Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Well, as there are rumours of the new codex on the horizon, what would you do?

I've stood by Blood Angels from 5th through 6th and I enjoy playing them, I just hope they'll become more competitive.

Bear in mind what Blood Angels are meant to be.....

Fast Moving
Dreadnought Variants,
Death Company as suicidial, homicidal death defying...(and yes, that was a Sabu reference!),

This is what I'd do:
- give option for either chapter master/captain on bike to give bikes as troops as they'd sit nice along side assault marines
- reduce jump packs points cost for all units including death company to 3pts to match SM,
- off the back of the above, if death company take jump packs, they can only take weapons upto 12" range, thus trying to negate the relentless rule, keep them non point scoring, (I'm trying not to make them too OP)
- give land speeders with a maximum of 5 troop capacity as a transport for regular marines
- give storm talons,
- option for chapter master
- option to keep drop pods doors closed and next turn, assault from within the pod,
- allow charge from rhinos provided rhino has not moved,
- make land raiders fast, but only 3 HP as in apocalypse formations,
- option of their own psychical powers or BRB powers,
- same points reductions on scouts as SM
- points reduction on all named HQs except Gabriel Seth (he seems to be quite balanced for his cost)
- Mephiston and DC Tycho option to join squads (we have house rule for DC Tycho, as he has been inducted into death company, he must accompany them, but the codex isn't clear, so I'm calling for codex clarification),
- give sanguinary guard either 2 wounds or invulnerable save,
- give grav guns
- options for rams on land raiders
- give codex specific FnP on a 4+ as per previous to BRB USR

What about you, after playing as or against, what would you add, remove reduce or tweak?

I know some of mine may be a little overpowered by I'm just after your thoughts.

i think all the same point reductions as SM, but i want to keep meltaguns in assault squads. I would like to see a way to assault after deep strike. I think we should have to upgrade to make our rhino based vehicles fast, I dont want to pay extra for a fast whilrwind. Gabriel seth should have artificer armour, he is a chapter master, for +20pts. Sanguinary guard should be a little cheaper, and have the ability for a unit size of 10.

I honestly don't know what to propose that would be both a) fair and b) able to take on Eldar/Tau/Daemons.

Assaulting after deepstrike in my experience is just a good way to throw away points. But that's because VV are crazy expensive.

Martel732 wrote:I honestly don't know what to propose that would be both a) fair and b) able to take on Eldar/Tau/Daemons.

Assaulting after deepstrike in my experience is just a good way to throw away points. But that's because VV are crazy expensive.

If any marines should be able to do it, it should be the BA though. While it might be a so-so option, I’d like them to keep it.

Beard wrote:Well, as there are rumours of the new codex on the horizon, what would you do?

I've stood by Blood Angels from 5th through 6th and I enjoy playing them, I just hope they'll become more competitive.

Bear in mind what Blood Angels are meant to be.....

Fast Moving
Dreadnought Variants,
Death Company as suicidial, homicidal death defying...(and yes, that was a Sabu reference!),

This is what I'd do:
- give option for either chapter master/captain on bike to give bikes as troops as they'd sit nice along side assault marines
- reduce jump packs points cost for all units including death company to 3pts to match SM,
- off the back of the above, if death company take jump packs, they can only take weapons upto 12" range, thus trying to negate the relentless rule, keep them non point scoring, (I'm trying not to make them too OP)
- give land speeders with a maximum of 5 troop capacity as a transport for regular marines
- give storm talons,
- option for chapter master
- option to keep drop pods doors closed and next turn, assault from within the pod,
- allow charge from rhinos provided rhino has not moved,
- make land raiders fast, but only 3 HP as in apocalypse formations,
- option of their own psychical powers or BRB powers,
- same points reductions on scouts as SM
- points reduction on all named HQs except Gabriel Seth (he seems to be quite balanced for his cost)
- Mephiston and DC Tycho option to join squads (we have house rule for DC Tycho, as he has been inducted into death company, he must accompany them, but the codex isn't clear, so I'm calling for codex clarification),
- give sanguinary guard either 2 wounds or invulnerable save,
- give grav guns
- options for rams on land raiders
- give codex specific FnP on a 4+ as per previous to BRB USR

What about you, after playing as or against, what would you add, remove reduce or tweak?

I know some of mine may be a little overpowered by I'm just after your thoughts.

You can’t just take everything in the vanilla codex, paint it red, then add extra options on top of that. Bikes, for example, have never really been a BA thing. Sure, you can take them, but lets leave the troops bit as someone else’s thing. You have assault marine troops. They might not be the best in this edition, but they do embody the BA quite well. LSSs and stormtalons do fit in with the BA preferences for fast attack, so should be OK. Probably not centurions, or ironclads (you have the furiosos) Giving BA grav guns would probably cause all the DA players to revolt.

Point costs should be brought into line, no question.

IIRC sang guard are honor guard with jump packs. I don’t see how they are tougher or should get an invuln save over them. Just put the HQ in front to tank wounds. I think the problem here is the devaluation of the 2+ save, not with the guard themselves.

Things like charging out of rhinos or hiding in drop pods I think are a little to rules-oriented. Why should you be able to so that when nobody else can? We’re all using the same hardware. I know it’s rough being an assault army in a shooting edition, but adding game-y rules to make it better is not the answer IMHO.

So any of the non vanilla codexes have generic chapter masters? I know it would be nice for successor chapters, but is it done?

"If any marines should be able to do it, it should be the BA though. While it might be a so-so option, I’d like them to keep it."

I'm not opposed to the option, I'm just scared of getting this instead of something actually good. Whatever that may be for HTH meqs that aren't even the best HTH meqs.

I actually am hoping they get RID of sanguinary priests. It hurts our body count and gives fewer targets for the ion accelerators.

I dunno, I find sanguinary priests extremely useful, FnP has saved my bacon many a time.

I was just making some suggestions, obviously some have been done before with other armies, but the kind of tricks have been played into different armies. Ie. bike armies - white scars and dark angels, termie armies - dark angels and grey knights to name a couple. So it wouldn't be out of the question that some of the things given to BA mirror in some way other armies out there.

There are things that don't fit, for instance thunder fire cannons and centurions don't fit with the fast moving assault mentality

I just hope that whatever GW does with the new codex, they go "all in" with the IDE, and not as you guys have said "so-so".

I know points is the main change, but there probably will be others, I was just interested to see what other people wanted/expected to see

I'd like to have the FnP without the useless IC tax. And FC is a total joke now, so to hell with SPs.

I would like to see something along the lines of maybe 1/3 of your RAS Troop Choices gaining the ability to DS and Assault in the same turn. To get it you must have at the minimum 3 choices (maxing it out at 2 being able to do this). This would provide the BA player the ability to get into CC without getting fragged for several rounds of fire and then getting overwatched to death.
Keep the fast Rhino Chassis. We need nothing else that is fast. Remove the DS on all LR ... I mean really, unless they get some sort of 'Crushed beneath us' SR that prevents you from getting a mishap if you scatter on an enemy model. Actually that could work out nicely. The model must be placed in a legitimate spot and if it does scatter on enemy models treat it as a tank shock that does d6 str 10 wounds, no DoG allowed, pass your leadership and move or fail and lose models.
Centurions ... pass.
Thunder Guppies ... make them a DT as well ... the BA are the wealthiest of all Space Marines so ... why not?
Options for taking JP on or off SC (Lemartes or Psyco Tyco) only makes sense.
Pretty sure ole Mephy is going to be hit with a Nerf bat so ... give him back his IC status. Dante ... oldest living Space Marine walking around hitting things really slow with an axe does not have EW ... I mean REALLY? He is the reason there even is an Eternal Warrior SR in 40k ... He has been a Warrior for an Eternity, so either he should have that rule to make the rules kinda match the fluff (1,100 years is a long time to be fighting) or he has been hiding out reading books in the Librarium (That would make it FEEL like an eternity).

Mephiston already got hit with a nerf bat.

All maybe Red Thirst could be changed to give FnP and +1 attack and +1 initiative instead? That screams unstoppable whirlwind of gore that the red thirst gives in the fluff.

But if your going to increase initiative on Red Thirst, maybe death company should also have initiative increased also?

The priests are part of the fluff, so I can't see them being dropped.

Giving Dante special dispensation against the usual power axe rules would only make sense, he's had 1,100 years to get to know his axe, surely he knows what he's doing by now?

Sure Mephiston got nerfed, but maybe either give him a 2+/3++ or 2+/4++ to make him more durable? Or even like Lemartes, if wounded but not killed, his stats get a buff?

Fluff hasn't stopped GW from doing anything, but I agree we are probably stuck with them.