Hello, my name is Wyddr, and I got beat in turn 1.
So, I'd been working on this Deathwatch army idea for a while. I like the idea of a hyper-elite army with major killing power, so I put together a 1000 point Battalion list that looked like this:
Watch Captain w/Thief of Secrets, Combi-plasma (Castellan of the Black Vault--boosting the combi plasma)
Chaplain w/Plasma Pistol
5 Intercessors w/1 Aggressor (Auto Bolt Rifles, 1 Aux. Grenade Launcher, Sgt w/Chainsword)
5-man Kill Team w/ Sgt (Chainsword, Stormbolter), 2x Chainsword/Stormbolter, 2x Frag Cannons
5-man Kill Team w/Sgt (Thunderhammer, Stormshield), Blackshield (Thunderhammer, Stormshield), 3x Shotgun/Chainsword
Venerable Dread w/Twin Lascannon, Missile Launcher
Blackstar w/Twin Assault Cannons, Blackstar Missiles, Hurricane Bolter, Auspex Array
I know, I know--it's only 18 guys, a dread, and a flyer. 12 of those guys go *in* the Flyer. Now, if I can get the drop on the enemy, I can do a TON of damage with those guys--it's kinda gross, actually. I know that's a big if, but it's a risk I'm willing to take given the payoff.
Then I played the new orks. There were two problems I noted:
Tankbustas are NASTYLook, they were always mean. Now, though, when they're using the Moar Dakka strategem, they're filthy. They hit my flyer as though it were standing still AND they got bonus dice for every hit. Also, since they were Bad Moons, they could freaking shoot a SECOND TIME if they wanted. There is no vehicle that can survive that amphetamine parrot. Throw in a Weirdboy to Da Jump their asses anywhere on the board they please, and they can (and will) kill any vehicle (or any two vehicles) on the board at any time.
Now, for a regular army this is a sustainable loss--the Guard always have a few more tanks lurking about, the Eldar have Magic Eldar Shenanigans, etc.--but elite Marines armies kinda need their rides to survive a journey downfield and now there's no way they can do it reliably. With the Beta Rules pushing arrivals from reserve to second turn, things are looking grim. Footslogging with Kill Teams is NOT a great idea.
Okay, so the obvious solution, then, is to alpha strike the damned Tankbustas--they're only boyz, right? This is what I tried in my game, natch, but my Blackstar choked on its shooting phase and the tankbustas lost only 3 dudes and then their 9 guys did a full 12 damaging hits to my flyer.
Twelve.Even presuming a better-than-average shooting phase, there's a new problem to consider:
The Grot Screen is BROKENNow, my opponent didn't even use this strategem, but the new Grot Screen strategem, if I'm understanding it correctly, is pretty Yhwh-condemneded devastating for any army hoping to get the jump on the orks before drowning beneath a mountain of dice.
For the cost of a
Single CP any unit can use a unit of grots to give basically a Look Out, Sir roll to any unit close to them that is also closer to the shooting unit. And it's a *good* Look Out Sir roll, too.
So, for short money, you can spam the board with 90 ablative wounds that will completely prevent you from shooting up key ork shooting or support units until you chew through them. This, of course, means the orks have the initiative and there isn't much you can do about it--they will be the ones hitting
you, not the other way around.
This is very bad for the Deathwatch. Very bad, arguably, for any small-model count army that needs its few elite units to have devastating effect
before the enemy grinds them to death beneath mountains of attacks.
This will require new plans. Thing is, I'm not really sure what plans I could enact that would change things much.
Thoughts? Anybody tangled with a crazy grot screen before?