What I've learned about playing Dark Angels

[Bringer of Redemption]

At some point, I decided I should write up what I've learned so far about playing the DA in the almost 2 years that I've been playing. As it stands, the format is rather rough, with a couple of main points, and then a few thoughts in paragraph form.

 

Tell me what you think.

 

(and yes, the way the points are presented is styled after Sun Tzu--they build upon each other)

 

What I've learned about playing Dark Angels

 

Main Points:

 

1. Points wise, the DA are an expensive army. This means that you can always expect to be outnumbered on the field.

 

1a. This means that force multipliers/equalizers, which can bring the numbers down to something manageable, are one of your greatest assets. Big blast templates are your friend.

 

2. As a consequence of #1, firepower must be assigned and concentrated on a turn by turn basis, according to long term strategic goals, and short term tactical goals (Namely, staying alive and being in the right position to carry out long term goals)

 

3. In keeping with #2, any Dark Angels force that draws most of it's strength from the battle companies must remain capable of mobility and able to respond to threats quickly.

 

4. As corollaries of the above, the Dark Angels are an unforgiving army--one blunder is often enough to cost you the game, and at the very least will damage your strategic position.

 

5. It is therefore necessary to understand the long term consequences of a move. To do this, it is best to know exactly what every unit on the field is capable of--whenever possible, this should include the enemy as well.

 

6. While not in the same vane as my other points, this is too important to overlook:

 

If you're in rapid fire range, your enemy is in assault range. So you damn well better be sure you can remove them from play while shooting.

 

General Thoughts:

 

One of the things I find the most difficult when playing as he DA is that I always seem to be on the back foot. Even when I have the advantage in terms of firepower I can bring to the field, I find myself thinking defensively, in terms of "How can I stop them from reaching assault/rapid fire range". It may just be my personal playing style, but it seems to me that the Dark Angels lack serious offensive capability, and are often forced into static defensive positions, where options are limited. This is at it's worst in objective type games. (It is worth pointing out that the three armies I play most often are Guard, Nids, and Black Templar, all of which focus on the area within 12" of the enemy--for either assault or rapid fire)

 

Often, I find that the only offensive asset I have on my list is the deathwing squad that is always attached to it. As a rule of thumb, I prefer not to walk them onto the field, as their effectiveness is limited by the time it takes them to enter effective range, and there is a great deal of AP2 weaponry that can outdistance a terminator squad.

 

What this means is that I use them in a forward strike capability, either attempting to throw a spanner in my enemies works by hitting him where he's weak, seizing "secure" objectives (I always have Belial as my HQ) or just adding a 250 point (minimum) speed bump to his advance. The major downside to this tactic is that deep striking units is inherently unpredictable and subject to a number of problems. What I've found to be the largest of these problems is that my DW are usually left unsupported due to both the way I use them, and the inability to mount a cohesive offensive.

 

Most of all, what I've really learned from this is that Dark Angels units suffer when confined to static positions, or left unsupported.

 

--BoR

[HsojVvad]

Intresting thoughts. Can't wait till it's finished and see the complete writing.