Bonus article: Blood Angel Anti-armour for Spoonlamp

I’m trying to stick to a lower but consistent blog schedule, usually taking Tuesday, Thursday and the weekend off. However, I’m always eager to respond to reader requests and Spoonlamp had this question:

"I know you've been concentrating on Killteam lately,  but any thoughts on scalable anti-armour for Blood Angels? Hellblasters v Dev squad?
Redemptor Dread v Pred?"

It’s a good question, and the answer is largely the same for any Space Marine force. As of now Hellblasters are your best bet for anti-armour, but that comes with a few conditions. In general with Blood Angels your best options are going to be melta-gun Assault Marines or any close combat unit with a power fist. However, we'll look at the traditional anti-armour options with this post.

Hellblaster

Hellblasters with their plasma incinerators offer the best balance between offence and defence for a Blood Angel player. They’re twice as tough as Devastators (quite literally… double the Wounds), and can be more damaging for their points. They’ll also punch twice as much as the equivalent Devastators.

Since they’re infantry you can stuff them into a Repulsor transport, but frankly that will be most of the anti-tank you’ll need. They also fit into more compact spaces than dreadnoughts and tanks, occupying cover providing buildings.

However, to get the most out of them they will need a baby-sitter Captain. They will need to Overcharge their plasma weapons every salvo to make their points worth it, and re-rolling 1s is almost essential. You’ll also need to get within an uncomfortably close distance (usually about 15-inches) for them to be really effective, something the other contenders on the above list don’t need to worry about.

And if I’m brutally honest with myself, the reason I like Hellblasters so much is the pairing with Ravenguard Stratagems, getting right into double-tap range in the first turn and causing utter havoc and mayhem. Not an option for the Blood Angels, who get their Deep Strike meltagun armed Assault Marines to compensate (who enter on WINGS OF FIRE!!!).

With Blood Angels in mind, you’re not really thinking about their Chapter Tactic when taking fire base units. However, with 2 attacks a piece they utilise the trait better (+1 to wound on the charge) than Devastators or tanks.

Devastators

Cheap(ish) long range firepower, that can cover camp at the back. Field these guys with lascannons or missile launchers if you’re planning on taking them at all, since that is their unique selling point.  Anything closer range than 36-inches is better done by a Hellblaster with a plasma incinerator.
You’re taking this unit to field 4 high strength shots per turn with some highly damaging shots.

You’re also taking them because they don’t need a Captain to baby-sit them, and you’re confident the enemy won’t catch them in assault.

Don’t bother with plasma canons. Hellblasters outperform in nearly all instances.

Predators

I’ve never been that enthusiastic about Predators, since a Razorback tends to do a similar job but cheaper and can ferry troops around. It would be quite a different story if they could move and fire at the same time, but all you’re getting compared to Devastators is just a lot more tank.

Get it… more defence, and it’s also a tank?

Okay.

 Redemptor Dreadnought

The best way to equip this model is with anti-infantry guns, and leave the tank busting up to the fist. I’m not completely sold on the model compared to a standard dreadnought since they decay in ability when wounds are lost.

However, there’s no denying the battlefield presence. They make for wonderful bullet magnets, as it’s a foolish opponent who ignores this beast bearing down on its troops.

Conclusion

• Hellblasters for general purpose
• Devastators for long range independent unit
• Leave the tanks to the Imperial Guard
• Consider a Venerable dreadnought over the Redemptor

I’m sure there are many that will disagree with me, and the final decision should always be what gets you to the painting or gaming table more often. If you don’t like Hellblasters then believe me when I say the numbers are much closer together than you might think, with luck and battlefield nuance making up far more of the outcome than raw numbers.

Let me know how wrong I am in the comments below!

And one final word for Blood Angels in particular: power fist Sanguinary Guard/Death Company hit like a freight train, and you are also the only ones to have meltagun assault troops. You have other, much cooler options for anti-tank!

If you want to read more, here's a link to other Blood Angels articles:

The Complete Blood Angels Beginners Guide
Other Blood Angels articles

Until next time!

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