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So much has been said about the new space marine codex in regards to what the Dark Angels Can't do compared to the new codex. However, I do not think all is lost. Much can be done with Dark Angels in this new edition, but since people write off the army as low tier, I don't think the army has really been explored. Here are some things:

1. Want your own Chapter Master with special rules? Take Azrael. He too has a relic blade and a special rule..making any UNIT he joins has a 4+ invulnerable. We might not have 3+ storm shields, but we do have a give 4+i save to any unit.

2. Fearless. The interrogator chaplain can take a banner, or you can take Ezekiel with the 12" fearless bubble. You might think it's worthless until you have to take pin tests from the new snipers.

3. Deathwing and ravenwing. Fearless. Scoring. Combined together. An armor value 14 land speeder. Pretty obvious.

4. Cheaper venerable dreadnoughts. They're only BS 4, but they don't die. Walkers are not weak in hth unlike other tanks, and can move and shoot all their weaponry. On top of that, put a venerable dreadnought in cover and pop smoke. Because DA use the old smoke rules, you have the unkillable dreadnought with a 4+ cover and reroll all damaging hits that get downgraded to glances because of the old smoke rules.

5. The old smoke. Downgrade to glancing. Combine with good placement near cover and your rhinos are Unkillable.

6. Veterans that do everything for only 20 points. They don't have sternguard ammo, but they can have 3 fists. Or a multitude of guns. Flexibility in a unit.

7. The deathwing and ravenwing banner gives +1 attack to an entire unit for 25 points. Why no one takes them is beyond me. You can have your terminator honors for every single terminator in a unit, belial included.

8. Ezekiel's leadership 10 unlimited range psychic hood.

9. Rhino squads without the heavy weapon cost the same as the new space marines, just the new marines don't have the old smoke. Rhino squads for the win.

Add others if you can think of them.

Deathwing Assault. Lots of Fearless.

Terminators that can ride in drop pods, if you're so inclined.

lord_sutekh wrote:Terminators that can ride in drop pods, if you're so inclined.

How?

You buy them as a dedicated transport for the squad.

Deathwing Termies don't have have dedicated transports, certainly not drop pods.

The FAQ says you can drop an empty drop pod though. I was wondering if there was some sort of way to have the Terminators hijack the drop pod. I'm guessing no.

MarvinGayeIsMyDaddy:

Oops, I was thinking Blood Angels. My bad.

Oops, same.

I was under the impression that the 5th ed book replaced the rules for smoke. Please correct me if I am wrong.

That depends on what hierarchy of the three layers of rules you recognise to be valid -- i.e. BBB > Codex > FAQ or whatever.

Technically, it didn't. And given how it seems more common for it to change how a rule works to hose you, having it not change a rule in your favor once in a while seems good to me. Now I just wish I had vehicles in my Combi-Wing army :p

I love how no one bothered to check their rulebook.

BGB, Pg 62, last paragraph under smoke launchers, "It is worth pointing out that some armies might use different versions of smoke launchers, which have slightly different rules. As normal, the rules in the codex take precedent."

There are a few advantages that aren't in your list that DA have:

1. Old apothecary rules (can be slightly better at times)
2. Biker apothecary and terminator apothecary

That's all I can think of for now.

Deathwing can mix weapons in their squads. Helps for wound allocation. Lightning claw guys with cyclones.

We are the only army that currently has a scoring vehicle. Under the combat squads section for the Ravenwing attack Squadron it says that the attached Landspeeder is a seperate scoring unit.

Hey, there's a good point, there's still rules in effect that allow Dark Angels players to slap down masses of scoring units.

Only infantry can score.

Sorry I meant only infantry who are troops can score.

So says the rulebook. Codex: Dark Angels says otherwise.

Alas, no more. The newest FAQ erases the "counts as scoring" bit and replaces it with "combat squads count as seperate units for all purposes" (paraphrased, but the meaning is there).

So Land Speeders can't score anymore.

Nope. The ravenwing 'counts on scoring' is on page 27. The FAQ doesn't change that part of it.

Scoring Bikes and Terminators is a pretty good trick. Goes well with their Fearless.

Interesting... I had not noticed that.

So Land Speeders, despite being vehicles and Fast Attack, can be scoring when squadded, but a squadded Devastator squad will still not be scoring...

I suspect that may be an oversight on their part, but until we have evidence... *shrug* I guess the speeder is scoring.

And the attack bike.

lord_sutekh wrote:Terminators that can ride in drop pods, if you're so inclined.

Is this so?

1st turn Deathwing assault, with insurance against bad deepstrikes even if you cannot get Ravenwing out far enough in front, or simply dont want to deploy them. Scoring termie squads with a heavy weapon, storm shields and lightning claw termies in the mix.
Oh, and the Deathwing dreads follow up soon after the same way.

Podding Deathwing could be nasty, if it can be done. Confirmation please.

Ratbarf wrote:We are the only army that currently has a scoring vehicle. Under the combat squads section for the Ravenwing attack Squadron it says that the attached Landspeeder is a seperate scoring unit.

Ork deff dread with a mek HQ.

Sorry Orlanth, vehicles don't qualify as scoring units. The landspeeder is an exception as it's the only one which is defined by the codex as scoring.

Kilkrazy wrote:That depends on what hierarchy of the three layers of rules you recognise to be valid -- i.e. BBB > Codex > FAQ or whatever.

That's hilarious.

Hierarchy of Rules should be an article name. For what? I don't know. If GW continues
long enough I'm sure we can come up with something.

Orlanth wrote:

lord_sutekh wrote:Terminators that can ride in drop pods, if you're so inclined.

Is this so?

1st turn Deathwing assault, with insurance against bad deepstrikes even if you cannot get Ravenwing out far enough in front, or simply dont want to deploy them. Scoring termie squads with a heavy weapon, storm shields and lightning claw termies in the mix.
Oh, and the Deathwing dreads follow up soon after the same way.

Podding Deathwing could be nasty, if it can be done. Confirmation please.

nurglitch wrote:

Oops, I was thinking Blood Angels. My bad.

Aelyn wrote:Sorry Orlanth, vehicles don't qualify as scoring units. The landspeeder is an exception as it's the only one which is defined by the codex as scoring.

all troops are scoring unless specified otherwise. Eg Rippers.

A deff dred can be a troops choice, this makes it scoring.

Transports of troops choices are specifically not scoring, but the dread is the troops choice itself, yes?

The text in the BBB specifically states that only non-vehicle troop choices can score (can't remember the page number, sorry), so bikes can score if they are troops because they are NOT vehicles.

So whilst you can take a Deff Dred as a troop choice, its a vehicle and therefore not scoring.

If a piece of text in a codex said that a particular vehicle could score, then that would override the BBB as normal.