"Hey Kirby,
Travis from New Zealand here again. I guess this make me a repeat correspondent.
With my recent discovery of a Stormraven kitbash that I can stand the appearance of (and which doesn't double the cost of the kit) I have begun examining a Blood Angel 'air force' list. A bit theme-constrained I know but there are still some strong building blocks in the codex I think.
Here's what I came up with @1850;
Blood Angels Air Cavalry
HQ- Librarian, Shield of Sanguinius, Unleash Rage (100)
HQ- Librarian, Shield of Sanguinius, Unleash Rage (100)
ELITE- Furioso Dreadnought, blood talons, heavy flamer (135)
ELITE- Furioso Dreadnought, blood talons, heavy flamer (135)
ELITE- 2 Sanguinary Priests with power weapons (130)
TROOPS- Assault Squad A- 10 Assault Marines, Sergeant with power fist, no jump packs (215)
TROOPS- Assault Squad A- 10 Assault Marines, Sergeant with power fist, no jump packs (215)
TROOPS- Assault Squad A- 5 Assault Marines, meltagun, Sergeant with power fist (135)
FAST ATTACK- 2 Land Speeders, multi-melta, heavy flamer (140)
FAST ATTACK- Land Speeder, multi-melta, heavy flamer (70)
FAST ATTACK- Land Speeder, multi-melta, heavy flamer (70)
HEAVY SUPPORT- Stormraven Gunship, twin-linked multi-melta, twin-linked plasma cannon (200)
HEAVY SUPPORT- Stormraven Gunship, twin-linked multi-melta, twin-linked plasma cannon (200)"
Looks fine except the ASM without Jump Packs are travelling in what? I'm assuming you are putting them in the Storm Ravens which is a meh idea IMO but you can only remove their JP if you buy a transport for them. Otherwise just roll the ASM on foot really. You've got the Priests to make them quite durable and against opponents with a lot of firepower you can reserve.
You need some upgrades though so the 2nd Libby has to go. Use those points to get EA on the Storm Ravens and Jump Packs on the Priests/Libby + meltaguns on the ASM. Also combine the two single MM/HF Speeders and you're looking good.
"Now to explain my reasoning, such as it goes.
The Assault Squads on foot go in the Stormravens, each accompanied by a Priest and a Librarian. It's a bit of a death star I know but at least I have two.
The final Assault Squad can DoA in, camp a home objective or otherwise make itself useful."
Again, you needed to buy a transport for this squad but why even bother? Jump Pack models can ride in Stormravens.
"All the Land Speeders are there to hopefully provide target priority issues- they can't be ignored, but shots put into them are shots not put into Stormravens.
In terms of anti-tank I have a lot of melta on fast platforms and 8 Bloodstrike missiles, in terms of anti-horde I have a fair number of heavy flamers and of course the Furiosos are horde-killers themselves with a heavy flamer blast followed by a potential blood talon charge. (plus their handy meltaguns). They still have a decent chance to pop transports with the claws if absolutely needed.
As a note- I went with plasma cannons over assault cannons on the Stormravens because A) it's free b) an extra 12" threat range and c) it gives PotMS something worthwhile to shoot."
Correct with Speeders and fine choice with Raven outload though looking for some points to get EA is important to ensure they keep moving. Hurricane bolters would be nice for extra anti-horde but the other upgrades are more important. BA have good anti-horde in combat however and with 25 ASM + Furiosos nothing new here.
"I decided to go with Unleash Rage on the Librarians rather than Blood Lance because the Librarians are either in a transport with no fire points or assaulting. Shield of Sanguinius measured from a Stormraven hull was an easy choice; Unleash Rage went in to give the Assault Marines a touch more punch in an assault.
So, I feel the list brings the shooty and the stompy, so to speak, but I am concerned about whether it's too one-dimensional or fragile.
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Travis"
Unleash is fine, particularly after you put meltaguns onto the ASM squads. It helps make your guys more reliable in combat but remember you'll more often leave yourself open to return fire as you wipe whatever you assault. Sword is a good option you should probably consider instead, particularly since the Furiosos are running Blood Talons.
Adding Stormravens/Speeders to a Jumper based list is a nice variant outside of Devasators or VV but you do have to keep that Jumper feel to at least give you some options and not always run essentially a couple of targets at your opponent. A few tweaks are needed as discussed above however.
