In light of 7th edition, I have been bouncing around ideas for a competitive Blood Angels list. Some of my initial considerations- not all encompassing:
Assault is still weak with regard to jump pack Blood Angels- they're just too expensive and lack oomph.
Psychic powers are a lot less reliable to cast this edition and require a significant amount of point investment to work.
AV 11 is still weak, but, I am interested to test fast Rhinos and Razors. I don't think they will hold up, especially as armies transition to take on high AV.
Object Secured (OBSEC) Land Raiders...
I created a list using one CAD, without allies. There is an argument to be made to include GK Coteaz, henchmen, and maybe a Stormraven for the mindstrike missiles. Codex: GK Coteaz does not appear to be FAQ'd to no longer include the special rule, 'Lord of Formosa' and as near as I can tell still makes henchmen troops. LoF was removed from Coteaz' special rules in the Inquisition Codex, right?
Another option would be to ally in DA for the PFG and bolter banner...
Getting back to a pure BA list; one of the things that I love about Blood Angels is the troop ability to take land raiders as dedicated transports. In an 1850 list, I can reasonably take 3-4 land raiders that are object-secured (OBSEC). My question is do I take a mixture of anti-tank and anti-troop, or, do I invest in one or the other? Time and games may tell. Here is my initial crack at a list:
1850 Pts - Blood Angels Roster
HQ:
1 Librarian with Force Axe
Elites:
1 Techmarine
1 Servitor Unit
1 Techmarine
1 Servitor Unit
1 Techmarine
1 Servitor Unit
Troops:
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider Crusader, Multi-melta
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider Crusader, Multi-melta
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Flamer
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider, Multi-melta
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Flamer
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider, Multi-melta
Heavy Support:
1 Stormraven Gunship, Las Cannon, M Melta
Four OBSEC Land Raiders on the table would seem very intimidating. I want to try a combination of LRs and LR Crusaders. In fact, I swapped out the Assault Cannon (AssCan) on my Stormraven in favor of a Las Cannon (LC). I think LCs are the go to weapon to counter lists that rely on high AV units to carry it (like mine). Giving each Techmarine a Servitor translates to a 50% chance of succeeding repair rolls. BA Servitors are expensive- 15 points each, but, I think its worth it to bump up success rate from 33% to 50%.
I feel like only fielding one Stormraven, the unit is prone to AA fire and other fliers. Should I swap out the 4th Land Raider in favor of a second Stormraven? Maybe the list would look more like this:
1850 Pts - Blood Angels Roster
HQ:
1 Librarian with Force Axe
Elites:
1 Techmarine
1 Servitor Unit
1 Techmarine
1 Servitor Unit
1 Techmarine
1 Servitor Unit
Troops:
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider Crusader, Multi-melta
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider Crusader, Multi-melta
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Flamer
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
1 Land Raider, Multi-melta
Assault Squad
3 Assault Marines with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
1 Assault Marine with Flamer
1 Sergeant, Melta Bombs
Heavy Support:
1 Stormraven Gunship, Las Cannon, M Melta
1 Stormraven Gunship, Las Cannon, M Melta
So, I swapped out the Land Raider for a second Stormraven. My 4th assault squad will retain jump packs and can deep strike onto the board, or, ride in a 'raven. This list leaves me an additional 30 points to play with...Maybe special weapons on a couple of my Sarges? In 5th, and the beginning of 6th I'd invest in Infernus Pistols for that extra melta shot. Playing through games, it became clear just how often I could whiff on my single melta shot dice rolls. Having an extra shot is important- especially in the absence of reliable prescience.
It will be interesting to look back at this post in 4 months and compare the old codex with the rumored new BA codex slated for this fall.
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