As you may or may not know the new Blood Angels Codex will be arriving in less than a month. With it comes out you will be introduced to a whole new way of playing Space Marines. The biggest change that is getting some of least amount of talk is that almost every vehicle is now fast. It seems that Blood Angels have learned that red does indeed mean you go fasta, it also means that you will have a Space Marine force that is designed to read epic emo poems at point-blank range in no time.
If you apply trukk and raider heavy tactics to Blood Angels you will end up winning quite a few games. The key to any fast vehicle assault is knowing when to strike. Sometimes you can go half the game without killing anything only to make one late push to knock out your opponent in the last few turns. Don’t be afraid to make wide swings to reach your opponent. Between smoke, terrain, and your own vehicles you should have enough opportunity to keep vital elements of your army in cover or out of LOS.
That is why it is key to run in a pack. Don’t separate your forces as you move into proper position. Imagine your opponent as a lion and you are a pack of gezelle and he is trying to pick off the sick and weak gezelle you leave behind. The urge to leave that Razorback behind to get a shot off might be strong, just remember the Razorback and the unit inside will be playing catch up for the rest of game. Traveling in a pack also provides great cover for jump pack troops, as well creates a wall of tank shock that can force morale checks.
The major difference with Blood Angels (like Eldar) is the tanks are not open-topped– so no assaulting after moving. That is why it is important to the master your feelings and shrug off lost tanks. The goal is to force your opponent into using his anti tank units on your terms. The best way to achieve this is through target priority. Here is a check list for use with any fast mech force like Blood Angels.
- Long Range anti tank anything with a 36″ or greater range.
- Any blast or template units.
- Counter assault units.
- Short range anti tank units anything less than 18″ range.
Fast mech armies need to get to their targets, usually it is the lascannon or bright lance not the melta gun that slows you down. Anti tank units like Veteran IG squads are really only good when they have blast or template backup, that is why it is important to destroy those type support elements first. Since you should have some nasty assault units it is critical to remove opposing hammer units or widdle them down. If acheive these goals you will leave units that can blow up transports, but have no way of killing what is inside.
This might all sound like a tall order. Just remember if all else fails focus on getting as close as possible to your opponent and force a mistake. Don’t be afraid of craters or wrecks they provide cover from low AP weapons; remember a blown up vehicle on his turn is an assaulting unit on yours. The difference between 12″ and 18″ is amazing. Consider even if you move only 12″ next turn you have tanks that can still shoot a primary weapon, along with whatever you disembark and still moved 30″ in two turns.
If you are a Space Marine player making the move to Blood Angels, please don’t just make a boring Space Marine army that happens to be painted red. Use the new abilities and design esthetic of the Blood Angels. Otherwise we end up with the sad state of Space Wolves at the moment where we only see Long Fang spam and Razorbacks. Do not let this happen to the Emo marines!
Questions for Comment:
- How do you plan on playing the new Blood Angels?
- What makes Blood Angels different to you than normal Space Marines?
- What lessons from other armies can be applied to the new Blood Angels?