Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Open Blood Angels List Builder

The Blood Angels open list builder is here. If anyone sees something to update it, tell me or fix it yourself  and send it back to me and I will re-post it.

Credit

Friday, October 19, 2012

Strike From the Sky, Brothers?

Let's try to simplify a little the choice about making your charge or trying to get off a Hammer of Wrath attack.

Credit
Well, 3++ already worked out that your average charge range is 7".
We know that 8" out is a guarantee.
We know that a 14" is a guarantee using a jump pack movement.

After that, you will have to balance your chances of being damaged on Overwatch and left in the open for the opponent's round of shooting. However, if the enemy will have a hard time reaching you with firepower, it could be well worth the risk to try to land that assault. The re-roll on an assault  charge is only worth 1-2" on average compared to no re-roll.
Well, Plague Marine worked out the jump pack assault percentages. I re-made the table to help be able to in making decisions before moving after measuring how far your xenos filth of a target is away. The Emperor protects!


Total            6"%               12"%

9"              >99%              100%
10"              99%              100%
11"              97%              100%
12"              92%              100%
13"              83%              100%
14"              66%              100%
15"              48%                97%
16"              31%                92%
17"              16%                83%
18"                5%                72%
19"                                     58%
20"                                     42%
21"                                     28%
22"                                     17%
23"                                       8%
24"                                       3%              

If you move 6" your average re-roll charge range will be 8"-9" "(Total 14"-15") . You should feel (66%) confident if you start 14" away to get off Hammer of Wrath. If you really wanted to gamble on the furthest target away to make an assault, move your full jump pack move and hope you roll big up to a maximum 24" move and charge. You have about a 28% chance of grabbing 21" to deliver a punishing assault on the enemies of the Imperium. The heretic playing across the board from you might feel too comfortable leaving a delicate unit 19 or 20 inches away. This might be a nice opportunity to turn a difficult battle around for the Emperor's finest.
      

Reclusiarch

The Reclusiarch is the final HQ choice to get reviewed.
From the Angels of Death codex:

The first Space Marine Chapters were founded centuries before the development of the Imperial cult and the dominion of the Adeptus Ministorum. As a result every Space Marine Chapter has its own cult practices and its own priests, known as Chaplains. Whereas the Adeptus Ministorum has gradually extended its influence over all the many thousands of individual cults that once existed throughout the galaxy, it has never been able to influence the Space Marine cults which remain as stubbornly individualistic today as they ever were. Other civilian cults are denounced as heresy, and their adherents rooted out by the Ministorum's troops, but the Space Marine Chaplains care nothing for the ravings of the Ecclesiarchy and ignore the dictates of the Imperial cult in favour of their own ancient traditions.

The Chaplains administer the rites of their Chapter, performing the ancient ceremonies of Initiation and Vindication, as well as leading their brethren through the prayers of faith and sacred psalms of the Emperor. It must not be forgotten that Space Marines are devout warriors. Their faith in the divinity of the Emperor is as vital to them as their skills at arms, and their spiritual life is deep and complex. The Chaplains accompany their brothers into war, chanting the liturgies of battle as they lead the way into the ultimate consummation of battle and death.


                                                                             Credit
Blood Angels are fortunate to have an upgraded Chaplain as an HQ option as well as regular Chaplains in the Elite section. The Reclusiarch is a small force multiplier but is mostly a legitimate close combat threat. Let's peak at the stats:

Reclusiarch WS5 BS5 W3 I5 A3  3+4+ saves
Chaplain     WS5 BS4 W2 I4 A2  3+4+ saves

Seeing that nice BS5, it is worth upgrading his gun to a storm bolter or if you have the points, a plasma or inferno pistol because you will be hitting on a 2+. Anyone using Devastator squads know how powerful that signum is when you need to hit to take out those target priorities. If you're not upgrading to a power fist, you might want to think about melta bombs to make sure you can wreck any armour you may end up against especially because your Reclusiarch may end up outlasting the rest of his unit and need to switch roles. Since the Reclusiarch only has a power maul, it might be better to keep him as flexible as possible.

The Reclusiarch's special rules include Honour of the Chapter (makes units fearless), and Liturgies of Blood (this is post FAQ):

On a turn in which he charges, a Chaplain and all members of any unit chosen from Codex: Blood Angels the he has joined re-roll failed rolls To Hit. Models in a Death Company can also re-roll failed rolls To Wound (their rage makes them particularly susceptible to the Chaplain's fiery oratory).

Mr. Black:
Reclusiarch
We all know the real Captains of the Blood Angels, and it isn't the weenie that can't take Artificer Armor.

So here we are at the Reclusiarch, who on initial impression got knocked down a peg due to having a Power Maul; but really, is that so bad? I mean, he hits like a brick, sure he doesn't auto-ignore armor, but usually the combined wrath of him and the unit he's leading (never mind Death Company) are enough to mitigate that. But that seems to be all I've heard about him from people: "Power Maul, Power Maul, Power Maul"... Did those people forget he can also take a Power Fist for almost no points?


That's honestly how I've been running him, Fist and Maul. That way he has the option of hitting with whatever he deems best while still being the excellent combatant that he's always been!

Adding onto that he still confers Fearless, which as I mentioned way way back at the start is actually slightly worse than And They Shall Know No Fear but... Well, it varies per situation. Overall, however, he is still a great addition to the army for his combat prowess, variety of weapon options (and bikes! Don't forget bikes!), and utility he adds to the army. Basically, I would take a Reclusiarch and a Librarian, sending the Reclusiarch into the thick of things to hammer down some justice while allowing the Librarian to move around the board as needed, doing his Librarian buffing and debuffing.

Jack of all trades, master of none situation here in my mind. He is a potent melee force with a good amount of variety to him, and seeing as how characters will be living longer this edition he might actually get to see use of his skills, rather than just Wham, Bam, Dead like the olden days.

Stelek:
Reclusiarch. He’s fearless and can get a power fist.

BA Devastators:
Reclusiarchs are a fine choice that is a decent second to the Librarian. If your elites are filled up and you want to buff your Death Company, then he is a nice choice if you want a different weapon loadout than what Lemartes has. However, if you are looking at the Death Company as a distraction unit, its reputation should let you get away without needing to put a chaplain in to save points and invest them elsewhere.

A Reclusiarch or chaplain can also be a nice addition to small units like Honour Guard or the Sanguinary Guard to make them fearless and add something that they don't bring in having multiple wounds and an invulnerable save.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Power Weapon Profiles

In the rush of beloved armchair theoryhammerists to get information out quickly after FAQ's or other releases, they are not able to provide the level of detailed analysis needed to make the right  choices for specific codices, especially one ours (because it's the best, right?).

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Our Red Thirst blessings:

Deep within the psyche of every Blood Angel is a destructive yearning, a battle fury and blood-hunger that must be held in abeyance in every waking moment. Few Battle-Brothers can hold this Red Thirst in check unceasingly- it is far from unknown for Blood Angels to temporarily succumb to its lure at the height of battle.

Red Thirst provides the Fearless and Furious Charge rules to replace And They Shall Know No Fear. For today, we only want to look at the Furious Charge rules:

Furious Charge
In a turn in which a model with this special rule charges into combat, it adds +1 to its Strength characteristic until the end of the phase. A model that has made a disordered charge that turn receives no benefit from Furious Charge.

You will have to balance different kinds of reliabilities. Do you want to reliably strike, or do you reliably want to kill? Do you mix your weapon types up to provide balance to your squad or will you take one type and specialize?

A really durable unit like Death Company it might be advantageous to take Power axes because you have a good chance at surviving to strike at initiative one. However, your Sergeants might be interested in a Power sword, lance or maul to make sure they get a chance to swing at enemies.

Let's look again at the list if we are getting a Furious Charge off (remember, no multi-charges or you lose the bonus).

Power sword      S+1 AP3
Power axe          S+2 AP2 initiative one
Power maul        S+3 AP4 concussive
Power lance       S+2/User AP3/4

Looking at the To Wound Chart


we know it is just like our blessed bolters- Strength four is generally adequate and you need to be prepared to bring something stronger when the vile horde/xenos/traitor scum bring something tough.

Strength five and six are nice sweet spots to be hitting if you hitting at initiative and cutting through 3+ armour. That makes your regular Power sword a nice weapon to have if your enemy makes it to the second round. The Power lance really isn't enough of a buff to go back to AP4 for subsequent rounds when there is so much 3+ power armour running around. Taking a Power axe and Power maul are going to be for specific reasons which will be for a later post.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Fiftieth Post


I would just like to thank everyone who has stopped by for a visit and especially those who have left comments. If I wasn't getting the kind of readership I am, it would be much harder to keep the constant search for content continuing. Let's build this Blood Angels community together to be the envy of the 40K world.

Thanks,

Brent

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Blood Angels Blog

What do you want to read about from a Blood Angels blog?

I want to hear from you in the comments.

What I want is to see more content when there is no one talking about it anymore. How can we connect the older Rogue Trader players to the new ones just starting the game? A forum like the Bolter and Chainsword is nice, but it is inundated with talk about weapon loadouts and works in progress. When there is a new codex, FAQ or new edition, the armchair theoryhammerists pick apart the codex for power shifts and unit combinations. What's left after that? That's where blogs can come in and provide hopefully excellent commentary and perspective. I do hope that the growing Blood Angel blogosphere can come together and provide the players and especially new players everything they could need and dream of (except left handed devastators).

Please put your thoughts below.


Credit : David Galagher

Friday, October 12, 2012

Monday, October 8, 2012

Blood Angel Librarians

For many BA players, the Librarian was a default choice to take in 5th Edition for psychic defense and the Shield of Sanguinius if running armour. Blood Angel Librarians go back to the Angels of  Death codex:

The Apothecaries of every Chapter test its initiates' physical gene-structure whilst the psychic potential o fthe young candidates is examined by the Chapter's Librarians.

Librarians are powerful psykers. They are responsible for all interstellar communication with the power to project their minds through warp space. They are also adjudicators of the Chapter's psychic population, dividing psychic mutants into those whose powers are dangerous and those whose powers may be used by the Imperium...

Space Marine Librarians are trained to use their powers in battle: to unleash energy blasts, to sense the enemy's movements, and to predict the fortunes of battle. They learn how to read the Emperor's tarot and to sense the subtle movements of daemons and other extra-real entities through warp space. A Librarian can feel the psychic shock waves that herald the arrival of a spacecraft, or the turmoil that ships leave in their wake as they depart. All these powers and more make the Librarians the ultimate Warrior mystics, endowed with abilities which set them aside from their brother Space Marines. 

                                                                                                                                                   Credit: Codex: Angels of Death

Let's get to the stats:

WS5  W2  A2 and a 3+ save and don't forget about the Force weapon.

Which makes for a very vulnerable HQ character that you need to figure out how to protect.

Stelek:
Librarian. Still a staple. BA powers are still strong, giving you a 5+ cover save on turn 1. Nice to have. Fear of the Darkness has lost some power but if you can double tap a squad they will often run off the board anyway. Note that despite going last, a Librarian with a force axe is AP2 and with S10 up, can put the hurt on.


Mr. Black:
Well, you certainly changed a bit, didn't you?

Honestly, I'm probably going to do another article just focused on the changes to Psykers in this edition, and it's quite a lot to put down in just a paragraph. Basically, I think Librarians came out one of the top winners in sixth due to the sheer number of options you can give them. I know I have been enjoying my Terminator Epistolary (Divination) leading a large group of Bolter Death Company, and I've seen some great things done with a Biker Librarian (Telekinesis).

Overall the field for psykers changed radically, so you really can't just look at them like normal Special Characters anymore. Sure, they have all the same benefits, such as Look Out Sir, Challenges, and all the rest, but they're so much more than that now- now they are a real force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, able to both buff and destroy enemy units at a whim.

Of course, not to neglect our own brand of psychic powers: Blood Lance became an amazing anti-flyer tool, and Unleash Rage is just as good as ever. Fear the Darkness? Well, you can't escort units away anymore, but combine it with some of the new powers and some truly dangerous combinations begin to appear.

In the end psykers are now a huge deal, and I feel they deserve more than just the cursory talk this article will give. We'll speak later over the complex changes and differences psykers make this edition.

3++:
-Our libbies got both boosted and nerfed all at the same time. Boosted in that opposing libbies can't stop our powers that help our own units (Shield, Wings, etc), nerfed because our hoods got nerfed too. Mephiston and Libby Dreads are much more reliable now. That said, fudgemuiffin Wolves and Eldar still have their great psy defence, so it's not all roses.

BA Devastators:
If you are not sure which HQ to take, a Librarian is a good all-around choice. You can give him various weapon loadouts along with a choice of psychic powers. You can't really go wrong for that kind of smaller points investment. You just need to make sure he is protected in a unit or even better in a vehicle.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Podcast on Blood Angels

Getting fresh Blood Angel content will get harder and harder until it's their turn for a new codex, so enjoy the first of two parts from the Heroic 28's. Link here.


Go forward, brothers!
Credit: Heretics Codex

Friday, October 5, 2012

Rapid Fire

Before being able to move beyond on the Sternguard, the Rapid Fire section of the 6th Edition rulebook needs to examined. How often do Blood Angels even rapid fire anyway?



Let's go right to the source Warhammer 40,000:



Let's review what this means for your Sternguard, 1st Company Veteran Heroes of the Imperium. 

1. You can move, and then you can still shoot up to the maximum range of the weapon.

2. If your unit is divided between ranges, you just measure to see who can still Rapid Fire.

3. Vengeance Rounds will Rapid Fire at only 9", while Kraken bolts can reach 15" to Rapid Fire.

4. If you shoot with a Rapid Fire weapon, you may not assault.

5. If you want to assault, you need to use your standard issue bolt pistols, upgraded pistols or
    assault weapons like meltaguns. 

Monday, October 1, 2012

1st Company Tactical Veterans

1st Company Tactical Veterans are more commonly known to everyone as Sternguard or Sternguard Squad or Sternguard Veterans. It is a new option for the 5th Edition Codex: Blood Angels that was essentially identical to the Codex: Space Marines one released beforehand. Sternguard are like a swiss army knife in comparison to the blunt force trauma of Assault Terminators who share the same really valuable Elite slot in the army. Sternguard are like Tactical marines except with one greater close combat attack. Their value lies in being able to take Special Issue Ammunition:

Name                              Range                  Strength            AP        Type

Dragonfire Bolts                24"                         4                    5          Rapid Fire, Ignores Cover

Vengeance Rounds           18"                         4                     3          Rapid Fire, Gets Hot!

Kraken Bolts                     30"                          4                    4          Rapid Fire

Hellfire Rounds                 24"                          1 (FAQ)         5          Rapid Fire, Poisoned (2+)
                                                                                          Against targets with a toughness value, hits
                                                                                  from hellfire rounds will always wound on a roll of 2+

 (Table from Codex: Blood Angels)

Please especially take note of hellfire rounds as they are going to put wounds on models that are difficult to do otherwise. Four choices of shots allow you to try to put the most damage onto the abominations that your heroic veterans are facing.




Sternguard are one hundred twenty-five points at base in a valuable Elites slot compared to only ninety for a Tactical Squad that is scoring. However, in the options section, there are significant discounts on special ranged weapons and you can arm yourself with standard close combat death dealing choices. Please note that you lose your special ammunition if you select a storm bolter.