And then… nothing. Many people expected had expected a Xeno Hunters codex in 3rd edition, presumably featuring the Deathwatch, to accompany the Daemon- and Witch Hunters books. Instead Deathwatch went largely forgotten by GW for the better part of 15 years, mostly appearing as converted Sternguard, until they were reintroduced at the end of 7th edition with the Deathwatch: Overkill box.
Shortly afterwards they received an entire Codex, making them a full-fledged faction once more. That status has held into 8th edition, where Deathwatch received an updated codex and access to new Primaris Marine units. Deathwatch remain an elite Marines army, providing tons of versatility and power, but at a considerably higher cost.
Founded by decree of the High Lords of Terra in the wake of the Ork campaign led by the tyrant known as The Beast, the Deathwatch are an elite group of Space Marines trained specially to fight Xenos threats. Unlike Grey Knights however, Deathwatch Marines are not exclusive to the Deathwatch; instead they are veterans recruited from chapters across the galaxy to serve in the Deathwatch for a limited time before returning should they survive.
To be chosen to serve in the Deathwatch is considered a great honor for a Space Marine, and the details of their missions and service are kept secret under oaths made to the Inquisition. For the Imperium, the Deathwatch are the best of the best when it comes to hunting aliens, an elite force outfitted with custom technology, armor, and tactics designed specifically to take on Xenos threats.
Unlike Space Marine chapters, the Deathwatch do not abide by the Codex Astartes, and operate not as regimented squads but instead as a series of Kill Teams, small units of special forces that combine multiple specialties and armaments to accomplish specific tasks. In larger battles a Deathwatch army may field multiple Kill Teams to accomplish a goal, though for large-scale threats the Deathwatch will usually call on the help of the Astra Militarum or a chapter of regular Space Marines.
Although their squads are different, Deathwatch are still organized into companies and have multiple chapters spread across a series of fortress-monasteries. The Deathwatch were prominently involved in the awakening of Ynnead, the Eldar god of the dead. A Deathwatch kill team led by Watch Captain Artemis was dispatched to take out Eldrad Ulthran and his Harlequin allies from awakening the sleeping god, though at the time the Deathwatch had no idea what the ritual was for.
They succeeded in their task of stopping the ritual, though Eldrad was still able to cause the god to stir, ultimately awakening to a limited degree some time later. Most recently, the Deathwatch have been fighting off threats from within, rooting out and destroying Genestealer Cults on key planets throughout the Imperium. Their nature makes them an easy group to write about, and there are several novels about them taking on Mission Impossible-style antics in space:.
As a result, Deathwatch are at their best when combined with other Imperial factions such as Astra Militarum, Imperial Knights, and Assassins. For more on how to play Deathwatch, check out our Start Competing: Deathwatch article coming this Friday.
Additionally, where the Deathwatch really shine is in Kill Team , where the flexibility and versatility of teams makes them a perfect fit for the smaller-scale games.
Deathwatch Kill Teams have access to a large number of weapon options and loadouts, and their bespoke heavy weapon — the Deathwatch Frag Cannon — is an incredibly good weapon in Kill Team. Deathwatch wear primarily black armor with two notable exceptions: The left arm, which is painted silver, and their right shoulder pad, which retains the heraldry of their original chapter. I started doing Deathwatch right before the Deathwatch: Overkill boxed set came out, which was a blessing and a curse.
On the one hand, it was great to suddenly get lots of new models for the army I wanted to build. On the other hand, I had just bought a bunch of small metal shoulder pads that I now had no use for! Deathwatch have been a blast to work on, mostly because sourcing bits to make each model and tell its story is just a lot of fun. Most of my Deathwatch were painted before I started doing more highlight work on my black, but I still like how the models hold up.
I also hit any spots that may not have enough paint on them. I start with Kantor Blue and hit almost all the edges, then I do smaller bands of The Fang over that, and finish with Reaper Snow Shadow for the lightest spots on the corners and top edges. The Metal Arm: The Deathwatch arms are done with a layer of Leadbelcher shaded with Drakenhof Nightshade to give it a colder steel tone.
For the interiors I start with a layer of Rakarth Flesh and work up to Reaper Polished bone and highlight with a mix of polished bone and white. The markings inside the cloaks are done freehand with Mephiston Red.
I like to look for inspiration by going through Lexicanum or other sources and finding prominent Deathwatch members in the fluff that I can convert. I also like to look through marine chapters that have been featured for ideas on how to make one of them for my Deathwatch. Stay tuned for that! I have quite a few Deathwatch models painted for Kill Team and what I love about them most is the fact that you can make every model a character, telling a unique story, and really take advantage of the depth of many Space Marine kits to create really unique models.
So, Deathwatch armor is black, which means this is basically the most important color on the model. For my Deathwatch, I wanted a satin look which means I went with bluish highlights and also used satin varnish at the end. A key thing for me is to not actually paint the armor black so that you can still shade it down for some additional depth. An iconic part of the Deathwatch livery is the left silver arm with the fancy shoulder pad. As I already mentioned, a big draw of painting Deathwatch is the opportunity to make each model a character and tell a story.
I will try to keep it nice and quick and simple. The Palette. This Stage-by-Stage guide will use a limited palette of four colours. I gave the entire model a coat of Nuln Oil to darken it slightly and to hide any areas the spray didn't quite catch. This was something I adopted years ago when it was called Black Ink. It really makes the black stand out. You could use the Gloss, if that's your thing. Stage-by-Stage Guide.
Stage 1: Paint the entire left arm including shoulder pad with Leadbelcher. Stage 2: Highlight the arm and shoulder pad with Ironbreaker. The reason for this is that the technical paint is really dark when used neat, and I wanted to give the impression of a blue hue to the metal. Stage 4: Pick out the raised areas with Runefang Steel. It's really that simple, and a great way to paint a full unit in next to no time.
Painting Black. There are many ways to highlight black.
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