Tits for Tournaments: Dark Angels with Three Sources

In a world, with Seer Council, Daemon Summoning, and Centurion Stars, this Formation can bring any Dark Angel army on equal psychic footing. At worse you generate five Warp Charge dice and at best 11 dice. That doesn’t include any more dice you might throw in from a Primary Detachment Psyker. Dark Angel Librarians also have Divination instead of Biomancy.

This Formation got the ball rolling for me on Dark Angel list design. Obviously, this Formation can be used with other Battle Brother factions, but I wanted to see if it could keep it “in-house” and bring some tactical nuance to a full Dark Angel army. When the ITC allowed only two Detachments/Formations for use in army construction, designing a list around the Conclave meant dealing with those restrictions.

Designing a list I take things to an extreme, then dial it back to find some sort of equilibrium. My first Dark Angel lists went full Conclave trying to beat my opponent in the psychic phase. Problems arose  around three major points; mobility, point sinks, and Ezekiel. Mobility luckily had an easy fix, I could put the Librarians on Bikes, it not only gave the Libbies speed it also provided some defense. Taking Bikes meant I was going to sink a lot points into these Libbies, so finding the right wargear balance critical. Ezekiel was another problem, not because he is terrible, but because he basically forces you to take a foot slogging unit, because he can’t get a Bike or Terminator armour. Once, I settled on these Biker Libbies it become all about Ravenwing. Ravenwing currently are overcosted, playable in only two ways; minimal Objective grabbing squads, or as large Bolter Banner units. Since I was investing a lot of points on the Formation; I went for an MSU approach, and unlike Space Marine bike units, you can take a unit of three and still get Objective Secured.

Next was taking Azrael who just brings so much to Dark Angels, he gives LD10 to all Dark Angel units while he is alive, 4++ save for any unit he joins, and he can pick his Warlord trait. Azrael most important role though is beefing up the backfield tactical squad, along with Ezekiel gives it me two 2+/4++ multi-wound models. With the bulk of my army settled, I still needed some sort of hammer unit and one of those amazing Dark Angel Banners. The Banner of Fortitude with its Feel No Pain bubble, is for Bikes just too good to pass up, especially with so many things being AP3 or lower. To get the Banner of Fortitude I took a Ravenwing Command Squad, these Black Knights are pretty good, with Plasma weapons and Rending Assault. They also have access to another toy the Ravenwing Grenade Launcher, with Rad Shells to reduce a unit’s Toughness. Since Gargantuan Creatures are a thing, taking their Toughness down is critical, so the Grenade Launcher made perfect sense. Finally, I needed a way to deal with suicide units that might Deep Strike and destroy my Command unit, luckily the Dark Angels have an answer with the Power Field Generator. The Generator creates a small 3″ bubble of 4++ and if spaced properly can save many a bike.

All combined, I have a highly mobile units, with layers of defense. Unless it is Destroyer Weapons I have a pretty good chance of getting of getting two saves most of the time. These defenses only increase with the use of Psychic Powers like Invisibility and Shrouding. I can also play around with Divination for Forewarning, Daemonlogy for Summoning or Sanctic powers like Hammerhand or Sanctuary, depending on my opponent. Then there most the army having Hit & Run and Scout, I can null deploy and come in from all sides. The army can also bring a unique Psychic Shriek Alpha Strike against the unprepared. The tactical options are vast and with Objective Secured all over the board, it means even one lonely bike can win me a game. The list also plays well with the ITC Missions, where you have multiple ways to get enough Victory Points for the win.

Now, with three sources what am I suppose to do?

I could go the cheap and easy route and just take a Culexus and stop opposing Psychic armies in their tracks, but with how mobile my own Psykers are this is a nonstarter. I need more damage out-put or more bodies. Taking armies without the point inefficiencies like the Dark Angels seems like a good place to start. The lamest cop-out would be taking White Scars and basically nullifying the any reason to take Dark Angels in the first place. In the same vein I could also take Thunder Cav instead of the Raven Command, but then again losing the FnP banner would hurt the rest of the army. I could also add some more dirty tricks, like Inquisition or jump to Forge World with a character like Sevrin Loth.

What I came up with is a little bit of everything, narrowing it down to three option.

Here is each list and my thought process.

TastyTaste’s Dark Angels & Inq

This list accomplishes a few interesting things. I gain all around bad ass Coteaz and a Grenade Caddy, what I lose is a few Tactical Marines and exchange a Ravenwing Biker unit for Scouts. Coteaz also gives me another 2+ Armour character, Daemon Hammer, and a Level 2 Psyker. It makes a unit already defensive highly dangerous if caught in an Assault, the biggest drawback is the unit being very susceptible to Instant Death attacks. I do lose some mobility not having the fifth Bike Squad, but the Scout unit should do pretty much the same thing.

TastyTaste’s Dark Angels & Sisters

Honestly, this list has me the most excited. Taking an Allied Sister Detachment, gives me access to something I have been craving for my footsloggers: Hit & Run. By taking the always obnoxious St. Celestine I get Hit & Run, a character with high damage output, and the ability to come back from the dead. The secret sauce though is getting a Priest in the mix, I can use the Battle Hymns to re-roll my saves. In the worse situations, have 4++ re-roll and at best a 2+/4+/5+ FNP. This list costs me one Libby, a few Tactical Marines, and a Bike unit. Without the Libby, I lose my only AP2 dude for the unit. So if you come at me with lots of 2+ Armour I might be sunk, but at the same time I can tar pit and get out of combat when I need to.

TastyTaste’s Dark Angels & Space Wolves

The last two lists do nothing to remedy my other design conundrum: how to make my Command Unit more killy. Taking Space Wolf allies fixes the problem, by taking mid-range cost Wolf Guard Battle Leader, I get the AP2 S10 death I’ve been craving, and 2+ Runic Armour for tanking a few wounds. Then there is the Blood Claws, who with any luck can soak up damage and deal a bit out. I lose the WS buff Ezekiel gives to Dark Angel units, but I get a ton of attacks with Counter Attack and Rage. I still lose the Libby and the extra Bike Squad and don’t replace them with anything. This list is a balanced choice because it fills in the gaps, but costing some Objective Secured.

I think all three options have their benefits and builds on what I got going on already.

Let me know which one you like either on Facebook or in an Email!