In today’s Warhammer 40k Flashback, we’re hopping into the cat tub time machine and checking out the first Deathwatch 40k rules!
They first came out in Chapter Approved back in 2002 and originally just a couple of pages at that. They compiled a lot of snippets from issues of White Dwarf and stuffed them all into the Chapter Approved, becoming the second edition of the book in the 2000s and the third installment overall.
The First Deathwatch Rules: 40k Flashback
I thought it would be dope seeing only the best of different chapters represented in my army, the Emperor’s All-stars so to speak. Turned out, this bit of propaganda wasn’t enough to sway me into playing the forces of the Deathwatch.
I ended up making a Black Templar army, which, for all intents and purposes was my first real army. I ran chaos in the 2nd edition, but unfortunately, it wasn’t what anyone would consider a real army. Things were different back then…
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Anyway, these guys counted as an HQ choice, and you could upgrade anyone! HQ, Veteran, Captain or Deathwatch for only 5 points a dude, that was sweet! It was also a steal because they got access to a lot of sweet wargear. It even gave them access to True Grit which was super cool.
These pages also go into a bit of the fluff. They were created to fight the Tyranids, but they limited enlistment to only the Ultramarines, Lamenters, and Scythes of the Emperor.
You’ll notice the stat lines aren’t nearly as awesome as they are now, which is to be expected. The heavy bolters profile is also different, it was assault 3 and it could do some work.
It is cool to see the old rules on how to field the deathwatch back in the day. In general, I’d recommend anyone interested in Warhammer 40k Classic to grab a Chapter Approved off eBay and look at it for yourself.
What do you think about Deathwatch in 9th vs 3rd? Have they come a long way? Are they moving in the right direction?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
