Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Dark Angels (section)

==Space Marine Armoury==

===Melee Weapons===

*'''Astartes Chainsword:''' SU, AP-1, D1, +1A. As of 9E, all Space Marine chainswords get AP-1 on top of the extra attack, making them even better against lightly armoured hordes while also giving them a little utility against tougher foes. 

*'''Lightning Claws:''' SU, AP-2, D1, re-roll failed wound rolls and +1A. This will outperform all other 1 damage melee weapons against any target (except T8-9 with a 2+ or 3+, where the power sword wins, but why are you picking D1 weapons for those). Your best bet for mulching single-wound hordes.
** RAW: "Each time the bearer fights, it makes 1 additional attack with this weapon". Exactly the same as the Chainsword, this should be interpreted as +1A for one claw, +2A for two claws. 

*'''Power Weapons:''' Each type of power weapon has its own profile now, so pick the right one for the situation. Unless you have the option for a lightning claw, then you should always take that instead.
**'''Power Axe:''' S+2, AP-2, D1. Offers a compromise between the maul's strength and the sword's armour penetration. 
**'''Power Maul/Power Lance:''' S+3, AP-1, D1. This is the one you want to use against lightly armoured units that rely on toughness to shrug off hits. The lance is identical to the maul because of reasons.
**'''Power Sword:''' S+1, AP-3, D1. Best against targets that rely on armour saves over toughness to shrug off hits. Except against frail things with good invulnerable saves like Crusaders, who ignore AP anyway. 

*'''Powerfist:''' Sx2, AP-3, D2, -1 to hit rolls. Good against everything, cost-effective, and very common to find.

*'''Thunder Hammer:''' Sx2, AP-2, D3, -1 to hit rolls. A powerfist that trades 1 point of AP for an extra point of damage. The extra damage could mean the difference between one-shotting a Custodian Guard/Aggressor/Terminator or getting a guardian spear/powerfist in the face. When you have a thunder hammer/storm shield-Captain with Jump Pack, every enemy model begins to look like a nail. BUT, at typically twice the cost of a powerfist, it's not worth ditching up to three extra special or heavy weapons just to squeeze out a few extra points of damage. Still quite viable on everything that isn't a Character at least, so feel free to spam with Terminators or Vanguards.

*'''Chainfist:''' Sx2, AP-4, Dd3, -1 to hit rolls, becomes D3 against Vehicles. A Terminator-only weapon. Marginally better than a powerfist against other highly-armoured models that lack an invulnerable save, and strictly better against Vehicles. Costs the same as a powerfist, so trading the fist's reliable damage for better AP could be worth it.

*'''Relic Blade:''' S+3, AP-3, D2. Available to Company Masters. It has a good comparison to the powerfist; Ignoring S bonuses or wound-roll buffs, the powerfists bumps you to S8, whereas this takes you to S7. This only matters against T4, T7, and T8 targets, as you go from wounding on a 2+/3+/4+ respectively to a 3+/4+/5+. A decent option if you have no extra CP for melee relics.

===Combi-Weapons===

*'''Boltgun:''' You know what a bolter is, but if you somehow forgot it's 24", rapid fire 1, S4, AP0, D1.
**'''Combi-Weapon:''' A boltgun taped to a special weapon (plasma, flamer, melta, grav). Check below for the special weapon profiles. You can fire one of the weapons at full BS, or both with a -1 to hit rolls. Note that combi-flamers don't care for no BS. 
**'''Storm Bolter/Combi-Bolter:''' A boltgun taped to another boltgun. Cheap as chips rapid fire 2 boltgun, typically seen on Bikers and Terminators, also available as upgrades on most of your vehicles. Their abundance, the majority of bearers ability to go fast (Bikers) or Deep Strike (Terminators), and Bolter Discipline means you should usually be getting four shots per turn with this weapon.

===Special Weapons===

*'''Flamer:''' 12", assault D6, S4, AP0, D1, automatically hits. 9th edition has been good to all flame weapons, boosting their range from 8" to 12". A classic anti-horde option, at least it's cheap. 
** While they DO auto-hit airborne units with Hard-To-Hit, don't bother; they're too tough and armoured. 

*'''Meltagun:''' 12", assault 1, S8, AP-4, Dd6, +2D if you're within half range of the target for a potential of 8D (5.5D average). Good against anything with lots of wounds, be they Vehicles, Monsters, or even heavy Infantry. **At 12" range supercharged plasma is better (but riskier) however, and this gun is more expensive, so you really should try and get into half range. While you can advance to close the gap, it is convenient that the unit's other weapons are assault weapons as well. 

*'''Grav Gun:''' 18", rapid fire 1, S5, AP-3, D1, becomes D2 against targets with Sv3+ or better. Against most Vehicles, MEQ's, and TEQ's, this is a safer plasma weapon at the cost of less S and the same amount of pts. 

*'''Plasma Gun:''' 24", rapid fire 1, S7, AP-3, D1. Their gimmick is having a safe profile and supercharged profile, which gives them +1S and +1D at the risk of killing the bearer on a hit roll of unmodified 1. Sticking close to a Captain can mitigate this risk. 

===Pistol Weapons===

Pistol weapons are equivalent to their bigger brethren, with different ranges and weapon types. Other than that, S, AP, D, and unique rules are the same.

*'''Bolt Pistol:''' 12" and pistol 1. One of the most common weapons in the Space Marine armoury and available on most things as either an option or as part of their wargear. Just don't forget it exists and that you can fire it in melee. 
**'''Heavy Bolt Pistol:''' 18", pistol 1, S4, AP-1, D1. Primaris-only, as the Firstborn don't have the wrist strength to hold them. 

*'''Grav Pistol:''' 12" and pistol 1. 

*'''Plasma Pistol:''' 12" and pistol 1.

===Heavy Weapons===

*'''Heavy Bolter:''' 36", heavy 3, S5, AP-1, '''D2'''. A solid choice for taking down light-medium Infantry, if one that tends to be overshadowed at times by the assault cannon and heavy flamer. 
**They can quickly raise the cost of your army due to their huge availability, so be a bit cautious about spamming against armies that are not mainly 2W. 
**Hellfire Shell is a unique stratagem that can be used on Infantry-carried heavy bolters; instead of shooting normally, make a single hit roll that deals d3 mortal wounds. Make the most of this with re-roll auras or Devastator Sergeant Signums. 

*'''Heavy Flamer:''' 12", heavy d6, S5, AP-1, D1, auto-hits. More effective against armoured targets than its smaller brother, but cannot be fired after advancing. Can be found on Dreadnoughts, Terminators, and Sternguard Veterans. 

*'''Multi-Melta:''' A 24" and heavy 2 meltagun, meaning you can't run with it, but ''can shoot in melta range out of a deep strike'', now fulfilling the role of Drop Pod threat-removal. 

*'''Plasma Cannon:''' 36", heavy d3, and blast effectively means the same shots as a plasma gun, but from 36" away instead of 12" and better against infantry. You need to be careful when you supercharge, due to the sheer cost of this weapon.

*'''Grav-Cannon:''' 30" range and heavy 4 grav-gun. Akin to a ''heavier'' heavy bolter to deal with bigger targets.
**A unit with grav-cannons will become a serious target for your opponent, so consider sticking them in a Transport of any flavour so they can't be Basilisk'ed off the table turn 1.

*'''Lascannon:''' 48", heavy 1, S9, AP-3, Dd6. Your primary long-range anti-vehicle weapon, and is as common as the heavy bolter.

*'''Missile Launcher:''' Can fire either frag missiles (48" and heavy d6 bolter shots with blast), or a krak missile with (48", heavy 1, S8, AP-2, Dd6). Not quite as good as an assault cannon, heavy bolter, or lascannon in regards to dealing with Infantry and Monsters/Vehicles (respectively), but still pretty good at both of those roles. 
**Similar to heavy bolters, this weapon has a unique stratagem. Flakk Missile deals d3 MW's as well, but only against Aircraft targets. 
**'''Hunter-Killer Missile:''' A single-use 72", heavy 1, S10, AP-2, Dd6 missile for 5pts, just in case you didn't have enough anti-tank. The vast majority of your ground-based non-Dreadnought Vehicles can have one. Ironclad Dreadnoughts can take two, and Leviathans can have three.

*'''Assault Cannon:''' 24", heavy 6, S6, AP-1, D1. Haha minigun go brrrt. Not hard to find, available as a Terminator heavy weapon and Dreadnought option. Twin-linked variety is on Razorbacks, Land Speeders, Land Raiders, and most Aircraft.
**'''Onslaught Gatling Cannon:''' 24", heavy 8, S5, AP-1, D1. Found on multiple Primaris armoured platforms as a secondary weapon, and puts the hurt on infantry. 
**'''Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon:''' 30", heavy 12, S6, AP-1, D1. Mounted on Redemptor Dreadnoughts, Repulsors, and Gladiators, the bigger brother of the onslaught cannon that does everything better.

*'''Ironhail Heavy Stubber:''' 36", heavy 4, S4, AP-1, D1. A weird GW trend of putting stubbers on the hover tanks, but better than a storm bolter or the Imperial Guard heavy stubber. 
**'''Icarus Ironhail Heavy Stubber:''' As above with +1 to hit {{W40Kkeyword|Aircraft}}. Realistically too weak to actually deal damage to Aircraft however. 

*'''Fragstorm Grenade Launcher:''' 18", assault d6, S4, AP0, D1, blast. Boltstorm Aggressors come with one, the Redemptor Dreadnought can swap their two storm bolters for two of these, and they can also be found on most of the Primaris tanks (the repulsor can have a whopping ''five'').

===Relics===

If your Warlord is a Space Marine Character, you can give one Character a Relic, absolutely free. Weapon Relics can only be taken by a unit that can take the weapon it's based on and you have to pay for the base weapon (e.g. a Terminator Captain does not have access to a chainsword and thus cannot take the Teeth of Terra). The Relic of the Chapter Stratagem can be used for extra relics, number depending on the size of the game.

Named Characters and {{W40kKeyword|vehicles}} cannot be given a Relic. But, if you're banking on a Ravenwing Talonmaster the Supplement specifies whether or not the Talonmaster can take a given relic.

<tabs>
<tab name="Dark Angels Relics">
*'''Mace of Redemption:''' Replaces a Power Maul or Crozius Arcanum. Sx2, AP-3, D2. Each time an attack is made against {{W40kKeyword|HERETICUS ASTARTES}} or {{W40kKeyword|FALLEN}} units, unmodified wound rolls of 4+ inflict 2 Mortal Wounds and the attack sequence ends.
** Now it can be taken on all Chaplains thanks to it being eligible to replace a Crozius for.
**S9 with Fury of the Lion WLT, according to pg 203 of the rulebook under "Modifying Characteristics": multiplication is applied BEFORE addition. But you're taking Imperiums Sword WLT for a Smashlain, with Mantra of Strength for S10 AP-3 D3.
*'''The Eye of the Unseen:''' Gives the unit the Fear (Aura) ability. Enemy units within 6" suffer -1 to their leadership characteristic. And if an Enemy Character is within Engagement Range of the bearer, they are not eligible to fight until all other units from your army have done so. Talonmasters are eligible to take this relic.
*'''Shroud of Heroes:''' All attacks against the bearer suffer -1 to hit rolls. Talonmasters are ''not'' eligible to take this relic. However, Biker Captains are legal in Ravenwing lists now. Go ahead, take this relic on him with a Power Sword and Calibanite Knight warlord trait to make Captain MurderRavenwing.
** This doesn't stack with Ravenwing Darkshrouds. If you can afford a Darkshroud and are a Ravenwing main, use that instead. 
*'''Foe-Smiter:''' Replaces a Storm Bolter. 24" Assault 4 S5 AP-1 D2. While there are less units that can take Foe-Smiter, its superior to the Primarchs Wrath because it doesn't need Bolter Discipline to do full damage at range. Also a better choice than Lion's Roar, as that has to be at 18'' to get the most out of it and comes with a crap load of army restrictions.(i.e. no Fallen cannon fodder). Like other relic weapons Foe-Smiter does get boosts from Grim Resolve. Best used on a Deathwing character or Techmarine with a Servo Harness.
*'''Pennant of Remembrance:''' {{W40kKeyword|Deathwing Ancient}} only. Select a single friendly {{W40kKeyword|Deathwing Infantry}} within 6" of the bearer during the Command Phase. Subtract 1 from the Damage Characteristic of attacks allocated to that unit.
**The loss of the aura specification and the FNP is painful, but enemies will have to throw attacks that do 4 points of damage to reliably kill Deathwing Terminators. Throw in a Deathwing Chief Apothecary if you want the FNP shenanigans.
*'''Reliquary of the Repentant:''' {{W40kKeyword|Ravenwing Biker}} only. An Aura ability that forces enemy units with 4++ or better within 3" to have 5++ instead. This makes it great against units with good Invuln Saves (Absolute fun against Archon and Guilliman with their 3++), while doing nothing to those who already have 5++ or worse.
*'''Cup of Retribution:''' A new relic for 9th. Chaplain model only. Once per battle, the Chaplain can recite the Feast of Malediction Litany instead of reciting a Litany that it knows. Do not roll to see if it's inspiring, it is automatically inspiring. 
**'''Feast of Malediction:''' While a friendly {{W40kKeyword|DARK ANGELS CORE}} unit is within 6" of the {{W40kKeyword|PRIEST}}, add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of that unit.
</tab>

<tab name="Special-Issue Wargear">
If you have a Dark Angel Successor Chapter, these are the only Dark Angel "Relics" you have access to without a stratagem.
*'''Adamantine Mantle:''' When this model loses a wound, roll a D6; on a 5+, the wound isn’t lost. Not that great in an army with access to so many rolls to negate wounds.
*'''Artificer Armour:''' Gives a model a 2+ armour save and a 5++ invulnerable save. This can allow your Characters to survive much more, especially Librarians which need to sacrifice a cast and a power slot to get a 5+ invulnerable. Best put on a model with a decent amount of wounds but no invulnerable (Librarians, Lieutenants, and Ancients).
*'''Master-Crafted Weapon:''' Give a weapon +1D. Good on a thunder hammer for D4 or on weapons with variable damage (force weapons and chainfists) to guarantee at least 2D.
*'''Digital Weapons:''' When you fight, you make one extra attack that scores a mortal wound if it hits. Not terrible, but your Characters are pretty much renown for how hard they punch stuff. It's better to invest relics in durability or supporting other troops. Can be given to a Ravenwing Talonmaster, even though they're a Vehicle.
*'''Heavenfall Blade:''' Replaces a Power Sword, Master crafted Power Sword, Relic Blade, or Executioner's relic Blade. S+2 AP-4 D2, and models armed with the Heavenfall Blade can make an additional attack with the weapon Chainsword style. Talonmasters are eligible to take this relic, and honestly? They should probably take it.
*'''Arbiter's Gaze:''' Bearers attacks always hits on a 2+ including overwatch. Can be given to a Ravenwing Talonmaster, even though they're a Vehicle. Toss-up between this and the Heavenfall Blade above for the TM's best relic.
*'''Atonement:''' Replaces a Plasma Pistol. 18" S9 AP-4 D3. Doesn't overheat. You have better relic options, even if it never overheats and does a flat 3 damage. 
*'''Bolts of Judgement:''' The Dark Angel special bolt ammo. Make a single hit roll with a bolt weapon at AP-2 and D3, that wounds on a 2+ (6s required for vehicles and monsters). Can be given to a Ravenwing Talonmaster, even though they're a Vehicle.
</tab>
</tabs>