New List For A New Codex (supplement)

Hello, battle brothers! Since our codex supplement is about to go live, I thought I'd do an article about the list I'm planning on running once it's legal.

I don't think I'm talking out of school by stating that Codex (supplement) Dark Angels is pretty disappointing, full of lackluster detachments and unwarranted nerfs, with very little in the way of exciting new ways to play our army. However, there is (maybe) one little pearl to be plucked from the manure, and that's Ravenwing Command Squads. So, I came up with a preliminary list that exploits them.

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

Here's the short version of the list.
Gladius Task Force
Azrael
Ravenwing Command Squad
Ravenwing Command Squad
Ravenwing Knights: 6 Knights
Ravenwing Knights: 6 Knights
Outriders: 3 Outriders
Outriders: 3 Outriders
Outriders: 3 Outriders
Intercessors: 5 bolter boys
Eradicators: 3 melta boys
Eradicators: 3 melta boys
Eradicators: 3 melta boys
Inceptors: 3 plasma boys
Scouts: 5 sneaky lads
Ravenwing Darkshroud
Storm Speeder Thunderstrike
Gladiator Lancer

What I find sexy about Ravenwing Command Squads is that they can be attached to Ravenwing Black Knights, which brings with it the possibility of having a brick of 9 Ravenwing Knights with overlapping unit abilities. Being able to get 27 plasma shots from a single unit seems good. I attach Azrael to a unit of Hellblasters to get, on average, 25 shots, and Hellblasters aren't nearly as fast or as tough as Ravenwing Knights. 30 AP -2 close combat attacks with Anti-Vehicle 4+/Anti-Monster 4+ doesn't seem bad either. Then we add in the + 1 to advance and charge rolls, +1 OC, and restoring a dead squad member every round, and we've got a package that seems worth building a list around.

Another thing that makes fielding big RWBK bricks attractive is the fact that most of us probably already have a bunch of Firstborn Bikes kicking around that can easily be converted into RWBKs by swapping out the models' gun fairings, which can be had at a fraction of the cost of buying the full RWBK kits. Beats using them as Outriders like GW suggested. 

That said, I actually found myself putting 3 units of 3 Outriders in the list, and one of those units is going to be Firstborn Bikers rebased as appropriate. The reason I'm using Outriders is so I have a play other than exposing my RWBK bricks should I get first turn. The Outriders are relatively cheap, and with their 12" move and auto-advance 6", putting one unit onto each of the No Man's Land objectives ought to be viable. That'll oblige my opponent to expose his striking units to deal with them, which (hopefully) will give me a chance to light into them with intact RWBK bricks. If any of the Outriders survive past the 1rst turn, I can have them run off and score secondaries for me while the rest of my list does the heavy lifting.

The Darkshroud made it into the list to help keep key units alive. I figure on the 1rst turn, I can place it where it can cover at least 2 of the Outrider Squads I stick out in No Mans Land, and then switch its coverage over to the Black Knight bricks once the Outriders have drawn out my opponent's forces.

The Thunderstrike is in the list as a force multiplier, to increase the Black Knights' plasma To Wound rolls from 5+ to 4+ into tough targets. That's a 50% increase in the RWBK's damage output against Toughness 9+ targets, and the Thunderstrike's inherent firepower is not to be sneezed at. My current list just has the 1 because I currently only have 1. I have a couple more Storm Speeders on order from my most-frequented gaming store. When they arrive, a second will make it into the list.

I have Azrael and the Intercessors to sit on my backfield objective and be a bit of a nuisance to pick up.  When the inevitable plasma Inceptors drop into my backfield, my objective-holding unit will get a 4++ against their shooting rather than just getting evaporated. Plus, my opponent will have to think about Azrael when he drops units into my backfield. Azrael is pretty formidable all by himself, and he multiplies the damage output of the unit he's with. The Intercessors make their objective sticky, so if something does drop in nearby, they can come off the objective to deal with it without me losing it, or run into the corner to get me points for Investigate Signals. Plus, I want the CP Azrael provides. It's not the sexiest way to use Azrael, but it's not a terrible way to use him either.

The rest of the stuff is just pretty standard Space Marine good stuff. I have Scouts and Inceptors for the usual reasons, and I have the Eradicators to pop out of reserve and slag vehicles and monsters that I maybe can't quite get at with the RWBKs. I have a Gladiator Lancer because it's a points-neutral exchange for a Thunderstrike, so when I eventually get my second Thunderstrike I can just swap it out.

According to Battlescribe, the list currently sits at 1920 points. I'm holding off on spending the rest of the points until I see what GW comes up with for final points on the Knights and Command Squads. It'd be nice if I could afford a second Scout Squad and Fire Discipline on one of the Champions, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

For the detachment, I picked the Gladius Task Force. Cases can be made for the Company Of Hunters, the Stormlance Task Force, and the Firestorm Assault Force, but they all fall short. The Company Of Hunters leans a little too strongly into reserves shenanigans, which doesn't really work for Ravenwing Knights, because we want to get them within 9", and that's not possible having them come out of reserves. The Stormlance is a better detachment for mounted assault units - so basically Thunderwolves. I think GW may have been trying to provide a detachment that makes Outriders more competitive and the Stormlance winding up as Detachment Thunderwolves was an unintended consequence, but that's outside the purview of my blog. The Firestorm is attractive because it gives all guns Assault and +1 strength within 12". Going from S8 to S9 is a pretty important break point, but it's not as important as going from S9 to S10, and fatally the Firestorm doesn't have any way to let a unit fall back and shoot. With the Gladius, when I need to do it, I can just declare I'm going into Tactical Doctrine and spend my CP on other things. Plus, I can slap Fire Discipline on one of the Champions to get more dakka out of one of the BK bricks.

And that's the list. While I love me my Firestorm, I am looking forward to playing a Dark Angels list with more actual Dark Angels units. It'll be neat to roar around the table with an excess of bikes, and it might even be effective. It'll probably be a while before I get there though. It's taken me this long to get to the point where I feel like I can contend to place with the Firestorm. It's only been about a half dozen RTTs and two GTs. I'm hoping at least some of the experience is transferrable. Wish me luck, battle brothers!