The Sons of the Lion are here for a Combat Patrol Point Breakdown and some suggested next steps. It’s the Dark Angel’s turn!
When Games Workshop released all the points as a free update we got to thinking — how do the previous Combat Patrols stack-up? In this series we’re going to revisit the older Combat Patrols, breakdown their points, and talk about where to build from that box. For previous breakdowns check the bottom of this article.
The Dark Angels are the first legion and their Combat Patrol box is actually pretty generic for Space Marines. That’s not a bad thing as it also gives you lots of room to build from. How much room? Let’s dive in to find out.
Dark Angels Combat Patrol Point Breakdown
1x Primaris Chaplain – 85 points
3x Inceptors – 120 + wargear
1x Redemptor Dreadnought – 185 points + wargear
5x Primaris Intercessors – 100 points + wargear
2x Dark Angels Primaris upgrade sprues and 1x Dark Angels transfer sheet (not worth points but worth mentioning)
Points Total: 490 + Wargear
Starting off, it’s worth noting again how “generic” most of these units are. You really could pick any Space Marine Chapter and use this as a core. That said, we’re doing Dark Angels today! Famous for their intractable gunlines, favoritism towards plasma weapons, and keeping some big secrets, I think we have a theme we can work with here to get to 2000 points. Per usual, we’ll leave a budget in there for wargear but we’re probably going to be pushing pretty close to the max on this one. One last thing to mention, Dark Angels have access to different “Wings” with their army. For flavor, we might sprinkle in a unit of Deathwing and Ravenwing each — but we’re not going to go hard in either direction. Oh, and if we have the option for Plasma… we’re taking it. We’re also going to stick with Primaris where we can, too.
First up, we need to add in an HQ option. Thankfully, the Dark Angels have a bunch to choose from. We’re going to take Captain, sorry, Master Lazarus. Dark Angels have fancy names for ranks sometimes. He’s 110 points and he’s packing that infamous Captain Aura. Which will be super handy for our budding Dark Angels army.
Next up, I want to jump right in an snag a squad of Deathwing Terminators. These guys are brick and you can really customize them however you want with lots of options to choose from. I would say go for a shooty squad vs a melee focused one. Why? Because if you want to rely on a Melee squad just take some Deathwing Knights instead. It’s actually the same kit — it’s all about how you build them. The Deathwing Terminators will run you 165 points + wargear. With Lazarus, that brings out new total up to 765 + wargear. We’ve still have some room to grow.
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This next entry is something I’m conflicted about. I want to add a Ravenwing Darkshroud to the list but I’m just not a huge fan of the model. But it’s got a good Aura and it’s 120 points + wargear. Alternatively, you could add in a Ravenwing Black Knights squad of bikes for 105 + wargear. We’re just going to point it would to be around 120 and call it good. There, now you’ve got that Ravenwing added to the army. We’re at 885 + wargear.
Now that we’ve added in some flavor to the list we need to go back and fill out some of our core options. We need to pump up the troops and round out some edges. I think more Intercessors are appropriate as well a unit of Hellblasters. And if we’re taking them, we really need a Primaris Lieutenant around for that aura as well. I’d like to add 20 more Intercessors total but we’ll run one squad of 10 and then 2 squads of 5 to match the squad above. That should allow our 5-man squads to spread out and take objectives as needed. Plus we’ve got a gun line of 10 to hold the ground and support our Hellblasters. For all those Intercessors, we’re dropping 400 points + wargear. Ten Hellblasters are 330 + wargear and the Lieutenant is 75 points + wargear. Our total is now 1690 + wargear.
Finally, I want to add something that’s going to give us better chance at cracking open armor at range. Plasma is great and all and this army will shred anything below toughness 7. At the same time I want to take something that’s a bit unconventional — plus I think the model looks a lot better than the Darkshroud. I’m talking about a Storm Speeder Hammerstrike.
It’s fast and has some good damage output for the range. That Melta destroyer is no joke. Clocking in at 145 points + wargear our new total is now 1835 + wargear. And I think that’s probably a good stopping point to keep that wargear budget available for upgrades. If you really want to push it a little bit further I’d recommend a Company Ancient for 75 points + wargear. Depending on your wargear options there may or may not be room. I’m going to add it in the list as optional – points permitting.
The List
Primaris Chaplain
Master Lazarus
Lieutenant
10x Intercessors
5x Intercessors
5x Intercessors
5x Intercessors
Redemptor Dreadnought
5x Deathwing Terminators
Company Ancient (if you have the leftover points)
Ravenwing Darkshroud/Ravenwing Black Knights
3x Inceptors
Storm Speeder Hammerstrike
Hellblasters
Points Total: 1910 + wargear
This list has solid core of Dark Angels units and a mean gunline it can setup. It’s still got a little mobility with the faster elements and don’t be afraid to “deepstrike” in those Deathwing Terminators either. Just try not to leave them unsupported. Don’t forget you can carve-up this list as needed for any detachment requirements you might need to hit.
By leaning hard into the Plasma options this army will seriously shred elite infantry armies. Just make sure you’ve got those auras nearby to allow for re-rolls for your plasma. You’re going to need it. I’m pleased we sprinkled in some Ravenwing and Deathwing units. If you wanted to completely redo this list and lean hard into one or the other you totally can. This list is designed to allow a new player to dabble with those options without hard committing to either. They may want to do that later on once they get more experience with the army.
If you noticed, we didn’t just double down on the Combat Patrol box this time. In this case, you absolutely could have — especially if you wanted to fill out the Inceptors and Intercessors. You’d end up with two Redemptor Dreadnoughts and two Chaplains which isn’t a bad thing. You could still build around that core for a thematic and fun Dark Angels army.
For more tips and tricks check out our How to Play Dark Angels in 9th Edition article
Previous Combat Patrol Point Breakdowns And Next Steps
Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
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