The Sons of the Lion have a brand new Codex Supplement going up for pre-order this weekend, including rules for a new Combat Patrol. This is the Vengeful Brethren, a group of battle-hardened Adeptus Astartes tasked with hunting down the deadliest enemies of the Chapter – no matter the cost.
These elite warriors are led by Master Zacharial, an unyielding Captain clad in Gravis armour and equipped with a boltstorm gauntlet and relic chainsword. Accompanying him is a squad of 10 Intercessors, five Hellblasters, and a cadre of three Bladeguard Veterans – the sword and shield of the Chapter.Oath of Moment remains your primary Combat Patrol ability, allowing you to pick out a priority target each battle round, while Master Zacharial has a choice of two Enhancements. His starting option is Determined Combatant, which triggers when he’s within range of an objective marker, providing
to all his attacks – perfect for driving enemies off vital locations.
The Vengeful Brethren need something to exercise their vengefulness on, and the default secondary objective Hunters of Heretics rewards these determined Space Marines for executing enemy CHARACTERS. Alternatively, Take the Stronghold encourages an aggressive playstyle, providing extra Victory Points for controlling a specific objective marker outside of your deployment zone.
Most of your troops are armed with ranged combat, but you’re incentivised to get stuck into melee by the Unyielding Stratagem. The Dark Angels are instilled with a fervour that goes beyond death, and they go down swinging on a roll of a 4+. Your elite Bladeguard Veterans have it even better, and hit back on a 3+ instead.
The rest of the rules are in the new Codex Supplement: Dark Angels, and will be available online and on the Warhammer 40,000 app at a later date. You’ll be able to pre-order the Combat Patrol itself on Saturday – it even comes with two of the current Dark Angels Primaris Upgrade frames, so you can add some extra Calibanite flair to your Combat Patrol.