When does armor value 11 count as 14? Come see the saucy new Dark Angels formation that’s poised to take the tabletop by storm!
The new Dark Angels Codex is here, and it has given us what may be the game’s first mixed armor value vehicle squadron in the game!
Checkout the Hammer of Caliban formation;
At first glance this formation seems a little underwhelming, but let’s look a little closer.
First off you have to take a Techmarine and place him in the Land Raider of you choice. A sound strategy that conveys +1BS to the Land Raider, and allows you to fix it using the Blessings of the Omnissiah rule as well. Add in a few servitors to boost up that repair roll, and this tank can shrug off ablative hits with relative ease.
Per the formation’s rule Might of the Lion the Land Raider forms a SINGLE vehicle squadron with either three Vindicators, Predators, or Whirlwinds, which is where the strength of this formation may lie…
According to the vehicle squadron rules, in order to damage this ‘Quad Squad’ you must allocate hits to a specific vehicle just like you would an infantry squadron. That’s the hidden tech, with some clever positioning you can protect the vulnerable side armors of those Rhino chassis above with the more powerful 14 armor of the Land Raider itself.
Now attach Azrael to the Techmarine squad inside the Land Raider and now that bad boy is shrugging off hits on a 4+ Invulnerable and fixing whatever doesn’t explode it on an even better roll with the Blessings of the Omnissiah. Plus Azrael can probably deal with most hand to hand threats to the squadron itself buy using the ‘assault vehicle’ to it’s full advantage!
With a little smart play this squadron can fulfill whatever battlefield role you may need, from all lascannon hunters, to 24″ scoring denial with the Vindicators, and emerge relatively unscathed.
Don’t forget the whole formation has Monster Hunter and Tank Hunters regardless of number of models as well.
Just off the top of my head, I can already think of two “archtypes” of vehicle squadrons you could run with this.
1) “Down your Throat”, with a Crusader, full of TH/SH Termies, and 3 Vindicators going right up the middle!
2) “Hold the Line”, with a Godhammer, full of default scouts, and 3 Predators outfitted for massive long range fire sitting on your objectives.
In both cases, keep that Land raider on point to tank all the incoming fire, keeping the “little brothers” safe.
Now the REALLY STICKY question is, if you embark an objective secured squad in the Land Raider, would that confer to the whole squadron like it would for adding Independent Character to objective secured infantry squad?
The answer to that one is hard to find…
FOR THE LION!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
