Warhammer 40K: The Dark Angels Explained

One of Warhammer 40K’s more popular Space Marines chapters is having their chance to shine, thanks to a large linewide refresh. Today, pre-orders for the Deathwing Assault army box opens on Games Workshop’s webpage, providing Warhammer 40K fans with the chance to grab the foundation of a Dark Angels army. Not only does the Deathwing Assault box contain the Inner Circle Companions, a new group of hooded, sword-wielding Dark Angels, it also contains a new version of Belial, the Grand Master of the Deathwing, a particularly hard-hitting assault force made up of Terminators, that conveniently also come in the new box. 

The new box continues a resurgence of sorts for the Dark Angels, as their Primarch Lion El’Jonson made his return last year. Other high-ranking members of the Dark Angels, including Asmodai and Belial, have also received updated miniatures over the past couple of years or so, and the Space Marines chapter is also being featured in several upcoming novels and possibly one rumored collaboration with Call of Duty in the future. 

So who are the Dark Angels and why should you consider the Space Marines chapter when potentially building a new army for Warhammer 40K? We have a breakdown of everything you need to know about this enigmatic Space Marines faction. 

Who Are the Dark Angels?

If you’re a total newcomer to Warhammer 40K lore, the Dark Angels are a specific chapter of Space Marines, the gene-enhanced supersoldiers that are the face of the game and setting. In fact, the Dark Angels are technically the first Legion of Space Marines, and helped the Emperor of Mankind unify Terra and eventually the entire solar system. As the Emperor of Mankind grew his Legions, the Dark Angels fought impossible threats on the edge of the expanding Imperium, which depleted their number significantly. 

Each chapter of the Space Marines were genetically based on one of 20 Primarchs, demi-god like “sons” of the Emperor created through years of scientific testing that were intended to be the leaders of humanity during the Great Crusade. When the Primarchs were still babies, the forces of Chaos scattered them across the galaxy and it took the Emperor hundreds of years to find them. The Dark Angels’ primarch was Lion El’Jonson, who helped reinvigorate the Dark Angels and transformed the Space Marine legion into a knightly and almost monastic group. 

The Dark Angels remained loyal to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, the great civil war that saw half of the Space Marine Legions turn traitor and resulted in the Emperor being mortally wounded and entombed within his Golden Throne as a living corpse. However, Lion El’Jonson was unprepared for treachery from within as he was attacked by members of his own legion when the Dark Angels returned to their homeworld at the end of the Horus Heresy. Lion El’Jonson was mortally wounded during the attack and his body vanished. The rebelling Dark Angels became known as the Fallen and are a dark secret kept hidden by the rest of the chapter. 

Recently, Lion El’Jonson returned after 10,000 years of suspended animation and is now once again leading the Dark Angels. The Lion’s goals are still unclear, although he has gained the ability to move across worlds using a mysterious method marked by the appearance of mysterious forests ahead of his arrival. 

Why Play as the Dark Angels?

Unlike other Space Marine chapters, the Dark Angels have two unique companies that can be used when building a Dark Angels’ army. The first is the Deathwing, which conveniently are represented by the units in the Deathwing Assault box. The Deathwing is notable in that they are comprised entirely of Terminators, Space Marines wearing specialized armor with powerful weaponry and short-range teleportation capabilities. The other unique company is the Ravenwing, an assault force that uses various vehicles like bikes and land speeders to attack foes with blitzing speed. Coupled with other Space Marine units, the Dark Angels provide a lot of versatility to their battle tactics and army builds. Players can choose to go with a fast strike force made up of speedy Ravenwing units, a hard-hitting force of Deathwings, or a mix of both with standard Space Marine units. Additionally, the Dark Angels have a number of unique units, more than other Space Marine chapters, that provide additional abilities and buffs on the battlefield.

The main weakness of the Dark Angels is that, like other Space Marine chapters, they have relatively few units compared to other armies. While this makes it easier to build an army compared to other factions, a Dark Angels army can’t survive the loss of its units as easily as other factions.