GENERAL STRATEGY & TACTICS

DARK ANGELS COMMAND SQUADS By ( Shadow Guard )

This kind of phrases can provide players with fun if they enter the spirit of the thing, or it can provide yourself fun and an edge over the opponent that doesn't have a sense of humor, in that case you won the mental match.

Introduction The use and value of command squads in a regular spacemarine army have been debated endlessly in recent times across the galaxy. The general consensus seems to be that in general terms the value of a spacemarine command squad in tactical flexibility and battlefield effectiveness is not necessarily in keeping with its cost. Although specialist command squads such as the Blood Angel Honour Guard can be devastatingly effective in their given specialist style of play, they too tend to be quite expensive in terms of points. That said, very little has been elaborated about our Dark Angel Command squad options, and I thought I'd just air my views here! Firstly, understand that these are simply some of my thoughts, which have occurred over a period of time, with minimal experience on the battlefield. However, I would boldly venture out to start by stating that I would never consider using a command squad in any game less than 2000 points. Whatever role they may play, it can be achieved by cheaper and more effective units in smaller games. As for the Dark Angel army, we have three options in terms of command squads. One could take either a Master of Deathwing along with a Deathwing command squad, a Master of Ravenwing with a Ravenwing command squad or a Dark Angel Hero with a Tactical command squad. Deathwing Command Squad: Much time has been spent on the merits and uses of the Deathwing command squads in a Deathwing army and there is no doubt that having the commander of the Dark Angel force and his command squad suited up in Deathwing terminator armour is incredibly full of character. However, I do feel that in games less than 2000 points, the cost of the command squad is not necessarily commensurate with their value. Particularly if you were considering a large ( 7 man Deathwing squad ) command squad along with the master, all tooled up for close combat and transported in an LRC, I wouldn't consider such a squad unless I was using a 3000 point list or a Deathwing army. Alternatively, if you were insistent on taking a Deathwing terminator squad in games less than 2000 points, then taking them as a command squad is the obvious and most practical choice. They have the advantage of being able to field a 4-man terminator squad and the use of the landraider MkIII in the HQ transport slot (Thus not use a HS choice) while freeing up the Elites slot. On the other hand one still has to purchase terminator armour at premium prices for the master or grandmaster. Ravenwing Command Squad: The RW command squad is limited by the rules which allow it to only accompany the MotRW's landspeeder. However with the release of Chapter Approved rules, which allow a Master of Ravenwing to be fielded on his bike, the tactical options have changed dramatically. In that situation you could seriously consider fielding a Master of Ravenwing and a bike mounted command squad, freeing up all 3 fast attack spots to be filled by speeders or attack bikes! The command squad could be armed with power weapons for the characters, yet maintain their firepower in terms of the twin-linked bolters and safety in the T5 provided by their bikes. This is something I would seriously consider now that the Chapter Approved rules have come out. Another aspect to think of is to use them as a mobile fire-power squad which I will describe in detail as part of the next section. Dark Angel Tactical Command Squad This is what I want to really concentrate on. First of all let's look at the differences between the Dark Angel command squad, essentially a 9 man tactical squad and the codex spacemarine command squad, which is essentially a veteran squad. The Codex Spacemarine command squad  members cost 18 points, but have the advantage of being given terminator honours for an additional 10 points, take a Landraider as transport and have either two special weapons, two heavy weapons or one of each. On the other side the Dark Angel command squad can have only one special weapon and/or one heavy weapon and no terminator honours, can't take a landraider as transport but costs only 15 points per marine. So rather than try to overcome its weaknesses let's see if we can effectively use this squad to fit in with the Dark Angel philosophy. Consider how we may use a command squad. It can be used in the tactical, assault or devastator roles. In the devastator/fire support role, all it can provide is two heavy weapons in a Codex Spacemarine and only one in the Codex Dark Angel. The devastator role can certainly be fulfilled effectively by other units. In the tactical role, it is no different to a tactical squad, and has the drawback of tying down a character to the squad. In the assault role it again cannot match the sheer destructiveness of specialist units from HTH armies like the Blood Angels, and Spacewolves. Shock Attack Role So I conceived this role that term "shock attack" for the DA command squad. No shock assault but shock attack! And it can be used in a couple of different ways. Consider the advantages of a 9 man tactical command squad led by a leader when compared with a similar sized C:SM leader and command squad, a veteran squad and an assault squad. Each of the following examples considers a leader, a veteran sergeant and 8 marines. Anyone capable of taking 2 CCW is considered to do so for purposes of working out the number of attacks. The dark Angel Command squad is considered to have upgraded to maximum number of characters.

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C:SM Command Squad + leader

C:SM Veteran Squad + leader

C:DA Assault Squad + leader

DA tactical Command Squad + leader

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Power Weapons                               5                                       2                                     2                                     5

Maximum Plasma Pistols                          5                                       2                                       4                                     5

PW Attacks on the charge                          17                                      7                                    7                                     18

Total Attacks on the charge                         27                                     32                                    32                                 28

Cost of Mobility                             50 or 250                               50                                  100                                   50

Mobility                                  6" or 12"                          6" or 12"                              12"                               6" or 12"

Basic Cost                                   204                                   204                                  200                                   200