Death Watch First Outing

I got my Deathwatch army out for a game today... man, to go from orks to these ultra elite guys, it may take some getting used to.

I have no doubt people will pick holes in my army list... if I'm honest, I kinda got carried away dream-teaming and then clocked up the pints, yelped, dropped a few bits of wargear and cancelled the plans for other squads/vehicles until I start playing 3-4k games...

So, let's start with the list.

HQ WL Watch Master w Guardian SPear

T Kill Team 1
1 Watch sergeant w boltgun, 3 missile launcher vets, 4 boltgun vets, 1 vanguard vet 1 terminator vet with pair of lightning claws and a cyclone missile launcher.

T Kill Team 2
1 Watch sergeant w boltgun, 3 missile launcher vets, 4 boltgun vets, 1 vanguard vet 1 terminator vet with thunder hammer storm shield and a cyclone missile launcher.

T Kill Team 3
1 Watch sergeant with xenophase blade, 1 blackshield with two lightning claws, 3 heavy thunder hammer vets, 2 vets with stormshileds and chainswords, 2 vets bolt pistol and chainsword, 1 biker vet with teleport homer.

T Kill Team 4
1 Watch sergeant with xenophase blade, 1 blackshield with two lightning claws, 3 heavy thunder hammer vets, 2 vets with stormshileds and chainswords, 2 vets bolt pistol and chainsword, 1 biker vet with teleport homer.

Flyer Corvus, twin assault cannon, 2 blackstar rocket launchers, hurricane bolter, blackstar cluster launcher, auspex array

Flyer Corvus, twin assault cannon, 2 blackstar rocket launchers, hurricane bolter, blackstar cluster launcher, auspex array

So the basic idea is I have two very assaulty squads in the corvus. I have a firebase of a couple squads with support from my watch master, giving rerolls. I start the corvus to the flanks, and prepare a "bug out" place or two with the teleport homers.

The shooty units don't take morale tests thanks to the terminator, and the vanguard vet let's them fall back and still shoot. The terminator also let's them make use of the teleport homers.

The assault units can pack a hell of a punch, can make heroic interventions (and must if able) but can charge after disengaging thanks to the bike.

Ideal plan - set up firebase in middle, turn 1 move corvus in from flanks, do lots of shooting. turn 2 (presuming the enemy has advanced on my firebase) unload assault squads, corvus fly off to support fire, watch master joins the advancing assault squads, shooty squads provide cover/crack transports, assault squads get stuck in. If all goes pear shaped, teleport the shooty squads away to the prepared backup position.

So, did the plan survive contact with the enemy? The enemy consisting of couple units beserkers in rhinos, kharne, a lord, a term lord, a unit of terms, a unit of raptors, a unit of bloodcrushers, a knight, and 280 points in reserve for summoning (jesus chaos get a lot for their buck... deathwatch are PRICEY!)

well... kinda...

He seized, which was inconvenient. We were also playing cloak and shadows, so my shooting was all -1 to hit unless I spent command points. rather inconvenient. However spending a point did allow me to kill his knight turn 1. Good start. However due to him seizing he was already closer than I would have liked.

So turn 2 his beserkers and bloodcrushers butchered one of my shooty squads... the other units were positioning.

my turn 2 I unloaded, and went for him. one squad put a good dent into the bloodcrushers, and the storm shields worked wonders at stopping the AP -3 return attacks... but then the mounts hit at AP -1, and rather than waste the inv save on them, I decided to take a 4+ armour roll on normal guys... and failed 5 out of 6. ouch. had to spend 2 command points to make sure they stayed in the fight. The other squad annihilated the beserkers, and braced themselves for the wrath of kharne...

the wrath of kharne was brutal. he is a combat monster. He butchered his way through one squad, the remnants of the squad that had beat the bloodcrushers charged him, hit him in the face with a heavy thunder hammer but failed to kill him. He then finished off the watch master before advancing on the shooty squad at the top of the silos, making the charge at them (a risky overwatch given he was on 1W) and he then butchered the squad apart from the terminator... I just needed the terminator with the thunder hammer to kill him, and the game was mine (by this point he had nothing left that could climb the tower, and I was ahead on points, I could hide out for the win.) He swung, he hit. Kharne passed the invulnerable save. And just when I was thinking I could teleport to the fallback position and hide there, kharne used the last 3 CP to attack again, finishing him off, leaving me with just corvus - as units with the flyer battlefield role, they didn't count, I was tabled.

So yeah, thanks tournament douches, if it hadn't been for your bullshit that FAQ would never have come out... :P

Overall thoughts... deathwatch die pretty easy. I'm gonna keep going with the list as is, at least until it's all painted. Once I have a painted army, I will maybe look at changing things for different options. I seem, from what I have been reading, to be running too large and too well equipped squads. On the other hand, I liked the merging of abilities, the potential for synergy, and the fact that I should be getting first turn 5 games out of 6. Just not today.