Spikey Bits » The Dark Angels Finally Go Bad – More OP Astartes?
The Dark Angels finally got some good rules for the first time in like forever, and they’re wasting no time going to the dark side! Come see.
If you thought the old Eldar Daemon summoning was bad, wait till you see what shenanigans the new Dark Angels can pull (just don’t tell the inquisition).
Remember the shiny new Librarius conclave formation for the good guy Space Marines? Well don’t forget the Dark Angels invented the conclave, and they’re not afraid to use it!
Dark Angels Librarius Conclave
Ezeikel 145 (really he represents any chief librarian)
2 Level Two Librarians 180
425 pts – Total (compared to the Space Marine Conlave at 445)
Psychic pool: 7
With this formation you can almost always get the summon type spell you need (incursion, sacrifice, or possession). Plus with the ability to cast these spells on a 3+ for a roughly 68% success rate.
Because you perils on doubles due to Daemonology, at least once per game a psykers will perils (1/6 attempts based off casting on two dice). That being said here’s the craziness you can do each turn;
Cast two Summoning spells, compounding your warp charge each turn, and one Sacrifice spell. You can even sub out one summon spell for the offensive punch of an Incursion spell if need be as well.
The Relictors recommend summoning Tzeentch daemons as they themselves can be psychic and then independently begin to summon more Daemons in the followings turns.
Now combo this awesome formation with the notorious Green Tide army below, and you have a great one-two punch to make a bare bones formation with tons of objective secured units super potent with hordes of daemons to run amok.
Now we still have 865 points to spend (in an 1850 list) with impunity. So obviously first pick is the Conclave above.
Dark Angels Librarius Conclave – 445pts
Down to 425 points left over. How about a Skyhammer Annihilation force from some ‘bad guy’ Blue Marines to help hold the line with the Dark Angel buddies?
Barebones Skyhammer Annihilation force is only 350 points for minimum squads of 5, and two drop pods. plenty of points left over from that or some cuts to the lion’s blade to give this formation some BITE!
Still plenty of room left in a 1850 list (and even more room for a 2k list) with the formations above!
So to recap, pairing the Lion’s Blade Double Demi-Companies with a Librarian Conclave gives you GREAT tactical flexibility and tons of room for upgrades on your freebies, and bare bones units.
Score objectives and just be general nuisances with the Lions Blade units while the Librarians summon in Daemons to do the heavy lifting with the Skyhammer units as well. If done right the army will wash over the enemy like a rolling green tide of Chaos, that would be fun to paint to boot!
Plus if you get assaulted, well the Lions Blade has no problems with over watch either. Show those invisible units who’s boss!
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 LostSouls.
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.