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Storm and storm squads


xenomortis

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What are DW players thoughts on storm bolter / storm shield vets now we have assault intercessors and the nerf from the beta bolter rule?

 

I have some spare DW vets to build and all the bits to make a full squad of storm / storm vets. What's the right balance in terms of number of storm shields on a 5 man / 10 man squad?

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From a 5-man perspective, your intercessors are going to better in all cases. 2 wounds @ 90-95 points is the cheapest troop unit we've got and the assault version gives us some of the best generic bolter output.... 3 shots at 24". We get SIA so that gives us the pleasure of Kraken rounds which are going to be better then storm bolter rounds with no AP, especially since we cannot combine bolter discipline.

 

Now storm shields and vets still have a place in our army. Specifically, when you roll with storm bolters, storm shields and 2-3 terminators, you have a fairly durable unit. The only way for intercessors to reach a more durable state (since no storm shields) is to add 5 T5 models to the unit.

 

I'm saying all this because it leads to you second question... if you commit a max unit of either vets or intercessor-aggressors (for example), those are expensive units: 200+ easily. That is A LOT of points in our army and needs to be positioned carefully as to not waste them or allow them to be targeted first turn.

 

I personally don't run 5 man vet squads as I would rather have more wounds in a small squad then the cool toys. If I have max out to 10, I will traditionally load up with storm bolters, storm shields, frag cannons and sometimes power weapons.

 

The exception to this, I would say, is transports. If you plan to run transports then I imagine with or without storm shields, you could stick a 5 or 6 man in a transport and still perform well. I have started using drop pods since then recent turn 1 change and I stick 4 plasma vets and 2 storm shield/storm bolter vets in there with a Captain. Others have tried to bring back suicide frag cannon squads for that same purpose.

 

Those are some of my experiences with vets. I definitely enjoy using vets more anyways as that's the fun, customize-able aspect that makes Deathwatch fun for me.

 

I usually roll with 3 storm shields in both 5 and 10 man squads. I want either 2 of them (sgt and blackshield) to have power weapons, or a 5-man core that is point efficient for shooting/toys. If my opponent really wants them dead, they'll commit a lot of fire to kill them and that could free up my other units. If they don't, this should be enough to protect them to punish my opponent in the next turn. Keep in mind that the termies are going to be your best bet for 2+ save against mass shooting. Mass shooting will hurt your vets, regardless of shields. My primary vet units:

 

Sgt - SB/axe

Blackshield - SB/axe

Vet - SB/shield

Vet - SB/shield

Vet - SB/shield

Termie - SB/fist

Termie - 2x LC

VV - pistol/sword

 

Sgt - Combi-plasma

Vet - SB/shield

Vet - SB/shield

Vet - SB/shield

Vet - Frag cannon

Vet - Frag cannon

Termie - SB/sword

Termie - SB/sword

VV - plasma pistol/chainsword

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I like to rein-act the Drop Pod Massacre, apart from that I would now go with Primaris as long as I do not need a special weapon.

 

We do need Frag cannons on our Primaris though...

Edited by Black_Knight
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Thanks for the replies.

 

My bare bones battalion usually looks something like:

 

Watch master

Librarian with jump pack

 

7 man vet squad (5 stalkers, 1 missile launcher, 1 heavy bolter)

5 assault intercessors

5 assault intercessors

 

I use this as a foundation and supplement, dependent on opponent, game etc. My favourite squad to run at the minute is 5 assault intercessors, 3 bolter aggressors and 2 bolter inceptors. They can throw out some serious dakka and are pretty hardy at T5 and 25 wounds between them. However, it's an expensive squad that draws a lot of attention. Usually my other squads go under the radar and do a lot of good work with SIA. Bikers also can't be ignored with the firepower they have.

 

I hadn't really considered terminators but makes sense to tank wounds and take those 2+ saves against small arms. Be nice to get them out of the cupboard, they haven't seen much game time since 7th edition!

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Personally I still rate them, they work well as a 10 man kill team deep striking with the vanguard vet, etc or as a 5 man in a transport.

That said if you need back board holding the intercessors are the better choice for shots/wounds v points.

 

I find myself moving more and more away from other units these days and spending 1200 points on just 6 troop because if loaded out right and deployed well they can deal with armour, we won't have the first turn big punch but as long as we can keep casualties low in turn 1 we can drop the hammer turn 2.

It's a strange way to play the army but I feel it works and out storm shield, storm Bolter vets just threaten so much, we are just cp hungry.

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