Blood Angels 5th Edition Tactica

With the advent of the new codex, there is now a 3rd way to play Blood Angels, one that I believe is totally viable. In previous editions, there were two ways to play them, full on aggressive and passive aggressive. Now, with what I’ve seen, experimented with, tested, tried and played, there is further depth to this codex. The question is, do you have the baals?

This tactica will comprise of two parts.1. In depth look at all individual characters and units and what they bring to the table,2. The 3 viable battle field strategies and what units are best played with them. 

HQ:I’m going to start from the cheapest named HQ character and work my way up.

Gabriel Seth:Honestly, not a bad idea for a character, his special rules and combat ability are great, but for his price, I’d rather give up rending for him finding the on button for a power weapon. What important to remember is not to forget his rules. His Ferocious Instincts rule, can literally change the outcome of a combat. Do note that his ability hits specific models in the unit, thus those model or model types will end up suffering those wounds. For example, Seth is surrounded by a tactical squad in close combat, 1 melta gun, the PF sgt and tactical marines. The PF sgt and melta marine are in btb contact with Seth, when Seth sets off Whirlwind of Gore, roll To Wound separately for the Sgt and Melta, as his rule specifies that specific models are hit. Additionally, he’s great for ripping a vehicle apart, his Whirlwind of gore will always hit, regardless of how fast a vehicle moved. So the big question is, who does Seth complement? My answer? Death Company. Problem is, he is Fearless, but if he joins a non-fearless unit, he loses Fearless. In the grand scheme of things, Seth is a great character really against low armor save armies, What that nobz? Oh hello Tyranid Warriors etc. But he really struggles against Power armored armies, that’s where you need to complement him with a really hard hitting unit with a lot of power weapons.

Captain Tycho:Honestly, I like Tycho, and I like his rules, the problem is I can’t find a list for him. With his rules, he makes a great character to throw into a Sternguard unit. He has the special ammunition, on top of the combi-melta and pretty good close combat. Be aware, he can blow up a Land Raider in both shooting and close combat, which is the lulz.Rites of Battle is where it’s at for this guy, Ld 10 across the board, we don’t see this that often anymore, especially with wound allocation these days, Sgt’s tend to bite the dust quite often.

Astorath:This is another pretty awesome character, ontop of everything else he does, his kicker is the S6 power weapon that forces re-rolls on successful invul saves. If you’re going to add him to a unit, it’s obviously got to be a jump pack unit, that’s his one weakness imho, I wish he had the option to take off the jump packs and possibly reduce his price cost, but oh well. Shadow of the primarch, another good rule for him as well, don’t let the fact that it affects opposing BA players as well, turn you away, remember that Fearless is as a liability in combat as much as it is an aid.The main choice to add him into a unit is often Death Company, although Honor Guard and Vanguard are also great choices.

Dante:Im a little disappointed in Dante’s rules. While I6 is great, I would have expected more out of the lord of the Blood Angels. But enough about what I expected and what is fact. He’s ok. Not worth his points cost though. His Death Mask is ok, good for making certain models easier to deal with, (abaddon, Ragnar,Njal, etc) But fails when you don’t face an army without IC, Tyranids, IG, certain Daemonhunter armies. Now his ability to drop in where you need him to be with his unit, is great, but I think that could have been given to say, Tycho.In all, Dante is good in 2 units, a full assault squad or honor guard.

Mephiston:

I don’t like him at all. But needless to say, he is a good character still, problem is that he provides no help to the army to aid it, other than being the solo beast he is. Now here’s the issue with him, he needs to pass psychic tests and have them get through any psychic defenses the opponent may have. Stat wise he’s great, but still no invul save to speak of. He needs to be well protected from units that can jump on him, such as drop pod plasma squads etc.

Sanguinior:My most favorite character so far. A beast both in combat and in the amount of upgrades he provides to the army. Blessed Sgt, +1A aura, and he’s a character killer. Let me lay down some info on some stats here.Blessed Sgt: Obviously a random chosen Sgt (roll for it), all your sgts should be equipped with PW’s or PF’s. The thing you don’t want to do is have devastators if you have Sanguinius in your army, nothing worse than have the Dev sgt, be the blessed one. Let’s look at the PF sgt, he’s now 4 PF attacks, while the PW sgt is 5 PW attacks. Add in FC, the PW sgt is I6 and S5. I’ve had it go on my Terminator Assault squad Sgt, who also rolled for Red Thirst. On the charge, my twin claw terminator sgt, was ripping things apart with 6 WS5 S5 claw attacks (+1 for being in range of Sanguinius). The +1 aura is just awesome, it turns 12 lightning claw attacks off the charge to 15. Want to know what it feels like to be an Ork Nob? The Blessed Sgt knows.

Part II

Common HQ's

CaptainThere's nothing at all noteworthy about taking a Captain. The only thing they have other the other generic HQ choices is possibly +1W and +1WS. There's no access to Artificier Armor, or even the new BA weapon of Glaive Encarmine, (yet the Vangaurd vet sgt can get one...:rolleyes: )

Unless your playing fluffy army and require a Captain, I don't ever see the need for one.

Reclusiarch:For 30 pts more, you get a character that's everything the Captain is, and then some. The best use of a Reclusiarch that I've had is with an Infernus Pistol, complementing Death Company. It helps alleviate problems like running into empty Land Raiders and having nothing to hurt them with. A melta pistol hitting on 2+ is nothing to scoff at. Taking this guys is never a bad choice.

Librarian:Librarians have quickly become the "Go To," guy in alot of tourney lists. Easily one of the most popular HQ's in every SM army, the BA codex is no different. The character offers alot of utility to the army, easily providing army wide buffs. He also provides psychic defense from opponents that require their psychic powers as part of their strategic plan. The issue with taking this character is whether to give him an invulnerable save or not. If you do, it jumps his points cost by 45 pts, because honestly, there's isn't a reason not to take the

Storm shield. Now deciding on whether you want the Epistolary upgrade or not, is based on if you have the spare points or not, is there something better you could spend 50 pts on? The answer to that, is there usually is. Epistolary to a BA Libby, is usually the difference between casting Instant Death through the Force Weapon or not.

Honor Guard:Now I truly like these guys, I've always had a soft spot for them. Now until recently, I've always looked at them as a premier close combat unit, something akin to DC or Terminators. Now due to a recent game with Space Wolves, a new way of looking at the unit has opened my eyes... Forget close combat, use them to shoot! I'll go into details about that in a bit though. Let's start with looking at them as a premier close combat unit.

If you want to squeeze out the attacks out of this unit, you get roughly 20 power weapon attacks and 5 regular off the charge. That's out of 5 guys, with Furious Charge. Not bad really, but to make sure those attacks are worthwhile, it's often best to add in a libby or chappy in with the unit. This skyrocket's the unit's cost. Roughly speaking though, you want to find the fine line between defense and offense with this unit. Be advised they can pick up Storm Shields, psuedo flying terminators is not a bad idea.

The shooting version consists of the Sanguinary Novitiate, and 4 melta guns AND 4 plasma guns. Biting off Wolf Guard's ability to take both combi-meltas and combi-plasma's on the same model (dual wielding), BA Honor Guard have the ability to take both Melta guns and Plasma. I don't know aobut you guys, but I love the idea of Deep Striking in (Drop pod or DoA) and dousing something with 4 Melta shots OR 8 Plasma shots, OR doing 4 meltas first, jumping away, then 8 Plasmas as a follow up. It's just soo delicious.

ELITES:

CHAPLAIN:

This guy in the Elites section is a godsend, opens up the HQ slots and allows him to be useful once more. He really doesn't need much in the way of upgrades. Depending on the needs of the list, I would most often suggest equipping this character with an Infernus Pistol and putting him in a DC squad or along with a JP as well.

Sanguinary Guard:

I'm still not convinced about the usefulness of this unit. They lack the number of attacks to make them useful and their botlers are too short in range. AP4 is soo situational and most armies don't care since they're going to get a cover save for the msot part anyways. Death Masks aren't worth it either imho, there's just not enough about them to make the unit worthwhile. No access to storm shields, the Glaive Encarmine is a joke as well. Overall, only worth spending the points if you're taking Dante, even then I'd suggest only squad of these guys.

Furioso Dreadnought:

Now a worthwhile dreadnought to say the least. Obviously it has range problems, but that can be fixed. There are 3 variations I believe are worthy of noting:

Basic:Pair of Blood Fists, Extra Armor

S10, multi-purpose both for anti-armor and anti infantry. It still puts a scare on T5 models and below that aren't immune to Instant Death, it's also useful for taking out armor still. This variant, would be the best choice to upgrade with the magna grapples.

Close Combat:Pair of Blood Talons, Extra Armor

A model with the possibility for infinity attacks (based on how you roll). Probably the best candidate for a Heavy Flamer upgrade.

Shotgun:Switch the Melta arm for the Frag Cannon, upgrade Storm bolter to Heavy Flamer.

Drop this bad boy in a drop pod and have your enemy prepare to kiss whatever infantry squad he had bye-bye. 3 Templates at high S and good enough Ap in most cases, will render any unit ineffective. I particularly like this build, It's great for dealing with units that provide shots long range to your enemies like, Long Fangs, Devastators, Lootas, and can make Obliterators sweat a little.

Smoke Launchers: Something to consider about using smoke launchers. Please be considerate about when you use smoke launchers, since Dreadnoughts are the only vehicles to be able to use Smoke Launchers during the shooting and assault phase. Why would one bother noting this? Because it gives you flexibility between deciding when you want to pop smoke launchers. It would be a waste to pop your smoke launchers when you're going to end up charging into a unit, but get stuck in combat right? But since you can pop smoke launchers after completing a move, you can finish up the combat and in case you do end up massacring the unit on your turn, you can pop smoke launchers after consolidating. Same as you can pop smoke launchers after running and making the charge move.

Furioso Librarian Dreadnought

Would have been a great choice, if the FAQ didn't take away upgrade options, like Extra Armor, which is all I'd want for the damn thing! Unfortunately, it's too risky for the amount of points you pay for the libby Dread. Now if you're simply too keep on taking the libby dread, then I would suggest the following power combination's: Shield/ Wings, Wings/ Lance.

Terminator Squad

Meh, a Terminator squad, rarely see any use out of these guys, there are much better choices out there. 

Terminator Assault Squad

1 out of the3 premiere kill units in the BA codex. Do note also that you have to buy T.Hammer/ SS for this unit. As an obvious case in point, it's better to have these guys riding in a Land Raider, and to boost their combat ability, I'd suggest a Librarian in Terminator armor + SS casting Unleash Rage. It's a pretty nasty combo.

Techmarine:

Blah, Techmarine...

Sterngaurd

I'm actually pretty happy Sterngaurd made it into the codex, but the problem is that there are soo many other units that vie for the Elites slots, you have to really pick and choose and determine if you need Sterngaurd. If you find the need for Sternguard, I would suggest 1 of 2 transports. Rhino or Drop pod. Unit config, go for melta, 2x combi-meltas and a Heavy Flamer with a PF Sgt.

Sanguinary Priests

Really, one of the focal points of your BA army lies here. Imho, no army is complete with at least 2 of these guys. They increase your army's killing potential and survivability. If on foot, you want a Power Weapon, and stick him with a unit in a Rhino. In a jump pack, always take the Power Weapon. Anything else is just silly. Additionally, I don't see the need for taking Terminator Armor for this guy. No storm bolter, additionally he looses an attack when in Terminator Armor. Additional 4 Attacks at WS5 I5 S5 power weapon, is not something to scoff at. It can often turn the tide of battle.

It takes some skill to recognize 6" on the battlefield and make sure you keep your Priest coverage. It's something that one should practice often.

There is a table top tactic that I call 

Sacrificial Lamb

It involves using the priest in combat, and putting him in btb contact with a particularly nasty character and purposefully getting him killed.

Here's an example that I pulled off in a real game:

I had a Librarian in Terminator armor leading a Terminator Assault squad, with a power weapon priest attached. I was in a position to charge Abaddon + 8 Berzerkers that had

gotten blown out a Land Raider.

I positioned the Priest in btb with Abaddon and made sure the rest of my terminators + Libby were in btb only with the Berzerkers. When it came time to roll attacks, Abaddon rolled a massive 10 Attacks, but they all hit the priest (Priest is an IC). So instead of just about wiping my terminators out, Abaddon killed a Sanguinary priest..10 time over albeit, but only ever causing 1 wound for combat resolution. However, my terminators and Libby slaughtered the Berzerkers, forcing Abaddon to take 7 Fearless wounds. Which he ended up failing enough and died to Fearless wounds.

Corbulo:

He costs you 2 priests, I just don't think the guy is worth it. I'd rather have the 2 priests with power weapons, than this guy, and while he does have 1 more wound and I score than regular priests, a PF is still going to take him down like a normal priest.

FAST ATTACK

Vangaurd Vets

With the addition of the DoA rule, Vangaurd do become abit more useful, but the problem I see is that they can get ridiculously expensive, very fast. It's also kinda funny that while they have a rule that requires Jump Packs, you have to pay for them to have Jump Packs...when is this going to start making sense?

Ok I digress. Long story short. They need to be taken in smaller squads, to both save on points and decrease on your opponent's ability to take advantage of wound allocation. See the thing is you need to pump the unit full of power weapons and throw a power fist in there for good measure, now this may not always be entirely possible, hence the reason for smaller squad to lessen the defensive effect from wound allocation. Now while the entire unit can take power weapons, you quickly end up breaking 400pts by doing this to Vangaurd.

5 Vangaurd, 3 power weapons and a power fist with a glaive on the Sgt should be the way to go.

Land Speeders:

Nothing really new to note about Land Speeders, everything is pretty codex about the Land Speeders.

Attack Bikes

Attack bikes offer a cheap way to bring mobile anti-tank firepower to the table. When using Attack bikes, I would always advise in taking a pair of them minimum, this gives you a fail safe should one of them miss. Believe me, one will miss. Realize that your there are other

units that contend heavily for your FA slots. Make sure you make the best choice for what your force needs.

Bike Squads

I've never really been a fan of this unit, although there are a few who swear by them. My issue is that they're still too expensive for my tastes where other unit can perform their duties at a cheaper rate. While a good unit, still I believe the points are better spent elsewhere. We don't get to have Bike squads to count as troops as regular SM do.

Baal Predator

This is the frosting on the army for BA imho. It is my hard, firm, held belief that any BA army worth it's salt, will have one of these mandatory. Any list at 1000+ pts requires one of these bad boys, there's just so much about them that is useful. Now in addition, I'm a firm believer in the Assault cannon + Heavy bolter sponsons Baal. It's nice to have the option for the Flamestorm cannon and heavy Flamers, but the issue with using the Flamestorm cannon one is that it get's you too close to the action. If you're close enough to use a flame template, their close enough to charge you.

Typically speaking, A Baal should never cost over 145 pts. Now, there are 2 simple ways to use the Baal.

1) Did you go first? Then it started on the board, and you scouted.2) Did you go second or played Dawn of War? Then it went in Reserves to Outflank.

Stick to those two rules and it will make it easier to use Baals. Let's not make it complicated here at all. Now in addition, realize that if you do scout, this gives you the ability to smoke after scouting, it's a worthwhile ploy in case you get the feeling that you'll have the initiative stolen from you, or if you opt to deploy it on the board and you're going second.

There are advocates of the naked Flamestorm cannon Baal. Now while that set up does have it's uses, it's too one dimensional in my eyes, things get tough for it when facing mech armies. While the assault cannon has proven to be more effective at popping armor than multi-meltas at range.

Scout Bikers

Meh...scout bikers, the FA slots are so heavily contested that I wouldn't bother with these guys.

Addition by yWizePapaSmurfy

Yeah, common misconception about BA Vanguards and why I hate 'em 

Some 0.02 -

Sanguinary Guard - Have the punch to deal with most things in CC outside a Wraithlord (And taking a Fist and a few Infernus Pistols can try to deal with this problem, but really, don't charge these guys into a Avatar, C'tan, Mephiston, or Wraithlord. Most of these will kill you before you them.

However, having begun to use them, I think Sanguinary Guard are fine, every single one with Glaive Encarmines gets 1 re-roll to hit, with a banner or Sanguinor nearby (or both if you managed to cram them in the same list.) helps these guys out, as they definitely deserve WS 5 but apparently Hitting on 3's + some re-rolls To Hit = Too powerful. Running the math in my head, with Furious Charge, it definitely is.

The Angelus Boltgun is a fun additional equipment which is good to help the unit soften a target up before it charges. Time and time again people say don't ever shoot what you're charging, but you can manage to set up in front of a pivotal model in said unit so the enemy doesn't rob you of your charge range. Surprisng how little Ork players are willing/able to remove that Nob that your guys are within 6" charge range of when you shoot the mob he's in, eh? Etc. On regards of AP 4 - It denies non-Space Marines/ Necrons armour. AP 4 is fine by means, AP 5 would be "wtf" worthy of a elite choice. 

Death Masks attempt to get you this "Hits on 3's" in the way of reducing your opponent's WS to 1. This is not reliable however, relying on a Leadership check against a game full of high Leadership. If it has low leadership, you're hitting it on 3's anyway, truth be told.

Overall - Lacking WS 5, but are turning out to be quite the hammer unit in a jump pack themed army. Your other choice are Vanguard and Honour Guards, both unable to get the 2+ Save but able to get 3+ Invuls. And of course, when you start giving both those units JUST the invul saves, those units skyrocket to double points cost of whatever this squad MIGHT cost you. So in the end, you get VALUE out of Sanguinary Guard, consider that.

Techmarine - I am using one personally now with this config - Power Weapon, Jump Pack, Combi-Melta

Why would one want to use this git? It's a nice 1 man disruption unit. He's not a IC, so can easily get cover, hide behind your AV (even if you have a little) and he has a 2+ Save. Combined with FNP, if the enemy doesn't have any Power Weapons in his units, he's gonna be unable to get rid of this guy without sacrificing more firepower than they'd hope to use on this lil' guy. The Combi-Weapon-Of-Choice is always a good choice on this kind of unit, plugging a gap, and having at it.

Other than that, it's really a nerfed Techmarine from SM/SW in other regards. SW Techmarines (Iron Priests) can be a decent Calvary unit complete with Strength 10 Armour Ignoring Attacks and 5 Wounds in total on T5. SM Techmarines can ride bikes and are still IC's and can join other units to bolster their strength if need be. Sooo you can see why the BA Techmarine is a lil' "Eh".

Overall: It's not as awesome as can be, but it has it's uses. Not a trash unit by any means.

/END

HEAVY SUPPORT

Predator

Fast Predators. That's the name of the game kids. BA predators can both move 6" and still fire ALL weapons. It's fantastic! Now from a points effective stand point, the Autocannon/ Lascannon sponson predator is the way to go. 135 points of reliable anti-transport power. What's more, the fact that it's fast makes it a most reliable vehicle to keep in reserve, especially if you're going second. Nothing beats a vehicle that can come out of reserve and reach out and touch a Rhino. In addition, the weapons on it, give your opponent tough choices when it comes to weapons destroyed results. Does one take the Autocannon or one of the lascannons?

Now there are a few people who'd like to harken back to dakka preds here, but I say that's a waste. That's what we have Baals for. Baals are able to perform what dakka preds to, better than dakka preds do imho.

Devastators

For some reason, (don't ask me why) our Devastators are cheaper than codex marines. In all honesty, if you are going to take Devastators, I would suggest 2 set ups. 3 ML's or 4 ML's. It's the difference between 120pts and 130 pts. Realize that ML's are the great equalizers, great range, and versatility. They can still touch Land Raiders, but are better at taking out AV11-13. With a 3 ML man Dev squad, you have an extra body there to take wounds on, while in the 4 ML man, the Sgt. is your wound allocator. What's even better is that BA Dev's can become fearless, barring that, if you have a priest within 6" of the unit, they gain FnP. Definitely something you want to take into account during deployment.

There are those who would mix/match heavy weapons in the unit, I would advise against that. Just take ML's, there's nothing wrong with ML's.

Vindicator

Fast Vindicators, another awesome thing about this unit. The only issue I have is the points cost, it's the same points cost as a Baal predator with heavy bolter sponsons. Again, remember the needs of your army and whether you need it in your army or not. In all honesty, at the time I'm writing this Tactica, I've yet to use a Vindicator in my BA lists, but I have used them quite often in my Chaos, SW and SM armies, in fact, they're staples in those armies for myself. Because it's fast, the Vindicator is quite a useful counter reserves unit, having the ability to come off reserves and totally catch your opponent off guard. Again, an issue with this vehicle is that it's only got 1 shot and you've got to make it worth it, thus bringing two of them would help. As I've stated before, consider the needs of your army list first.

Dreadnougt

As with the vindicator, again consider the needs of your list. Dreadnoughts make great drop pod units, if you were to take a dreadnought, I would suggest staying with the multi-melta, or upgrading it to an assault cannon for versatility. It gives you an option in your drop pod DS'ing units to place a MM in double pen range early on.

Storm Raven Gunship:

This is a good unit for Heavy Support. Versatile and with a great compliment of weapons. It sure as hell is worth it's price tag, it allows multiple options for methods for attacking your opponent. This is one unit that it will be almost a given to take Extra Armor for, it's a compulsory requirement that you need Extra Armor for this unit, it needs to be on the move, stopping will mean death for this unit. One thing to realize and remember is that it has Power of the Machine Spirit, meaning it can Flat Out and fire a weapon. That's a huge deal, especially when you factor in that alot of the weapon upgrades, aren't really upgrades, their weapon swaps. Starting with a Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter swapping out for a Twin-Linked Multi-melta for FREE!! That's huge in my book, especially in an edition where melta is king at popping armor! If you're planning to take this unit in your army, I would definitely suggest 2 of them and focus them on taking out armor. The unit's it carry are what deal with infantry for you, thus it is my opinion that Storm Ravens, are best set up to take out armor instead of dealing with infantry.

If starting first, then start it on the board, if you're going second OR playing Dawn of War, then start off the board and come in off Reserves. You can still Flat Out and proceed as planned.

I would definitely suggest utilizing it's transport capability, the obvious risk being that you've got alot of eggs in one basket. But that's the risk you take.

Whirlwind

Meh, Whirlwinds, as I've stated before, make sure you realize what the needs of your army list are before you make a decision on this unit. There are so many other units that vie for a place in your Heavy Support slots, this unit is not of them though.

TROOPS

Tactical Squads

In regular SM armies, this is the quintessential Troops choice. This is not true however for BA, as far as I believe. With the bonuses that are provided to the BA army from other units, it's important to take those bonuses are not well used b y Tactical Squads. Like regular SM Tactical Squads, they've got combat squads, thus can split if necessary, they can take a dedicated transport, even if they can't fit in it as a whole 10 man squad, etc. The only time

I'd suggest a Tactical squad is worth it is when you're debating about the needs of your army in relations to an Assault Squad. A 10 man tactical squad with a Power Weapon/ Power Fist Sgt, Special Weapon, a Free Heavy Weapon and a Rhino transport is equivalent to 10 man Assault Squad with Power Weapon/ Power Fist, 2 Special weapons and a Rhino Transport. But when you bring it down to smaller squads, for example:

5 Man Tactical SquadPower FistRazorbackTwin - Linked Assault CannonTotal: 205

5 Man Assault SquadPower FistMelta GunRazorbackTwin Linked Assault CannonTotal: 190

That's a 15 pt's savings, that's huge imho. When it comes to smaller squads, the Assault squad wins the points race when it comes to smaller squads. When it comes to full 10 man squads, it's worthwhile taking a look into tactical squads, especially if you're going to put the points into it.

Assault Squads

A very versatile Troops unit in the BA codex, this is to be you're premiere troops choice. I rate BA assault squads as one of the Top 5 Troops choices. Understand the angle you're going with in your army, the tactics you want to use in determining whether you want to use Jump Pack of foot Assault Squads. It's very important to take into account the 35 pts discount the unit gets in regards dedicated transports. Personally, I prefer my units mounted, this allows you to play either the first strike game, if you're starting first or allows you to come off the board fast, if you choose to play the Reserves game. Being mounted also goes hand in hand with the 5th ed meta of Mechanized. Where being mechanized provides both safety for your troops because of the extra enclosure and provides movement as well taking into account that with the exception of Land Raiders and drop pods, the rest of the Dedicated Transport options are Fast vehicles.

BA Assault squads are also able to capitalize best on the many bonuses provided to the BA army. Red Thirst is a prime example of this, where Assault squads gain both Fearless andFurious Charge and are able to best use those two bonuses, how does a Tactical squad utilize Furious Charge better than an Assault squad ? Short answer, it doesn't.

Now making the decision between mechanized or jump infantry Assault Squads, depends on the theme of your army. If you're going to go one way, I would suggest focusing on going mechanized completely or jump infantry, don't try to do both, I don't think it works well. The composition of your assault squads will effect the choices you make for the rest of the army.

For example, taking full jump pack assault squads, will incline you to take Dante and possibly a jump pack Librarian, depending on the points limit, however, mechanized assault squads allow you to take a terminator librarian w/ storm shield and say Seth or Tycho. Your choice on assault squad compositions will also directly relate your choices in other Force Org choices as well.

Death Company

The premiere kill unit in the BA army list. I've always had a soft spot for Death Company, and the fact they are as nasty as they currently are, gives their name much credit. When taking Death Company, you have to make sure you understand your delivery system. How are you getting them across the board and how are you getting them the charge? Death Company require the charge. Things end up disastrously when DC end up getting charged. When debating your DC delivery system, it's important to take the Rage rule into account. 

Outfitting your Death Company:Power weapons galore. I would always suggest a single power fist in there and then throw in a few "grunts," that can take power weapon type wounds. Take full advantage of wound allocation in the unit, even though they have Feel No Pain, that doesn't compare to having an Invulnerable save.

It's obvious that if any IC is going to be added to the DC, it's a Chaplain. The bonuses provided are just too much to pass up.

To recap: DC need the charge, DC will rip right through whatever they charge, there's simply not much that can withstand a charge from the Death Company with a Chaplain attached. Understand your delivery system, and make sure the unit is adequately armed. This will mean that you have to spend points in the unit. If done correctly however, the unit should cost between 250-300 pts. This is perfectly reasonable.

Death Company Dreadnought

It was really awesome that they added this unit in, though it does have it's flaws. The main issue that it's a totally one dimensional dreadnought that you're going to loose control of. It means, that to properly use this dread, you're going to have to either drop it in via Drop pod or carry it in a Storm Raven. I would always advise taking the Blood Talons on it and chucking it at infantry whenever possible, or if you're facing tyranids, Low I MC's that you should be able to rip apart in CC.

Scouts

They're still the equivalent to regular SM scouts, however they can benefit from Red Thirst as well as bonuses provided by the many IC's in teh BA army. I would definitely suggest trying out CC scouts, as a unit to outflank to take out such units like Long Fangs or Lootas etc, even to take and hold objectives for objective based missions.

Dedicated Transports

Rhino:

One of the more iconic transports for the army. Now faster in the hands of a Blood Angel's player, really giving you maneuverability. I would always suggest a bare bones Rhino, there's no need for EA or anything else. Best suited for Tactical squads and sternguard, it's also a good choice for full assault squads. I would advise against using this as a transport for Death Company or other such assaulty units like if one were to take Vangaurd mounted since those units need the charge, and not to be charged.

Razorback:

I used to dislike the Razorback for 4th ed, since it didn't carry the optimal amount of marines I needed and wouldn't need to shoot since I hid it's brother the Rhino more often behind Area Terrain. With 5th ed, it became slower even with good weapons options, but that made it abit pricey for it's worth. With the BA version, I get both a fast vehicle, and it does become cheaper. I would only suggest this unit as a transport for the MSU in you. It's truly a worthwhile unit for small assault squads, where they can take advantage of the dedicated transport discount.

Razorback Weapons:

Heavy Flamer: This weapon is cool to have as an option, but I don't think it's effective. It brings the vehicle to close to the fight, getting too close to such weapons like meltas, rapid fire plasma, etc. I believe there to be an optimal range that the Razorback fights at, the Heavy Flamer, just get too close.

Heavy Bolters: Iconic weapons load out for the Razorback, I like it, it's twin linked heavy bolter. Good range, good rate of fire, dependable to deal with light armor.

Assault Cannons: Oooweee, I love these, boy I do. You can never have enough Assault Cannons on the field. The weapon has the capability to deal death to both infantry and armor with equal ease. Great rate of fire, on a fast vehicle, making it's medium range, not an issue. I would highly suggest this upgrade, it works well for players that tend to reserves alot, combining speed with torrents of fire.

Lascannon./ Plasma guns: This is also a good upgrade, mixing decent anti- armor capabilities with anti-infantry shots. It's main perk is that it doesn't suffer from the one-weapon syndrome. It really lends itself well to a good reserves force as well, allowing for decent support fire from coming up from the board edge.

Drop Pod: I don't know that BA do Drop pod forces really well. Every list I've attempted to write up has not come up adequately in my eyes. It's kind of cool that Assault squads get them for free essentially, but other than that, it's essentially a moot unit with the addition of the Descent of Angel's rule. Also with the addition of the Storm Raven, there are other alternative methods to transport a dreadnought other than by Drop pod. I mean, not that a Drop pod is bad, it's still allows for the first turn strike, however it just seems lacking in my

opinion, as far as Blood Angels go.

Land Raider All variants):They're Land Raiders, we know all about them. Tough as nails in most instances, yet come across the occasional melta and they're gone. Great thing to note, they're accessible as dedicated transports for all units that have access to dedicated transports, and that's almost all of them! A Land Raider army is not out of the question when it comes to Blood Angels, it's certainly viable, and competitive. BA LR's can also Deep Strike! I've put this nifty little ability to judicious use, it's especially useful against static fire armies, like IG. Drop in, pop smoke, and depending on your agreement with your opponent, you can still fire one weapon. I would advise it as a great choice for units that require the assault, like Terminators or Death Company. Land Raider's are the one vehicle I would advise taking Extra Armor on, always.

Psychic Powers 

I believe that BA libby's are a big part of the BA game. There's just so much they have to offer. Now of course, depending on the set up of your librarian, and your intended use, will also depend on what powers to give him. I'll go into details about each power and worthy combination's.

Blood Boil

It's a decent power, gives you a chance to possibly snipe out singular models of your choice, but that's a low chance. If you're looking to branch out from the norm, I would wholly suggest this power. It's decent, in that it's an auto-wound and no armor save, so this means that it bypasses Feel No Pain on units that have FnP, however, since it is ashooting attack it will force you to pick that unit as your charge target. Also it's short range, kinda already puts you in the position to have to charge whatever you shot at.

Fear of the Darkness

It's really quite a situational power. What happens if you're facing a Fearless army? Then it's useless. It's both easily, one of the weakest powers in the listing and can be one of the stronger ones. It's actually pretty useful for a drop pod or deep strike BA army, especially if you're going to go up against heavy infantry opponent's.

Might of Heroes

A oldie but a goodie. Still not a bad power to have, allows the extra attacks, it's something I would give to an Epistolary upgrade. Works well as a combo if your lucky enough to get the libby in a unit with the Blessed Sergent, if you're playing with Sanguinor.

Shackle Soul

This is another "off the wall," power that I believe is pretty underestimated. Forcing Leadership tests for any action an enemy unit wants to take is a pretty big deal. Most of the

time, we really don't care about taking Leadership tests because they happen only once in a blue moon, but this forces it every single bloody time. The only issue is it's short range and that it's a shooting attack. This would be a great power to put on a libby that DS's in either on jump packs or by Drop pod. Better even if that libby was in a unit of Sterngaurd.

Shield of Sanguinius

My personal favorite. If you plan on playing the mechanized spear, then this is the power for you. A constant cover save for all your vehicles is a huge game changer. It allows you to play with lightly armored AV 11 with a bit of impunity, safe in the knowledge that you can now threatened your opponent with your razorbacks or forward Rhino squads and still keep them relatively safe from enemy shooting.

SmiteMeh, it's not really that great of a power, S4, most people will claim cover saves against it, and then not care really. One power you can afford to over look.

Blood Lance

Our very own JotWW, BA style. Not so great at killing infantry, but almost infinitely better at dealing against vehicles. This is a great choice for DS'ing libbies or jump pack libbies. Gives them the ability to pop pesky armor, especially at range. The only problem is the random range, other than that, it's a great choice for a power. Now to note something interesting about this power. While it's not that great at killing all infantry, there is a specific type of infantry that it finds use against. T4,Mutli-wound infantry, like Tyranid Warriors or Ork Nobz, while depending on the angle, the unit may gain cover saves, it's the fact that it causes ID that should worry those units.

Sanguine Sword

Another great choice for the close combat libby at heart. What's awesome about this power is that technically, it's a one cast only. All you have to do is cast the power once, and it's on permanently. Since there's no clause for when the power ends, only a clause of when it begins. It's definitely a choice that will compete heavily against Might of Heroes and Unleash Rage.

Unleash RagePreferred enemy is awesome. That's all there is to it. You will notice, it has an ending clause, something that Sanguine Sword definitely lacks. Regardless, depending on the unit he's with it turns them from awesome, to godly. This is another personal favorite of mine, especially since I put the libby attached to a terminator unit. Allowing re-rolls to hit and often re-rolls to wound since I have lightning claws.

Wings of Sanguinius 

Better used on Furioso dreads, the only other time you should find this used is for a libby on a bike, even then, that may not even be a good choice. Make sure you know what your

needs are and what you want out of the librarian, make sure you choose the appropriate power for his use.

COMMANDING THE HOST

The BA codex lends it self to several different types of strategic play. There are 3 main ways, I call these, the Heavenly Host, the Spear of Sanguinius, and Elite Assault.

Heavenly Host

This strategic set focuses on an infantry (jump infantry) based list, using DoA to the full extent of it's ability. Very little in the way of vehicles to none at all. You're core will be maxed out assault squads, using Sanguinary Guard and Vangaurd Vets as additional close combat support. Devastators will be your long range support, while judicious use and placement of Sanguinary Priests will keep as many of your men alive as possible. Better HQ choices would be Jump pack libby, Sanguinor and Dante. What's great about this, is that you can set up as a full reserve army. Additionally, if you're worried about having your devastators shot up, you can set them up in Drop pods, giving you the ability to keep them in reserve, and having nothing on your board edge. Opt to go second, and drop your devastators into better firing positions, using "Run!" to ensure you get to where you need to be. Come turn 2, you DoA in and melta/ plasma and hopefully Heroic Intervention your way to victory.

Spear of Sanguinius

This is the strategic set I specialize in. A spear poised and aimed at my opponent's throat. This focuses on having many fast vehicles, and a strong spear tip that can smash through just about anything in a single turn of combat. Typically speaking, you're looking at a core of mounted assault marines in Rhino's/ Razorbacks, and a kill unit in a Land Raider Crusader/ Redeemer. A librarian with Shield and Rage is necessary in this list, as the Shield provides ample protection from ranged attacks, while the Kill unit inside the LR requries Rage to increase it's effectiveness tenfold. Long Range cover is provided by either vindicators or autocannon/ Lascannon predators. Kill units will consist of one of 3 units. Honor guard, Assault Terminators or Death Company. Now Honor guard and Assault Terminators require the Shield/Rage priest, however Death Company do not require the Rage part from the libby, instead it's better to go with an Infernus Pistol Reclusiarch/ Chaplain. This free's up the libby instead to go for a different secondary power, like Lance etc., however shield is still quite necessary. This build also lends itself well to a full reserve army, where you can opt to go second, full reserve and watch as your opponent skips the next two turns of shooting. It's also worthwhile remembering that your LR can Deepstrike, as this act alone can sow confusion and terror in your opponent's line with a Land Raider DS'ing so close, especially when your landing site is far away removed from melta presence, but close enough to their lines that a charge is undeniable. Named HQ choices that lend great support to this are Tycho, Seth and Sanguinor.

Elite Assault

First off Astorath is necessary, you're more looking to get Red Thirst off than capitalizing on Death Company. Secondly, you take a couple of Baal preds w/ heavy bolters, with your core being a mix between drop pod tactical squads and jump pack assault marines. The idea is to attack at all sides at once. Long range with heavy weapon combat squads, outflanking with Baals and deep striking with homing beacon drop pods and then DoA/ Homing Beacon assault squads backed up by Vangaurd vets and in turn backed up by drop pod Furioso's. I've used this set up more than once, and it's worked out quite well, but it's more of a finesse list than anything. It's the main concept of not really having a battle line and able to come at your opponent from all sides to throw them off balance.