Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Space Marines (section)

====Special Rules====

*'''Chapter Tactics - Xenos Hunters:''' The Deathwatch chapter tactic. Re-roll melee hit rolls of 1 against {{W40kKeyword|Tyranids}}, {{W40kKeyword|Aeldari}}, {{W40kKeyword|Necrons}}, {{W40kKeyword|Orks}}, and {{W40kKeyword|T'au Empire}} units. After deployment, pick a battlefield role (HQ, Troops, Fast Attack, Elites, Heavy Support, Dedicated Transports, Flyers, Lords of War, or Fortifications); all units re-roll all 1s to wound against anything belonging to that battlefield role (i.e. against all enemy HQs, or all enemy Troops, or all enemy Heavy Support, etc).
**Re-rolls are good, even if they overlap with the captain's and lieutenant's (which you now get). This also means you can pick a Chaplain and Librarian as your HQs and you might still have the re-rolls you want, helps you circumvent the Rule of One for Captains, and if you really need to, Dreadnoughts can be made to provide aura buffs from time to time as well.
*'''Combat Doctrine - Mission Tactics:'''  Unlike the vanilla Marines, the Deathwatch can choose which doctrine to use each turn, but each one has a limited number of uses: 1 for Devastator, 2 for Tactical, 3 for Assault.
**Helps you be less predictable... though in general, you're still going to open with a ranged doctrine and switch to melee later in game.  Since your only Doctrine bonus is improved AP, you can also plan around this - if you drop pod a bunch of multimeltas and flamers turn 1, you can choose the tactical doctrine turn 1, since the flamers need the help and the multimeltas don't.
*'''Mixed Units:''' The Kill-Team rules. If you have a squad with mixed toughness scores (by adding Bikers to a Veteran Squad, for instance), you use the majority toughness for the unit. If there is an even split, you choose. The unit as a whole is treated as only having the Infantry keyword for the sake of simplifying terrain interaction. Terminators, Bikers, and Jump Pack models retain their keywords only for the purposes of Bolter Discipline, Transports, or if they make a unit of only them.
*'''Unit Restrictions:''' 
**First things first, the Deathwatch is not really a codex compliant chapter, and thus cannot take Assault Squads, Attack Bike Squads, Firstborn bikers (but you have Veteran Bike Squads, better in melee but without access to special weapons), Devastator Squads, {{W40Kkeyword|Scout}} units (so scouts, scout bikes, or land speeder storms), Tactical Squads (you have Proteus Kill Teams, which are ''better''), or Sternguard Veterans. [[GW|All of them manlets btw]]. Oddly, even though you have your own termis which are better than stock termis in every way, you can still take any stock termis you're dumb enough to want.
**You can't upgrade Captains to Chapter Masters, having to field a Watch Master instead, who has the same ability under a different name and exclusive gear (but no access to the Chapter Master's own stuff).
*'''Exclusive options:''' 
** Firstborn Captains ''not'' in termi suits or on bikes can use xenophase blades (S+1 AP-4 D1, ignores invulnerable saves), otherwise only found on dw vet and vet biker sergeants. Ignoring invuln saves is nice, but it costs as much as a relic blade, so the D1 cripples its usefulness.
** Vanguard Veterans can take heavy thunder hammers, which have an additional -1AP and +1D (so even better than relic Hammers) in exchange for being two-handed and costing slightly more points, turning them into glass cannons (due to lacking a storm shield).
** Hand flamers and inferno pistols are added to the pistol list, like Blood Angels get, but unlike them, you're potentially interested in Vanguard Vets doing a Sisters of Battle impression by dropping in with two hand flamers on ''everyone''.  Since your jump pack dudes fit in your plane, you might even want to try out dual inferno, but it'll still be difficult as hell to get close enough.
** Heavy flamers are added to the heavy weapon list, like Blood Angels get.
** By and large you have the best Troops in the game, covered down below in the units section under kill teams, but the tl;dr is that aside from your special DW vets, you can make the second half of a unit of Intercessors, Heavy Intercessors, or Infiltrators be made out the Primaris wearing the appropriate suits (by and large; some units are bizarrely missing, like you can't add Suppressors to your Intercessors).  But that means you can field Hellblasters, Outriders (up to 5!), Eradicators, and Eliminators (up to 5, and like the Outriders, the only way to have units larger than 3), respectively, ''as troops'', meaning both ObjSec and spammability (no rule of three); in addition, your Intercessors and Heavy Intercessors can use the same rules to make mixed weapon squads, which is far more useful on heavy intercessors than regular, but still means your troops are just better.
=====Special Issue Ammunition=====
Got nerfed to be restricted to much fewer weapons than the previous edition. Mostly only Deathwatch boltguns and stalker boltguns carried by Deathwatch Veterans and the combi-part of Deathwatch combi-weapons gain them, as well as select Named Characters and the Watch Master. The rule of thumb is to choose the ammo that affects whatever the enemy has in abundance. The SIA has received a decent rework, probably to try and make players use more than one type of ammo (hellfire rounds were monstrously overpowered compared to the other ones). Models with the privilege of having the trademark Deathwatch gimmick pick their SIA before choosing targets.
*'''Dragonfire Bolts:''' Each time an attack is made with this ammo, the target does not receive the benefits of cover, ignoring both light (+1 to Sv) ''and'' dense (-1 to be hit) against that attack. Kraken rounds are usually better against light cover due to the improved range, so '''you want this one when you're shooting light targets in dense or both covers at once''' - shooting a 3+ target in both covers with an AP0 weapon, like Raven Guard are all the time, is the only case where any of these rounds can exceed doubling your output, as in that case, a BS3+ attacker will do 2.67x the damage with this round and BS2+ will do 2.5x.
*'''Hellfire Rounds:''' Attacks with this ammo gain +1 to the wound roll against non-Vehicle and non-Titanic targets. Better the tougher the enemy is, it's '''the best one against single-wound targets that rely more on toughness than armour saves''', especially if they also aren't multi-wound, like Harlequins, Wracks, Daemons and those T5 Orks. Also against Plague Marines, because of their -1D rule. 
**Can use this on Stalker Bolters when the target does have multiple wounds and doesn't rely on armor saves too much.
*'''Kraken Bolts:''' This ammo grants +6" range (+3" if it's a pistol) and improves the AP by one. This is one of the few rules that is explicitly cumulative with Combat Doctrines. No longer restricted to a maximum AP value either, so enjoy AP-4 stalker boltguns in the Devastator Doctrine. '''The best against single wound models that rely more on armour saves than toughness''' unless the specifics of not relying on armour saves or light + dense cover show up. Meaning you'll use them against 4+ at best because of...
*'''Vengeance Round:''' [[Awesome|'''+1D''']]. The marine killers, ''the best against multi-wound models'' regardless of their toughness, since ''it's always +100% damage'', where other munitions give variable +(25-100)%, depending on roll factors, the sole exception of Dragonfire Bolts against their specific case. They'll be your most used ammo type in this 2W marine meta. Outside of models with a "-1D received" rules, the only other thing you have to watch out for is when the target has a non-par number of wounds (remaining), where the killing bolt would be wasting 1D, which can come up plenty - for example, if you're peppering W3 targets with S4 AP0 D1 SIA rounds, making all of them D2 really makes them all D1.5 for math purposes, because 1D will get wasted multiple times.  To continue our example, if the targets were also T5, Hellfire rounds would be equivalent - both rounds would give you a 50% uptick in performance.
**Can be fired from a Stalker Bolter to do damage in chunks of 3.

=====Kill-Team Specialisms=====
As added incentive for using Kill-Teams, as if you needed one, you can also spend points to upgrade them. Unless you use the Army of Renown, only one unit in your army can have a given upgrade (though Kill Team Cassius doesn't block another kill team from picking Aquila). Specialisms let your kill teams re-roll wound rolls of 1 against specific battlefield roles, upgraded to full wound rerolls if you also select this role for the Chapter Tactic <sup>''or if you switch/add a role using WT/Strats?''</sup>, which is something a Lieutenant can't give you, so mind your targets. You have to decide this during army build time, before you know what you'll actually be facing, although for Aquila that's less of an issue; not that this is likely to come up, but there's also no Specialism covering Fortifications. They cost points, so feel free to field kill teams without them, or give them to a full unit of 10, since ''it costs the same for a big unit''.

Noticeably, you keep these re-rolls to wound if you swap your chapter tactic out for another one, like when using the Brotherhood of Veterans stratagem.
*'''Aquila:''' After picking a battlefield role for chapter tactic, this unit can pick yet another role to target. There are some ways to pick extra or different targets, this is the way to do it using points instead of CP or WT. Makes a unit good against enough target types that your actual characters can go babysit someone else. Rerolls-wise, unless they target the same battlefield role, the other specialisms function like an Aquila team too.
*'''Venator:''' Fast Attack and Flyers. Mind these targets are T5-T7, so kill teams with weapons like Heavy Bolters/Hellstorm rifles can make good use of it.
*'''Malleus:''' Heavy Support, Lords of War, and Dedicated Transports. The hardest targets. Against ''most'' armies, these are the primary roles where full re-rolls to wound are helpful, and on the rare occasion you face an army with no HQs, that means it'll have Lords of War. Against many armies, this is actually more useful than Furor, as you can cripple Troop mobility with it. A good first (or only) choice.
*'''Dominatus:''' Elite. Helps kill not just deathstars, but also support characters, who are usually Elites.
*'''Furor:''' Troops, by definition the most numerous role. Keep in mind their units are usually big enough for Blast weapons to be effective against them.
*'''Purgatus:''' HQ. Particularly useful against factions with tough HQs, like Tyranids, and almost all armies are guaranteed to have some of these, unlike the other roles. Since HQ units are always CHARACTERs and full re-rolls to wound are amazing on snipers, this can be fantastic if you're taking a Spectrus Kill Team with 5 Eliminators with Sniper Rifles - re-rolls to wound are worse on Infiltrators than on anything else you can field, but 5 Purgatus Eliminators will ''destroy'' many HQ choices out there.

=====Crusade Additions=====

<tabs>
<tab name="Agendas">
*'''Secure Xenotech''' - "Steal Alien Weapons" if you selected this Agenda then, after Deployment, your opponent must place 1 additional Objective Marker anywhere on the battlefield that is not in their respective Deployment Zone. '''Deathwatch Infantry''' units can perform '''Secure Xenotech''' Action at the end of your Movement phase, while within 3" of this objective and there is no enemy units within 3" of the Objective. This Action is completed at the beginning of your next Command Phase and if it is completed the Xenotech Objective is removed. At the end of the battle:
**If Unit completed this action it receives 3 Exp;
**If this Unit is wholly within your Deployment zone, it receives 5 Exp instead of 3 and before the next battle you can use '''Relic''' Requisition or '''Bestowed in Honour and Necessity''' Requisition for 0 RP.
*'''Watch Eternal''' - if there are no enemy units within 6" of your Deployment zone at the end of the battle each alive '''Deathwatch''' unit gains 2 Exp;
*'''Suffer not the Alien''' - can only select this Agenda if you fight against Xenos Faction. Keep a tally for each unit increasing it by 1 for each Xenos unit detroyed by them. The unit gains 1 Exp for each 2 points of their tally.
*'''Strength from Diversity''' - keep Ranged and Melee tallies for each unit increasing it by 1 for each enemy unit destroyed by ranged or melee attack. Your units receive 2 Exp if they have at least 1 point in each tally;
*'''Xenopsyker Assault''' - can only select this Agenda if your opponent have Xenos '''Psyker''' units in their army. Keep a tally for each of your units, increasing it by 1 for each successful Deny the Witch test and by 2 for each Xenos '''Psyker''' unit killed. Your units receive Exp points equal to their tally.

</tab>
<tab name="Requisitions">
*'''Bestowed in Honour and Necessity (1 RP)''' - finally the way for Sergeant to have a Relic! Purchase this when you add a Crusade Card or when unit gains a rank. You can give one of the following Relics to Sergeant model as if they were '''Character''': '''Artificer Armour''', '''Master-crafted Weapon''', '''Digital Weapons''', '''Banebolts of Eryxia''' or '''Artificer Bolt Cache''';
*'''Kill-Team Specialism (1 RP)''' - give one of the Specialism to your '''Kill-Team''' unit when it reaches Battle-Hardened rank;
*'''Expiation in Vigil (1 RP)''' - some more Black Shields in your army! Purchase this requisition when you add a '''Deathwatch Core''' unit to your Order of Battle, one of it's not-Sergeant models becomes a Black Shield - it gains 2+ WS, +1A and +1W and counts as Black Shield for the purposes of '''Atonement through Honour''' Stratagem;
*'''Rearm, Reform, Redeploy (1 RP)''' - Purchase this Requisition before or after the Battle. You can reconfigure wargear options for one of your '''Kill-Team''' units and also change it's optional models. As with all Requisitions like this, your Order of Battle must have enough Supply Limit to handle extra weight of your units, should it increase.

</tab>
<tab name="Battle Traits">
*'''Watch Master''' or '''Watch Captain''' only:
**'''Voice of Experience''' - pick a '''Deathwatch''' unit within 6" of the model in your Command Phase and until the end of the turn it is considered being in range of all aura abilities that this model have;
**'''Executioner Emeritus''' - improve the AP of each attack the model makes by one, both ranged and melee.
*'''Deathwatch Chaplain''' only:
**'''Perpetual Repugnance''' - if Chaplain is within 12" of any Xenos Faction he is to angry to be uninspiring, so his rolls for Litanies automatically pass;
**'''Promulgator of the Litany''' - increase Chaplain's Spiritual Leaders aura radius by 6".
*'''Deathwatch Librarian''' only:
**'''Scholar of the Forbidden Librarius''' - each time at the beginning of battle Librarian can change Smite to one of the Xenopurge Discipline powers for the duration of battle;
**'''Mental Duellist''' - once per enemy Psychic Phase Librarian can reroll one of Deny the Witch tests.
*'''Deathwatch Units''' only (except '''Vehicle''' units):
**'''Duty's Bond''' - unit can use '''Brotherhood of Veterans''' Stratagem for 0 CP;
**'''Unwavering Enmity''' - while unit is in Engagement Range of any Xenos it always counts as charged for the purposes of Shock Assault;
**'''Chosen Prey''' - pick one of the Xenos Factions ('''Necron''', '''Aeldari''', '''T'au Empire''', '''Orks''' or '''Tyranids'''). Add +1 to hit each time unit attacks selected Faction in both Shooting and Melee;
**'''Rapid Appraisal''' - unit can use '''Special-issue Loadout''' Stratagem for 0 CP;
**'''Mobile Hunters''' - unit counts as Remained Stationary for the purposes of Bolter Discipline;
**'''Special Operations''' - while unit is in opponent's Deployment zone it counts as having ObSec (or twice as many models if it already has ObSec, which will come much more often).

</tab>
<tab name="Masters of the Specialisms">
Deathwatch alternative to Space Marines '''Honorifics''' for your Watch Masters and Watch Captains. Watch Captains can only have one of them and you can't have 2 Captains with same specialism in your Order of Battle. Watch Master are exempt from both of this rules - they can have more than 1 specialism and RAW you can have more than one Watch Master with the same set of Specialisms.
*'''Master Aquila''':
**'''Character''' gains Aquila Specialism.
**At the end of the battle they took part of, you can also pick a '''Core''' unit that destroyed an enemy unit. If it is "Marked for Greatness" it receives 4 Exp instead of 3.
*'''Master Venator''':
**'''Character''' gains Venator Specialism.
**At the end of the battle they took part of, you can also pick a '''Core''' unit that destroyed an enemy Fast Attack or Flyer unit. If it is "Marked for Greatness" it receives 5 Exp instead of 3.
*'''Master Malleus''':
**'''Character''' gains Malleus Specialism.
**At the end of the battle they took part of, you can also pick a '''Core''' unit that destroyed an enemy Heavy Support, Lord of War or Dedicated Transport unit. If it is "Marked for Greatness" it receives 5 Exp instead of 3.
*'''Master Dominatus''':
**'''Character''' gains Dominatus Specialism.
**At the end of the battle they took part of, you can also pick a '''Core''' unit that destroyed an enemy Elites unit. If it is "Marked for Greatness" it receives 5 Exp instead of 3.
*'''Master Furor''':
**'''Character''' gains Furor Specialism.
**At the end of the battle they took part of, you can also pick a '''Core''' unit that destroyed an enemy Troops unit. If it is "Marked for Greatness" it receives 5 Exp instead of 3.
*'''Master Purgatus''':
**'''Character''' gains Purgatus Specialism.
**At the end of the battle they took part of, you can also pick a '''Core''' unit that destroyed an enemy HQ unit. If it is "Marked for Greatness" it receives 5 Exp instead of 3.
Captain Artemis is considered to have Master Furor.

</tab>
<tab name="Battle Scars">
Deathwatch specific Battle Scars are interesting, as they simultaneously buff and debuff your units:
*'''Bring not Shame to Your Chapter''':
**'''Buff''' - Affected unit is able to use '''Atonement Through Honour''' Stratagem even if it doesn't have Black Shield in it. In case it has - the Stratagem costs 0 CP.
**'''Debuff''' - Each time affected unit is selected to Shoot or Charge roll a D6 - on a roll of 1 it can only Shoot or Charge the closest enemy unit.
*'''A Brotherhood in Turmoil''':
**'''Buff''' - Affected unit gains +1S and +1 on Charge and Advance rolls.
**'''Debuff''' - Unit suffers from both '''Disgraced''' (can't use any Stratagem's on the unit) and '''Mark of Shame''' (unit is unaffected by friendly aura abilities) Battle Scars from the Core rulebook.
*'''Xenophobic Furore''' - can only be received if unit was destroyed by Xenos Faction and works only if the same Faction is present on the battlefield (doesn't matter whether said Faction is friendly or enemy):
**'''Buff''' - Affected unit gains +1A.
**'''Debuff''' - Unit can't perform any actions and are ignored for the purposes of holding objectives (Black Rage: Light Edition I guess...).

</tab>
<tab name="Special-issue Equipment">
Deathwatch '''Infantry''' and '''Biker''' units can pick SIW or SIA from this categories as their Battle Honour, but no more that one from each category per unit. 
*'''Special-issue Wargear''':
**'''Onyx-class Blind Grenades''' - gain '''Smokescreen''' keyword;
**'''Dragonheart Charges''' - gain '''Melta Bomb''' keyword;
**'''Neurostun Grenades''' - gain '''Shock Grenades''' keyword;
**'''Heuristic Revelators''' - if you attack enemy unit within 18" it doesn't receive benefits of cover (thanks to FAQ all of them: Light, Dense, etc.);
**'''Teleport Transponders''' - each model in the unit gains '''Teleport Strike''' ability;
**'''Soultrawl Divinator''' - Lowers the cost of '''Auspex Scan''' Stratagem to 1 CP for the unit and increases the Stratagem's range to 18".
*'''Special-issue Ammunition''' - can be picked even by units, whose weapons don't have Special-issue Ammunition rule, but will only be able to use it through '''Special-issue Loadout''' Stratagem or '''Artificer Bolt Cache''' Relic.
**'''Derevenant Shells''' - can't make Reanimation Protocol rolls for '''Necron''' models killed by this SIA;
**'''Helspears''' - '''Psyker''' and '''Daemon''' units invulnerable saves are only successful on an unmodified roll of 6 against this SIA;
**'''Tempest Bolts''' - the weapon loses 6" of range but wounds '''Vehicle''' units on unmodified roll of 4+;
**'''Metal Storm Frag Shells''' - weapon becomes Assault D3 with Blast rule.
**'''Thermic Penetrator Rounds''' - gain +1AP (-1 becomes -2) and +1 to hit. AP buff is cumulative with the one from the Combat Doctrines;
**'''Inertial Fusion Bolts''' - models can't use any rules to ignore wounds (aka Feel no Pain) against wounds from this SIA.

</tab>
<tab name="Crusade Relics">
*'''Artificer Relics''' - Can be taken by any Deathwatch Character
**'''The Arachnosavant's Illuminator''' - something to bump up your weapons with access to Special-issue Ammo, the target suffers a mortal wound per each successful wound roll instead of other damage.
*'''Antiquity Relics''' - Can be taken by Heroic or higher ranked Deathwatch Character and increases their Crusade Points by 1 (to a total of 2 if you account Battle Honour).
**'''Mag-Pulse Discharger''' - once per enemy Charge Phase select charging enemy unit within 12" of the bearer. The selected unit suffers -2 to their charge roll.
*'''Legendary Relics''' - Can be taken by Legendary ranked Deathwatch Character. It requires 1 RP to be spent and increases Character's Crusade Points by 2 (3 in total with Battle Honour).
**'''The Watcher's Veil''' - makes Deathwatch '''Core''' and '''Character''' units within 6" of the bearer untargetable for enemy units further than 30" and enemy units also suffer -1 to hit them with ranged attacks.
</tab>
</tabs>


'''Secondary Objectives'''

'''Battlefield Supremacy'''
*''The Long Vigil:'' Score 5 VP at the start of every turn after the first where no enemies are less than 6" away from your DZ while you have a unit within your DZ. {{W40kKeyword|Aircraft}} are excepted from these rules. You're pretty much running area denial here, so pop the transports where they arrive and prioritize any deep strikers.
'''Purge the Enemy'''
*''Cull Order:'' At the start of the game you and your opponent must select alternating battlefield roles (HQ, Troops, etc), ''starting with your opponent''. At the end of the game, for each role where you destroyed every unit of that role your opponent has, you score 5 VP.
**This can generate a ''lot'' of VP very reliably, because it's incredibly rare for an opponent to field an army covering every role, much less every role equally.  For example, ''many'' opponents you face will have 0 Fortifications and 0 Lords of War - which means even going second, you can pick a category that gets you 5 VP just for picking it.  There are 9 roles, meaning you get to pick 4 of them.  
***As an example: if you fight an all-Knight army, this is an automatic 15 VP, because your opponent can't stop you from picking roles they didn't field.
'''Shadow Operations'''
*''Cripple Stronghold:'' The real Black Ops shit. At the start of the game, your opponent picks one objective, preferably one in his DZ. For the duration of this game, your {{W40kKeyword|Infantry}} units gain a special action that they trigger at the end of the movement phase so long as any non-{{W40kKeyword|Aircraft}} models aren't within range of the objective. If the unit remains within range at the start of your next command phase, you win 6 VP.
'''No Mercy, No Respite'''
*''Suffer Not the Alien:'' 1 VP for every unit from a major xenos army you slay. Pretty cut and dry.