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So I understand that the strength that the DA Codex gives over the vanilla marines one is for the Deathwing and Ravenwing. I am wondering until I can build up my Deathwing, is their any advantages that DA gives a non-deathwing army over vanilla marines?

Without taking any of the DA-only units (Deathwing / Ravenwing), the advantages are few and far between. You basically get Chapter Tactic - Stubborn (the special rule), and don't get access to new toys like Stalkers or Centurions. You do get the Sacred Standards and toys like the Power Field Generator, and your Librarians get access to the Divination tree.

Stubborn on all tactical, assault, and devastator marines is one advantage. Also your librarians have access to divination which standard marines don't have. Makes for a much tougher to displace force that can shoot more effectively thanks to prescience on a relatively cheap platform.

That's the major benefit I can think of.

Take it easy for now.

-Red__Thirst-

Well the banner of devastation makes tacticals very shooty but immobile and you librarians get divination, otherwise there isn't much point in playing greenwing.

I am a Dark Angel Player. I am a DA player because I love the miniatures. I love the look. I love the fluff and stories about DA. I am a DA player because I have multiple ways of playing DA. While some of them may not be good (right now) I have a choice on how to play them. I have Deathwing. I have Ravenwing. I have Greenwing. Fluff also gives me Ironwing.

I don't need to win with plastic toy soldiers. I am a Dark Angle. I play for fun. I play for honour. I play for pride in being a Dark Angel.

That being said, I can't say what advantages that DA have over regular SM or other codices. If you have to look for advantages, then DA are not for you. You will not like them. The internet says the DA are underpowered, over costed or just not as good as regular SM or other armies.

If you don't like the minis, or if you don't like the fluff and stories for DA then DA are not for you. Don't waste your time and money on them. You may love the minis so buy them and make them into what you do like.

If you are looking to win a lot, then DA are not for you. They take time to learn how to be used properly.

Just don't want to see anyone spend so much money on something they will not enjoy and or like and then feel they have wasted their time and money and energy.

Thanks for the advice. I already have a pretty defined Deathwing and I love the everything about them. I just wanted to expand a normal company and see how that went. I love playing them I just wanted to see what they offer.

In any flavour of DA army, the PFG is often the most powerful advantage at their disposal.

Granting your DW LRCs (which are now objective secured scoring if playing a DW force) a 4++ makes them a pain to deal with. Similarly, tactics like razorspam become far more durable when all of the tanks take 50% more shooting to take out.

What people don't seem to be saying: Is that the Dark Angels don't have any real DISADVANTAGES either. We have a solid codex, even if its not overpowered the way Tau/Eldar are.

I don't see how they can say we're overcosted, when we have the same point costs as C:SM (except for a few units such as the Nephilum that are overcosted)

But largely, pick up the same units you would for any other space marine army, as other people have said, Divination and the PFG are unique to our army.

Well, I like their robed models and use them also as standard Marines.

It's impossible to play da's without taking at least some dw or rw. You make yourself to generic.

The bare minimum I would do is take dw vehicles. Dw upgrade on a raider is 30pts. And when coupled with a pfg tech/hq you effectively create a mobile av14 pillbox on tracks (ya know except better than it already was at that job) capable of weathering almost ANY firestorm and delivering its cargo. Shy of mass haywire spam lists (looking at you de and your suicide haywire wytches).

This opens up huge options revolving around the use of veterans in place of terminators. And while they aren't scoring their ultimate troop carrier from Hades.

Your other greenwing tactic is to take ravenwing bikers in support of your greenwing troops. However this is has your greens in the passenger seat and reliant on their counterpart.