Dark Angels in 6th Edition Part 1: Deathwing!

Old School here to talk about the Dark Angels based on my 6th Edition games with the codex and some thoughts I have looking at the FAQ and the new rules. I will cover the codex (and allies) in a series of posts. This will be the first post.

I will cover Deathwing Terminators and some general thoughts in this post and then Ravenwing units and some units I generally used/ plan to use now and what has effected them, our psykers and allies (both who we can take to help us and where we are likely to be used by others) in a series of posts each day until I am done. If you are a fan of the Unforgiven, it may have been a while since you have read anything modern to such an extent! I hope to convey knowledge that may be useful, while not coming off as an expert, because, it is early in 6th edition and we are all new right now!


The strengths and weaknesses in the codex remain generally the same and some of the units that were borderline weak received a boost in some areas. Our tactical Marines are still not our best choices and with the ability to take allies, we will likely see our troops filled by units from other codices when we aren't taking our bikes as terminators as troops! Let's get to why we are really here though, the Deathwing!

Deathwing Terminators

With the changes to fearless, Deathwing terminators can lock units in close combat without the fear of rolling that extra die in case we lose combat - which for me, is always a "1" for some reason. We still maintain the ability to take Cyclone missile launchers with assault weapons. With the way our codex works, I recommend putting the CML onto the Sergeant so we can A) Make lucky precision shots and also use Look Out Sir to prevent us from losing the launcher, which can certainly happen if people are soaking our 5-man squads in massed firepower - which is what they will do if they are smart.

The random charge is both a boost and a hindrance to us. I could roll short and fail, allowing myself to be shot more, but the opponents I have faced so far have tried to hang back from me a little more, fearing a long charge. Combined with the fearless boost, I think it allows us to gang up on units we have already locked in combat a little better than we used to.

The Terminator Command Squad upgrades provided by Belial are great and with the changes to FnP, we will be able to take that 5+ against power axes and other non-double toughness weapons that may pass through our 2+ armor. I also still stand by the use of the banner as having that extra attack will set us up for success against against other close combat specialists. The squad can get a little dicey since the rules for taking wounds from the direction of the shooter makes a squad heavy with heavy weapons, banners and apothecaries makes movement and thinking at least a turn ahead critical. A smart mobile opponent will try to focus on you from directions that could force you to lose your nice toys.

The general nerf to power weapons also means that our terminator squads are heartier against the average close combat specialists in that regular power weapons allow us to take the 2+ save, while weapons like power axes will swing simultaneously with us, extending our killing force by not losing bodies at a higher initiative step.

This has also led me to want to experiment more with lightning claws and maybe extend the use of storm bolter terminators beyond the usual one squad that I take. I still like my hammers and shields, but I do think we can start to mix it up more without as much loss as we would have taken in 5th edition.

That is it for now. Like I said, this edition is new to all of us and I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, so please fire away. It will make all of us better in the long run. The post will be coming along every day, so look out for more of the Dark Angels in 6th Edition!