40K Editorial: Revenge of the Dark Angels
So we’ve been hearing for months now that the Dark Angels may be in the new Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition boxed set (said to be paired off against the Chaos Marines). But what needs fixing the most?
Lets take a step away from the Chaos Marines/Legion talk a bit and try to just focus on the lamentable fate of the Dark Angels. All the raw ingredients are there for a fantastic codex. Outside of the Space Wolves, the Dark Angels are arguably the most divergant chapter out there. The chapter is not only the Original Legion (Chapter Numero Uno) but organization wise gives you three (arguably four) main choices:
Standard Codex Organzation
Ravenwing
Deathwing
arguably Ironwing (for you Horus Heresy Epic scale purists)
Fluff wise you get all the funky Fallen/Cypher stuff thrown in there in addition to all the standard skulking around behavior. On the model side, we get the monks with guns meme, which is fairly cool, and hey, don’t forget the Jetbike!
Ruleswise, the Dark Angels fell under the dark fate of being the first codex of the “less is more” redesign that Games Workshop started to back off of after the CSM codex fiasco. Additionally, over several editions, the Studio has had a hard time keeping all three of the main build options (standard Chapter, Ravenwing, Deathwing) balanced. More often that not, the rules will heavily favor one of these avenues and hammer the others. Its a balancing act that has never *quite* been pulled off.
So the question is what do you guys want to see to bring back the dark mystique of the Dark Angels? We’ve seen how far the Design Studio has pushed the Blood Angels, and the Wolves (I would argue the Grey Knights are so divergant to not even be considered in the same league as the other Marine books). So what will it take to get the Brothers from Caliban back on their feet and on the tabletop.
Here’s my take right off the top:
-Some type of heavy emphasis on plasma family of weapons the Dark Angels are said to possess. The studio turned a bit of fluff about the Blood Angels having access to lots of Land Raiders into making them Blood Angels transport options after all!
-Jetbike squads. If they can make one, they can make/find more
-Specialist Land Speeder variants. Let the Ravenwing shine!
-Cypher rules – PLEASE! Heck for that matter give us a couple of Fallen Angels ICs to be able to make entire “fallen DA” forces. Those guys all think they are innocent anyway…
-More Banners. If the Wolves have Sagas, give the Dark Angels lots of banners to give the standard marine part of the army some cool perks to make them as attractive as the Deathwing and Ravenwing portions of the chapter.
I gotta go, I think I hear the clinking of a Dark Angel Rosarius behind me… Have at it.
