Angels of Death: How my Blood Angels List is Changing with Chapter Approved

Hi, everyone. Chandler here from the Come the Apocalypse Podcast to chat with you about how my Blood Angels list is changing in the wake of Chapter Approved 2018.

For more tactics, reviews, and analysis check out the Tactics Corner.

I decided early on in the 2018 season that I wanted to run Blood Angels as my primary faction in most events I attended.  I started out with a Blood Angels brigade (pre-faq 1) that featured a hard alpha strike that was very difficult to deal with.  Over the past year since the codex release my list has seen several iterations.  From the addition of the “Loyal 32” Astra Militarum CP farm, to adding in triple Shield Captains on Dawneagle Jetbikes, my Blood Angels army has changed quite a bit over the past year.  Chapter Approved 2018 has seemingly breathed new life into Space Marines and Blood Angels, and I’m excited about implementing these changes into my own force.

First, let’s take a look at the list itself since Chapter Approved:

+++Brigade Detachment – Blood Angels+++

• Captain, Jump Pack, Storm Shield, Thunderhammer – Relic: Angels Wings
• The Sanguinor
• Chaplain with Jump Pack
• Scouts – Boltguns x5
• Scouts – Boltguns x5
• Scouts – Boltguns x5
• Scouts – Combat Knives, x5
• Scouts – Combat Knives, x5
• Scouts – Combat Knives, x5
• Sanguinary Ancient, Encarmine Sword, Angelus Boltgun
• Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs x10, 6 Chainswords, 4 Power Swords, 10 Storm Shields
• Sanguinary Guard x9, 9 Power Fists, 9 Plasma Pistols
• Scout Bikes x3
• Scout Bikes x3
• Scout Bikes x3
• Devastators x5, 1 Heavy Bolter, Cherub
• Devastators x5, 1 Heavy Bolter, Cherub
• Devastators x5, 1 Heavy Bolter, Cherub

+++Battalion Detachment – Astra Militarum+++

• Company Commander
• Company Commander
• Infantry Squad x10
• Infantry Squad x10
• Infantry Squad x10

+++Auxiliary Support Detachment+++

• Culexus Assassin

Total Points: 1997

Total Command Points: 19

Prior to Chapter Approved, this list would have cost 2184 points.  Now, thanks to the drop in price of many wargear options and unit choices, it is under the 2000 point mark.  There were lots of big winners for Blood Angels overall in Chapter Approved, most notably the Librarian Dreadnought, Vanguard and Sternguard Veterans, Sniper Scouts, and all the named characters save for Mephiston, who saw a slight increase in points.  And the drop in points cost for wargear such as Storm Shields, Power Fists, and Plasma Pistols definitely make those more appealing options.

How it Works

There are a multitude of ways you could run a Blood Angels force now in a competitive environment, of course, and many might be scratching their heads at the inclusion of Vanguard Veterans over say a giant blob of Death Company in this list.  Vanguard Veterans, especially in Blood Angels armies, are incredibly points efficient now, with the reduction in their base cost as well as wargear options.  You could run a squad of 10 with chainswords and storm shields for less than 200 points.  With the number of attacks they can crank out, combined with the Red Thirst, they make for an excellent choice as an aggressive punch.  You can use Upon Wings of Fire to pick them up and drop them down, and then charge in 3d6 inches with Descent of Angels making them a terrifying unit to contend with on the first turn and one your opponent will have to account for.  The Storm Shields help increase their survivability quite a bit ensuring they always have a save (except against pesky mortal wounds of course.)  In the list above, that squad is cranking out 27 attacks.  And if The Sanguinor is nearby, it becomes 37.

Sanguinary Guard have been a fan favorite for Blood Angels players for a while now, and the drop in points on wargear make them an even more appealing option.  A squad of 9 with Power Fists and Plasma Pistols would have came in at 351 points prior to Chapter Approved 2018.  That squad is now 306 points.  They are incredibly effective when dropped near the warlord allowing them to overcharge their plasma pistols in shooting with full re-rolls to hit, and with Red Thirst, their Power Fists become deadly even to the toughest units in the game, such as Imperial Knights or Plagueburst Crawlers.  In the list above, they fly around with The Sanguinor and the Sanguinary Ancient, both of which saw their combined points drop by 40 points in Chapter Approved.

Scouts are, of course, an amazing unit in general, but none moreso than Blood Angels Scouts.  The ability to forward deploy gives you massive board control as well as cheap units that can soak up overwatch for your Vanguard Veterans or Sanguinary Guard as they move into position.  They are also great for hitting chaff units blocking important units your opponent wants to hide.  It’s a well known fact that Scouts are just great in general though.

With the drop in points to Storm Shields, Captain Smash, or Slamguinius as he is also known, is even cheaper.  In this list he is primarily designed to strike when an opportunity presents itself using Upon Wings of Fire or Forlorn Fury before the game begins.  Although he needs a lot of CP  to function he is capable of dropping a Knight by himself under the right circumstances.  For 124 points he is just too good to pass up.

The Chaplain in the list hops around with the Vanguard Veterans giving them full re-rolls in the Fight Phase, which combined with their number of attacks and ability to cause extra wounds with Red Thirst becomes pretty devastating.

The Scout Bikers are a chaff removal unit.  They also went down in points with Chapter Approved.  With their ability to crank out a high volume of shots they can take down chaff units quite fast.  Also with their incredible speed they are capable of moving forward to buffer characters from incoming shots and assaults or to capture objectives.  For their price point they are incredibly versatile.

The Devastators are backfield campers of course.  With their Heavy Bolters and Cherubs they are capable of throwing out 2d3 mortal wounds when they sacrifice the Cherub using the Hellfire Shells stratagem.  And Heavy Bolters are just incredibly good in general.

I opted to include a “Loyal 32” Battalion here mostly for board control and screening options, but also because of the extra 5 Command Points they offer.  Blood Angels are a CP hungry army and can drain your CP quickly.  The Culexus is here mostly for smite denial, and to cause problems in the backfield when needed.

This list is all about hard hitting units and board control.  Given the Scouts and Infantry squads you can easily own 2/3 of the board before the game begins, and it has the ability to box in your opponent quite quickly through the use of key stratagems such as Upon Wings of Fire and Descent of Angels.  I am excited to give this list a try and Chapter Approved has once again energized my desire to get the boys in red on the table.

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