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Hi everyone

I wanted to create a solid ranged BA without resorting to regular ACLC-pred/lasplas-spam that you can see hundreds of posted around the interwebs. The idea is to give cover to the razors with the A-bikes, crack transports with high strenght weapons and torrent everyone down with good old heavy bolter fire. Assault heavy armies can be a problem but can't really tell without playtesting...

Transport cost is included in the squad points, duh

HQ

Librarian (100pts), Blood Lance, Shield of Sanguinius, Bolt Pistol

Elites

2x Sanguinary Priests (100pts)
5x Sternguard Veterans (175pts), 5x Combi-Melta, power weapon, Drop Pod

Troops

Assault Squad (160pts), Flamer, Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Assault Squad (160pts), Flamer, Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Assault Squad (160pts), Flamer, Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Assault Squad (155pts), Meltagun, inf. pistol, melta bombs, Razorback: dozer, Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
Assault Squad (155pts), Meltagun, inf. pistol, melta bombs, Razorback: dozer, Twin Linked Heavy Flamer

Fast Attack
3x Attack Bike (120pts)
3x Attack Bike (120pts)
5x Scout Bikers (125pts), Combi-Melta, Melta Bombs

Heavy Support

Dreadnought (120pts), 2x Twin Linked Autocannon
Predator (100pts), Heavy Bolters
Predator (100pts), Heavy Bolters

Total: 1850

Do your worst

Have the bikes got heavy bolters?!

Luke1234567890 wrote:Have the bikes got heavy bolters?!

Yes

Can you free up enough points to give the scoutbikes a beacon? eg. drop a inf. pistol.

that way you can scout move them and have the drop pod land right where you need it. I have used that tactic many times and it works out really well most of the time.

Falco wrote:Can you free up enough points to give the scoutbikes a beacon? eg. drop a inf. pistol.

that way you can scout move them and have the drop pod land right where you need it. I have used that tactic many times and it works out really well most of the time.

I don't know if there are enough extra points for the beacon since it is relatively expensive (I'll rather keep my inferno pistols ). And since it only benefits one unit that can deep strike safely anyway I don't think I will need it that much. But thanks for the advice, I will think about that.

I'd like to get comments on the sternguard, and are they worth it? Their melta potential can be abated with bubblewrapping but then the wrapping unit becomes exposed to anti-infantry fire and special issue ammunition from sterns.

What I would like to have is power weapons on flamerback sergeants but only way I could get this is from melta bombs and swapping the rifleman for another dakkapred. Is it worth it? I just like to have different unit types on the table, and I thought the dread can also tie up units without fists.

That's not a bad list but it has some bad eggs in it.

The Sternguard are not a good choice for Blood Angels. Angels are a mostly combat army and taking Sternguard in a single Drop Pod in the army is just going to make them dead very quickly. I would drop this unit.

Attack Bikes should have multi meltas. As standard they are not worth the points. I'm also not sure on the purpose of the Scouts.

I would drop the single Dreadnought as it's a bit odd and just throw in another Predator.

Your sort out those minor things and you'll have a cracking B.A army with your own twist.

Well, whatever my opponent uses to get rid of the sterns is away from the more important units. It could be that they are just a waste of points, but what should I take instead? I wanted to have a light alpha strike force in the form of scout bikes and sterns, but I guess I could use other units as well. How about good old podding furioso ? I also thought that I could play aggressively by dropping sterns in front of the enemy, moving scout bikes to support them and then go flat out with smoking flamerbacks to give everyone that sweet FnP. LC-razors would then drive 12" behind them and blast away. Everyone would be in CC range by turns 2-3.

I've been using MM-attack bikes a lot but wanted to give the HB-versions a chance. They are not supposed to be supreme hunter units, but they just add to the HB torrent that I'm going to use to tackle scoring units. They are not high on target priority list either, so they should survive well.

Yeah, I think I'll drop the dread anyway. There's a tournament coming up that bans using triple elite/FA/HS and double HQ (a stupid comp if you ask me but what can you do) so if I'm going with this list then I'm keeping it.

Now I want to ask: if you played against this list with your army, what targets would you prioritize and why?

I would definitely take Mercer's advice. MM attack bikes, drop the scouts, and tweak your elites. I do not see that much long ranged firepower in the list. You only have 8 Str. 7 shots and 3 Str. 9 shots at long range. That's not much at all. I am not sure if you have enough firepower to demech armies so that when you do get there with your angry BA marines they will be able to eat something.

I will bite on your if I was playing this list without any modification...

I play SW. To give you an idea of what my list is like:

Rune Priest: Tempest and Jaws

Scouts with melta gun and wolf guard with wolf claw and combi melta

3x5 melta hunters in rhinos with wolf guards with claws and combis

2x5 flamer hunters in las/plas with wolf guards with claws and combis

2x3 TWC Pfist, SS, Normal

3x5 long fangts (4 MLs) in las/plas

If I get first turn you are facing 12 rockets at 6 targets and 5 lascannon shots at 5 targets. That's not much to brag about either... I think I would target your HS with my lascannons and your transports with my rockets. If I stun/shake one I would no longer fire at it again. Hopefully I would get 3 damage table rolls. That would be enough to mess you up IMO. If I got second and your sternguard dropped on my doorstep I would be taking care of them with my troops and shield them from the rest of your force with rhinos. Your bikes may ease the damage, but you will still take some and be slowed. I would ignore your bikes for the first 2 turns because I do not think you will have opened up enough of my transports by then. That and I am really not going to care about what you shoot your HBs at. I'd probably be able to clog up midfield with rhino/razors to stop your advance. putting a rhino between you and I is going to hurt you more. I'll just camp behind the rhinos and rapid fire through the gaps in the rhinos (too small to assault through for you). There is a good chance that I would get the charge off with my TWC seeing as they have a 18 + d6" charge. Whatever they hit be it bikes or troops or transports.... they will die. FNP doesn't do much against a crap ton of rending and Pfist attacks. Scouts would come in at some point and really just give you a handful even if it is just a distraction. I'd probably try to get them away from your bikes and closer to your heavy support. I am sure that I would take some damage. You'd probably take down my TWC and at least half of my transports. That's pretty okay with me though. In the end you will still have a larger dent in your force. All theoretically speaking of course. This isn't a I mine is better than yours type of thing. I just think that you lack anti tank. Put some of Mercer's changes in there and I will get scared. 6 MM attack bikes? Yikes. CC Dreads instead of sterngaurd, scouts, rifleman? Yikes.

Just a seal's thoughts...

~Casey

So less HB- and scout bikes and more AT? I think I'm going towards the regular lists again but let's see what happens...

how about this then

HQ

Librarian (100pts), Blood Lance, Shield of Sanguinius, Bolt Pistol

Honour Guard (250pts), 3x melta, Pfist, storm shield, TL Flamer Razorback

Elites

1x Sanguinary Priest (50pts)
Furioso Dreadnought (125pts), 2x Blood talons

Troops

Assault Squad (160pts), Flamer, Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Assault Squad (160pts), Flamer, Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Assault Squad (160pts), Flamer, Razorback: Twin Linked Lascannon
Assault Squad (170pts), Meltagun, inf. pistol, melta bombs, power weapon, Razorback: dozer, Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
Assault Squad (175pts), Meltagun, inf. pistol, Power fist, Razorback: dozer, Twin Linked Heavy Flamer

Fast Attack
2x Attack Bike, 2x MM (100pts)
2x Attack Bike, 2x MM (100pts)

Heavy Support

Predator (100pts), Heavy Bolters
Predator (100pts), Heavy Bolters
Predator (100pts), Heavy Bolters

Total: 1850

Would it be better to kick out the HG and replace with assault squadm 1x twinlas Razorback, sanguinary priest and an Attack bike? Or then just take the CC elements out and go pure melta with them?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
@ Living Still

Wolves cause a lot of problems to any army, but against you I wouldn't probably go aggressive with my scouts & sterns at all. The bikes could turbo-boost and give cover to more important stuff and give support wherever they are needed. Sterns could drop somewhere safe, but to a place where you'd be exposed if you destroyed them in cc. 3 TWC's are a good target for my anti-infantry guns If I can't crack any rhino hulls with my Lascannons or the dread, so not much should go to waste (depending how much terrain there is to hide stuff of course). The transports would be my prime targets, grey hunters secondary and long fangs after that. I'd say you would be a really tough opponent, but by no means unbeatable .

mercer wrote:

The Sternguard are not a good choice for Blood Angels. Angels are a mostly combat army and taking Sternguard in a single Drop Pod in the army is just going to make them dead very quickly. I would drop this unit.

I agree with the drop pod part, but I think Sternguards are still good in BA, mech BA isnt much of an assault army anyway and even in assault they have just as many attacks to defend as a regular ASM. With combi weapons and special ammo they are very flexible.
Fast Rhino and Razor means the Stern can get within range quickly. A razor can move 12" unload the Sterns to let them shoot and still fire.

On the list, running attack bikes by themselves is probably a bad idea, they really need to be in a squad of bikes to absorb hits for them. Land Speeders or Baals would do better.
A single Dreadnought probably is a bad idea.