The icon of the Angel's Tears.
The Angel's Tears, often called the "Broken Blade," or "Dead Hand," were members of the First Sphere of the ancient Blood Angels Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.
They were the most commonly seen of the Orders of the First Sphere and were specialists in the use of weapons of mass destruction. The warriors of the Angel's Tears served the same dark role in combat that other Space Marine Legions referred to as Destroyers.
Each individual warrior of this Order bore the rank and title of "Erelim," and served as Sanguinius' wrath set forth by his will to scour away those he decreed unworthy of being saved.
The Angel's Tears do not exist in the Blood Angels Chapter of the late 41st Millennium.
Role
An Erelim armed with twin Volkite Serpentas.
The Angel's Tears, who were also sometimes called the "Silver Masks," and the "Hands of Justice," took to the field of war only at the direct command of Sanguinius himself, serving as his agents on those rare occasions when the Great Angel deemed an enemy worthy only of annihilation.
Armed with weapons best suited to the swift culling of those unworthy of a place in the Emperor's bright new Imperium, they descended upon the foe suddenly and unannounced, faces concealed in the silver death-masks of their Order and oaths of retribution on their lips.
As with the other Orders of the First Sphere of the Blood Angels, the Angel's Tears surrendered their names and identities for the term of their service, taking one of the ritual names that identified them as a true Angel of Death, a bringer of destruction and a remorseless killer.
Such ritual trappings stem from the teachings of Sanguinius himself, owing their origins to neither Terra nor Baal, a product of his own wisdom. They served to insulate his warriors from the horrific deaths they caused, for when a member of the Erelim put aside his mask and returned to the ranks of the Legion under his old name, he bore no lingering taint for the slaughter and destruction caused by the Erelim whose mantle he bore.
Unit Composition
- 4-9 Erelim
- 1 Arch-Erelim (Sergeant)
Wargear
An Erelim armed with an Angel's Tears Grenade Launcher.
- Power Armour
- Artificer Armour (Arch-Erelim only)
- Chainsword or Combat Blade
- Frag Grenades
- Krak Grenades
- Rad Grenades
- 2 Volkite Serpenta
- Jump Pack
- Melta Bombs
- Angel's Tears Grenade Launcher (As replacement for 1 Volkite Serpenta)
- Heavy Flamer As replacement for 1 Volkite Serpenta)
- Iliastus Pattern Assault Cannon and suspensor web (As replacement for 1 Volkite Serpenta)
- Rotor Cannon (As replacement for 1 Volkite Serpenta)
- Heavy Chainsword (As replacement for 1 Volkite Serpenta or as replacement for Chainsword/Combat Blade of Arch-Erelim)
- Power Weapon (Any type) (As replacement for Chainsword/Combat Blade of Arch-Erelim)
- Power Fist (As replacement for Chainsword/Combat Blade of Arch-Erelim)
- 1 Lightning Claw (As replacement for Chainsword/Combat Blade of Arch-Erelim)
- Thunder Hammer (As replacement for Chainsword/Combat Blade of Arch-Erelim)
- Plasma Pistol (As replacement for either or both of Arch-Erelim's Volkite Serpentas)
Notable Angel's Tears
- Hanziel - Hanziel was the Commander of the Order of Angel's Tears during the last years of the Great Crusade. He took part in the Battle of Signus Prime, but it is not known if Hanziel survived to see the Blood Angels' victory over that world's daemon hordes.
Sources
- The Horus Heresy Book Eight: Malevolence (Forge World Series) by Neil Wylie and Anuj Malhotra, pp. 58, 70, 124, 208
- Warhammer Community - The Next Stages of The Horus Heresy
