Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi guys,

Just got into wh40k and very interested in starting with the dark angels, so far I have the dark vengeance starter set and the 7th edition codex...looking to build a decent 1500 army so any tips as to what i should buy next?

I've noticed theres a dark angels vengeance expansion is this the next best step? just unsure as i've heard the flyer it comes with is pretty weak? thanks guys.

The best question to ask yourself is what kind of models do you like? Then what kind of playstyle would you like. If you can tell us that we can offer some advice.

As a general rule, my friends and I avoid flyers. We don't like them because they're an unnecessary addition to an already complicated and populated game. That being said - if you're playing in a meta where flyers are prevalent, buy some anti-air.

The tools that are most useful to my mate who plays Dark Angels are his Tactical Terminators and Deathwing Knights, so those would definitely be on my recommendation list.

And I'm not sure if he comes in the kit(s) you've bought, but if he didn't, buy Ezekial. He's downright awesome both in fluff and capabilities on the tabletop (especially with the new psykic cards).

Welcome to Dakka, fellow Son of the Lion! The expansion is not a terrible thing, since you will want some Ravenwing Black Knights anyways. You can build the Termies as Deathwing Knights or a Command Squad. I wouldn't recommend building them as a regular Terminator squad, as you can get more copies of the DV termies for that. The flyers are not bad, just a bit overcosted. They are very cool models, though!

As for what you should build towards, it depends on your playstyle. If you like fast and mobile armies, get some Ravenwing bikes and Black Knights. They are pretty awesome. You will also want a Darkshroud if you do this, as its Stealth bubble means that Black Knights get a 2+ rerollable jink save as long as one model is within 6" of the Darkshroud.

Another route you could go with would be to build a Lion's Blade Strike Force. For that, you would need to come up with another Tactical Squad (between this and the DV set you will have enough marines for 3 squads, albeit not full 10 man ones), an Assault Squad, a Devastator Squad, plus some transports (Rhinos, Razorbacks, or Drop Pods). Depending on what auxiliary formations you want to run, you should get some more bikes as well as land speeders, or another squad of termies and a termie character (Belial, or a Chaplain or Librarian in Terminator armor). The Tacticals, Bikes and Termies can be obtained by buying a second DV set (perhaps split it with a friend who wants the Chaos models), or you can come up with the DV models from eBay.

Just my 2 cents!

I would like to play competively...theres a pretty good following of 40k where i live.

i like the lions blade formation...do you guys think i should buy the dark angels expansion AND a set of dark vengeance dark angels from ebay? anything else i should get? thanks.

If you like the Lion's Blade formation you should look to build to that. I'm not overly familiar with all the formations for it (I collect the Blood Angels) but each formation, both core and auxillary have certain units that are needed, so I would look to build towards that.

I would do so one formation at a time, starting with the tactical squads so that you can at least use a Combined Arms Detachment (1 HQ and 2 Troops) for small games so you can get to grips with the rules.

If you want to start a Lion's Blade, avoid the DV expansion - there is almost nothing you can use there. I suggest picking up at least three of the original Dark Vengeance Dark Angels models (which can be had cheaply on Ebay) and then look into getting yourself some Rhinos, Razorbacks, and maybe a drop pod or two.

Shivers wrote:
I would like to play competively...theres a pretty good following of 40k where i live.

i like the lions blade formation...do you guys think i should buy the dark angels expansion AND a set of dark vengeance dark angels from ebay? anything else i should get? thanks.

I could be wrong, but I think the expansion set doesn't have a lot that's easy to use in the Lion's Blade formation. The Dark Vengeance DA's are a good start to the Lion's Blade, though! You'll need some of the more specialized marines, then (assault & devastator) to finish the formation. The Lion's Blade isn't top-tier competitive, but it's decent. The Ravenwing Support Squadron is anexcellent auxiliary for it, and Ravenwing in general is really the more competitive arm of the Dark Angels.

thanks for the help everyone, what would you guys say is the most competitive dark angels formation?

Shivers wrote:
thanks for the help everyone, what would you guys say is the most competitive dark angels formation?

Check out the Ravenwing Strike Force at the end of the book, it's the best IMO. Mixing it with something like the Support/Attack Squadrons is quite good. Their Interromancy psychic discipline is no slouch, either.

They're a fun army to play, regardless of how you end up doing it. Enjoy!

For the Ravenwing Strike Force, you will want to invest heavily in bikers. You can get some DV ones relatively cheap on eBay. Getting grav guns for them is the tricky part. I had to go to a 3rd party seller (Kromlech) to get some decent ones. Another thing you will need is at least a couple of boxes of Ravenwing Black Knights/Command Squad. Build one of them as the Command Squad (Apothecary, Banner Bearer, Champion) and the other(s) as regular Black Knights. Probably the best unit in the whole codex. As others have said, the Ravenwing Support Squadron is pretty good also, so look into some Land Speeders and a Darkshroud. You will also need to convert a biker into a character model or else get Sammael, so keep that in mind. For Ravenwing, I might recommend the Dark Angels Battleforce box. It comes with a Land Speeder, Attack Bike, and a box of Black Knights. Heck, get more than one! I suggest getting them on eBay though, as you can get it significantly cheaper than from GW.