Email in: Ummmm I don't know what to put for a subject =[ lol [Blood Angels]

"Hey Kirby

Love the blog, I must say it has changed my opinions on a lot of 40k things, like that dark elder actually don't suck. My first 40k models I ever had was the 3ed starter set and trying to kill 10 tac marines and a land speeder with 20 dark elder warriors on foot with nothing but splinter rifles and splinter cannons kind of put me off them for like ever.

But what really caught my attention was your pure jumper army and I'm thinking of running one as my first 5th ed army(haven't played since end of 3rd/start of 4th). Now I won't be getting the codex until like next week so I haven't decided on an exact list just yet, but I doubt it will look that different to other pure jumper lists.

Thou I do have several questions I wanted to ask about running a pure jump army.

First up and probably the least important, think anyone will mind if i use death company models with jump packs as my vanguard vets? I'll be running my own blood angels successor chapter so they won't be painted like death company.

Second in lower point games would using 2/3 squads of 5 VV with just bolt pistol and combat weapons work better than 1/2 tooled up squads with storm shields and stuff??

My reasoning for taking more squads without toys is

It gives you more bodies(expensive bodies compared to assault marines but bodies are bodies).

You can tie up more of your opponents army, but the VV no longer have the staying power to tie up super units.

Even with decent of angels your whole army doesn't land on turn 2 does it? it's just normal deep striking 4+ and then DoA grants you a reroll. So on average you have 75% on your army dropping on turn 2? I don't have the codex yet so I could be completely wrong about this part. xD

So more units means less chance of all your vets deciding to have a coffee break and not jumping with the bulk of your army. Since the vets are way more important on the first drop than later turns.

Third, is about combat squads. If i combat squad my assault marines should I put both meltas in one squad or one in each squad? Also won't combat squading make it easier for my opponent to kill of my priests? Since they will only have 5 marines each protecting them instead of 10 each.

Forth, when dropping is it better to drop my priests first or last?? Like is it better to drop around the priests or set units up where they needed and then drop priests?

I had more but I can't remember them now and this e-mail is already rather long.

So thank you in advance for any help you can offer =].

~ Luke"

Hey Luke, glad you like the blog and thanks for the e-mail. Always good to see people gaining benefits from what I try and do =D. I'd personally hold off on the DE until the new book is released unless you love the models as they are now. They are an excellent mono-build atm but I imagine that will change shortly. Pure Jumper from BA is an excellent list and very competitive in 5th if played right. You're correct on the Descent of Angels and they also only scatter D6" instead of the usual 2D6". Very important. I also cannot see anyone having a problem with you running DC as Vanguard Vets as long as you let them know before. I'll be combining DC and Sanguinary Guard boxes to create my VV but that's just because those wings look awesome (the Sanguinary Guard torsos will become my Honor Guard). Let's get down to your tactical questions then!

To  number 2) at smaller point games, no. The SS's are very important and either need to be on the VV or your HG. Even at 1500 pts you're going to see units like TH/SS termiantors who will crush your army unless you have someone with good staying power and this comes in the forms of SS. If you can fit SS into your army, 3 VVs and enough Troops then go ahead but at 1500 pts I think you'll find that a problem. At 2000 though, much more likely though you are likely sacrificing on the Troops or Honor Guard front.

To number 3) and combat squads. This varies per game. Rule of thumb is generally one melta per unit, especially against mech as you get more fire saturation (can hit more targets). Against other lists though such as MC based lists where you want your PFists in combat but not your meltaguns, it can sometimes be wiser to double up the meltaguns on one squad. There are cons to this though as your enemy can target your meltaguns more easily so make sure you weigh it up before hand. I'd only do this if I was sure I could keep the meltagunner units out of combat for as long as possible (i.e. Blood Rodeo) and engage the enemy with the PFist side. However, splitting them up more often than not is your best bet.

With number 4) I'd always rather drop my VV first and then Priests. This way I know if my VV are going to be able to assault and can then build up the core of ASM/HG/Libbies around Priests as needed. When you've got Dante though, drop one of the Priests (or HG squads) last with Dante to ensure a bubble where it is needed, especially if it's a tight fit. Whilst only scattering D6" makes Jumpers viable (along with the re-roll on reserves), your army can still end up pretty spread out if you get bad rolls.

Hope that answers your questions and I'd recommend looking at the other Jumper lists on this website and the How To: Jumper article. If you have any more questions just give me a shout here.