Dark Angel fan here

[Brother Lutheriel]

Okay, don’t shoot! I’m still within my first year in the hobby. I was immediately attracted to the Dark Angels for the monastic attitude with deep dark secrets. I like our primarch on the tabletop, although he isn’t my favorite lore story. 
 

I’ve just recently started exploring the lore of other space marine chapters, and I’m really starting to see the cool aspects of multiple chapters. I really like the Black Templar for their vibe, Imperial Fists for reasons I don’t even understand, the Salamanders because fire, and anything Deathwatch. Space Wolves have a huge rivalry with DA, and Ultramarines are just Ultramarines. I’m still delving into others, but I’m having trouble with Blood Angels. 
 

Educate me. Brag. I want to hear why you guys are cool. Tell me why you got into Blood Angels and help me understand why they are awesome. (Also, what are the best 40k books for getting into their lore?)

[Karhedron]

Blood Angels really play up the tortured hero vibe. They appear amongst the most noble and angelic of the Space Marines as they are physically beautiful and have long history of protecting imperial citizenry. In fact their reputation for risking their lives to protect civilians is probably second only to the Salamanders. They also have some of the best and more ornate wargear of any Imperial faction, if Ultramarines treat war as a science then Blood Angels have elevated it to an art form. Sadly this element is less prominent in the Primaris range that in earlier incarnations but there are still some beautiful models like the recent Blood Angels Captain.

 

But then there is their dark side. In battle, Blood Angels become particularly savage in melee and have been known to give in to literal blood lust. This dichotomy between angel and vampire is most pronounced in the Death Company. All Blood Angels carry a genetic memory of the death of their Primarch Sanguinius at the hand of Horus at the end of the Heresy. Normally Blood Angels keep these phantom memories in check but sometimes they are overwhelmed and lose their minds. Once this happens, they are inducted into the Death Company so they can seek a clean death in battle rather than descend into madness.

 

Lastly there is the painting aspect. Red is a really striking colour for an army but Blood Angels also allow you to dabble with other liveries such as Gold for the Sanguinary Guard and Black for the Death Company. Whenever you plan an army, it is important to pick a colour scheme that you like the look of and will enjoy painting.

 

In terms of lore, Sanguinius's back story is covered in various Horus Heresy novels. In terms of modern 40K, the most relevant books are probably the probably the Blood Angels trilogy by Guy Haley. These are Dante, Devastation of Baal and Darkness in the Blood. The easiest place to get these together is the Lords of Blood omnibus which includes all three stories as well as a couple of shorter stories.

 

And to finish up, here are a few of my Blood Angels. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brother Lutheriel]

46 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

This dichotomy between angel and vampire is most pronounced in the Death Company

Really helpful answer and awesome pictures! I had NO idea about the Death Company. 
 

One question about that: after a Blood Angel gives into this blood rage, is it only a matter of time before they go insane, or can they recheck it and control it again?

[Karhedron]

2 hours ago, Brother Lutheriel said:

Really helpful answer and awesome pictures! I had NO idea about the Death Company. 
 

One question about that: after a Blood Angel gives into this blood rage, is it only a matter of time before they go insane, or can they recheck it and control it again?

 

Yeah, the Death Company were the very "special" unit introduced to Warhammer 40K all the way back in 1st edition. Before that, ever unit was available to every Chapter so this was a first time a unit was introduced that was unique to a certain Chapter.

 

The Blood Angels suffer from 2 specific flaws. The first is the Red Thirst which manifests as overwhelming ferocity in melee and a desire to drink the enemy's blood. This one existed before the Horus Heresy and is an essential part of the Blood Angels' genetic makeup. They all experience this at all times to a greater or lesser degree. This one is controllable to some extent and Blood Angels practice their artistic pursuits as a form of meditation to try and control it. Drinking blood provides temporary relief but can also lead to an unquenchable thirst. Once the Red Thirst gets to this level, it is is normally a point of no return and victims begin to mutate into monstrous vampiric creatures as their geneseed reactivates. Victims are normally inducted into the Death Company. Only one Marine has ever recovered once the Red Thirst reaches this level and that is Chief Librarian Mephiston. He was inducted into the Death Company during the 2nd Armageddon war but was trapped in the rubble of a collapsed hive. Unable to fight or die, he eventually managed to overcome the Red Thirst through sheer willpower and emerge on the other side. He was reborn with enhanced psychic powers and physical abilities beyond even normal Space Marines. Most are not so lucky and whole successor chapters have been lost to the Red Thirst such as the Knights of Blood.

 

 

The second flaw is the Black Rage which is when Blood Angels are overcome by the genetic memories of Sanguinius, particularly his final battle and death at the end of the Horus Heresy. All Blood Angels dream these memories when they sleep but when they start to intrude into a Marine's mind while they are awake, it is also a point of no return. The Marine loses his own identity and believes he is Sanguinius on the eve of his death. Those who suffer from this are also inducted into the Death Company. The only Marine to survive the Black Rage for any length of time is Chaplain Lemartes. While is constantly suffers from the death visions of Sanguinius, he has managed to retain his grip on his surroundings and his own identity. He leads other members of the Death Company in battle to help ensure that their final sacrifice is made against the most powerful foes and is not wasted. After each battle, he is frozen in stasis until he is needed again.

 

Edited Monday at 04:26 PM by Karhedron

[Tacitus]

Blood Angels are also known to drink the blood of their serfs to sate the Red Thirst: if I remember and read the Baal storyline correctly Dante was tired until he received a "Sanguine Gift" from someone.

 

The Black Rage is generally not recoverable.  Once they succumb to the Black Rage, they basically have lost their sanity, and see visions of Sanguinius's death and last battles.  They're "reliving" those battles.  Mephiston - before he was Mephiston - was able to fight off the Black Rage and retain his sanity

 

All of the Loyalists generally have at least one "mirror" (mirror in that they do the same thing or they despise the thing the other Legion does) Legion: Imperial Fists and Iron Hands, or Ultramarines and Black Legion, or the stealthy work of the Raven Guard vs the Alpha Legion and the Dark Angels as heroic hunters of chaos beasts vs the Night Lords as a darker hunter of men.  The Blood Angels have less defined mirrors with multiple Legions.  Death From Above and a little space vampire has them mirroring Night Lords, the melee ferocity ties then into the World Eaters, and the beauty/artistry etc has them mirroring Emperor's Children.  beyond that in 30K they all also had a "primary" rival who may or may not have been their mirror - the aethistic Imperial Truth Ultramarines versus the zealotry of the Word Bearers or the Wolves and the Thousand Sons.  The Blood Angels generally had a rivalry with Khorne, and thus eventually the World Eaters after their fall.  During the Heresy itself non-Horus leaders of the Heresy were very big on converting Sanguinius though Horus himself was worried about a rival for power. 

 

In the current 40K Era, it looks like they're trying to change up the traditionally rivalries - the Ultramarines are going from Word Bearers and Emperor's Children to the Death Guard, and they seem to be pushing the Dark Angels against the World Eaters but its a little too early to tell.