Why Play Blood Angels?

[Brother Dallo]

In honesty, the thing that got me started with the IX was their White Dwarf codex. When I started this hobby as a yung'un I picked up the painting kit with five pushfit marines and some paints. They ended up caked in blue paint due to the ultramarine being the chapter focused on by the instructions. Time passes, and I pick up White Wharf pretty regularly. Suddenly I have a codex to go with my boys in blue. I get the new codex when it comes out,and decided that I wanted to play as a Successor, rather than be another BA player, so I toyed with Blood Drinkers before settling on Angels Encarmine, who I WILL get round to painting some day! Thus now I have the best part of three companies sitting in various states of dis-assembly, and am patiently waiting for our new codex.

 

Dallo 

[Dafoo]

Fast Tanks. Gold Angels that decend with a Righteous Fury unmatched by any other loyalists. Access to enough flamers and melta to make a Salamander blush. The Best equipment options for an assault marine. Laughing in agreement when an Ork player says Red goes faster. A satisfying smile when a 20 man blob of Khorn's traitors break at your assault. Death Company. Literally every metal song ever could be used as your personal theme song. Casual gamers freak out when you say "Deep Striking Land Raider" in conjunction. Catholic overtones for people who are into that sort of thing. Is one of the few chapters that feel right with an axe. You don't need drop pods to have a deep strike army. If you suddenly play BA Mech out of nowhere after playing a Terminator heavy list for months your opponent has to change up their tactics. Dante is acknowledged as the superior tactician to Marneus in the fluff. Surprisingly shooty when you choose to be.

[GrunTeufel]

I started playing during the 3rd edition. My first chapter was black templars but after I read their rules for the first time (armageddon supplement) I didn't like it that much. One day my brother comes home with a blood angels codex and I am in love. The front cover was bad but the rest looked amazing. All the gold and red along with extremely cool artwork in that book made me choose them. The death company was the coolest concept I have ever witnessed at the time. And I always liked "take the fight to the enemy" kind of outlook. I love the look on my opponents face when I declare an assault via deep strike with my vanguards or when I deploy 40 assault marines with meltas and flamers. BA only got better up until 6th edition and now I am just waiting patiently. 

Edited October 28, 2014 by GrunTeufel

[marine7312000]

I got the 3rd edition codex after playing a demo game at a friend's house. I haven't looked back since.

[skyst]

I got into 40k at the very end of 2nd edition, having dabbled a bit with fantasy at first but always gushing over the 40k photos in White Dwarf. I bought the Angels of Death codex which covered both BA and DA, and painted push-fits of both.

 

I knew I was going to choose either BA or DA and, after trying to paint Dark Angel Green onto white primer (all I had access to at the age of ~10) and seeing how miserable the coverage was, I picked the red guys. Still have those two push-fits, too!

 

Also, adolescent me thought the Death Company was super cool. I'm in the process of stripping the original DC box metals (retro chaplain and all!) right now for a repaint.

[simison]

For me, it was the story. The Blood Angels are one of the noblest chapters not because of their shining armor or for their warfare, but by struggling with their inner demons. They earn their nobility by constantly rejecting the easy path of capitulation to their base desires even when it eventually overwhelms them and transform them into a member of the Death Company. In that way, they are perhaps one of the most human chapters out there. Couple that with the angel imagery and motifs, and I was sold even though 6th edition had just arrived and I knew I would not be seeing a new codex anytime soon. 

[TheSauce]

Two words: Jump Packs. I think there is nothing cooler than falling out of the sky to land a righteous boot in the face of your enemy. Everything else was just icing on that cake.

[bis5523]

Baals to the walls... I love my fast tanks my assault marines as troops choice. I started playing in 5th when we wrecked face. I love the lore of furious red marines who will kick your ass at close combat.

 

But the lore got me into it personally reading about there history and fluff. I myself love the art of hand to hand combat and currently wrestle and practice technical fighting and grappling. There lore really hits home with me

[Disciple of Caliban Sgt]

Loved the Assault Marines as troops. Fear To Tread sealed the deal for me.

[Dolchiate Remembrancer]

Started way back in 3rd Ed and having read Sanguinius' sad story the psychic link was forged and I have been afflicted with the blank rage since.

[ElectricPaladin]

Thanks for the posts everyone. I've been looking forward to posting, myself, but I always hate to do that right away. I want to make sure that my thread is more than just "my thoughts, let me show you them" - at least, unless that's what I'm actually going for.

 

For me, it's the story of the Blood Angels as well. Coming from Tau - who I found fun, but finicky and fragile - I could have picked any number of armies and found them a good mix of aggressive, tactically interesting, and durable. I thought about one of the chapters from Codex: Space Marines - probably I would have gone with Salamanders, though I also briefly played Blood Ravens and Exorcists - or Dark Angels, or even Space Wolves (who I probably would have ended up collecting if I'd started the hobby in high school, like I almost did). In the end, however, it was the story behind the Blood Angels that drew me in.

 

I love the fact that the Blood Angels are ultimately flawed heroes. Most other Astartes chapters aren't really struggling against a flaw they can't control - they're just jerks. The Dark Angels, the Space Wolves... all of them could be a lot better at their jobs if they just stopped being arrogant, prideful, miserable jerks. The Blood Angels are also prideful - pride is part of the character of the Astartes, and having a personality flaw as well as a situational flaw makes a character interesting - but I really like how they struggle against circumstances beyond their control. Their flaws aren't entirely under their control - the flaw of the Blood Angels is written on their DNA. The inescapability of their flaws makes their struggle even more poignant, and their heroism even greater in the face of it.

 

I almost lost interest in the Blood Angels, because I got bored of painting red about a year ago. Luckily, I was able to turn my attention (and transform my army) to the Knights of Blood, a somewhat enigmatic successor who, although excommunicated, continue to fight the good fight on behalf of mankind, as they see it. I really like the idea of Astartes who serve humanity while severing ties to the Imperium. I think it's a great example of some of what I love about the Blood Angels - their stiff-necked refusal to accept less than perfection, their independence, their pride and dedication - writ large. Also, it's nice to see an exception to the "they went rogue, then they fell to Chaos" narrative that dominates 40k!

[marine7312000]

To expand on my post above, I really loved the idea that the army was so focused on closing with the enemy and destroying them up close and personal. That's probably why I eventually bought a Black Templars army a few years ago. I sold that army about a year ago and turned the money right into buying more stuff to bulk out my BAs.

[Toomanyprojects]

For me it was a single sentence that simply said:

 

"The assaults of the Fleshtearers were so brutal that the Orks have been known to retreat rather than face them..."

 

At that moment, I decided that I liked these guys :)

Edited October 28, 2014 by Toomanyprojects

[Morticon]

Going to merge this with the old thread!! 

 

No need to let years of thoughts go to waste :)

[ElectricPaladin]

Going to merge this with the old thread!! 

 

No need to let years of thoughts go to waste

 

Fine by me. I just didn't want to get accused of Iyandening!

[Morticon]

Ive never understood why moderators get odd about legitimate thread resurrections! !!  If its still valid, fine by my watch, bud!

[knife&fork]

 Their flaws aren't entirely under their control - the flaw of the Blood Angels is written on their DNA. The inescapability of their flaws makes their struggle even more poignant, and their heroism even greater in the face of it.

 

 

This might have been retconned since last time I checked, but it used to be that the flaw was actually a byproduct of how BA and successors go about creating their marines. If the coffin + cloned blood method wasn't used and instead BA were created the same as any other marine then there would be no black rage/red thirst issues.

 

Of course then they wouldn't be the same BA either... 

[ElectricPaladin]

 

 Their flaws aren't entirely under their control - the flaw of the Blood Angels is written on their DNA. The inescapability of their flaws makes their struggle even more poignant, and their heroism even greater in the face of it.

 

 

This might have been retconned since last time I checked, but it used to be that the flaw was actually a byproduct of how BA and successors go about creating their marines. If the coffin + cloned blood method wasn't used and instead BA were created the same as any other marine then there would be no black rage/red thirst issues.

 

Of course then they wouldn't be the same BA either... 

 

What I read was that it was suspected that this was the case, but wasn't confirmed.

 

Personally, I doubt it. The Blood Angels aren't that much less pragmatic than any other Astartes, and their sanguinary priests have years of experience studying and combating the curse. I doubt they'd have missed something that simple. But it's in the shadow-zone of things we don't know for sure, so if you like that interpretation, go to town.

Edited October 28, 2014 by ElectricPaladin

[Terrahawk]

I think A D-B summarized the Blood Angels just perfectly a while back:

 

 

They're artists, painters, poets, architects, musicians, and philosophers - the very cream of humanity's creative and enlightened aspirations, risen from barbarian tribes that scavenge amidst the red dust of a poisoned homeworld. They don't create art in the pursuit of perfection, or to glorify themselves by displaying their own talents. They do it to understand what it means to be human, acknowledging as they do how far away they are from humanity. And, of course, they do it to understand, conquer - and, to some degree, hide - the dark halves of their souls. Some of the galaxy's most breathtaking sculptures and paintings lie in the deepest, darkest chambers of Blood Angel warships, or displayed in the chapels of their fortresses, never to be seen by human eyes. 

 

The Blood Angels are the Renaissance in power armour, with all of that majesty, splendour, and ingenuity turned anaemic by vampirism... with a mandate to conquer the galaxy on wings of iron and fire. They're paladins with sacred weapons and beauteous facemasks, crying out in inhuman choirs for the taste of their enemies' blood.

 

This is why you should play the Sons of Sanguinius.

[Sans Mercy]

Coming out of the service is why I think the IG first caught my eye, but I'd always seen the Space Marines and their monastic heraldry and history as very intriguing.

     The Red Guys caught my eye because they were about weathering hopeless odds and oncoming fire, then hack things to bits, and do it in some of the finest Catholic Iconography/imagery a mind could create. 

[ElectricPaladin]

 

 

 Their flaws aren't entirely under their control - the flaw of the Blood Angels is written on their DNA. The inescapability of their flaws makes their struggle even more poignant, and their heroism even greater in the face of it.

 

 

This might have been retconned since last time I checked, but it used to be that the flaw was actually a byproduct of how BA and successors go about creating their marines. If the coffin + cloned blood method wasn't used and instead BA were created the same as any other marine then there would be no black rage/red thirst issues.

 

Of course then they wouldn't be the same BA either... 

 

What I read was that it was suspected that this was the case, but wasn't confirmed.

 

Personally, I doubt it. The Blood Angels aren't that much less pragmatic than any other Astartes, and their sanguinary priests have years of experience studying and combating the curse. I doubt they'd have missed something that simple. But it's in the shadow-zone of things we don't know for sure, so if you like that interpretation, go to town.

 

Ok, I think that most of the fluff makes the whole "the Blood Angels are doing it to themselves via the process of insanguination" pretty unlikely, but...

 

My successors are the renegade, but loyal, Knights of Blood. Imagine if one of the things to be lost when the Inquisition purged their homeworld was all their samples of Sanguinius's blood. Determined to carry on regardless, the Knights raise up a new generation of scouts, eagerly awaiting the possibility that they are monsters, or fall prey to the Black Rage or the Red Thirst immediately, or fail to display some important characteristic of the Blood Angels geneseed, or are otherwise deficient, and instead...

 

They're perfect. Pure. They are Blood Angels in mind, body, and spirit... and they don't have the Flaw.

 

Only, now that the Knights of Blood have been excommunicated, they know that they can't share their cure because nobody will ever believe them.

 

That's almost cool enough for me to ignore how unlikely I think it is that the Flaw is caused by insanguination... almost.

Edited October 30, 2014 by ElectricPaladin

[David Ravel]

Their fluff. They are a very aristocratic warrior band which, thanks to their longevity and ethics, are able to make an art out of war (which means out of life, since their life is war for the Emperor). 

 

I could also say the model, but certainly not the gameplay, since I only did one game with them as of now and it was an apoc game lol. I have the models still on my working list for alot of months... I should really finish them. 

[Xenith]

It was the BA as they came with 2nd Ed space hulk that I got cheap when I was 11.

 

Then I bought the codex, and dear lord I was hooked. The rage and brutality that comes out of that final story in the back was incredible. The noble sacrifice of Sanguinius. The Death Company. The Flaw. They are the best space marines.

[Firepower]

Fast cars and hot chicks.

 

...wait, those are Sanguinary Guard?  Hm.  Just the fast cars, then.

 

 

But really, the Angels have exemplary fluff.  At least they did when I was a kid.  I haven't kept up with every change to come along.  Red looks awesome, and yet red is a pain to paint.  Well, again, it was when I was a kid (back when Angels were actually orange).  There are a lot of new products and methods to use these days.  And of course, stabbing.  There's always a place for the stabby-stab.

 

If only I had the time, the money, and the patience, I'd return to these guys with gusto.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Firepower

[knife&fork]

Fast cars and hot chicks.

 

...wait, those are Sanguinary Guard?  Hm.  Just the fast cars, then.

 

 

But really, the Angels have exemplary fluff.  At least they did when I was a kid.  I haven't kept up with every change to come along.  Red looks awesome, and yet red is a pain to paint.  Well, again, it was when I was a kid (back when Angels were actually orange).  There are a lot of new products and methods to use these days.  And of course, stabbing.  There's always a place for the stabby-stab.

 

If only I had the time, the money, and the patience, I'd return to these guys with gusto.

 

Red is easy now ;)

 

You play templars right? Black and white.... *shudders*