The new Codex: Blood Angels is somewhat unclear about which units and characters benefit from their 'Descent of Angels' Special Rule.
The Special Rule verbiage on page 23 indicates it applies to 'a Blood Angels unit with this special rule;' if interpreted to mean therefore only those units with 'Descent of Angels' listed in their individual unit Special Rules, only the HQs Dante, Astorath and the Sanguinor, the Elite Sanguinary Guard, and the Troop Assault Squads appear to benefit from 'Descent of Angels.'
However, the Equipment listing for Jump Packs on page 62 states that *any* 'Blood Angels model with a jump pack has the Descent of Angels special rule' and then specifically refers to page 23 (emphasis mine). This would extend the benefit of the Special Rule to any other character capable of purchasing a jump pack, and to jump pack equipped units which do not specifically reference 'Descent of Angels' in their unit listing. Vanguard Veterans are the unit of relevance here, because 'Descent of Angels' combined with 'Heroic Intervention' could be especially powerful (a possible negative consequence of interpreting the codex this way)...but the ability to join any BAdex character wearing a jump pack to a like-equipped squad, as this interpretation would allow, seems an equal positive.
I think the unit which best clarifies which way this rule should be interpreted is the Death Company. It's unit listing does not confer 'Descent of Angels'--but Chaplain Lemartes, who can now only be bought as an upgrade to the Death Company, does have the 'Descent of Angels' Special Rule, which would be meaningless if his mandatorily-attached squad could not benefit likewise.
As the jump pack listing confers the Special Rule and the rule explanation limits it to those *with* the Special Rule, the interpretation most consistent with both of those codex assertions would seem to be that the presence of a jump pack on a character model or unit of models in an army built using Codex: Blood Angels confers 'Descent of Angels' to that character or unit, regardless of whether the Special Rule is specified in their unit listing alone.
This has the benefit of allowing Independent Characters other than the three (very unique) special characters so identified to strap on a jump pack and run with assault marines, and clarifies the Death Company (and, yes, makes Vanguard Veterans *very* hard).
Unless errata'ed otherwise at some point by Games Workshop, this will clarify how 'Descent of Angels' will be ruled at any events I moderate, and other local retailers and referees are welcome to refer to it, for consistency.
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