Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Space Marines (section)

=====Elites=====

======Deathwing======
Your Deathwing Characters have the Command Squad rule as well, meaning they don't take up a Battlefield Role (Force Organisation) Slot if you have at least one unit of Deathwing Command Squad. As usual, anything that gains the {{W40kKeyword|Deathwing}} keyword gains the Inner Circle rule ''but not'' the {{Inner Circle}} keyword.

*'''Bladeguard Ancient:''' Gains the Deathwing keyword. 
*'''Bladeguard Veteran Squad:''' Gains the Deathwing Keyword.
*'''Terminator Squad:''' Gains the Deathwing Keyword.
**Never field this - it's a Deathwing Terminator Squad with fewer options.
*'''Terminator Assault Squad:''' Gains the Deathwing Keyword. 
**Never field this - it's a Deathwing Terminator Squad with fewer options.
*'''Relic Terminator Squad:''' Gains the Deathwing Keyword.
**This has legitimately distinct options from a Deathwing Terminator Squad, is it any good? First off, there worse in melee, so were only compare shooting. Price wise there only 1 point more then Death Wing Terminators, 6 if you want power fists but you can switch them for Lighting claws that are free. The only heavy weapons are a bland heavy flamer, but spicy Reaper Autocannon, which has two less shots then an assault cannon but one more Ap and strength making it better against marines and light vehicles targets and 5 points cheaper. The Relic Terminators also get one "grenade harnesses" per five terminators which add a D6, 4 strength -1ap blast attack. Against large units that means a relic terminator can spit out 12 additional shots. Deathwings have the cyclone of course to add 24 shots if you get two but that's five times more expensive, Lacks AP and can't be in the same squad as heavy weapons: it is one of the heavy weapons. Relics can have the grenades and auto cannons or flamers. Over all there probably not quite as good normal death wing terminators, but there a little cheaper including there upgrades and not that much worse so they are probably worth some experimenting.
*'''Terminator Ancient:''' Gains the Deathwing keyword. He has unique wargear options; comes standard with a storm bolter and powerfist, but the powerfist can be swapped for a chainfist or both weapons can be swapped for two lightning claws or a thunder hammer and storm shield so he can pull his weight in a fight. 
*'''Deathwing Champion:''' The 1st Company Champion is still here, but a wee bit schizophrenic. The typical Martial Superiority (fights first against Characters) and Honour or Death (6" heroic intervention towards Characters) is well and good, but their unique Halberd of Caliban wants to fight blobs; S+3, AP-3, D2, +3A against target units of 10+ models. Still, as a Company Champion, he has WS2+, A4,  a 0-1 per-army limit, and he can still have the Chapter Champion upgrade but cannot have the Blade of Triumph. 
*'''Deathwing Apothecary:''' It's an Apothecary in Terminator armour, need more be said? Yes? Fine. Combat Restoratives heals one friendly Dark Angel Infantry or Biker unit up to d3 lost wounds and the Narthecium gives you a 6" ignores-lost-wounds-on-a-6 aura. Reviving one fallen model has been shunted to a stratagem, but he's still an Apothecary model and the Chief Apothecary upgrade is rather excellent. He comes with a storm bolter for four bolter shots at 24" range, but has no melee weapon meaning he really doesn't want to be there. 
**The challenge to viability is that he doesn't heal anymore than a regular Apothecary, yet costs more, and since the cost of the Apothecary limits your inclusion of other models (because you could buy them instead), he has to heal a lot more to justify himself. That cost does buy him more durability though since the 2+/5++ is way better than what a standard Apothecary has, in addition to more wounds.
*'''[[Deathwing]] Terminators:''' Elite Terminators with Inner Circle and the ability to customize their loadout to suit your needs, all while being as expensive as assaults. Starts off with the standard Terminator wargear (storm bolter and sword for the Sergeant, fists for the Terminators). Any powerfist can be replaced with a chainfist (Sx2 (8) AP-4 Dd3, becomes D3 against Vehicles) ''for free'' (so you always should - the improved AP is more often a benefit than the D1d3 is a detriment) and 1 in 5 Terminators can swap their storm bolter for an assault cannon, heavy flamer, or plasma cannon, or take a cyclone missile launcher. Where they differ from the regular Terminator Squad is the ability for ''any'' number of models to swap their bolter and melee weapon for two lightning claws or a thunder hammer and storm shield (meaning you can have a TH/SS Sgt lead 3 Chainfist/SBs and a CML/SB/Chainfist). Finally, they can take a Watcher in the Dark to gain a once-per-battle Deny the Witch chance as if they were a Psyker. They do not have the Teleporter Homer available to vanilla Terminators, but their cost makes them an ideal competitor for troops.
** ''Never'' take normal or assault termis without a truly remarkable excuse.  If you want ObSec termis, this unit is the end all be all. 
*** Assault Cannon vs Plasma Cannon vs Cyclone Missile Launcher: Both cannons now cost the same for Deathwing Termies. While cyclones are the most expensive option, they are better than either. Assault cannons will always have the same damage output regardless of how many targets they're shooting at, while plasma cannons only get their full three shots if they're used against squads of six-or-more. Frankly, plasma cannons are better used elsewhere in the army when you needn't spend CP to make them hit at full BS. Cyclones with their two profiles get the best of both; krak missiles are close enough to overcharged plasma cannons that you will hardly miss them, nor do you miss out on Bolter Discipline as they get to keep their storm bolters.
*'''Deathwing Command Squad:''' Those same dudes written above, but with three main differences; unit size of one Sergeant and 1-4 Terminators, one squad can be taken without using an Elite slot if the detachment also has a Dark Angel Captain, and Dark Angel Characters with nine or less wounds (i.e. all of them) within 3" cannot be targeted by ranged attacks. They also cost 2 more points per dude.
**This is a quite interesting unit, that with the new way of how Look Out, Sir! and Bodyguard work, they can help your Characters to survive longer, even just one single model of this squad can protect them in any possible case. And if you do not use Characters near them, it is still a possibility to add a small number of Terminators (they cost a little more, but obviously even a 4 man squad is cheaper than a 5 man squad, with a difference of just 2ppm).
*'''Deathwing Knights:''' The premiere Terminator Assault Squad. One Master and 4-9 Knights all with storm shields and WS2+. The Master has the unique flail of the unforgiven (S+2 (6) AP-3 D2, any excess damage is carried over between models in the target unit). So rather than killing three W1 models at most, you can now go up to six. The Knight's mace of absolution is also brilliant (Sx2 (8) AP-2 D3). That's it. It's a thunder hammer sacrificing cost (Knights cost 5 points more than other termis with a TH/SS) in order to avoid the hit roll penalty, meaning Knights hit at their full 2+, not the 4+ of a normal Termi. The unit can also take a Watcher in the Dark, allowing you to attempt to deny a psychic power once per battle, and re-roll the Deny The Witch test if the caster is a Chaos model. 
** These guys are great but do need some support from Characters. An Interrogator-Chaplain will make them even more deadly with his re-rolls (although this starts to hurt efficiency - DKs are TH/SS who pay points for accuracy, but with full re-rolls to hit, they go from being 5/3 (about 1.67x) as accurate to being 35/27 (about 1.30x) as accurate) and if you don't mind the investment, you could get a Deathwing Ancient to follow them too. All of the above can teleport in together, or you could fit them in a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer or a Storm Raven for more mobility and firepower support. Once they're in combat, they're almost certain to kill anything in front of them, but getting there first can be a tad difficult by themselves.
** Consider running a Librarian with the Knights; Righteous Repugnance gives you re-roll to hit AND to wound. Just remember, casting isn't guaranteed to succeed (unlike the aura, which is always on) and even if you pass, your opponent can attempt to deny the power with a psyker of their own.

======Ravenwing======

For main guns, plasma talons will be the standard, with a profile of 18", assault 2, S7, AP-3, D1, may gain +1S and +1D but hit rolls of unmodified 1 kill the user. All of the Characters and 1 in 3 Black Knights can swap for a Ravenwing grenade launcher. Frag profile is 30", assault d6, S3, AP0, D1, blast, and krak profile is 30", assault 1, S6, AP-1, Dd3. It may be worth taking one model with a grenade launcher for the Stasis Shell stratagem, but otherwise the plasma talon will be your best weapon as the mid-range is offset by the long move and advance distance afforded to the Ravenwing.

Your Ravenwing Characters have the Command Squad rule as well, meaning they don't take up a Battlefield Role (Force Organisation) Slot if you have at least one unit of Ravenwing Black Knights. 

*'''Ravenwing Apothecary:''' Hands down the best Apothecary available to any Space Marine army. M14" and an advance of 6" ensures he's always where he needs to be, and not being limited to one-per-army like the Champion means you can have plenty of these guys zipping around the field. T5, W5, Sv3+/5++ (4++ if he advanced), gives him plenty of staying power as well. New Narthecium rules provide an ignore-lost-wounds-on-a-6 aura and Combat Restoratives heals d3 lost wounds to one model (very useful to your W3 Ravenwing and Deathwing). Reviving a model has been moved to stratagem though. Being an Apothecary, they can still be upgraded to the awesome Chief Apothecary rules. He has no melee weapon though, so don't get fooled into getting him stuck in. 
*'''Ravenwing Champion:''' The do-it-all Champion. No longer gets a Blade of Caliban, instead having a master-crafted power sword (S+1, AP-3, D2) like all regular Champions get. No combat shield for a 2+/5++ though, so enjoy your 5++/4++ from moving/advancing while you can. Unlike your other Ravenwing Characters, he has WS2+ and A4. Like other Champions, he has Martial Superiority (always fights first against Characters) and Honour or Death (Heroically Intervene up to 6" towards Characters). The Chapter Champion upgrade has very good abilities, Warlord Trait, and Relic available to them. 
*'''Ravenwing Ancient:''' The Ravenwing version of the Deathwing Ancient. Astartes Banner gives Dark Angel Core models within 6" gain +1Ld and can make one shooting attack or one melee attack on a 4+ when they die. He has no melee weapon though, so don't get fooled into getting him stuck in. 
*'''Ravenwing Black Knights:''' Competes with Hellblasters for best Imperial plasma spammer. Moved to the Elites slot as of the 9th ed. Dark Angel Index. A maximum of ten T5, W3, Sv3+/5++ (or 4++ but suffer -1 to hit rolls) models with two plasma shots each are going to ruin someone's day. They have no special rules of their own, aside from Inner Circle, Jink, and Turbo-Boost. For 5pts each, they can all be equipped with corvus hammers (S+1, AP-1, D2) for beating in the now-W2 Fallen. The Huntmaster (Sergeant) also has the option for a power sword or power maul for the same points. Each of them also comes with a bolt pistol that can be fired in melee. They also have the Melta Bomb Keyword for some surprise mortal wounds.
**While Inceptors might seem better than these guys due to their 2D3 blast plasma, the 4++ invuln you get from advancing and an actual melee weapon make these guy more likely to survive in the short ranges that their guns have.