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

===Troops===

*'''Deathwatch Veteran Squad:''' Deathwatch Kill-Team Default. The unit is 5-10 Vets and forms the core of a Proteus Kill-Team. The default models, yet the best if what you want is to keep it simple. Deathwatch Veterans and Sergeants share stats with a regular Veteran team (i.e. Sternguard or Vanguard). The Blackshield is a Veteran with +1A, rising to +2A if they have any two melee weapons. As standard, each model has a boltgun with SIA, power sword, and grenades. Any model can replace their boltgun and power sword for a Deathwatch shotgun (Cryptclearer; 18", assault 2, S4, AP0, D1. Wyrmsbreath; 8", assault d6, S4, AP0, D1, automatically hits. Xenopurge; 12", assault 2, S4, AP-1, D2)., stalker boltgun (30", heavy 1, S4, AP-2, D2, SIA), or two weapons from the Deathwatch Equipment list (pistols, DW boltgun and combi-weapons, melee weapons, storm shield, and xenophase blade). Any four models have access to a unique list of heavy weapons (heavy bolter, heavy flamer, infernus heavy bolter, missile launcher, and frag cannon), and only 1-in-5 models can swap their weapons for a heavy thunder hammer (best candidates are Black Shield or Sergeants for the +1A stat). Finally, the Sergeant can take a combat shield without swapping a weapon. 
** With so many options it can get tempting to go overboard, but try not to make a 'jack-of-all-trades' unit. Pick what you want them to do, and do it well.
** Good candidates for a Black Shield's weapons are lightning claws (7A on the charge that re-roll wound rolls), heavy thunder hammer (make the most of those 3A's), or powerfist and power sword (able to take on everyone and gains +2A for two weapons).
** A squad of Marines with stalker boltguns are a decently hard-to-move unit from a home Objective, especially in conjunction with the +1D Vengeance Shells or the +6" and +1AP Kraken Bolts. 
** Deathwatch boltguns/storm bolters and storm shields combined with their Troops nature still make them a good choice to hold an Objective. 125/135pts gets you five T4, W2, Sv2+/4++ models spitting out either 20 boltgun shots or 10 SIA boltgun shots per turn. Giving them combi-weapons keeps their SIA while also giving every Marine a special weapon, but this obviously gets far more expensive per model. Gone are the days of the stalker-boltgun and storm shield combination however. 

*'''Kill-Team Cassius:''' A fixed-loadout nine-man Deathwatch Veteran Squad that automatically passes morale tests and has the Smokescreen keyword. Most of the individual models are baller as fuck though. In addition, kill team Cassius is upgraded to an Aquila kill team for free and it doesn't block you from upgrading another kill team to have the Aquila specialism in your army. The biggest downside of this unit is that it specialises against absolutely nothing and is a chore to roll attacks for. 
** Sergeant with only a boltgun and SIA (not even a melee weapon to make the most of the 3A, thanks a bunch). 
** Veteran with plasma pistol and power sword, Veteran with DW boltgun and chainsword, Veteran with DW combi-melta, and Veteran with frag cannon. 
** Vanguard with twin lightning claws, Vanguard with hand flamer and chainsword. 
** Terminator with unique loadout of Deathwatch heavy flamer, powerfist + meltagun, and Deathwatch teleport homer. The Deathwatch heavy flamer is unique to this model and has three different profiles for your xenos roasting needs, all of which automatically hit; hellfire (12", heavy d6, S2, AP0, D1, wounds non-Vehicle and non-Titanic models on a 2+), infernum (12", heavy 2d6, S4, AP0, D1, blast), and promethium (regular heavy flamer).
** Biker with twin DW boltgun and power sword (N.B., this is the only Biker with SIA (wargear states "twin Deathwatch boltgun" compared to "twin boltgun").

*'''Proteus Kill-Team:''' The classic Kill-Team, A.K.A. Deathwatch Kill-Team. One of your four Kill-Team options and what may well be the most complex unit in the whole Emprah-damned game. ''The Hammer to your Intercessors' Anvil'', the unit starts at five Deathwatch Veterans, a Kill-Team's core. Adding models is where things begin to get odd since vets aren't your only choice. You have a plethora of transport options, including the bike-carrying Corvus Blackstar and teleportation, so that won't be much of an issue. Each model other than veterans adds a possible stratagem to use on your entire unit:
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<tab name="Veterans">
The default models, yet ''the best if what you want is to keep it simple'', praise Emps and pass the Special Ammunition. Deathwatch Veterans and their Sergeant share stats with a regular Veteran team. They have nice Leadership values and 2 attacks base. Up to four of them can take heavy weapons (like a different Devastator team), for every 5 vets one of them can take a heavy thunder hammer, and the sergeant can pick up a combat shield.
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<tab name="Deathwatch Terminator">
Like the Elites version (up to three with special weapons) but with Defenders of Humanity instead of Teleport assault. More than firepower, '''you bring them to tank damage, especially AP0'''. They can also have TH/SS, but Veterans are better Stormshield bearers - they don't have to give up their shooting to get one unlike the termie, two 2+/4++ storm bolter marines cost slightly more  than a single 2+ (adding 1 to the roll)/4++ termie (27pts, you're NOT giving them Thunder Hammers) and if one of them tanks a lascannon, you only risk losing up to one marine instead of the 3W 2+save model. Keep your termies simple, focus on what you want the ''unit'' to do and they'll make their points back. 
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<tab name="Deathwatch Biker">
14" move, T5 3W, with a Twin Bolter and a melee weapon (taking the bolt pistol is stupid). All of which is wasted unless you combat-squad three of them alongside two Vanguard Vets. Which is useful, since the Relentless Assault stratagem lets them charge even if they fall back. ''One'' comes stock with a teleport homer - more bikers don't bring more homers. They're not bad by any meaning of the word, it's just that terminators are better, and Vets are cheaper. If you really want access to Relentless Assault ''and'' a teleport homer, go ahead. Bear in mind that these guys take up 3 spaces in a Blackstar, so 9 vets and a biker can't bring a character along with them. 
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<tab name="Deathwatch Vanguard Veteran">
While at least one Vanguard Veteran with a jump pack lives, the entire unit has access to a stratagem that allows them to fall back and shoot. Doesn't have {{W40kKeyword|Fly}} unless the whole unit contains only vanguard vets with jump packs, so various AA things don't get +1 to hit while shooting him or his squad. If you brought one for the stratagem, ''don't give him a Storm shield to tank wounds'' - if he dies, you lose the bonus. Now what? Give the storm shield to a regular no-name Vet, it's not like they gave up shooting to get the invulnerable. Vanguard vets are the only models with no restrictions on the number of heavy thunder hammers. Meaning, 5 normal vets + 5 vanguard vets with jump packs and heavy thunder hammers + combat squading gets you a 5 man assault unit of pure melee hatred. Be sure to give them some kind of rerolls to maximize their hatred. This even makes Blood Angel players jealous.
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<tab name="Sample unit builds">
'''Sample unit builds:''' The sky is the limit! Three tenets here: what you want them to do, how you want them to do it, and ''transport options''. As in, if they bring a Biker, they're forced to ride a Blackstar. The same principals of the regular veteran squad apply, the addition of the extra possible units doesn't provide as much extra boosts as it did last edition, but it does open up a few extra stratagems. While expensive, you can put out some extreme firepower with this unit by adding three Terminators with heavy weapons to your existing four Veteran Heavy Weapons.
*'''The Krak Dealers:''' Four veterans with missile launchers, three Terminators with cyclone missile launchers & 3 vets (inc sgt) with storm shields. VERY expensive (just shy of 400pts), but hilarious none the less. 10 Krak missiles a turn with some additional bolter/storm bolter shots & ablative wounds with the storm-shields is some serious firepower, especially considering it can switch to flakk in an instant for anti horde. As all weapons are fired at once, you can split fire and get the most out of the blast rules before casualties are taken away. Can be combat-squaded into two pseudo devastator squads pumping out five missiles each, or kept as one to take advantage of stratagems like 'Brotherhood of Veterans' to give them the Dark Angel's +1 to hit. Provides some great back-field support that Deathwatch often lack, but beware of line-of-sight issues.
*'''Killteam TROGDOR:''' BURNINATING THE COUNTRYSIDE, BURNINATING THE XENOS! Same vet/terminator combination as above, but with infernus heavy bolters, heavy flamers on the terminators & combi-flamers on the remaining three. Can also swap one of the vets for a vanguard vet (with hand flamer of course) to get access to the 'Disruptive Launch' stratagem to enable them to fall back and shoot if they get bogged down in close combat (not that anyone is stupid enough to face THAT overwatch). Put them in a Teleportarium or use the Beacon Angelis to get them in somethings face and watch it go up in flames. The infernus heavy bolters & combi-bolters are capped at -1 to hit no matter how many negatives, so feel free to run and shoot with them at whatever you want, it's still only a 4+ to hit. Give the terminators chainfists to deal with any vehicles trying to ruin your day too. 7D6 S5 AP-1 autohits, 3D6 S4 autohits, 12 S5 AP-1 D2 BS4+ shots & 4 BS4 SIA rounds deepstriking straight into range? Thats enough flaming death to make both Vulkan and Celestine weep joyful tears of pure promethium. Don't forget we can pick when and where we use our combat doctrines, so make sure devastator doctrine is in place for maximum burninating.
*'''The Five Horsemen:''' Ravenwing/White Scars, eat your heart out! Five veterans (inc sgt) and five veteran bikers. Whilst the Fortis killteam with Outriders has the better bikers, this runs about 60pts cheaper, which co-incidentally is the same cost as four heavy weapons, meaning that you can combat squad the unit into the equivalent of an obsec bike squad and an obsec devastator squad should you wish. The bikers can also be swapped out for one or two vanguard vets as well, giving the bikes the ability to treat terrain as infantry and the vanguards to absorb some wounds with storm-shields, at the expense of 2" movement & some bolter rounds. As with the vet-biker squad elsewhere in the list, theyre better off with power weapons (axes your best bet) than chainswords, as the outriders vastly outperform in that area, but like most firstborn VS primaris arguments, it's often an argument of flexibility VS specialization. Both have their merits.
*'''Hammer Town:''' 5 veterans with anything you want. BUT most importantly, 5 Vanguard vets each with jump packs and heavy thunder hammers. Combat squad them and now you have a melee unit with obsec that can take out any vehicle/monster or elite 3-4 wound model unit (such as Deathguard terminators) in a single blow. Be sure to give them some kind of "rerolls to hit" and try to optimize their close combat with your active combat doctrine and "rerolls of 1's to wound" chapter tactic. Although not very durable, use their maneuverability to keep them alive as long as possible until their job is complete.
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*'''Fortis Kill-Team:''' The Primaris "Tacticus" Armour Kill-Team. Intercessor Squads can be taken similarly to their vanilla cousins, but where they really shine is their role as the base for the mixed Primaris units called Fortis Kill-Teams. Where normal Space Marine armies can sometimes struggle to find a use for Intercessors, the Deathwatch actually appreciates them a bit more, namely as backfield cover-campers and cheap-ish wounds. Your normal Kill Teams, being as loaded with great gear as they tend to be, are damn expensive, while a unit of Intercessors is unlikely to run you much more than their base cost. Take 5, then add other flavours of Primaris Marines to match the role you have in mind for them:
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<tab name="Intercessors">
The shooty core of the team. Your going to have 4 of them plus a Sergeant. Sergeant has become better in melee with access to Astartes chainswords, power swords, hand flamers, and thunder hammers.
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<tab name="Assault Intercessors">
The choppy Primaris marines. The Intercessors can hold their own in melee with 3 attacks each, give cheap chopyness but the Intercessors portion prefers shooting. could use combat squad to separate from the guns portion and make a separate melee squad with the Outriders. 
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<tab name="Outriders">
Pay extra for a bike ridden by a Primaris. Has extra durability (+1T and +2W) and makes more attacks, especialy on the charge. And remember - you can take more than 3 and then Combat Squad them to recieve up to an ungodly unit of 5 Outriders with ObSec. Spicy!
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<tab name="Hellblaster">
Does not add any extra rules of its own. It does add a lot of extra firepower, and they definitely benefit from being in a unit full of models far more expendable than itself.
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<tab name="Sample Unit Builds">
'''Sample Unit Builds:''' As there aren't quite as many potential combinations to work with for these guys as there are for their shorter cousins, here are some example Primaris kill-team loadouts to consider using:
*'''Intercessors and Outriders:''' You get a unit of five Intercessors to hold objectives, which is ok, and also get [[awesome|a monstrous five Outriders that can hold objectives if they wish to]]. It's the biggest Outrider unit you can field for now, and with the ability to hold objectives, they can steal lightly defended objectives and keep them for quite a while.
**Alternative Opinion - as with Proteus Kill-Team Bikers, you actually better of taking 4 Outriders and an extra Primaris of your choice because of '''Mixed Squads''' rule, as if the unit contains at least 1 non {{W40kKeyword|Biker}} model it is still considered {{W40kKeyword|Infantry}} for Terrain and Movement. While you do sacrifise an extra Outrider and automatic 6" Advance, you can benefit from such rules as Breachable, Scalable, Defensible, etc.
*'''Intercessors and Hellblasters''':
**Most obvious composition - Intercessors with Stalker Bolt Rifles can shoot from afar while the Hellblasters with either Heavy or Rapid Fire Plasma Exterminators can bring on the pain. If you get hit, just prioritize the Intercessors to save points. 
**It is also worth considering to take 5 Intercessors with Auto Bolt Rifles accompanied by 5 Hellblasters with Assault Plasma Exterminators. As Assault PE now have extra shot and blow on an unmodified hit roll of 1, they provide a decent if a bit expensive midrange objective holder with quite a bit of plasma to punish someone.
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*'''Indomitor Kill-Team:''' the Gravis-armoured Kill-Team. These big boys are your most durable option when it comes to kill teams, having Toughness 5 across the board, making them very survivable. In addition, they might have the most shooting attacks per model of the Primaris kill teams, with loads of options to tear through GEQ and MEQ units. Sadly, the one thing that their let down by is their speed; unless you stick these guys in the Teleportarium, they aren't going anywhere quickly. Still, plop them down on the objective and laugh as your opponent cries salty tears while struggling to shove them off of it.
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<tab name="Heavy Intercessors">
The thickest of the intercessors, these big lads are the core around which you will be building your most durable unit. While expensive in terms points per model cost, they more than makeup for it with their weapons, which are STR 5 versions of the normal bolt rifle variants. Just don't stick them in melee, though, as they have 0 options outside of punching people.
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<tab name="Aggressor">
With the loss of their special rules, these guys have lost their coveted top spot on the throne of Primaris units, but they are still some of the best objective holders and assault units available to the Space Marines. Combat squad these guys, stick them with a Gravis Captain, and watch them work wonders together. Unlike regular marine lists, their lack of mobility can be mitigated by putting them in the teleportarium.
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<tab name="Inceptor">
These guys have also sadly lost their Meteoric charge rule, but they are still very good flanking units; combat squad them together and plop them down with some units from the Teleportarium, and rip the enemy a new one with either assault bolters or plasma exterminators.
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<tab name="Eradicator">
The only unit in this squad with an actual special rule, and GW says only they can use it! Well, actually this one is kind of understandable. These guys are your means of combatting a glaring weakness in the Deathwatch's arsenal: mid-range anti-tank weaponry. Being able to fire at the same unit twice with their melta rifles means that whether in line with the Heavy Intercessors or moving forward with the Aggressors, these guys can take care of your tank problem. 
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<tab name="Sample Unit Builds">
'''Sample Unit Builds:''' Given that these thick lads are all T5, any loadout you could take will be a tough nut to crack for your opponent. Here are some example Indomitor Kill-Team loadouts:
*'''Heavy Intercessor and Inceptors:''' Similar to the other two Kill-Teams above that mix the minimum compulsory models with the optional models that have better movement speed. Combat squad them at the start of the game and the five Heavy Intercessors can do an excellent job of squatting on an objective with heavy bolt rifles or clearing one with the assault version. The Inceptors can make best use of their faster speed to zip around the board as needed while also being objective secured to cap anything that may present an opportunity.
*'''Five-man Eradicator Squad:''' Combat squad some Heavy Intercessor's for some back-field objective camping and you've got a five-man Eradicator Squad that can Deep Strike with the Teleportarium into melta range. There is very little (if anything) that can survive that. Throw in the fact they're now obsec too, probably one of the most dangerous units in the game.
*'''The Immovable Object:''' Five Heavy Intercessors with hellstorm bolt rifles and five Aggressors. Throw them in the Teleportarium, drop them onto the most important objective and laugh as your opponent tries to shift them off it. The Aggressors provide enough combat punch to deter any assaults and they spit out a lot of shots to remain a danger. Swap a single Aggressor for an Eradicator if you want to add some extra anti-tank in the same way you'd add a heavy weapon to a firstborn squad.
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*'''Spectrus Kill-Team:''' The Phobos Kill-Team, for when you want maximum Sneaky Beaky. Being able to deny deep strikers, ignore all penalties to hit, and/or just flat out ignore cover, these guys are the stars of the new Kill Teams. Starts off with 4 Infiltrators and an Infiltrator Sergeant. From there, you can add in up to 5 more dudes, of the following:
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<tab name="Infiltrators">
Your basic Vanguard Marines. Capable of either taking a comms array (which means the squad always counts as being within aura range of your Phobos Captains/Lieutenants), or a helix gauntlet (which turns the first failed save into 0 damage). Other than that, each also has a marksman bolt carbine, which is a boltgun that on a hit roll of unmodified 6 auto wounds as well. 
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<tab name="Incursors">
Similarly armed to the Infiltrator, but instead of the auto wound gimmick, ignores cover instead. 1 Incursor can take a haywire mine, which once per game, when an enemy unit charges the squad, on a 2+ that unit takes d3 mortal wounds, or 3 if that unit was a vehicle. The Incursors themselves can ignore negative BS modifiers, but this ability does not transfer to the whole squad, unlike the Infiltrator's comms array or helix gauntlet. 
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<tab name="Reivers">
Gives the whole unit a fear aura of -2Ld to enemy units in 3". Also does NOT have concealed positions, so if your Kill-Team has one of these scary marines, you have to deploy normally. In terms of loadout, they're in an interesting place, as the Infiltrators and Incursors are way better at shooting, and the unit as a whole doesn't want to be in close combat, so the knife will be wasted. Should probably give this guy a pass unless you plan on combat squad them for maximum deep striking shenanigans.
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<tab name="Eliminators">
Let's face it, this is why you took a Spectrus kill team. Armed with either the delicious bolt sniper rifle, or the not-quite-as-strong-as-a-lascannon-but-is-more-reliable las fusil. Unlike Vanilla Marines, you can mix and match as to which Eliminators carry what, allowing for way more versatility. Also come equipped with camo cloaks, which is an additional +1 to armour saves if they're in cover, and the Eliminator is taking the brunt of the attack; probably not a good idea as you want these guys alive. If you're taking 5 of these snipers (and you should, they're amazing), then take the comms array on one of your meat-shield Infiltrators, so you're always in range of those sweet sweet auras. For 275 points, that's a 10 man squad, 5 of which are some of the best snipers in the game, a guy who's buffing them to high hell, and 4 meat shields. Dodge this bitch.
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<tab name="Sample Unit Builds">
'''Sample Unit Builds:''' While there aren't quite as many potential combinations to work with for these guys as there are for their shorter cousins, Spectrus Kill-Teams have extremely versatile sniping units, able to assassinate characters from long range and just generally make your opponents day worse. Here are some example Spectrus Kill-Team loadouts to consider using:
*'''Eliminators with Haywire Mine or Comms Array:''' The number of Eliminators depends if you want both Haywire Mine and Comms Array. Four Eliminators with a Comms Array Infiltrator would be the ideal, but you can swap an Eliminator for a Haywire Mine Incursor if you think you're going to get charged. The Comms Array lets your Phobos Captains and Lieutenants do something more useful than babysitting, and this unit in general is one of your best home objective squatters. 
*'''Infiltrators and Reivers:''' The other half of the above. Four Incursors and a Reiver gives you okay-ish shooting, but the Reiver really gives the Squad a buff to melee. 
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