Why Play Death Korps of Krieg: Assault Brigade[edit]
Imperial Armour 12: Fall of Orpheus re-introduced us to the Death Korps of Krieg in the form of a new (and separate) army list called the Assault Brigade.
This list messed around with the previous Siege Regiment army list, moving a few units from here to there and adding a few more (grenadiers as troops *yay!*).
The faster and more mobile Assault Brigades are normally used as linebreakers making desperateGLORIOUS (counter-)charges. This means that the chances of survival are even lower than in the regular Siege Regiments. The enhanced mobility of the Assault Brigades means they eschew the static and cumbersome heavy artillery pieces in favor of light field artillery, self propelled guns and massed tank formations. They also make limited use of the Chimera IFV as opposed to the Siege Regiments. The Assault Brigades also feature a high proportion of specialised squads such as combat engineers, death riders and grenadiers; since they are expected to carry the brunt of an assault or deny the enemy.
Generally this Assault Brigade is much more competitive than its predecessor, including previously missing units such as flyers and chimeras. However, if it's fluff you want, the Siege Regiment list still reigns supreme, being designed specifically with regards to the number of men that can be fielded at any one time, whereas here they're more expensive but have broader application.
YOU DON'T KNOW HELL UNTIL YOU HAVE LIVED THROUGH VERDUNVRAKS AMARAH
Death Korps Assault Brigade Special Rules & Wargear[edit]
Units with this rule are immune to Fear (not Fearless!) and never take morale checks for 25% shooting casualties. (the +1 WS bonus is also included under this rule)
Iron Discipline
Units with at least one model within 6" of any Krieg officer can try to regroup as normal even if their numbers have been reduced below 25%.
Forlorn Hope
If the player chooses to use this rule, whenever an Infantry Platoon gets completely destroyed they go into ongoing reserves, meaning an endless supply of korpsmen.
If you do take this option though, you get to place an Assault objective in the opponent's deployment zone that gets them a victory point if the Death Korps player does NOT claim it. Though the Assault Brigade gets 2 points should they manage to hold it.
Acid Gas Bombs: Acid gas grenades which are 3" blast, poison (4+) grenades that ignore cover; though only one can be used per shooting phase (engineers only).
Battle Scope: Provides the bearer and his unit "Night Vision" special rules. I can see this work well on Gun/Heavy Artillery Batteries with the 'Smoke Barrage' Warlord Trait. (When the FAQ/errata will give gun crews this equipment rule wise, which they already have model wise)
Hunting lance: Death Riders get Hunting Lances by default, which let them strike at S+2, Initiative 5 and AP 3 but are spent after the first charge into close combat.
Carcass Munitions: An upgrade for heavy mortars/Griffon tanks and the combat shotguns at the cost of becoming "Gets Hot":
Carcass Shot: Combat shotguns gain Shred - You inflict +0.1 wounds on MEQs (+1/6W on GEQs) at the cost of self-inflicting 0.16 on the weapon's holder (Get's Hot!), is it really worth it? A cheap upgrade, it would be extremely painful...for you.
Carcass Shells: Mortars gain Shred and Ignores Cover.
Death Korps Platoon Standard: Counts as causing an additional wound in close combat for the purpose of calculating assault results. Can be bought for Platoon Command Squads but is also available to basic 10 man infantry squads. Combined with WS 4, it could make them a bit less prone to running away after most of them died for the glory of the emperor. I say pass.
Death Korps Regimental Standard: The Platoon Standard rules are now boosted to a 12" range, in addition the Regimental Standard also creates a 12" re-rollable Morale/Pinning test bubble. The Regimental Standard is already included in the HQ squad. It can also be upgraded to one of the following Relic Standards gaining additional rules/effects:
Icon of Righteous Spite: A 12" bubble of Hatred everything Chaos+Psykers for 20 pts. Situational at best.
Banner of Martyrdom: You get one victory point if the unit gets wiped out in an assault; for 15 pts. Sacrificing your whole HQ for just one victory point?! Pass... Not just that, you'd lose a VP if it was your Warlord's unit. So you're paying to basically not give up STW.
Ossuary of the Blessed Dead: The entire unit gains +1 Toughness for 25 pts. The most costly option but also the most useful. Combined with a 30 pts. Quartermaster for FnP it adds a lot of staying power to your HQ.
Memento Mori: The bearer gets the Eternal Warrior rule for a single phase (triggered the first time it would come into effect) for 10 pts. Combine it with the Ossuary above to make your HQ an even tougher nut to crack.
Mole Launcher: A 24" range S5 AP5 small blast with Barrage and STRIKEDOWN, which will always hit targets with Armour Value at the lowest listed AV, regardles of the direction of fire.
Vox Caster: You know it, you love it. Reroll failed leadership test for orders, if the officers and the targeted unit have BOTH Vox Casters. Doesn't work on the Officers own Unit.
Demolition Charge: Aka "I got a present for ya!" It's a S8 AP2 large blast packed in a satchel. Use in case you need more 5" blasts.
Melta Bombs: Melta bombs can be taken by every character for 5 pts, use if you expect lots of heavy armour.
Same system as Imperial Guard, except with fewer and some different orders:
To issue an Order a model with the Senior/Junior Officer special rule must select a single (non vehicle) unit of the Death Korps faction within 12". After a passed Leadership test of the receiving unit, the order immediately takes effect as noted in its description. Unless an order causes the target to shoot or run, receiving it does not prevent the unit from acting later in the same turn.
There are two special rules for rolling doubles of certain kinds:
If a double 1 is rolled for the target unit's Leadership test, once the current order has been resolves, any furter orders issued TO THE SAME UNIT IN THE SAME TURN are automatically successful and do not require a leadership test. Judging by this wording and lack of a confirmation otherwise, it's safe to say you can issue more than one order per unit, which is hilarious.
If a double 6 is rolled for the target unit's Leadership test, the order automatically fails and the target unit may not be issued any more orders in that turn.
The Death Korps (all new!) orders are as follows:
Bring it Down! - Senior Officers only. Choose one enemy vehicle(or squadron of), Monstrous Creature(or unit of) or Flying Monstrous Creature(or unit of) visible to the issuing Officer. The unit immediatly shoots at the target, counting as twin-linked.
Duty unto Death - Senior Officers only. The ordered unit may reroll ANY failed Leadership tests until the controlling Players NEXT Shooting Phase of the next turn. And the cherry on top? If you roll a double 1, the unit becomes Fearless.
Get Back in the Fight! - Senior Officers only. Let's you get a squad that's falling back or gone to ground to instantly regroup. If the unit was falling back, it does not make a 3" move like it normally would. The squad may shoot and move as normal this turn.
First Rank, FIRE! Second Rank, FIRE! - Your most frequently issued order, Rank Fire basically gives you Korpsmen an additional shot if they are using Lasguns. There are few things that match the expression of the opponent's face when you get to roll 30 dice at the same time, which means that even at BS3 and Strength 3, the enemy is in for a sea of possible pain. Don't forget to ask your opponent if you can borrow his dice. Unfortunately hot-shot lasguns are excluded, as opposed to the Guard order of the same name.
Dispersed Advance - The targeted unit gains Move Trough Cover until your next shooting phase.
Without Mercy - Your lasguns and laspistols are now Assault 2 Range 12". Also you get Crusader for the reminder of your turn. Countercharge anyone?
Company Command Squad: Almost the same as normal CCS, but with all the Kriegers' WS4 and Die Hard goodness. Also costs more due to inbuilt carapace armour for your commander, a compulsory regimental standard, krak grenades and all that Krieg attitude.
New features include the ability to attach a tank busting tech-priest to the unit for +1 vehicle penetration on a weapon of your choice and blessing of the omnissiah (no servitors), also a quartermaster (read medic... not the same as below) can be ADDED to the squad rather than replacing a trooper, they can also take an artillerist, who can lob D3 12"-72" heavy mortar rounds once per game and gives night vision (the mortar rounds work like a MoO's artillery strike but hits still land on target, unlike a MoO). No Astropaths or any other advisors. The commander can also take a Memento Mori.
Quartermaster Revenant: This is the guy who wanders through the battlefield and gathers dead men's weapons, armor, blood and organs, and sometimes he patches lucky guardsmen with said organs and blood. In game terms he gives FNP (6+) to any infantry squad within 6" of him or his servitors, so he can greatly boost your infantry blobs and gun crews survivability while he and his unit have the regular FNP thanks to his medpack.
Marshall Karis Venner: At last a Death Korps special character!!! He's 65 pts (20 pts are included upgrades) to add to a command squad, and comes with a power sword, a hotshot laspistol, a Memento Mori and the ability to hit an extra D3 times in a challenge, as well as granting a 12" Ld 10 bubble. He also has the Blood of Martyrs warlord trait, but it is only useful if he makes it to the enemy deployment zone. Combined with the Ossuary and a Qurtermaster he might even have a chance to get there...or at least soak up a lot of your opponents firepower. Also, it appears that he comes with the "independant character" rule. Perhaps throw him in a combat engineer squad with a breaching drill and deliver him straight to the enemies deployment zone for full use of his warlord trait.
Leman Russ Forward Command Tank: Oh look, an armoured company unit in a infantry mechanised infantry list! You get a single Leman Russ tank of your choice, boost it up to BS4 and can act as line of sight for all Barrage weapons in the same army, but adds 7 melta-bombs to the price of the tank. That way your Artillery can camp completely behind cover while still firing directly and at BS4 to boost. It also means that Barrage weapons can now ignore their minimum range making Basilisks more effective.
Hydra Flak Tank Battery: Anti air was something that the previous siege regiment list was sorely lacking. It's probably a good thing that they've been moved to elites, allowing you to load up on artillery or leman russes. it's just a bit of a shame (but makes perfect sense) that they now have to snapfire at ground targets due to skyfire rules. So they're much more situational these days.
Death Korps Rapier Laser Destroyer Battery: Big, mobile artillery piece. Can't shoot indirectly, but is generally to be used as an AT weapon (Ordnance 1 (TL) S9/AP2). Pretty cheap, twin-linked rape-cannons (you can't spell Rapier without rape) that can take orders and come in squads of 1-3. The additional crewman is mandatory to make it last longer. 1 in 6 chance of exploding when they die. Now comes with Combat Engineers as crew instead of regular Korpsmen, meaning +1 to armour save and BS. Only take them if you're otherwise lacking anti-tank capacity. It's best kept in cover since it will go down rather easily should your opponent focus on it.
Griffon Strike Battery: A heavy mortar, on a chimera chassis. It can reroll its scatter dice, and can buy carcass shells for burning cover campers and making 'nid players cry.
Siege Engineers: Close combat oriented guardsman with shotguns, acid bombs and carapace armor. Yeah, this doesn't seem good, and they will die without taking their points back, but you can use them to tie up enemy shooting squads in close combat. Just don't forget to buy them Hades, cause engineers can charge after arriving through a Hades hole (can they? I don't see anywhere that they can).
They now have the ability to take Carcass Shells for their shotguns, which give them the shred rule in exchange for gets hot, so they are more deadly at a risk of killing themselves.
The carcass shells will almost always be worth it since if you deliver these guys with a hades breaching drill, they will almost always die in the next shooting phase/assault phase anyway. Take the shells to maximize the damage they do before they get shot or slashed to bits.
alternatively, take Venner with this squad (since he has the independent character rule) and use the hades to put them right in the enemy deployment zone. Now your shotguns with shred reroll 1's to hit, problem solved! And on top of that you now have a fairly nasty close combat guy in there for the inevitable charge.
They count as troops in zone mortalis missions. Which not many people play. But if you do, they're good and spammable.
Death Korps Infantry Platoon: 1 Platoon Command Squad an 2-6 Infrantry Squads. No Combined Squads (which is bullshit considering the Kriegers' fluff...not that FW/GW cares much about fluff), Heavy Weapons Squads/Teams, Special Weapon Squads or Conscripts, but otherwise the same Platoon. Unlike regular guards they are WS4, which boosts their survivability in close combat, but you pay extra 20 pts per squad for this along with your extra morale bits and Krak grenades, which makes vehicle charges against you damn risky. Remember that you can have an unlimited number of them, thanks to Forlorn Hope.
Coming on from forlorn hope means that they come on from your table edge... coupled with the fact that they don't have any heavy weapons or transports likely means that they're not going to be doing much other than consolidating over objectives already claimed. I sense advanced tactics to make this work properly. If you plan on using the Forlorn Hope, for the love of the Emperor make sure you can distinguish between different squads/platoons. Having to constantly check if one of your 3 platoons is fully destroyed can really slow down the game.
Death Korps Platoon Command Squad: Two korpsmen can take special weapons and one the optional Platoon Standard. Use the junior officer to give orders to other units. You can add a commissar for 30 pts but since there is no combined squads and it is not an independent character its usefulness is limited. The Platoon Commander and Commissar are both Character models and can both take a power sword or a power fist, carapace armour and melta-bombs. If the squad is tailored for CC, I could see this work as kind of "relief" squad. ("Could" with goodwill)
Death Korps Infantry Squad: No Combined Squads rule, which is pretty much bullshit considering the Kriegers fluff. Basic ten man squad. You could give each squad a Platoon Standard for 10 points if you wish. These guys love the meatgrinder: Korpsmen are though as nails and don't give a crap about loosing fellow soldiers to gunfire. They WILL hold the line. (Side effects include: Gory death and wipeout in CC). Use them as a screen to tie up CC units that get close to your main units, but avoid close combat charging against (not heavily decimated) tougher enemy CC units as they eat single 10-men T-shirt units for breakfast (so speedbumping is the best use for these units). If they are in CC you WANT THEM TO DIE, so everybody else can shoot the weakened enemy unit to bits, and also come back on your table edge if you took forlorn hope. One thing to note is that the Watchmaster can take a lasgun: probably the best option for a Guard sergeant.
Grenadier Squad: A decent alternative to painting HUGE platoons of infantrymen. They come in 10 man squads and can also take a Chimera. The watchmaster has the regular weapon options but can also take a boltgun/pistol for free if he wishes. Two grenadiers can take special weapons but no demo charges. Two other grenadiers may form a Heavy Weapons Team and carry a heavy flamer. Grenadiers are more mobile thanks to their acces to Chimeras. They can fill the "IG-Veteran Squad" gap in your army if you use them wisely. Think less Special Operations, more Shock Troopers.
Storm Chimera Your Chimera comes stock with autocannon, track guards and extra armour as standard, but only a few units have access to it; namely Grenadiers, Engineers and the Company Command Squad.
Centaur Carrier: Not nearly as good as Chimera: Front AV11, two hullpoints, open topped and only 5 models for transport capacity. On the other hand, it's cheap and fast (not to mention very small) and it can transport field artillery units that are otherwise immobile. Can only be taken for 5 man engineer squads, field artillery and Quartermaster cadre, no es bueno!
Hades Breaching Drill: Remember the Tyranid Mawloc? Well the IG looked at it and said "we need something like that but even more destructive." Yes this thing has Rhino armour and 2 HP, but when it comes in it puts a fucking pie plate blast with S10 AP1 Melta. This little fucker can even destroy terrain, like D-strength blasts in Apocalypse but it has a S8 Ap2 Melta ramming atack, which turns into a small plate on deepstrike; also it suffers a mishap when it doesn't destroy what it came out under. And then your Engineers pop out of the holes it leaves behind. The ultimate fuck you towards gun lines. Once it enters, it can go around blasting people with it's meltadrill, but it's probably going to die afterwards...assuming anything is left standing. Was, sadly, nerfed to death. Full scatter, small blast. No ranged melta attacks either. AND the point value went up. Will die quickly, even if it manages to not mishap itself to death (-2 mishap modifier). Just hope it will soon be FAQd/updated to the Siege Regiment rules.
Death Korps Death Rider Platoon: The first thing you'll notice about the Death Korps' answer to the IG/AM rough riders is that the death riders come in platoons. You get 0-1 command squads and 1-6 squadrons per fast attack slot. This means you can take one unit if you like, or a potential 7 units per slot. That is a lot of horses (but why wouldn't you?). Unlike their unloved IG/AM cousins, they also have two attacks base, two wounds (!), 6+ FNP, reroll dangerous terrain tests, and wear carapace armour for a 4+ save (for a negligible points increase), so if you really want to take HORSES IN SPACE, take them from this list.
Death Rider Command Squadron: Unlike a normal command squad these guys lack the option for a platoon standard or a vox caster. However, what they do have is a junior officer on a horse, who is capable of issuing orders to the other riders or any squad he happens to be around. The squad can be joined by a mounted Commissar (whose model is awesome), who grants the squad stubborn (meh). On top of that, both the officer and the commissar can take power weapons, Bolt or Plasma pistols and melta bombs. You also get the option to take a demo charge; bit of an expensive delivery method for it, but man do they pack a punch.
Death Rider Squadron: Your basic squad; comes with 5 men, can be upgraded to 10, and also has the option for the Watchmaster to take a power weapon, Bolt or Plasma pistol and a melta bomb. The melta bomb is probably a bad call; if you charge a tank then you essentially waste your "first charge only" MEQ-murdering lances on a vehicle. If you charge a diffenrent squad first, you probably won't still be alive to use the melta bomb afterwards.
Salamander Reconaissance Squadron: Fast, open-topped scouting tanks, they come with AV12/10/10, Autocannon and HB. Being Fast, they can fire both on cruising speed, so a squadron of them can threaten any light vehicle in great range. Being Scout and Fast, as well as AV12 they can fill the Sentinel gap - but unlike Sentinels they are better off riding in the open rather than through terrain. The model was discontinued by FW, so you either have to scratchbuild (not too hard to do, buy a chimera and whack a heavy weapons team in the back) or look for used/recast models on ebay.
Hellhound Squadron: The Hellhound tank variants give you access to Fast Tanks. This has a lot of advantages, as you use them for movement-blocking, tank-shocking, or simply blasting enemies to oblivion. A low profile makes finding cover for it relatively easy, though cover-hugging isn't exactly the best use of this tank. There are three variants, each with a unique turret weapon, and the choice of hull-mounted Heavy Bolter, Heavy Flamer, or Multi-melta.
The standard Hellhound is a very handy infantry-killer. If they're not Marine-equivalents (and even they will be hurting once the wounds pile up and they start failing saves), and not in a transport, they will die. What's that? You opponent has Rangers/Heavy Weapons Teams/snipers holed up in a building somewhere giving your commanders and high-value units a hard time? The Inferno Cannon laughs at cover. The range of the IC means that you can expect them to hit enemy infantry starting on turn 1 (move 12", fire 12", cover another 8" with flame template). Ran in support of longer-ranged anti-tank weapons for popping enemy transports, Hellhounds can also serve to finish off units from disembarked vehicles. In 6th edition fast vehicles can now fire 2 weapons at full BS at cruising speed, so enjoy the possibilities of hull weaponry combinations. Using Creed to outflank a squadron of these is hilarious against horde armies. Do it - that's an order.
The Banewolf sacrifices the extra range of the Hellhound's template for it's own poisoned AP3 flamer template. Banewolves will kill anything without a 2+ save. Their armor and speed give them unparalleled ability to be used for flushing enemy infantry from cover. This said and done, this may be the one variant you can afford to specialize; having a hull mounted flamer gives you the chance to throw two really mean flame-templates. This tank is the epitome of offence over defense - on one hand it can destroy an entire SM tactical squad in one turn. If there is an independent character in the squad, force them to take all the hits for the squad by attacking from their side, melting them alongside anyone else who "Look Out Sir" into their own gooey death. On the other hand - it can easily be put down by a Lascannon head-on. They are well known for making Tyranid and Chaos daemon players cry as you gib their monstrous creatures with as much ease as their cannon fodder. But then again, what doesn't make Tyranids and Daemons cry in 5th edition?
The Devil Dog is the last one out, eschewing a short-range flamer, for a Melta Cannon, a blast weapon with the Melta rule. These tanks are great for sending into the center of an enemy armored formation and intimidating your opponent into breaking up, lest he find himself losing multiple tanks! Alternatively, assuming one has reliable long-ranged anti-tank, the Devil Dog can be used for finishing off survivors of destroyed enemy transports. Add a hull-mounted Heavy Flamer, and the Devil Dog can flush troops out of cover (though not as efficiently as the Banewolf). While not a flashy vehicle, it gets the job done. Probably the best variant for most games that includes vehicles on both sides.
Pretty much all the awesome stuff. Pick and choose carefully.
Leman Russ Squadron: Leman. Fucking. Russ. It's a big tank. Holds the proud title of best tank in the galaxy for its size and cost. Side effects include: Templates, lots of dice, lots of AV, lots of choices. As an addition, Knight Commander PaskForward Command Tank can be added to any one tank that you field. HeIt is a nice little upgrade to the BS, helps reduce drift, and he's a tank killer makes your Leman an Elite as well as gives line of site to arty. Put him in a Demolisher, Vanquisher, Executioner or Punisher for the best bang for your buck. Though, nothing is wrong with putting him in a Battle Tank or even Punisher. In 6th edition, Leman Russ lost "Lumbering Behemoth" rule, and became a Heavy vehicle, instead. This means that you are limited to only 6 inches of movement. However, you can fire all your non-ordnance weapons at the same turn, as if you haven't moved, meaning that non-ordnance Russes (Exterminator, Punisher, Executioner, Eradicator, Vanquisher) are made even more rapetastic, at slight disadvantage of Ordnance ones (Battle Tank, Demolisher). Remember this, and kit out your tanks accordingly. Also keep in mind that the 7th ed Siege Regiment list has much cheaper Russes than the assault brigade (talking up to a 45pt discount).
Leman Russ Battle Tank: Though it comes in many flavors, the basic tank is the most useful. With its S8 AP3 72" gun and thick armor, it is good against anything for decent points. This is your runner-and-gunner, your go-to tank, and the majority of your Leman Russ pool at any time should be these or Executioners. Kit em out with heavy bolters all around, since you are going to be forced to snap fire non-cannon weapons, so up the volume of fire.
Leman Russ Exterminator: Armed with a 4 shot twin-linked Autocannon means this thing is death incarnate for 4+ armour and light vehicles. Kit it with 3 extra Heavy Bolters for beautiful infantry shredding. If you feel like it, add Pask - and watch it destroy Predators and Falcon grav tanks with ease, while standing a chance to glance Land Raiders (!). While twice the points and not as long-ranged as a Hydra, it's got better front and side armor and isn't hindered by the lack of the Interceptor special rule (so it can shoot at things on the ground, where majority of enemy forces usually are). It doesn't have Skyfire or a Targeting Computer, so it may be lacking in roles usually occupied by Hydra, but you will still put a big dent on anything you do end up hitting.
Leman Russ Vanquisher: A Melta (which always provides +1d6 armor penetration) with a devastating range. Thus a bit costly for 1 shot at BS3. Not very useful really considering the amount of melta you should already have, if you use it primarily against vehicles. Give it a Lascannon as well as Plasma Sponson - and you get a unit perfectly fit to fight against Heavy Infantry. Combine with Forward Command Tank upgrade for instant Monstrous Creature solution.
Leman Russ Eradicator: Kind of a Hellhound that hits worse, is slower but better armored. And you can add a Lascannon for versatility. Strange tank that has a weaker version of Battle Cannon that eats your enemies' cover saves. Consider for Cities of Death games or when fighting cover-camping Tau/Eldar. Can be useful for gunline enemies hiding behind fortifications as well. Also as of the 7th edition Codex is the cheapest Russ at 120 points!
Leman Russ Demolisher: For +20 pts. to the basic Russ you get a cannon that lays waste of everything on the battlefield and immunity vs S4 melee units - though sometimes 24" is too close to the enemy. The Demolisher is tried and true, and should ALWAYS lead the armored charge into the enemy. Works great alone, works even better in threes. You don't really need to upgrade it, since fucking DEMOLISHER CANNON doesn't get much assistance from other weapons, but being able to finish off the scattered survivors by hail of ill-aimed gunfire can also be useful.
Leman Russ Punisher: Shares the cons but only few of the pros with the Demolisher (it does keep the additional back armor, which helps). Heavy 20 may sound cool, but on average, you end up with 10 S5 hits with no AP (making it difficult to even glance vehicles to death, but why would you target vehicles anyway?). Everything except Grots is butchered better with the cheaper and better ranged Battle Tank. However, unlike most Russes, it gets better if you sink the points in it: Kit one out with Pask and a full triple Heavy Bolter set and a Heavy Stubber, at which point the machine will reduce to dust anything, from Terminator Squads to full-size Ork Mobs every turn, and will stop 'Nidzilla in it's tracks through sheer dice output. Well, that or you'll be killed by the enemies anti-tank and waste 250 points on something the rest of your army should be doing anyway. Punisher can glance AV12 to death, if driven about by Pask, a fact that should not be lightly discarded. Also, by far the coolest looking Russ. Can also be a fun choice against fliers, if much less cost-effective than the Hydra or Fortifications' Emplacements.
Leman Russ Executioner: Still the 190 point rape machine it was in 5th-ed Guard - this tank is still capable of chucking down sizable amounts of Anti-TEQ hate. Almost an auto-include, this beast (for the un-initiated) throws down 3 plasma blasts that don't Get Hot!
Thunderer Siege Squadron: It's a Leman Russ chassis with a hull-mounted demolisher cannon. Unlike LR Demolisher it has no front/side sponsons, but for some reason it's also NOT heavy - meaning you can move it 12" and even flat out another 6" to get round two shot. Obviously this is your Vindicator, and like all IG vehicles its all around better then his SM analog, due to the combination of superior armor and sufficient speed.
Ordnance Tank Battery: "Infantry win firefights. Tanks win battles. Artillery wins wars," or so the old saying goes. The Death Korps is noted for being able to bring really big guns to the battlefield, their firepower able to remove small sections of the opponent from the playing field. This said and done, the Krieg artillery units are slow (sometimes outright static) and fragile for their cost due to being Open-Topped, a drawback which becomes increasingly noted should one wish to take artillery in a Squadron; this said, one can remove the Open-Topped Status. There are numerous artillery-pieces available, including the following:
Basilisk: Jokingly called the penis-enlargement gun by veteran Guard Players, the Basilisk is noted for having a really big gun. This gun is also known for being long-ranged, having the option for direct or indirect fire, and having AP 3 (meaning it can kill Marines in the open, or pummel Crisis Suits). However, having the worst minimum-range requirements has the potential to often relegate the Basilisk as a direct-fire weapon, a task the Medusa tends to do better in most cases for a marginal upgrade in cost; this said, the Basilisk's direct-fire does have a longer range than the Medusa. Unless it's apocalypse, you don't need more than 36" though, so get a Medusa, or a Leman Russ Battle Tank, which can do the same or even better job, considering that either way, you are dropping S8 AP3 Big Blast at the enemy within '72 at most. Now in new codex earthshaker cannon has a range of 36-240" enabling you to hit kids at the next table.
Colossus: Games Workshop has a checkered history when it comes to Marine-Killer weapons. Their emphasis on certain units being designed for killing Marines in the open, has lead to horridly inflexible units like Vespids, Flash Gitz, Thousand Sons, and now the Colossus. At first glance, the Colossus looks like a fun gun. With the ability to ignore cover, and Marine Power Armor saves, it will utterly devastate Marines should it land properly. On the other hand, having a wide minimum range and the inability to fire directly means the Colossus falters against a lot of Marine Armies. With the exception of some foot-slogging Space Wolf armies, many Marine armies are very fast, and noted either for operating as a mechanized army, fighting by Drop Pods, speeding forth towards your lines on Bikes, deepstriking in by Jump Packs, or otherwise excelling at fighting at short range. While the Colossus can be used for indirect-combat if kept isolated from the rest of the battleline with an infantry unit or two to watch over it, it isn't too popular in tournament armies for this reason.
Medusa: A pure direct-fire weapon, noted for having Strength 10 and AP 2, the Medusa is arguably the most popular form of Ordnance on account of its raw firepower. While having the same issues with accuracy most blast weapons have, whatever it hits will suffer on account of it. For those who wish to trade accuracy and flexibility for raw tank-busting firepower, the regular firing mode can be replaced with Siege Shells, turning the Medusa into a heavy tank hunter. With an AP 1 blast template, and the normal Ordnance bonus replaced by rolling 2d6 for armor penetration, the potential to kill enemy vehicles is incredible, and the threat of losing multiple vehicles to a well-placed shot does a lot to intimidating opponents into spreading their vehicles out. This said, like with the Devildog's Melta Cannon, the accuracy issues inherent with the Medusa mean it tends to work best in support of, rather than being the primary source, of ranged anti-tank.
Heavy Weapon Platoon: Your source of footslogging heavy weapons; 1-3 squads of 3 heavy weapon teams. They start with mortars but can take autocannons, TL heavy stubbers, heavy bolters or lascannons.
Field Artillery Battery: 1-4 of the following artillery pieces, presumably in any combination.
Heavy Mortar Battery: Dirt cheap immobile Griffon guns. It can bring hate on infantry (S6 AP4 is Instant Death for most infantry). Also, can have a carcass round upgrade which alters stats as well as gets hot, shred and ignore cover.
Heavy Quad Launcher: Immobile artillery. Dirt cheap and spams enormous amount of anti-infantry blasts with extra -1Ld for pinning test penalty (for total -2). It used to be that they could only fire once per two turns, but that changed with the latest Imperial Armour volume, and 16 S5 blasts would kill a ton of Tyranids, Orks, or other Guard (especially with the "Fire on my target" order), and have a good chance to pin down heavier infantry (like, say, Terminators). Take them to be nostalgic about the passed times of Thudd Guns.
Imperial Navy Air Support Squadron: - 1-3 Thunderbolts, Lightnings or Avengers
Thunderbolt Fighter: The Imperium's standard for Fighter craft, this workhorse of the Imperial Small Craft Fleet is meant to be able to do any job asked of it, whether it be bombing, ground attack, interception, or air superiority. But it is a bit pricey. The place where Thunderbolts really shine is in Apocalypse, where they are the bane of superheavy fliers (be wary of Harridans, they'll laugh at your Autocannons and the Lascannons are at best only going to take one wound off.)
Lightning Fighter: A nippy little air fighter, it defines the trope of "fragile speedster" with a small armament, paper-thin armor and only two HP. It is supposed to the cheaper and longer ranged companion of the Thunderbolt, carrying more missiles to compensate for a fewer number of guns to allow it to (briefly) pack the same amount of firepower, it does however, has serious survivability issues, and even the Big Shootas on an Ork Bomma will send one crashing down. And of course once it blows it's missile load it's firepower drops dramatically, but hey - do you expect this thing to last for much more than one turn?
(Alternate take) This fighter once again suffers from people not realizing it's purpose on a battlefield. It's not designed to be a knock down-drag out fighter, it's meant to zip in, kill something, and zip out. In order to do this, it has a few special rules that help it in it's job, specifically Deep Strike, Flare and Chaff launchers, and Agile. If an enemy flyer is giving you grief, deep strike this guy right behind it. Since it is a flyer, it ignores all models and terrain below it (and thus, can't mishap due to terrain or enemy models), so typically you will get a shot on the enemy's rear armor with Sky strikes (TL against flyers thanks to heat seeking), the autocannon, and your lascannon (TL). A solid 4 shots at 7 and 1 at 9 is usually enough to force an enemy flier to jink (rendering it mostly useless) and could quite easily kill it. If not, you are in the perfect position to A: Fly off the board and try again or B: dogfight with the knowledge that 90% of fliers don't have rear or side facing weapons (unless they have vector dancer, then all you have to worry about is snap shots). In your defense, you have the 3+ agile jink save, and a one use 4+ invul against missile weapons (take that seeker missiles!). While it's true you are vulnerable to lucky shots or bad rolls, everyone in the game is. This little guy just happens to have a better shot at survival than most.
Avenger Strike Fighter: Your dedicated AtG Jet Plane with a tasty Strafing Run rule. It comes stock with an absolutely useless defensive rear-mounted Heavy Stubber (can help knock a flying monster out of the sky tho...), two Lascannons, and the AVENGER BOLT CANNON, which is basically half of a VULCAN MEGABOLTER. This means it packs SEVEN Megabolter and two Lascannon shots at BS4 for only 150 pts, to ruin the day of anything with less than AV14 or a 2+ armour save. And if it's not enough, you could fit additional guns, missiles or bombs under it's wings. Do you really need any other reason to buy it? (It's also a sexy model on the table.)
While IA12 makes no mention of any LoW choices, Forge World has released an update on the LoWs on their website [1]. The Death Korps can now basically take all the LoW choices the regular guard has.
Marauder Bomber: Flying Fortress of 40k. Imagine the massive bombers that dropped massive amounts of bombs on cities during the Second World War - the Marauder is basically the same thing, but with much bigger and less dinky and useless guns (for the setting). It also happens to share the same name as one too. It's not good for its point cost though, even in apocalypse. Those bombs just don't hurt tanks, and that's something you need to be able to kill. Does come with the ability to switch out the heavy bomb payload for two Hellstorm Bombs, big Inferno templates full of Str7 Ap3 goodness. Useful for when that annoying guy brings a whole company of Space Marines and you want them to DIE NOW. Unfortunate side effect is the tiny payload size. Oh well. As per new Apoc rules super heavy tend to explode in hilariously high range (with D strengths in the 5" epicenter) you can just keep this thing zooming above enemy forces and dare him to kill it.
Maurauder Destroyer Heavy Attack Plane. While the standard Maurauder is the Imperium's B-17 (if thats a B-17, I would love to the imperium's lancaster. imagine a bouncing demolisher shell!!!), this one is the AC-130. Regardless, with a load out like this it's more akin to the bastard forbidden love child of a Manticore and a Hydra flak tank that's trying too hard, since it's armed with six massive rocket on the wings and three twin-linked autocannons in its nose. Instead of bombing, this sucker flies in and strafes anything unlucky to be on the ground, with hellstorm of fire, and then flies away. Better than the bomber in every way (looks, armor values, possession of actual AA mounted guns and glorious bombing runs).
Baneblade: The Baneblade is one of the most feared tanks the Imperium and Chaos posers have to offer. Sporting a Baneblade cannon, co-axial Autocannon, Demolisher Cannon, two Lascannons, three twin-linked heavy bolters, optional pintle mounts, AND optional Hunter-killer missile, its a rolling fortress of death. Comes standard with three structure points, AV14 front, AV13 side, and AV12 rear in the Apoc book. Can be commandeered by a Commissar to REALLY motivate your troops. With the Escalation expansion, IG players can take one Baneblade or one of its variants.
Hellhammer: Baneblade without the Baneblade cannon. The Hellhammer cannon is shorter ranged but has a smaller template, better strength and AP. But why take this when the Stormsword right down the corner is so much better? Well, unlike all of the other Baneblade variants, the Hellhammer has a turret. The extra flexibility offered by being able to engage any target while keeping the thicker armor pointed towards the main threat could swing your decision.
Banehammer: Holds great potential for fun in trolling Mech armies with it's Tremor cannon. With a 60" range and S8 AP3, the Tremor cannon may not seem like much - but that's when it's special rule "Earthshock" comes in. Everything within 4d6" of it's 7" blast gets caught within a shockwave zone which is treated as dangerous terrain to vehicles and difficult to all else. Not the best super heavy to take, but is fun. Shoot it at hordes and force your opponent to forgo moving phase for the sake of own sanity.
Banesword: Designed especially to reach out and ruin someone's day. With a range of 180" on it's main cannon (called the Quake Cannon) as well as S9 AP3, Barrage, and 10" Blast, someone is going to have a really bad day. And for shits and giggles, you can kill that annoying Tau player's army 2 tables over, instead of wasting the shots of your Deathstrike Missiles.
Stormsword: Best at street fighting and siege warfare, what this bad boy lacks in range (a sort of pathetic (for Apocalypse) range of 36") is made up for in firepower. Its cannon launches a enormously painful S10 AP1 10" blast primary weapon shot which denies cover saves and instagibs vehicles on a 3+, at the very least ripping off a weapon. It will also turn anything with less than T6, inside out. So, in other words, it's a great way to say "Screw you!" to that annoying Vindicare Assassin, who is camping in the ruins. The blast template is in fact so huge that it is actually physically incapable of missing it's original target with its main cannon - which is awesome. Firing this thing once can wipe it's cost in units off of the gameboard, which is even more awesome. Pretty much everything you love about the Leman Russ Demolisher is taken up to eleven on this baby. If you can get these guys in range, they will never fail to impress with the incredible amounts of destruction they will unleash upon the enemy.
Doomhammer: This super heavy isn't sure if it's supposed to be a scary ass tank or dedicated transport... so it does a decent job as both. With a transport capacity of 25 models, it certainly isn't too shabby, especially with it's fire points (well, fire point, really) allowing 10 models to blast away from it. It also counts as open topped for (dis)embarking purposes. Its primary cannon (named the Magma Cannon - yeah, it's the Volcano Cannon's baby brother) has a range of 60" and is S10 AP1 5" blast. So yeah... Something caught between a Stormsword, Stormlord and a Shadowsword. For a jack of all trades, this is a decent choice (though the Baneblade is probably better at it). For shits and giggles put in a unit consisting of 3 Techpriests and 4 Technical Servitors. That way they all autopass their blessings, meaning your Doomhammer will regain 3 HP each turn. You also have enough capacity left over to put any shooty unit(s) you have lying around and want safe from enemy fire inside. Now you have a tank that almost nothing short of the big D will take down (and even on a six you still have a 33% chance of surviving).
Shadowsword: Much alike the Baneblade, but instead of a turret and hull weapon, mounts a huge Volcano Cannon (yes, it is as powerful as it sounds). The Volcano Cannon stats are simple: 120" S:D AP2 Large Blast. Yup. It is the Titan Killer and is possibly one of the most useful Baneblade-based vehicles. Can trade a pair of lascannons for targeters to boost its BS by one. This is a very useful unit, especially when combined with lots of tanks in a non-apocalypse game, because it becomes the king of distraction carnifexes in this configuration : 120" range D weapon, 9 HP, rather cheap by Baneblade variants standards, and needs heavy firepower to bring down. For just over 1000 points, you can get yourself 3 Demolisher russes and this baby : Either your opponent focuses the russes and gets blown off the table ( If you bought the targeters, it has over 50% chance to hit its initial target, almost certainly bringing it down with Strength D ), or he.she tries to get the Shadowsword and gets in range of the Demolisher cannons, deepstriking unit not being that useful as they will strike against AV12 backed by 9 HP and most likely suffer a nasty retaliation.
Stormblade: Taking the Shadowsword chassis and sticking the Plasma Cannon from a Titan on it. (They call it a Plasma Blastgun, but that sounds pathetic.) Allows for two firing modes: Rapid and Overload. Rapid gives you 2 shots at 72", S8 AP2 with a 7" Blast and Overload drops it down to 1 shot with 96" range S10 AP2 Apocalyptic Blast. So if you need to clear out a horde of non-super heavy tanks at range, this'll be high on your list.
Stormlord: It's a Shadowsword chassis with Vulcan Mega bolter instead of Volcano cannon (Yes, the Mega Bolter is as insane as it sounds: Imagine a Vulcan Minigun with Heavy Bolters for each barrel), the Mega Bolter is: 60" S6 AP3 Heavy 15, AND if the Stormlord doesn't move, it can fire twice at different target or the same target! However, the most lulzy thing about this beast is that it can transport FORTY models, though don't get too crazy about this, as the rules say it only counts as open topped for embark/disembark purposes, so you can ally with some nasty melee units like assault terminators and get an awesomely massive charge out of it. However, up to twenty models can fire from the top-bay on the top, so you can count this as a mobile firebase for your squads and/or artillery, though moving the tank still counts as movement for your units (though pivoting doesn't, when you want to point that Vulcan cannon at stuff).
Malcador: Basically a bigger Leman Russ, half the size of a Baneblade. Like the Russ, it has a Battle Cannon, but has the option for Sponson Heavy Stubbers or Sponson Lascannons (Hint: This is the correct choice). Malcadors have a limited turret traverse, due to their weird design.
Malcador Defender: Instead of a Battle Cannon, has a bunker on the top with five Heavy Bolters and a Demolisher Cannon in the hull. Use it to transports Conscripts or smaller Combined Squads. (Except it has no transport capacity, whichever dumbo wrote this!)
Malcador Annihilator: Has a twin-linked Lascannon turret weapon, and a hull-mounted Demolisher Cannon. May feel a bit schizophrenic despite seeming like a mainly anti-vehicle platform.
Malcador Infernus: Take a Malcador, throw out the turret, and give it a Titan-sized Inferno Cannon. It's a GIANT flamethrower tank, like a Hellhound on steroids. You get to fire the juicy cover-ignoring S7 AP3 Hellstorm template up to 18" from the tank à la the Torrent rule, meaning you can instant death T3 cover-campers from around corners. AP3 not good enough for you? Swap it out for the chemical variant for the same Hellstorm attack but at AP2 with Poisoned 2+. This thing is a nightmare for your opponent, but will justifiably draw fire due to its lower-than-a-russ armour values. If you can manoeuvre it well however it will earn it's relatively low points cost back in a heartbeat. Also has Sponson weapon options, which is good to finish up the burned up squads.
Valdor Tank Hunter: Like a smaller Shadowsword, or specifically, like a bigger Destroyer Tank Hunter. It has a massive laser cannon. Has a single sponson mounted awkwardly on one side, firing arcs make it only useful for self-defense. Suffers slightly from the Vanquisher Syndrome of not being able to target enough things fast enough and having only has BS3. It does possess primary weapon D3 which vastly increases chances of successful penetration (Or Primary weapon 1 if you go by IAA rather than IAIG2nd), and AP1 highly increases chance of of the enemy vehicle being destroyed outright.
Minotaur Artillery Tank: Basilisk on crack. Carries two Basilisk cannons on a Malcador hull. Don't ask why. Ask: "Why not?" Its blast is 7" and twin-linked with the drawback of being unable to fire directly (meaning 24" minimum range always). Also is built backwards meaning it has higher rear armour than on its front or sides. Bonus points for being either the coolest or most retarded-looking tank in existence, depending on personal taste.
Macharius Heavy Tank: Comparable to the Malcador, except with moar gunz. Standard Macharius has two sponsons and a TWIN. LINKED. BATTLE. CANNON. Unlike the Malcador, the Macharius has a full 360-degree traverse, so it can fire in any direction from its position. Also has hull-mounted twin linked heavy Stubbers in the front. If you somehow can afford a 50 pts increase you should seriously consider buying the Macharius Vanquisher below instead, as it can fire in exactly the same way PLUS it can also fire like a twin-linked Vanquisher.
Macharius Vanquisher: TWIN. LINKED. VANQUISHER. CANNONS. Also has sponsons on either side. Hull-mounted Heavy Stubbers also. Hilarious anti-tank firepower. It can fire either like a twin-linked Vanquisher or like a 7" blast twin-linked battle cannon; making it by far the most versatile of the Macharius variants.
Macharius Vulcan: Mother of god. For ultimate cheese, get a Stormlord with Vulcan Mega Bolter, and get a couple of these to roll with it. This Macharius has a Vulcan Mega Bolter on its turret, plus the sponsons and hull Heavy Stubbers. Removes Tyranid players from the Apocalypse games in the radius of a few miles.
Macharius Omega: A Macharius assault tank, basically. Has no turret for its PLASMA BLASTGUN. There are no hull-mounted heavy stubbers but it can take autocannon sponsons. It is also an open topped vehicle and therefore more vulnerable to enemy fire. The main gun can either fire 3 plasma pie plates at 60" or one massive 7" blast at S9 and 72" but at the risk of Meltdown (like Gets Hot but with D3 Glancing hits/wounds). Burns through bio-titans and monstrous creatures like they're nothing. Also great of taking out squadrons of medium/light armour or hordes of TEQs.
Gorgon Assault Carrier: The ultimate party bus. The Gorgon can transport entire platoons instead of just a single squad. Has two twin-linked Heavy Stubber turrets on the very back, and has the option of either sponson-mounted weapons or twin-linked Mortars. One thing to note is that the Gorgon is permanently open-topped. This can be good or bad, depending on how many Ogryns you packed inside. Also, you should notice AV10 rear armor, which means it would die like bitch to krak grenades or thinks like Deffkoptas. Sadly, according to IA1:2nd, passengers specifically cannot fire out of Gorgon despite being open topped, maybe because AV14 transport with 8 3-man heavy weapon teams would be totally broken.
CRASSUS ARMORED ASSAULT TRANSPORT: Picks up where the Gorgon slacked off. Has two Heavy Bolters (which you could should replace with better guns) on its nose, sponson weapons and it's completely closed. Carrying capacity of 35 (compare to Gorgon's 50). The main reason you should prefare CRASSUS ARMORED ASSAULT TRANSPORT is speed. It's 12". For super-heavy vehicle. It's pretty much the IG's equivalent of a Land Raider (it costs exactly the same point-wise), and like the Predator vs Leman Russ, the CRASSUS ARMOURED ASSAULT TRANSPORT is more powerful, more durable, and generally better at it's job, which is also hilarious when you think about it.
Praetor Armored Assault Launcher: CRASSUS ARMORED ASSAULT TRANSPORT with its transport capacity replaced with huge rocket launcher. Like the Minotaur is a super-Basilisk, the Praetor is a super-Whirlwind. Its backside houses a Multiple-Rocket Launcher, armed with either brutal S8 AP3 pie plates, less powerful horde-eating 7"-blasts, or anti-air krak missiles - in all modes it fires two twin-linked missiles per turn. And you can choose one kind of munition at the start of the game, making the Praetor very versatile. It also has two sponsons on the nose, just in case.
Dominus Armored Siege Bombard: Another Crassus-with-huge gun. This time it packs a battery of three giant mortars on its back, which could fire only one S10 AP3 pieplate on move or three of them while static. It could be much more cost-effective and durable artillery than a squadron of Basilisks, but only if you keep it stationary. Worth noting, there is still no model of this thing.
Titans:TITANIC GOD-MACHINES OF PURE RAPE. They pack awesome firepower on ungodly durable platforms, but hell they are expensive. One thing you should remember: Titans are NOT indestructible. Despite being TITANS they are quite fragile for such point cost. Their void shield could soak a lot of anti-tank shooting, but they work only against shots from 12" and more, not to mention close combat. KEEP YOUR TITANS AS FAR FROM ENEMY AS POSSIBLE - a lot of things could kill them if they come close enough. Meltaguns are problem. Hummershield/chainfist terminators are big problem. Warscythe Lychguards are a massive problem. Daemon lords and Revenant Titans with swords are death. Wraithknights and Imperial Knights will chop you into little bits of metal confetti. Hell, I once saw a single veteran squad with meltabombs grav-shuted near a Reaver titan and kill it in one turn. Also, keep in mind that all titan weapons (except Mega Bolter) are blasts, so they cannot hurt fliers (except Manta, since now it gained "Massive target" rule which means that all shots resolved against it are resolved at base BS and thusly not snapshots).
Warhound Scout Titan:Buy three!!! Make three (if you want your titan to look stupid)!!! Can equip two arm weapons: Give it two Turbo-Laser Destructors and watch the fireworks as it kills everything else on the field.
Reaver Battle Titan:Buy Make one! Gets two warlord-class arm weapons and one warhound-class carapace weapon or giant Rocket Launcher/Vortex Missile on its back.
Warlord Battle Titan: BUY ONE (if you want your titan to look stupid)!!! OR SCRATCH BUILD TO SAVE YOURSELF $2500USD (or buy it from China)!!! One of these, will obliterate it's cost in say, Predator Annihilators or Baneblades, without a single scratch. It mounts two of the Warhound's weapons on its back and two of its own weapons on its arms, which pack more range and fire more shots each turn.
Imperator Battle Titan:If you play against one of these, just give up... I mean, the other Titans scale up by adding on guns, but this God-Machine carries six carapace weapons (use the Warlord's weapons for that, there's not point using the Warhound's), it has two arm weapons - and even it's weakest arm gun will at the least let out 6 strength 8 AP3 shots. There is no safe place against it, its weapon's range allows it to hit anything 36" away and beyond. Even if the enemy team fills every square inch of the board with anti-tank weapons, this thing will come out on top without taking so much as a glancing hit to it's armor, with all the void shields they need to get through first. Load up on Laser Blasters for the carapace and Vengeance Cannons for arms and this can let loose an insane TWENTY-SIX destroyer shots. You still should beware close combat monsters and meltahouses - with minimum fire range of 36" Imperator cannot shoot down any approaching TEQ's, scarab swarms, or those overpowered deepstriking corsair Fire Dragons (unless you put some good fire support units into his leg-bastions, which you really should). You will never get a model for this thing, not in a thousand years, but you can proxy one, just ask your two meter (seven foot) pal over and get him to cosplay. And remember - chicks dig giant robotsYou're not fooling anyone Princeps. FUCK YOU I CAN TRY!
Note that Tau have some really nasty Apocalypse fliers which are due for an update soon and already seem designed to destroy anything you can field (which they kind of were in fluff). See [[2]] for details. Counter with Praetor Armoured Launcher using Pilums
Allies of Convenience due to their "distrust" of Psykers, they count the following as lesser allies, even though the wolves use psykers too and the Dark Angels and Grey Knights fought with them on Vraks (to be fair, the Kriegers probably don't remember that, the Grey Knights/Inquisition being fond of mind-wipes and all). But whatever, they HATE psykers so who gives a shit about fluff anyway.
Desperate Allies "Desperate" isn't in the Death Korps' vocabulary.
Yet to be resolvedImperial Knights would be divine blessing for this list. Fast and deadly, a squadron of knights to lead the charge would not only be brutally effective, it'd be incredibly badass. Also since the Inquisition was still part of the Grey Knights when IA12 was published they are probably also Allies of Convenience.
Kriegers aren't a very good army on their own. On the first few turns they could bring hell on the table - Land Raiders exploding from Medusa shells, Infantry cowers as an endless stream of mortar shells rains down on them, Hades Drills popping up from under ground, killing anything above them... But the Kriegers quickly run out of steam - Hades Drills and engineers die, and the bulk of enemy army comes too close. Despite their bravery and WS4, meat screens would eventually die and gun crews would follow them. It all would be so sad and grimdark, and you would ask the Emprah "What did I do wrong?", (except you wouldn't, because that is EXACTLY what Death Korps are meant to do,) when suddenly a golden light would beam through the skies and a mighty voice would yell "ALLIES, DUMBASS!"
Thats right. Kriegers need allies, due to dominating the rear and front of the table but lacking middle ground presence. Unfortunately as of IA:SoV, not only do they no longer ally as Guard do AND several Imperial factions are Allies of Convenience, worst Imperial faction Ally system due to their antisocial nature and creepy masks, but still Imperial Allies, so unless you want Blood Angels, Dark Angels, or Grey Knights to share transports/HQs with you, you're fine. Really ANY ally - a tough formation of meat-screened Krieg artillery is pretty damn scary and would draw all the firepower and all charges, to allow any other allies to come close to enemy, deploy and do their job. While the Kriegers die horribly in the name of Emperor. In 2v2 games this works even better, due to a lack of stupid force chart restrictions.
Similar to the Imperial Guard, but with emphasis on World War I like massed infantry assaults, so less mech and other fancy and fast stuff.
Line Infantry
Line Infantry or (Blob guard) is a rather simple concept: Have more bodies than your opponent has bullets. The Deathkorps has access to Soldiers who laugh at the meatgrinder and will fight to the last man. You will overwhelm them in model count, in deaths a turn, in shots fired, you will have at least twice as many Heavy Weapons as they will. All of their Anti-Tank weaponry that was meant to take out the 150 point Leman Russ? It killed a few Korpsmen with lasguns, good job. The problems that come with such an awesome army composition is the lack of speed and how effective the enemy Anti-Infantry weaponry will be against you. A decent thousand point list might consist of 2 30 man Infantry Platoons, about 9 or so Heavy Weapon Teams, and your Command Squads (1x Company Command/2x Platoon Command) loaded out with Special Weapons. You can also add some Grenadier squads with Storm Chimeras for more mobility an firepower, using them like Vets in regular IG games to contest objectives, bust tanks or scare MEQs thanks to their AP3 Hellguns. Throw in a Commissar for Leadership, some cheap artillery pieces or an ADL and you're fine. Works best in a Cities of Death games: With all that cover and all those cover saves, your men will live a bunch longer, and confound the enemy to no end.
Flers 1916 or Tanks!
Leman Russes. Leman Russes of all kinds, everywhere. If it exists, there is a Leman Russ created specifically to murder the ever-living shit out of it. Punishers and Exterminators reap infantry blobs. Vanquisher removes tanks from the battle. Eradicators make cover useless. Executioners melt terminators into slag. Demolishers and Battle Tanks are omnivorous in their diet of destruction. Oh, and you can mix and match tanks within their respective squadrons. All squadron members must shoot the same target remember, so kit them accordingly! Remember to point your front armor towards the opponent, do not get flanked, don't get too close to melta, and enjoy removing parts of the enemy army every turn. You can keep at least one Elite slot for the sake of Hydras, or if you feeling ballsy, just rely on the Aegis Defense line. Keep them cheap and use your infantry as tank protection. If you want to run this style of list, you may be better off checking out the Siege Regiment. Their Russes are much cheaper, but they don't have access to the same flyers, so you'll likely have to ally with regular IG, Assault Brigade or Elysians.
Battle of the Somme or Artillery Apocalypse
This is the way Deathkorps of Krieg is meant to be played: Take a few infantry squads with just standard guardsmen, say around 40-60 troopers, do not upgrade at all, these are meat shields. You'd better have those guys colour-coded or with numbered shoulderpads! Fill up your remaining points with the Imperium's most destructive guns, which you luckily get in cheap bulk packs. Basilisks, Bombards, Medusae, Griffons and Thuddguns. While your enemy is dossing around trying to kill your infantry, your numerous guns pound them into dust. You name it, and there is a Cannon designed to vaporize it. You have 3 big guns with large blasts: Basilisks with S9 / AP3 will mow through standard infantry, whilst Medusae with S10 / AP 2 make sure even TEQ's shit their pants. Also you have the Colossus Bombard, which will bring the light of S6 /AP3 even to cover camping cowards. To those guns, most man-sized units suffer instant death. Then you get the small(er) Guns: Griffons throw pieplates of S6 / AP4 hate and Thuddguns will provide an endless rain of small S5 / DS5 blasts. This mind-blowingly massive amount of firepower is, however, completely useless if the crew is being hacked to pieces by deep striking terminators or some other such shenanigans. So this formation is best for large, pitched, foot-slogging battles, where your foes will be lucky to even reach your infantry lines if you've spent more than half your points on Artillery. So, enjoy crumpling every foodslogging poor bastard there is. With the exeption of superfast, highly mobile armys, you have a fair chance to shellshock every enemy into oblivion.
