CHAPTER INFORMATION

Hobbyist: Blair Mackey, HR Coordinator
Name of Chapter: Dark Angels
Homeworld: Caliban

COMMAND SQUAD ARMY LIST ENTRY

SQUAD SELECTION AND TACTICA

Blair Mackey: I was really excited about the opportunity to put together a new Command squad for my Dark Angels army. In the past, I have focused on the shooting aspect of the army with very few close-combat elements. However, the games I have played with this force have taught me a somewhat-obvious lesson: shooty armies are great, until the opponent gets into close combat with you.

Thus, for a while now, I have wanted to start incorporating some assault elements into my existing army. My Command squad seemed like a great place to start! After all, your Command squad is where your über heroes are, and they tend to be marginally better at shooting and really good in close combat.

I am planning on taking a Chaplain to lead my Command squad – with the new rules for them in the new Codex: Space Marines, how could I resist? Although I wasn't sure about including a Company Champion, once I saw the bitz for him on the Command squad sprue, I knew he would look great in any army. He was on the list. I also wanted to put an Apothecary in my Squad to help out with any ranged wounds the squad suffered on its way into combat. I made a point of leaving some ranged weapons in the squad – for example, my Veteran Sergeant retained his bolter instead of picking up a bolt pistol and close combat weapon. Finally, I rounded out the squad with a Standard Bearer to bolster the team's morale in combat.

THE CONVERTED COMMAND SQUAD

When assembling the squad, I wanted to keep the Dark Angels robe look as it is one of my army's trademarks. When converting the models, I focused primarily on three figures: the Company Champion, the Standard Bearer, and the Apothecary.

COMPANY CHAMPION
For the Champion, I started with the limited edition Dark Angels' Sergeant body and removed the arms with clippers. If you are unable to get hold of this miniature, almost any robed Dark Angel miniature will suffice. For the shoulder pads, I used one of the cool Champion shoulder pads and a Dark Angel one. I also found a Forge World Dark Angel symbol and used that on the shield. Finally, I really wanted to make use of the Champion's awesome helmet, so I drilled out the Sergeant's original head and replaced it with the plastic bit.

	COMPANY STANDARD BEARER
	For the Standard Bearer, I used the plastic arms from the Command Squad Boxed Set and added them to a metal robed body. I definitely kept the plastic banner, as I find these banners are easier to paint. Lastly, I once again paired a Dark Angel metal shoulder pad with one of the Command squad plastic ones to finish up.

SPACE MARINE APOTHECARY
For the Champion, I started with Azrael's body and removed the arms with clippers. For the shoulder pads, I used one of the cool Champion shoulder pads and a Dark Angel one. I also found a Forge World Dark Angel symbol and used that on the shield. Finally, I really wanted to make use of the Champion's awesome helmet, so I drilled out Azreal's head and replaced it with the plastic bit.

	SPACE MARINE

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