A Thousand Points of Light: Dark Angels  by Patrick Eibel
The Thousand Points series started five years ago and there has been one army list that has never been covered – the Dark Angels.  Now that Games Workshop has finally released a new Codex for the Chapter, I will present three different lists! So load up on your Dark Angels Green paint (or Chaos Black or Bleached Bone, depending on which list you choose) and let’s get crackin’.

Remember, this list--like all the others in this series--is meant for brand new players or for players looking to start a new army. This list is not meant to be a "killer" list for winning tournaments or trouncing people at the local gaming shop. Rather, it is a foundation that players can build upon as they desire.

Dark Angels: What To Buy

• Dark Angels Company Master blister: $12.00/£7
• One Dark Angel Command Squad box : $35.00/£20
• Two Space Marine Tactical Squad boxes: $70.00/£36
• One Space Marine Scout box: $20.00/£10
• One Space Marine Scout w/ missile launcher: $8.00/£5
• Three Razorbacks: $105.00/£60

All prices are from the Games Workshop website  as of April 2007 and may vary. Prices do not include taxes and are meant only as a guide.

First, make sure you get the Master with the sword, not the one with the combi-weapon. I have listed the Command box instead of the cheaper Veterans box because it has the bits to make an Apothecary. If you have an Apothecary, or are willing to try converting one, you can substitute the cheaper box. 

The Tactical Squads and Scout Squad will use generic Space Marine figures. If you would like them to be more Dark Angels-looking, you could order a couple Dark Angels sprues from GW Mail Order or buy the Dark Angels Veterans box (but it only makes five models). For the Scouts (which are an Elite choice for Dark Angels), you will need to buy a missile launcher Scout separately. GW does produce such a figure, but it was not listed on the main Space Marine web page and may not be available in stores. You can find it buy typing in “Scout and missile and launcher” in the Online Store search engine.

Dark Angels: 1000-point list

• Company Master w/ power weapon (115 points)
• Command Squad. Two w/ power weapons, one w/ flamer, one w/ melta gun, one Apothecary (170 points)
• Razorback (for Master and Command Squad) w/ pintle-mounted storm bolter, extra armor  (70 points)
• Tactical Squad.  Ten Marines: one has missile launcher, one has flamer, one is a Sergeant w/ power weapon (195 points)
• Razorback  w/ pintle-mounted storm bolter, extra armor  (70 points)
• Tactical Squad.  Ten Marines: one has missile launcher, one has flamer, one is a Sergeant w/ power weapon (195 points)
• Razorback  w/ pintle-mounted storm bolter, extra armor  (70 points)
• Scout Squad.  One has missile launcher; Sergeant has power weapon (115 points)

Dark Angels Tactics
This army will have two parts to it – a static shooting element and a mobile assault element. To achieve this, break both Tactical Squads into Combat Squads with the heavy weapon and four Marines in one group and the Sergeant, flamer, and three Marines in the other group. The two units with the missile launchers will act as mini-Devastator Squads, while the other units will be given Razorbacks and accompany the Company Master in assault runs. All of the units will be able to use the Master’s Leadership score for Morale tests, as long as he is still alive. The Scout Squad will provide fire support where needed. Or use their Infiltrate ability to secure board quarters. Be aware that once your Razorback drops off their passengers, they now become mobile firing platforms to help take out enemy troops.

Deathwing: What To Buy

• One Terminator Captain blister: $15.00/£8
• One Terminator Librarian: $15.00/£8
• Two Space Marine Terminator Squad boxes: $100.00/£50
• One Space Marine Terminator Close Combat Squad box: $50.00/£25

All prices are from the Games Workshop website  as of April 2007 and may vary. Prices do not include taxes and are meant only as a guide.

The Deathwing is the army for those who do not want to be bothered with collecting and painting a lot of models. With only 17 figures, it certainly will be quick to put together, but will also be very challenging to use (more on that later). All the figures listed are generic Space Marine kits because they are less expensive than tracking down the old metal Deathwing models. You could order separate Dark Angels sprues to personalize the models more, but for the purposes of this article I have opted to keep it simple.  Just make sure to paint the regular Termies in Bleached Bone to mark them as part of the Deathwing.

Deathwing: 1000-point list

• Belial, Master of the Deathwing (130 points)
• Librarian w/ Terminator armor (145 points)
• Five Deathwing Terminators:  one has an assault cannon (245 points)
• Five Deathwing Terminators:  one has Cyclone missile launcher (235 points)
• Five Deathwing Terminators:  three have lightning claws, one has heavy flamer, one has Deathwing Company Standard (245 points)

Deathwing Tactics
With only 17 models, it will be easy for this army to be overwhelmed by either enemy shooting or a concerted enemy assault. To mitigate the situation as much as possible, attach the Librarian to the squad with the assault cannon, and use the Deathwing Assault option to bring in the Librarian, the Terminators with the Assault Cannon, and the Terminators with the Cyclone missile Launcher. Choose a location on the board where you can focus on one part of the enemy force with minimum amount of shooting by the rest of their army. Hopefully, you can survive the first round and begin to chew your way through their army by shooting or assaulting your way down the line. Use Belial and the Close Combat Terminators to either reinforce the first two units or to go after enemy units too far for the other Terminator squads to get to. Deathwing certainly test the capabilities of Terminator armor, and your success with them will depend on how much you are able to limit your opponent’s ability to fire on them with weapons of AP 1 or 2.

Ravenwing: What To Buy

• One Ravenwing Battleforce box: $90.00/£50
• Two Ravenwing Bike Squadron boxes: $70.00/£40
• One Space Marine Land Speeder Tornado box: $35.00/£18
• Two Space Marine Land Speeder boxes: $60.00/£30

All prices are from the Games Workshop website  as of April 2007 and may vary. Prices do not include taxes and are meant only as a guide.

I have listed a regular Land Speeder Tornado to represent Sammael, but for the same points you could use the special model. The special Land Speeder with the 14 armor is just too ridiculous not to use. If you want to dress up your Tornado, get a Dark Angels Veterans sprue from Games Workshop Mail Order and go to town with the bitz. I am not entirely certain if the Ravenwing bike sprues include the parts to have four bikers with plasma guns (two in each unit), so you may have to order the old metal biker bit as well.

Ravenwing: 1000-point list

• Sammael, Master of the Ravenwing w/ Master of the Ravenwing Speeder (205 points)
• Ravenwing Attack Squadron w/ three additional bikes, two plasma guns, Attack Bike w/ heavy bolter, Sergeant w/ power fist (305 points)
• Land Speeder Tornado taken as part of Attack Squad above (100 points)
• Ravenwing Attack Squadron w/ three additional bikes, two plasma guns, Attack Bike w/ heavy bolter, Sergeant w/ power fist (255 points)
• Land Speeder w/ multi-melta (65 points)
• Land Speeder w/ multi-melta (65 points)

Ravenwing Tactics
The Ravenwing is a highly mobile force, but the low model count could pose some problems. Break your Bike Squads up into units of three – I suggest putting the two plasma gun guys together in one and the Sergeant in the other, the Attack Bike could attach to one of the plasma gun units. The bikers with the special weapons should form mobile firing units, targeting whatever enemy is the most immediate threat, while the Sergeant units act as a counterstrike element to ward off the inevitable assaults, if possible. The multimelta Speeders are the best option versus any armor you may encounter, so use them wisely. Both Tornadoes should concentrate on whittling any large units down to manageable size.
 

Next Steps
If you want to expand your army beyond 1,000 points, I suggest taking elements from the other lists presented here. For instance, if you initially built the regular Dark Angel list, add a unit of Deathwing and a Ravenwing bike squadron. Just be careful what slots you are filling in the Force Organization chart, as Deathwing Terminators and Ravenwing Attack Squadrons are only counted as Troops if you have either Belial or Sammael,, respectively.

Related Pages
Introduction to the series
Other lists in this series

Posted May 2007. Used with permission.
 

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