Will They Blend? Dark Angels to Outsiders

[ElectricPaladin]

I don't play Dark Angels, and I'm not about to start. What I'm most interested in is this: killing the green motherf^ckers.

So, the question for those of you who own the codex, is this: how do we defeat the new Dark Angels codex? What are there strengths and how do we counter them? What are their weaknesses and how do we exploit them? Is this a super dex, or is it another datapoint in the "GW is trying to balance their game" hypothesis?

Let us begin.

[Badtucker]

I played new DA this weekend..i was playing against a DW+RW force. lots of terminators and huge squad of those bikers with the plasmaguns things. I played with my khorne CSM - i had dirge on all my vehicals, tell you it something its great stopping that crazy amount of firepower thats heading your way when charging.
beware the biker guys with rad grenade launchers, assaulting a unit thats been nailed by that flyer with stasis bomb and the gun it has. brutally effective. Theres little you can do about that.

[Houghten]

Use power klaws, ya ignant git!

[Cap'nSmurfs]

Basically all the stuff that already kills Space Marines. Plasma, high-strength low-AP weaponry generally, weight of fire, numbers in an assault, and Demolisher Cannons for those difficult to reach places.

I think disrupting their synergies will be a big part. It looks like the Ravenwing-Deathwing two-step is going to be a thing, so killing the hell out of bikes to disrupt their deepstriking bad boys is probably a good move.

[rpricew]

Drown them in Hormagaunts...

[Shaun]

Played several games with and against DA, deployment to deny deepstrikes from Belial. If that guy gets in your lines the amount of trouble that follows is difficult to deal with. The derpspeeder is a pain to shoot with that cover early in the game night fighting is hard to combat they will be on you very quickly with their bikes and deepstriking termies.
Careful deployment to deny DS units to absorb the bikes rad and stasis grenades otherwise just shoot them.
Avoid the deathwing knights at all costs if they get you in combat they will kurbstomp you, even Marneus Calgar goes down to them. When they unleash those maces and flails to swing at initiative and strength 10 AP2 consider the unit gone. Luckily once down they are not that mobile and cant shoot run away then you can ignore them while they stomp around the board. It comes back to deployment deny optimum deepstrike positions and be prepared to use units to countercharge the bikers because the unit they shot with stasis/rad grenades wont be able to do much to them.

[Animus Silvanna]

I havent had a chance to play against the new DA's and probably won't till I return to the states, But I can already see that its nothing some Interceptors couldn't trump in dance of blades, More towards the Ravenwing. =D In all serious though it will be just like fighting any other space marine army, if they are really mobile then try to get rid of or manage that advantage your enemy has either by your deployment or using the terrain to your advantage. Deep strike your problem? again I would keep my forces arrayed to hopefully fore him to mishap on his deepstrike roll or in case hes got them nifty locator beacons ensure that no matter where he comes in that it will be bad positioning for himself. And by that I mean makin the only place he can effectively deploy will do 1 of 2 things. 1 make it so whatever he is bringing in can not have range to assault anything on his next turn. 2 what he deploys close too will not be pleasant for him (Plasma guns/cannons, template weapons, death by flashlight). This is stuff we ALL generally know how to do already, we just have to do it against something that has a green flavor to it now haha.

[plawolf]

Against DW Knights, just feed them a 10 men squad of marines or assault marines and unless you are chaos, that should tie them up nicely for much of the game since those maces are only AP4 and the Knights only have an average number of attacks each and are likely to be deployed in small squads.

[Shaun]

Against DW Knights, just feed them a 10 men squad of marines or assault marines and unless you are chaos, that should tie them up nicely for much of the game since those maces are only AP4 and the Knights only have an average number of attacks each and are likely to be deployed in small squads.

The maces go to S10 AP2 once a game its unlikely they will activate them on AV3 marines but if they do the 10 man troop is gone. I doubt you will get to feed Deathwing Knights anything substantial. Your 10 man tac will get hit by their bikes first. Hope its just their Ravenwing bikes because their Black Knights have nasty grenades a rending CC weapon plus twin linked plasma HOW and T5. Expect to meet them first and get hit and run. The knights follow the bikes on their beacons. Belial does not need a beacon his unit has no scatter and gets to pick which turn he comes down on
They are not unbeatable I am just pointing out that they have good builds that give both mobility and resiliency you dont get to pick the time and place in all cases with DA.
S8 S10 templates are very good, shooting from the back with CC backup in your own lines to deal with the DW assault is essential. If thats not coming at you then its bikes and divination is your friend here shoot the fast stuff to bits then outmanuever the rest of the list. Sammael is a tough guy he can join squads is EW on a bike with a 4++ invun or in a AV 14, 14, 10 land speeder

[Shaun]

Dont bother entering my last post you can delete it and this one. If you intend to moderate and approve every single post I make I do not wish to contribute here

[DarkLink]

Against DW Knights, just feed them a 10 men squad of marines or assault marines and unless you are chaos, that should tie them up nicely for much of the game since those maces are only AP4 and the Knights only have an average number of attacks each and are likely to be deployed in small squads.

And if they waste their mini-feat on a mere tactical squad, no problem, then they're no longer a real threat.

[ElectricPaladin]

And if they waste their mini-feat on a mere tactical squad, no problem, then they're no longer a real threat.

I love that "mini-feat" has migrated from WarmaHordes to 40k. Long live the unified community!

[mysterex]

And if they waste their mini-feat on a mere tactical squad, no problem, then they're no longer a real threat.

Which in a wider sense means that, like nearly anything that is individually powerful in combat but low in numbers, swamp it with a fearless horde.

[Daemonette666]

Basically all the stuff that already kills Space Marines. Plasma, high-strength low-AP weaponry generally, weight of fire, numbers in an assault, and Demolisher Cannons for those difficult to reach places.

I think disrupting their synergies will be a big part. It looks like the Ravenwing-Deathwing two-step is going to be a thing, so killing the hell out of bikes to disrupt their deepstriking bad boys is probably a good move.

I used this tactic and also targeted the Biker unit with my Helldrake destroying all but one biker between the vector strike and bale flamer. I had Chosen squads with 5 Plasma guns and a plasma pistol in each squad and Abaddon to make them troops. I used lots of Cultists to fill the force out and stall the enemy with cheap plebs. I used a Dark Apostle to increase the Cultist's LD to 10, and added him to either a Plague Marine unit, or Chosen Unit depending on his and their Chaos Mark. I kept my forces in close to each other, with the Flier taking out key enemy units like bikers and picked my targets. Concentrate fire, then feed in a cultist unit, then shoot up another Terminator unit with Plasma weapons and large ammount of fire power.

I can testify that the tactic works against bikers and Terminators death star armies. Against DA who take normal marines backed up by Whirlwinds, Devastators, and a few bikers to flank and take objectives, you would have a harder time.