How am I supposed to beat GK?...

[Reclusiarch Darius]

Yes a large portion of the player base may be meq but if 2+ do run into deathwing knights they will still out hit a equal unit with power swords. It's only the 3+ they are worse against the 2+ and 4 and above they will out damage a power sword and you it's almost equal against axes if you equate int step into for attacks back.

 

Yeah, they're going to flub like swords will, but you wound more often so you have a slightly higher chance of breaking the TDA with wound output. Not enough to matter though, the enemy Terminators hit back with AP2 melee (fists or hammers, axes if CSM) and wreck you. Storm shields will save some of it but your save is worse, so its not a hard metric. They cause more wounds, that you will save less of, whilst you have to hope they fail 2+ saves. Mauls suck, bottom line.

 

Denying 3+ matters in melee, if you can't manage to deny 2+. Even a lot of xenos units are starting to get the 3+ save (Tau battlesuits, certain Aspects, Necron units etc). Muddying the waters with AP in melee was the dumbest thing GW ever did, even stupider than random charge. It makes Terminators insanely potent in melee (anything that denies 2+ goes I1 like they do), and it makes any weapon variant not packing at least AP3 worthless (because Marines are everywhere). Buffed Marines, nerfed xenos...yay, game balance!

 

My memory on this OT point isn't perfect, but those Dark Angels discovered the Genesteeler Cult once they were on Plainsworld and simply had to deal with it themselves; they weren't sent there for that purpose. There wasn't time to wait for reinforcements either. As I recall, it was one of several/many recruiting worlds, and although the Dark Angels Legion/Chapter has the monastic-knight theme (from Caliban), those specific Dark Angels were recruited from Plainsworld themselves and at least spent their youth/adolescence as "Native Americans" before being claimed for the Chapter. It was interesting how they used the event to 1) explain the white/ashen Armour color, and 2) incorporate "Indian" symbols (like the feathers and other totems) that really don't jive at all with symbols of Caliban knights.

 

Ah yeah, I think that's right. Still, we know that concurrent canon explains the white Deathwing armour (ie they hunt Fallen), so it has nothing to do with such traditions. And as you point out, it completely clashes with all other DA background and themes. Hence why I reckon it was always intended as allegory, not a strictly 'true' tale.