How Useful are the Dark Angels Chapter Relics?

Among the things I enjoyed most in the recent Chaos Space Marines Codex for Warhammer 40K was the short section of unique Chaos Artifacts. They are great idea. A fun and flavorful inclusion that allows player to build Chaos Lords (or other HQs) with a unique spin.

The equivalent for Dark Angels are the Chapter Relics (those not tied to any Special Character).

To be truthful however, I haven’t seen too many Chaos Artifacts pop up in 6th Edition Chaos Space Marines list. The common consensus, it seems, is that they are mostly too expensive points-wise.

The painful truth is, the Dark Angels Chapter Relics are even worse, if not utterly useless.

Don’t believe me? Well, let us take a closer look at the five Dark Angels Chapter Relics (in contrast to the 6 Artifacts for Chaos).

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#1 – Foe-Smiter

 This ornate storm bolter was wrought by Fedorovich the Great, amongst the foremost weaponsmiths of the red planet during the age when the Tech-Priests joined with the Emperor’s forces to equip the armies for the Great Crusade.

Fedorovich the Great?

Oh well. This one confirms my fears that (most) Chapter Relics might be destined for irrelevance. For 4 times the price of a regular storm bolter, you get an extra shot and AP4. Master-crafted.

That’s it? Yup, that’s it.

I doubt people are shopping around for reliable AP4 weaponry on their HQ. Anyone who will give their HQ a meaner gun, will likely look for something with decidedly more punch. And has most Space Marine HQ’s come with high ballistic skill, master-crafted doesn’t mean much either way.

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#2 – Lion’s Roar

 One of the most unusual pieces in the arsenal of the Rock is the combi-weapon known as the Lion’s Roar.

This one appears to be more reasonably priced. Twice the cost of it’s non-relic plasma-combi-bolter counterpart, Lion’s Roar trades rapid-fire for a (Master-crafted) blast.

Master-crafted is a nicer addition here. With only one (Gets Hot!) blast, you really wanna make sure it counts (especially for that price).

Ultimately, 5 pts. less will get you a plasma cannon almost everywhere in the Dark Angels army, which can keep firing all day. Therefore, I remain unconvinced about this one.

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#3 – Mace of Redemption

The Mace of Redemption is perhaps the greatest of the weapons forged by the Dark Angels to hunt their traitorous comrades.

Another underwhelming entry. The Mace of Redemption feels a bit like a cast-away game-test variant of the Mace of Absolution carried into battle by the new Deathwing Knights.

That said, the Maces of Absolution are mean and this one packs a punch as well, especially if you play against Codex Chaos Space Marines. It could sure cause some damage to a CSM army, though it probably lacks the Instant Death threat of smiting Deathwing Knights.

In fact, if this mace is there to allow an IC to join Deathwing Knights with “matching” weapons, an option for (Terminator-) HQ’s to pick up a Mace of Absolution would have been superior, I believe.

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#4 – Monster Slayer of Caliban

This ancient weapon was traditionally bestowed upon the most honourable knight of the Order before the onset of a long quest into the wilds of Caliban. Its well-honed blade is empowered by a force generator of magnificent strength; however, over the ages, it has grown somewhat temperamental, [...]

I have to say, this is the first of the Chapter Relics with a background-piece that has a genuine spark of “soul”. An ancient, occasionally dysfunctional artifact blade, which Dark Angels carry into battle, trusting their faith to prevent it from fizzling at an in-opportune moment? Love it!

Like all random weapons, the Monster Slayer would face a steep climb to make it to the tournament-circuit, no matter what it does. For a fun game, a sometimes awesome, sometimes sub-par sword could be awesome. The emphasis is of course on could be!

For nearly the price of a Tech-Marine however, even the “best” result of a S +2, AP3, Instant Death sword feels underwhelming. No need to bother with the “no-luck-this-time-variants”.

For a player willing to gamble this many points on the odd “I-might-get-lucky”, the “you-just-got-lucky” should be a lot more impressive. And I mean A LOT more impressive!

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#5 – Shroud of Heroes

The rites of the Dark Angels dictate that when one of their mightiest is slain in glorious battle, his recovered remains are wrapped in a death shroud until he can be interred within the crypts of the Lion’s Sanctum deep within the Rock. Pieces of this fabric, stained in the blood of heroes, are then continually fashioned into a single set of robes known as the Shroud of Heroes.

Want to have your Dark Angel Master run around in blood-soaked patchwork robe? They really should have made a mini for this one!

They probably didn’t make the miniature, however, as they sensed that this wouldn’t be a popular choice. FnP? Alright. Shrouded if you leave your squad? Not too exiting, though it might be a useful experiment for a 10 pt. item.

This isn’t a 10 pt. item, though. Far from it. For the price of this, I might almost get a Darkshroud Landspeeder and dispense with the need to run my HQ across the battlefield solo altogether.

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#6 – WTF?

Long story short, what where the Games Workshop guys thinking when they wrote up that page?

Seriously?

I suppose I can see some people picking up the Mace of Redemption, if only because it serves as a poor-man’s Mace of Absolution for HQs. It works, though clearly lacks creativity.

The rest? What a waste!

I am not sure if the author was simply overtly cautious, or never really intended these relics to make regular appearances in the game. Reading this, I feel that the Games Workshop studio should re-think their use of the section for unique artifacts/relics/whatever from the ground-up.

These items could offer so much to make an army unique, distinctive and flavourful (Tau experimental tech, anyone?). But that won’t happen if everything offered is crap.

I really, really hope they put some more lovin’ into the “unique equipment section” in the next Warhammer 40K Codex!

Z.