TACTICA ANGELUS TENEBRAE By Daniel Custodio ( Chaplain Lucifer ) |
This article has been reproduced with kind permission from the author. It's use here is not intended as a challenge to the original authors copyright and is reproduced here for the sole purpose of enhancing the Dark Angel spirit and the warhammer 40,000 experience |
Troop Units: Tactical Squads: This is the backbone of every Space Marine army. A large squad in a Rhino can fulfil an attack/counter attack role while a medium/small squad with heavy weapons can be used efficiently to hold ground and give fire support. Dark Angles have access to plasma cannon in their tactical squads, being one of the best anti-infantry armies out there. A six man squad with plasma cannon, plasma gun and a razorback with lascannon and twin plasma gun packs a punch versus anything and is mercifully cheap. Lascannon equipped squads shouldn't be very big, so not to spend points on bolter armed marines when the only effective fire comes from the lascannon. Against armies that use lots of blast templates, space your Marines well so the blast doesn't cover more than two marines. Remember that at 15 pts apiece each and every Marine is valuable. Scout squads: The second Troop Choice. Able to infiltrate, Scouts provide a flexible choice for any army. A squad armed for close combat can either choose to infiltrate close to the enemy and engage enemy units or they can be kept behind friendly lines, bolstering the line were needed and counter charging. The third option is arm them with sniper rifles and a heavy weapon (all heavy weapon choices are valid!), place them in cover and use them to harass enemy units by pinning them. Of all opposing armies, against orks is where Scouts prove their worth. They are a lot cheaper than assault marines and they can have a mixture of close combat weapons along with a heavy weapon on the squad. Besides we have to avenge Naaman! Fast Attack Units: Ravenwing bikes: With a "jink" save and re-roll difficult terrain, when correctly used bikes can prove effective. Armed with a couple of meltaguns, and able to shortcut through difficult terrain, they provide a fast response to deal with enemy armour. In alternative they can be used to feint attacks on enemy lines and retreat, or bolster firepower where needed. Ravenwing Land Speeders: This is the only standard vehicle that comes with an invulnerable save. Land Speeders are one of the best units out there. They can be equipped with a Multi-Melta to hunt pesky enemy tanks that "hide" like Basilisks and Whirlwinds. They also will be considered a threat by the enemy, making your other tanks life a lot easier. Armed with the heavy bolter and assault cannon they're the infantry mowers by excellence, unleashing six shots per turns in optimal conditions. Armed with a single heavy bolter the speeder can provide a cheap and reliable way to capture quarters and objectives or deny them to your opponents. Ravenwing Attack Bike: With a save 2+, and T5 the only vulnerability for the attack bikes are ap2 weapons. A squadron of three armed with heavy bolters can fire nine S5 AP4 shots + three S4 AP5 shots! This is a real threat against tyranids and orks, who lack ap2 weapons. Their range of 36" can keep them away from Tau fire too while being able to pound them. Armed with 3 Multi Meltas, they're expensive but effective tank hunters. Assault Squad: Being a Dark Angels a shooty army, one could think assault squads would not fit in, but they do really. Kept in reserve and jumping in 12" forward to protect the tactical squads, or advance behind the cover of a Rhino into enemy lines is what they do best! A seven man squad with two plasma pistols, sergeant with power fist can provide an excellent command squad for an independent character with jump pack. Non-Ravenwing bikes and Land Speeders: Only if you're looking to save points or field the land Speeder Typhoon. I prefer paying 5 points more and having the "jink" save and re-roll difficult terrain. Heavy Support Units: Whirlwind: Should be standard issue no matter what the enemy you're facing unless you really need that Heavy Support slot for an awesome squad. When it shoots it may cause just a casualty, but the added bonus of a pinning test at -1 leadership compensates! In addition it can prove to be a great anti-tank vehicle against low armour and open topped vehicles, and if you're desperate you can aim it at the rear armour of anything short of a Land Raider and cause damage! Predator Annihilator: Equipped with the sponson mounted lascannons this is the number one tank hunter in a marine army (and a top target for the enemy), fortunately the high front armour provides good protection. Heavy bolter sponsons are not a valid option, because the first weapon the opponent destroys is the linked lascannon, leaving you with an anti-tank vehicle without anti-tank weapons. It's ability to move and shoot makes it capable of redeploying if needed or to simply advance along with your army! Predator Destructor: This is the weapon of choice against horde armies. Armed with sponson mounted heavy bolters and turret autocannon it provides a good anti-infantry kill ratio, and can often shoot down light tanks like Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks. Sponson lascannons are an option too but you'll loose the main skill of the tank that is anti infantry firepower. Devastator Squad: Able to be armed with a myriad of combinations, you should favour same weapon combos in order to specialize. Mixing different purpose weapons (like heavy bolters and lascannons) produces half results. The best combination and one of the favourites amongst Marine Commanders is the four missile launcher squad, being relatively cheap and very versatile. It is able to take out tanks and infantry alike (under the new blast template rules, you multiply the number of blasts by the number of models under the blast, meaning that if one blast covers let's say 4 models, if you hit with 4 blasts, that's 16 wounds!!!!!) Against infantry four heavy bolters are the cheapest and can do a number too. Four plasma cannons provide excellent anti infantry capability (remember the new blast rule!) while retaining some anti tank skills, downside is that 4 plasmas are very expensive. Like the plasma cannons, the lascannons are expensive, but effective. On the other hand we have the multi metas, that are as expensive as lascannons but lack their range. Land Raider: The Land Raider MkIII can provide you with a safe transport for valuable troops (like terminators or command squads) and once deployed the twin lascannons and heavy bolters can provide cover fire to the squad. With AV14 it can soak a lot of damage, taking the pressure of other vehicles you have. The Land Raider Crusader can provide grater transport capacity and greater anti infantry firepower in exchange for a lack of anti tank power. I myself prefer the MkIII, nothing like two Twin lascannons firing along while you're heading into the enemy lines! Vindicator: Sporting the one of the most brutal cannons in Warhammer 40K, it's only downside is the lack of range. This tank is great for the "gung-ho" approach when equipped with smoke launchers and extra armour, moving full 12" on the first turn to get within range. It's guaranteed that the enemy will either shoot everything into it or just run away! The other tactic is to deploy it behind something that blocks line of sight to the Vindicator, but enables it to control a corridor. Anyone caught trespassing will chew a demolisher shell. Next: Part II Army Selection |
TACTICA BATTLE FORCE |
