Instead of usual Ultramarines smash puny Orks straight Bolter-Porn, we have here a much more interesting storyline about Dark Angels Astartes set on a quest of vengeance against Traitor Space Marines of the Crimson Slaughter rampaging across multiple Imperial worlds in their relentless search for the Hellfire Stone, and responsable of the slaying of 5th Company Master Zadakiel and many Battle-Brothers. The coming of the Imperium saw Luther and many of the Calibanite knights technologyelevated through genetic alchemy nearly to the prowess of a Space Marine, though they were too old to survive full transformation.But at this point the Lion made a crucial error. The Lion left Luther and his former friends to guard Caliban, disappearing into the Warp with his new legions, in a devastating snub to those who considered him one of their own. Four years later, the Dark Angels’ hunt for the Fallen took centre stage as they faced off with the Chaos Space Marines renegades known as the Crimson Slaughter in Dark Vengeance.

The Dark Angels were the first Legion Astartes and, as they would have it, the template on which the other legions were built. They certainly demonstrated a broad spectrum of tactical doctrines, a theory of war known as the Hexagrammaton. First up, leading the Dark Angel forces are two special characters. The Company Master armed with combi-weapon, bolt pistol and power sword. Now personally I hoped these guys would look more like a bunch of corrupted Imperial Guardsmen. However, these guys definitely have their own unique aesthetic which sets them apart. The bit I like best has got to be the weaponry. They look battered, a mish-mash collection of fire arms, with the pride of the lot being that long barrelled chain fed machine gun type weapon. These guys are pretty damn awesome, with their leader being the best of the bunch. Is he wearing a commissar's coat? Kranon was known to be militant and brutal even in his service to the Emperor. Upon leading his warband into self-imposed exile in the Eye of Terror, Sevastus was corrupted by the powers of Chaos. Renaming himself Kranon the Relentless, he has driven himself to commit more and more bloody and vile acts in an attempt to silent the maddening voices that plague him, a result of a curse from Khorne. [2]At least, so we thought, until spring 2023. In March, Games Workshop announced a new Lion El’Jonson modelthat launched alongside a fresh novel focused on the character. The Lion El’Jonson novel breaks decades of Dark Angels canonas the arisen Primarch reconciles with some of his Fallen sons. These are two nicely detailed character sculpts sure to form a good centre piece for your army. Of the two I think I like the Librarian best. The pose is dramatic and the sculpt sets him apart from previous Librarian minis, while I can't help feeling that the Company Master is rather static in comparison even though this does give him a more commanding appearance. Lastly, I could say a thousand more words on Deathwing Knights than what was covered above, but simply put they’re one of the best datasheets in the game and are well worth your time. Add a Captain in Terminator Armour with Adept of the Codex to keep them in Tactical Doctrine when they don’t need to go supersonic, and consider an Ancient in Terminator Armour to bump up their low OC, and go to town.

Miniatures-wise Dark Vengeance contains two opposing armies, Chaos and Dark Angels. If you managed to get your hands on the Box Set with the limited edition Chaplain model, he also had a dope datasheet that gave him bonuses to fighting Chaos. Now I tidied up the robe with Dheneb Stone, leaving Stormvermin Fur in the recesses. Next I highlighted with Pallid Wych Flesh, followed by a very sharp highlight of Ceramite White [Skull White or whatever white you’ve got].With the Rhino there is a bit more mobility in the list. It would probably be worthwhile to combat squad the Tactical squad and put the Sergeant and meltagun in the transport, the lascannon combat squad remains on the table. Now, ten thousand years later, the Dark Angels hunt their traitorous brethren – The Fallen – across the galaxy, desperate to wipe clean their name in their own eyes and that of the Emperor. And so we come to it at last – Indomitus! 2020 may have been a troubling year for many of us, but one ray of light amid the gloom has been the arrival of the biggest, most glorious boxed set we’ve ever made.

What’s more, the book’s cover was graced with one of the most enduring and iconic pieces of Warhammer 40,000 art, depicting the last stand of an embattled company of Crimson Fists against an encircling Ork horde. This classic scene has been lovingly recreated by new generations of artists twice since – the most recent example featuring Primaris Space Marines for the first time!

The new millennium welcomed its first new Warhammer 40,000 boxed set in 2004 with Battle for Macragge. The Tyranids took their turn as antagonists – after all, it was set during the First Tyrannic War, when Hive Fleet Behemoth invaded the Ultramar System. Tactical and Fixed objectives are catered for with the standard suite of small Lone Operatives and fast units that play your primary game. Scouts, Scout Snipers, Land Speeders (of any kind) and Inceptors will do just as fine a job jumping onto an objective to die, or Deploying Teleport Homers in the middle or your opponent’s deployment zone to keep a solid grasp on your secondary scoring options. How does Dark Angels deal damage? The Warhammer 40,000 universe entered a bold new era with the release of Dark Imperium in 2017. The Great Rift had torn open across the galaxy, all but dividing the Imperium in two. Meanwhile, the Avenging Son had been reborn and returned to Terra, even as his own realm of Ultramar was beset by the foetid forces of his brother Mortarion – the latter being the very setting for the narrative of this incredible boxed set. Oh, and did we mention the emergence of the Primaris Space Marines? Set apart by his modified helmet, decorative wing mounts and flowing robe, this guy looks as if he's ready to chop someone's head off in a single swipe. However, there is something about him which seems to me to be all together too bulky. This doesn't stop him being any less of an impressive character mini which, if I were a Dark Angels player, I would definitely use to lead my troops.

s Dark Vengeance isn’t anything new. It’s actually had multiple releases over the years. With that said is the latest MTO release worth it? Well bringing this lot up to 1000 points would be a start so that means 230 points to spend. Remember, this has to be a legal 40K force as defined by the Force Org chart in the main Rule Book. And here's the shopping list, some would be swaps for existing weapons or models rather than out-and-out additions: On top of these, those who manage to get a hold of the Limited Edition of Dark Vengeance will be receiving a special extra Dark Angels character; Interrogator-Chaplain Seraphicus. Plus, they haven’t given any support in the form of new models to non-Primaris units since the start of 8th. 2012 Release: The Librarian is unbelieveably cheap and comes with a bolt pistol and force weapon at base. He is only Mastery Level 1 base so again I'd recommend the upgrade to Mastery Level 2 as being automatic.

Final Thoughts

The Dark Angels are often thought of as three armies in one, as they have a core of regular Space Marines, surrounded by fast-moving Ravenwing units, and ultra-resilient Terminator Deathwing units. To me the Ravenwing squadron looks a bit bland, for the same reason the Tactical squad does: no power fists or power weapons for the sergeants. This is a bit of a disappointment as far as these two units are concerned. This mash up flesh and machinery is the Helbrute and he has been the source of much discussion here in the office. Could this be the Chaos equivalent of a Dreadknight? Any unit is capable of punching up through Oath of Moment, especially when supported by the fairly ubiquitous Grenade stratagem to chunk through anything skirmishing on a flank. The question then as always with Marines is how do you kill things without Oath of Moment?