Planning a Battle Company

[FashaTheDog]

I am asking for ideas on what do I add to my Dark Angels for 40K.  I already know what my 30K guys are getting and they can share the Forge World primarch.  A funny side note; I have read enough DC comics growing up that I often just see his name as Lion El and think of him as Superman's relative.  Now I am listing what I have for just my Dark Angels to head off the temptation of "buy [more] Terminators".

 

So right now I have a no longer WYSIWYG Battle Company, which is annoying, but those two Assault Squads are just short Assault Intercessors in old armor and I will need to add four more guys to replace the flamer guys as there are two to a squad.  No big deal, an Ebay order for a quartet of legs with some chainsword arms and all is well in the 4th Company.  The flamer guys will need a new home, even as just an alternative, but that falls under the category of First Legion problems.  I have eleven Rhinos with three optional Razorback top hatches.  I might have to replace the Rhinos they use as I will pick up the new Codex, hopefully, on Saturday. 

 

I have 105 Deathwing, 10 Knights, and a five strong Command Squad, putting me about halfway to the total of 235 we are told is in it, thank you 7th edition Codex.  All my Marine armies are all Terminator heavy; every time I start on power armor I get sidetracked with more Tactical Dreadnought Armor.  I have three Strikemasters, a Dreadnought, and a Redeemer.  I have a bunch of Chaplains, Librarians, a Deathwing Apothecary fancied up to be the Chapter's Chief Apothecary, Belial, Primaris Azrael, the old sword toting Asmodai, a green Dreadnought, a Predator Annihilator and two Rhinos I can make into either a Predator or Whirlwind, plus a Techmarine.  There is the Ballistus Dreadnought I need to tackle later along with two normal Dreadnoughts who are hanging out with a pair of Land Raiders in the stripping bin awaiting their turn for brake fluid. 

 

I have some Ravenwing, almost as an afterthought.  Sammael, a squad of six Bikes with an Attack Bike, a squad of three Bikes with an Attack Bike, three Outriders, an Outrider Attack Bike to stand in for an ATV because I want to play 40K, not Mario Kart.  I have two additional Outriders waiting on me to order two more sidecars.  There is also a Land Speeder I need to finish a few details on.  I am in no real rush to add to them as I figure one of these days I will get a Thunderhawk and then I will sing along with Mick Jagger and paint it black so it can be used seamlessly in either 30K or 40K. 

 

Now this leads me to my work in progress 5th Company.  I have two Tactical Squads and an Intercessor Squad.  Additionally, I have one Phobos Lieutenant and I have a Company Champion for the Command Squad.  I also have an Infernus Squad, but I do not know where they fit in a Battle Company, are they close support or battleline?  Either way they will fit in the Battle Company fluff-wise, but I would like to know where.  I know I need to buy Lazarus as well as a unit of Hellblasters.  Beyond that I am unsure of what I want to add.  It was much easier before Gilligan woke up and decided to amend the Codex Astartes, but here I am with choices beyond do I make my Company walk or do they get a ride.  What units could round off the Battle Company so it is a lore-wise sensible formation instead of ten squads that just crammed together and called a company?

Edited October 20, 2023 by FashaTheDog
Typo

[Astoran]

The Infernus Squad is a close support squad in the fluff but I´m gonna mark mine as a battleline. You could ad a squad of Heavy Intercessors and Infiltrators as battleline. As for Close support Inceptors seems like a good option and Aggressors for support along side the Hellblasters could be a thing.

 

Kind regards. 

Redbeard.

[Interrogator Stobz]

Fantastic collection you have there Brother.

The beauty of such a large force is that you can leave them as First Born and merely add new units to them.

There is no likely situation where an official GW competition will use that sized force so anything Legends will most likely still be legit to play. Apocalypse games are their own beast and need all kinds of planning, and who wants to play with folks who say no to our old toys?

 

But as for the fluff element moving forward, absolutely add Primaris Units as per the C:CM (I don't have a copy ATM). 

I imagine you will need one sooner rather than later in order to play the Primaris Greenwing units. If you want to follow Guilliman's revised Codex Astartes that's the place to look. 

[FashaTheDog]

After 34 of playing this game I am unbothered by units leaving the game or being shuffled around; often they get a new purpose as something else like how Squats are now in my Guard army.  I also just got the Codex today.  I had thought it would have been Monday, but there was a tournament for me to learn 10th edition with and I needed the codex for the Librarian in Terminator Armor's datasheet and that Oath of the Moment rule I remembered to use twice. 

 

So this means I have half the battleline and close support units I need and since Hellblasters are a definite that gets me half the Battle Company.  As I moved stuff around I realized I have a Chapter House Stormraven extension kit, so there is transportation for half a dozen Gravis Marines.  I should probably start thinking how the company is transported while I am at it.  That Stormraven can carry a full unit of Aggressors and the other close support could have jump packs.  The 4th Company was mechanized up until this edition so Assault Squads will need something that can transport more than a half dozen which rules out the Impulsor, so maybe a pair of Repulsors for them, but the Command Squad can use an Impulsor.  The Rhinos from the 4th Company Assault Squads can go to the two 5th Company Tactical Squads.

 

Now since I am building partly to fluff and heavily to Apocalypse.  If the Company is to have transports and not just hoof it, then Repulsors and Drop Pods are the only options since it seems Chapter House is no more and I only have the one kit.  I could paint all the Drop Pods black with Ravenguard insignia worked into decoration on them and that way I can double dip and use them in my 30K Dark Angels.  Doing that, however, means Heavy Intercessors are out.  I do not quite know if I like that.  In theory I could get a Thunderhawk and solve that problem, but I do not know how likely that is anytime soon unless I get an Aeronautica one and put it on a huge base with an eight foot flight stand then explain it only looks small because of how high off the table it is. 

 

This is why I am trying to plan things out.  I already see a potential issue as I really like Gravis Armor, but there is currently only the Thunderhawk that can carry a maximum sized unit of Heavy Intercessors.  It also means I cannot attach Gravis characters to Aggressors or Eliminators and fit in them a Repulsor.  That means more than one Gravis unit and the Company will lack transports which can be a real pain in Apocalypse.  At least Drop Pods let me toss a full Battle Company on some critical part of the table and have them hold it.

[Interrogator Stobz]

Yeah, decades in the hobby is both a boon and a challenge sometimes, my tour of duty is very similar, started in the late '80s.

 

That's a shame about the arbitrary Gravis limitation you mention; you definitely need a THawk then. 

I have an old resin T-tailed one, but am glad they have been replaced with the straighter and cleaner new one as they were diabolical to build.

 

Love that idea about using an AI T-Hawk!!! I actually have a "shadow" cutout of mine as the rules used to use that plus 12" as the measuring point to it.

Didn't actually need to put the mini on the table, great for safety. 

But a combo of that and an AI one would look excellent.... and cheaper.

 

Edit: Hey if Legends are fine what about Storm Eagle Gunships?

Their transport capacity is 22 with Gravis being 2 each.

You can get 4 for the price of one T-Hawk, I hear they are horrible to assemble too though. 

Edited October 22, 2023 by Interrogator Stobz