polka Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Hello all! I used to spend my hobby time with WHFB minis. And I enjoyed it. I still would, but I'd like to paint models that can actually participate in a game with a resemblance of balance... I had a brief hiatus with warmahordes minis, but I can't get away from the fact that GW makes the best models out there, and I'm primarily a hobby guy. I'm a bit afraid to buy from the people who turned WHFB into AoS, but I hope WH40K is popular enough to avoid a similar treatment. This all brought me to WH40K. And Blood Angels. I've bought a librarian, a sanguinary priest and a tactical squad. So first question to you lot, what do I buy next? I sure do like the look of dreadnoughts. Are they playable? I also really enjoy some good fluff. Where would I start to learn most about the Blood Angels and also have a nice time learning? I'll post some pictures of the minis once they're done, but it takes a while these days. If anyone wonders, a 1 year old kid do take away some hobby time. Thanks for any replies! Best Regards Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolemai Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Welcome to Bolter and Chainsword! As for your next purchase, I recommend getting the Codex (and a copy of the 40k rules). After that, it really depends on you, your playstyle and your funds. If you can afford to purchase things in an ad hoc manner, then go for it and construct an army that way. If not, decide on a list which you think suits your playstyle (or ask!) and get the bits needed for that. One thing you will need at some point is a second Troops choice. This means purchasing a second Tactical squad, Scout Squad, or Scout Squad with sniper rifles, and again, this will become much clearer once you've planned your style. A few basic points: Never buy a Rhino box - always go for the Razorback as it contains everything in the Rhino box thus giving you two choices. Dreadnoughts can work but you need to build a list around them. Ideally, they could also do with a delivery method: Drop Pod or Stormraven A Stormraven will serve you well no matter what, but it's worth finding out what your local meta is like first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 One tactical box could make 2 five man tactical squads, or are the boxes 5 models now? With the BA tactical box available this probably isn't as necessary anymore, but the DC box has lots of BA bling. That allows you to make some BA characters on top of the DC unit. DC (especially when combiuned with a chaplain) can chew through pretty much anything. They need a delivery method though. Jump Packs seem to be the most popular choice right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin_the_Martian Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Jolemai's absolutely right about the Blood Angles codex and the Warhammer 40k rulebook being your first purchases. If you're looking to save a little money, my advice for purchasing a rulebook would be to go on eBay and find a copy of the paperback version that comes with the Dark Vengeance starter box. Plenty of people purchase the starter box for the miniatures and then resell the rulebook that comes with it online, so there shoudld be plenty of copies floating around. On the other hand, the paperback version of the 40k rulebook doesn't come with all the wonderful fluff about the history and current state of the 40k universe. Which version you choose is purely a personal preference. Both versions will have all the rules necessary to play a game of 40k. After that, the Blood Angels codex should be your second purchase. It's absolutely vital to own a copy if you want to play Blood Angels in a game of 40k. Plus, it is the go-to reference for Blood Angels fluff and contains a wealth of information about the chapter's history and practices. As for purchasing models, Jolemai's suggestion to plan out your style before you start buying up kits is a really good suggestion. Some of the Blood Angels models are just gorgeous and are worth purchasing just for the pleasure of assembling and painting them. However, if you like the idea of being able to field models that actually match up with your army list, then you should take some time to figure out what units you enjoy playing with. If the people that you play with allow it, I would suggest that you cut circles the size of standard 40k bases out of colored construction paper and use those to represent models in the first couple of battles. It's an easy way to get acquainted with how each of the units play without having to shell out a ton of cash for models you might not use too often in the future. edit: phrasing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlo Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 A definite thing to note too is that the BA kits themselves are incredibly detailed and blinged up. This leads to very cool looking, but maybe a little over the top Marines (especially for a tactical squad). One thing I can recommend is buying one box of BA Tacs and a Death Company box (maybe even a BA Upgrade sprue too!) and then combining the parts with the normal marine kits. It dilutes the look a bit and makes everyone distinctly BA but not as glaring. Personal tastes apply of course though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LutherMax Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Welcome to the Blood Angels, brother! I agree with Charlo regarding the bling, I find toning it down by combining BA kits with vanilla marine kits works great. I too am a fan of Dreadnoughts. As Jolemai said their use in the game is dependent on lots of factors and I find I don't field them as much as I'd like to. But if you like the look of them a Librarian Dreadnought is a popular choice since the last Codex and unique to Blood Angels. A Furioso with a frag cannon in a pod is another popular choice and Death Company Dreadnoughts with Blood Talons and a magna grapple completes the set. You should also look into some Death Company marines – you play Blood Angels for the sauce and this is it, as they say on 1d4chan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfeld Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I think you will need a transport for your tacticals, i suggest you to buy a Razorback, so you can use it as a rhino if needed or a Dropod. Next you will need another troop choise, i suggest not to take scout, i found them quite useless... and it's a shame becouse im a fan of snipers. Instead you can use your tatical squad as two five men unit, in that case you should buy another razorback. (Two five men squad in razorback with las and plasma gun are my core choice for troops.) Then a heavy support. Stormraven are awesome, i've buyed one 3 months ago and i take it in almost every game, but maybe you want to take low points heavy support. In that case you should go for a vindicator or a baal predator (with TLAC imho). Dreadnoughts are awesome two, i always bring at least one, most of the time two. Fragioso in drop pod are fantastic, they force your opponent to reconsider his strategy almost every time and their armor 13 protects them from low strenght weapons, with a bit of experience you will learn to place them avoiding (or at least giving some protection from) heavy weapons. For normal dreadnought i suggest taking the Las cannon and snipe vehicles, or the AC if you are going aganist tyranids. I hope i've helped you a bit, but take my words with a bit of salt, i'm not a veteran player yet. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlo Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Oh! Another top tip I can give you is if you go for dreads, never glue the arms, and buy the venerable kit as well as the BA one. Other than a missile launcher both come with LOADS of weapon options and with a bit of converting you can get some unique looking metal beasts. Using one BA Dread and Two Ven Dread Kits I made these: http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah177/nevscorner/Snapchat-5800761978691619144_zpsbotq95kb.jpg Imagination and sky is the limit! Plus I have a tonne of dread arms and other heavy weapons left over for the bits box/ if I want to configure them differently in the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 How did you build the power fist on the Fragioso (center dread), Charlo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polka Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks for all the good and quick (!) replies! Seems like this forum is the place to be! I feel a bit wiser now, and I'm looking forward to painting and playing these guys! If I want to do two five-man squads with my tacticals, how should I gear them? I guess I need more bits to fully gear them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlo Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks for all the good and quick (!) replies! Seems like this forum is the place to be! I feel a bit wiser now, and I'm looking forward to painting and playing these guys! If I want to do two five-man squads with my tacticals, how should I gear them? I guess I need more bits to fully gear them? Luckily, the box comes with a lot of gear! You could make a squad with a heavy flamer and combi weapon on the sergeant and a squad with a special weapon and combi on the other sergeant :) How did you build the power fist on the Fragioso (center dread), Charlo? http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah177/nevscorner/Snapchat-250284345360076697_zpszcpmacmd.jpg It is the Librarian Dread arm used to hold the force halberd with the Fist from the venerable dread kit glued on at an angle! The claws are blood talons from the BA Dread Kit just stuck onto the grooves in the hand - really simple! It would work with any dread arm too really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polka Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Thanks again! I followed your tip charlo, buying a regular tac squad as well. I didn't think of that option, but I completely agree with you! And nice dreads btw! Should I use flamers all around? Heavy, special and combis? I'm going for two 5-man squads. What else do you arm your seargeants with? Power stuff or just chainswords? I've started painting my librarian, and I'm loving it! More than I thought I would! Will post pics when finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlo Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 No worries pal, it's like I said, the BA Tac squads are so blinged out it feels like they should all be veterans! I'm a big fan of flamers on our Tac squads, they should always be anti infantry if you ask me, personal opinion though. Just remember you can only have one heavy/ special per 5 men. We also have unique access to hand flamers on sarges too. Mine is currently rocking dual hand flamers with the squad having a flamer and Heavy flamer :D As for an assault weapon on the sarge, again it's personal preference. Due to us having furious charge I think It's sometimes prudent to add a powersword to our sarges maybe even the veteran upgrade. This is especially true in the Baal strike force, as the extra initiative means we can challenge an enemy sergeant and have a good chance of killing them before they strike, or even wound an enemy Commander! In Maelstrom this ties into some of our objectives about challenges too. Plus you can take the hand flamer from above with a powersword for an extra attack,although you're probably looking at a point sink now... And thanks for the dread compliment, I worked hard on them, hoping they do well on the table too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polka Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 You, Charlo, are a gift to a BA newcomer! Thanks again for quick and brilliant comments :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlo Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 You, Charlo, are a gift to a BA newcomer! Thanks again for quick and brilliant comments Like I said, no problem! As people may have noticed, I'm just on the boards far too often... I'm just trying to catch up on 6ish years absence on the hobby :P I was on my phone before but another tip now I can type it out easier: When you do have a power weapon on the sarge, don't forget you can still shoot the marines bolt pistols (they all have one) before you charge - also a guy can throw a grenade, two if they are combat squadded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother_Mike Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hey! Welcome, a few things I've realized now that I've had some time playing blood angels that no one ever told me is: 1. your troops choices are actually good and you shouldn't look at them as a tax or liability 2. you should stay with power swords/force swords over other power/force weapons because BA have lots of ways to boost initiative and strength. although there are still situations you would want a power fist/thunder hammer over a power sword, striking at initiative is super important in this edition. 3. Sanguinary Guard and Death Company don't have unit champions to accept challenges, so if you attach a character to either of these units, make sure that character is equipped to face any challenge (lost a sanguinary priest to this problem far too early in a game). I know some/most/all of this stuff might not make sense to you now, but once you start understanding the basics of the game and our units, this stuff will make far more sense. Last piece of advice that works for any game system, is play what you think is cool. Any unit choice, no matter how inefficient it may seem can work well in a game. So pick what you like best and take it from there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildrcheese Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 I'm going to throw an alterative Tac squad load out that has a shooty load out. 10 Man, Lascannon, Plasma Gun, Combi plas on the sgt. Las/plas Razorback. Combat squad the unit, leave 5 dudes one with the Las sitting on an objective in your deployment zone. The other 5 jump in the razorback. With our vehicles being fast we can move 12" and fire 2 weapons at full BS. This unit is a good little delivery system for some ap2 firepower and the bolters synergise well with the plas (both Rapid Fire, 24" range). Flamers ate good but all that ap2 will put a serious sent in MEQ/TEQ and can offers you some anti tank options. Good luck and welcome to the Blood Angels! D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.