Warhammer 40K: Psychic Awakening Dark Angels Preview
The Dark Angels are getting some nice boosts with Ritual of the Damned – come take a look at the new rules previews!
It sure looks like the Dark Angels are making a play for being one of the top shooty-marine armies in the game. We’ll get to that down below along with some of the other previews from Ritual of the Damned. Up first, is a closer look at Lazarus, the first Primaris Marine to be a part of the Dark Angel Inner Circle!
We already got a look a the new model, which can actually be built with some different heads to be a more generic Master of the Dark Angels. That said, Lazarus does have some unique wargear of his own. Starting with his special Power Sword Rules:
Considering that’s already cutting a step above most other Power Swords, the fact that you get a bonus vs Psykers is just icing on a very sharp cake. And he’s also better equipped to deal with those Smite-tossing Psykers, too. Thanks to the Spiritshield Helm, he’ll grant himself and other Dark Angels within 6″ a chance to ignore Mortal Wounds on a 5+. He also gets a nice +1 to that roll if he is the target.
You know, if he had a custom combi-plasma, he’d be giving Azrael a run for his money…
The Dark Angels are getting their own spin on the special rules for Combat Doctrine. Their new rule Relentless Hunt is active with the Devastator Doctrine and boosts the range on weapons:
So this is that whole “best shooty-marines” part. I don’t know if they are actually the best, but the fact that this changes the rules for Heavy, Rapid Fire, Assault AND Pistol weapons is what makes this one stick out to me. GW could have made this more complicated by making the Rapid Fire/Assault/Pistol weapons trigger on the subsequent Tactical and Assault Doctrine shifts. But instead, they all function immediately thanks to being active in the Devastator Doctrine.
That extra range is going to come in handy that’s for sure. We’ll have to wait and see how the community uses this ability in their lists later on. 54″ Lascannons do make me laugh.
The Dark Angels do have a special relationship with their chaplains so it’s kind of fitting that they get their own Litany. Stoic Prosecution sure sounds like it will fit the bill:
Take that penalties to moving and firing! A mobile gunline that will have an extra 6″ or 3″ range? This really makes it so you can’t hide from the Dark Angels which is kind of fitting.
Ravenwing and Deathwing get access to new Warlord Traits – here’s one from the Ravenwing:
The two ‘wings also get access to new Relics as well like the Key of Achrabael for the Deathwing:
Interested in both of the ‘wings? Why not run them together for an even more effective fighting force thanks to new stratagems lik Combined Assault:
Overall, these certainly do improve the Dark Angels. They are getting a boost from their current state thanks to these rules. The question now is what ELSE is in the book for them? Will the total package be able to “fix” the Dark Angels? It’s too early to tell – but all of these things sure sound like a few steps in the right direction.
What do you think about the new rules for the Dark Angels? Are these the boosts you were hoping for?
