Hey everyone, Reecius here to share some experiences with the new Dark Angels in practice!
I must say, they’ve exceeded my expectations! I felt that they would be good, but you need to play a new army to really get a feel for it. We broadcast the game live on our Twitch Channel, for anyone that is interested in watching. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, at 7:00pm PST.
The Black Knights, as expected, were extremely powerful. They have a combination of speed, firepower, melee ability and special rules that make them a cornerstone unit, and one I expect to see in most DA lists. I ran mine in a unit of 6 a s a command squad, for the added benefit of the Apothecary, and with an Interrogator Chappy on a bike to grant them Fearless and Zealot, in addition to providing a few tank wounds. I was very pleased with the combo.
I teamed them up with the Ravenwing Support Formation which really proved to be excellent. Again, they exceeded my expectations. I thought it would be solid on paper, but it was better even than I had hoped. The 3 Typhoons with the Darkshroud was such a great combo, with rerollable Jinks on the unit, plus stealth and the buff to nearby units, they proved to be ultra durable. Their firepower was excellent, too! I was happy to put my Typhoons on the table, again. I think the added benefits of Interceptor and being able to deny the enemy overwatch, will be incredibly useful in some match ups.
I had a base of Scouts as my troops, and the little buggers kicked some butt! I have always enjoyed playing Scout bases lists and in this edition, they really outshine most other troop choices by a mile. The improvement to WS/BS4 on Scouts in general (sorry, BA!) is such a big boost!
I also through in a unit of Deathwing just to use the iconic Terminators. They are certainly better, but still not what I would call great, unfortunately. They performed well for me, but I could see them really struggling in certain missions. However, with the benefits gained from Grim Resolve, Deathwing and their Ravenwing buddies, I think they can find a place in many lists.
I am curious to try out Dark Angels with Astra Militarum or Skitarii, which I think will make exceptional allies for them.
So far, I am really enjoying Dark Angels and I think they will be a big hit with both casual and competitive players. My only strong complaint is their lack of AA, but that is easily remedied with allies.
I had my first game last night with the new Dark Angels, mostly a Ravenwing force. I took a unit of black knights and a command squad. They both did fantastic. The new Ravenwing rule makes them really survivable and I forgot how much of a punch the plasma talons had.
Great! So glad to see they’re doing a good job! Could you post the list you used, Reece? Even though I’m sure you’ll improve it in further games, it’s nice to see the starting point. Also, any chance of getting some of the old short batreps? I’d really alpreciate it! They’re fun and essy to watch! Thanx guys!
Thanks for the review. As a long time DA player it’s great to see them return to the table as a viable force again. I had fully expected to retire (read repaint) them with this codex after years of disappointing codices. Time for me to “bring the ‘wings” and start letting my 5th company boys and their mates back on the table. Hunt the fallen!! (And anybody/thing else who shows up!)
Is there a formation in the book like in the SM where all you need is a single command type model in which you can take azreal?
I played a game today with a list similar to Reece’s, but with only 10 scouts and a lot more black knights. It felt incredible strong, even against a necron army with 18 wraiths and 2 barge lords.
LOL, you can also put together really easy DA lists by allying in Eldar or the Skyhammer SM list.
I’m impressed, I just wish I was heavier on Ravenwing than Deathwing on my collection.
Played a game against the new DA now, the re-roll jink feels less broken than expected atleast if you can force most units to jink. Kill an enemy in shooting maelstrom is pretty tough though :p
I’m thinking with ig, the black knights will make up for a lot of weaknesses, mostly speed. Now. I just need to find a way to run ig and dark angels with azreal, but ig as primary.
So, Scouts. I know you like them, but when you regard it objectively, how do they measure up to Tacs? I tried Tacs in Pods and it sucked. They are no Ultramarines. However, I have had a lot of success with Tacs in Rhinos with Plasmas, Grav Cannon and Combat Squads. The Dark Shroud boosted their cover save in ruins or with Smoke Launchers and they helped my advance and held the mid-field. I have not tried Scouts yet, so I can not compare them myself.
Any thoughts on that?
I LOVE Scouts, not just thematically, but objectively on the table. For the points, they are superior to Tacs, IMO. They have so many deployment options, are more mobile and are only slightly less resilient than Tactical Marines with the same–or close to the same–damage output.
I see. It is true that they win in terms of deployment options. But it terms of firepower, Tacs would win due to Special Weapons, at least I assume. That 5 shot Grav Cannon is nothing to sneeze at. When the RW are forced to jink, you will be lacking some effective AP2, which is why I value that unit so highly.
But I see your point. How about a mix of both then? Scouts for the forward-duty and Tacs to shore up your defenses. At 1850 I would manage get in 20 Tacs in two Rhinos and 20 Scouts. I am running a list very similar to yours, but with Sammy as HQ and no Dread in Lucius.