Warhammer 40K: This Week’s Meta Hotness – Bladeguard Veterans

Let’s take a look at a unit that is guarding one of Warhammer 40K’s the top spots, Bladeguard Veterans

In the ever-shifting meta of 40K, armies rise and fall. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about armies that are hot or not, but a lot less time looking at units that are running the show. Today let’s start by taking a look at one of the hottest units currently running around the tabletop.

The Unit

This week’s hot unit is the Bladeguard Veteran Squad. This new unit is effectively the Primaris version of Terminators. It’s a heavy close combat-centric infantry unit. It’s also got strong tanky abilities and can soak up a lot of damage.

Why They Are Good

Bladeguard combine strong offensive close combat potential, with some of the best durability infantry get in the army. With three attacks base, and the easy ability to get boosted to 4-5 attacks, Bladeguard can put out a lot of damage in close combat. More important than the sheer number of attacks is of course the quality. Their master-crafted power swords might not hit as hard as a Thunderhammer or Powerfist, but they are far more accurate. With high AP and D2 they are perfect for craving through other Marine units and taking down tough enemy units. They have just enough damage output to also threaten vehicles. As a core unit, they get easy access to buffs. They aren’t the most deadly unit in the army, but they put out respectable damage.

Backing up their damage output is their sheer toughness. With 3 wounds and an effective 2+/4++ save they are one of the tankier units in the army. They can shrug off both a high volume of powered attacks and survive heavy attacks. Even attacks designed to take down heavy infantry will struggle with their invulnerable save and various buffs they can get. Backed up by an Apothecary they are a great target unit to bring dead models back to life in. They also greatly benefit from some of the army buffs in factions like White Scars, Blood Angels and Dark Angels. Overall this is a unit with a great mix of durability and damage output that won’t break the bank.

A Sample List

Saying a unit is hot is all well and good, but let’s take a look at how players are using it. Bladeguard Veterans have started showing up in a number of lists that have really dominated at recent tournaments. One list that highlights them is the list that Patrick McAneeny ran to win the Maryland Open.

Using the Unit

This list makes use of two 5 man squads of Bladeguard Veterans. The large block of ten serves as a hard-hitting center for the list. With fast bikes and jumppack units to make quick assaults and take out both tanks and light infantry, the Bladgeuard are both the most durable and best force for taking out heavy enemy infantry. Being White Scars not only buffs their speed, but also lets them eventually jump up to D3 per attack, making them a real threat to enemy units like Terminators and tanks. With an Apothecary and other characters they can easily be buffed up to do even more damage. This is a great unit for moving up and holding a hotly contested objective while the faster elements of the army hit targets of opportunity.

Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.