Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets Don’t Follow the Norm, Which Makes Them Extremely Potent

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets are here, and all of the non-compliant Astartes players should be very happy.

The weekend has passed, and even Games Workshop took some time off with the reveals and teasers for the 10^th Edition of Warhammer 40k. However, the wait is now over, as after the Leviathan, the Space Marine and the Tyranid Datasheets, we received another blessing in the form of the non-compliant Chapters’ Datasheets, more specifically unit cards for the Blood Angels, the Dark Angels, the Space Wolves, the Black Templars and the Deathwatch! There’s a lot to cover, and we have limited space and time, but I tried to pick out the most interesting parts of the Chapters that refuse to follow the Codex Astartes!

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets – Blood Angels

As we saw in the Space Marine Chapters Faction Focus, all of the five special Chapters will use the Oath of Moment Army Rule, just like the Space Marines, but they’ll all have different Detachment Rules, which we also got a look at in the Focus. For the Blood Angels, it’s the Sons of Sanguinius, which gives them extra Strength and Attacks after Charging. However, that’s not the only speciality about them, as the Chapters received some unique Stratagems and Enhancements as well.

The most interesting Stratagem seems to be Red Rampage, which gives your Blood Angels Astartes the Lance and Lethal Hits abilities in melee, which makes them much more efficient than they would normally be, but the Angel’s Sacrifice, Aggressive Onslaught and Relentless Assault all look great.

For Enhancements, the Sons of Sanguinius got some really interesting ones:

• Artisan of War gives a Character a 2+ Save and an extra AP in both ranged and melee,
• Visage of Death makes them better in capturing Objectives, as it halves the OC of the enemies trying to take control of a marker,
• Archangel’s Shard gives an Astartes model the Anti-Chaos 5+ keyword in melee, as well as Lance,
• While Icon of the Angel forces enemies Falling Back from the wielder to take Desparate Escape tests.

For the Datasheet, I couldn’t choose anyone else than the Lord Regent of the Imperium Nihilus, Commander Dante got a new model recently, but many players were not satisfied with his rules. However, his Melta 2 and Sustained Hits D3, -4 AP D6 damage pistol, Perdition should more than make up for that, as well as The Axe Mortalis, which is a fearsome melee weapon. His abilities make him a great Leader, as Lord Regent of the Imperium Nihilus gives +1 to Charge rolls and +1 to Hit to his Bodyguard unit, while Death Mask of Sanguinius force enemies to take Battle-shock tests at a disadvantage, which makes him a strong storming unit against objectives – especially with his Deep Strike ability.

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets – Dark Angels

The 1^st Legion lead by the returned Lion’El Jonson himself is the most stubborn of them all, as their OC never goes below 1 under normal circumstances. However, they received some very interesting rules, such as Fire Discipline, which gives Heavy, Assault and Ignores Cover to all ranged weapons of a unit, or the Unbreakable Lines Stratagem, which gives a Dark Angels unit -1 Dagame taken against enemy melee attacks.

For Enhancements, the Sons of the Lion are blessed as well, as they got some nice ones, just like their bloody brothers:

• Shroud of Heroes let’s an Astartes get back up after being destroyed with potentially full Wounds if he went down Battle-shocked (which seems to be a theme for the Dark Angels),
• Stubborn Tenacity has a really fitting name, and a really strong ability, as it gives +1 to Hit to a Leader and it’s unit if it’s under Starting Strength, and +1 to Wound if they are Battle-shocked,
• Heavenfall Blade buffs the Attacks, Strength and Damage of the wielder’s melee weapons, which doubles if the Astartes model is Battle-shocked,
• Pennant of Remembrance grants an Ancient Leader and it’s unit a 6+ Feel No Pain – or a 4+ if they are Battle-shocked.

While the Dark Angels Characters are very strong apart from the Lion Himself – who we saw in the Faction Focus, the infantry units of the 1^st Legion are also very capable, such as the Deathwing Knights. These specialized Terminators have very strong melee capabilities thanks to the Knight Master’s Flail of the Unforgiven and the Knights’ Mace of absolution, and they are capable of Deep Striking to get close to their enemies. The Inner Circle ability they received now gives them -1 Damage taken, and they can gain a 4+ Feel No Pain once per battle if they take a Watcher in the Dark to battle with them. Combined with their 2+ Save and 4+ Invulnerable Save, the Deathwing Knights can be an unstoppable bulldozer or an unbreakable wall on the battlefield!

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets – Space Wolves

The Sons of Russ also received some incredible datasheets, just like the Blood Angels and the Dark Angels. The Space Wolves got one of the most interesting Detachment Rule called Deeds Worthy of Saga, where they have to achieve different feats in order to gain bonuses for the rest of the game – you can read more about the Sagas here.

Their Stratagems tie in with their Sagas: the Go for the Throat Stratagems gives an extra AP to a unit in melee, but if the Saga of the Beastslayer is already completed, they also gain the Lance keyword, or their version of Relentless Assault is tied to the Saga of the Warrior Born, as they can Fall Back/Advance and shoot with the Strat, but after completing the Saga, they can also declare a Charge after doing those special movements.

Their Enhancements are looking very strong as well:

• The Pelt of the Balewolf forces Battle-shock tests on every enemy unit in Engagement Range of the wearer,
• Black Death gives some monster-hunting capabilities to a Character by granting the Anti-Monster 4+ and Anti-Vehicle 4+ keywords in melee,
• Wolf Tail Talisman gives the wearer and it’s unit -1 Damage taken, making them much tankier,
• While Frost Weapon increases the Strength and AP of the wielder’s melee weapons by 1, while also granting the Precision keyword to make challenging enemy leaders easier.

While the Space Wolves got some very interesting Datasheets, such as Bjorn the Fell-Handed, Wulfen or Rune Priests, Logan Grimnar on Stormrider looks very fun. This Epic Hero of the Wolves rides to battle with some incredible Melee Weapons, as The Axe Morkai has a profile against a multitude of enemies as well as stronger targets, and the Flurry of teeth and claws can provide 6 Extra attacks. The High King of Fenris also let’s Logan Grimnar and his Bodyguards get full rerolls for Charge and Hit rolls once per game, while the Great Wolf grants a CP each time he destroys and enemy unit. However, the best part about the High King is the fact that he’s a Leader, and can join a unit of Thunderwolf Cavalry – and together, they make up an incredibly quick unit which is fearsome in melee.

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets – Black Templars

On an eternal crusade, the Black Templars march into the 10^th Edition of Warhammer 40k with their Templar Vows, which let’s them choose bonuses for every situation at the start of the battle. However, they can’t use any Psyker models – as they Abhor the Witch, and sometimes even Destroy the Witch. But their new Stratagems, Enhancements and Datasheets more than make up for that fact.

Among their Stratagems we can find tools such as Devout Push, which lets Black Templars make a Move of up to D6” after an enemy unit has shot at them, or the Crusader’s Wrath, which improves the AP of a Black Templars’ melee weapons, and gives them an extra Strength as well if they choose the Suffer No The Unclean to Live vow.

Their Enhancements further help them hunt down the enemies of the God, the God-Emperor of Mankind:

• Perdition’s Edge gives and Extra Strength and AP for the melee weapons of the wielder, and if they took the Suffer Not the Uncleand to Live, they get an extra attack as well,
• Witchseeker Bolts give the Precision, the Anti-Psyker 4+ and the Devastating Wounds abilities for the ranged weapons of the Wielder, and let’s them reroll the Hit and Wound rolls against Psykers if they took the Abhor the Witch, Destroy the Witch oath,
• Sigismund’s Seal, which gives an extra Attack for the wielder’s melee weapons, while giving a 5+ Critical Hit to them and the unit they are leading if they took the Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds vow,
• And Tannhauser’s Bones, which halves the incoming damage to the bearer, while giving a 5+ Feel No Pain to the unit they are leading if the Uphold the Honour of the Emperor is chosen at the start of the battle.

In terms of Datasheets, the Black Templars also received some great ones, but if you want to deal with enemy Characters, The Emperor’s Champion is your best friend. His Black Sword has a Precision Profile with S8, AP -3 and 3 Damage per hit, Attacking 6 times, and his Sigismund’s Heir ability gives him +1 to Wound against Characters. He’s durable as well with a 2+ Save, a 4+ Invulnerable Save and the Skilful Parry ability, which nullifies the Damage of the first failed save in melee. He can lead from the front as the Leader of many different Black Templars squads, spearheading against the enemies of the Emperor.

Warhammer 40k Space Marine Chapters Datasheets – Deathwatch

The Deathwatch is one of the most interesting Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes not just lorewise, but on the tabletop as well, as they were the only Chapter that received a different Army Rule than Oath of Moment called Kill Teams, which they take in addition to the Space Marine Army Rule. They also have the Mission Tactics Detachment Rule, which let’s them choose the best approach to every problem they might face on the battlefield.

The Stratagems reflect the fact that all of the Deathwatch members are Veteran Space Marines, as they can use Adaptive Tactics to change the active Mission Tactic for up to two Kill Teams, and the Hellfire Rounds to give Anti-Infantry 2+ and Anti-Monster 5+ to ranged weapons of a unit.

The Black Spear Task Force packs some nice Enhancements as well, such as:

• Thief of Secrets, which gives an extra Strength, Damage and AP to a model in melee which doubles after the Character takes down an enemy model until the end of the phase,
• Osseus Key gives a Watch Master or Techmarine the ability to force a Leadership test on an enemy Vehicle, and if that Vehicle fails, they get -1 to Hit,
• Beacon Angelis grants the Deep Strike ability for a model’s unit, while also letting the use the Rapid Ingress Stratagem for 0CP,
• While The Tome of Ectoclades gives a Watch Master or Captain the ability to use the Oath of Moment twice once per battle.

The Datasheets of the Deathwatch stay true to their Kill Team Army rule, as their cards look more like those out of the Warhammer 40k Kill Team game. The Indomitor Kill Team shows this perfectly, as they have 11 different melee and ranged options regarding their weapons, as well as various forms of Unit Composition. The Indomitor Kill team also has an ability called Indomitor Doctrines, which gives them +1 to Hit if they are below Starting Strength and +1 to Wound if they are below Half-Strength. They can also take Jump Packs to double their Move characteristic, which also grants them pseudo-Fly.

While I tried to show some units that convey what each non-compliant Chapter excels at, this is still only a glimpse into the Datacards of the 10^th Edition – the full list can be found here. By the time you’re reading this, the Chaos Datasheets are already up, so follow ESTNN for the latest Warhammer 40k news!