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Hi all,

I'm getting started with Blood Angels. I'm aware that there are updates around the corner, so maybe the advice will change them.

What are the best options for troop choices?

From what I've read so far, the troops section is considered a bit of a tax so that you can get to the good stuff. Is this true? What do you guys take?

I quite like the idea of taking a ten-man scout squad with locator beacon and close combat loadout. With furious charge, recently updated stats and I5 on the charge for 11 points a model they're actually pretty hard, point-for-point, compared to most armies' troops choices.

The other one that appeals to me is Cassor the Damned arriving by deep-strike. I like the idea of being able to challenge out nobz with power klaws (which is how my Orks destroy dreadnoughts). I know he's only front armour 12, but that's still not bad for filling a troops slot, right?

Tactical squads seem a bit meh as they don't benefit very much from being Blood Angels.

Depends on how much you like heavy flamers.

Regardless of what is in the new supplement, the Troop choices in the codex will remain the same. You're right in saying they can be a bit of a tax. If we're talking you're standard CAD here, there are three popular ways of running troops:

1. Five Scouts with Sniper's camped on an objective with camo cloaks and in cover. Especially since the updated BS, they're a good utility unit for securing objectives.

2. Five Scouts with bolt pistols and close combat weapons. Small, squishy unit, but come at a small footprint and can do some unexpected damage.

3. Five man Tactical Squad with a heavy flamer in a Drop Pod. Semi-cheap, flexible unit with a bit of objective clearing punch upon arrival. Some people upgrade the Sergeant with a combi-flamer too, but if you're worried about troop's tax, it can be seen as a waste.

Those aren't the only ways to run BA troops, but those are the most common ways and the ones I used to regularly use.

 slowclinic wrote:
Regardless of what is in the new supplement, the Troop choices in the codex will remain the same.

Not necessarily. They are revising some of the data sheets. It is entirely possible that Assault Marines are getting the ability to be used as Troops the way that Bikes can in C:SM.

As of right now, the Scouts with BP/CCW are probably the best. Since the errata fixing their stats made them BS4/WS4, they are just as good as the Tacticals and play to the Chapter's strengths. A squad of 5 gets 3 attacks on the Charge, and that isn't too shabby.

5 man tacs in rhino w/heavy flamer is pretty good too.

Martel732 wrote:
5 man tacs in rhino w/heavy flamer is pretty good too.

Wait a second. I thought Martel was always like: "Tactical marines are pure garbage, never take them!11".

Cheers for the tips guys. No love for Cassor?

 Krusha wrote:
Cheers for the tips guys. No love for Cassor?

Eh. Cassor is fine. Especially with the attack boost. But he is more expensive than all of the others.

Death company + Cassor from deathstorm could be good too

 koooaei wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
5 man tacs in rhino w/heavy flamer is pretty good too.

Wait a second. I thought Martel was always like: "Tactical marines are pure garbage, never take them!11".

I take minimal troops. Because they are garbage. However, with obj sec, they can still sometimes score points.

You also can't go far wrong with a cheap unit with a heavy flamer. Just ask every sisters of battle player ever....

I run my troops as 10man tac squas with flamer/heavy flamer/combi flamer in rhino or droppod. Either CAD or Baal strike force makes them good (obj sec vs furious charge and +1 int).

Cassor is great if you are trying to run a dread heavy list. I use him as a knight interceptor to keep my knight and sang guard safe from the D. Hes also great for protecting your back lines from DSing/shunting things. Nobody wants to DS next to Cassor unless they have lots of melta

I don't have back lines

Martel732 wrote:

 koooaei wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
5 man tacs in rhino w/heavy flamer is pretty good too.

Wait a second. I thought Martel was always like: "Tactical marines are pure garbage, never take them!11".

I take minimal troops. Because they are garbage. However, with obj sec, they can still sometimes score points.

In addition, that Rhino is fast. Sure it might not be free, but it's still something nice, especially when you're playing Maelstrom.

Question: why not take a razorback with a twin-linked heavy flamer for your five-man tactical squad? It's fast, still quite cheap, has quite a powerful weapon for its points and compliments your flamer-y guys who can fire out of the fire points.

Rhinos are even cheaper If you do go Razorbacks, best to take TL Plasma and LasCannon to make use of fast, but you could use those 75 points better imo

 Krusha wrote:
Question: why not take a razorback with a twin-linked heavy flamer for your five-man tactical squad? It's fast, still quite cheap, has quite a powerful weapon for its points and compliments your flamer-y guys who can fire out of the fire points.

Razorbacks don't have Fire Points...

 casvalremdeikun wrote:

 Krusha wrote:
Question: why not take a razorback with a twin-linked heavy flamer for your five-man tactical squad? It's fast, still quite cheap, has quite a powerful weapon for its points and compliments your flamer-y guys who can fire out of the fire points.

Razorbacks don't have Fire Points...

Damn it


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Frozocrone wrote:
Rhinos are even cheaper If you do go Razorbacks, best to take TL Plasma and LasCannon to make use of fast, but you could use those 75 points better imo

Well yeah, but I was thinking the small amount of points was worth it due to added firepower

A passenger heavy flamer can fire overwatch as well.

Most lists I have usually run tacs as 5-man HF in a fast rhino, 10-man full flamers in a drop pod, or 5-man plasma gun in a fast lasplas razorback.

CC scouts look more fun with the updates, and can be handy either with a mean veteran sgt as an infiltrating distraction, or hopping out of stormravens late game.

If we're looking outside a CAD/BSF at 'troops' in general, as the new 10th company formation gives precision shot on the first turn, someone spotted on another thread that infiltrating combi-gravs could also prove quite neat.

Tactical Marines, ten man squad, heavy flamer, in a Rhino. A lot of people scoff at that but in my experience five guys is too few. They don't win assaults on their own, they won't kill a whole squad of pretty much anything and they pretty much never have Objective Secured, but at the end of the day they are a great support unit. I usually run one following behind my Assault Marine Squad, have them hop out and shoot whatever the Assault Marines are about to charge. Great against other T4 units.

Scout Squads with the latest FAQ are awesome. Infiltrating locator beacons and shotguns, or sniper rifles, very nice, and cheap.

Rafen's Death Company Squad, skip.

Cassor the Dammed is okay, in a Drop Pod he mostly dies hard and quick when I have used him, and from a Stormraven he's only effective from turn 3.

You don't use 5 guys in a vacuum. You use 2 X 5 men each with their own Rhino to help with armor saturation. And so a single stun or explode or immobilize doesn't strand 10 marines, only 5.

There are cases where I want to use 10 men in a pod to deliver 3 squads fast to increase target saturation with deep strikers. With that set up, heavy flamer melta/combi-melta is the best choice I think.

Bolter or combat scouts unless your trying to do something specific. Combi-grav can be good as you get the full salvo even if you infiltrate and scout. They are cheaper and more flexible. It really depends on your list, tacticals can be situationally better like examples above.

I really like fast Rhinos, though. Even though they cost more, which is the opposite of free.

Martel732 wrote:
Even though they cost more, which is the opposite of free.

This is some sig-worthy gak right here.

How can I look at the Blood Angels "decurion" and then look at Gladius and not be reduced to a gibbering fool?

Martel732 wrote:
How can I look at the Blood Angels "decurion" and then look at Gladius and not be reduced to a gibbering fool?

Look at the other special detachments for other chapters to be fair. They all run Gladius for that reason.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
How can I look at the Blood Angels "decurion" and then look at Gladius and not be reduced to a gibbering fool?

Look at the other special detachments for other chapters to be fair. They all run Gladius for that reason.

I'll prove your point by not being aware of anything other than libby conclave, gladius, and skyhammer. The other ones might as well not exist.

Talon Strike force (RG Decurion), i've read has had some success. I think someone did quite well with it at LVO.

On the subject of troops, does anyone rock scouts with shotguns? Aesthetically they appeal, never played against anyone not running bolters or sniper rifles.

I like Cassor, but he does have a tendency get immobilised.

I'm really liking scouts, especially since the stats boost. Can be useful jumping them out of a stormraven too for thatlast minute objective grabbing, since they automatically pass the dangerous terrain test due to move through cover.

EDC