Hey Blood Angels players and fans, Chaplain Sam back with more thoughts on the new Blood Angels codex. Today's focus is elites, which is probably the most juicy FOC slot. I'm expecting most BA builds will max out elite slots because there are some good options. Let's get to it.
Good
- Death Company – Those gripped by the Black Rage have changed a bit, mostly for the good. I'll start with the not-so-good news - the standard cost per model stayed the same and DC's weapon skill was moved down to WS4. But, jump packs are now 3ppm instead of 15ppm, which is huge! Jumper DC are now a legitimate option. Death Company can finally claim objectives like everything else in the game as well. On top of that the unit size is 5-15 and more than one unit can be taken without bringing Astorath. Other than that, they are essentially the same. They still have Feel No Pain (FNP) and they still bring a truckload of attacks into combat. Add Astorath and the unit rerolls to-hits and to-wounds. A unit of kitted out Death Company will hold their own in combat against pretty much anything except a unit of kitted out Thunderwolf Cavalry or anything with widespread invulnerable saves.
- Furioso Dreadnought - Magna-grapples are no longer an extra ranged attack, so Furioso Dreadnoughts' role is more specialized now. They won't perform as well against armor with only a single meltagun, but they can still absolutely roast infantry with the Frag Cannon (now a 5 point upgrade). I won't be surprised to see a return to the Heavy Flamer instead of a Meltagun. You still won't be able to allocate wounds out past the range of a template, but it will help against the Fragnoughts perfect target - open topped transports. 3D6 hits on the unit inside an open topped transport from the Heavy Flamer and the Frag Cannon? Yes please. I should note that Blood Talons are now Sx2 AP2 and have Shred. That makes combat Furioso Dreadnoughts much better against armor and terminators, but the age of the Blendernought and mowing through a unit of 20 Ork Boys is over. Also, Furioso Dreads are down to WS5 now unfortunately. However, I still love Fragnoughts and I still think they are a strong choice.
Average
- Terminator Assault Squad - Terminators in general aren't very good right now because of how common AP1/2 is. You end up paying for durability that isn't actually as durable as you'd hope. Hamminators get around this by picking up an invulnerable save. They're pricey, but they are nasty in combat against pretty much anything. In the past I'd recommend taking a transport, but Land Raiders aren't viable (spoiler) and Stormravens with precious cargo become a much too juicy target. I think your best bet is just deep striking in along side a jumper heavy army such that your opponent can't run away. Admittedly, Terminators are on the low end of average and are teetering towards poor, but at least the new models are incredibly awesome.
- Sanguinary Guard - I mentioned before that Sanguinary Guard were the unit that caught my eye and lead me to pick up Blood Angels. I'm happy to say they have improved quite a bit in the new codex. They're down from 40ppm to 33ppm and can now be taken in units with 5-10 models. They are largely the same otherwise, but those changes are good enough to bump the Sanguinary Guard to average! If Sanguinary Guard had the option to pay for weapon upgrades, rather than coming standard with them, they would be much better. Then you'd be looking at 25ppm unit that can have a few ablative wounds protecting the move expensive heavy hitters. Maybe next time! Overall, I'm excited about the changes and I look forward to dusting these guys off and throwing some dice with them.
- Vanguard Veteran Squad - Vanguard Vets got hugely discounted! In the last book they were 30ppm with a jump pack and now they are down to 22! You can kit them out to be pretty mean in combat, but it gets pricey (unless you run the Archangels Sanguine Wing formation - Spoiler). Of course, they lost the ability to assault right after deep striking, but who didn't see that coming. Vanguard Vets are a fine choice, but with some formation help they can be pretty nasty.
- Sternguard Veteran Squad - Sternguard haven't changed aside from getting 3ppm cheaper and gaining access to Combi-gravs and Grav-guns. You can take two Grav-guns per unit and then Combi-gravs on the rest except for the sergeant. A squad of five Sternguard Veterans with 2 Grav-guns and 2 Combi-gravs in a drop pod will cause some headaches. Remember, they still have special issue ammunition so they can still be effective even after using their combi weapons. I will say they are still a pretty expensive unit after kitting them out, though formations offer a solution to that.
- Command Squad - The Honor Guard are no more and in their place we have the Command Squad. They are essentially the same thing, but they are 5ppm cheaper. A Command Squad can be kitted out to do pretty much whatever you want. They have access to most weapon options. They also pickup FNP because there is a Sanguinary Novitiate included in the unit. My favorite build is three Grav-guns on the Veterans and jump packs on everyone, but bikes can do essentially the same thing and won't take up a elite slot. You could also ditch the jump packs and take a drop pod. I think Command Squads are really limited by not being able to increase the squad size or take special/ranged weapons on the Sanguinary Novitiate or the Company Champion, but they are still solid.
Poor
- Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost – Man... Lemartes was a riot, but they nerf bat hath taken away his swagger. He doesn't go as insane after taking a wound, he no longer gives Death Company reroll to-wounds, he takes his own elite slot and he went up in price! Bah! Lemartes is doomed to be a shelf model I'm afraid.
- Terminator Squad - These guys still stink, but at least they have some cool new models. They are just too expensive when they are actually fairly easy to kill. It doesn't help that they have pretty terrible damage output for their price.
- Dreadnought - Standard Dreads are out shined by the Furioso Dreadnought variant in almost every way. They can be suited up with more long range guns, but you'll find plenty of that in other FOC slots that aren't so crowded.
- Death Company Dreadnought - DC Dreads didn't change in any way that made them better or good enough to warrant taking. They still need a ride to get into combat. You can either put them in a pod or a storm raven, but they can't assault from a pod so they need other units coming down to attract fire. If you put one in a storm raven it just becomes a huge, juicy target that will likely get blown to bits. The changes to Blood Talons mean DC Dreads will do fine work against armor and terminator equivalent units, but they won't clear large units anymore. As troops they were interesting, but as an elite they just aren't a strong choice. They're WS4 now too... Blasphemy!
Chaplain Sam’s Choice: Death Company! I am looking forward to running a few squads of these crazy bastards up the board and getting into combat.
I hope you enjoyed this post in the BA review series. Keep an eye for the next one!
Chaplain Sam signing off!
I hope you enjoyed this post in the BA review series. Keep an eye for the next one!
Chaplain Sam signing off!