The Blood Angels Warhammer 40,000 army is versatile and flexible, able to field rhino rushing close range armies and entirely jump pack equipped assault armies. It can stand and fire or rampage with death company up and down the field. However, as with most Warhammer 40k armies, there are some choices that few if any army commanders go for. With some of these it’s less a case of ‘that’s rubbish’ and more a case of ‘that’s ok, but there’s a better choice for me elsewhere.
5 – Blood Angel Death Company
Controversial to say, but not that many players take Blood Angel Death Company – at least, not en masse. Death dealing combat fiends with options for power weapons and feel no pain they may be, but they are also 20 points per model. A five man unit costs 100 points without any upgrades, and a more durable ten man squad a whopping 200 points – the cost of a basic terminator assault unit or sanguinary guard squad. Without taking Astorath the Grim they are a 0-1 choice, meaning they are a large fist to hit people with, but only the one. They have the rage special rule, which means that a canny enemy can use fast vehicles and units to lead them around the battlefield by the nose. Worse, up against power weapons they die fairly quickly, especially units such as howling banshees and Incubi. Players may scoff at the idea of using Death Company against such units, but the rage rule again makes them unpredictable. Lastly, they can’t claim objectives, which means even with Astorath commanders will need other troops squads to back them up in objective games – played two thirds of the time in the current edition of the rules.
4 – Blood Angel Tech Marines
Tech marines are great. Their background is fun and they work can do helpful things on the field. Bolstering defences can make a hard to kill camo cloak scout squad almost impossible to dislodge, and they can fix vehicles and take firepower-toting servitors. Plus, with a servo harness they become a walking fire support section, and not too shoddy in combat.
However, Blood Angels don’t tend to be a static army. The combat bias of the rest of the army can leave them a bit out of place, and at 50 points they cost the same as a sanguinary priest without giving a squad any specific bonuses. They only have one wound, and though they have a 2+ save they don’t have an invulnerable save. Fixing vehicles is great, but with most of the blood angel fleet fast or best used deploying troops, they tend to get left behind to take up valuable seats that a combat monster could be using. They can only upgrade two servitors to long ranged shooters, and are more expensive per model for worse firing. A devastator squad with two heavy bolters – 110 points, as compared to the 120 points for three models and they only have BS3.
3 – Blood Angel Whirlwinds
Whirlwinds are probably the least used heavy support choice in the Blood Angels Army (and debatably in any Warhammer 40k Space Marine Army). They are very points effective, coming in at only 90 points for a large blast template tank. They are also slightly better in the Blood Angels list as they are fast vehicles, meaning they can move 12 inches and still fire. However, there is a reason they are so cheap. The template is excellent when used against mass infantry armies or low armour terrain hugging units (one missile ignores armour) however they don’t have the utility against other armies. If a commander plays many horde armies (great against Orks and Tyranids), they are attractive. However most players at tournaments or clubs have a variety or armies, Space Marines, Grey Knights and Necrons being current favourites. This makes the st 5 ap 4 shot not as effective, and there are other slots in the heavy support that can dual role. Not in any way a bad choice, but when choosing an army somehow that 90 points always manages to be better spent elsewhere.
2 – Blood Angel Terminator Squads
There’s nothing wrong with terminators squads. 2+ save, mobile storm bolter firepower and power fists all round make them formidable opponents. However, they lack the survivability and punch of their close combat brothers. 200 points worth of squad is always going to attract a great deal of fire, especially when they materialise next to the opponent’s prize tank or favourite unit. However the 5+ invulnerable save makes them prey to lascannons and plasma weaponry (watch out for plasma cannons in particular). This is not an insurmountable problem, and the ability to strap two shot rocket launchers or rending assault cannons to one of them (most unlikely anyone would take 10) increases their ranged power as well.
It is just a case that the assault variant is usually better long-term. More of a threat when deep striking, the assault terminators can rip the heart out of squads with 4 attacks on the charge with lightening claws. Add to that the possibility of the red thirst in blood angel lists and they can be st 5 I 5 with 4 attacks, re-rolling failed wounds. That’s before you add thunder hammers and storm shields, which give them a 3+ invulnerable save. All the time. That makes them incredibly hard to dislodge, able to stand up to power weapon equipped troops and get against monstrous creatures, characters and tanks because of the thunder hammer rules.
1 – Blood Angel Captains.
It is so incredibly rare to see a generic Blood Angel Captain on the field that it’s almost safe to say no one uses them. Arguably they can be equipped as the player wants, are cheap and fill the HQ slot. But they add nothing to the army. For the same points cost as a standard captain (with no wargear other than a bolt pistol and chainsword plus the usual grenades) it costs 100 points. He comes with an iron halo, giving him a 4+ invulnerable save. Hold that up against a librarian. 100 points for a character with a force weapon and two psychic powers as standard. For 60 more points a commander can choose Gabriel Seth, and for 175 points Blood Angel Commanders can choose Tycho instead. Lacking the ‘Rites of battle’ they had previously, Blood Angel Captains bring nothing tangible to the table and are not worth the points they cost to make them effective.
James Barry - James Barry is a freelance writer, director and producer. He has worked in a huge range of jobs from the esoteric to the mundane
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