40K: New Blood Angels List? Jawaspam MKIII!
Hey Folks, Jawaballs here!
After my recent beat down at the Battle for Salvation, which can be read about here I did a little thinking about my list, and the Blood Angels in general.
First of all I believe it can be universally accepted that the codex is number 3 in the current competitive power rankings, with Guard standing strong at number 1 and Space Wolves clawing away at 2nd. Close on their heals are Daemons, Orks and Codex: Space Marines. So, having said that, how do I make a strong BA list? The knee jerk response to the release of the new BA codex was to finally have a reason to take BA razorbacks. Many people, myself included, jumped at the chance. I always said that if they ever made them fast vehicles, I would build an army around them. Well, poof! New book, new army, lots of razorbacks zooming all over the place. There is nothing wrong with this! The razor spam list is strong. But, the wolves can do it better. That is the issue. If I really want to play razor spam in a tournament, why would I play an army that does it not as good as wolves? I should paint my models grey and use Codex: Space Wolves. Hell, nowadays it seems that most guys are not even bothering with the paint or even the models for that matter and are just using whatever book they want with whatever models they want. (That is a rant for another day)
So what is a Blood Angels stalwart to do? Find the elements of the codex that makes it stand out and use them. The BA book has a few distinct features. They can take Baal Preds, Furioso dreads, Death Company and perhaps most importantly, assault squads as troops. I have written about Baals. As a fast attack choice, they fill a unique slot, but they are still just tanks and popped with a single lucky shot. Furioso dreads are great too, but in my opinion nothing more than a novelty. They are fantastic in close combat, but again, that single pesky shot can take them down, they are difficult to actually get into close combat, and they are in a slot that competes with other important stuff like chaplains, priests and terminators. Death Company are actually a fail in my opinion. For about the same cost you can get vets with the same equipment. Give them a priest and you have a squad that is even more powerful, and is not suspect to rage. Plus DC take up a troops slot.
We all know this, which is what brings me to Assault Squads as troops. While not as badass as the Wolves, giving them a priest makes them a lot better. I still think that the Regular Assault Squad, RAS is the key to the BA dex. For 260 points you can put 10 assault marines into a Rhino with a power fist and two plasma guns. That my friends is a possible answer. So I give you Jawaspam MKIII:
Libby
Honor Guard with Champ and priest
Razor with Asscan
10 man RAS x5 with Rhinos
each squad has a fist or PW, and any combination of x2 melta/plasma
10 man RAS x1 in drop pod
fist and x2 melta
That leaves me with about 175 points. I added:
Sternguard x5 in pod with x2 melta and a combi melta
71 marines moving fast and hitting hard.
It is time to go to a meeting, but in the meantime, lets think about the possible strengths and weaknesses of the list. How can we improve it and stick with the theme? Are the two pods a good idea? How can I make the list better? For some reason I cannot reply to comments on BoLS. (Or delete them for those of you who accuse me of such.) The Discus does not work for me. But I will write a follow up to this post later this week and I will address the major questions and comments there.
