Phat J here in my next installment of Blood Angels, Hot or Not? In this series we’re going to take an in depth look at the much maligned codex and figure out which units are worthless and which ones are worth taking a second look. This time we’ll be looking at the troops units in the codex, which means it will be a struggle to pad this article to more than 500 words. Oh what the hell, throw in the Rhino as well!
In my last segment of Blood Angels, Hot or Not? we took a look at the second half of the Blood Angels HQ choices. This week we look at the units populating the troops sections of the Blood Angels codex. Though troops are an essential part of the game and are the key to taking and holding objectives, Blood Angels like their more hunky Space Marine cousins are given an extremely limited amount of units to choose from. Unlike the Space Marines, however, the Blood Angels have no way of making other unit types Troops. As usual, please keep in mind that these are just, like, my opinion man. So without further adieu, Blood Angels Hot or Not? Troops and bonus Rhino!
Tactical Squads
The Blood Angels Tactical Squads are your standard Space Marine Tactical Squads with a couple of key differences. As with all Blood Angels units, the Tactical Marines come with Furious Charge, which makes for a bit more oomph in the assault phase but to be honest it’s not that much of an improvement without the old Initiative bonus. One of the real benefits of taking BA tactical squads is their ability to take Heavy Flamers, which is unique to their codex and is kind of a big deal. Tactical Squads in the BA codex do what they do in the Space Marine codex and that is jump onto objectives and sit there for the rest of the game. They don’t have a serious punch in close combat and put out moderate amount of firepower. A good kit for them is a Combi-Melta, Melta Gun, and Heavy Flamer in a Fast Rhino.
Verdict – HOT
Scout Squad
Oh those poor, poor Blood Angel Scouts. Since the codex was given the Dark Angel treatment, with an updated codex released right before a new and improved Space Marine codex, their Scouts are still Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill 3. The WS 3 is especially disheartening given the Furious Charge buff they get from being a Blood Angel. Imagine close combat Scouts with 3 WS4 S5 attacks on the charge. They also don’t have a Land Speeder Storm to take as a transport, which would include their usefulness as well. There’s really nothing special about these guys, they are lamer than their more wealthy cousins and don’t really do anything really well.
Verdict – NOT
Rhino
The one rare area that the Blood Angels have something going for them is in their vehicle selection. With their overcharged engines the BA Rhinos are Fast Vehicles, meaning their units can hit 24″ a turn which is fantastic for late game objective grabbing. This also means the Rhino can move 12″ and the occupants inside can blast a target without having to snap fire. Other than the Overcharged Engines, the Rhinos have all the same rules as your standard Rhino so nothing to write home about there.
Verdict – HOT
So there we have it. A short entry this week and not much to talk about, unfortunately. Blood Angel Tactical Squads in fast Rhinos isn’t TOO bad, and will be the mainstay of a lot of BA player’s army. Next week, we look at the stuffed Elites section, Part 1!