Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Dark Angels (section)

===HQ===
*'''Master:''' Not to worry, your Company Masters haven't gone anywhere - unfortunately ''Grim Resolve'' doesn't do anything for him since he already has a built-in reroll aura. Hitting on 2+ re-rolling 1's with 5 wounds 4 attacks and all the build-a-fighter options we've always loved, and now comes default with a Master-crafted Bolter (AP:-1 D:2). You can also give him a jump pack to go hopping along with some assault marines, but his Rites of Battle ability which allows 1's on hit re-rolls means you probably want to keep him near your deadliest shooting unit. For Assault Marine support, look to the chaplain instead for all failed hit re-rolls. Unfortunately your Company Master '''does not''' have the {{W40kKeyword|Deathwing}} keyword by default so won't benefit from deathwing ancients for example. Grim Resolve provides very nearly army-wide re-roll 1's, and if you're footslogging, you really may as well just spring for Azrael.
**'''Master in Terminator Armour:''' Has the  {{W40kKeyword|Deathwing}} key word and the ''Inner Circle'' special rule. Your move drops to 5" and your save jumps to 2+/5++, and you can Deep Strike. Can also take Combi-weapons and a Power Fist mounted Grenade Launcher, so make the most of it. The launcher's range is short but Assault D3 makes for some decent additional hits during Overwatch. Again, with Rites of Battle the Captain wants to support your shooty units, like 5 land speeder typhoons. If you're looking to support your teleporting terminators, go for a chaplain and/or ancient. Take Belial instead if you don't wish to spend points on a relic caddie.
***Alternate Option: If you're running Primaris marines with Dark Angels (Why? Cuz Dark Angel Hellblasters are awesome), he can work decently with his extra point of T and A. He works well as a counter attack unit or simply moving and advancing up the map while supporting other nearby units. With his extra attack he can target small, elite units rather well just watch out for those with good invulnerable saves or 3+ wounds. 
**'''Master in Cataphractii Armour:''' Yes, some actual retro-tech for the Dark Angels. Like the regular Terminator Master, he also comes with the  {{W40kKeyword|Deathwing}} key word and the ''Inner Circle'' rule. The change in armour unfortunately reduces his movement all the way down to 4" and it also halves advance rolls, but at least you can still Teleport and hang out with your Deathwing bros. Best part is that it provides a whopping 3+ Invuln without having to take up an arm slot,. Starts with a power sword and combi-bolter, but unlike the Gravis Captain you can swap these out for some cool goodies.
**'''Primaris Master:''' As with all Primaris marines, he comes with a extra A and W. However, he is poor in melee with his only melee option being a power sword. Not saying he can't bully other units like tactical squads or anything that's poor in melee and can be cut down quickly by him. What he does do well is being a long range character as he can snag a Master Crafted Stalker Rifle which lets him stay useful while supporting other units in the backfield.
**'''Primaris Master in Gravis Armour:''' You're losing 1" of Move to gain 1 point of Toughness and 1 Attack. For wargear all you can take is Boltstorm Gauntlet (power fist that can also count as three bolt pistols for shooting attacks) and a master-crafted power sword. Fits the theme of the rest of the Primaris Marines: powerful but inflexible. A close range fighter, so make the most of him. He doesn't provide much benefit to Deathwing or Ravenwing themed armies, he doesn't Deep Strike and as a Primaris Marine he doesn't fit into any of their transports save for the Repulsor so he can be difficult to get into support distance with the Dark Angels special units. So you would be better off taking a Terminator or Bike HQ instead or better yet Belial or Sammael. 
***Using this guy with the Relic sword, he's very capable as a bodyguard for Aggressors. Load up in a Repulsor with an Apothecary and have fun.
**'''Primaris Master in Phobos Armour:''' A Primaris Captain with a combat knife (+1A), and a sniper rifle equivalent (30", Assault 1, S4, AP-2, D2, can target characters, but does NOT cause mortal wounds on a wound roll of 6). Also has a camo-cloak (+2 to saves when in cover instead of +1), an omni-scrambler (no enemy deepstrikes within 12"), and concealed positions (deep strike, but before first turn). You'll want him to give his re-rolls to your Eliminator teams or Infiltrator squads. Compared to a regular Master, this guy is fairly overcosted if you don't want to use the Vanguard warlord traits, or his Omni Scrambler to secure the back of your deployment zone by himself.

*'''[[Librarian]]:''' Like the previous edition, the Librarian is not the combat master that the captain is, but he's no slouch. His Force-weapon is just a basic power weapon (axe, sword or stave) that deals D3 wounds. More expensive than the chaplain and without any direct bonuses for nearby troops you will only take this guy for the psychic powers and deny-the-witch rolls. His psychic hood gives him +1 to deny the witch, and he can deny 1 psychic power. Realistically there's no need to take more than 1 librarian unless facing Eldar or [[That Guy|sick fuck IG players]]. Give him a jump pack to make sure you can target SMITE or Mind Worm properly or make maximum use of Engulfing Fear with its 6" bubble.
**'''Librarian in Terminator Armour:''' an extra wound, a 2+ save and a 5++ will keep this guy alive longer, but since Force Weapons no longer auto-kill OR completely negate saving throws there is less reason to get your librarian stuck in combat with something dangerous in the first place. It does give him ''Teleport Assault'', which is nice but for psychic mayhem you're better off with a more mobile librarian. Only worth taking over Ezekiel if you need something better than his dinky pistol if the enemy unit can somehow survive after a cast of both SMITE, Mindworm & the Deathwing have used up all their attacks or to fill up a Land Raider slot.
***The index version of this is +1 Power Level and has the option to swap his storm bolter for terminator melee weapons (which includes the stormshield)
**'''Primaris Librarian:''' It's a librarian, but a head taller, so +1 wound. Most notable for being the only primaris marine inducted into the INNER CIRCLE. 
**'''Librarian in Phobos Armour:''' Primaris Librarian with a camo-cloak (+2 to saves when in cover instead of +1) that makes him extra durable in cover, and concealed positions lets him deploy with your other sneaky marines. Has access to a special psychic discipline focusing on stealth, of which he knows two and can cast two. (Including one that's basically Warptime!) Comes stock with psychic hood, force sword, and bolt pistol.
*** Frankly, this option seems to be the only Vanguard HQ worth the points. The others look cool, but neither has a single melee attack with an AP value, and the captain has a single bolter shot at AP-2!?! This guy can genuinely hurt people with smite and his force weapon while providing tactical viability.

*'''[[Chaplain]]:''' A good support choice to back a choppy squad. He lets same Chapter units in 6" use his leadership and reroll all failed hits in melee. Particularly useful helping hammernators mitigate their -1 to hit, or to buff melee fighters and help with their higher morale vulnerability. Comes stock with a bolt pistol and Crozius, which is now somewhere between a power axe and maul at +1S and -1, but 2D. Can swap his bolt pistol for a bolter, fist, pistol, of combi-weapon, and can strap on a jump pack.
**'''[[Primaris Chaplain]]:''' Oh boy you get 1 extra wound and an AP-1 Bolt pistol.

*'''[[Interrogator-Chaplain]]:''' The basic Interrogator is much like before; an upgraded Chaplain. He gets an extra wound over his lower ranked brother, and comes with the ability to reduce the leadership of any enemy within 6" of him by one point, which is actually a very good boost this edition since losing men by morale is much more commonplace. His weapon and wargear options differ, too. Firstly, he may take a Power Fist without having to swap his Bolt Pistol for it, so you can rock around with a Crozius and a Fist and a Pistol if you really want to (although this is ''extremely'' inefficient). Also, you may swap that pistol for a weapon on the ''melee weapons list'', something regular chaplains are unable to do, though this is rather redundant unless you are looking for something very specific, like a sword or hammer, since simply adding more weapons does not grant you any more attacks; if you want to swap it, buy a better pistol.
**'''Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armour:''' Your regular Chaplains cannot get Terminator Armour but your Interrogators can. That means you get a model with six wounds and a 2+/4++ save. They can only switch out their storm bolter for a combi-weapon. As this boy is made for close combat and close combat support this is of dubious usefulness, but does give the option for the Lion's Roar relic.
***Legends provides the option to swap the storm bolter for terminator melee weapons (which includes a storm shield). Though the shield has merit, the rest of the options do not bear repeating.
***Debatably the worst of all the chaplains, as with the new Litanies not working out of deep strike (For whatever stupid reason, why he can't just chant to the guys in the teleportarium next to him is any ones guess) means that he can't do anything until round 3 by which point the guys you dropped him with have either charged or taken casualties making him much less effective than a power armoured jump pack/bike/drop pod version who can get into position turn 1 (or 2 at the latest) and still chant.

*'''Chaplain Venerable Dreadnought (Forgeworld) '''. The Chaplain Dreadnought is the go-to answer for players wishing to run an All-dreadnought army. This is one of the best models space marines can currently use in 8th, and arguably the best outside of special characters. This is because, as a character with less than 10 wounds. It can't be shot at unless it's by snipers (which it'll shrug of anyway) or it's the closest model. Think about it. A dreadnought that CANNOT BE SHOT AT. It possesses a 5++ save and also adds +1 to the strength of friendly models fighting the same unit as the dreadnought (but doesn't grant re-rolls to hit for allied units as the other chappys do). This means that your Deathwing Knights can how wound enemy Land Raiders on 3+, and enemy bikes on 2+!. The Chaplain Dreadnought has a heroic intervention, and the Venerable special rule, which means that every wound it takes it ignores on the roll of a 6 on 1 D6. The Chaplain Dreadnought is also rather reasonably priced considering its many advantages. 204 points buys you a vanilla Chap, but it can be cheaper or more expensive depending on your wargear choices (taking an assault cannon makes it cost 183 as an example). Despite its strengths, ultimately it's buff may be considered somewhat weak for lists that aren't heavily melee based. The strength increase provided by the Dreadnought is more of a bonus than something your entire army can rely on. If you want an HQ that buffs, then the Chaplain Dreadnought may not be your first choice. However, if you were planning to bring a dreadnought and/or want a tough and killy HQ, then the Chaplain Venerable Dreadnought is a fantastic option that also saves you an elite or heavy support slot.
** Sadly, as per the FAQ of September 28th[https://whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/imperial_armour_index_forces_of_the_adeptus_astartes.pdf], 2018, Chaplain Dreads can no longer take Relics. It was fun while it lasted.
***FAQ also granted access to the Plasma Cannon, but not the dreadnought' Heavy Plasma cannon, so if taken, Chappy dreads are slain if they rolls 1s to hit.....
**Still has access to Warlord Traits, if you make it your warlord. 

*'''Lieutenants:''' They allow friendly {{W40kKeyword|Dark Angels}} units re-roll to wound rolls of 1. This is significant because most other HQ characters grant to-hit rerolls and don't benefit from overlap meaning you'll receive little to no benefit from them supporting each other. You can have two Lieutenants for one HQ slot and both have to be set up at the same time, but don't need to be in unit coherency and are treated as separate units, great for small games as warlords and good support for bigger ones, considering that with ''Grim Resolve'' you don't need more than one Company Master you could fill the spaces with lieutenants instead. PRO-TIP: for a little more money instead of buying Primaris lieutenant Zakariah buy the company veterans and make your own cool loyal Officers. It might cost a bit, the best use for them is giving them a Combi-Weapon, a Jump Pack and a Power Weapon. The Jump Pack will free up valuable transport space and allows them to keep up with Ravenwing and Interceptors.
**'''Primaris Lieutenants:''' For slightly less than 2 vanilla Captains you can get up to two Primaris Marine officers with -1 BS and Ld compared to a vanilla Captain, but one extra attack and wound over a regular lieutenant meaning they are a beefier officer ''(The Ld drop is largely irrelevant on on a single model unit)'' They're armed with Assault 2 bolters that do 2 damage which can and probably should be swapped for Power Swords for the better chance to hit and as is the case with all Primaris Marines, they're rather inflexible but are good enough at passing out buffs since they're effectively two Characters in a single FOC slot. 
***Can now take a plasma pistol either by replacing their Bolt Pistol or just simply taking the Plasma Pistol along with the other wargear.
***'''Alternate Option:''' With only a 6" move and no transport capacity a good way to use them is equipping the Stalker Boltgun and chilling in the back with shooty Dangles. Especially Devastators, Hellblasters, <u>Aggressors</u>, and Predators. Can do okay in melee but watch out as he has no invulnerable save and only has a normal power sword. Works either in a counter attack role or moving and advancing up the field, camping a fortification or riding in a Repulsor.
**'''Lieutenant in Phobos Armor:''' This Primaris variant has a D2 boltgun that ignores cover and the standard Lt. bonus. Also has deep strike and a unique Knife Fighter ability; unmodified hit rolls of 6 count as 2 hits instead of 1. Not like it'll matter much because he only has a basic CCW. Still, if you want access to Vanguard warlord traits, he's the cheapest way to get it. 
*'''Talonmaster:''' Lieutenants of the Ravenwing, Talonmasters fly in Land Speeders with a Twin Assault Cannon and a Twin Heavy Bolter, much like Sableclaw. In addition to the re-roll 1s to wound aura, all friendly {{W40kKeyword|RAVENWING}} units ignore an opponent's cover saves within 6" to the Talonmaster. This is particularly nasty with overcharged Black Knight Plasma Talons, who are now practically guaranteed to wound and ignore saves of 4+ or worse. They are also {{W40kKeyword|character}}s, meaning that despite being {{W40kKeyword|vehicles}}, with only six wounds they cannot be shot at in the shooting phase unless they are the closest target.
** Though 18 AP-1 shots ain't something to sneeze at, consider that they're all Heavy weapons with a max reach of 36", meaning that you'll shoot with basically BS4+ most of the time. If you fight against enemies who confer further penalty on your BS (Alaitoc Craftworld, Raven Guard, Stygies VIII, etc), you will hit only with an ork-ish BS5+. You must also skip Grim Resolve. You have Jinx, but if you need it you're either going for a last-turn objective grab, or screwed anyway.
** The Talonmaster carries the same firepower as 2 landspeeder Tornadoes, for 24 points more (since CA2018 hit the shelves). You basically pay the extra for the improved melee capability, the wounding-1 re-roll and the no-cover aura. Consider, whether or not you'll need '''all''' of that. A barebone lieutenant with jump pack can tag along your force almost as nicely for the wound re-roll. The price drop of the speeders also mean that there is no reason to take more than 1 Talonmaster anymore.
***'''Alternate opinion:''' The comparisons here are a bit skewed, as you're essentially comparing him to BOTH a regular Lieutenant AND the two typhoons but only factoring in the costs once, as having both would cost more than a Talonmaster but if you do them separately you can see some merits to him in comparison to them. Yes the typhoons are basically the same price and bring more dakka, but they're still relatively squishy landspeeders that you put a fair amount of points into, whereas the Talonmaster being a character makes him immune (especially if he's buffing and being screened by the Ravenwing units his no cover rules applies to) except to snipers which T6 can shrug off while still delivering solid firepower ''AND'' a decent melee profile ''WITH'' the ability to take relics and warlord traits (as mentioned later). In comparison to the regular Lieutenant, yes he's cheaper, but he's also slightly slower, not as tough and has WAY less firepower even without a -1 for moving.
**'''Note:''' Skip the Huntmaster warlord trait, as it affects none of the Talonmasters's twin heavy weapons. Give him either the Brilliant Strategist or Master of Maneuver for recycling command points or making footsloggers around you faster, if you want a Talonmaster Warlord.
*** As of psychic awakening the best trait to give him is Impeccable mobility as it completely counters his draw back of moving and firing while also massively buffing most of the Ravenwing units you've likely brought him to assist. And even if you don't want him as your warlord, theirs a stratagem that can give it to him anyway!
** As a character armed with a Power Sword, they can take Relics of Caliban if you want something similar to Sammael-lite. He can replace the sword with a Heavenfall Blade, giving him five attacks at S6 ''(actually better than Sammael if he wasn't charging)'' or Shroud of Heroes to partly make up for the fact that they don't have an invulnerable save, which might be the better option if the Talonmaster is your only HQ choice. If you go for the Attack Squadron Specialist Detachment, consider taking the Monster Slayer of Caliban; the +1 to-wound roll and your re-roll aura adds nicely up.

*'''[[Techmarine]]:''' The cheapest HQ you have. The Techmarine is a mediocre character with a good ballistic skill of 2+. He can take a servo harness which gives an additional servo arm plus the mandatory plasma cutter and flamer. He comes with a power axe and a servo arm, which gives him a power fist for 1 of his attacks.  The Techmarine has become more useful now that the Blessing of the Omnissiah repairs D3 wounds AND vehicles rarely go from 11 to 0 wounds in 1 turn. He does have to be within 1" though, so mobility or careful deployment is key. Each vehicle can only be repaired once per turn so multiple Techmarines are only useful if you have a lot of vehicles. The servo harness does give this boy some great close-range firepower, but then you can't repair shit.
**The Warhammer Legends Datesheets has given back him the ability to take the Conversion Beamer. So now he can hang out with Devisators and Hellbasters again.

*'''Damocles Command Rhino:''' Another expensive rhino with satellite television on board. Can call down 1 orbital strike per game, transport 1 model (supposedly the commander). If your warlord is embarked in it, you can roll 2d6 at the start of your turn and if you roll UNDER his leadership, you gain a command point. Not bad, but you might want to make your commander a cheap-as-dirt company champion or master without equipment, if all you want him for is generating 3 or 4 command points. No, this tank is not worth the effort most likely, even though the concept is cool. 
**Non-character HQ. 
**Orbital Strike Stratagem affects a d6" radius, while this unit's orbital strike is a flat 6" radius. Additionally, there's no cap on these, so with 3x Command Rhinos, without needing line of sight, you can affect every unit in a 1 foot diameter circle with an average of 3 mortal wounds dealt to each non-character unit and 2 mortal wounds per character. It would be 366pts to do this, but depending on densely deployed the opponent was, this could rather impactful. Tau, in particular, are very vulnerable to this attack due to this being able to reliably damage drone units.
***Noteworthy that if your warlord is an allied Inquisitor, they can ride in this transport (because inquisitors ignore faction requirements of imperium transports) and still benefit from the discounted stratagems, as the ability merely requires your warlord to be embarked, not a chapter specific warlord. And Inquisitors are much cheaper than most SM characters.

====Warhammer Legends====

As of the errata of July 2, 2017,  all the following bikers can now turbo-boost. 

*'''Librarian on Bike:''' A 14" move, +1 T and +1 W. The extra wound could come in handy when suffering Perils attacks, since at 5 wounds he can on average survive 2 perils of the warp. Probably the best combination of maneuverability and protection in the current edition. No, he cannot take a force-lance, cool as that would be. Especially useful for directing SMITE or using Mind Worm as you'll need to get close to the enemy to use it.
*'''Techmarine on Bike:''' +1T and +1W the bike grants a little more survivability, but more importantly it grants enough movement to race to the rescue of damaged vehicles. You can still strap a Conversion Beamer or Servo-harness to his back for [[Awesome|doc-oc-on-wheels]]. Sadly he doesn't get a Plasma Talon so his bike is stuck with twin linked Boltguns. Though you can replace his bolt pistol with a Combi-Plasma and upgrade to the Lion's Roar to make up for it, but you might want to spend your relic on something more usefull. This guy is a great option for following landspeeders, talonmasters and/or sammael around and repairing them. 
**The last bastion of the classic Conversion Beamer, if you still want to use one. If you take this, due to how shooting works he can fire any non pistol weapon in the same phase. So the first thing  you want to do is replace his Bolt Pistol. However there really aren't any option that matches the Beamer's range. So a Combi-Flamer would be good against those who charge him and any vehicle he shares with another unit. If you pick the Servo Harness, pairing it with Combi-Plasma gives him three plasma shots. Since Grim Resolve allows him to reroll 1s if he doesn't move. It's really not that much of a risk. The Flamer won't come into play all that often. Anything that somehow gets within eight inches of his transport and fellow Astartes is probably going to be tabled in the next overwatch regardless. 
** For just 94 points, if you give this guy a servo harness and combi-plasma and removing the power axe, you have a pretty good 2+ BS character with a <s>boat</s> ''BIKES'' load of guns who can also fix up whatever else you brought. Additionally he makes a decent target for the huntsman warlord trait as you'll have 1 or 3 plasma shots (depending on range), a flamer (although probably won't see that much use) AND 4-6 bolt shots (depending on if you fire both parts of the combi). And with 14" move he's likely to be in range of at least some kind of character especially with a dandy dreadnought bodyguard or land raider full of other guys to protect him.
*'''Chaplain on Bike:''' It's a Chaplain. On a bike. He has greater movement, the same wounds and +1 toughness over an Interrogator on foot losing out only on the leadership debuff for 15 points less base, though if you want it, the bike Interrogator exists below.
*'''Interrogator Chaplain on Bike:''' It is an Interrogator Chaplain. On a bike. Gains an extra T and W from the bike putting him back above his bike chaplain brother. However unless you want the leadership debuff, the regular bike chaplain might be better being 22 points cheaper base with only one less wound. Still better than the terminator armour equipped version and in competition with a jump pack equipped version. 


*'''Rhino Primaris:''' ''(Warhammer World Model)'' An expensive rhino with a lot of antennea on top that can call down an orbital strike once per game. It also comes equipped with a twin plasma gun. Where it becomes brilliant is with it's buff, which can grant a single unit within 12" a +1 to hit with shooting. Combine this with your plasma-toting primaris marines or black knights and you can always shoot supercharged plasma as the 'on a 1 to hit' counts AFTER modifiers, so you have no chance of overheating your plasma weaponry. Great against 'nids or other armies that spam 2-wound models like other primaris marines or terminators. Combine with a chapter master and/or Primaris Lieutenant re-rolls for extra [[Awesome|fun]]. It does have 2 other options for buffs you could use, Repair Skull lets a vehicle within 12" regain a wound, and Vox Skull you a bonus to nearby morale tests which is practically useless with ATSKNF and Unforgiven.
**Non-character HQ. 
**Dropped by almost 100 points with it's final Datasheet in warhammer legends, it's now a fairly cheap and sturdy HQ for it's cost and the utility it's buffs provide. It's particular useful for Dark Angels, as they presently lack many of the BS buffing skills and auras available to codex marines.
*'''Land Raider Excelsior:''' ''(Warhammer World Model)'' The other HQ tank. A basic land raider with the heavy bolters replaced with a grav cannon, a 5++, the master's Rites of Battle rule and it gets a +1 to hit if you have a rhino primaris within 24". Expensive, so only really useful if you were planning on fielding a land raider anyway and really want the rites of battle bonus, for example because you are transporting 5 company veterans with combi-meltas or something. While the 5++ may seem great on a Land Raider, the normal 2+ save means you already save against lascannons on a 5+, so it's only usefull against AP-4 weapons which are a little more scarce.
**'''Alternate Option:''' Take this, give it the Shroud of Heroes and run a Darkshroud and Talonmaster alongside it. That's a -2 to hit for everything in the game (and -3 with smoke launchers).

====Special Characters====

'''Note''' Successor chapters (including custom successor chapters) lack access to special characters as explained on page 74 of the DA codex. 
*Interestingly though, if you include Belial and Sammael in their own supreme command detachment (with say, a jump pack Librarian or beat stick Master) then their Grandmaster abilities still affect the custom chapters Deathwing and Ravenwing as you only replace the Dark Angels keyword in creating successors. This means you can use them to boss around their successors first and second companies at the chapter master level as well as having their fighting prowess (assuming there's been no FaQ), very fluffy.
*'''[[Azrael]]:'''Azzy is no slouch in melee, and can slug it out with all but the best of the enemy combatants. His Sword of Secrets gets five attacks that strike on a re-rollable ''(see below)'' 2+ at S6 AP-3 D1d3, plus deals ''additional'' Mortal Wound each time any to-wound roll results in a 6+. The Lion's Wrath is an improved combi plasma with a D2 AP-1 bolter part that can be fired in both modes endlessly and at the same time, ''without'' overheating if you don't overcharge it ''(which you should refrain from doing anyway)'', only causing him a -1 to hit if you do decide to fire both; so that'll be a 3+ re-rolling 1's then thanks to his aura. he also carries a bolt pistol but that's for show only, if he's been bogged down in melee, that one S4 shot will rarely make the difference.
**As Chapter Master, he gives his army +1 command point if they are battle forged and he is the warlord, and grants a re-roll to all {{W40Kkeyword|Dark Angels}} units within 6", including himself, of course, and speaking of auras, the lion helm is still there, granting a 4++ invulnerable save to every {{W40Kkeyword|Dark Angels infantry}} and {{W40Kkeyword|biker}} '''''model''''' within 6", which is a slight change to how it used to apply to only his squadmates (and sadly does not include guardsman blobs, but you can get a lot of Tactical Marines inside a 6" bubble). Since you cannot attach him any more, just hug him to a couple of units you need to keep safe and create a bubble of protection. As of the Codex, vehicles do not benefit from his 4++ invuln anymore. RIP the Las Predator bubble of unkillable death. Because he no longer gives as much of a benefit to vehicles anymore, this is an opportunity to take advantage of new potential strategies, such as running Azrael up the board with a squad of Hellblasters. Or Aggressors! Terminators work well, but Aggressors are perhaps the greatest "walk up the board" unit, as they can blast things with a ton of shots and still roll with power fists when its time to finish off stragglers. Finally they can walk and shoot free of penalties, and fire twice once you find a choice position. Bring some apothecary/ancient backup and hold the center of the table with confidence!
*'''[[Belial]]:''' He's still an excellent duelist, the Sword of Silence wounds non-vehicles on a 2+, but also grants +1 Strength which means hes gets to wound those T8-T9 vehicles on a 5+. The Sword has the stats AP:-3 Damage:2 so its role has a TEQ slayer has come to the fore, and it also reduces the WS of any attacks coming his way by 1, a handy little buff considering that all those guys with Fists and Hammers already reduced their WS by another 1. Combine with Aversion on a TH/PF terminator unit, or PK toting Meganobs, and watch them trying to hit you on 6+. Belial should now really only choose the claws if he has no intention of fighting characters and needs to focus on large groups, while the Thunder Hammer should be taken if you really need the 3+ invulnerable save from the Storm Shield, since it even the sword beats it for wounding potential against Toughness 5 or higher. His Storm Bolter is more of a "sidearm", firing 4 shots all the time that gives him a little bit of ranged power and Overwatch protection if someone tries to charge at him.
**Belial also buffs his army a little bit: {{W40Kkeyword|Dark Angels}} units within 6 inches re-roll to-hit rolls of 1, or all failed to-hit rolls if they're part of the {{W40Kkeyword|Deathwing}}. Consider the Inner Circle strategem.
**As of the codex, Belial <s>no longer has access to the TH/SS or Lightning Claw combinations</s> download the Warhammer Legends datasheets and tell your opponent that Thunder hammer is totally legal. And RAW "Parrying Blade" now affects Belial no matter what he's running &mdash; why yes, I ''would'' like to [[Awesome|force my opponents into a -1 to hit while still rocking a 3++]].
*'''[[Sammael]] on Corvex:''' Sammael is most definitely the fastest and shootiest hero in the Dark Angels army and is a very comfortable melee combatant too. On his Jetbike he can fire off a magnificent [[Awesome|EIGHT]] bolter shots every turn AND 1d3 plasma cannon shots all on rerollable 2+, meaning he can throw out the same firepower as a five man tactical squad all by himself. In melee: he has a bolt pistol for point blank shooting and can swing the Raven Sword five times on a rerollable 2+, which acts like a +1 strength master crafted power sword ''(so S+1, AP-3, D2)'' that has the additional effect of increasing his strength to eight any time he charges and wounding those MEQs on a 2+. Also, for the fact of being on a jetbike he can move 14" and gains toughness 6. Yes he has poor old power armour but with a 4+ iron halo it's not a huge deal. Also, the Corvex is still sexy AF, so go ahead as you wish! The plasma cannon is kind of meh, since it almost always gets penalized by moving, and overchargeing it on the move invokes almost straight-up death due to the combined penalty of moving with a heavy weapon.
**'''Sammael on Sableclaw:''' A bit more expensive than the Jetbike, but comes with a lot more dakka: a twin Heavy Bolter and a Twin Assault Cannon for 6/12 shots respectively. He also still fights just as well with the Raven Sword if he gets engaged.  Enemies can no longer shoot at him even if he is not the closest target, as he has 7 wounds now, and still has the 4++ invulnerable save to protect himself with. The primary issue he has is that the weapons he fires are all Heavy, so if he moves he drops down to hitting on a re-rollable 3+ ''(and with the FAQ to re-rolls, he can't re-roll 2's to hit when moving)'', and he ''cannot'' advance and shoot (unless you use the Strategem), so he doesn't have the same reach as Corvex.
***Sammael in either form grants a re-roll failed to-hit aura to any {{W40Kkeyword|RAVENWING}} unit within 6", and grants the ability to re-roll 1s to regular {{W40Kkeyword|DARK ANGELS}} within 6", too. Even if you don't take much Ravenwing, he puts out so much hurt by himself and is so comparatively resilient that it might be worth taking him in any army.
**When compared to Kor'sarro Khan, Sammael is now ''slightly'' inferior in a straight up fight, due to Khan's double strength modifier allowing him to wound Sammael on a 3+, but Sammy's extra attack pulls him back up, so the difference between them adds up to a 0.16 wound/turn difference, assuming Khan rolls average damage. This is not a true test though, since Sammael has more than twice the shooting potential of Khan ''(and pretty much any other character in the game too)'', does better against the "average" mook, and can {{W40Kkeyword|FLY}}.
** Often overlooked but stated above, Sammael has the {{W40Kkeyword|FLY}} keyword, meaning he can cruise over enemy units and to get to weaker units and fuck up enemy flyers as nearly almost all of them are T7 and below. Not to mention to fall back and unload his range arsenal on some heretics. Thanks to him flying he has some great utility that is nearly always forgotten. 
*'''[[Asmodai]]:''' As an individual, the Master of Repentance still has problems finding his place. The Blades of Reason still suck, doing D6 damage for each unsaved wound, but still only strike at S:User and AP:0, so you are better served using the Crozius, unless you are doing something crazy, like going mano-e-mano with Imperial Knights or heavy tanks, where the Crozius' strength bonus and armour penetration doesn't really matter as much, and you're fighting with luck and sheer balls, rather than anything else. Asmodai does have one trick up his sleeve in this edition: the ''Litanies of Hate'' that Chaplains usually get has been replaced with ''Exemplar of Hate'', which still grants the reroll to-hit bubble within 6", but also grants {{W40Kkeyword|Dark Angels}} within that bubble an extra attack. When coupled with his aura of dread, Asmodai acts as real force multiplier in assault, rather than doing anything useful himself.
**The Blades of Reason aren't as bad as they seem. They are, on average, better than the crozius against anything that is t3, t6 or t7, doesn't have 2+ armor, and, obviously, has more than two wounds. They are also better against anything with an invuln matching the armour. This includes many vehicles (because Asmodai is so batshit sadistic that he'll manage to torture a rhino to death), basically all greater demons and demon princes, and many of the vile Xenos.
*'''[[Ezekiel]]:''' Even better than last edition and the same points cost as well. He no longer gives friendly Dark Angels within 6" +1 attack. Instead, if a friendly Dark Angel dies in the fight phase while they are within 6" of Ezekiel, they get to make a single attack (this is especially funny as aura abilities now target the characters who have them, so if Ezekiel dies in melee, he can go down swinging. Another good use of this power is on Deathwing Knights). He got himself a 4++, while also getting weapon upgrades. His sword, Traitor's Bane, is S+1 AP-3 D1d3, but against {{W40Kkeyword|psyker}}s it has +1 damage. Then his pistol, The Deliverer, got an upgrade: it's a bolt pistol with AP-1 and D2, which is not too shabby. Finally, he can cast 2 psychic powers a turn from interromancy, of which he knows 3 powers; the new powers are amazing, and he can try to deny the witch 2 times a turn. This pairs well with his psychic hood. Overall, not the psychic powerhouse that the ultramarines or space wolves have, but he is great in his own right, he is great in combat too, has an invulnerable save unlike the aforementioned (although one can get one for some points, while this guy comes stock with it) and has some sturdy psychic potential of his own.
*'''Master [[Lazarus]]:''' While his fluff <s>absolutely sucks</s> is complete dog shite, Lazarus is good in melee, especially against psykers. Enmity's Edge gets five attacks that strike on 2+ and re-roll 1's at S6 AP-4 D1d3, plus re-rolling wound rolls and damage rolls against psykers. As a Master he grants re-roll to hit rolls of 1 to all {{W40Kkeyword|DARK ANGELS}} units within 6", including himself, and speaking of auras, Lazarus has the Spiritsheild Helm (which is not at all a replacement in waiting for when they kill off Azrael), granting Lazarus a 4+ save against all mortal wounds and 5+ save against all mortal wounds to all {{W40Kkeyword|DARK ANGELS}} models within 6" of him. A potential strategy would be to run Lazarus with Azrael, Veterans and a Deathwing Ancient with the Pennant of Remembrance. This would provide a 4++ invulnerable save, 5+ feel no pain, then bodyguards on 2+. The Veterans can then ignore the mortal wounds on 5's. Add in Transhuman physiology <s>or +1 toughness stratagem to Deathwing models</s> (While he gets the inner circle rule, thankfully he doesn't get the Deathwing keyword, so he doesn't get to completely shit all over regular Masters in the rules department) for some extra durability!