1,850 Points - Blood Angels

So after reading through the codex some more, I decided to try my hand at a 1,850 point list. I wanted to use a lot of the new units while still having a competitive list so here's what I came up with:



HQ

Librarian (Epistolary)
-will use Blood Lance and Unleash Rage and will ride in the Land Raider

Elites

Sanguinary Guard (Chapter Banner, Infernus Pistol, Power Fist)

3x Sanguinary Priests (2 Jump Packs)
-will be attached to the Sanguinary Guard and the two assault squads

Troops

10x Assault Marines (2 Meltaguns, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon)
-will keep their Jump Packs

10x Assault Marines (2 Meltaguns, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon, Land Raider Crusader with Multi-Melta)

Fast Attack

Baal Predator (Heavy Bolter Sponsons)

Heavy Support

Vindicator

Stormraven Gunship (Hurricane Bolters, Typhoon Missile Launcher)

I know there are only 33 models in the list but the new codex makes everything really expensive.

With the Sanguinary Priests giving Feel No Pain to my Assault Squads I think my troops choices will be much more durable. Though they are "assault" squads, I don't have to over-commit my forces early. They can take cover or ride around until needed so they're not Manticore'd off the table for example.

Additionally, though there are only two troops choices I can combat squad the Jump Pack Assault Squad and put five of them in the Stormraven to make it a scoring fast skimmer. Sure, Armor 12 means it has a moderate chance at getting shot down in the first or second turn but it can go flat-out to get that 4+ obscured roll and then in the next turn it can disembark the unit, fire 4 Bloodstrike Missiles AND it's Hurricane Bolters AND it's Assault Cannon AND it's Heavy Bolter AND it's Typhoon Missile Launcher (as two kraks or two frags), all while having Power of the Machine Spirit to possibly harass two different units, followed by that unit assaulting whatever's left. Or, no one has to ride in it. Who knows.

This new codex is quite different than any other book the Blood Angels have gotten, and it's going to take a lot of practice to get used to the new units and rules.

Blood Angels - First Thoughts

I've had a chance to pour through the actual codex (as my local game store has a copy now) and I'm quite impressed. This time the Blood Angels codex doesn't look like a copy/paste job from a different codex cough Dark Angels cough, and most of the units seem very well balanced in ability and cost.

There's a lot of new units and rules to take in, but to me the one unit that stands out is the Assault Squad. For a base cost of 190 points for a full 10-man unit, this unit has almost a half a page of options. In addition to being able to take a special weapon for every five models in the unit, the Sergeant can take an Infernus Pistol along with the typical Sergeant wargear. This potentially allows the unit to have three melta weapons for slightly less than 250 points. And the coolest part is that if you take the jump packs off of the unit, you get a 35 point discount on any dedicated transport, which in this codex happens to include Land Raiders. Thus, a 10 man Assault Squad with two meltaguns, a Sergeant with an Infernus Pistol and a Power Weapon, and a Land Raider with a Multi-Melta totals only 465 points! That's 25 points more than similarly armed Space Wolf Grey Hunters in a Land Raider Crusader but it only takes up a Troops slot instead of a Troops and a Heavy slot, and the Assault Squad will have Leadership 9 and possibly even Furious Charge if they rolled a one for the Red Thirst.

Another really cool unit I look forward to using is the Stormraven Gunship. With rear armor 12, an immunity to the melta rule, four S8 AP1 72" missiles, a twin-linked Assault Cannon, Power of the Machine Spirit, and having the "assault vehicle" rule all for 200 points, this fast skimmer will surely see regular play and possibly even tournament play.

As we approach the release day expect to see more Bell of Lost Souls articles covering this 96-page codex, as well as articles and even battle reports from myself.

Codex: Blood Angels

Okay, now that we're only three weeks away from the release of the new Blood Angels codex, we have a lot more solid information as to what's in it by people that have seen the actual book.

One of the things I want to talk about is the Descent of Angels ability. The entire army is subject to this rule and it is rumored to say that all Blood Angels models wearing Jump Packs may re-roll their reserve roll and they roll only one d6 for scatter. I really really like this rule as it seems the Blood Angels would definitely have a firm grasp on how to land after using their Jump Packs, however I don't think they're good enough with them to get a rule like that. They're an assault army and the Jump Pack is just another tool to them from what I've read over the years. The entire army should have Furious Charge by default, or at least get to pay for it for a few extra points per model as opposed to being Deep Strike masters. I see a rule like that belonging more to Raven Guard instead, as a majority of their army is either in Jump Packs or Speeders.

Another rule I'd like to talk about is how some of our vehicles are now "fast". I have one word to sum up my opinion on that: "excellent". I'm tired of rolling for Over-Charged Engines (OCE) as most of the time in my games I either roll a one meaning the vehicle couldn't move that turn or I'd roll a two or three and move as normal anyways. Now not only do we get the effect automatically but they expanded the ability from Rhinos and Baal Predators to Razorbacks and Vindicators. This is going to give the army a better ability to respond to situations, grab/contest objectives at the last minute, and just plain get across the table faster. I'm going to be watching a lot of battle reports this summer and probably making a few myself to see how much more of an impact this rule will make.

And finally, the most talked about entry in the Blood Angels codex is their new skimmer. So far it has been called the Storm Harbinger and the Stormraven, and it's inclusion in the army has been debated since late January when the original rumors of it's existence surfaced. Apparently it will actually be in the codex though the model won't be a first wave release. My guess is that they'll make it a summer release with any other Apocalypse super heavies that might be planned for that time. I'm also thinking there will be a third book for Apocalypse allowing all chapters of Space Marines to use it as Games Workshop is probably not going to spend that much money on a plastic mold for one army.

Well, I gotta run, so be on the lookout for new videos on my Sons of Sanguinius YouTube channel in the next week or so as I start to review the rumors during the lead-up to the release!