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Alright I've been playing Dark Angels for about 15 years now. So this new codex is amazing. However a few units didn't quite hit the mark. I'm hoping that GW sees the error of its ways and changes this in the FAQ. Yet knowing their track record I'm more likely to win something with the odds in the trillions if not higher. So here is my review of the new Dark Angels Codex unit by unit. Also note I'm not much of a Ravenwing player.

HQ Units

Azrael - Is about what I expected him to be. He's good without being overpowering.

Ezekiel - Amazing for his points cost. Shame there aren't more Dark Angles specific Psychic Powers. Yet Mind Worm is nasty!

Asmodai - Good, but not great.

Belial - They finally made his sword do something so it's worth taking. However I can still see the TH&SS being used just as often.

Sammael - About as expected.

Company Master - I'm a bit annoyed that you cannot take a Relic Blade, yet have to choose from the Chapter Realics. However there are a lot of Specialist Wargear options that are nice. Mainly the Displacer Field and Porta-rack.

Interrogator-Chaplain - About as expected. Seems a bit better due to the wargear options.

Chaplain - About as expected.

Librarian - I like the changes made here. You can get a dirt cheap Psyker, or load him out with wargear and he is still relatively cheap.

Techmarine - Annoyed they cannot get Conversion Beamers. Yet otherwise like the changes

Servitors - About as expected.

Command Squads - The Sacred Standards you can take with them are awesome! Yet you do pay for them.

Deathwing Command Squads - Annoyed that your Apothecary loses his storm bolter when you get the narthecium.

Ravenwing Command Squad - About as expected.

Troops

Tactical Squads - The option to take a veteran sergeant is nice, but I don't see a reason to not always take one. They are about 5 - 10 points cheaper depending on how you load them out. I like that you can upgrade your Missile Launchers to have Flakk Missiles.

Scout Squad - About what I expected. Also like that you can upgrade to Flakk Missiles.

Elites

Company Veterans Squad - Either GW fething up royal or someone made a big god damn mistake. I'm going to assume the third bullet point is a mistake until they fix it. If they don't just play Codex Space Marines if you are playing anything other than Deathwing and Ravenwing armies. You'll save yourself a lot of disappointment and frustration.

Deathwing Terminators - About what I expected. The option to take a plasma cannon is nice. I figured the TH&SS would cost points, that the cyclone missile launcher would be more expensive, and that they would add something like 'Vengeful Strike'. However I think they missed the mark there with 'Vengeful Strike'. IMHO they should be allowed to attempt an assault on the turn they come in. It just makes sense.

Deathwing Knights - About what I expected after hearing the rumors. I'm not disappointed in them. However I do feel the Mace of Absolution and Flail of the Unforgiven should be AP 3 and AP 2 respectively.

Dreadnought - I like the weapons you can give them. They didn't get much better, however they didn't get any worse, and that's a good thing.

Fast Attack

Ravenwing Attack Squadron - I like that they have Hit & Run as well as Scouts. The options are basically the same as the last codex only these guys are cheaper which is awesome.

Ravenwing Support Squadron - Who doesn't like cheaper Land Speeders? No one that's who.

Ravenwing Black Knights - The Plasma Talons are nice and the grenade launcher is awesome. However the Corvus Hammer falls short for me. Give the damn thing an AP value of something while keeping Rending. However they are pretty cheap.

Ravenwing Darkshroud - With only 2 Hull Points and a 6" range on the Icon of Old Caliban it's not that great. Yet if you use it with bikes I'm sure the 3+ Jink save you get from having stealth is awesome.

Assautl Squad - Annoyed they don't have the option to take Melta Guns. Otherwise they are cheaper than they were.

Nephilim Jetfighter - Having 3 Hull Points puts me on the fence with this flyer. It isn't that great against flyers for what it does. Yet if you want to replace the TL Lascannon with the Avenger Mega Bolter this thing will be great air support.

Ravenwing Dark Talon - Underwhelming to say the least. Unless thing thing is in the right place and at the right time, and does what it needs to do near flawlessly, it could be worth taking. Otherwise don't even bother.

Heavy Support

Devastator Squad - About what I expected. Being able to take Flakk Missiles is awesome.

Predator - I don't know why they made this more expensive. Yet it's still decent for what it does.

Whirlwind - Nothing new or special, and there is no point in taking them.

Vindicator - As expected. Nothing added yet nothing taken away.

Land Raider - As expected. The Deathwing Vehicle option is nice, yet expensive! This goes for all Land Raider Variants.

Land Raider Crusader - As expected

Land Raider Redeemer - As expected.

Land Speeder Vengeance - A great example of 'Awesome idea, yet poor execution.' I can see no reason to take an armor value 10/10/10 vehicle with only 2 Hull Points.

Overall I like the new Codex. However some units did miss the mark. Others I'm even wondering why they made them. Hopefully a new FAQ will fix some of that, yet I'm not holding out any hope for that. Thanks for reading if you got this far.

 Vandiyan wrote:
Deathwing Command Squads - Annoyed that your Apothecary loses his storm bolter when you get the narthecium.

I think you give up the Power Fist, not the Storm Bolter, but your point is still valid. Would be nice if the narthecium at least came with a chain fist, since PA Apothecaries usually have chainswords.

 Vandiyan wrote:
Land Speeder Vengeance - A great example of 'Awesome idea, yet poor execution.' I can see no reason to take an armor value 10/10/10 vehicle with only 2 Hull Points.

One thing I think has been overlooked on the Vengeance: It is the perfect Heavy Support option for a heavily-mobile, themed Ravenwing army. I know that it's not as good as some other HS options, but none of those other HS options work with an all-Ravenwing army. I think it has a purpose in the codex simply for those reasons. It may not get fielded in competitive, tourney-driven lists, or even in your standard greenwing, but it's nice that they included even a mediocre HS option for pure Ravenwing.