Detachment Focus: Inner Circle Task Force

In this series of articles we take a deep dive into a specific detachment for a faction, covering the faction’s rules and upgrades and talking about how to build around that faction for competitive play. In this article, we’re covering the Inner Circle Task Force Detachment from Codex Supplement: Dark Angels.

There wasn’t a lot to love about the Dark Angels when their supplement first released in early 2023; the new datasheets were lackluster and the point values were more or less “bonkers.” But a series of dataslate updates and point adjustments have helped them tremendously, making Deathwing Knights and Inner Circle Companions significantly more playable. This was a boon in turn for competitive Space Marines players, and there have been many successful Dark Angels lists since then, though few have run the army’s bespoke Detachments.

Detachment Overview

The Inner Circle Task Force Detachment is the Deathwing Detachment of Codex: Dark Angels, giving you a way to more or less play the chapter’s first company on the table. It’s geared firmly toward using those units, and almost every one of the Stratagems and Enhancements in the Detachment will only affect Deathwing Infantry. That basically means the chapter’s Characters, Deathwing Terminators, Inner Circle Companions, Veterans (Bladeguard, Sterngard, and Vanguard), plus Land Raiders and Dreadnoughts. That gives you quite a few units to work with, but your army’s overall effectiveness will wax and wane with the viability of Deathwing Terminators, particularly Deathwing Knights.

Because it relies on a Terminator-heavy strategy to the exclusion of almost all else, the Inner Circle Task Force Detachment isn’t particularly flexible and its stratagems leave a bit to be desired. There’s some definite power in the detachment – getting +1 to wound with Terminators can be pretty nasty – but overall it’s not quite as powerful an option as the Gladius Task Force. Still, if you’re looking to run the Inner Circle Task Force in a competitive setting, it has been done before.

Detachment Rule: Vowed Target

At the start of your Movement phase, pick one of the following:

• Defensive Footing – Pick one objective marker you control to be your Vowed objective marker until the start of your next Movement phase.
• Aggressive Push – Pick one or more objective markers you do not control to be Vowed objective markers until the start of your next Movement phase

When a Deathwing Infantry unit from your army makes an attack against a unit within range of one or more of your Vowed objective markers, they get +1 to their To Wound rolls.

This is solid. Not amazing, but solid. Deathwing really benefit from +1 to wound given the limited strength range of their weapons, and the rule gives you the flexibility to determine if you need to go aggressive or defensive. That said, it’s very objective-focused, and while most missions involve fighting over objectives, the ability to step off an objective to avoid being hit by this puts control of it firmly in an opponent’s hands. This is also an ability which can often be inert on the game’s first turn, particularly if you’re going first – in most scenarios, going second is going to be ideal for you as you can react to an opponent taking an objective, wiping them off of it and capturing it for yourself.

Four of the Stratagems in this detachment key off your Vowed objective markers, allowing you to supercharge those with careful placement and objective decisions. Keep an eye on those when you pick your Vowed objectives before you start moving.

Enhancements

The Enhancements in this Detachment can only be given to DEATHWING models. They’re nothing to write home about, with the potential exception of Deathwing Assault.

• Champion of the Deathwing (15 points) – The bearer’s melee weapons gain the [LETHAL HITS] ability and each time they make a melee attack against a target that’s within range of a Vowed objective marker, they score critical hits on a 5+.  
• Eye of the Unseen (10 points) – Each time you target the bearer’s unit with a Stratagem, roll a D6 and add 1 to the result if the bearer is within range of a Vowed objective marker. On a 5+, you gain 1 CP. The circumstances for this are to specific for it to really be useful, but there are worse ways to spend your last 10 points.
• Singular Will (20 points) – Each time the bearer’s unit piles in or Consolidtes, they can move an extra 3″. This is interesting, but pricey. It’s not a bad ability to have, but it tends to be more useful on large units and now that you can’t take squads of ten Deathwing Knights, it’s a bit too expensive for what you get.
• Deathwing Assault (30 points) – Can only go on a model with Deep Strike. The bearer’s unit can be set up using Deep Strike during your first, second, or third Movement phase. Note that this says “your” Movement phase – you can’t use this to Rapid Ingress during the first battle round. That, combined with a hefty 30-point price tag, really hurts the utility of this Enhancement, and so it doesn’t really see play despite ostensibly being a very strong ability. If you’re taking this, there’s some solid synergy with the Relic Teleportarium Stratagem to drop more than 3″ away from an enemy unit.

You can live without these effects, and that’s fine – you want to spend as many points as you can on Terminators and other strong Inner Circle units in this detachment anyways. Deathwing Assault is the only stand-out of the bunch but like we said, the inflexibility with Rapid Ingress really hampers it.

Stratagems

Aside from Armour of Contempt, all of the Stratagems in the Inner Circle Task Force Detachment can only affect Deathwing units. Four of these key off your Vowed objective markers.

• Armour of Contempt (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in the opponent’s Shooting or Fight phase when one of your units is targeted to reduce the AP of incoming attacks by 1 against that unit for a phase. Always useful to have, and a staple for the Space Marines faction. Particularly useful for an army of units sitting on a 2+ save, where combining the effect with cover means that someone will have to hit AP-3 before they’re even putting you on a 3+.
• Martial Mastery (Epic Deed, 1 CP) – Used in the Fight phase on a Deathwing Infantry unit that hasn’t fought yet. That unit can re-roll wound rolls of 1 until the end of the phase, or re-roll all wound rolls if your unit is within range of your Vowed objective marker. This is a solid boost, and the ability to control when and where you’ll get the better version makes Vowed objective markers much better. That said, the utility of this is a bit diminished by the fact that you can’t take a ton of Devastating Wounds weapons in your Deathwing units, though it can still be solid for pushing through a bunch of damage against vehicle/monster targets with Maces of Absolution and it’s great for your Great Weapon of the Unforgiven.
• Duty Unto Death (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Used in the Fight phase when a Deathwing unit is picked as the target of an attack. Until the end of the phase, when a model in that unit dies roll a D6 and add 1 to the result if that unit is within range of your Vowed objective marker. On a 4+ that unit can fight before it’s removed from play. While you generally want your terminators to be the aggressors, sometimes they’ll get charged by a really nasty melee unit and this is a great way to punish an opponent for doing that, ensuring you still get value out of your unit before they die. Getting it on a 3+ instead of a 4+ is huge, but doing that trick may require some forethought given you’ll often be using this on an opponent’s turn. Note that this also works on Dreadnoughts.
• Relic Teleportarium (Strategic Ploy, 1 CP) – Used in your Movement phase. One Deathwing unit from your army arriving via Deep Strike can be placed anywhere on the battlefield more than 3″ away from all enemy models. That unit can’t declare a charge this turn. You can’t combine this with Rapid Ingress but that doesn’t really matter – this is an incredibly useful for dropping units in key positions for completing actions, contesting objectives, or just generally blowing your opponent off the table with shooting attacks. This is something you want to be using almost every game, as just the threat of it forces your opponent to change how they play and commit more resources to backfield defense.
• Wrath of the Lion (Epic Deed, 1 CP) – Used in your Charge phase on a unit of Deathwing Infantry that just ended a charge move. Pick an enemy unit within Engagement range of your unit and roll a D6 for each model in your unit, with +1 to the roll if the enemy unit is within range of your Vowed objective marker. On a 4+, that enemy unit takes 1 mortal wound, to a max of 3. Your Deathwing don’t have grenades, but this is an OK – but not great – replacement. If you’re getting the 3+ then nailing 3 mortal wounds with 5-6 models is very likely, and even with a 4+ you’re more often than not going to get at least 2 mortal wounds so the variance on this isn’t wild. That said, it’s going to be rare that you come across a threat where three mortal wounds make that big a difference. The best target are enemy terminators and other durable, 3-wound units with good saves/invulnerable saves.
• Unmatched Fortitude (Battle Tactic, 1 CP) – Used in your opponent’s Shooting phase, after they pick a Deathwing Infantry unit as a target. Until the end of the phase, each time an attack targets that unit with a Strength higher than the unit’s toughness, subtract 1 from the Wound roll. This is very useful for weathering some of the nastier shooting in the game, and if you thought Deathwing Knights were over-the-top durable before, this makes them just incredibly gross to try and remove. The shame is that it doesn’t work in the fight phase, but if you wanted to stand in the open on an objective screaming “COME OUT INTO THE STREET AND FIGHT ME, COWARDS,” this is the Stratagem for you. 

These Stratagems are solid, but not amazing. They key off the Detachment rule well enough for some added boosts, but don’t rise to the level of nastiness you can get from say, the Gladius Task Force, or the utility you get from Vanguard. That said, they play well with what Deathwing Knights and Terminators bring to the table and help ensure you get the most out of those units.

Playing This Detachment

Let’s get this out of the way: While this detachment offers you some solid abilities, you’re almost certainly better off competitively running this army as a Gladius Task Force. That said, there’s lots of value to be had in this Detachment, and while no one is going to applaud you for winning games with Gladius, there may be full parades in your honor if you win a GT with the Inner Circle Task Force. Which isn’t to say it’s that bad – we have a 4-1 list you can look at below – but it’s definitely the hard mode for Deathwing Knights, comparatively speaking.

If you’re running this Detachment, your list starts with 15 Deathwing Knights. They’re the best unit in the Codex, and you want as many of them as you can get. From there you want one unit of Inner Circle Companions, taken as a full squad of 6, and you’ll want them led by someone. Azrael is an option here, and although his ability to give them SUSTAINED HITS 1 doesn’t do much for their sweep, it’s a solid add for their Strike ability, and that’s what you want to use most of the time anyways given it’s the 2-damage mode, plus his 4+ Invulnerable save is something they really need. They can also be led by a Judiciar and that’s not a bad look, either – giving them Fights First is pretty solid, and they can be a nasty character-hunting monster.

Because Deathwing Knights make up the backbone of this list and have no guns, the list itself is likely to function more as a melee list, scrapping over the middle of the table as the Knights sit on objectives. Successful Inner Circle lists have leaned into this, supporting those units with a large base of melee threats such as Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs, Bladeguard Veterans, and Assault Intercessors.

The list prefers to go second and react, since doing so means you can open the game daring an opponent to step onto objectives, then Vow those and clear them off. That said, this can backfire on missions where holding lots of objectives doesn’t do much, like Scorched Earth – your opponent doesn’t have the same incentive to come out and play aggressively, more or less turning off your Detachment ability. The good news is that if that happens, Deathwing Knights are among the game’s most durable objective holders, and can weather some shooting as they sit on objectives and score primary.

Sample List

Liam Keane took this list to a 4-1 finish at the Leeds 40k Super Major in mid September, beating Necrons, Chaos Space Marines, Drukhari, and Space Wolves en route to a 27th place finish (loss the Admech in round 3). The list leans heavily on melee threats with some utility players like Scouts and a Callidus Asssassin. There are four units of jump infantry here, and the Vanguard Veteran units each pack four(!) inferno pistols.

The list - click to expand

This list puts Azrael with the Inner Circle Companions and the Judiciar with the Bladeguard Veterans, though against weaker hordes you might swap those just to get more Sustained Hits. The four jump units give the list a ton of quick punch which can help supplement the otherwise slow Deathwing Knight units, and can be particularly helpful with Actions or covering objectives the Knights either can’t get to or have been killed off from.

Final Thoughts

Dark Angels are pretty good right now, mostly off the back of having some of the best units available to Space Marines in Deathwing Knights and Inner Circle Companions – those are two solid units which are currently underpriced. Which is unfortunate, because when they get a points hike, this Detachment is going to immediately become fully unplayable. That said, if you wanted a different detachment to run Deathwing Knights in, Inner Circle is an option.

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