Helias_Tancred Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Need some advice on starting a BA Army (and I'm very new to the hobby- but very familiar with all the fluff b/c I've read many of the WH40K books). 1. I already have a Blood Angels Death Company boxed set. I have 5 figures I can make either tactical or assault DC. I'm assuming go with the latter? 2. Is the $110 Blood Angel Battleforce boxed set a good move to make on starting a BA army? 3. Which Blood Angel leader would work best as a HQ for the above forces? Dante? Corbulo? or Mephiston? So I'm thinking keep my DC boxed set, get the BA Battleforce, and get a leader type ... that will give me a decent starting BA Army? Of course sorta lower on points but I just want to get into the hobby. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appiah4 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I personally think the BA Battleforce (IIRC consists of Tacticals, Death Company, Assault Squad, Rhino) is a great starting point, but you can probably find it at a discount online which will make it an even better value. If you already have a DC boxed set, that means you have 25 PA models, 15 jump packs and a ton of extra bits to BA-ify them across the board. That should give you a lot of flexibility as to what to do with them. Corbulo is not an HQ, Dante or Mephiston would not make a good HQ for this base. I'd suggest you pick up a Chaplain model of your chice and go with that. You can't go wrong with a BA Reclusiarch/Chaplain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsijben Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 This set contains a Tactical Squad, an Assault Squad, a Death Company Squad and a Rhino dedicated transport vehicle. I always used to think it kinda sucks, but now I am not so sure. Personally I am not a fan of Tactical Marines, my Troops are usually a combination of ASM and DC. I am thinking about buying a Battlebox to make the following: Perhaps 10 DC with JP and Bolter (already have 20+ models with Pistol, Chainsword and JP) if they get better. Another 10 DC DC without JP but with Chainsword/pistol for in my transports. Another 5 Tactical Marines that will be equipped with Heavy/Special weapons that could be used for anything from DC, ASM and Tac to Devs. The additional Rhino is always useful. That is quite some value for €72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Dallo Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 In short, yes. The box set is quite a good buy. It would be nicer if the rhino was a razorback, but we'll live. Something to bear in mind, which you may not know, is that Blood Angels are due a new codex in the next few months. If you haven't purchased the codex yet, you might want to avoid getting one which will be invalidated by 2015. Tactical marines don't get as much love as assault marines from BA players traditionally, but there's nothing wrong with a rhino bound tactical squad. As far as I'm aware, the battleforce hasn't been updated, so the tactical marines are not the new (2013?) sprue. In short you don't get any combi-weapons or a grav gun. In our current codex death company are rarely used with jump packs, due to the price of the pack being nearly the same cost as the marine himself. Quite often they are fielded in 8-10 man squads with a powefist and perhaps some power weapons, with bolters, in a drop pod. Other options are either a land raider or a raven, where the squad will be as large as possible with power weapons, bolt pistols and perhaps a Reclusiarch for rerolls. Generally avoiding the pistol options is a good idea, as they are more expensive than the special weapon version, and less effective. Assault marines are mostly used in 10 man squads with two special weapons ( either 2 meltas or 2 flamers) and some goodies on the sergeant points permitting. You should avoid putting a plasma gun on them, as they can't shoot it and assault. However, you won't get two of the same special weapons in that box, so running a squad with flamer, melta and power sword/fist would be fine, with the eventual intention to form two full squads with the same special weapon in each. When it comes to an HQ, our special characters are pretty expensive, so may not be ideal for lower point games. That said, it's your hobby, so if you want to field Dante etc. go right ahead. I'd suggest either a librarian or a Reclusiarch as your HQ choice, ideally with jump pack, to hang out with your assault marines. In terms of what to do with your box I'd suggest Tactical Squad wih Plasma gun and Rocket Launcher 180 Rhino 50 Assault Marines(10) wih power fist, melta gun and flamer 230 Assault Marines(5) meltabombs, power sword 120 Which gives you 580 points, if my maths is right. Adding a Reclusiarch with jump pack brings you up to 735 points, giving you a little wiggle room in getting to 750 points. Perhaps give the Reclusiarch a powefist, upgrade some sergeants or get a hunter killer missile for the rhino. This is a fairly balanced list (IMO) made from the battleforce and one blister pack. If you don't mind purchasing bitz, or trading with your 40k buddies, I'd suggest getting a spare jump pack and getting a librarian, as they provide an interesting tactical aspect to your force, and allow you to make use of the psychic phase. Also getting a few meltaguns wouldn't go amiss to add punch to your assault squads. Hope this is useful Dallo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Good solid info. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenith Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 It's quite a good buy. Even with lots of BA stuff already, I'd consider getting another. 100% if it was the new tac squad inside, but it's not, unfortunately, for the time being. You also get more than enough bits to convert a captain, chaplain or librarian (or priest) from all the bits in the set. I'd get the box and make (including the DC you already have) Convert a librarian (use an axe from the assault squad box, and a fancy jump pack) 9 Death company, bolters (these can be made from the tactical squad and death co box) Rhino 10 assault marines, jump packs 5 tacticals or 5 more assault marines. Dallo's suggestion is also solid. I just like DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovidius Incertus Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I would also go for a librarian or reclusiarch over Dante until we see what the new codex holds. If your army has the points, then Mephiston. Dante would be low on my HQ choices, frankly, because of the axe. It would be nice to know if the BA boxed set has the new tactical squad sprues in it, since they're a nice improvement, but my guess is "no". Nevertheless, it's still a pretty nice bang-for-your-buck set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 is it a no-brainer to put the tactical squad in the Rhino for most fights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartali Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 It's not hard to convert the Rhino to a Razorback - You just need to buy a gun to fit in the whole. Ebay, Forgeworld and GW Land Raider sprues (that they sell seperately) can help here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicodemus Doloroso Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I've got $150 burning a hole in my pocket and I am mighty tempted by this box set. Although there may be another set out soon, I noticed the new box sets are bigger/more models and I'm concerned a bigger box might net me more models that I'm not going to use. What are the differences between the tactical squad contained in the BA battleforce and the new tactical box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenith Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 is it a no-brainer to put the tactical squad in the Rhino for most fights? One unit should be in the rhino. If you have death company without jump packs, they get priority. If the DC have packs, then give it to the tacticals. A drop pod would compliment the army very nicely at t What are the differences between the tactical squad contained in the BA battleforce and the new tactical box? Lots. Different armour marks, more variation, different weapons, all special weapons in box, including combi weapons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 is it a no-brainer to put the tactical squad in the Rhino for most fights? One unit should be in the rhino. If you have death company without jump packs, they get priority. If the DC have packs, then give it to the tacticals. A drop pod would compliment the army very nicely at t What are the differences between the tactical squad contained in the BA battleforce and the new tactical box? Lots. Different armour marks, more variation, different weapons, all special weapons in box, including combi weapons. I read somewhere not to give jump packs to your DC, just outfit them with bolters? is that a good or bad move? Once I get the BA battleforce set, I will have a total of 10 DC! Would you JP all of them, or just 1/2, or none at all and have them use bolters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicodemus Doloroso Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I would wait. The reason everyone says don't give DC jump packs now is because their jump packs are currently over-priced. However, when the new codex comes they might have a new price and by worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenith Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I read somewhere not to give jump packs to your DC, just outfit them with bolters? is that a good or bad move? Once I get the BA battleforce set, I will have a total of 10 DC! Would you JP all of them, or just 1/2, or none at all and have them use bolters? Different strokes for different folks. I give mine jump packs because: 1) I like the models 2) I want them to get that T1 or T2 charge. The main (only?) argument against the packs is the really high cost. But like I said, you pay to get them into combat T1 or 2. Bolters are good, as it takes advantage of the relentless rule, allowing the DC to shoot twice then charge, which is good or bad, depending on whether or not youre likely to kill too many of the opponent to be able to charge them. On foot, in a rhino or pod, the bolters are best, as the DC cannot chage on teh turn they exit, so the extra shooting helps. With packs, it can go either way. A fast moving unit that can shoot up to 24", and has 4A on the charge is good. Either way, equip any model with a power fist/hammer with a bolter, and any model with a power weapon with a bolt pistol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Ok, this looks like what I'm going to start with: 1 10 man BA tactical squad 2 5 man DC squads 1 Rhino APC 1 5 man BA assault squad 1 sanquinary priest 1 HQ 1 slot for another special BA character Ok I need some veteran BA advice. How should I equip these guys to give me a combination of flexibility and a strong tactic to milk in a game? Who would make a good HQ? Which force should the sanguinary priest hang out with? And what other special BA character should I fill my last slot with? I'm brand new to the miniature wargaming side of WH40k, I will be playing to have fun, learn the game, and learn the blood angels army. I don't want to be a one trick min/max pony at this point in my hobby but I don't want to be non-competitive either. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Also somewhere I read and wrote down that it would be smart to put the sanguinary priest with my tactical squad and make sure the tactical squad has 1 flamer, 1 lascannon, and the sergeant has a powerfist. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appiah4 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 You can not have more than 1 squad of DC in your army unless you have Astorath as your HQ, and they are not a scoring unit. Either combine them into a single 10 strong DC unit or convert one unit to a vanilla Assault Squad (spread bitz across them and the Assault Squad, you'll have two very BA looking Assault Squads). Tactical squad loadouts are a matter of preference really, I used to have a Power Fist in all, but these days I go for only a matching Combi-Weapon instead. A Lascannon in a Tactical Squad is a good choice, though a Multi-Melta is also great and free, so consider that. If you go for a Flamer, make sure to get a Combi-Flamer on the Sergeant. Double templates on assaulting units can be pretty deterring. I personally prefer a Plasmagun with a matching Combi-Plasma as these two equally threaten anything up to and including AV12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Invictus Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 try a 10 man assault squad with double melta guns, powerfist and melta bombs on the sarge. that way you have them to take out any high AV tanks, the bolter DC to deal with hordes, and (my personal preference) combi-plas, plasma gun and lascannon on the tac squad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red-beard Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Reclusiarch is an excellent choice for a BA HQ....definitely my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Hmmmm .... looks like I will go with a sanguinary priest and a reclusiarch (chaplain) that goes with the DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsijben Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I hope you aren't planning to put that Priest with the DC? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 No. I was planning on putting him with the tactical squad to make them very hard to kill, or give him a jump pack and have him roll with the 5 man assault squad? Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Invictus Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 give him a jump pack and roll him with the assault squad. then, when you get the models or the money, increase the assault squad to a 10 man so it has more attacks in combat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotkingz Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I ended up making a full squad of assault marines because you get 10 jp. And with the other I think I made them into a DC while using the rhino as getting them up the board faster. As for the HQ chose I got Astorath caz I love the look of the model. On top of that he is a Chaplin so a nice 2/4+ save and a good chance of red thirst on a 3 or less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helias_Tancred Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 So make a 10 man assault squad PLUS a sanguinary priest for a total of 11? Or go 9+1 = 10? Oh yeah forgot to add, I got the BA Battle Force boxed set off of Amazon for $91, and with my prime membership, that's all I paid :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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