Dark Angels Update 4/27/2026

 

Greetings honored battle brethren! This one is going to be a quick one, because there was one hell of a drop off of Dark Angels players at GTs between last weekend and the one before. There were 6 less events and about 60% less GT players total last weekend than the weekend before, but over the same period Dark Angels players went from 44 to 9. 

I'm inclined to wonder if maybe some of our player base is migrating over to playing Ultramarines, or at least using that rules set. Inner Circle Companion models can stand in for Victrix, so assuming one has a solid collection of the models both armies have in common, swapping over would only require a few strategic purchases. Ultramarines are one of the bullies of the meta at the moment. Over the last couple months they've consistently been among the top three factions of the weekend, and according to the faction ladder given on the Art of War Down Under podcast I just listened to, Dark Angels are third from the bottom over the most recent measurement period. Based on what I've seen, I believe it. One might make an argument that Dark Angels are a newbie faction and that will tend to depress the win percentage, but the same could be said of Ultramarines, and as previously mentioned they're on top of the meta. Being a Dark Angels player is definitely playing on Hard Mode at the moment. 

Happily, I do have one list to talk about. This week's hero is Jay Seebarun of Sturnguard Fat-Tits, who went 4-1 and took 3rd out of 28 players at The 2026 South-West Swordwind Grand Tournament in East Huntspill, England. You can see Jay's list on BCP. We'll check it out below. 

Dark Angels: BH Wrath
Lion Dad - Warlord
Azrael
Captain: Ancient Weapons
Chaplain in Terminator Armour: Deathwing Asault
Deathwing Knights: 5 awesome chonky macey boys
Desolation Squad: 5 steely-eyed missilemen
Eliminator Squad: 3 shoot-n-scoot boys
Incursor Squad: 5 spotty boys
Infiltrator Squad: 5 stay-off-my-lawn boys
Inner Circle Companions: 3 spooky awesome swordy boys
Repulsor Executioner with heavy laser destroyer
Repulsor Executioner with heavy laser destroyer
Sternguard Veteran Squad: 5 awesome bolter boys

It just so happens I was toying with the idea of a Wrath list with a pair of Repulsor Executioners, but Jay beat me to it, and podiumed an event with his. His list has some obvious differences from the typical Wrath list we see. The main difference is that it's a lot more shooty than a typical Wrath list. A pair of RepExes pack a lot of guns, which will make opponents want to stay out of sight as much as possible. To complicate matters for them, Jay also included a Desolation squad, so he has something to hit hiding units with. They're also a unit that takes the Relics strat well, bumping the Vengor launcher to Strength 9 and the Castellan launchers to Strength 6. Plus, if Jay needs them to, the Desos can step through the wall they're hiding behind to use their Superkraks on something. I imagine that's a late-game move, because if you do it too soon you're apt to lose the squad.

Also contributing to the shooting, Jay included an Eliminator Squad with las-fusils and an Eliminator bolt carbine, allowing them to make a normal move after they shoot. This is a choice I'm not sure I'd make, because 5 more points would get you an Eradicator squad, but the Eliminators would be a nuisance for opponents to deal with. Jay might hold them in Reserve, pop them out, have them shoot something, then move them again, potentially getting them onto an unattended objective. He might use Relics on the squad too if he needs the las-fusils to finish off something big. Additionally, Jay included a squad of Incursors for that buff they give to his shooting.

Any opponent thinking they can deal with Jay's list by getting into close combat Engagement range will quickly get disabused of that notion by Lion Dad, the one Deathwing Knight squad, Azrael and his three Inner Circle Companions, and the Ancient Weapons Captain attached to the Sternguard. It's actually fairly likely that Lion Dad and the Knights go upfield, probably dropping around the opposing expansion objective, while Azrael, the Captain, and their respective squads bat cleanup on anything that may find its way into Jay's backfield. The Sternies can contribute a bit of Devastating Wounds in the Shooting phase too. I'm also inclined to think the Captain may be in Jay's list to provide a discount on Inescapable Justice (second Oath strat), because RepExes work better with Oath.

For utility work, Jay has Intercessors and Infiltrators, plus the inexpensive units like Incursors and Eliminators can be tasked with scoring Secondaries as needed.

Jay had a good start to the event, scoring a comfortable 1st round 91-74 against an Ultramarines Gladius.  2nd round he scored a solid 87-70 against Scintilliating Daemons. 3rd round he was obliged to knock the other Dark Angels (Gladius) player down from contention with a 68-61 win. Sadly 4th round was a loss, a bruising 71-88 against Green Tide Orks. He came back for a smashing 90-49 against Conceited Emperor's Children. Well done Jay!

Statistics

It wasn't a very busy weekend for Dark Angels players. Just 9 players went to GTs over the weekend, playing 43 games and winning 20, for an underwhelming 48% win rate. There was just one X/1 result from that. It was a podium result, but not event winning.

The majority of Dark Angels players played Wrath of the Rock over the weekend - 7 all told, for a 47% win rate and the 1 X/1 result

The other 2 players used the Gladius, scoring a 50% win rate.

That, honored battle brethren, is what I have for you this week. Be sure to check out Dank List Wargaming and Black Crow Gaming on YouTube for Dark Angels content created by real enthusiasts for the legion chapter. It's good to be back! I'm looking forward to a new year, both for putting my skills to the test and bringing you the news of our beloved army. As always, I hope you find my work enjoyable and informative. May we all strive ever for glorious victory! For The Lion!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chapter Update: 7/7/2025

Image
Hello battle brethren! It was a lighter weekend than usual due to the July 4th holiday over here in the United States, but the rest of the world didn't stop having 40K events. We had four lists go X/0 or X/1 over the weekend, and all of them were Wrath of the Rock lists. Over three times as many players played Wrath lists as all the other detachments combined over the weekend. So, let's take a look at those lists, see what we can learn from them, and celebrate the achievements of our battle brethren! I'd like to start at the Geelong 40k Town Open, a 5-round, 61 player event held in Victoria, Australia.I There, Jamie Wood of The Dirty D6 Dozen went 4-0-1 to take 2nd overall! Going undefeated at a GT is a major accomplishment! You can see Jamie's list on BCP. We'll discuss it below.   Jamie's list Lion Dad - Warlord Azrael Chaplain in Terminator Armour Judiciar: Ancient Weapons Lieutenant: Tempered in Battle Intercessor Squad: 5 bolter boys Deathwing Knights: 5 a...
Read more

Chapter Update: 6/30/2025

Image
  Hello battle brethren! Another weekend is behind us, and over that weekend many of us did battle on tables worldwide (not me, I was NPCing a LARP). Statistics indicate that collectively we're struggling to keep our heads above water, but there are some good results to talk about. I have 4 lists I want to talk about, and 3 of them are bespoke Dark Angels detachments! Even more wild, 2 of them are Company of Hunters lists, and one of those lists is an event winner! Let's take a look at these lists and see what we can learn from them.  We'll do the logical thing and start with the event winner. Jofonz Blow of RBBR took 1st place with his Company of Hunters lists at Bigfoot GT, a 5-round, 22 player event held in Medford, OR. You can see Jofonz' list on BCP. We'll discuss it below. We are the Shadow Riders, born of night, We ride for the Emperor, wielders of might. Not for glory, nor for fame, In shadows deep, we etch His name. Our path is unseen, our strike is swift,...
Read more

Wrath of the Rock: First Use

Image
Hello battle brethren! I'm excited to tell you I used the new Wrath of the Rock detachment for the first time at an RTT this past Saturday, at Phantasm Gaming in Branford CT. If you're within a reasonable driving distance, I highly recommend it. They have a good setup on 40K days, with high tables so you don't kill your back, the tables have extra space for staging your stuff, they have good terrain, plenty of space to move around, and the registration fee for RTTs includes pizza for lunch. Anyway, there were 26 players at the event. I went 2-1 and took 4th place. You can see the BCP entry for the event here . Just as a reminder, I did a review of the detachment last week, which you can see here . I included a first idea for a list, which I modified somewhat before it hit a table. Here's the version I played on Saturday. Rocky Wrath Flavour 1.21 Azrael - Warlord Sammael Ravenwing Command Squad: Lord of the Ravenwing Assault Intercessors: 5 choppy boys Deathwing Knights...
Read more