troops
Part 5- Fast Attack
Part 6- Elites
Part 7- Heavy Support
Part 8- Flyers and Dedicated Transports