With some of the best army background in the entire Warhammer 40k universe the army is one of the most versatile that you can imagine when playing. They have all the depth of your usual Space Marine Army with the added impact of being the closest thing to space vampires you can get. This means that their character choices are more varied then the usual ‘generic chapter master with special wargear’ or ‘random librarian who can do weird things to the enemy’ and to be used properly should have an impact on your force organisation choices.
Stand-Alone Characters in a Blood Angels Army List
It is expected in a primarily combat and close quarters army that the leaders are similarly themed, and the Blood Angels Codex doesn’t disappoint. The special character HQ slots are filled with all sorts of close combat nightmares for the enemy. However, look beyond the surface assault phase death machines and you can see they break down into two rough camps; stand-alone hard hitting killers and killers who play better with others.
Leading the charge on wading hip deep into the enemy is the Blood Angels Chief Librarian, Mephiston. Taken on his stat line alone he is a force to be reckoned with; 6 attacks when charging and a force weapon mean he can throw a hefty punch, while his toughness 6 and 5 wounds mean that he can take one too. He is actually hard enough to throw up against a fairly heavy enemy close combat unit and come out of it battered but still standing on the other side. This is without mentioning his psychic powers. He knows all of the Blood Angel powers in their list, which means that he can adapt to face a dreadnought or vehicle and then turn around and deal with the high initiative troops squad next to it.
His main weakness is the fact that he has to go it alone. As a unique character he can’t be accompanied by a feel-no-pain-giving sanguinary priest, and his lack of invulnerable save makes him prey to thunder hammer terminators or power weapon squads. He’s also not immune to instant death, and though you can’t do it at long range with his toughness, force weapons, implant attacks and dark elder nastiness can all kill him outright.
The other ‘go it alone’ character in the Blood Angels army is the Sanguinor. On paper not quite as hard hitting as Mephiston, his 6 attacks at St 6 In 7 on the charge mean ‘not quite as hard hitting’ is the difference between being hit by Muhammad Ali or Audley Harrison. Both are going to hurt. He also has a much more subtle impact on your army. The Sanguinor chooses one HQ unit to re-roll to hit and wound against when he is deployed, and when this is used with the fact that he only scatters d6 inches if deep striking (thanks to the Blood Angel ‘Decent of Angels’ rule), he can be a headache for any enemy command unit. And the rest of the army around it. He also randomly selects one sergeant in your army to give +1 wound, weapon skill, initiative and attacks to, and gives everyone within 6 inches of him an extra attack in the assault phase. This can turn the tide in almost any assault.
Dual-role Support and Combat characters in a Blood Angel Army.
The Blood Angels can also field a series of characters that are best in a support role, as a one-two punch with other units. Dante, the Chapter Master makes units of sanguinary guard troops choice, giving players the option to have a small, elite army of jump pack troops that are durable and hit hard. He also has the ability to deep strike with any unit he is with without scattering, meaning that the unit will be exactly where you need them to be. Coupled with a set of negative modifiers for the independent character of your choice and hit and run for him and his squad, he defines the type of army he is usually put in and creates a helpful toolbox of tactics for players.
On the flip side of the support coin is Astorath. The high chaplain of the Blood Angels, he is great in combat and makes his squad re-role to hit in the first round of combat. He also makes death company more prevalent in an army where he is the leader as he removes the 0-1 limit on this unit. This makes for a death company/dreadnought heavy army for using him to full effect, which can be a double edged sword. Astorath also makes every unit in the army much more likely to have the red thirst rule (50% rather than only one sixth of the time), but this applies to all Blood Angels including the opponent, so he is best used in kill point games (as death company can’t claim objectives).
Best-of-Both-Worlds Characters in the Blood Angels Codex
Some players prefer to bulk out on great units rather than take fewer elite units, and as a tactic this can pay dividends in objective games or games against horde armies such as Imperial Guard, Orks and Tyranids. For these armies a good but more economical points cost is often a better plan. Captain Tycho is an excellent mid-level character. He confers the ‘Rites of Battle’ which other Blood Angel captains don’t have, meaning all units can benefit from his high leadership for tests they have to make. You can also take him as a death company version, with feel no pain and blood rage, however he cannot then join units. This means he can be used as a cheaper though slightly less effective version of the combat monsters mentioned above.
Lastly there is Gabriel Seth. Not a Blood Angel per-se, purists often dismiss the flesh tearer chapter master as he ‘should be in different colours’. However if you’re using him as something else or doing a successor chapter, there’s no reason not to see him as a viable option. He’s a more usual chapter master, however for his points cost he’s an attractive package. 160 points gets you 4 strength 8 (at initative order, in this case 5) attacks with rending. He can also auto hit all enemy models in base contact instead, taking out large infantry groups like orks or tyranids and still being handy against tanks. It also means the deadnought won’t instant death him before he can strike, as his attacks will be going first; add his iron hap to this and he’s pretty much assured to weather nasty defiler or dreadnought combats with ease. As a last kicker, he also punishes enemies who role 1s to hit with a strength 4 hit back – even better against armies with a re-roll such as black Templars as this applies to both roles!
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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