Blood Rodeo - the 6th edition transition

I think I've gotten more e-mails about this topic than anything else ever (yes, even Draigowing). Apparently it's a popular concept which has been brought into further light with 6th edition and...Allies. Everyone's favorite topic lately.

Blood Rodeo is about using a screen of biker models to protect the FNP/FC Assault Marines of a Blood Angels army for any unwanted assaults/attention and basically ferry them into combat. Concept and tactics for 5th edition outlined here.

Email in: Blood Rodeo Adapation???

"You and your blog authors are the best list builders I know. I was browsing your older Blood Angels articles the other day for ideas on how to expand my current list (jump variant with Stormravens), and had this crazy idea, but no real way to test it (no one I know has bikes to proxy). I was wondering if you do me the honor of evaluating it and seeing if it made any sense.

What if you combine your Blood Rodeo and Blood Hammer lists? Here's what I'm thinking it might look like:

Army Comparison: Blood Angel Jumpers and Grey Knights

This has been talked about a bit and I've had a couple e-mails about it so here's an army comparison for Jumper based armies in the Blood Angels codex against the Grey Knights codex as a whole. This is a bit different from other Army Comparison posts as we are looking specifically at a certain arch-type of build within the Blood Angels codex, basically anything with a core of Jumper/Jump Pack models (yes including Hybrids) and how it matches up with Grey Knights in general. As usual in these posts, I'll be looking at advantages and disadvantages of both armies, pitting them against each and reaching a conclusion on which, if any, army has the potential advantage over others.

We'll begin with some brief outlines of the armies which is going to be obviously detailed for the Jumper armies and deliberately vaguer (wow that's word) for Grey Knights. We'll start with the Jumper armies.

Blood Angels Jumpers Summary

There are tons of articles on these type of armies on this website and I'll link each list as I throw them out to you as well as this great (if I don't say so myself) summary post of a lot of their tactics, choices and general gameplay.

Email in: Blood Rodeo Variation

"Hello again, Pink One!

Last time you heard from me, I was tunning a Eldar "S6 Spam list"...now I'm sold to the Blood Rodeo.

Please don't be worried with dates, this will be a long term project...(maybe for a tournament in December!)

Not exactly "your" Rodeo, but a similar list with the same thematic/tactics (BA Jumpers and Bikers)...and some personal preference.

So...why not replace the Terminator TH/SS with Furioso Dread? Probably not as effective as TH/SS, but wayyyy cooler! Something like this:

The concept sounds fun but it will be the execution. You're going to need at least three Pods so you can drop the Dreads in on T1 to try and get some saturation and if you're dropping Dreads in you'd want them to be Libby Dreads so they are that much more potent. You then get the whole issue of dropping a ~200 pt unit into range of point blank meltaguns. You might survive but what happens when you don't? Lot of points down the drain. Anyway let's take a look.

Blood Angel Ideas - Because overtiredness makes me think.

I realiseI promised more deployment articles, and I've had some people begging for castling advice, but fact is I'm working on a plant shutdown at the moment, and don't have the mental capacity for articles of that nature. So to fill space instead while pink bits is gone ....

Okay, so chatbawks inspired madness. Been thinking a lot of how to use Stormravens, since I came back from Brisvegas on Tuesday. I really like the model, but its hard to justify them at 1750. Kirbs gonna do a full article, so I'll save my full thoughts for that, but I'm going to focus on one thing in this list.

The Raven is a gunboat first, and a transport second.
No, really, I mean that. Its amazing. 4 Str8 AP1 Missiles on a first turn barrage? Yes please. Oh, they are single shot, well boohoo, thats okay with me. The very realistic chance to not only disable, but destroy, one of your AV13 or lower vehicles first turn, is worth it. Thats not taking into account its other weapons, which are also handy (Plasma Cannon/MM combo, with Hurricane Bolters, is my choice.)

Riddle me this, Clyde-frog - What makes Railheads so goddamned scary? Its the firepower they bring, and the cover save they always have! Frustrating, no? So that gave me an idea.

Email in: Bikers & Sternguard

"Hey Will

Bit more to go on from previous e-mail - added sample list, aiming at 1750

Long-time lurker, first-time e-mailer. Love the blog, found you from YTTH.

Firstly, Happy Birthday!

Secondly, I am struggling to finalise my biker list.
I have loved the idea of Jumpers and Bikes since I first picked up a (4th ed) Space Marines codex.
I now have a Stelek-inspired vanilla-dex Raven Guard(-esque) army for jumpers (painted as 8th Co Ultramarines).
I want the biker list to be 6th Co Ultramarines (love that Orange), with a Deathwatch unit (or two) allied.

I can go the dual command squad pure bikers list (1 captain & command squad from each, with "troops" from the UMs).
Or, I can try to mix UM bikers with a gating DW librarian, with some DW Sternguard. Can a Biker/Sternguard mix work?

Email in: Blood Rodeo

"Hi Kirby

I'm not going to resort to butt-kissing and telling you guys how great you are (you know that already, right?), but suffice to say that I am a big fan of your blog as I seem to share a similar mentality to gaming and list-building.

I am a Flesh Tearers player [see attached image of one of my creations] and am EXTREMELY interested in your Blood Rodeo concept. I want to field a competitive non-Mech force and love Space Marines on motorbikes! My problem is that my gaming club only really play 1000 or 1500 point games. I can see that the Blood Rodeo is unlikely to work at 1000 points - I simply cannot select the 'core' choices and sufficient unit upgrades for less than 1000, so will likely be using a variation on your Jumper list at that point level. However, you have said on more than one occasion that although you recommend the Blood Rodeo for 1750+ games, it can be fielded at 1500 as a bare minimum.

So can I put you on the spot and ask exactly what you would field in a 1500-point Blood Rodeo list? Below is my humble attempt for your critique:

Email in: bling rodeo [A new BA list]

"Hey Kirby,

First things first, love the blog, you've really helped me to explore different ways of using my Blood Angels particularly. Which brings me round to my next point; I was looking at two of your army lists, namely blood rodeo and bloodwing and wondering if you could combine the two to create "bling rodeo", aka sanguinary guard and bikes.

My thinking was something along these lines

Dante
Librarian w/Blood lance & sword, bike

Sang priest w/ JP x 2

Email in: 1500 and Speedy + 1500 Jumper BA

Here are two emails from Archnomand...two! What a needy bugger. 

"Hey Kirbs,

As I'm sure you know from Chatterbox I'm after an army that's power armoured but not just a build I can do (better) with my Space Wolves. So I'm looking at Biker Marines and your Blood Rodeo. Which would you recommend for 1500, and could you give me a sample army? Thanks man!  

Scratch my previous army. I've decided to do a "generic" marine army a la goatboy. So the first dex I'm gonna use the Angels Oblivion with is Blood Angels. I'm pretty new to BA and I haven't played against many of their competitive lists, but I'm gonna give it a shot. Here's what I cooked up; 

Email in: BA thunderbubble & 1250 Escalation Tournament BA mech list

"Hey Will,

In what seems to be my never ending quest to find a home for the 2 boxes of assault terminators I have....and I have to admit you have greatly indulged me in this effort and I do appreciate it. So I have been going through some of your articles and was reading up on the Thunderbubble...So after the advice you offered on the dual LRC list, I now have a home for my 10 BT terminators, now I just need to find a home in my BA army for 10 of them. So that being said I have come up with the following list.

Now as I have thought about it, the "fast" feature of the BA mech is negated by the slow moving thunderbubble, and maybe assault cannons aren't the best option on the razorbacks, Lascannnons might be better as they can reach out a bit further than 24in. But either way, this looks pretty typical to what else is out there. Of course the other option to getting terminators into the mix is to teleport them but then you have the unreliability of the where and when. The more I think about it the more it seems that terminators just don't have a place in a BA army, to expensive to run in LRC's as the need to be, and too slow to run on foot.....is it me, or am I trying to put a square peg in a round hole? Anyway so here is my list idea, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Email in: pics of my Blood Rodeo

This is from Turkson who just took the Blood Rodeo to a Swedish tournament and has sent me the pictures of his army. I requested how he did in the tournament and got this as a reply as well:

"Fair enough, i´ll try and summarize:

I came in 24th out of 66 (result-lists can be found here: Swedish Tourney Results\

It is northern swedens largest tournament (and one of swedens largest, part of the national tour) and they play 2K armies with very few restrictions (duplicate units of biker nobs, seer council on jetbikes and lash of submission is banned) but they have an elaborate system of mission cards instead (could link them to you but they are in swedish so I guess its a mote point).

I won three out of my five games, against Imperial Guard, another Blood Angel list and squeezed in a tight victory against a mechanized Eldar (at the end he just mounted up and flew away from me which almost costed me the game since it was objectives).

The two losses I had were both against Space Wolves and both games were lost in a similar manner. I got bogged down in combat against Thunderwolves.

Id like to point out that I only started this army about a month ago and have only managed a handful of testgames before the tourney, so I still consider myself a rodeo-rookie and think I can chalk down alot of my losses to bad playing. The fact that I seem to get constantly bogged down agaisnt dangerous enemy units (Thunderwolves here and Bloodcrushers during gametesting) and the fact that shooty armies tend to target whatever unit my Librarians are in have made me draw this conclusion:

Email in: I love C:BA [2x 1750 Blood Angels]

"Hi Kirby, been reading the blog for quite some time and just recently started posting a couple of replies here and there and thought I'd drop you an email.

Anyway I'll start by saying that I love the BA codex and the options it presents for making entirely different army styles. I'm at a point where I want to start painting a new army but I can't for the life of me decide what to do. Here are a couple of lists I'm interested in running with, can you take a look? (most games I play are at 1750)

First is a Blood Rodeo pretty much the same as your list with the 2nd Lib dropped for the (IMHO more versatile) speeders:

Potential 1750 Centurion lists (10 army lists)

Well I know Centurion is a long ways away. Like really long but it's never too early to start thinking about your army lists is it? Most certainly not since I need to get into training (having not played much lately) and painting as the only army I own which is finished is my Tyranids. Now unfortunately Centurion is 1750 and so often you just need that extra 50-100 points to make a list really work. fester, we hate you. So, this means a mildly different type of list mechanic (I'm unlikely to see double Raider lists for example but will versus every single one there, it's a fact). So what we have below are a lot of list musings I've been going through. None of them are finalised and I've added some comments beneath each and a poll to the left where you can choose multiple armies. The top 2 or 3 will narrow it down and I'll end up making the ultimate choice. Unless you guys piss me off with your choices then I'll just pick what I want.

A quick note though, my Tyranid army is very likely to be my back-up. Since it's pretty much painted and all I'd have to do are some touch-ups (bloody non-sealed, metal models) and do some more Gants, it's the least amount of work. And I can lol at Alex when I get a half-decent paint score. All of the Marine lists (unless noted) I've got all the models and bits for but will ultimately have to paint 30-40 Marines + however many tanks in the army. I've not included a Biker list (outside of Blood Rodeo) because I don't really want to have to paint 25+ bikes + the tanks needed. Knowing what I'm like with painting that would really put the pressure on... So here are 10 lists I'm considering or are templates for lists based upon their concepts.

Email in: 1850 Blood Rodeo [Lamenters]

"Hey Kirby! Some lucky Ebay auctions found me with a surprisingly large portion of your 2000pt Blood Rodeo army. Funny how that happens. I'm planning on doing them as Lamenters at the Fall of Malvolion, where their fast and total loss will repeated many times on my tabletop. One of your other contributors is also doing a Lamenters Blood Rodeo (Smurfy I think? I can't tell all those guys with the Wobbuffet avatars apart) but I had the idea first so I'm not stealing it. Unfortunately the games are invariably at 1850 points here in Florida, so I have to try and find some posisiton between your 1750 and 2000 BR lists. Here's my attempt:

Lamenters Rodeo: 1845 pts

----- HQ -------------------------------
1. Librarian w/ Blood Lance, Sword, Bike (135pts)
2. Librarian w/ Blood Lance, Sword, Bike (135pts)
3. Honour Guard w/ Jump Packs, 2x Meltagun (185pts)

From 1k to 1750: Blood Rodeo

I was asked on Warseer by Generaloftheabyss how to make Blood Rodeo work @ 1k because he liked it so much. Unfortunately, Blood Rodeo just isn't going to work at 1k. Libby + 2x ASM is already 500+ points and one bike squad is all of your points gone. So what I proposed was a Jumper list at 1k which is more 'balanced' and then as the point values escalate, we can arrive at a 2k Blood Rodeo list. We obviously therefore want to incorporate as many Blood Rodeo models as possible in the Jumper lists but undoubtedly there are going to  be some models in the end which don't make the cut.

We'll base our Jumper list around the VV concept as VV can easily be dropped in as ASM in the Blood Rodeo list at higher levels rather than a Nipple or Hammer list (Sanguinary Guard or Missile Devs). We know the Blood Rodeo ultimately uses Priests & ASM w/Jump Packs, TH/SS Terminators and Bike Squads + Libbies on Bikes. Priests and ASM are going to be easy to fit into a Jumper list but everything else will have to be added later. Sucks but that's the way of it. Let's start then with two full ASM squads, a Libby with pack and a VV squad with 4 SS. That's 235x2 + 125 + 165 + 80 = 840 points. Most of our points gone already. We'll add in 2 Priests w/Jump Packs and we're at 999 ouch! The final 10 points can give the VV a PFist and that's nearly 30 FNP Marines @ 1k points. Not too bad and balanced for the points level but at this points level you're going to meet the rock to your scissors often enough. The joy of balance.

Foot Blood Angels: Dealing with other combat armies

One of the main weaknesses highlighted in both the Blood Angels Jumper and Blood Rodeo lists is other combat armies, specifically anything with multiple Dreadnoughts or MCs. The reason for this is simple, these guys have high T/AV and are good enough in combat so to squish Marines and are best taken out with concentrated and ranged firepower. Foot BA lists which are not running Devs (i.e. Blood/Nipple Hammer) have issues in bringing enough concentrated firepower to bear on these guys to take them down because of their limited range. If they fail to do so and don't get off the charge, well they get charged unless there is a bubble-wrap in the way. So how do Foot BA lists built around combat and without ranged support deal with combat lists? This has been asked a couple of times on the blog and via e-mail/PM so I'm doing a mass reply to all of you :P.

How To: Blood Rodeo

One of the most anticipated articles…ever? This article has been floating around for some time and been requested/demanded/bribed for/blackmailed/threatened with explicit sexual activities/honeyed/burned/stolen/barraged/and anything else you could imagine that involves someone politely asking me to post it. Thanks for your patience! So, the Blood Rodeo is a list built around Bikes and Assault Marines from the Blood Angels codex and is the thought-child of ProfessorCurly and myself. As the months wore on and its popularity grew, even Stelek waded in with his additions and the final template for the Blood Rodeo was born. You can see My Blood Rodeo by clicking what I just wrote but how to play this army? There have been hints, brief discussions and tantalising bits of nothing on this blog so it’s time for this stupid introduction to end and for us to get into the meat of the Blood Rodeo. This article will look at what the concept of Blood Rodeo is and why it works, breaks down individual units and why they were chosen and provides throughout an overall army strategy.

As stated above, the Blood Rodeo is built around Bikes and Assault Marines from the Blood Angels codex. Unlike regular bike lists this means the bikes are not scoring but the Assault Marines are. There are a couple of things which make this list and concept work. The first one is obviously scoring ASM. Whilst scoring bikes are arguably better, we have scoring ASM which provides the list with the needed mobility, special weapons and combat prowess across multiple units. Whilst ASM aren’t great assault troops they are a sight better than Tactical Marines & Bikes and when combined with the FNP/FC bubbles Blood Angels have access to, they are greatly improved. This brings us to the 2nd point on why this list works. FNP/FC bubbles. FNP makes the whole army (Bikes & ASM) very survivable, especially in combat against anything without power weapons. As stated above, FC makes the ASM ‘good’ assault troops and even makes Bikes on the charge better than terrible but it still doesn’t make the army a good combat army as an entity. This is where the Terminators come in and the major concept of this list, bubble-wrapping.

My Blood Rodeo

So this is my final take on Blood Rodeo and what I'll be aiming for when I build it though there is some flexibility in upgrades, etc. I'll be putting it together after Lords of Terra with my Tyranids and have all the pieces I need except some more Jump Packs and needed magnets (I always run out). A How To will accompany this army after Lords of Terra as well to analyse in-depth how to use it plus its strengths and weaknesses.

With the changes to how FNP/FC bubbles work I've slotted in a 3rd Sanguinary Priest at the cost of a Terminator and some flamer love elsewhere. I've put back the LClaws on the other Sang Priests and this combination allows me to keep one FNP/FC out of combat for as long as possible whilst sticking in some S5 LC attacks here and there as needed. Otherwise the army is pretty similar to before with multiple MSUs, meltaguns, flamers and PFists and should be a bloody joy and a half to assemble and play. Keep your eyes peeled for any changes and thoughts as I work on this army from August onwards!

Without further ado, the 'Official' Blood Rodeo by Kirbeh Wirbeh =P

PM in: Blood Rodeo

From Lithanial on Warseer:

"Hi Kirby,

I am intrigued by your ideas of the Blood Rodeo and have been running through a few things in my head. Thought I would gather your opinion on them.

1, Why do you choose to do this with a BA list over a CS:M list? with C:SM you could quite feasibly have vanguard vets instead of the BA's ASM squads - add in a scout squad / scout bike squad with locator beacons and your vanguard are getting straight into the fight rather than getting shot apart.

2, With all those bikes & jump packs, do you find clearing and holding terrain to be a problem? What are your thoughts on adding some scout squads to hold terrain pieces ahead of the bike wave and restrict your opponents free access to cover?

3, Why do you not include any armour in your list? with the BA fast vehicles they would be able to keep up with ease and act as a strong anchor while also giving you the ability to tank shock your way through swarms for your bikers to reach more important targets.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts."

Wrasslin' by the Horns - Trials and Tribulations of the Blood Rodeo Pt 1

So here's a gamer's log on a path to more success and better gaming with a new army.

As I stated in my Battle Report I have begun modelling and painting Kirby's...love-child?...of a list he likes to call the Blood Rodeo as a Lamenter army.

While not a trademark yet, Kirby hopes to make the Blood Rodeo one just like BoLS's Leafblower. Silly men and their toy soldiers. I have you know, I much rather pull one-liners from movies like Escape from LA while playing my games of 40k, so I find it fitting I have named the two Librarians Snake and Plisskin.

We all know Kirby loves fluffing his own idea, but this is one series I felt a need to start for personal gain as well as informing people into how I think. After all, the best way to get better at 40k is by playing (Proxy or otherwise) and by asking others opinions while criticizing yourself to drive yourself to get better.

So modelling & painting aren't my strong point to present yet as I have not a camera to show off my...I would consider average...painting skills. So we'll focus on the army list, tactics and performance.

Issues that people might find in the list and it's usage -