Sunday 11 January 2015

"Take all Comers" Blood Angels 7th Edition List 1750pt



I have been slowly crafting (and now re-basing for the second time) a 1750pt Battle Forged list comprising of the "best performing" units from my collection, using quite a few second-hand models I have re-appropriated from various sources in my local gaming community. I deliberately went against the tempting jump infantry with Dante style list and have crafted it based solely on my experiences gaming with the new Tactical Objectives in many games against Tyranids, Tau, Eldar and Space Marines over many months, now tweaked with the new codex in mind. Gone is the Flamestorm Baal (no Scout), the Tacticals have picked up a new Heavy Flamer and swapped their ride with the Assault Squad (who combat squad with the Land Raider and characters).

Ordo Xenos Inquisitor (Warlord), Plasma Pistol, Rad Grenades
Liber Heresius, 3 Servo Skulls
Blood Angels Captain with Artificer Armour
Valour's Edge, Crown Angelic
Librarian, Force Axe
Furioso Dreadnought, Heavy Flamer
Frag Cannon
Dedicated Transport (Drop Pod)
10 Assault Marines, Vet Srg, 2 Meltaguns, Grav Pistol,  Power Fist
Dedicated Transport (Rhino)
Attack Bike, Heavy Bolter
5 Scouts, Camo Cloaks
Sniper Rifles, Missile Launcher
5 Tactical Marines, Heavy Flamer, Storm Bolter
Dedicate Transport (Razorback), Assault Cannons
Baal Predator, Assault Cannon and Heavy Bolters
Land Raider, Multi Melta
Knight Errant

The low model count still scares me coming from many years gaming with Orks, and from my initial Blood Angels lists using multiple ten man jump infantry units to soak up casualties. I also went against the "Feel No Pain" side of most Blood Angels lists, preferring to utilise the overlapping bonuses to improve my first turn assault with my characters loaded up in the Land Raider. Why bother trying to protect yourself with an apothecary when you could just wipe out the enemy before they have a chance to retaliate? At least that's the theory, and as long as I charge it seems to work.



So where does the magic lie? Provided you can keep him alive, the Xenos Inquisitorial Warlord provides many bonuses to assault and pairs very well with the Librarian using Sanguinary Powers. I generally like to divide these bonuses into "Static", "Random", and "Situation Dependent" when building the list to make sure I don't get carried away with the wargear and forget to invest in the units themselves!

Static Bonuses (when charging):
+1 Initiative (Baal Strikeforce)
+1 Strength (Furious Charge)
-1 Enemy Toughness (Rad Grenades)
Re-roll hits from Hatred (Using Liber Heresius)

Random Bonuses:
Enemy WS 1 from Fear (Using Liber Heresius)
Enemy WS 1 from Fear (Taken at -2 LD using Crown Angelic)
Hatred for the entire unit (Warlord Trait, Ordo Xenos)
+D3 Attack/Initiative for the Captain from Quickening (Librarian Psychic Power)
Rage bonus attacks for the entire unit (Librarian Psychic Power)

Situation Dependent Bonuses:
Enemy Initiative 1 (Psyker/Deamon, using psyk-out grenades)
Enemy Initiative 1 (Concussive unsaved wound from Grav Pistol)
Preferred Enemy for the entire unit against non-Imperial forces (Warlord Trait, Ordo Xenos)
Split Fire Plasma/Grav at seperate target when charging (Using Liber Heresius)
5+ Invulnerable Save (Librarian Psychic Power)


All of these bonuses work quite well with each other, and I am sure to find a few more depending upon the mission and opponent. I can already see Concussive working well against Monstrous Creatures, and I don't yet feel the need for the increase in WS provided by a Sanguinary Priest given the high chance of re-rolls using Hatred (another nail in the coffin for the Chaplain). I had initially included the Inquisitor because I liked the model so much as the backpack full of books certainly matched the "Liber Heresius" fluff, but the thought of bringing a Toughness 3 model with a 4+ save as my Warlord really pokes fun at the competitive nature of the rest of the list (Drop Pod Frag Cannon, Land Raider, Imperial Knight...). I had hoped to be extra cheesy and use the Scout rule (thanks to Liber Heresius) while deployed inside the Land Raider, but as it is not a Dedicated Transport the rule doesn't transfer. As the list stands currently I can always deploy him inside the Razorback, scout 12" forward, move 6" then disembark, and Turbo Boost 12" for an objective secured critical first turn objective 30" away. 


So far the new codex has really helped streamline the play as I don't have to roll for each unit to receive Furious Charge, the Psychic Phase is much quicker with the Librarian embarked for the first turn or two (The loss of Shrouding/Invisibility thanks to a change in psychic disciplines and a move to HQ really reduced the utility of the Librarian Dreadnought), and only one unit to be concerned with charging out of a transport, I have a lot more time to plan moves ahead and pick targets carefully with the mission objectives in mind, rather than charging blindly forward to beat the clock in a tournament setting. It's certainly a more rewarding gaming experience having durability compared with Orks or a jump infantry army as it gives me more options in later turns. I've only played two games with the new book and list so far, but look forward to many more!









6 comments:

  1. Looks like a solid list, and the liber tome is worth it's weight in gold. So many great relics in that book!

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    1. It's been immensely useful so far! I feel my one weakness is the "ignore flyers" strategy, and minimal defence to drop melta? I'm also working on some Assault Terminators to fix the no "scout" Land Raider problem ;)

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    2. There really isn't much defense against drop melta other then area cover, or running a horde army. It's why drop pod armies are so strong.

      You could always consider trying a stormraven instead of the land raider to shore up your anti air. The TL assault cannons definitely help :).

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  2. I'm really looking forward to hearing how this army performed and what you thought of it overall.

    Meanwhile, can you tell us where you got the Inq. model? Its a very interesting and unique piece.

    Thanks :)

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    1. I will be writing up a few mini-battle reports this week, keep an eye out. I had a LOT of trouble with flying MC's and minimal Invulnerable saves on my infantry though most games were quite close with my mobility gaining an upper hand in objectives, forcing the opponent to wipe me out to win the game. A fairly quick army to play and some great games!

      The model is from an older Coteaz box set.

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  3. Thanks, I'm really curious about the Inq. looking forward to hearing your reports.

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