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Hey all, I am looking into starting a blood angels army. What are the best units to get first? What would you recommend? Also, do BA have any good shooty units? I am open to anything really, thank you.

I would definitly grab some assualt squads, as they are really what BA are all about. Death company and sanguinary guard are also OK in moderation. For HQ you NEED Mephiston - get him. Finally some rhinos w/ tactical squads are really very important for filling the troop choices.

You don't NEED Mephiston or Tactical Squads. Assault squads are Troops, and are better in most cases. Mephiston is a large investment, and there are certainly other viable HQ choices.

It's important to pick a theme early on for your army. Blood Angles do DoA (all jump packs) and Mechanized lists very well. Either way, I'd agree that Assault squad boxes are a good start.

Meph is ok in larger games, but under 2k you really don't want to dump that many points into a single model. he costs as much as a Land Raider as is much more killy, but he doesn't have an Invuln save and can't hide in units so is vulnerable to loads of AP2 shots(namely Plasma)


a better HQ is one of the other SCs(except the Sanguinor which falls into the same catagory Meph does) or a generic one. especially if you are starting out. you can get Meph once you have the hang of the codex.


Assault squads are just awsome as Troops choices. combine with some Sanguinary priests for FNP and FC marines of doom. you are practically immune to small arms fire which is what really kills marines.


BAs also have Librarian Dreadnoughts who can take Psychic powers including Wings of Sanguinious which gives them a Jump Pack. move 12" and assault 6" for an 18" threat range for either a Str6 FW or a Str10 DCCW.


in addition, most vehicles are Fast. Vindicators can move 12" and fire their Demo cannon.

BA are all shades of awsome.



in general you want to get the basics before the shiny bits. for you that would be a generic HQ, 2-3 assault squads, and a couple of Sanguinary priests. the core of most good BA armies.

Alright, so who is everyones favorite SC to start out with? And should I get like a few boxes of assualt squads? Are these included in just about every type of BA army? Lastly, would anyone be kind enough to give me a little info on different types of BA armies?

The SC you choose should fit with the rest of your army. Obviously, if you want a pure Jump pack army, Tycho isn't going to do you any good.

Like I said before, there are two types of armies BA does well.

DoA armies (meaning Descent of Angles) means everything has jump packs, or can deep strike. Dreads in pods, Land Speeders, Assault Marines and Vanguard Veterans are the way to go. Dante and Astorath are both good SC choices here, though a Reclusiarch is always good.

Mechanized lists mean that all your troops have some sort of transport, and that you've got support from various tanks. There are plenty of good options here.

Those are the two main themes the book can do.

I'd go through the book, pick some units you like and head over to the army lists forum.

Let it be know that the Reculsarch and Librarian are ALWAYS a valid choice. Also, tac squads are not the worst choice, so if you want shooty take them, but still dont forget the assault squads.

are both the army variations competetive? and can they both be made friendly so to speak? which in general is more successful? personally i am more interested in the jumpack army.

Jump pack and Mech are both awesome if done right.

Mechanized list more or less reign supreme in the current metagame, if you subscribe to such notions.

Jump Pack armies can also do very well, but they require a little more finess.

Both can be competitive or friendly. It depends on how the amount of fun things you take in the list versus how many spammy, min-maxed choices.

Yea BA are good with mech or a DOA focus, after doing a mix of both I am in the camp of Mech. (move 12" and shoot stuff... score!) Whatever list you run priests are usually crucial to have 2-3 (I run mine with DA bodies to tell them apart).

Though a mix is possible, you negate the ability to render portions of the opposing useless due to your choice.

In terms of HQ you cant go wrong with a librarian or a Chaplin (who can also be played as a elite).

As far as HQ, I would go with a librarian, but I guess it's all about personal choice, and point limit.

If you are going to go with Assault squads for your troops I would start with the basic Librarian. He is a very solid choice and can give good support to whatever squad he is with. I run a unit of Death Company in my list and I take a Reculsarch to give them extra (extra) punch on the charge.

The BA Special Characters are shiny but in the end I'd say try some options and figure out what you like at a later point for them, its much easier to add in The Sanguinor/Dante/Asteroth at a later point to your jump army after you get a core formed.
And Assault Marines are a good place to start, if you want the extra gubbins you can get the Death Company box and just use those models for the Assault Marines. It comes with Infernus Pistols and Hand Flamer bits that might be useful.

Cheers,
~Volkan

Do BA have any good shooty units? Well the entire Space Marine army is balistic skill 4, so sure, but then again Blood Angels are a jump based army so what are you asking rofl?

The BA have shooty units. They still have access to sternguard and devy squads, and when you toss a priest in there its a hard to wound gunline. (Droppod 8 sternguard + tycho + priest for a nice shooting beachhead).

What you also have to remember is that all the tanks are fast so mobility and firepower are in spades there (why I love BA mech) and access to Baal preds gives you a very mobile weapon platform.

For shooting units the Blood Angels are still Space Marines. Land Speeders and attack Bikes offer good mobile shooting. Since all the rhino chassis units are fast that can allow you to pair decent fire power with good speed and maneuverability for a reasonable price. Sternguard are still a good shooty unit even it it is more static. Regular dreads are still a solid heavy choice for shooting and even Devestators offer a good static shooting element.
Blood Angels have tools to make them better at close combat than basic marine armies, it doesn't mean they can't be a shooting army if you wanted to play that way.

Cheers,
~Volkan

Alright, thank you all. Would a DoA have anti tank capabilities outside of melta, and other 12 inch weapons? And how are they played? Do you hug cover while advancing, or go all out straight ahead?

Here is a good mech list - Rhinos can be replaced by Razorbacks:

BA mech - 2000
250 Mephiston

100 Librarian – Shield of Sanguinius, Fear of the Darkness

145 5 Honor Guard – Meltagun x2, flamer x2
50 Rhino

145 5 Honor Guard – Meltagun x2, flamer x2
50 Rhino

140 5 Assault Marines – Remove jump packs, meltagun, infernus pistol, power weapon
16 Rhino – Searchlight

140 5 Assault Marines – Remove jump packs, meltagun, infernus pistol, power weapon
16 Rhino – Searchlight

140 5 Assault Marines – Remove jump packs, meltagun, infernus pistol, power weapon
16 Rhino – Searchlight

140 5 Assault Marines – Remove jump packs, meltagun, infernus pistol, power weapon
16 Rhino – Searchlight

115 Baal Predator – Assault cannon
115 Baal Predator – Assault cannon

135 Predator – Autocannon turret, lascannon sponsons
135 Predator – Autocannon turret, lascannon sponsons
135 Predator – Autocannon turret, lascannon sponsons

Thanks for the list, anybody got a DoA list?

The are dozens on the first page of the Army Lists forum. Check there for some ideas.

Other than melta? Well, Land Speeder Typhoons and Dreadnoughts can both fit the DoA philosophy, so take that for what it's worth.

The best way to play them is situational. Against othe mobile, assaulty armies, deploy them on the table and sit back while he comes to you. Don't move towards him until you're sure you can get the charge. Against gun line armies that castle up in the corner, reserve them and deep strike them in behind cover which they can then leap over and assault next turn.