The Dark Angels offer a visually stunning army that rewards both tactical play and creative painting. Whether you’re charging into battle with your Death Company or painting the ornate armor of a Sanguinary Guard, the Dark Angels are a chapter rich with character and lore that will bring a powerful presence to any Warhammer 40,000 battlefield.
Who Are the Dark Angels?
The Dark Angels are one of the most mysterious and secretive Space Marine Chapters in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. As the First Legion of the Emperor’s mighty Space Marines, they hold a special place within the Imperium’s vast military.
However, the Dark Angels carry a dark and dangerous secret—their Chapter was torn apart by betrayal during the Horus Heresy. A portion of their number, now known as the Fallen, turned traitor. The Dark Angels have spent the millennia since hunting their Fallen brethren to restore their honor.
Led by the enigmatic Supreme Grand Master Azrael and the Deathwing and Ravenwing formations, the Dark Angels operate with a rigid, hierarchical structure. They are intensely focused on precision, tactical supremacy, and unparalleled discipline.
The Chapter’s inner circle zealously guards the truth of the Fallen, even from the majority of their own battle-brothers.
What Are the Dark Angels Army Strengths?
- Tactical Flexibility and Versatile Unit Option: Dark Angels offer multiple specialized wings within a single army, making them highly flexible. The Deathwing—elite, Terminator-clad veterans—and the Ravenwing—high-speed bike and land speeder specialists—allow you to tailor your army for a mix of hard-hitting, durable infantry and lightning-fast strikes. Combining these forces gives you a diverse, multifaceted force capable of adapting to different enemies and scenarios.
- Relentless Durability: The Dark Angels are renowned for their durability. This is especially true when it comes to their Deathwing units – Terminators, with their 2+ armor save and invulnerable saves, are notoriously hard to dislodge from key objectives. Beyond that, the army’s access to Transhuman Physiology and Inner Circle rules makes them even more resistant to high-strength attacks.
- Specialized Rules and Stratagems: The Dark Angels have powerful rules that enhance their units. For example, the Grim Resolve Chapter tactic gives them bonuses to hit while remaining stationary. In addition, the Jink rule allows Ravenwing units to boost their invulnerability when moving at speed. Combined with powerful stratagems like Weapons from the Dark Age, which amplifies plasma weapon damage, the Dark Angels can outgun and outlast their foes.
- Psyker Dominance: The Dark Angels possess an array of powerful psykers, including Librarians and the Chief Librarian Ezekiel. Their access to the Interromancy psychic discipline gives them unique powers like Mind Wipe and Aversion, allowing them to disrupt enemy psykers, debilitate enemy units, and bolster their own forces.
Where Should Beginners Start?
Some of the best models for beginner Dark Angels players include:
- Primaris Chaplain on Bike: This fast-moving HQ unit excels at keeping up with advancing units, providing key buffs like rerolls for melee attacks and boosting morale. For beginners, his mobility and durability, combined with his ability to improve the effectiveness of nearby units, make him a versatile leader that enhances close combat and board control.
- Intercessor Squad: Intercessors are a solid core unit for beginners, offering good firepower, toughness, and flexibility in objective-based missions. Dark Angels specialize in defensive strategies, and these troops are great for holding ground while delivering consistent fire. They provide a dependable backbone for a new player’s army.
- Ravenwing Black Knights: Ravenwing units are all about speed and precision, and Black Knights are an excellent fast-attack choice for beginners. They have powerful plasma weapons and are highly mobile thanks to their bikes. Their speed allows you to flank enemies, hit hard, and retreat, making them perfect for learning hit-and-run tactics while benefiting from the Dark Angels’ specialty in the Ravenwing.
- Deathwing Terminators: Deathwing Terminators are tough, heavily armored elite units that can take and hold objectives. They are resilient, with great survivability due to their invulnerable saves and the Dark Angels’ Inner Circle rule, which protects them from falling back. For beginners, these units teach the importance of board presence and how to manage elite, slower-moving forces that can hold key points.
These four models give a beginner Dark Angels player a strong mix of mobility, durability, and firepower, allowing them to explore the unique strengths of the Dark Angels in both Ravenwing and Deathwing strategies while learning core gameplay mechanics.
How to Paint Dark Angels
Dark Angels have a striking color scheme of deep, dark green. Specialist units contrast this with bone white and black, along with gold and red accents. This gives them a gothic, knightly appearance, fitting for a Chapter with such a secretive and tragic past.
Painting Dark Angels offers hobbyists the chance to master blending dark, rich tones with vibrant highlights and weathering effects.
Color Scheme Ideas
Forest of Caliban
- Base Color: Caliban Green. The primary armor color, representing the Dark Angels’ connection to their ancient homeworld of Caliban and their monastic, knightly order.
- Shading: Nuln Oil. For shading the recesses and panel lines, adding depth to the green armor and enhancing its dark, brooding appearance.
- Highlights: Warpstone Glow. For edge highlights, brightening the raised areas and adding sharp definition to the armor.
- Accent Colors: Bonewhite (Ushabti Bone). For robes, tabards, and shoulder pad insignia, giving the army a noble and ancient monastic feel.
- Additional Accent: Leadbelcher. On weapons, bionic limbs, and other metallic details, adding a cool, industrial contrast to the green armor.
- Highlight for Accents: Stormhost Silver. For edge highlighting metallic parts like weapons and mechanical details, giving them a clean, polished look.
This scheme embodies the classic Dark Angels look, with rich green armor, bone-colored robes, and metallic highlights to reflect their knightly and mysterious nature.
Ravenwing’s Hunt
- Base Color: Abaddon Black. For the primary armor color, representing the Ravenwing’s stealth and fast-strike capabilities, often associated with their hunt for the Fallen.
- Shading: Nuln Oil. In the recesses and crevices to deepen the shadows and emphasize the sleek, dark armor.
- Highlights: Eshin Grey. For edge highlights, adding a subtle contrast to the black armor, giving it a shadowy, stealthy look.
- Accent Colors: Red (Mephiston Red). For lenses, purity seals, and insignia, adding a sharp, striking contrast against the black armor, symbolizing their hunt for redemption.
- Additional Accent: Leadbelcher. For weapon casings, bike details, and bionics, adding a cool metallic contrast that reinforces their technological prowess.
- Highlight for Accents: Stormhost Silver. To edge highlight metallic parts like weapons and mechanical details, giving a sharp, clean finish.
This scheme focuses on the dark, fast-strike aesthetic of the Ravenwing, with sleek black armor, red accents, and cold metallic details reflecting their relentless hunt for the Fallen.
Inner Circle’s Vigil
- Base Color: Caliban Green. The primary armor color, evoking the traditional knightly aesthetic of the Dark Angels.
- Shading: Agrax Earthshade. For shading the armor’s recesses, adding a warm, earthy tone to the green armor, giving it a slightly weathered and aged feel.
- Highlights: Moot Green. For sharp edge highlights, giving the armor a brighter, more vibrant contrast that brings out the details of their ancient wargear.
- Accent Colors: Retributor Gold. For shoulder pad trims, chest emblems, and weapon details, adding a regal, radiant metallic contrast to the green armor, symbolizing their noble origins.
- Additional Accent: Bonewhite (Ushabti Bone). On robes, inner cloaks, and purity seals, evoking their monastic traditions and dedication to secrecy within the Inner Circle.
- Highlight for Accents: Auric Gold. For edge highlights on the gold elements, providing a bright, reflective finish to the regal metallic details.
This scheme captures the essence of the Inner Circle and the Dark Angels’ knightly heritage, blending traditional green armor with warm metallics and bone-colored robes, symbolizing their secrecy and ancient order.
Dark Angels Painting Techniques
- Painting the Dark Green Armor: Start with a solid basecoat of Caliban Green for most of your Dark Angels’ armor. Ensure you get a smooth coat, using multiple thin layers if necessary, then shade the recesses with Nuln Oil or Athonian Camoshade to add depth and definition to the armor. After shading, apply a careful edge highlight with Warpstone Glow to bring out the details. Follow this with a second, more focused highlight using Moot Green on the sharpest edges, like pauldrons and gauntlets, for a crisp finish.
- Deathwing Armor (Bone White): For your Deathwing units, start with a basecoat of Rakarth Flesh. This will serve as the foundation for their pale bone-colored armor. Shade the armor with Agrax Earthshade to give it depth and a slightly weathered look. For highlights, start with Ushabti Bone, carefully picking out the raised areas and edges, followed by a final highlight of Screaming Skull to make the armor pop.
- Ravenwing Armor (Black): Ravenwing units are clad in the Chapter’s signature black armor. Start with a base coat of Abaddon Black. To add depth and definition, lightly drybrush the armor with Eshin Grey or apply an edge highlight with Dawnstone. For a final, sharper highlight, use Administratum Grey on the most prominent edges.
- Painting Robes and Cloth: Many Dark Angels models, particularly characters and veterans, are adorned with robes or tabards. Begin with a basecoat of Zandri Dust. Apply a wash of Agrax Earthshade to add depth and texture to the folds of the cloth. For highlights, use Ushabti Bone, focusing on the edges and raised areas, followed by a final highlight of Screaming Skull for a clean, crisp look.
- Gold Details: The Dark Angels have ornate details, often gilded in gold. Start with a basecoat of Retributor Armour for any gold areas, such as shoulder trim or iconography. Shade these areas with Reikland Fleshshade to deepen the gold tone and give it a rich, burnished look. Highlight the gold using Liberator Gold for an aged, yet brilliant, metallic finish.
- Plasma Glow Effects: Dark Angels are famed for their plasma weaponry. To create a glowing plasma effect, start by painting the coils with Temple Guard Blue. Shade with Drakenhof Nightshade, and once dry, apply a light drybrush of Baharroth Blue. For a final glow effect, use a tiny touch of White Scar on the edges of the coils to simulate the bright, burning plasma energy.
- Basing: Dark Angels look fantastic on bases that evoke the gothic ruins of a fallen city or the overgrown remains of a battle zone. Consider using Martian Ironearth or Agrellan Badland technical paints to create cracked, barren landscapes, with scattered skulls or debris for an extra thematic touch.
Image Attribution
Image 1 – Dark Angels (https://www.goodfon.com/fantasy/wallpaper-download-1810×1046-warhammer-40k-dark-angels-1624.html) by slipdem (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
Image 2 – Dark angels (https://www.deviantart.com/joazzz2/art/Dark-Angels-494338808) by joazzz2 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)
Image 3 – Dark Angels – Primaris Intercessors #2 (https://www.deviantart.com/alvarodinson/art/Dark-Angels-Primaris-Intercessors-2-740865054) by AlvarOdinson (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)
