"Hey Kirby,
I'd like to start of with a clichéd yet fully deserved 'nice one' for your fantastic blog.
I have to admit, I'm not really one for following such things, but 3++ is just superb.
Anyway, I'm really wanting to start playing with an 'elite' army that can fit into a single case without excessive foam cutting (so an infantry army... sorry Dark Eldar), doesn't need masses of models (my 9k+ Tyranid collection is quite enough!), and lets me do some funky drop tactics.
So... enter the Blood Angels!
I'm emailing you for some help for two reasons; first is that, as mentioned above, I usually play Tyranids. I've done so since the dark days of second edition, and I'm finding it quite difficult to now deal with an army that is bought in expensive 'blocks' and lacks bodies (although this is what has drawn me to them).
Secondly, I primarily play for the narrative of this game and, whilst I enjoy a competitive game, I will always tend to go for background driven lists and will, occasionally, even make poor choices on the tabletop if it makes for a cooler story (idiotic I know :) ).
However, as of late I'd like to spend some more time playing outside of my equally story driven group, and I therefore need to up my game a little.
As I say, this is where the Angels come in.
Thus far I've come up with the following 'core' for a 1,500 list; it's still missing something so I've left a handful of points spare that I'm not really sure what to do with.
I need to stick to 1.5k as the gaming groups in these parts tend to have very limited time slots per game (in fact, if you could even suggest a 1k version then that would be MASSIVELY appreciated).
Librarian: Shield of Sanguinius, Blood Lance, Jump Pack 125
5x Honour Guard: 3x Meltaguns, Jump Packs 195
2x Sanguinary Priests: Jump Packs, Lightning Claws 180
10x Assault Marines: 2x Meltaguns 210
10x Assault Marines: 2x Meltaguns 210
5x Vanguard Veterans: Jump Packs, 3x Stormshields, Thunderhammer 220
5x Vanguard Veterans: Jump Packs, 3x Stormshields, Thunderhammer 220
1,360
~ I was hoping that the two priests plus the chap in the Honour Guard would be enough in terms of FNP/FC blobs.
~ I read your ideas on using the Vanguard to clean up meatshields and knock out super units - hence their inclusion.
~ Honour Guard are there for the Imperial Tank Scrappage Scheme.
~ I was also considering adding some form of combat support to the Assault Marines to make them better all rounders.
1k version (?)
Librarian: Shield of Sanguinius, Blood Lance, Jump Pack 125
2x Sangiunary Priests: Jump Packs, Lightning Claws 180
10x Assault Marines: 2x Meltaguns 210
10x Assault Marines: 2x Meltaguns 210
5x Vanguard Veterans: Jump Packs, 3x Stormshields, Thunderhammer 220
945
As I say, I'm hoping that this is a semi-decent 'core' to build on, but I'm struggling with such a different army in terms of my own experience.
Huge thanks for taking the time to read this.
Cheers,
Rich."
Both lists are solid at their points level. I'd prefer to try and include an SG unit in the 1500 version for some extra combat punch but that's going to be tight with 2x VV and an HG unit. You can replace the HG unit with an SG unit if you wish but the HG are fine and provide more meltaguns which is always good. The obvious change to both lists is adding in PFists on your ASM. You then have 10 points free in the 1000 version (hand-flamer somewhere) and 90 free in the 1500 version.
We can use this 90 to add combat equipment to the HG such as LClaws and SS or add some more SS to the VV and add some pistols such as hand-flamers and infernous pistols to the rest of the army. I prefer a bit of mix honestly so let's add some pistols and some LClaws to the HG so they are shoring up your lack of SG. We'll add two LClaws to the HG, two infernous pistols to the ASM Sarges (so they have PFist + infernous pistol) and then a hand-flamer to each of the Priests and the Libby. This adds some more combat punch and some more melta and adds some templates.
Obviously you can fiddle round with those extra points and again, the easiest list change is dropping the HG for SG. 2 FNP/FC is fine coverage at 1500 so don't be worried about that. This change nets you more combat prowess but less anti-tank and I think anti-tank is more important at this point in this list and since you can still add combat weapons to the HG, all good (those extra points into pistols can also go into HG combat weapons if you want).
