The Sons of Sanguinius are here and ready to tear a bloody swathe through the enemies of the Imperium! Read on to learn what they have to offer with their 8th edition Blood Angels 40k Codex now with units ranked by usefulness!

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The Blood Angels are reborn with a Codex and what a Codex it is. This book has tremendous melee power and a boat load of tricks and combos to explore. It really is a great example of a Codex that reflects the backstory of the army and plays well while doing it. If you like Blood Angels, I think you will be getting exactly what you want in regards to their play-style. They have incredible combos and mobility, plus they have units from the Space Marine book they previously did not so there are tons of new options. However, the real power is in the interplay between the stratagems, Warlord Traits, Psychic Powers and relics.

Rating System

I have been catching some flack lately for not being “real” enough, lol, so while my enthusiasm for this Codex is so very sincere, I will include a simple rating system for items reviewed in order to indicate their relative power level in matched play games in my estimation. Of course, this is an opinion so feel free to disagree! I rarely ever see units as “broken” or “garbage” which is the typical binary judgement in internet hyperbole. Even the worst unit can win you the game if it is in the right place at the right time. Units are all simply more or less efficient based on the current situation of any given game. So with that in mind, here is the shiny new rating system:

• Competitive: This is a codex entry (unit, stratagem, item, etc.) that has a place in essentially any competitive list built with this faction regardless of unit choices or is the source of a significant force multiplication effect for other units.
• Efficient: This is a codex entry that can stand on its own merit in a matched play list but works best when combo’d up with other units or in specific situations to become very powerful but may not always be seen.
• Situational: This is a codex entry that may not pass as competitive on its own merits but can be made effective in a creative list, as a meta-buster, or in a specific combo or scenario where it ratchets up in power to potentially very high strength but otherwise will not be seen very often.

Special Rules

There’s a reason why we always begin these reviews with the back of the book rules, as in 8th ed 40k, these are largely what will define your army list strategy. It is also where the real power of a book comes from in most cases. Let’s dive in to see what the Blood Angels have:

• Defenders of Humanity: This is your standard Objective Secured rule and applies to their troops choices in a Battle-forged, Blood Angels army. Competitive.

• The Red Thirst: In any turn in which a unit with this ability charges, is charged of performs a Heroic Intervention, you may add 1 to its wound rolls in the Fight phase. Competitive.

WOW! That is red hot slice of rules right there. This is the Blood Angels “Chapter Tactics” and hot dam is it good. This is at the core of what makes Blood Angels so incredibly powerful as a melee army. This means in melee your units never wound on worse than a 5+ in the first round of a fight, and typically will be wounding most vehicles on a 4+, and most infantry on a 3+ or 2+. When you add in a Sanguinary Priest to the mix for their +1 strength buff, it gets even crazier. All of their units become threatening in combat, from the humble Scout to the now reduced cost Intercessors who in a Blood Angels list are no joke. You will often find yourself putting Power Weapons on sarges as they become so much more viable. When backed by the many ways they have to get re-rolls to hit and wound, Blood Angels melee units become extremely efficient in the fight phase, but they also shoot well, too. As we dig further into this book, the myriad ways their defining rule comes in to play will become evident. But essentially, nearly every unit in your army gets a free “Veterans of the Long War” stratagem in the first round of melee. That is seriously legit. As a fun example of what is possible, a tooled up unit of 15 Death Company could potentially pump out over 200 attacks in a single Fight phase! And no, that was not a typo.

Stratagems

Per usual in 8th ed, this is where the real power of a Codex often lays. Blood Angels have been gifted with some incredible stratagems too, that when mastered allow you to pull off some devastating combos.

• Armoury of Baal: 1/3CP,  Your standard “extra Relics” stratagem. This has been available to every Codex we’ve seen so far and it is only as good as the Relics it gives you access to.
  • Well, thankfully for Blood Angels players, they have excellent Relics available to them. I rarely found myself playing Blood Angels without taking 1 extra Relic. I didn’t often take 2, but I always assumed I was playing the game with -1 CP as they have so many awesome choices which we will cover below. Competitive.
• Forlorn Fury: 2 CP, used before the first Battle Round but before the game begins, a unit of Death Company Infantry may move and advance as if it were the Movement phase.
  • This is an amazing stratagem. The reason why is not only because it gives you pre-game movement after you know who is going first, but also because it ignores the normal defense against “infiltrating” in the form of Scouts, Nurglings, other Infiltrators, etc. as there is no restriction on how the unit moves other than those for normal movement. And of course, and quite obviously, a unit of 15 Death Company with Jump Packs moving 12+D6″ before the game begins (and especially if you know you are going first) are going to do some serious work on turn 1 as they are almost assured to charge that turn. In all, an A+ stratagem. Competitive.
• Behold the Golden Host: 1 CP, Used after a Blood Angels unit with a Death Mask is set up on the battlefield, until the start of your next turn the range of their Death Mask ability is increased to 12″.
  • This is a decent stratagem in the right circumstance, but won’t come up that often. However, when it does, it will cause your opponent to lose multiple extra models to morale and thus is similar to some free Mortal Wounds. Ideally, you drop in, pop it, then hit multiple units with damage in range and when they take their Morale tests, should cumulatively lose several extra models. Situational.
• Auspex Scan: 2 CP, Similar to other Adeptus Astartes, this stratagem allows you to fire on an enemy unit within 12″ of one of your Infantry units when it is set up on the battlefield with a -1 to hit.
  • This is a really useful stratagem and one I use often when facing enemy deep-strikers/out-flankers/etc. It won’t come up in every game but when it does it is extremely useful, particularly if you have a solid shooting unit to use it on like Sternguard or Devastators, etc. I find it often pushes your opponent’s deep-striking units back beyond 12″ to avoid it and thus reducing the amount of damage they can typically deal to you.  Efficient.

• Death Visions of Sanguinius: 1 CP, Use this stratagem before the game begins on one of your Captains, Chaplains, or Lieutenants (but no Primaris units). That model then gains the Death Company keyword and the Black Rage ability.
  • This is another amazing stratagem that many players will use most, if not every game. The reason being is that the Death Company keyword opens up a lot of possible combos for you. For example, it would qualify a Character for the Forlorn Fury stratagem described above. And when combo’d with some of the other crazy abilities Blood Angels have, such as their Relic jump pack The Angel’s Wing, you can potentially turn 1 charge into something like Kastelan Robots before they ever shoot, ignoring overwatch. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. You also get the 6+ FnP save which can be further combo’d with the Gift of Foresight Warlord Trait for a 5+ FnP style save, re-rolling 1’s, and +1 attack on charge. As if that weren’t enough, it also qualifies you for any bonuses Death Company get such as Lemartes‘ Guardian of the Lost rule. Competitive.
• Wisdom of the Ancients: 1 CP, gives a Blood Angels Dreadnought a re-roll 1’s to hit aura for that phase.
  • This one is good when it’s needed but won’t be needed that frequently. Not bad at all and can be a real life saver in the right situation, but will not be used in most lists that frequently. Situational.

• Strike of the Archangels: 2 CP, When a unit of Blood Angels Terminators is set up on the battlefield, you can re-roll failed hit rolls for that unit until the start of your next turn (meaning it would work in shooting and melee, potentially in Overwatch and your opponent’s Fight phase, too).
  • This is an interesting stratagem as it is really good on its own merit, but when you consider you can place any of the many re-roll characters in your army near the Terminators and get the same or similar result you have consider when you would actually use it. The answer is when you want a unit of Terminators to act on their own while your support characters go elsewhere. So, while really a great stratagem, in the context of an army with other tools to do the same thing it will only come in handy in very specific circumstances. Situational.
• Tactical Flexibility: 1 CP, allows you to Combat Squad a unit of 10 Blood Angels that have the rule, splitting them up in to two 5 man units.
  • This is obviously very situational. Frequently to get those lovely Command Points you will be running low model count units anyway, and when you do take large units it is typically to leverage a psychic power, stratagem, etc. and as such you won’t want to break them up. However, if you are in a situation where you need to grab two objectives or something similar, and have a unit able to split it could win you the game. Situational.
• Cluster Mines: 1 CP, used when a Scout Biker unit falls back from combat. On a 2+, they deal D3 Mortal Wounds to a unit within 1″ before they leave combat.
  • A solid stratagem when you can use it. Obviously, it only applies if you have Scout Bikers in your army, and further then they are withdrawing from combat. As someone who loves Scout Bikers and uses them all the time, I can say it is a really fun one to use when it is applicable. However, this is not a stratagem you will be using in every game. Situational.

• Upon Wings of Fire: 1 CP, use this stratagem at the beginning of your movement phase before moving a Blood Angels Jump Pack unit. Remove the unit from the battlefield and then set it up at the end of the phase, anywhere on the battlefield more than 9″ from any enemy models.
  • This stratagem is absolute fire, particularly combined with Descent of Angels. This gives you the ability to strike nearly anywhere on the battlefield which is tremendously useful after one of your heavy hitting units like Death Company or Sanguinary Guard have obliterated whatever was unfortunate enough to be in their way, and then do it again! But beyond that, this is just an incredible stratagem for winning missions and hitting key enemy units that would be otherwise out of range. It could be used also to feint during deployment to get your opponent to counter the positioning of a unit who then pops over to the other side of the table. Competitive.
• Orbital Bombardment: 3 CP, this stratagem is used once per battle, if your Warlord doesn’t move or fire their weapon normally, they may select a point on the battlefield visible to him. Every enemy units within D6″ of that points takes D3 Mortal Wounds on the roll of a 4+. Characters are hit on a 5+.
  • This is a stratagem that can be very useful and is used quite often in Adeptus Astartes armies. As you will always have a Warlord, it will always be an option. It’s good when it is good, but isn’t always the right call. Efficient.
• Masterful Marksmanship: 1 CP, this stratagem is used when a unit of Sternguard with Special Issue Boltguns shoots. They add 1 to their wound rolls in that shooting phase.
  • I personally love this stratagem, but I very frequently run a unit of 10 Sternguard with Special Issue Bolters. If you don’t, then this obviously isn’t gong to come into play. If you use it, you built a unit to take advantage of it and it is very good, though. Sternguard used in this way are exceptionally good at clearing infantry that don’t have an invulnerable save and are surprisingly good at taking out light and medium vehicles, too, as they will be wounding them on a 4+ at AP-2. I’ve cracked many a transport vehicle with these gents. Situational.
• Datalink Telemetery: 1 CP, this stratagem is used when a Whirlwind fires on an enemy target within 12″ of one of your Land Speeders. The Whirlwind’s attacks automatically hit the target.
  • This is another stratagem that is cool if you build the ability to use it in to your list. Whirlwinds are an underrated unit and with the ability to automatically hit their target via this strat, they remove one variable from their damage equation. This combo is not likely to appear in top lists but if you have the models and want to use them, this is a stratagem you will enjoy quite a bit. Situational.

• Lucifer-Pattern Engines: 1 CP, Us this stratagem before advancing with a Blood Angels Vehicle (other than a Dreadnought or a vehicle that can Fly). Increase its movement by 6″. If the unit is a Baal Predator, increase their movement by 6+D6″.
  • This is a useful stratagem, particularly with Baal Predators who then have a huge movement, and are great for repositioning, grabbing objectives, etc. It is also great for getting dedicated transports into a great position to unleash the models inside such as a Rhino or Land Raider. Situational.
• Empyric Channeling: 1 CP, used at the start of the psychic phase if a Blood Angels Psyker is within 6″ of at least 2 other Blood Angels Psykers. The Psyker can immediately attempt to manifest one additional power and when he does so, adds +2 to the test.
  • This like many stratagems, is really powerful when you can use it. However, it is not often you will have 3 Psykers on the table for most Space Marines armies don’t field many Librarians, but Blood Angels with Mephiston and a pair of Librarian Dreadnoughts is a powerful set of units and you may find yourself in position to use it, where it is particularly nasty for trying to get the full powered smite, or for casting or the Quickening. Situational.
• Killshot: 1 CP, use this stratagem in the shooting phase if a Predator is within 6″ two other Predators. Add 1 to the wound rolls and damage of all of the attacks of each Predator if they target a Vehicle or Monster.
  • This is a fun and potentially extremely powerful stratagem but also one that is easily shut down by losing one of the vehicles or getting stuck in combat. For best effect, I recommend taking 4+ Predators with a variety of weapon load-outs to not pigeonhole yourself into all Las Cannons and end up playing a horde. Personally, I think the dakka Predator is the best choice as you use them to clear out infantry and light vehicles and if you find yourself facing some heavier targets, the strat makes them much more effective at dealing with them for a single CP. Even if you take some casualties, you can still leverage it but you aren’t completely reliant on it. Have a Lieutenant and Captain nearby (or even better, Seth) and go to town. Situational.

• Linebreaker Bombardment: 1 CP, used in the shooting phase if a Blood Angels Vindicator is within 6″ of at least two other Vindicators. Instead of firing normally, they pick a point within 24″ of all three tanks and every unit within 3″ of that point takes 3D3 Mortal Wounds on a 4+ adding +1 if they contain 10 or more models and subtracting 1 if they are a character.
  • Much like the Killshot strat above, this is potentially devastating but hard to actually pull off in many cases as having all 3 tanks within 24″ of the same spot is fairly limiting and shutting one of the tanks down is easy to do by engaging them in melee, simply destroying them with shooting, etc. And, much like the strat above, if you want to use it, I recommend taking 4+ Vindicators to buy a little insurance in case you lose one early or get it wrapped up in combat. However, if you play it right and keep them screened, this can seriously nuke your opponent’s army hard. Situational.
• Hellfire Shells: 1 CP, used when firing an Infantry model’s Heavy Bolter. Instead of firing normally, on a successful hit you deal D3 Mortal Wounds to the target.
  • This is a great strat and one I use all the dang time. Because of it, you should always have at least a single Heavy Bolter on an Infantry model to take advantage of those long ranged Mortal Wounds. Efficient.
• Descent of Angels: 2 CP, used in the Charge phase for a Blood Angels Jump Pack unit that has been set up on the battlefield that turn. They roll 3D6 for their charge instead of 2D6.
  • BOOM! And here my pretties, is a stratagem that defines a faction. This one is absolutely devastatingly powerful, even better than Forlorn Fury as it is not so first turn dependent. The ability to drop down 15 Death Company or 10 Sanguinary Guard and have a very good chance of making the charge is game changing. As these units hit terribly hard, there are few things in the game that can take the punch they deliver. Death Company especially benefit from this as with Lemartes nearby giving them a re-roll to their charge roll. This is a tactic that will be employed in pretty much every competitive Blood Angels army no matter how you employ it. Even better, you can use Upon Wings of Fire to do it again the turn after they arrive and every turn thereafter until you run out of CP. As Death Company can also do an absolutely staggering amount of damage, they will be screen clearer supreme. However, if you kit them out for pure damage output they really can destroy anything. We’ll get to that in more depth later, but suffice it to say, this is THE stratagem in the Blood Angels arsenal. Competitive.

• Red Rampage: 1 CP, used in the fight phase, give a Blood Angels Character that charged in the charge phase D3 additional attacks for the duration of the fight phase.
  • Another gem of a strat. This is one you will find yourself using pretty much every time you can. As Blood Angels have so many ways to stack additional attacks onto units, you can get to truly ridiculous levels of damage output from a single Character. For example, Dante could potentially get his 6+D3 from the strat+1 from the Sanguinor, +1 from Unleash Rage for potentially 11 attacks and can use the Honour the Chapter strat to attack again, for potentially 22 attacks, lol. And there are a lot more, even crazier combos in here to make Blood Angels Characters utterly lethal combatants. Competitive.
• Armour of Contempt: 1 CP, gives a vehicle a 5+ save vs Mortal Wounds for a phase, used right before a vehicle would take a Mortal Wound.
  • This is actually a super useful strat. With all of the Smite spam, and various other Mortal Wound shenanigans in the game, the need for a defense against them comes up frequently. Efficient.
• Flakk Missile: 1 CP, used when a Blood Angels Infantry model with a Missile Launcher fires at an enemy unit with the Fly keyword. Add +1 to the hit roll, and if the target is hit, you deal D3 Mortal Wounds instead of the normal damage.
  • Another great utility strat and just like Hellfire Shells, the reason I pretty much always include at least one Missile Launcher on an Infantry model. FOr tough targets like Magnus, or Mortarion, this is an effective tool to reliably deal damage to them and help wear them down. Efficient.
• Vengeance for Sanguinius: 1 CP, used in the Fight phase when one of your units fights. For each hit roll of a 6+, you generate one additional attack. If fighting against Black Legion units, you generate additional attacks on a 4+.
  • Obviously a great strat for a melee focused army, particularly one that can put out so many attacks. You will use this one not as often as you may think, but when it is needed, it is incredibly good. And if your opponent is Black Legion, well, lol, sucks for them. Efficient.
• Honour the Chapter: 3 CP, Select a Blood Angels Infantry of Biker unit to fight for a second time at the end of the Fight phase.
  • This is a bread and butter strat for Blood Angels. You will use this one frequently, being limited only by your CP reserves. Sanguinary Guard, Characters, Death Company, etc. all absolutely devastate things in combat. Units like Death Company can hit one screen unit, obliterate it, then consolidate into another unit, pop the strat, and wreck them, too. It also helps you to smash up big tough units like super heavies, etc. pretty easily. An extremely powerful strat. Competitive.
• Only in Death Does Duty End: 2 CP, use this strat when a Character in your army dies, before removing the model they can either shoot as if it were the shooting phase or fight as if it were the fight phase.
  • This is another gem. Once you get a really choppy character into melee with your opponent, you are essentially assured to fight twice if you need to. Once normally, and the second time either thanks to this strat or Honour the Chapter. It means a kitted out melee Character can almost be assured to destroy many units in the game you would not otherwise be able to. Alternatively, can you use it to shoot again as well but this will largely only come in to play in limited circumstances as most Characters don’t have nearly as powerful shooting and if they do, it is typically short ranged. Competitive.

Warlord Traits

The Blood Angels have some great Warlord Traits as well, which provide the opportunity for some crazy combos.

• Speed of the Primarch: You can always choose your Warlord to fight first in the Fight phase.
  • This is a good Warlord Trait for prolonged combats as it almost ensures you get to swing multiple times before dying. It pairs very well with Only in Death Does Duty End, too. It means you can count on getting two rounds of combat out a character in most instances. However, Blood Angels really want to always be charging, not stuck in to grinding melees. This is a trait that while not bad, won’t be chosen as often as some of the others. Situational.

• Artisan of War: Add 1 to the damage characteristic of one weapon carried by your Warlord, but this cannot be a Relic of Baal.
  • This is a really cool Warlord Trait for obvious reasons. But, where it really gets crazy is in the myriad ways Blood Angels can get extra attacks. You get a ton of mileage out of that extra damage due to the multiplier of bonus attacks. For me, I prefer using the Thunder Hammer as at 4 damage a pop, that is vicious. However, Lightening Claws are great too. Alternatively, you could put it on a Combi-plasma to mix things up but again, a melee weapon is where you get the most bang for your buck. Competitive.
• Soulwarden: You can attempt to Deny the Witch with your Warlord, if they already can, you can try again.
  • Not bad at all, especially if you find yourself up against a psychic heavy army and you don’t have any psychic defense. If you play in a format that lets you pick your trait on the fly (and you should, it is so much more fun!) then this can be a solid choice in some match-ups. Situational.
• Heroic Bearing: Friendly Blood Angels units within 6″ of your Warlord automatically pass morale checks.
  • This is really solid if you run more than 5 strong units. If you do not and are straight MSU, then it won’t have much impact as ATSKNF will be enough for you. If you do run units of 6+ models or find yourself facing a morale debuffing army like Night Lords then this can be a real life saver. Situational.

• Gift of Foresight: Your Warlord gains a 6+ FnP style save, re-rolling 1’s. If your Warlord has the Black Rage ability, it boosts up to 5+, re-rolling 1’s.
  • This is a great Warlord Trait and one that will be selected frequently as the Death Visions of Sanguinius strat pairs with it so well to create a truly scary character. Between the two, you gain a bonus attack on the charge, access to all of the awesome Death Company bonuses and a 5+ FnP, re-rolling 1’s. That significantly boosts your offense and defense and opens up a ton of new options for you tactically through all of the various other strats and such available only to Death Company. This is a trait that will be selected very frequently. Competitive.
• Selfless Valour: Your Warlord can heroically intervene from 6″ instead of 3″.
  • This trait in most armies isn’t all that appealing but with Blood Angels, it’s very strong. As you’ll often be equipped with a Jump Pack, the 6″ move means you can often clear intervening models and terrain and engage a unit in combat when they thought they were safe, and Red Thirst triggers on Heroic Intervention, too. With the sheer power of Blood Angels melee characters, and the fact you can kill an enemy unit in their turn, freeing you up to charge and assault again in your turn, this is a really powerful ability. Competitive.

Relics of Baal

• The Hammer of Baal: Replaces a Thunder Hammer. Has the same stats but with no -1 to hit.
  • This is an incredible weapon. Ignoring the -1 to his means you are hitting with a 97% accuracy instead of 78% on a Captain who’s re-rolling 1’s to hit. It’s a huge increase in reliability and will be the cause of much devastation. Competitive.
• The Angel’s Wings: Model with a Jump Pack only. You can re-roll failed charge rolls for this model and the enemy may not fire Overwatch at them.
  • Another absolutely incredible relic. The ability to ignore Overwatch is powerful and often underrated. Imagine charging a Shadowsword and ignoring Overwatch and then smashing it in half with your Hammer. Or, charging into Kastelan Robots, etc. Once you engage, every other unit can go into the same combat without taking casualties. As a matter of course, simply declare every unit within 12″ of this model a target and then roll and see how far you go. Plus the re-roll helps a ton for making charges out of reserves or critical long charges. Competitive.

• The Veritas Vitae: So long as the bearer is on the battlefield, every time you use a stratagem, on a 5+ you gain a Command Point back.
  • This is the shining star relic and one most Blood Angels players will take as their default choice. It’s not quite as good as the Ultramarines or Astra Militarum version, but it is still very useful as Blood Angels are CP hungry. Competitive.
• Gallian’s Staff: Replaces a model’s Force Stave. Gives the bearer a +1 to psychic checks when casting Smite.
  • Not bad but when compared to the other choices pales a bit. If you take it, you won’t hate it but you may wish you opted for one of the other options. However, if you find yourself facing say, Magnus and need your Libby to do some damage to him with Smites, then you may want to select this on the fly to increase the odds of damaging him, or a very tough model like him. Situational.
• Archangel’s Shard: Replaces a model’s Power Sword or Master-crafted Power Sword. It has normal Power Weapon stats, but if fighting a Monster goes up to D3 damage and if fighting a Daemon Monster, goes up to a whopping D6 damage.
  • So this is a highly situationally useful but when the situation arise…it’s brutal! And remember, units like Mortarion have the Daemon and Monster keywords. The incredible damage output on this this makes a humble Captain capable of is truly staggering. If you really kit him out, he can go up to 10+ attacks, and can swing twice with stratagem support. A 97 Captain with a Jump Pack and Power Sword can potentially chop Mortarion in half! Situational.

• Standard of Sacrifice: Ancient model only, the model’s banner additionally gains the following ability: Roll a D6 each time a friendly Blood Angels model within 6″ of the bearer loses a wound, on a 5+ that wound is not lost. Does not work on model’s with the Black Rage special rule.
  • And to mix things up…another excellent stratagem! Blood Angels players will often want to take this as it stacks with an existing Banner, many of which are excellent choices on their own. The ability to further enhance your gun line Hellblasters and Devastators with a 5+ FnP style save, or the same for your Sanguinary Guard or Vanguard as they move up field is incredibly useful. Competitive.

Sanguinary Discipline

• Quickening: WC 7, if manifested, you can add 3 to advance and charge rolls you make for the psyker and make an additional D3 attacks with them in the Fight phase until the start of the next psychic phase.
  • A seriously tremendous power when considered in the context of Blood Angels whose Psykers can pack a punch. Librarian Dreads and Mephiston in particular love this power and it goes with Wings of Sanguinius like steak with fries. The two together make your psyker extremely mobile, able to clear screening units and charge deep into your enemy’s formations. Competitive.
• Unleash Rage: WC 6, if manifested, select a Blood Angels unit within 12″ of the psyker. The gain a bonus attack until the start of your next psychic phase.
  • An all-star power. This is going to often be a go to ability, as it cranks up your already scary units to an 11. Death Company rock 5 attacks each on the charge! 6 if the Sanguinor is nearby, lol. It’s crazy. Whomever you chose to cast it on, they will become significantly more powerful as a result. Competitive.
• Shield of Sangunius: WC 6, If manifested, choose a Blood Angels unit within 12″, until the begenning of your next psychic phase, that unit has a 5++.
  • Again, an amazing power. You will be casting this one most likely every turn as it gives you so much more mileage out of your units. Competitive.
• Blood Boil: WC 6, select a visible enemy unit within 6″ of the psyker and roll 2d6. If the total exceeds the highest toughness characteristic in the target unit, they suffer D3 mortal wounds. It you double their Toughness, you deal 3 Mortal Wounds.
  • A decent damage spell, but very close ranged. However, if you find yourself wading into something like buffed up Conscripts or Horrors, this can be a great way when paired with Smite, to chew through them. Efficient.
• The Blood Lance: WC 6, If manifested, select a visible enemy model within 12″ and draw a line between them and the psyker. Roll a D6 for each model the centre of the line passes over. For each roll of a 5+ that model’s unit suffers a Mortal Wound.
  • Again, a solid damage spell and while not as appealing in general as the buffing powers, it can be quite good to deal damage to a tightly packed unit. Efficient.

• Wings of Sanguinius: WC 5, if manifested, the psyker can immediately move as if it were the Movement phase but his move characteristic is 12″ and he gains the Fly keyword until the start of the next Psychic phase. Additionally, you can re-roll failed charge rolls.
  • Wow, what an amazing power. Again, for many armies this would be mediocre, but as Blood Angels psykers are actually quite strong so this gives you tremendous threat range. You can move in the movement phase, jump in the psychic phase, hopefully clearing screens and then charge with a re-roll in the charge phase to cause serious disruption. A tactically fantastic power. Competitive.

That’s it for the this one, and we’ll be back soon to cover the Blood Angels specific units! What do you think about Blood Angels so far? Read Part 2 of this article, here.

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