Age of Darkness Starter Series Pt 17: Raven Guard

In this ongoing series we present an accessible and thematic starting list for each of the 18 Space Marine Legions. Each list utilizes the Age of Darkness starter set as a foundation from which to build a 2,000 point list using as few additional components as possible from readily available official plastic kits.

To build this force yourself you’ll need:
1 Age of Darkness Starter Set

Did you know that you can be lithe, graceful, and silent as the grave even while wearing a sub-atomic microfusion generator-powered set of void-proof power armor? Well, you usually can’t unless you’re a member of the vaunted XIX legion, the Raven Guard! I presume their technique is largely based around painting their armor black, but that doesn’t seem to work so well for the Dark Angels or Iron Hands, so I guess I’m wrong. Who knows. Anyway, the Raven Guard are a fantastic choice for an army based around the contents of the Age of Darkness box set since nothing says “Raven Guard” like Mk VI Corvus Power Armor, and this box gives you a boatload of that. I think they’re a lot of fun in the Heresy era in general as they’re one of the titular legions of the “Dropsite Massacre” and provide some interesting opportunities for army building as a stand alone force, with Solar Auxilia allied detachments a la their Liberation Force rite of war, or as the start of a Shattered Legions army.

After much deliberation I chose to build this force around the Raven Guard’s unique Decapitation Strike rite of war. While you won’t be able to utilize every bonus, the additional bonus for Deep Strike or Outflank units in your initial 2k list, you will still be getting the very juicy benefits of an army wide Preferred Enemy (Independent Characters) special rule along with a bonus 2 VP for slaying the enemy warlord. With all this in mind, I’ve built the praetor with the intention of getting stuck in and slaughtering the enemy warlord. He takes The Bane of Tyrants warlord trait, granting him +1 Attacks and Strength when engaged in a challenge, increasing to +2 each when in a challenge with the enemy warlord. To ensure he gets the first and hopefully final word in this duel he is equipped with a charnabal tabar giving him an additional +2 strength and, even more critically, Duellist’s Edge (1), meaning he will act at an effective Initiative 6, ensuring he will make his flurry of high strength attacks before most other praetors, and even many named characters. He’s best served attached to the unit of Terminators, themselves no slouched with a forest worth of Raven’s Talons lightning claws. Deployed in a spartan land raider, they’re equipped to deal with almost any threat and are supported by some potent firepower from the spartan’s laser destroyers.

The Age of Darkness box lets you build 40 tactical marines and in an effort to let you play with the Raven Guard’s Shadow and Fury abilities, as well as their advanced reaction, Fade to Black, I’ve chosen to build these marines out into a pair of ten-man tactical squads and a third, twenty-man squad. The large squad, led by the attached Champion with paragon blade makes a strong hammer to the anvil of your terminator squad while the smaller, less survivable ten-man tactical squads can make better use of terrain to engage objectives or lure enemies into favorable positions for your plans. Your contemptor dreadnought is armed to the teeth with a gravis lascannon, havoc launcher, and fist, making him an ideal support model for your tactical squads as you play to the mission and try and bring your forces to bear on your enemy’s warlord.

From here, you’ll almost certainly want to add some assault squads to take full advantage of the Decapitation Strike benefits for Deep Strike as well as the generally thematic jump packs. A couple of assault squads, maybe some Dark Furies and Mor Deythan to up the ante against enemy characters, and a big tank of some sort would all be great next steps towards a full 3,000 point army.

Victorus aut Mortis.

++ 1. Crusade Force Organisation Chart (LA – XIX: Raven Guard) [1,997Pts] ++

+ Allegiance: +

Allegiance: Loyalist

XIX: Raven Guard

+ Rite of War: +

Rite of War: Decapitation Strike (RG)

+ HQ: [267Pts] +

Centurion [122Pts]
. Champion [87Pts]: Artificer Armour, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Meltabombs [10Pts], Refractor Field
. . Power Weapon [15Pts]: Power Sword
. . Volkite Serpenta [2Pts]
. Champion [35Pts]: Paragon Blade

Praetor [145Pts]: The Bane of Tyrants (Loyalist only), Warlord
. Legion Praetor [145Pts]: Artificer Armour, Frag Grenades, Iron Halo, Krak Grenades, Master of the Legion
. . Archaeotech Pistol [15Pts]
. . Charnabal Weapon [10Pts]: Charnabal Tabar

+ Elites: [1,145Pts] +

Contemptor Dreadnought Talon [205Pts]
. Contemptor Dreadnought [205Pts]: Atomantic Deflector, Combi-Bolter, Gravis Lascannon [20Pts], Gravis Power Fist with in-built ranged weapon, Havoc Launcher [10Pts]

Terminator Cataphractii Squad [940Pts]: Cataphractii Terminator Armour
. Cataphractii [45Pts]: Chainfist [15Pts], Combi-Bolter
. Cataphractii [40Pts]: Combi-Bolter, Power Fist [10Pts]
. Cataphractii Sergeant w/TLC [25Pts]: Grenade Harness [5Pts], Pair of Raven’s Talons [20Pts]
. Cataphractii w/Heavy Weapon (1 in 5) [50Pts]: Chainfist [15Pts], Heavy Flamer [5Pts]
. Cataphractii w/Heavy Weapon (1 in 5) [45Pts]: Heavy Flamer [5Pts], Power Fist [10Pts]
. 5x Cataphractii w/Raven’s Talons [250Pts]: 5x Pair of Raven’s Talons
. Land Raider Spartan [430Pts]
. . Land Raider Spartan [430Pts]: 2x Lascannon Destroyer, Flare Shield [50Pts], Hull (Front) Mounted Hunter-Killer Missile [5Pts], Hull (Front) Mounted Twin-linked Heavy Bolter, Legiones Astartes (X), Multi-Melta [20Pts], Searchlights [5Pts], Smoke Launchers

+ Troops: [585Pts] +

Tactical Squad [255Pts]: Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Power Armour
. Legion Tactical Sergeant [25Pts]: Bolter, Plasma Pistol [10Pts], Power Armour, Raven’s Talon [15Pts]
. 16x Legionary [160Pts]: 16x Bolt Pistol, 16x Bolter
. Legionary w/ Options: [20Pts]: Augury Scanner [10Pts], Bolt Pistol, Bolter
. Legionary w/ Options: [20Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Legion Vexilla [10Pts]
. Legionary w/ Options: [20Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Nuncio-Vox [10Pts]

Tactical Squad [165Pts]: Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Power Armour
. Legion Tactical Sergeant [35Pts]: Bolter, Meltabombs [10Pts], Plasma Pistol [10Pts], Power Armour, Raven’s Talon [15Pts]
. 6x Legionary [60Pts]: 6x Bolt Pistol, 6x Bolter
. Legionary w/ Options: [20Pts]: Augury Scanner [10Pts], Bolt Pistol, Bolter
. Legionary w/ Options: [20Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Legion Vexilla [10Pts]
. Legionary w/ Options: [20Pts]: Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Nuncio-Vox [10Pts]

++ Total: [1,997Pts] ++