Tuesday 13 October 2009

500pt and 1500pt Blood Angels 40k Lists

The 1500pt game against Orks didn't happen the other night (should be next Monday now) I had two games of 500pt 40k in 40 minutes vs Tau instead.

Both games resulted in my Blood Angels tabling the Tau on turn 5, the chap playing the Tau force hasn't really been playing that long so has a restricted model collection to base his builds around and is still learning the ropes with regards what 'works' for him tactically.

Despite the fact I cleared his forces off the table twice I think my opponent enjoyed the games. We chatted a lot during the games about the Tau and possible future builds. I hope my oppo has taken some useful lessons away from the games as we also discussed appropriate tactics with regards deployment and general 'game plan' using the Tau.

The main mistake my Tau-playing opponent was making was being too keen to get stuck into the action. Rather than sitting well back and blasting my Blood Angels from afar he succumbed to engaging me in the centre of the table for a rapid firing firefight. The Space Marine 3+ saves make a big difference in these situations.

His deployment was also a little sub-optimal in that he spread his forces across his baseline rather than refusing a flank. I would have thought that the mobility of the Jump suits and the long range of the Pulse weapons were well suited to deploying in a corner. In both games I gave my opponent the first turn.

My 500pts Blood Angels 40k in 40mins list was as follows:

1 x 10-man Tactical with Flamer, Missile Launcher & Melta Bomb on Sergeant (210)
(Split down to combat squads)
1 x 5-man Tactical with Flamer (120)
1 x 5-man Assault (140)
4 x Death Company (30) inc. three 'FREE' marines for infantry squads.

Total = 500pts

I was thinking about how the Tau could have won the game on my way back home (he played two different lists which pretty much comprised the Battle Force box set with a couple of additions for options).

I get the feeling that he needed to sit back as far as possible and simply target one unit at a time with everything he had. The Kroot proved quite 'sticky' in close combat tying up my assault unit in one game for approx. 3 turns. They look like they make very good speed bumps, protecting the Fire Warriors as they do their 'shooty' thing on other units.

It's the first time I've faced Tau and it was an interesting experience (albeit at only 500pts).

The discussions we had during and after the game about how to take out Space Marines or their equivalents led me to re-evaluate my own 1500pt 'all comers' army list.

During my drive home I decided I was going to drop my Terminator unit and replace it with a second Veteran Assault unit. My current thinking is:

Librarian (120)
5-man Tactical Squad with Powerfist and Melta (150)
Razorback with Twin-linked Lasccannon (80)

Chaplain with Plasma Pistol (115)
5-man Death Company (FREE)
Blood Angels Rhino (40)

Furioso Dreadnought Death Company, Venerable, Heavy Flamer (150)

10-man Tactical Squad with Flamer, Missile Launcher, Melta Bomb (210)

5-man Tactical Squad with Flamer (120)

5-man Veteran Assault Squad with 3x Power weapons, Melta (205)

5-man Veteran Assault Squad with 2 x Plasma Gun, Powerfist, Flamer, Rhino (220)

Attack Bike with Multi-melta (50)

Attack Bike with Multi-melta (50)

Total= 1500

I'm still thinking about the load-out for the vet assault squads. I like to keep the flamer and melta percentages high across the army list as once I've settled on it I'm not planning on changing it for a good while. I prefer building a list for all comers as it feels more like a consistent force (storywise) and also allows me to hone using it to the best of it's capabilities. I've never been interested in the rock-paper-scissor approach to list building of finding out your opponent and then building to beat it. That approach simply doesn't appeal to me.

Hmmm...powerfist or not in that second Veteran Assault squad?

PS - I've seen the rumour of a new Blood Angels Codex floating around the tubes - hope it's true. Being able to field two special weapons and have no heavy weapons would be perfect for me. Flamer/Melta combos would be my preference for tactical squads. :)

EDIT: I think I'll keep the Plasma Gun toting Veteran Assault squad with Jump Packs - the mobility (and option to Deep Strike) with that kind of firepower looks very useful. And it's cheaper to buy extra Jump packs than a new rhino :)

3 comments:

  1. Hmm, interesting ideas. I myself am just starting Blood Angels and have 4 games under my belt. I won a 1500pt vs Tau as well, and drew against the same guy playing Nids once, and Chaos twice. The second guy has been playing for over a year or two, so is infinitely more tactical and strategic than I in 40k, but I can still hold my own.

    Still not sure what the best build is to go with for BA. I love the Baal Preds, but don't seem to rend all that much in 5E. And BA seem to lack that Melta punch that every other SM can bring to the table. Melta's are the king in my opinion, their only draw back being 1 shot... unless you're Vulcan and can twin-link them. *shakes his fist*

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  2. Thanks for dropping by and commenting.

    I certainly think Baals have plenty of positives going for them, especially with heavy flamers. I guess your choice of build comes down to how you prefer to play.

    I like infantry heavy armies and, with space marines, the flexibility of fielding lots of small units (you usually end up with more 'units' on the table than your oppo) but my force can be brittle if I get multiple units caught in close combat by a clever opponent (because of my own poor positioning). This renders my plan of keeping mobile useless.

    I recently played a tourney player who tabled me on turn 5 with a battle wagon & Ghazghul list. It illustrated the huge gulf in my understanding of tourney play and interpretation of the rules as well as general game play skills.

    I really enjoyed the game and learned a huge amount about how tourney players approach the game. Very different to my fluffy old brain and rules interpretation, not better or worse, just different.

    If you're interested in tourney play keep an eye on Jawaballs blog: http://warhammer40kbloodangels.blogspot.com/

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  3. Ah yeah, Jawaballs blog is what inspired me to take up their mantle! haha. They have been a bit more fun than my Necron, but lack a certain something. But all is well with the upcming codex! Anyhow, I dunno if you saw it yet, but I just posted a battle report, or more of an observation report, against a Chaos army with two different lists. Any insights would be great!

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