Tips against death company

[tally]

Hello Hivemind.

I last played 40k back in 4th and early 5th edition. Just getting back into it now and recently picked up the leviathan box set.

I played a game against a friend who runs blood angels. It was a 1000 point game which I used the contents of leviathan mixed in with a broodlord and 10 stealers and a mawloc (it's just the models I have at the moment) he ran a 10 man death company squad that absolutely ripped my nids apart.
Any tips on how to handle this brutal unit? I am relearning nids again after a long break, any tips would be appreciated

[Iryan]

A bit more context might be helpful, particularly what else your opponent was using. And particularly particularly, whether the death company unit was wearing jump packs, had a character attached, and/or was inside a transport vehicle.

Because of their 6+ FnP, death company marines are exactly 20% more durable than regular marines. Which means if you have a decent number of attacks with at least strength 4 and a decent armor penetration, they should not be exceptionally hard to put down. But if they have a character attached, they will indeed be pretty lethal if they can charge into your stuff. So ideally, you would try to maneuver your own units such that you get a try at killing them before they get a try at killing you. If they have jump packs, their mobility can make this difficut, at least with the units you said you have available (Leviathan box + stealers + mawloc). If they are safely embarked in a transport, the same is true, but moreso. Your selection of units does not have powerful enough shooting to destroy a rhino in a single shooting phase, and then be able to charge into the death company with your genestealers and/or your screamer killer.

While it is a lot easier said than done, trying to position your units in a way that your opponent cannot easily charge the death company into your own valuable high-damage units would be key. So make sure you keep those units in a reasonably safe location if possible. Note that in this context, termagants and neurogants are not valuable. If your opponent comes charging in with his melee blender and wipes out a 10 model squad of gaunts, that is not great, but acceptable losses, so long as this means they are now in a good spot for you to murderize them in return during your own turn. So if the death company has jump packs or is in a transport, forcing them to go through a screen of gaunts that blunts the attack is a good idea.

In this context, the new special ability of the termagant might be potentially useful. If your opponent sends in his melee squad, but you can then activate the termagants' special ability and pull them back enough for your opponent to fail the charge, you have stripped them of most of their offensive punch, and are in a good position to delete them in return.

I am not a particularly good tactician or player, but I hope this might be useful!

[piersonsmuppet]

Draw the Death Company into combat with a cheaper unit and then counter-charge with the GS/Broodlord. Pop Adrenal Surge and you should scoop ~8 of them.

[tally]

Thank you! He did have a character in the unit. A chaplain I believe. No jump backs or transport.
Your comments are very helpful though and I can see the mistakes I made! I didn't help myself by not realising just what a blender of a unit they are!
Thank you again, I appreciate your input