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Hey yall, I recently started a BA army (which I'm super happy about) just wondering if you all can give me some advice on my tactical planning. I have

5 termis
1 librarian
20 tacticals
10 assaults
5 sanguinary
1 storm raven
1 rhino
1 lib dreadnought
3 bikers

So here's what Im thinking. I should get 2-3 more furiosos and drop pods for each. Basically drop them behind the enemy and rush them head on with assaults/stormraven/tacticals. Either A) theyll turn their attention to the noughts and get caught from behind, or B) they'll turn their attention to the rush and the noughts will just pick them off from behind. Any thoughts? any additions? Lmk thanks

Sounds like you are running a drop/jumper hybrid list.

Things to consider:

1) Fragnoughts get their damage up front when coming in via pod. Blender dreads have to wait a turn and have a valid assault target.

2) Sternguard with Corbulo and libby with shield of sanguinius is a pain in the arse for many lists, especially those counting on plasma for anti-meq

3) BA shooty terminators work pretty well in this kind of list. Give the pods locator beacons and the terminators a heavy flamer for precision flamer fun! Or use the assault cannon. But I'm a cheap skate.

4) Lists that pack lots of melta will ruin the dreadnought scheme, especially if you use the blender variety. I know these lists still exist, because I run them. My hybrid drop/jumper list actually only uses a single fragnought for this purpose. The fragnought supports the sternguards.

5) Also, lists with dedicated anti-troop and dedicated anti-vehicle will not be distracted in the manner you propose. The anti-vehicle will shoot the dreads, while the anti-troop does their thing on your ASM squads. That's also why I drop sternguards with the fragnought.

6) Blender dreads are ineffective against 2+ armor. Deathwing lists exist, as to do other 2+ heavy lists. The fragnought cares not about 2+ armor. (At least by comparison)

7) Librarian dreads I feel are overcosted and can't cast core book powers the turn they arrive. I suppose putting it in the Stormraven and using shield of sanguinius would be cute, but I feel that the Stormraven's transport capability should never be used in a serious list.

8) Do you mean 5 sanguinary priests or 5 sanguinary guards? If guards, get some sanguinary priests for this list. I like Corbulo for the Sternguards.

AWesome thanks, what other options do I have for priests?

Priests with jump packs and priests on a bike are what I usually use. I usually give them power axes to go with my sergeant with axe and libby with force axe. I deny all challenges and ask which of my three axes aren't fighting.

Welcome to our noble little chapter

And about tactics:
a) Concider buying another HQ. I recommend Reclusiarch. Some people don't like him but makes your squad Fearless and has 4+ Inv (don't forget free power weapon)

b) You could use another tank or two. Either get Razorback/Rhino for troop delievery, or buy Baal Predator for infantry-massacre

c) Bikes could use an Attack Bike with them. Maybe give the squad meltas (and MM for AB) for tank hunting.

d) I assume those 5 Sanguinary mean Guards? A good unit, cabable in CC but expensive. Never use in game smaller than 1000p.

e) Assault squad could use meltas and Sanguinary Priest.

Hope this was helpful

The only HQ I really would consider adding is another libby. BA desperately need force multipliers and the reclusiarch is not nearly as good as the librarian at this task. Especially since the divination primaris power is much better than the Reclusiarch buff.

shauni55 wrote:
Hey yall, I recently started a BA army (which I'm super happy about) just wondering if you all can give me some advice on my tactical planning. I have

5 termis
1 librarian
20 tacticals
10 assaults
5 sanguinary
1 storm raven
1 rhino
1 lib dreadnought
3 bikers

So here's what Im thinking. I should get 2-3 more furiosos and drop pods for each. Basically drop them behind the enemy and rush them head on with assaults/stormraven/tacticals. Either A) theyll turn their attention to the noughts and get caught from behind, or B) they'll turn their attention to the rush and the noughts will just pick them off from behind. Any thoughts? any additions? Lmk thanks

2 Furiosos can do a lot of damage. I am a big fan of Drop pods for them. built in cover that way when they drop in and the pod can be annoying over the turns.

Make one of the Sanguinary Priests into Corbulo. You'll thank me later. A lot.

I wrote an article on Blood Angels here: http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-do-i-make-blood-angels-work-again.html

It doesn't specifically apply to the models you own but it could be decent reading for mining some ideas or just a different perspective.

A lot of the advice here is pretty good as well.

Trust me, for a TAC list, you want fragnoughts, not blender dreads. Plus, fragnoughts still have access to the coveted STR 10 attacks. And they can still lay waste to infantry. One turn sooner, too.

Martel732 is an expert on BA.

My two cents:

Spam attack bike squads. Go for three whole squads of them three strong and have them work with an SP on a bike. Go for the full 530 points of it. Trust me.

• BA attack bikes with the FNP aura are godly tough.
• They are relatively fair priced
• They fill the roll of devastators, but, unlike devastators, actually have the mobility needed to compliment the rest of the quick moving force
• They can screen the troops behind them with their bodies, which gives your assault troops behind them a 5+ cover save.
• Combined with FC they can do okay in the assault in a pinch.

Yes that assessment of attack bikes is correct. I've considered saving my pennies for even more attacks bikes for larger games. Even out at 24" is the MM is good; it's like a krak missile that actually has AP. Or I guess a better comparison now is a short range heavy rail rifle. At any rate, T5, 5++ jink 5++ FNP is a bear to get rid of short of something like a demolisher cannon.

I do very much like the fact that I can bring my favorite heavy weapon with my jumpers and not have it get fragged instantly like a land speeder.

Don't get me wrong, blender dreads with prescience can do crazy stuff, but good players know this. AV 13 is good, but certainly not untouchable to a 1750 or 2000 pt list. There is also a psychological edge: the fragnought has already fired once on your opponents turn. Since it is NOT a blender dread, they may mistakenly lower it on the target priority list and not kill it. I've won a couple a games because they feared my sternguard more and spent shooting there and let the fragnought stomp around for most of the game. That was really, really ugly.

A neat trick - I love Sanguinary Guard, and for a little extra fun and survivability, stick a unit of them in with Dante, outfit them how you see appropriate, throw in a priest, and interestingly, add a DA detachment. For BA purists, what can be done here is stay cheap. I typically use a Libby with Jump Pack and Power Field generator (4++ bubble on SP's is great, especially when you can factor in 5+ FnP rerolls against plasma), and then throw in a unit of cheap tacs, a predator kitted out, any of the "greenwing" choices, so that I can fulfill minimal requirements while also not eliminating the BA flavour. It makes SG more of the flying terminators they are supposed to be, and if you wish, you can throw in more units of SG, or up the model count and use regular ASM or another setup, keeping Dante's deathstar extra special.

I sometimes discuss this sort of stuff on my fb page. If you wish, check the link in my sig. Lots of BA love for ya, especially newcomers! Let it be known that there are plenty of people with lots to offer on BA tactics.

Yup, the solution to your BA woes is to play another army.

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:
Yup, the solution to your BA woes is to play another army.

Yeah, this is what a lot of BA "advice" boils down to.

Thanks guys, I love my BAs so theyre not going anywhere

 Andilus Greatsword wrote:
Yup, the solution to your BA woes is to play another army.

Just for the non-tank & non-bike shooty stuff really. DA or IG are MUCH better when it comes to infantry based firepower.

That said, BA still often can do tanks/bikes + mobility + CC better than the rest of the loyalist SM chapters.


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 Titan Atlas wrote:
I typically use a Libby with Jump Pack and Power Field generator (4++ bubble on SP's is great, especially when you can factor in 5+ FnP rerolls against plasma).

That is a clever idea that I never considered! Consider it appropriated - haha.

The BA are not better at CC than the Space Wolves.

The vanilla marines have cheaper TH/SS terminators, another popular choice.

Being mobile is not horribly useful if said mobile troops are not very efficacious. BA often can't win their HTH combats anymore, so..... yeah.

True in some cases SW are better. SW are better at CC when attacked due to CS. When attacking BA do have FC & FNP over them, which is an advantage in their favor.

True, TH/SS is 25 points less for Vanilla. I don't really get why they had to add that 5pts/model boost. Those TH/SS can have FC & FNP though, which still makes them better in CC - at a cost of course.

There are other dedicated CC and scoring CC units that only BA have, which allows them to - on the balance of the whole - reach a higher level of CC capability than their competitor loyalist SM codices.

I am arguing that on the whole they are better. I agree that the degree of superiority in CC, vs other loyalist SM codices, may be marginal at best.

 warpspider89 wrote:


That is a clever idea that I never considered! Consider it appropriated - haha.

I'm happy to oblige. Anything to keep the BA spirit alive.

I will grant that it is easier to outmaneuver the SW than BA. If your list loses to ASM in HTH badly, a BA jumper list can be a serious problem. BA jumper lists have terrible shooting, however, and this is a problem that can be catastrophic.

I'd also argue that template weapons function as pseudo-HTH, and BA can bring a great number of these as well. I'm doing this now; lots of double hand flamers, etc. Hordes really don't like this approach from BA. You can't go nuts though, because tougher lists like SW and GK will laugh at you.

Yeah but a dedicated squad of flamers/2x hand flamers can be a nice little scalpel against hordes. A podding squad of sternguard coming beforehand to soften up some of the tougher spots is a wise choice to consider of course, and 10 men can mean you can Combat Squad them, meaning aside from templates and blasts, they can be a bitch to deal with, and people have foolishly charged them (they are veterans after all, and even with bolters, have 2 attacks on the defence, thankfully)

I can't justify 10 BA sternguard. Our pods only hold 10 and I can't imagine not sending Corbs and a libby to protect their expensive asses. BA can not afford suicide troops. I'll accept a small amount of inefficiency and melta something 8 times. It's a good hedge against bad rolls The extra turns of special ammo fire is way more valuable than combat squadding imo. Shield of Sanguinius + FNP is full of win for sternguards.

The problem with that is that it is also expensive, and if they get engaged in close combat with something dangerous, especially having only equipped 8 meltas in your scenario, they won't have likely killed much other than a guaranteed popped tank or a heavy infantry squad. Realistically, that's not very great and I've gotten a lot more mileage out of using plenty of plasma, 2 plasma guns, maybe one or two combi meltas at the most. Thing is, you can put all your melta eggs into their basket, but with only one squad, sure it might dispatch a major threat (the big tanks, which melta is great for, are wisely not being used as often this edition), but realistically that's not going to go unpunished, and people are catching onto the Corbulo shenanigans quicker than you give them credit for. They actually are a really great suicide unit and in every single instance that I've used them, they've survived past landing and in fact have done much worse. I've killed a unit of carnifexes and a tervigon, got charged by another, it could only attack one unit because of my Combat squadding, and it couldn't even finish off that unit.


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Plus, you're really counting on corbulo and the librarian, both of which being an extra 100 points piled onto an already expensive unit. It is limiting the real reason you want sternguard there, firepower, and with 8 melta, again....you will super-kill a unit maaaybe, although bad luck is a bitch in that case. The special ammo is great and all, but in no instance do you need that level of melta spam because I can guarantee the sternguard, even with Corbulo, won't last, especially if there are multiple pie plates, poison weapons to wear you down, etc. You can argue that it's also a distraction because of the threat and all, but with that loadout you'll be hoping to be facing off against enough tanks to justify it, and aside from the godsend that is hellfire rounds when you're not facing said tanks, you'll want to put to use their deadly firepower before you figure they will bite the dust. You can contend against this, but Corbulo, while amazing as he is, doesn't amount for anything if charged with a monstrous creature and gets squashed helplessly.

I don't drop them in alone. And with the list I use them, it's all about crushing a flank anyway. I don't drop them somewhere where an MC can assault them trivially. My jumper/drop list is the only list where I use two HQs currently. Remember the drop pod libby can also cover a fragnought with shield of sanguinius as well.

I don't like plasma on them because I don't like the idea of giving away free wounds on my sternguards. Also, I don't have to discharge all the meltas at once necessarily. I can use the ones on the front members and save some for good opportunities. But remember, in my scheme, it's always a one-two punch with a fragnought.

There are still plenty of heavy tanks in my meta because people have dumped so much melta for plasma. Round and round and round we go. AV 13 and AV 14 are actually lasting longer in this edition in my experience. Not by chance, these are AVs that STR 7 weapons are horrible against.

I still maintain that the BA can not afford to so lightly throw away expensive units like the Sternguard in a general sense. But if it's working for you to use them as suicide troops, keep it up. Note that Corbulo is not that much more expensive than a SP with a jump pack and the libby is also on foot, making him minimal points. You can also use the libby to cast something like shackle soul, which can get real annoying for people trying to come mess up your Sternguards. Or you can give the libby the coveted STR 10. In general, this scheme has worked much, much better for me than sending in 10 sternguard, even combat squadded.

Martel732 wrote:Note that Corbulo is not that much more expensive than a SP with a jump pack and the libby is also on foot, making him minimal points

Titan Atlas wrote: both of which being an extra 100 points piled onto an already expensive unit.

As stated, regardless of how your local meta plays, which quite honestly just means an adjustment of personal tactics, not necessarily a call for change overall. It's a big investment, and as you stated about tanks, what happens if you haven't popped enough, and there's one with a big fat s8-s10 pie plate with your sternguard's name on it? Unless your local meta doesn't use demolishers. But again, this seems circumstantial. The 10 Sternguard idea is cheaper by about...130 points the way I kit it out, and with threats being in greater number, the option of a fragnought is still considerable, but naturally you have to factor in that you likely want a drop pod meaning you want a third drop pod so both units come in at the same time, lest you risk one unit flubbing and the next one coming in alone (worst case scenario)

Also, be sure to read more carefully what I say. Minimal points yes, but on now-expensive units according to the new points costs of Dark Angels and sadly the BA's lack of cost efficiency in the librarian department. That's committing 200 points on two units that, if for *some* reason the libby fails a 5+ against a pie plate, suddenly they lose half of their protection, while Corbulo can only make so many 2+ FnP saves.




Okay seriously something is deadly wrong with my post at the moment. If some mod can clean up the severely mega-overposted content in my reply, that'd be greeaaaaat.

EDIT: fixed. For whatever reason, maybe my browser or something...anywho, it was quoting instead of editing. problem solved.

Demolishers and battlecannons are a major problem for any BA infantry list trying to get by on FNP, I think.

My drop/jumper list already runs a minimum of three pods.

I can't control the fact that the DA librarians are so much more efficient. I just try to mitigate it by using a power that functions on my opponent's turn.

There's nothing wrong with risking fewer points, but I have found that the 130 extra points is worth it. But we are trying to accomplish different things I think. I'm not trying to maximize alpha strike damage. I want good alpha strike damage but to also maximize survivability to cause as many lingering problems as I can for my opponent.

Better watchout for the helldrakes.

Yeah, that kind of goes without saying. Any kind of marine infantry list is going to have a serious problem with those. I realize I really need allies to be competitive, but I don't play tourneys.

Heldrakes are dangerous to NEARLY every build (with very few exceptions). Good news is, a Weapon destroyed or wrecked result both work find for shutting one down to a dull roar.

But ANY flyer, as i learned tonight with my opponents Razorshark Strike Fighter, left to its own devices will give good value.

Corbulo is being underestimated in this thread by the way, Vastly underestimated it seems. As no unit in 40K is immortal, I think it a waste of time to talk about what COULD kill him. I think it more useful to look at what he does when allowed to be at the fore of an attack. And its impressive. He REALLY helps you overcome the problem of assaults.

He's great, for sure. I think the main point about him doing so well is a combination of his advantages and people not realizing his abilities in-game. Problem is though, that people do eventually catch onto the shenanigans and there are ways these days to shut it down once again :/ if I have a big enough list, sticking him with terminators is fantastic just in case there's lots of plasma, BAM, he stands in front, takes the brunt, one recent time I had him absorb 7 plasma shots, one fell through, I used his single reroll, bam. The enemy's oblits kinda...just stood there. It was a tac squad he was attached to in that scenario. Thanks, 6th ed, for that one.

yeah I sold my friend on putting him in with the Terminators. A pile of win there.

Corbulo is just awesome. I hate Mephiston far more but I have one PARTICULARLY traumatizing memory of Corbulo where I played tau at a tourney and there was this...very strange...mission and to make a long story short, that dude killed like... I dont know, 100 figs? He'd sweep entire units on his own and I was basically just kinda watching it all happen. The mission was too bizarre to even explain here, but trust me... He powned me up one side and down the other.