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Special rules post! The Deathwatch (DW) now have their own codex, and as mentioned in previous posts, they do feel like the right embodiment of the specialists I am searching for. Their troops are veterans, and everyone gets special ammunition, which now applies to more (and better) weapons! I'll go through the parts of the rules that I have covered for Space Marines and Chaos Marines already so that by the next rules installment, the Deathwatch will be caught up and I can add them to the rotation. As a reminder, I am looking at these from the perspective of creating a gun line list, though the DW do have some decent melee potential as well.
SPECIAL RULES:
"And They Shall Know No Fear" (ATSKNF) is always good, giving Space Marines in general a little edge when taking casualties. Most marine lists I see (and make) tend to be multiple small units so I'm not sure how much ATSKNF really matters, but in case you're up against Night Lords or something similar, it helps a little.
"Special Issue Ammunition" (SIA) is the real DW trademark. Shame that dreadnoughts and tanks don't get it, but the updated weapons list does include storm bolters and Primaris weapons, so terminators look even more appealing and Reivers will have some added usefulness for me. I rate this a high Hydra Factor as well, since the Alpha Legion are often described toting around special ammunition (particularly Banestrike rounds, a likely predecessor to the SIA Vengeance round).
"And They Shall Know No Fear" (ATSKNF) is always good, giving Space Marines in general a little edge when taking casualties. Most marine lists I see (and make) tend to be multiple small units so I'm not sure how much ATSKNF really matters, but in case you're up against Night Lords or something similar, it helps a little.
"Special Issue Ammunition" (SIA) is the real DW trademark. Shame that dreadnoughts and tanks don't get it, but the updated weapons list does include storm bolters and Primaris weapons, so terminators look even more appealing and Reivers will have some added usefulness for me. I rate this a high Hydra Factor as well, since the Alpha Legion are often described toting around special ammunition (particularly Banestrike rounds, a likely predecessor to the SIA Vengeance round).
"Mission Tactics" is really nice, giving you a Space Marine Lieutenant for everyone against the given Battlefield Role. Can only be set once per battle by default, but there are a couple different ways to change it mid-battle, including a Stratagem, Warlord trait and Relic (which I'll go over further down). Feels like a good Hydra Factor too, being able to target an enemy weakness and be flexible enough to change it.
UNITS:
Not a whole lot of variety here, and I did cover the main one, Veterans, in the units post. Veterans have gotten 3 points cheaper, though boltguns cost 1 point now, probably because of SIA. Overall though, still a 2 point drop, which is good because DW already have an expensiveness problem. Intercessors and Reivers were also covered in the units post, though now that they get SIA they are extra appealing, especially the Reivers, who have been a bit lackluster when I've used them. Unfortunately, bolt carbines are up to 4 points from 0, which I feel is overrated just for getting SIA.
Bikers are pretty appealing as part of a DW army since they are essentially a gun platform with SIA and plenty of speed, which is something that is generally lacking in the lists I build since I take mostly un-mounted infantry. They don't feel like units that represent the Hydra Factor that I'm going for, but if they prove to be effective enough, I might make an exception. Terminators are also appealing to me since storm bolters now have SIA, and each one could take an assault cannon, too. Minimum-sized units might make good surprise gun platforms using teleportation, though the -1 to hit for heavy weapons is a big drawback.
Finally, the Corvus Blackstar is the only DW flyer (outside of Forge World), and it seems pretty good, aside from getting -1 to hit with heavy weapons when it moves. But it can dump mortal wounds on units it passes over, and that seems pretty good. Plus, it's a nice fast transport option for getting a melee Veteran unit up close to the enemy. Would have to model it as something else though, since Alpha Legion don't (usually) have access to these.
RELICS:
Quite a few of the DW relics are catching my eye. I've already covered the Beacon Angelis in the relics post, but it remains a leading contender. The Banebolts of Eryxia seem pretty good paired with a master-crafted boltgun upgrading it to 3 damage per shot, or with a storm bolter to maximize the probability of getting mortal wounds. Though I've posted in the past about shields and other life-preserving equipment not having an Alpha Legion feel to them, the Dominus Aegis seems like a very effective choice for an army whose lists usually end up being pretty small. The major drawback to this shield being that other models only get the 5++ when the bearer doesn't move. Even a gunline will want to move around a little. Finally, the Tome of Ectoclades lets you pick a Mission Tactic independent of the rest of the army to apply to a unit within 6", adding some flexibility to an already great core rule.
WARLORD TRAITS:
I forgot to cover the DW warlord trait from Chapter Approved (Bane of Monstrosities) in the warlord trait post, but it's not much to speak of, in my opinion, and doesn't feel particularly at home representing the Alpha Legion. The Lord of Hidden Knowledge trait doesn't seem too appealing to me, since even if I were to spend all 14 CP on 1 CP stratagems, I would only get 4 CP back on average. Castellan of the Black Vault would be way cooler if it affected the Banebolts of Eryxia, but making a master-crafted boltgun 3 damage is pretty cool. The Watch Eternal is another defensive pick, but again, in an army so small it might be worth it, if not a very high Hydra Factor. Being able to change Mission Tactics with Vigilance Incarnate seems pretty good, though it is only once and it seems a shame to have to use that as the warlord trait when there's the Adaptive Tactics stratagem, and how cheap it is when I'm almost certainly going to use a Watch Master. Nowhere To Hide would be situationally great on dense battlefields and against armies that gets lots of improvements to cover saves.
+++ HYDRA DOMINATUS +++
UNITS:
Not a whole lot of variety here, and I did cover the main one, Veterans, in the units post. Veterans have gotten 3 points cheaper, though boltguns cost 1 point now, probably because of SIA. Overall though, still a 2 point drop, which is good because DW already have an expensiveness problem. Intercessors and Reivers were also covered in the units post, though now that they get SIA they are extra appealing, especially the Reivers, who have been a bit lackluster when I've used them. Unfortunately, bolt carbines are up to 4 points from 0, which I feel is overrated just for getting SIA.
Bikers are pretty appealing as part of a DW army since they are essentially a gun platform with SIA and plenty of speed, which is something that is generally lacking in the lists I build since I take mostly un-mounted infantry. They don't feel like units that represent the Hydra Factor that I'm going for, but if they prove to be effective enough, I might make an exception. Terminators are also appealing to me since storm bolters now have SIA, and each one could take an assault cannon, too. Minimum-sized units might make good surprise gun platforms using teleportation, though the -1 to hit for heavy weapons is a big drawback.
Finally, the Corvus Blackstar is the only DW flyer (outside of Forge World), and it seems pretty good, aside from getting -1 to hit with heavy weapons when it moves. But it can dump mortal wounds on units it passes over, and that seems pretty good. Plus, it's a nice fast transport option for getting a melee Veteran unit up close to the enemy. Would have to model it as something else though, since Alpha Legion don't (usually) have access to these.
RELICS:
Quite a few of the DW relics are catching my eye. I've already covered the Beacon Angelis in the relics post, but it remains a leading contender. The Banebolts of Eryxia seem pretty good paired with a master-crafted boltgun upgrading it to 3 damage per shot, or with a storm bolter to maximize the probability of getting mortal wounds. Though I've posted in the past about shields and other life-preserving equipment not having an Alpha Legion feel to them, the Dominus Aegis seems like a very effective choice for an army whose lists usually end up being pretty small. The major drawback to this shield being that other models only get the 5++ when the bearer doesn't move. Even a gunline will want to move around a little. Finally, the Tome of Ectoclades lets you pick a Mission Tactic independent of the rest of the army to apply to a unit within 6", adding some flexibility to an already great core rule.
WARLORD TRAITS:
I forgot to cover the DW warlord trait from Chapter Approved (Bane of Monstrosities) in the warlord trait post, but it's not much to speak of, in my opinion, and doesn't feel particularly at home representing the Alpha Legion. The Lord of Hidden Knowledge trait doesn't seem too appealing to me, since even if I were to spend all 14 CP on 1 CP stratagems, I would only get 4 CP back on average. Castellan of the Black Vault would be way cooler if it affected the Banebolts of Eryxia, but making a master-crafted boltgun 3 damage is pretty cool. The Watch Eternal is another defensive pick, but again, in an army so small it might be worth it, if not a very high Hydra Factor. Being able to change Mission Tactics with Vigilance Incarnate seems pretty good, though it is only once and it seems a shame to have to use that as the warlord trait when there's the Adaptive Tactics stratagem, and how cheap it is when I'm almost certainly going to use a Watch Master. Nowhere To Hide would be situationally great on dense battlefields and against armies that gets lots of improvements to cover saves.
+++ HYDRA DOMINATUS +++
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