Blood Angels Codex: Tidbits and Oddities

 (No more White Dwarf Codex!)

So I was able to get my hands on a copy of the new codex via nefarious means like a lot of other people, but worry not, I plan to buy my own edition the day it hits stores. I've read it pretty much from start to finish, including all the fluff, battles, units, etc and this will be a quick look at some of the stuff that popped out at me. I have further posts planned to focus on army lists and the like. As far as the fluff goes, kinda got tired of the constant reminders that the BA are dying out, doomed, cursed, near-heretical, etc. It's like their actively trying to kill them off, except for the fact their new range will pump GW full of cash. I still find it odd they talk up how BA are assault oriented, have the most Jump Packers around, and all this, but they still only use 2 Assault units per Company and 6 Tac squads. Just small nitpicks, sorry, moving on.

I wanted to hit on some lesser talked about points that have changed or are different from the SM codex. The first is a new/different HQ choice in the Reclusiarch. The Ultras get a normal chaplain as an HQ, but we have this guy instead and Chaplains are an Elite. For a base difference of 30 more points this guy has an extra BS, W, I, and A. Combine that with a new Liturgies of Blood rule that states that the Chaplain and Death Company he is attached to will re-roll "to-hit" and "to-wound" on the charge. He might be a good (and cheap) secondary HQ if you plan on running Astorath with two or more DC squads. For 50 points more than a normal Chaplain you can add Lemartes (as an upgrade character) who is a DC Chaplain, combining the Special Rules of the DC (FNP, FC, etc) and the rules of a Chaplain into one (LoB, Rosarius, Master-crafted Crozius). He has the Decent of Angels rule, but I'm not sure if that is conferred to a group of JP DC he is attached to. It's a shame they lost the ability to control the DC tho. :-(

Another interesting tidbit is the dual-Tycho choice. He can be a normal Captain, or be a DC HQ for the same price. For the price, I think he makes a pretty decent Captain, as he is the only HQ with Rites of Battle, giving everyone 10 leadership. He is also an IC to hide in groups, has a combi-melta that fires Sterngaurd ammo and hits like a monstrous creature in CC. The other tempting choice is his DC form, with all the bells and whistes of FC, FNP, and Fleet and the same weapons as above plus Relentless so he can fire the bolter before charging. But, he is no longer an IC so is out in the open, and loses RoB as he is dropped to Leadership 8. They really did make both choices tempting, which is a good thing. Ok, DC Tycho taking up a HQ slot is kinda crap, he should be an upgrade at that point to the DC. Quickly, Mephiston with no Invul and the loss of FNP = fail. Will always take a normal Libby over him and buy a Dread with the points I saved and get just as much CC power. Lesson learned: Non-IC HQs without a ton of saves is worthless. And if they have saves (like Sanguinor) they are cost prohibitive in anything outside a >2000pt game. Stick to the basics here.

Another unknown item, to me at least, is the new Furioso Dread weapon: the Frag Cannon (which replaces an arm/weapon). It is a peculiar weapon as a Template, S6 AP-, 2 shots with Rending. As a template, meaning short range, I rather just charge into the enemy with S10 AP2 and an extra attack. Unless someone can tell me a situation where that weapon is better than a DCCW, that cannon will never see the light of day. Also, since for me it wasn't clear during the rumor days, the Magna-Grapple is an add-on and not a replacement for anything. Still not clear if you're still getting a normal S8 shot on the dmg chart if it pens/glances, in addition to then pulling the vehicle or not. A funny thought is being able to tank-shock an enemy infantry unit with their own tanks by hauling them around with this, haha.

A final "wtf" oddity of the codex is that smoke launchers come standard on everything, but search lights are now +1pt to add. What was the reasoning behind that one? I never used the things, but that's just really weird. My next blog post will probably cover more of the new rules, and the issue of overlapping and maximizing your list to reduce wasted potential. Finally, I'll post a couple lists I will eventually test out, instead of trying to settle on just one right now. There are many combos and I think they did a good job of not making a one-shot, obvious I-Win button army. I'll go into details later on that.