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

===Fast Attack===
*'''Assault Squad:''' DA Assault Marines are a decent unit, although they don't see much use for players that run Ravenwing/a hybrid with other Wings, or finds other units to be more useful. Generally Greenwing armies can find use for them, giving that most of the other units in the FA slot is RW based. Their main use, in case you don't know, is to mop up objective campers/shooty units that are either weak, suck in melee, come in low numbers, or any combination. The major fatal blow that our Assault Marines suffer is that Allies, not least with Blood Angels, can do the same jobs better. 7th edition gave them a minor boost in that they can now score along with everything else, so you get a unit that is almost as fast as Ravenwing (without turbo boosting) but can dish out more attacks and can also deep strike but is cheaper than a Terminator squad. Also, they can take Eviscerators now, which are just fancy chainfists for the most part, in case you need a can opener.
**1). 10 man squad with Meltabombs: Can take on units like Kroot, Cultists, Pink Horrors, and the like, and can go after vehicles after they have done their job. I also wouldn't advise dropping their Jump Packs at all, since they can't take a Razorback instead, and Rhinos just makes them worse, having to waste a turn in order to assault the said unit.
**2). 5 man squad with a Flamer, inside a Land Raider Redeemer: A costly build, but works well against Horde armies, at least Orks and Tyranids. Since the Redeemer is an Assault vehicle, this makes it easy for the Marines to charge in after the Flamestorm Cannon and Flamer wreak havoc on your xenos scum targets. This can also work with a Drop Pod, just add another Flamer and give those heretics a big surprise.
**3) 5 man squad with 2 flamers in a drop pod. Assault squads are good at killing infantry and this just further helps with it but coming in turn 1 and melting whatever is weak and near an objective, then if they are still alive can assault other units with their bolt pistol and chainswords. Great for a Lion's Blade with multiwing or even non multiwing as this can still soften things up for Ravennwing and Deathwing.
**Thanks to the Battle Demi-Company, they now have easy access to Objective Secured. Yes, ObSec Jump units. Lordy...

*'''Ravenwing Bike Squadron''' - You start with 3 Bikes, with the option of buying 3 more. Unlike most other space marine bikers (except white scars) these guys all have hit & run, but they also have the scout USR meaning either extra movement at the start of the game or the ability to outflank them and ruin your opponents shit, especially if you want to deep strike your Deathwing close to a board edge using your teleport homers, which each guy comes with as standard. You can also buy yourself a single attack bike which does it's own thing if you combat squad, but at least is no longer forced to ride separately if you wanted to keep the squad together. Attach Meltaguns for tank hunting fun. Combine with Assault Cannon-wielding Deathwing for extra fun. No more Land Speeders in bike squads, you get a special formation for that now.
**'''Other Notes:''' Probably the best loadout for these bikers is grav guns or melta guns. Flamers are okay but with twin linked bolters and Hit & Run you can pick your engagements and do some damage to blobs. Plasma shouldn't be used either as Black Knights have twin linked rapid fire plasma guns already and one thing those badasses don't have is anti tank. Grav guns are great for dealing with TEQ and such while a fast squad with melta can easily get in range to one shot some tanks. However, it's better to take a squad of Attack bikes if you want a all melta squad as they multi-meltas which are longer range. 

*'''Ravenwing Attack Bike Squadron''' - Get your own squad of 1-3 attack bikes, rather than regular bike squads hogging the sidecars. They have the same basic ravenwing gear and rules but no option other than Meltas or no Meltas? And to be honest if you've got them running separately you'll take meltas for swift moving tank popping and keep any Heavy Bolter bikes in your regular Ravenwing squads.
**'''Alternative Opinion:''' Always go for multi-melta, a mobile weapon that can one shot tanks is always great and a heavy bolter isn't needed with all the twin linked bolters Ravenwing have one heavy bolter isn't that much of a deal. Also if you're planning to take Ravenwing for melta a full squad equipped with multi-meltas are 165 pts compared to 170 pts for 6 Ravenwing bikes equipped with 2 melta guns. 

*'''Ravenwing Black Knights''' - Ravenwing equivalent to Deathwing Knights. A very potent and versatile squad with 18" twin linked Rapid-Fire plasma guns and Corvus Hammers (+1S, AP-, Rending) with a veteran statline. Double-tapping plasma at 9 inches and four attacks on the charge (pistol + Corvus Hammer + 2 attacks), they can wipe squads of MEQ with only 3 models. Even can threaten low model TEQ squads thanks to rending after taking down most of them with plasma. Add in a re-rollable 3+ through Skilled Rider these guys can tank  fire to charge the next phase or to get in range. Due to their loadout they can take on almost anything besides heavier armor, walkers, and squads full of power weapons unless they're low STR thanks to toughness 5.  Since they're limited in anti-tank capability outside of melta bombs on the sergeant (and lucky Rending), they DO NOT need to be charged or tied up by walker which will do awful things. However, the plasma talons can destroy most walkers, if you get a chance to fire them. Their grenade launcher should be generally avoided as rad-shells don't debuff -1T anymore, now only granting 2 wounds on 6s which looks nice but considering it doesn't ignore any armor saves, is a small blast, and S3. The plasma talon makes the krak and frag grenade irrelevant too. The stasis shell (-1 WS and -1 I) can be useful for fighting against high I armies or MEQ to strike on the same I or before in the case of the latter meaning less chance of retaliation. The stasis also combines very well with Deathwing Knights just like in fluff. Good for making those scary models with high WS and I get put down a peg. Have fun wiping out marines before they strike. GL combines nastily with Deathwing Knights, AP3 combined with WS/I debuff means your DW Knights will [[Rape|strike before CSM, hit on 3+, wound on 2+ and won't allow armor saves]]. Combine with darkshroud for a fun 2+ rerollable jink.
**'''Other Notes:'''The Black Knights are a bargain for points too. You get a 3 man squad where everyone is armed with twin linked plasma guns, rending Corvus hammers, and Skilled Rider. A 3 man squad of normal Ravenwing bikers costs 15 more for a Veteran sergeant, power weapon, melta bombs, and two plasma guns (no twin-linking so more risk of rolling ones) while being more fragile to fire and worse in close combat. In lower point games Black Knights shine as they are cheap for what they can bring and do quite a bit of damage for the cost. If you bring them along with normal Ravenwing, equip the normal bikers with anti-tank as that's one area Black Knights are weak in.
**When taking a Deathwing Army, you're more often than not better off with these guys instead. Not only do these guys say "Fuck you" to the whole "Difficult = Dangerous thing" that comes with Skilled Rider USR (actually, ignoring Dangerous Terrain altogether!) but they have an improved Jink (extra fuck you), and they're basically Ymgarl Genestealers that always have the Toughness and Strength boost, -2 Initiative, -1 Weapon Skill, moving around like an asshole, and twin plasma guns. We even have the same number of attacks as a Genestealer (on the charge, thanks to our two weapons), and rending! Even better, they also keep their Teleport homers, so you can deepstrike Terminators easily, and in stranger spots.
**A bike mounted Chaplain is an especially potent attachment for the unit. Along with the obvious benefit of Fearless, he combos surprisingly well with Hit & Run. Instead of charging in for a single turn of re-rolls then being stuck and unable to get out of combat thanks to Fearless, the Black Knights can then Hit & Run, letting them break out of combat, since they're not choosing to fail a morale check. Now they can assault something else getting the re-rolls all over again. Rinse and repeat. Make it an Interrogator and they can take Hit & Run at I5. He won't get a plasma talon, but you can give him an Auspex for 5pts and have him forgo shooting to drop the cover save of whatever the squad's shooting in rapid fire range. Those ruins won't save those MEQs from your plasma anymore.

*'''Ravenwing Land Speeders''' - Land Speeders, NOT just like what the other chapters get, for two reasons. First, you can take up to five of these instead of everyone else who only gets three. This makes speeders a very versatile if somewhat expensive choice. Equip them with a Typhoon and a Multi-Melta in order to handle hordes and tanks. Heavy flamers are good but remember that you can't snapfire templates which means you have to sacrifice do nothing to take advantage of jink re-rolls. Assault Cannons and heavy bolters are good to force multiply with Sammael.
**It's the cheapest way to field Heavy Bolters en-masse, if you take the second heavy bolter. A full squadron is 275 points nets you 10 heavy bolters, all that are arguably more difficult to deal with than they would be mounted on mere power armor marines. 30 S5AP4 shots at 36 inches on highly mobile with BS4 for only 250 points is massively underrated

*'''Ravenwing Dark Talon''' (Attack Flyer, Pursuit 3, Agility 3) - THIS THING TROLLS ALL OTHER ARMIES. GET IT. I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GOING TERMINATOR, JUST GET IT. 7E made this a whole lot better. Not the best armour to be had at 11 all around, but it does pack a LOT of dakka, as in double hurricane bolters and a S10 AP2 heavy 1, blinding, blast rift cannon that becomes Vortex ''(and therefore Destroyer)'' if you roll doubles on the scatter dice, even if you rolled a direct hit. The stasis bomb drops a can of [[Derp]] on your enemy, debuffing them for a whopping -3 to WS and I until the end of your turn. [[Awesome|Also, all enemies must make initiative tests for unsaved wounds, or be removed from play.]] And remember this Initiative test will be taken at the previously modified -3. So you have virtually guaranteed a kill on anything that suffers wounds, but with that being said, the bomb is only S4 AP5 so you'd be lucky to get those wounds in the first place. Couple one of these with a Black knight unit for extra rage and hilarity. A Stormtalon now has nothing on this son of a bitch, the Dark Talon can both dish out carnage plus support your army.
**'''Other Notes:'''The Dark Talon is a amazing vehicle for supporting your army and synergizing with Ravenwing and Deathwing just like in the fluff. The stasis bomb is a large blast and hitting just one model causes the entire unit to drop their WS and I so aimed right can make two or even three squads to be easy pickings for your Black Knights or Deathwing Terminators. Remember to rub it in <s>the Fallen</s> Tratious scum faces when [[Troll|you're hitting on 3s, striking first while their only hitting on 5s]] if their WS4/5
**As per the new Death from the Skies supplement, these can now be taken in Flyer Wings of 2-4 models per Fast Attack slot and takes the somewhat generic "Attack Flyer" role. Plus when taken as a Flyer Wing, one model gets the Wing Leader upgrade while the whole formation can fly in attack patterns for additional rules..

*'''Nephilim Jetfighter:''' (Fighter, Pursuit 3, Agility 3) Dropped to 170 points in the new codex and given a little extra bite. Still 3HP with AV11 all around, and missiles have been bufed to S7 AP3 and given Missile Lock special rule. Not too bad, but still doesn't feel like a must-take. It also has a special rule called Unrelenting Hunter; when firing at enemy vehicles, you can make the enemy swap out Weapon Destroyed for Immobilized (since the Lascannon is AP2, it has a half chance of scoring an Immobilized result, assuming it pens of course). 7th helped this rule out a bit, as Immobilized flyers now have a 1/3 chance of blowing up. More importantly, it ''also'' has Strafing Run, a (rare) USR that gets +1 BS against ground targets, which means it'll be chewing away at BS 5. You can switch out the Lascannon for an Avenger Mega Bolter for free. You'll get 5 S6, AP 4, Pinning shots at BS 5. Suddenly, it became a fairly decent ground attack craft.
**Consider the Fire Raptor gunship from Forgeworld, if you have the points/money; it does exactly the same job, but better, for 50 points extra.
**The new Death from the Skies supplement did a few things for the Nephilim. Now it can be taken as a Flyer wing of 2-4 models for one FA slot, gaining a wing leader upgrade for free. It is now a "Fighter" craft which means it can use skyfire to shoot at airborne targets ''(not all flyers can do this any more)'' but -1 when shooting at ground targets. However, the penalty is cancelled out by the fact that it still has the ''Strafing Run'' rule, giving +1 BS right back again. Meaning the Nephilim retains much of its effectiveness regardless of what you choose to target. Also, as an Interceptor it's Unrelenting Hunter rule makes it a bane of enemy flyers, with the added potential of causing a one hit kill during the dogfight phase before the enemy reaches the table. While the Nephilim used to be one of the worst flyers in the game, its new role makes it one of the robust and multi-functional Interceptors available to anyone. And due to the reduced threat posed by enemy Attack Craft and Bombers it only really has to fear other Interceptors and AA guns. 
***In making the Nephilim a fighter and the option for two to four in a squadron just take two and watch your opponents flyers cry when your masses of BS5 firepower is used against them in the 2-aircraft Vigilance attack pattern, you are bound to knock some hull points off. However, other interceptors can do this too.

*'''Ravenwing Darkshroud''' - You know how shooty armies have to scurry around finding cover so they don't get set up for an assault or blasted for being out in the open? Well, the Dark Angels Techmarines thought "why not bring our own cover?" Let's be serious for a second: it's a big landspeeder. Yes, you can deepstrike it like a landspeeder, but you're gonna miss out on providing cover for things in rhinos. Second, it has the HUEG GUTS problem, as every Blood Angels player is familiar with. Just keep this thing behind some rhinos, giving your guys fear & stealth and doing mean things to whatever thought it was a good idea to charge that tac squad. Also watch Ravenwing get 2+ re-rollable Jink. Obviously, this thing NEEDS to be jinked EVERY turn for re-rollable 2+ Cover or it WILL die easily. For this reason it is not worth purchasing the Assault Cannon to only ever fire snap shots as those points could be put to better use elsewhere. Plus the stock Heavy Bolter has a longer range meaning your Darkshroud can comfortably sit out of return-fire range of rapid fire weapons which CAN glance this thing to death. Now, any units that charge while in the Stealth bubble are protected from Overwatch completely.

*'''Land Speeder Tempest Squadron (Forgeworld)''' - Feels like a good fluffy choice for Dark Angels armies as an alternative to Ravenwing support squad though with slightly improved front armour and the ability to shrug off crew shaken/stunned with armoured cockpits. IA2:2nd made this cooler, with the addition of twin-linked flakk missiles, a squadron of these can perform any role asked of it. Anti-Infantry & Anti-Tank using rending assault cannons and frag or krak missiles depending on your situation. Even without skyfire on the assault cannon, the amount of shots are bound to hit something in the air if you have several of them. While not true flyers, if you wanted to you can reposition on the battlefield them as if they were flyers. 

*'''Relic Javelin Attack Speeder (Forge World)''' - An upgunned and uparmored Land Speeder that flies solo. AV11 means it is now invulnerable to bolter fire, but still melts under anti-tank (though jink saves help a bit). Costs less than a Tempest speeder, but it is more customisable, packs a cyclone missile launcher (for shots instead of twin-linked) OR a twin linked lascannon for tank hunting and as a nice bonus it looks absolutely '''fabulous'''. The main downside is a real money price - almost THREE TIMES MORE than regular speeder - like it's silver-plated or something. Also as a relic requires an Interrogator Chaplain if you want to take more than one.

*'''Caestus Assault Ram (Forge World)''' - Craziest vehicle in the game, designed to ram things (hence the name), and accomplishes this by having a 5+ inv. save against attacks on the front (inc. rams, either from the enemy ramming you or you ramming them), re-rolls the armour penetration dice when ramming, and +1 to the vehicle damage roll, and godlike-impenetrable for a flyer armour of 13 13 11. Contains a twin-linked MAGNA-MELTA (WTF?), which is: range:18" str:8 AP:1 type:Heavy 1, large blast, melta. Sound fun, eh? Holds ten men, ideal for punching a hole in the enemy battle lines and disgorging troops, AND it's an assault vehicle, so straight into close combat ''(and no restriction against terminators, in fact, they only count as one man inside this, not two! *even BETTER in Dark Angels armies*)''. Now this means that the Caestus has to be fast, and it is! Its type is: Flyer (hover mode), and it STILL can ram/tankshock while zooming. Comes stock with extra armour, and Ceramite shielding (immunity to 'melta' rule). Options are: Firefury missile battery (range: 36" str:6 AP:4 type:Heavy 4, blast, twin-linked, one-use), Teleport homer, and Frag assault launchers. One should use the Caestus to ram straight through the strongest point in your enemies force, in most battles you'll be there on turn one, thanks to the 36" afterburner. Ram a tank with this (<s>Generally given the colossal afterburner you'll give them a S10 hit </s> 7th edition rework of Ramming makes the hit S8 regardless of distance travelled) and then deploy the men inside (preferably dedicated H2H troops), and charge straight in against the nearest infantry, or if you feel like it, shove a grenade up a nearby tank's tailpipe. The latest rules for the Caestus are in Imperial Armour: Volume 2, 2nd Edition which explicitly gives it an exception to the supersonic rule where it can choose to enter hover mode and the passengers can disembark.

*'''Xiphon pattern Interceptor (Interceptor, Pursuit 5, Agility 4)''' - For 35 points over the Nephilim you get a "proper" interceptor. You lose one HP, the strafing run rule and the ability to hover, but you swap the superfluous Heavy bolter for a second Lascannon and the missiles are FAR superior. It's also agile and supersonic. It probably is overcosted, but it is exactly what you want in a vehicle/aircraft hunting role for an interceptor.
**Death from the Skies means this thing no longer overlaps with other flyers in a Dark Angels list; as a true "Interceptor" it re-rolls ones to-hit and penetrate against a chosen flyer type, but it uses ''Skyfire'' ALL THE TIME, you can't really rely on it being a multi-role aircraft like the Nephilim or the Raptor. As a dogfighter it is absolutely without peer, with high pursuit and agility scores it can match Eldar flyers but with a heavier weapons loadout making it a force to be feared by any other enemy flyer. But the Nephilim should now be preferred against "all comers" if you don't know what you're facing. Shame the Xiphon doesn't get the ''Ravenwing'' rule for ultimate trolling.
**'''Modelling hint''' - take your Nephilim and just replace the Heavy Bolters with spare lascannon barrels and you're good to go. It might not be the Battlestar Galactica jet, but easily fills WYSIWYG for a significant £$€ saving.