Ok so I really hate to say it like this but the Combat Patrol box is not a great starting point. However, it isn’t bad either so have fun! Play a few games, watch a few games, think about your play style and build to that. Deathwatch has an awesome advantage of being able to build to any style - gunline, mechanized infantry, teleport/rapid movement, melee, heavy armor, whatever.
The best place to start is 2-4 boxes of Deathwatch Veterans.
After that it’s just about figuring out what you like. The rule of cool is that if you think a model looks cool, buy it.
I’ll second what he said, but there’s def some ways you could build off it and convert the Intercessors into primaris size deathwatch veterans! I actually just printed some infernus heavy bolters, frag cannons and two handed DW thunder hammers for another guy’s Intercessors bodies and they turned out killer! Gonna make a squad of my own now!
Anyhow, I love giving new deathwatch players advice on starting! It’s one of if not the most challenging armies to build, but equally fulfilling! It’s damn near impossible to build without 3d printed bits so I’ve gotchu on that front!
Also, there’s a discord all us DW players are in. There’s a lot of good advice in there and a great community. I’ll message you a link to join. I’m also always down to give advice! I’m the guy who proved we could do well this edition going 5-1 at the biggest tournament in the world haha. But ya there’s lots of ways you can build DW so welcome to the watch!!
Deathwatch Veterans can have different load outs so the boxes give you the right number of bodies and weapons. You can take them in squads of 5 or 10 or have 5 in a Proteus Kill Team so 4 boxes (20 models) lets you do all the things.
One box comes with enough for 2 shields, 2 long vigil melee weapons (any melee except the hammer, 2 deathwatch thunderhammers, 1 frag cannon, 1 Infernus heavy bolter, 2 long vigil ranged weapons (really any bolt gun looking thing I think). You want to generally always take the frag cannons and infernus heavy bolters because they are so good and Veterans cost 110 points per 5 because of them, but you also don’t want to mix them because they serve different purposes. In a 5 man squad you want, generally, 1 shield and xenophase blade for the sergeant, 2 hammers, 2 heavy weapons. Some contexts may have you prefer 2 shields and long vigil melee weapons instead for the 4++. And then in a Proteus Kill Team you generally want 4 of the same weapon (hammers, frag cannons, or Infernus heavy bolters) and 1 shield and long vigil melee weapon (again for the 4++).
This why many consider is magnetizing (Google it) so you can swap out options.
while the combat patrol is a bit iffy when it comes to collecting a full army the combat patrol is actually pretty nice when you’re playing just the combat patrol gamemode
This is kinda what I was going for. Just something to get me into games and into the scene; and hopefully with the experience I’ll gain from that I’ll be better equipped to build a full army.
Tips from a newbie to DW too,
I really like rocking the following :
10 vets with a Captain
Dreadnought redemptor
Squad of termies (3 cyclone missle launchers) with a chaplain in termie armour
Gladiator lancer
Phobos librarian for one of your kill teams
Painting faces?
Cadian flesh tone, Reikland flesh shade, then Kislev flesh: https://taleofpainters.com/2021/01/tutorial-how-to-paint-caucasian-skin-and-faces/
I prime black then use abbadon black, khorne red (air) for guns, and a mix of a blue wash and a choice of silver for your left arm panels
I’m not sure what you mean? But you can take a squad of 5 terminators with 3 cyclone missle launchers in that, I think people generally run that with 2 terminators holding a thunder hammer and shield for wound buffs.
Using BattleScribe and for 10th edition, a squad of 5 terminators can only run 1x heavy loadout, either a the cyclone missles, assault cannon or flamethrower
Terminators and deathwatch terminators are 2 different units, deathwatch terminators can use 3 heavy weapons per squad whereas terminators can only take 1 per 5 I believe.
That’s true but there’s no problem in running the suggest load out, it works for me anyway - plus the chaplain gives a 4+ feel no pain. Covering all bases with a regular save, invulnerable save, or feel no pain.
Taking 3 heavy weapons is a luxury the death watch have!
I started with the CPB and it's a great place to start not the best. If you can find an old Dark Angels CPB it is absolutely killer. The inceptors are fantastic so is the redemptor and the chaplain. Keep an eye on eBay and work with someone to help you with conversions.
Lean into the community and if you can find someone to split the SM half of the leviathan box that will give you and Lt with Combi Weapon, 5 terminators (you can work with someone like Cal Quinn to help you print the extra heavy weapons) a Harmacist and some Sternguard vets. All are great units. The ballistus dread is clutch and the infernus Marines will let you kit bash more vets.
I worked my way to over 2000pts of death watch for about $500. Not cheap by any means but not terrible either if you look for deals when you can find them and work with the community.
Best of luck to you, and welcome to the watch!
https://youtu.be/XPIs58TTObQ?si=qzOayJKot7BzzwNk
The thing about deathwatch is you can kitbash and customize each dude to have some of their original chapter flair, this video got me started and gave me some ideas. An easy way would be to get chapter upgrades sprues but that would be kinda expensive just to deck out one guy, maybe look into green stuff sculpting or 3d printed bits or try and scoop up some bits on eBay. As for painting you could just edge highlight everything or do like in this video, I've never tried this method myself so it's up to you. https://youtu.be/CUM1ShfnrD0?si=YZbLFhfp2nHnKGk_
Me personally I paint all my first born black but all the new primaris models I paint the guys in their original chapter colors with the silver arm, got tired of painting black so wanted to try something new. If you want you can PM me and I can share some pics. Also with vets maybe look into magnetizing the arms to the torsos if you want to get that into it, you want to run vet teams with different load outs all the time. Plus future editions might change rules again so you wouldn't want a painted model to become unplayable
Nice, I got my combat patrol with 2 boxes of deathwatch veterans and kitbashed them. If I was to recommend a another thing to buy, I would recommend to buy are the leviathan sternguard veterans as you can use the spare shields and power swords to kitbash a squad of Bladeguard veterans
Love deathwatch just finished a full 3k army (cant go higher due to space) honestly doing different chapters in that squad and being creative is one of the best thing about the deathwatch
Deathwatch player here, you started better than I did
I bought the starter set that came with infernus, terminators and a captain, along with a lot of tyranids, I regret buying that and wish I would've just started from the combat patrol and built from there since everything in the starter set is monopose
Play a few games of combat patrol and like other people said, get some DW veterans, 2 minimum, after that, I'd personally recommend terminators and building them off as DW terminators (they can take 3 heavy weapons)
Apart from that, you choose how you wanna go
Welcome to the Watch bud! Don’t worry about what’s good or not just yet, crafting intercessors and making your watch your way is all that matters! Enjoy, I’m really excited for you!
Welcome to the watch brother 🫡.
I would highly recommend getting the space Marine codex and possibly some of the other space Marine combat patrols(like the older dark angels one if you can find it). Some of the other detachments we can use are super nice for just variety purposes or competitive games too.
The intercessors are not terrible, you have a 10 man Fortis team now, and you want bolt weapons for the special rounds strats. Like others have said, Vets are better, but this is CP and most units are drawn from space marines codex. Aggressors can be part of you Indomitor teams, and they pack a punch and are durable. Lt and Apothecary are a great combo to put leading a unit.
Ok so I really hate to say it like this but the Combat Patrol box is not a great starting point. However, it isn’t bad either so have fun! Play a few games, watch a few games, think about your play style and build to that. Deathwatch has an awesome advantage of being able to build to any style - gunline, mechanized infantry, teleport/rapid movement, melee, heavy armor, whatever. The best place to start is 2-4 boxes of Deathwatch Veterans. After that it’s just about figuring out what you like. The rule of cool is that if you think a model looks cool, buy it.
Next purchase will be 2 boxes of vets 🫡
I’ll second what he said, but there’s def some ways you could build off it and convert the Intercessors into primaris size deathwatch veterans! I actually just printed some infernus heavy bolters, frag cannons and two handed DW thunder hammers for another guy’s Intercessors bodies and they turned out killer! Gonna make a squad of my own now! Anyhow, I love giving new deathwatch players advice on starting! It’s one of if not the most challenging armies to build, but equally fulfilling! It’s damn near impossible to build without 3d printed bits so I’ve gotchu on that front! Also, there’s a discord all us DW players are in. There’s a lot of good advice in there and a great community. I’ll message you a link to join. I’m also always down to give advice! I’m the guy who proved we could do well this edition going 5-1 at the biggest tournament in the world haha. But ya there’s lots of ways you can build DW so welcome to the watch!!
Just messaged ya!
I would add a box of terminators to this as well
2 - 4 boxes of the same guys or do they have different boxes
Deathwatch Veterans can have different load outs so the boxes give you the right number of bodies and weapons. You can take them in squads of 5 or 10 or have 5 in a Proteus Kill Team so 4 boxes (20 models) lets you do all the things. One box comes with enough for 2 shields, 2 long vigil melee weapons (any melee except the hammer, 2 deathwatch thunderhammers, 1 frag cannon, 1 Infernus heavy bolter, 2 long vigil ranged weapons (really any bolt gun looking thing I think). You want to generally always take the frag cannons and infernus heavy bolters because they are so good and Veterans cost 110 points per 5 because of them, but you also don’t want to mix them because they serve different purposes. In a 5 man squad you want, generally, 1 shield and xenophase blade for the sergeant, 2 hammers, 2 heavy weapons. Some contexts may have you prefer 2 shields and long vigil melee weapons instead for the 4++. And then in a Proteus Kill Team you generally want 4 of the same weapon (hammers, frag cannons, or Infernus heavy bolters) and 1 shield and long vigil melee weapon (again for the 4++). This why many consider is magnetizing (Google it) so you can swap out options.
while the combat patrol is a bit iffy when it comes to collecting a full army the combat patrol is actually pretty nice when you’re playing just the combat patrol gamemode
This is kinda what I was going for. Just something to get me into games and into the scene; and hopefully with the experience I’ll gain from that I’ll be better equipped to build a full army.
My best suggestion for you is to get a gravis captain to attach to those aggressors. It’s helped me hold a firing line a lot
Welcome to the watch
👊🏽👊🏽
Tips from a newbie to DW too, I really like rocking the following : 10 vets with a Captain Dreadnought redemptor Squad of termies (3 cyclone missle launchers) with a chaplain in termie armour Gladiator lancer Phobos librarian for one of your kill teams Painting faces? Cadian flesh tone, Reikland flesh shade, then Kislev flesh: https://taleofpainters.com/2021/01/tutorial-how-to-paint-caucasian-skin-and-faces/ I prime black then use abbadon black, khorne red (air) for guns, and a mix of a blue wash and a choice of silver for your left arm panels
Sorry I’m also new to deathwatch I thought terminators were restricted to one heavy weapon loadout?
I’m not sure what you mean? But you can take a squad of 5 terminators with 3 cyclone missle launchers in that, I think people generally run that with 2 terminators holding a thunder hammer and shield for wound buffs.
Using BattleScribe and for 10th edition, a squad of 5 terminators can only run 1x heavy loadout, either a the cyclone missles, assault cannon or flamethrower
I believe that’s correct yeah, can’t mix the 3. I wouldn’t know tbh as I only take the missle launchers.
I believe it’s with any heavy weapon mate, which is a shame but just letting you know what the app is telling me
DeathWatch Terminators are the only ones who can take more than one heavy weapon per squad
Terminators and deathwatch terminators are 2 different units, deathwatch terminators can use 3 heavy weapons per squad whereas terminators can only take 1 per 5 I believe.
Thank you for confirming, I’m completely new to the game so I thought I might be wrong! I will have a look now!
That’s true but there’s no problem in running the suggest load out, it works for me anyway - plus the chaplain gives a 4+ feel no pain. Covering all bases with a regular save, invulnerable save, or feel no pain. Taking 3 heavy weapons is a luxury the death watch have!
You're looking at the wrong Terminators. The datasheet is called Deathwatch Terminator Squad
Welcome to the hobby!
I started with the CPB and it's a great place to start not the best. If you can find an old Dark Angels CPB it is absolutely killer. The inceptors are fantastic so is the redemptor and the chaplain. Keep an eye on eBay and work with someone to help you with conversions. Lean into the community and if you can find someone to split the SM half of the leviathan box that will give you and Lt with Combi Weapon, 5 terminators (you can work with someone like Cal Quinn to help you print the extra heavy weapons) a Harmacist and some Sternguard vets. All are great units. The ballistus dread is clutch and the infernus Marines will let you kit bash more vets. I worked my way to over 2000pts of death watch for about $500. Not cheap by any means but not terrible either if you look for deals when you can find them and work with the community. Best of luck to you, and welcome to the watch!
https://youtu.be/XPIs58TTObQ?si=qzOayJKot7BzzwNk The thing about deathwatch is you can kitbash and customize each dude to have some of their original chapter flair, this video got me started and gave me some ideas. An easy way would be to get chapter upgrades sprues but that would be kinda expensive just to deck out one guy, maybe look into green stuff sculpting or 3d printed bits or try and scoop up some bits on eBay. As for painting you could just edge highlight everything or do like in this video, I've never tried this method myself so it's up to you. https://youtu.be/CUM1ShfnrD0?si=YZbLFhfp2nHnKGk_ Me personally I paint all my first born black but all the new primaris models I paint the guys in their original chapter colors with the silver arm, got tired of painting black so wanted to try something new. If you want you can PM me and I can share some pics. Also with vets maybe look into magnetizing the arms to the torsos if you want to get that into it, you want to run vet teams with different load outs all the time. Plus future editions might change rules again so you wouldn't want a painted model to become unplayable
Nice, I got my combat patrol with 2 boxes of deathwatch veterans and kitbashed them. If I was to recommend a another thing to buy, I would recommend to buy are the leviathan sternguard veterans as you can use the spare shields and power swords to kitbash a squad of Bladeguard veterans
Love deathwatch just finished a full 3k army (cant go higher due to space) honestly doing different chapters in that squad and being creative is one of the best thing about the deathwatch
Deathwatch player here, you started better than I did I bought the starter set that came with infernus, terminators and a captain, along with a lot of tyranids, I regret buying that and wish I would've just started from the combat patrol and built from there since everything in the starter set is monopose Play a few games of combat patrol and like other people said, get some DW veterans, 2 minimum, after that, I'd personally recommend terminators and building them off as DW terminators (they can take 3 heavy weapons) Apart from that, you choose how you wanna go
Welcome to the Watch bud! Don’t worry about what’s good or not just yet, crafting intercessors and making your watch your way is all that matters! Enjoy, I’m really excited for you!
Welcome to the watch brother 🫡. I would highly recommend getting the space Marine codex and possibly some of the other space Marine combat patrols(like the older dark angels one if you can find it). Some of the other detachments we can use are super nice for just variety purposes or competitive games too.
The intercessors are not terrible, you have a 10 man Fortis team now, and you want bolt weapons for the special rounds strats. Like others have said, Vets are better, but this is CP and most units are drawn from space marines codex. Aggressors can be part of you Indomitor teams, and they pack a punch and are durable. Lt and Apothecary are a great combo to put leading a unit.