Email in: Hybrid Blood Angels 2500 Pt

"During my wargaming exploits, I have had a hard time nailing down an army list that I like and have an even harder time sticking with a single list for more than a few games. I have the tendency to show up at a game store and have forgotten my list or specific models are at home on the painting desk, or I'm just feeling frisky so I feel the need to throw my previous list out the window and come up with a new one on the fly with minimal thought involved.

Today, I've started the idea of working on ONE list at a certain points value, playing it for no less than 10 games, take notes while playing, and then edit it with optimizations. So here goes; the following is a 2500 point Blood Angel list with combinations of what I've enjoyed running in the past, culminating in a hybrid 'Jumper/Mechanized' attack force, with enough melta and firepower ruin someone's day when their tanks and infantry have been reduced to molten slag.


Hybrid Blood Angels - 2500 Pts

HQ:

Mephiston, Lord of Death - 250 Pts

Librarian, Shield of Sanguinius, Unleash Rage - 100 Pts

Honour Guard, Meltaguns x4, Jump Packs - 205 Pts

Elite:

Sanguinary Priest- 50 pts
Sanguinary Priest, Jump Pack -75 pts

Troops:
Assault Squad x10, Meltagun x2, Thunder Hammer, Land Raider Redeemer w/ Multimelta, Extra Armour - 465 Pts

Assault Squad x5, Meltagun, Infernus Pistol, LC/TLPG Razorback - 165 Pts

Assault Squad x5, Meltagun, Infernus Pistol, LC/TLPG Razorback - 165 Pts

Assault Squad x10, Jump Packs, Meltagun x2, Powerfist - 235 Pts

Assault Squad x10, Jump Packs, Meltagun x2, Powerfist - 235 Pts

Fast Attack:

Baal Predator, Heavy Bolters - 145 pts

Baal Predator, Heavy Bolters - 145 pts

Heavy Support:
Devastator Squad x5, Missile Launcher x4 - 130 pts

Devastator Squad x5, Missile Launcher x4 - 130 pts

Models: (65; 34 foot, 26 jumpers, 5 tanks)
Kill Points: 16

The idea is that I will have a mobile armoured force to spearhead up the middle with a Librarian riding with the full assault squad and priest, giving the tanks their lovely 5+ cover bubble, and when the squad deploys he can give them Preferred Enemy. (Previously was going to use a chaplain here, who is more resilient, but that would leave my tanks totally exposed to enemy fire without the shield. This will probably be one of the tweaks I look at after playtesting.)

The Dakka Preds will be there for anti-horde support, and generally put out enough hurt to scare light vehicles and MCs. The Devastators are also there for anti-horde, and anti-vehicle. Mephiston is self-explanatory. The Jumpers will either advance with the armoured force or deep-strike for mayhem, depending on the mission. The razorbacks will support the advance of the Redeemer and claim objectives if they survive near the end-game.

Thoughts? "

There's too many points sunk here into Troops I feel and at 2500 points...it just doesn't seem like it's got a lot of firepower or oomph behind it. Your tank saturation is also quite low and you end up with an army that's easy to pick apart with very large individual targets such as the Honor Guard and Land Raider. I really think if you use this list as a basis for your ideas you'll get a better end result. With the extra 500 points you have you can include the extra bits you want such as large Assault Squads, Land Raiders, Mephiston, etc. but the core of the list is going to be solid. The turrets of the Razorbacks dont have to be Assault Cannons either.

What's important about it for a Hybrid list is you have enough tanks moving forward with which to screen your foot units you want screened. You can even turn the Dreadnoughts into Predators if you wish for more mobile tanks or in place of the Baals to allow you to bring something else in Fast Attack (i.e. Land Speeders). This is important for Hybrid lists as it is harder for your opponent to pick your list apart so to speak and you aren't cramming a massive amount of dudes behind a limited amount of tanks.

This list also has a decent amount of firepower available so when you add your extra 500 points (two x10x Assault squads would work great for example), you've got a good basis on which to build and will be adding numbers and firepower to such a foundation. The trick is to not get attached to individual 'tricks' or to try and take too many individual units you like which detract from the overall core of the army. If there's something you can't simply stand not taking, like a Land Raider, it's often best to try and work in two and understanding that to take that, you'll not be able to get something else.