The Lost Angels
The Fighting Tigers hate Dark Angels with a vile passion, but I’ve received a lot of e-mail from people who play them, including Shawn, who would be an otherwise entirely likable person if it weren’t for his fondness for the untrustworthy guys in robes...(just kidding!).

Shawn sent me some background information on his Dark Angel army and asked me for some help in making it distinct. Using what he had written as a starting point, I noodled it over for a while and came up with this Themed Army Idea: the Lost Angels. Like the army of Ferin Ironhammer, this is another example of how you can take a “published” army and make it your own with just a little thought and creativity. 

Shawn didn’t use all of the ideas I came up with, but that’s all right. As with all of these Themed Army Ideas, think of them as a starting point and fine tune them to your satisfaction.

Background
Several units from the 2nd, 4th and 7th Companies of the Dark Angels were sent to the Cassius system, at the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy, to help defend Imperial worlds from Hive Fleet Kraken. Though they defeated the Tyranids and saved the industrial centers of the fourth planet, Glaicien, they lost about a third of their number, including all of the commanding officers, Librarians, and Chaplains, leaving Apothecary Miller in command. 

As Miller and his men continued mopping up the Tyranids, a huge warp storm settled over the Cassius system, isolating it from the rest of the Imperium. Worse, Traitor Marines sworn to Slaanesh and Nurgle appeared on Glaicien. Now Miller and his “Lost Angels” struggle to survive on the devastated surface of Glaicien, fighting off Chaos Marines and the few surviving Tyranids, resolutely holding out in the hope that one day soon the warp storm will dissipate and they can rejoin their Brethren on the Rock. 

Philosophy
Miller and his Dark Angels fought too hard against the Tyranids to give up Glaicien to “degenerate Chaos filth.” They will do whatever they have to do, accept whatever hardship they must, to preserve their victory.

HQ
Apothecary Miller is the only surviving Dark Angel officer. Ordinarily, Apothecaries are an “upgrade” for Command Squads and can’t be used to lead Space Marine armies, so to get around this restriction, treat him as a Dark Angel Hero (Leader). While Miller is not a member of the Deathwing, his perseverance allows him to benefit from the "Stubborn" special rule that all Dark Angel Heroes enjoy. 

Though a Miller figure might be modeled as carrying some Apothecary items (not usable by Dark Angel Heroes), ignore them for gaming purposes, as we assume that he will be too busy leading the fight to stop and tend to the wounded. Miller will heal whom he can after the battle. 

Elites
As no members of the Deathwing have survived to assume command, the Lost Angels would have no Terminator squads. 

Troops/Fast Attack
As perCodex: Dark Angels.

Heavy Support
The Lost Angels are cut off from any reinforcements and have lost many support vehicles. In battle, they may only field one kind of each tank. For example, you could take a Land Raider, a Predator Annihilator and a Whirlwind, but you could not take two Vindicators.

Modeling and Painting
The Lost Angels originally fought against a large Tyranid swarm, so it would be entirely appropriate to model many of them with trophies (heads, claws, tails, etc.) taken from Nid carcasses. Because fighting against Nids is always brutal, many of them could have bionic limbs, large facial scars/head wounds, or pieces gouged out of their armor.

Since fighting the Nids, the Lost Angels have become marooned on Glaicien and have been unable to replace casualties, so vary squad sizes (some have 9 members, some have 6, some may have as little as 5). Alternatively, you could field 10-man squads but have them made up of the surviving members of different squads. For instance, a full squad might consist of the following:

Three from 7th Co, 3rd Squad;
Two from 7th Co, 5th Squad;
One from 7th Co, 6th Squad;
Two from 4th Co, 3rd Squad; and
Two from 4th Co, 4th Squad.

Finally, Glaicien is a heavily urbanized world, so the Lost Angels' bases should be painted and decorated appropriately. Codex Gray would look good, with bits of broken rubble glued on each base. 

General Tactics
Miller and his Lost Angels are determined to hold Glaicien against any foes for as long as they have to. Always play cautiously and intelligently and, above all, minimize casualties. In a campaign, think about "the long haul": avoid Pyrrhic victories. Better to lose a battle or two (and even some territory) than to win at the cost of many lives. 
 

Related Pages
Other Space Marine Themed Army Ideas
 

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© Copyright Kenton Kilgore, June 2000. 
 

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