As I said in a previous post, I'd considered writing up some reviews and tactica for the (still somewhat) new Blood Angel codex. Well, I decided that more opinions are always better, and anyone can learn a new trick or two from people sharing their experiences and strategies, so here goes!
I'm going to start off by covering all the different FOC slots in the codex, along with a few tactics and strategies that I've found to either work well or not at all. After that, I might do some list building or so on until another new codex comes out... I have heard rumours of the new Chaos codex coming out soon, and I may also have a fairly hefty pair of traitor warbands.
HQ Slots - Part One
First off we're going to start with the generic HQ slots - the unnamed and customisable characters that you can deploy to lead your glorious brothers to victory!
Captain
The Captain has undergone some serious changes from his previous incarnation, and they're all pretty awesome. For a start, his statline and base wargear remain unchanged, and he's 10 points cheaper. he's also gained Furious Charge, so you're practically being given 10 points for a very useful USR now.
Wargear changes of note:
- Terminator Armour is now 10 points cheaper.
- He now has access to Artificer Armour for 20 points.
- Storm Shields are 5 points cheaper.
- Bikes are 5 points cheaper, Jump Packs are 10 points cheaper.
- Can now buy a Relic Blade for 25 points.
- Can now buy either a combi-Grav or Grav Pistol for 10 or 15 points respectively.
- Has access to the army Relics of Baal.
This means that overall, the Captain is cheaper and much more flexible, due to both the point reductions on some wargear, and the addition of new options. A couple of builds that come to mind after a little thinking are as follows:
The Flying Terminator Captain
Captain for 90 points, with Artificer Armour, a Storm Shield, and either a Jump Pack or The Angel's Wing if you want him to come in from reserves with an Assault Squad/Jump DC Squad. Armed with pretty much any weapon of choice, he comes to between 140-175 points for an HQ that could either be a major annoyance to kill, or, if combined with a Sanguinary Priest, a nigh-on unkillable HQ choice. If he's paired up with a punchy Death Company squad and jumps in behind the enemy's line, he can wreck some serious face and most likely still be left standing afterwards.
The Bargain Basement Captain
Cap for 90 points, Artificer Armour and either a Relic Blade or an upgraded gun - maybe a Grav Pistol or Hand Flamer. Roughly 120 points nets you a very reliable HQ slot who won't just fall over and die, and can actually seriously put the hurt on if he needs to. It's worth remembering that with Furious Charge and a Relic Blade, your Captain is Str8, AP3, I5 on the charge, and with 4 attacks on the charge, he can seriously mangle Marine-equivalents on his own. Suddenly, 120 points looks very, very cheap.
Librarian
Like the Captain, the Librarian has had some serious point rebalancing. At a whopping 35 points cheaper than before, it looks like the already widely-used HQ will be seeing a lot more play time. Now weighing in at a mere 65 points base, and boasting the same statline as before, he's now in line with the other MEQ Psykers - five points more than the norm, but again scoring Furious Charge, which is a little less useful but a nice addition nonetheless.
Important wargear changes:
- Can buy a second Mastery level for 25 points, as per the 5th Edition errata.
- Bikes and Jump Packs have the same price reductions as for the Captain.
- Full access to the army Relics, and there's even one Librarian specific item.
- Terminator Armour is the exact same, except Storm Shields are now 10 points cheaper.
- The Epistolary upgrade has been fully removed. (What did it even do?)
All in all, the Librarian has seen a large, but needed, price reduction across the board. my Librarian builds probably won't change - although I'll certainly be tempted to try out a few new things - but they will certainly be cheaper, leaving me more space for more exciting stuff in lists!
The Epistolary
Librarian at 65 points, with an additional Mastery Level, Terminator Armour with a Storm Bolter, and Gallian's Staff. This is a beefy Librarian, but costing 140 points he's a tad on the steep side - the Storm Bolter and Staff Relic are both situational and I'll only take them if the points are spare and they'll be particularly important. If not, I'll usually give him a Force Axe - in my opinion the most useful and flexible Force Weapon available. Something else to consider is the Storm Shield option - now just a 10 point upgrade for Terminator Librarians, and improving his Invulnerable save by 2, which isn't something to sniff at.
Cheapo Librarian
Librarian for 65 points, maybe an Auspex for 5 points. Er... that's it. He's there to join other squads and provide situational buffs, and to provide Warp Charges for your big boys to play with. Now that the Librarian is far cheaper, this is far more viable, especially in larger games with multiple FOC's, or with Unbound lists.
Next post I'll be covering the Chaplain, Sanguinary Priest, and Techmarine HQ's, with the major changes and some tactica for different builds. Until then, happy gaming!
-Mike
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