Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Dark Angels (section)

===Elites===
*'''Company Veterans Squad:''' Imagine Tactical Marines with an extra attack, Ld and some individual wargear options. That's pretty much what this unit is. If you somehow forgot while reading through this page, Dark Angels are a shooting army and these guys can take combi-weapons, but don't have the benefit of Sternguard extra bullets, and can take a heavy and a special weapon at 5 guys and an extra special at ten.  If you're feeling really mean, tool them up with combi-plasmas, take some plasma guns and then once per game, unleash a shit load of plasma fire over the enemy scum. Useful for most applications. Or you can give everyone Plasma/Grav Pistols instead of Chainswords to make a Cypher Squad for close-range shooting and gain both shots due to the gunslinger rule. This is one advantage Dark Angels Vets have over Sternguard but gets expensive fast. Also, unless you are using Greenwing, ignore CC for the most part as your terminators and bikes should be getting into hand-to-hand, not vets, so don't get tempted by that extra base attack (Still, remember it. It might be better to exchange the extra turn of rapid fire shooting so you charge rather then be charged, however any opponent who charges a squad of AP2 weapons at BS2>4 is in for a shock). 
**Another advantage that Company Vets have is that they are easier to take in formations than their equivalent codex counterparts. As part of a demi-company they gain ''Objective Secured'' and and aren't competing for Elite slots, nor are you forced to buy a minimum of three squads like the 1st Company Task Force. So instead of committing a large portion of your points allowance to them, it's easier to take them as an afterthought.
**'''Alternate Take:''' - Company Vets can take a Chainsword for free.  This essentially makes them +2 attacks and +1 Ld for +4 points and makes them quite versatile with just base special weapons.  Drop 10 behind the enemy's lines with Meltas or Flamers and start blasting the backfield. Your opponent will have to divert units from the front quickly or get his heavy units and vehicles wiped out.  A squad with two Flamers clocks in at 200pts even, Meltas/Plasmas are also viable.  The best part is, they can sling those weapons and head into Close Combat with their trusty chainswords and pistols. This makes them either 30 attacks defending (assuming a squad of ten) or 40 attacks charging.  That is a whole lot of WS4, S4 attacks headed at an opponent and will put a dent in anything their hit. Don't neglect them having the aforementioned ''Objective Secured'' and improved Overwatch for their Bolt Pistols and Specials in the Lion's Blade too. Whatever the case, your 180-220pt unit is going to require an opponent to make some serious readjustments.

*'''Company Command Squad:''' You don't even need an HQ choice to take them now. They are very similar to Veteran squads in many respects, they are fixed at five men, and cannot take combat shields except on the champion ''(which is of dubious worth anyway)'', nor can they take a heavy weapon. On the plus side, ''every veteran'' can take a special weapon rather than just one in five, and they get access to the typical command squad staff. Honestly, these guys aren't that bad if you load them up right. Think of them as Loyalist Chosen and you're not far off, armed to the teeth with a slew of special weapons. Be sure to take a banner, an Apothecary, and a Champion for S5 AP3 attacks, also unlike the Deathwing/Ravenwing equivalents they can take as many of these officers as you have squads, therefore if you were ever thinking of using a ''small'' veteran squad, take these guys instead.
**For 175 points ''(ie: cheaper than Deathwing)'' you can get five guys with Meltaguns and a Drop Pod. Codex Marines can do this too, but Dark Angels can drop in, erase enemy vehicles/TEQs and are less fearful of a counter-charge due to better overwatch, and that Drop Pod can summon in other shooty Deathwing/Land Speeder squads with its locator beacon.
**For a bit more, take 5 grav-guns and a Sacred Standard to get the full number of shots at full range, then have them arrive from a Drop Pod and erase units from existence. Made even deadlier when your opponent considers charging your unit to get a face full of improved grav overwatch and counter attack. Give them storm shields for some decent survivability.

*'''Deathwing Terminator Squad:''' This is one of the reasons you play Dark Angels. They received only a minor nerf since Deathwing Assault is now a formation rule rather than a squad rule and no longer allows them to arrive on turn one. 200 points now and still have Grim Resolve which makes them stronger for the inevitable counter assaults.  Fearless Terminators with Split Fire and the ability to twin-link their weapons the turn they arrive from Deep Strike.  Any model can trade their basic weapons ''(including the sergeant again)'' for Thunder Hammers/Storm Shields and Lightning Claws. Able to up to 10 of these guys (Note they CAN'T Combat Squad so be aware of that) PLUS you can give 1 in every five termies an assault cannon, heavy flamer, cyclone missile launcher '''OR''' a fucking plasma cannon! The main strength of Deathwing Terminators is sheer versatility, being able to mix and max range with melee means they can handle damn near anything. With split fire one model can shoot a different target while letting the squad charge another target. The only thing they shouldn't be equipped for is all out melee as that is the Deathwing Knights job with their slew of special rules and awesome melee weapons. Get a heavy weapon with two or so TH/SS to protect against high AP weapons and you'll have a dangerous squad against different enemies.
***Note that split fire doesn't require two different weapons in 7th. A unit of 5 terminators where all have TH/SS and one is additionally upgraded with a cyclone missile launcher is still able to target two units - this doesn't mean they actually fire at two targets, but they are able to charge a different target than they actually fire at. That's cool and all, but remember you cannot Assault the turn you arrive from Reserve.
***Terminators are expensive, particularly when you start taking them in large groups.  Losses pack in quickly, even for these most elite units. Full Terminator armies tend to get picked apart quickly and the higher cost of Deathwings and their upgrades can really reduce your numbers.  Think of Deathwing Terminators like massive breasts: pretty great, but without lots of support they can be a real pain in the back, and they tend to attract the worst kind of attention. 

*'''Deathwing Command Squad''' - At its most basic it is a regular Deathwing squad for the same cost. But you can throw on upgrades like candy and do all the normal things you expect a command squad to do too. It is an ''incredibly'' potent squad, and if you ever get given the choice, you should consider it in place of any other kind of Deathwing squad, since they all share Elite slots now. Be warned that Champions and Apothecaries are a '' "one per Army"'' deal, so while it might seem attractive to have multiple command squads taking Elite slots, subsequent squads would become pretty much just five-man regular Deathwing squads, unless you choose to spread your specialists through different squads.
**Sergeants were added in as a free upgrade... But don't even bother. They lose a power fist for a power sword and don't even have the option to replace anything unlike the regular Deathwing squads. If you want a character model to lead the squad and take challenges then have a Champion instead.
**Deathwing Champions are fantastic, they get +1WS and can take the Halberd of Caliban (+2S, AP2, 2-handed), and now they must auto-issue and auto-accept challenges. They do hilariously well against most other single-wound champions like vanilla Chapter Champions and the like, who are compelled to get into a fight that they will lose.
**Apothecaries obviously give the squad Feel No Pain and as Terminators they become incredibly hard to budge. But they have to replace their stock power-fist with the Narthecium, and the lack of other options mean they are mostly useless in close combat. As characters they can refuse challenges and be kept out of harms way which does seem like a waste of a terminator, but they still grant FnP to the squad even then. Also remember that the squad has Split-Fire so even if he's got the only other ranged weapon after a Heavy Weapons dude, he can put it to use against a different target.
**Banner options are limited to either the DW Company Banner or the Sacred Standard, but the go-to option should be the Deathwing Company banner, which as mentioned above gives them +1 attack. This is a close combat squad and also serves to overcome any reduced output from taking an apothecary. The banner bearer can also be given any other option but should probably be given a TH/SS to guard against any unfortunate and expensive mishaps.
**'''Grumpy's Take on Apothecaries:''' Let's be realistic for a second: in places the DW Command Squad's supposed to go a guy with a Storm Bolter and a CCW, a guy you have to protect with other Termies (so not an ablative Wound) is dead weight. Now, this guy gives others FnP and that's about his only thing. The way I see it, DW command squad with an Apothecary is essentially a 4-man Termie squad with a 45 pts. FnP upgrade. Then you can, as mentioned above, overcome the reduced output by purchasing the banner and THEN you could say that's 65 pts. total to give a squad of (now actually counted as) 5 Termies FnP. All in all, "Your Mileage May Vary", since you could've purchased a Perfidious Relic and another TH/SS Termie for the same amount, or a Termie with a Cyclone Missile Launcher. I would get a Champion and the Banner since they're so amazing and then treat this as your usual DW Squad in terms of upgrades, focusing on versatility and not trying to go all-out melee or build a Deathstar with as many buffs as possible out of this squad. That's Deathwing Knights' job.
**That other thing: FNPs are the only save you get against Perils, and DA psychics like to throw big wads of dice. If you take a terminator-librarian, an apoth is not the worst choice.

*'''Deathwing Knights:'''** Deathwing Assault Terminators, your melee terminators and pretty damn versatile squad. They're the close combat melee squad you want in while your Deathwing Terminators... or the rest of your army, really, handle the ranged support. WS5, Hammer of Wrath, Precision Strikes, Storm Shields and AP3 Maces of Redemption (+2S with Concussive!). The Knight Master has Flail of the Unforgiven which lacks Smite but is Fleshbane AP3. They also get +1T if one model is touching two others with Storm Shields and any attached IC's with STORM SHIELDS benefit from it. 2+/3++ saves and Toughness 5 means these Knights will tank anything and everything, especially small arms fire. Combined with their very versatile weapons and Special Rules (HoW to clear hordes a bit better, Precision Strikes for Power Fist removal), they can handle anything from Monstrous Creatures to swathes of enemies squads. Only things you have to worry about is high AV walkers or such as even with smite you can have a tough time. Again, let your range support deal with units Knights can't comfortably deal with. You also better not roll ones on assault or Belial will hunt you down and bitch slap you. Additionally they're able to get Perfidious Relics which are quite cheap for what they give. That's Adamantium Will to make them more resistant against psyker attacks (combine with Ezekiel for some high-yield Calibanian witch denial) and Fear. Although you can never rely on Fear, it does help avoid random ones, the bane of all Terminators, when fighting [[Tarpit|enemies with weak but numerous attacks]]. If you desire one of the deadliest close combat squad for points in the game, these Knights are your men. 
***Dark Angels are all about synergy and that also goes for Deathwing Knights. One thing they can't do is sweeping advance which is why there is Ravenwing who can swing behind the enemy once they break to block their retreat and cut them down for the Deathwing. 
***A word on those Maces: Sx2 AP2, unlimited use, doesn't sound so bad at first, until you notice you can only make one attack. This is quite a [[Skub|topic of debate]] since this wasn't the case in 6th Edition and Smite mode was much stronger. But in 6th edition the Maces were only ever AP3 when used against CSM, so the general consensus is this: now they are actually BETTER because you don't need to smite or be facing [[Abaddon|Failbadon]] and his cronies to instagib MEQ. Moreover, smite mode is now quite a bit versatile in itself because you can do it on a model-by-model basis, so you don't need to only make 1 attack per model if you think it's too risky (or, say, if you want to resolve AP3 wounds first and kill the MEQ retinue of a 2+ totting IC before getting to them). There's another incredibly important aspect to the Smite mode: strength 8, AP2 [[Anal circumference|AT INITIATIVE]], that's what makes it so powerful. Regular chums need to go down to I1 to get this, even HQs (outside uber-special snowflakes like Calgar and Dante). All in all, you take a bit of a gamble because every single miss of a Smite attack will be so noticeable. But in most cases a single wound will instagib the unfortunate sod you were charging at (unless it has eternal warrior or T5, but most things that have 2+ save are T4, barring warbosses on mega armor).
***Speaking of [[Abaddon|Failbadon]], "the infamous melee monster": mathematically 6 Deathwing Knights (that's about equal to Abba's cost in points) kill him and only lose 3 guys. That's largely due to Smite and Concussive. And that's when [[Rape|he charges]].
***<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="100%"> Speaking of mathematically, here's some numbers to help you better choose between normal attacks and Smite Mode. <div class="mw-collapsible-content"> I will consider that a Knight squad can be a) charging; b) attached to Ezekiel;  c) buffed with Righteous Repugnance by said Ezekiel. There are probably other options of increasing amount of attacks but those are very easy ones that keep it in-Codex. This means normal mode gets anywhere between 2 and 5 attacks. Additionally, Knights can get re-rolls from either Hatred or the Divination Primaris. I will use {curly brackets} to show re-rolls instead of writing "with re-rolls" every single time.
****Let's see what's up with vanilla TH/SS Terminators. ''Normal Attacks'' give us 2/3 {8/9} to-hit, 5/6 to-wound and have 1/6 chance to go through the save for a total of '''0.093 {0.123}''' wounds per attack. ''Smite Mode'' gives us 2/3 {8/9} to-hit, 5/6 to-wound and have 1/3 chance to go through the save for a total of '''0.185 {0.247}''' wounds per attack. This was all easy and predictable and tells us that if you have 2 attacks, the two modes are equivalent, and if you have more than 2 attacks, you should not use Smite.
****What if the very same Terminators somehow had FnP (5+)? They could be Iron Hands or this could even be a mirror match and that's a Deathwing Command Squad with an Apothecary. ''Normal Attacks'' give us 2/3 {8/9} to-hit, 5/6 to-wound and have 1/9 chance to go through the save for a total of '''0.062 {0.082}''' wounds per attack. ''Smite Mode'' keeps the same '''0.185 {0.246}''' wounds per attack. Now we see that a single Smite attack equals 3 normal attacks in effectiveness so... that's good to know, I guess.
****Let's take a T5 2+ unit, i.e. Obliterators: they have 5++. Note that I will not account for FnP where S8 can't deny it (not that Oblies have FnP but it'll come into play later on). ''Normal Attacks:'' give us 2/3 {8/9} to-hit, 2/3 to-wound and have 1/6 chance to go through the save for a total of '''0.074 {0.197}''' wounds per attack. ''Smite Mode'', now that the invuln is just a 5++, is a whopping '''0.370 {0.494}''' wounds per attack. This means that it's over 5 times more effective as a normal attack but there's another thing you might have noticed: once we've factored in the re-rolls, Smite mode is only 2.5x more effective. It's still better, of course, but this should be a pattern from now on: the more attacks you have, the higher the benefit of re-rolls is. So let's say you have 4 attacks per model but no re-rolls: get Smite. If you have the same 4 attacks with re-rolls though, try and overload their saves again.
****''Monstrous Creatures coming soon''</div></div>

*'''Ravenwing Command Squad:''' Another reshuffling of the FOC, they are the Ravenwing equivalent to the Deathwing Command Squad. You can load these biker boyz out with all sorts of goodies including plasma talons (18" twin-linked plasma guns), Corvus Hammers (+1S, AP-, Rending) and one really weird grenade launcher. Just like the others, you can have an apothecary, banner bearer and a company champion who must now auto-issue and auto-accept challenges, but like DW command squads, these guys are a one per army choice. Enjoy! The squad is 3 knights but you can add three more guys. ''If you're taking a character on bike and you plan on taking a smallish squad of black knights, you would be better served taking them as a command squad, so you can save yourself a FA choice and a few points.''
**'''On Ravenwing Apothecaries''': At 30 points, the Ravenwing Apothecary seems like a mighty expensive upgrade. However, note that he keeps his plasma talon, which is a big part of what you want Ravenwing Command Squads for in the first place, and on T5 models, the FNP is harder to deny. Also, even with the upgrade, this is still a better deal than a vanilla Command Squad on bikes where everyone has a plasma gun.

*'''Dreadnoughts:''' A versatile choice and now coming in squads on 1-3 model. Can do everything generally well. It can punch with its upgraded four attacks, it can dakka with the normal option of guns and has improved Overwatch thanks to army-wide Grim Resolve. Dark Angels might just be the one Space Marine army wherein the Hellfire configuration (lascannons and missile launcher) make the most sense, but the rifleman is also a good sell. If you really wanna smash things with your half-dead space marine robot, get yourself a venerable dread.  Another option is the Missile Launcher and Assault Combo Dread as it can and will deal with anything smaller than a Land Raider and is really good in a Lions Blade with the overwatch.

*'''Venerable Dreadnoughts:''' Another squad of 1-3 dreadnoughts, clocking in at 125 pts each. Which is a bargain considering it has a BS and WS of 5. It gets the classic Venerable rule along with the new Grim Resolve and Deathwing rules for Hatred (Chaos Marines) and Overwatch at BS2 or higher in certain formations. Venerable dreadnoughts are recommended against CSM, to whom they will do terrible things. Also provides a lot of customisation. Pick them 'cause they easily fill up those elites and in a Deathwing Strike Force, where they're not only [[Awesome|Boss]], they are absolutely essential if you want to play solo Deathwing.
**'''Other Notes:''' These guys are now really good at melee with their 4 attacks and with WS 5 they'll hit most things and can rip apart tanks if they survive after drop podding. If you want anti-infantry a good loadout for infantry mulching is assault cannon, heavy flamer, and powerfist lets you rampage through most squad without trouble and with I4 you strike before most other walkers and MC.
**If drop podding with Deathwing Strike Force or otherwise a good loadout for tank busting is just default Multi Melta as Deathwing otherwise lack hard '''ranged''' anti tank in terms of penetration and being AP 1. Assault Cannon also works if the enemy has weak rear armor since you can put the drop pod right behind without worry of mishaps. 4 S6 with rending at BS5 can glance a tank to death especially if its rear armor is 10. 
**Ignore Venerables if you want them to sit back and shoot as almost every Dreadnought weapon is twin linked wasting their WS/BS 5. Let their less experienced Dreadnought brothers sit back and provide fire support. 

*'''Mortis Dreadnought (Forgeworld):''' It's your special dreadnought ''(all other chapters are limited to 1 per detachment)'' 115pts basic with 2 Missile Launchers, which can be upgraded to two Twin-Linked Heavy Bolters, two Twin-Linked Autocannons or two Twin-Linked Lascannons. It also counts as Skyfire/Interceptor while stationary - take double autocannons and think of it like your space marine hydra flak tank. Take 2 or Mortis Contemptor.

*'''Chaplain Dreadnought (Forgeworld):''' Ever wanted to roleplay a Furioso Dreadnought? Well now you have the chance! As of IA2:2nd edition you can take a Chaplain Dreadnought which is basically a venerable dreadnought with the Universal Hatred USR, rather than against Chaos Space Marines for 10 points more than its equivalent, but it can't get Preferred Enemy so your mileage may vary against CSM. This is supposed to be your close combat dreadnought as most of the ranged options are wasted on this machine anyway, your Mortis or regular Ven-Dreads should do the shooting instead. Unfortunately it now pales in comparison to regular dreadnoughts since it is stuck with the base two attacks from the previous edition and the inability to be taken in squadrons. If you really want to take one, switch the arm for a Flamestorm cannon since it's not on the usual weapon lists for a dreadnought and you trade out the extra CCW attack for the ability to erase MEQ models just prior to your charge. Either that or pester Forge World for an update.

*'''Siege Dreadnought (Forgeworld):''' You get the same forgeworld toys as the regular marines, comes stock with a Flamestorm Cannon & Assault Drill w/ Heavy Flamer. The only options are swapping the Flamestorm with a Multi-Melta and adding Hunter-Killer Missiles to its pauldrons like an Ironclad. The Assault Drill is a bit useful in that it gives free hits to occupants of vehicles or buildings with that flamer, but that's its only gimmick, which has essentially just told you what you should be doing with this dreadnought and so taking the Multi-Melta actually becomes a sensible option if you're focusing on buildings/vehicles. If you want an all-comers dreadnought then a normal dreadnought squadron can do the same jobs either better or cheaper.

*'''Contemptor Dreadnought (Forgeworld):''' Yes, you get the basic one that regular Spess Muhreens get. The Contemptor is easily Forgeworld's most popular model and it's not hard to see why: excellent armour (13/12/10), WS 5, fleet, automatic shielding and a many, ''many'' weapon options available. Unfortunately as a close combat tool it is now trapped in the mediocre position of being worse than the regular dreadnoughts due to the difference in base attack stats and the ability to be taken in squadrons. Now the best way to use Contemptors is as dakka dreads if you have taken a gun option on each arm.

*'''Contemptor-Mortis Dreadnought (Forgeworld):''' Probably the best Contemptor variant, this guy trades in <s>fleet</s> heaving a melee weapon for more dakka and the ability to gain Skyfire and Interceptor by standing still, and considering the changes to the regular Dreadnought squadrons, taking a Mortis Dreadnought remains as good an option as before, since you were not taking it for it's melee capabilities and you wanted some walking Anti-Air and/or Ground firepower. Here's your loadout: ignore everything and take 2 Kheres pattern assault cannons and a cyclone missile launcher. There! You're done. If you find yourself not in range of the assault cannons, move forward and throw down with a couple of missiles. If you DO have something in assault cannon range, hold still and let the rape flow - your dread will loose a total of 12 S6 AP4 rending shots at 24" on a hapless unit and if you stood still, you can drop 2 more missiles on the poor fuckers. You will tear apart tanks, mow down infantry and blast aircraft out of the sky with this fucking thing. is also a victim of Forgeworld's schizophrenia, this bad boy has been moved back and forth from slot to slot, IA2:2nd moved it back to Elites and took away its BS5, presumably to balance out the sickening build recommended above, still rapes things even at BS4 though.
**Also this is EASILY the best anti-air model you can take in Codex: Dark Angels. If you are struggling to win games against Chaos Daemon Flying Circus or Chaos Space Marine Heldrake spam, brining one of these guys is usually enough to single-handedly turn the tide against their stupid OP-as-fuck flyers and you'll only spend slightly more points going double Kheres-Pattern assault cannons/TW-LasCannons + Cyclone Launcher as you would on your own overcosted Nephilim Jetfighter.
**If you're looking at the Contemptor Mortis as an anti-air option, and you probably are, you could consider taking the autocannons as an alternative to the Kheres assault cannons, especially if you're desperate to cut points. Why? Just hear me out. I will start off by saying this setup can under perform compared to the Kheres ACs but comes with a few perks of its own, the main benefit being range. At 24" the Kheres pattern ACs can be insufficient for covering the skies. They are better suited for creating a "no-fly zone" (albeit a no-fly zone 2/3 the size of the battlefield if positioned correctly) as opposed to providing table-wide AA coverage. The autocannons on the other hand operate at a full 48", pairing nicely with that hefty Cyclone Missile Launcher on your back, ''and'' have base S7. This means that a single hit from an autocannon (compared to one hit from an assault cannon) is twice as likely to remove a hull point from your opponents' toughest flyers (ie: Heldrake, Stormraven, Vendetta) and at double the distance. With a 48" range (96"-diameter sphere of fire) you also have more options when it comes to positioning your half-dead tin can during deployment, and won't ever have to sacrifice a turn of Skyfire/Interceptor in order to shift your position mid-game. Trading Heavy 6/Rending for Heavy 2 might sound like an instant deal-breaker at first, but with BS5 and twin-linked your bullets aren't going to miss, so that extra point of Strength on the autocannons means your seemingly underwhelming 4 shots will reliably strip as least one HP from anything AV12 (usually two, and sometimes three). Whatever remains after your initial volley the Cyclone Missile Launcher will usually clean up. The 12-shot volley coming from the Kheres ACs will perform a bit more inconsistently, landing sporadically between 0 and as many as 5 HP worth of damage on AV12, but on the plus side will always penetrate. Frankly if you have the points you should just go with the Kheres ACs and plop your 'nought down in the center of the table. But if you feel those 15 points are better spent elsewhere or your beardy neck is the rebellious type, this is a viable alternative and can still neutralize/neuter your opponents' flyers the same turn they come in, or at least fuck over whatever strategy they intended to use. Of course, employing a second autocannon CM mitigates most of the drawbacks present in using a lone one, and virtually guarantees a wrecked flyer the second it hits the table. Not to mention 30 extra spending points (hey, that's a PFG you could purchase to improve survivability). Some noteworthy bonuses to fielding the autocannons include '''a)''' double the distance of fire support to your ground units (when you have nothing in the air to shoot at); considering Deathwing tend to Deep Strike waaay behind enemy lines, and Ravenwing have the mobility to reach even the farthest corners of the table quickly this could make a difference, and '''b)''' virtually no chance for your opponent to avoid interceptor fire, thus shutting down any wasteful (but harrowing) suicide flyer tactics. At the very least, this option is worth testing out on your own. Roll a couple dice, run a few simulations and see how the autocannons perform for you. End Act I.

* '''Prometheus (Forgeworld):''' An uber crusader. Two quad heavy bolters is the same number of shots as hurricane bolters at <12", twice as many at 12-24, and can actually shoot up to 36, with the advantage of being S5. It's a HB dev squad, twin-linked.  Granted, it loses the assault cannon but it fucks with cover saves and boosts reserve rolls (2+ reserves ftw!). Don't put it near enemy heavy armour, but a solid tank overall.