Greenwing Tactics Part 1: Troops, Heavy Support, and Fast Attack

Greenwing Tactics Part 1: Troops, Heavy Support, and Fast Attack

Hope everyone had happy holidays! In a pretty interesting stroke of luck for me, the runner up for the painting contest, /u/Redbaron67 requested a Greenwing tactics series. 

I’m going to work my way up with this one, starting with their basic choices and moving up to formations and detachments. Unlike with the Deathwing, I don’t have a disclaimer about competitive play for these guys. Dark Angels have some funky options but as a whole work quite well in the competitive scene and a few of their options are flat out better than other chapters.

The only special rule worth mentioning here is Grim Resolve, which is our version of Chapter Tactics (but is not actually called that) and gives all Dark Angels Stubborn and overwatch at BS 2 (or full BS in our Lion’s Blade Detachment).

Dark Angels Tactical Squad
Identical to codex marines except losing chapter tactics for Grim Resolve. Against some armies that extra BS on overwatch is killer, and I think the best way to run them, especially in a Lion’s Blade, is keeping them cheap with bolters. Most of the heavy lifting in a Dark Angels list is going to be done by whoever you’ve supplemented your Greenwing, so leave your tactical marines cheap to go sit on objectives and never run away. If you want to give them a weapon upgrade, grav cannons and heavy bolters synergize nicely with the extra overwatch BS. Without doctrines to buff our BS, I wouldn’t recommend relying on melta-pod squads to kill vehicles, but having one or two of them as an early distraction isn’t a bad idea. I’d recommend drop pods or razorbacks for their transports if you’ve kept them cheap.

Dark Angels Scout Squad
If there’s Greenwing in your list, I expect to always see these guys. They’re the cheapest troops for a CAD, and they’re the cheapest auxiliary for the Lion’s Blade. Like the tactical squads, keep them cheap and give them bolters to take advantage of the extra couple hits you get on overwatch.

Dark Angels Assault Squad
With no other option for fast attack in a Lion’s Blade, these guys are the biggest tax on a battle company formation. They don’t benefit much from Grim Resolve and kitting them out for combat is a waste of points. Just give them flamers and a drop pod and roast some backline units or sit on an objective.

Dark Angels Devastator Squad
BS 2 or 4 overwatch with grav cannons is amazing. You’ll need two of these units for a battle company and Grim Resolve probably benefits devastators more than any chapter tactics except White Scars. I put them in rhinos with two grav cannons apiece and park them on objectives and dare my opponent to charge them. Remember they’re still just marines though, so don’t get too crazy with them. If your opponent has a lot of shooting make sure to get in his face with other units first so he doesn’t blow your gun-toting green guys off the board. Heavy bolters are also a decent choice if you don’t want them to be too expensive. I’d stray away from other weapon options though.

Dedicated Transports
Nothing to say here, other than including them for the sake of completeness. I’ve explained in each unit entry which transport I think is best for them, and if you’re taking a Lion’s Blade you’ll have a lot of them kicking around.

The clear winners here are Tactical and Devastator Squads. Both of them get a pretty big boost from Grim Resolve, and they can be kept cheap and still be a nuisance, unlike those of many other chapters. If you're looking to make use of Greenwing, those two are a good place to start.

This first part felt a little empty but I didn’t want to also try to cram elite and HQ choices in here. Those will be for next week and those are where Dark Angels start to get a little different.