Dark Angels Tear It Up at Beachhead Brawl 2024!
The two teammates clearly were working from a similar playbook, because their lists strongly resemble each other. Both players took Ironstorm Spearheads, led by Azrael, featuring a Ravenwing Darkshroud, a Stormraven, and a plethora of Redemptor-chassis Dreadnoughts. The Ironstorm has been showing itself to be one of the detachments to use to get tournament results. Let's take a look at their lists and see what we can learn from them.
We'll take a look at Jay's list first. Jay went undefeated and scored a total of 556 battle points, only 8 less than the 1rst place player. Here's the quick-and-dirty version of his list:
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| When Tonka designs your gunships |
Lieutenant with Combi Weapon - Enhancement: Master of the Machine War
Techmarine - Enhancement: Target Augury Web
Techmarine - Enhancement: Adept of the Omnissiah
Gladiator Lancer
Infiltrator Squad: 5 sneaky boys
Ravenwing Darkshroud
Redemptor Dreadnought
Redemptor Dreadnought
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Sternguard Veteran Squad: 10 vets
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike
Stormraven Gunship
Variations of this list have been doing work for Dark Angels players for a while. Not only do Azrael and the Darkshroud crop up in them a lot, but I've also been noticing a Storm Speeder Thunderstrike appear in them pretty consistently. That does make sense, as it can help weapons that aren't necessarily great against heavy targets punch up. The unique sauce here is the Sternguard Veteran Squad, who are armed with combi-bolters for the Anti-Infantry 4+ and Devastating Wounds combo. Fishing for Dev Wounds is not my cup of tea, but with Azrael leading them, if you can get them within 12" of a target with the Infantry keyword, statistically they will do 6 Dev wounds, and the Stormraven can be used to get them within 12", while dropping off one of the Redemptors nearby to boot. Jay went 6-0 with this list at an event with over 100 players, so clearly he made it work for him.
Coming in just behind Jay for 3rd place, having racked up 546 battle points, Liam Callebout brought a very similar list to Beachhead Brawl. This is not the first time I've written about an Ironstorm Spearhead piloted by Liam, but he did take a page from his teammate's book and include an Stormraven in this list. Here's the short version for discussion:
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| Please don't nerf me GW! |
Techmarine: Target Augury Web
Techmarine: Master of the Machine War
Techmarine: Adept of the Omnissiah
Company Heroes
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Scout Squad: 5 sneaky lads
Brutalis Dreadnought
Ravenwing Darkshroud
Redemptor Dreadnought
Redemptor Dreadnought
Repulsor Executioner
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike
Stormraven Gunship
As you can see, Liam's list is very similar to Jay's. I suppose you might argue that Jay got the idea from Liam, but both of them may have gotten the list idea from Kit Smith Hanna, who I've also blogged about, and who played the top ranked DA list at LVO.
Regardless of where they got the idea, the list archetype is clearly effective. Jay went with a 3rd Techmarine instead of the combi-weapon Lieutenant. Doubtless he has one Techmarine supporting each of his Redemptors and the Repulsor Executioner. The Intercessors are probably tasked with minding his backfield objective, and if his opponent doesn't have anything he can conveniently drop in Liam's backfield, he can have them leave the objective stickied and go do other things. Having Azrael join a Company Heroes squad is a solid choice, if not one with the offensive potential of the Sternguard Vets, and having a Brutalis Dreadnought to be carried by the Stormraven is a solid choice. The Repulsor Executioner was not necessarily a surprise, but it's armed with the macro plasma incinerator instead of the heavy laser destroyer, and that kind of is surprising. I'd think between the Redemptors and the Stormraven's twin heavy plasma cannons, the list has plenty of plasma blast with the D2/D3 profile and the heavy laser destroyer would be more of an asset. Then again, I'm not the guy who went 5-1 at a 160-person tournament.
Once again, the Storm Speeder Thunderstrike and the Ravenwing Darkshroud make an appearance. It occurs to me the Darkshroud may be cropping up in these Ironstorm-Stormraven lists just to help keep the Stormraven from getting shot down 1rst turn. It's going to be the most obvious target for an opponent's ranged firepower, so being able to give it Stealth and Benefit of Cover for free is a considerable survivability enhancement. Tack on Armor of Contempt, and the Ironstorm player is getting a net +2 to armor saves, with -1 to an opponent's To Hit rolls to boot. It would be feasible for the Darkshroud to keep up with the Stormraven for at least a turn or so by Advancing, and it's not like the Darkshroud's firepower is all that impressive in the first place, so you're not losing out by doing so, but honestly after that first turn, anything the Dark Shroud does afterwards is probably gravy. You could have it hover around your Redemptors to make them harder to kill, or just go score secondaries for you, as it is pretty fast and if you're not concerned about keeping something in its bubble of effect, it might as well be doing that.
It looks like the Ironstorm Spearhead is going to be the detachment of choice for Dark Angels players looking to maximize their chances of performing well competitively. It's been cropping up a lot in lists that perform well at tournaments, and the Dark Angels units that commonly appear in it are largely untouched by the transition from index to codex. The list archetype is probably also helped by the Aeldari and Chaos Marine nerfs, letting it rise higher than would previously been likely. I'm not sure it's worth running out and buying a Stormraven if you don't already own one. GW may nerf the list by nerfing the Stormraven, or they may drop the kit as it's a Firstborn Marine unit that has caused GW some headaches when they tried to sue 3rd party bits providers who sold conversion kits to make the Stormraven look less like a little kid's toy. But, if you're of a mind to be in the running to win tournaments and you've already got a Stormraven (or you're risk-tolerant enough to go out and buy one), then you could do worse than putting your own spin in the Dark Angels Stormraven Ironstorm!
The lists discussed are below in their entirety.
Jay Seebarun's list
Beachhead (1970 Points)
Space Marines
Dark Angels
Ironstorm Spearhead
Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Azrael (105 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Lion’s Wrath
1x The Lion Helm
1x The Sword of Secrets
Lieutenant with Combi-weapon (90 Points)
• 1x Combi-weapon
1x Paired combat blades
• Enhancements: Master of Machine War (Aura)
Techmarine (95 Points)
• 1x Forge bolter
1x Grav-pistol
1x Omnissian power axe
1x Servo-arm
• Enhancements: Target Augury Web (Aura)
Techmarine (80 Points)
• 1x Forge bolter
1x Grav-pistol
1x Omnissian power axe
1x Servo-arm
• Enhancements: Adept of the Omnissiah
OTHER DATASHEETS
Gladiator Lancer (160 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
1x Lancer laser destroyer
2x Storm bolter
Gladiator Lancer (160 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
1x Lancer laser destroyer
2x Storm bolter
Infiltrator Squad (100 Points)
• 1x Infiltrator Sergeant
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Marksman bolt carbine
• 4x Infiltrator
• 4x Bolt pistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Helix Gauntlet
1x Infiltrator Comms Array
4x Marksman bolt carbine
Ravenwing Darkshroud (115 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy bolter
Redemptor Dreadnought (210 Points)
• 1x Icarus rocket pod
1x Macro plasma incinerator
1x Onslaught gatling cannon
1x Redemptor fist
1x Twin storm bolter
Redemptor Dreadnought (210 Points)
• 1x Icarus rocket pod
1x Macro plasma incinerator
1x Onslaught gatling cannon
1x Redemptor fist
1x Twin storm bolter
Scout Squad (65 Points)
• 1x Scout Sergeant
• 1x Bolt pistol
1x Boltgun
1x Close combat weapon
• 4x Scout
• 4x Bolt pistol
4x Boltgun
4x Close combat weapon
Sternguard Veteran Squad (180 Points)
• 1x Sternguard Veteran Sergeant
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Sternguard bolt pistol
1x Sternguard bolt rifle
• 9x Sternguard Veteran
• 9x Close combat weapon
9x Combi-weapon
9x Sternguard bolt pistol
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike (160 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
1x Stormfury missiles
1x Thunderstrike las-talon
1x Twin Icarus rocket pod
Stormraven Gunship (240 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
2x Hurricane bolter
2x Stormstrike missile launcher
1x Twin heavy plasma cannon
1x Twin multi-melta
Exported with App Version: v1.10.0 (29), Data Version: v336
Liam Callebout's list
++ Army Roster (Imperium - Adeptus Astartes - Dark Angels) [1,990pts] ++
+ Configuration +
Battle Size
Detachment: Ironstorm Spearhead
Show/Hide Options: Agents of the Imperium are visible, Imperial Knights are visible, Unaligned Forces are visible, Unaligned Fortifications are visible
+ Epic Hero +
Azrael [105pts]: Warlord
+ Character +
Techmarine [95pts]: Target Augury Web [Aura]
Techmarine [80pts]: Adept of the Omnissiah
Techmarine [75pts]: Master of the Machine War [Aura]
+ Battleline +
Intercessor Squad [80pts]: Astartes Grenade Launcher
. Intercessor Sergeant: Plasma Pistol, Thunder Hammer
. 4x Intercessors: 4x Bolt Pistol, 4x Bolt Rifle, 4x Close Combat Weapon
+ Infantry +
Company Heroes [95pts]
Scout Squad [65pts]
. Scout Sergeant: Astartes Chainsword
. Scout w/ Heavy Weapon: Missile Launcher
. Scout w/ Scout Sniper Rifle
. 2x Scouts w/ Astartes Shotgun: 2x Astartes Shotgun, 2x Bolt Pistol, 2x Close Combat Weapon
Scout Squad [65pts]
. Scout Sergeant: Astartes Chainsword
. Scout w/ Heavy Weapon: Missile Launcher
. Scout w/ Scout Sniper Rifle
. 2x Scouts w/ Astartes Shotgun: 2x Astartes Shotgun, 2x Bolt Pistol, 2x Close Combat Weapon
+ Vehicle +
Brutalis Dreadnought [175pts]: Twin Multi-melta
. Brutalis Fists & Brutalis Bolt Rifles
Ravenwing Darkshroud [115pts]: Assault cannon
Redemptor Dreadnought [210pts]: Icarus Rocket Pod, Macro Plasma Incinerator, Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Twin Fragstorm Grenade Launcher
Redemptor Dreadnought [210pts]: Icarus Rocket Pod, Macro Plasma Incinerator, Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Twin Fragstorm Grenade Launcher
Repulsor Executioner [220pts]: Icarus Rocket Pod, Ironhail Heavy Stubber, Macro Plasma Incinerator
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike [160pts]
Stormraven Gunship [240pts]: Hurricane Bolter 2 Hurricane Bolters, Twin Heavy Plasma Cannon, Twin Multi-melta
++ Total: [1,990pts] ++
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