Hellblaster loadout: returning to BA after a few year

[slowclinic]

Hi all,

 

I've been out of 40k for a while; played a few games with my Guard army shortly after 8th dropped, and then life got busy. I was given a GW voucher for Christmas, and picked up the new BA codex along with a box of the BA Hellblasters. I really like the models, above all else, and I'm aware of the mathammer against Devs. I currently have a Terminator Captain and will be running him for the re-roll 1s aura until I pick up something a little more suited. 

 

What would be the best way to equip and run a 10-man Hellblaster squad? I wasn't planning on combat-squadding the unit, but it's an option if it works better.

 

In addition, the rest of the army units I'm wanting to field include a Libby Dread, Jump pack Libby, Jump Pack Chaplain, DC/SG Squads, Furioso/DC Dreads, Melta ASM, and an Auto-Las Predator. 

[Karhedron]

Putting them in a Repulsor to protect them from alpha strikes if you do not get Turn 1 might be a good idea.

 

Running them with a Captain to reroll 1s is a must (as you have already spotted). 2 other units work really well with this combo and they are a Sanguinary Novitiate and an Ancient (regular or Primaris) with the Standard of Sacrifice. The Ancient allows a slain model to get an extra shot on a 4+ which will make it sting a bit more when the enemy kill any (or they blow themselves up when overcharging). The Standard of Sacrifice allows the squad to ignore wounds on a 5+ which ignores armour save mods and makes the whole lot quite a bit harder to shift.

 

Lastly the Sanguinary Novitiate can heal wounded models or even resurrect slain models on a 4+ which is really handy. This combo is fairly pricey but probably worth it as Hellblasters are more offensive than defensive so tend to be a priority target. Anything that helps them last longer is a good idea. Make your opponent waste as much firepower as possible.

[Panzer]

All Rapid Fire since the Assault and the Heavy variant are simply not worth it and in a Repulsor to protect them from the opponents Alpha Strike....which means you need other armor as well or else he'll simply blow up your Repulsor turn 1 anyway.

Add a Captain and maybe an Ancient with relic banner to them as well. Taking Hellblaster is always an expensive investment no matter what you do so you want to protect them as good as possible and make that investment worthwhile.

[Aothaine]

The others pretty much covered how you load them out. Another option you have is threat saturation. Running five units of 10-man Helblasters with the Hammer Pants Captain and Librarian with jp relic and force axe. Might even have enough points left for a scout squad. But still... 50 Hellblasters will terrorize your opponent. It won't be fun to play or play against though. They'll also mulch most things in close combat due to Red Thirst.

[slowclinic]

Straight to the point, thanks all! I couldn't see myself running an entire Hellblaster army as I'm too fond of the units unique to Blood Angels, although I wouldn't say no to running 2-3 Hellblaster squads in the future. Interesting that a transport is deemed so valuable; my limited experience running some mechanised Guard units was that disembarking prior to the vehicle moving completely dulled their effectiveness. 

 

I'll field one squad in my next game and see how they play out alongside the Captain and Librarian.

 

Thanks again!

[brother_b]

What's wrong with the Devs mathammer wise?

[Aothaine]

Straight to the point, thanks all! I couldn't see myself running an entire Hellblaster army as I'm too fond of the units unique to Blood Angels, although I wouldn't say no to running 2-3 Hellblaster squads in the future. Interesting that a transport is deemed so valuable; my limited experience running some mechanised Guard units was that disembarking prior to the vehicle moving completely dulled their effectiveness. 

 

I'll field one squad in my next game and see how they play out alongside the Captain and Librarian.

 

Thanks again!

 

Yeah the issue that Hellblasters have is that they are so good at what they do that your opponent will focus them down first. Unless they have not experienced hell yet. It usually only takes one game for opponents to realize that Hellblasters are a massive threat.

What's wrong with the Devs mathammer wise?

 

Nothing really. Devs are awesome. The post was just about Hellblasters.

[Pathstrider]

What's wrong with the assault version? I would have thought the ability get two shots at 24 would be well worth it

[slowclinic]

What's wrong with the Devs mathammer wise?

Nothing, the Devs are equal if not better. I'm not a competitive player, and simply love the look of the Hellblaster models. 

What's wrong with the assault version? I would have thought the ability get two shots at 24 would be well worth it

This was one of my thoughts, given that the risk of overcharging could be negated by having a Captain nearby. Tactically, I'd be much happier keeping then back as the rest of my BA units are all about getting up and close.

[Panzer]

What's wrong with the assault version? I would have thought the ability get two shots at 24 would be well worth it

The lower strength which means you won't wound T4 on 2+ anymore with the overcharged profile.

[Pathstrider]

That's nice, but is it that valuable? If I'm over 15" then two shots is better anyway, and thats a minor differences at under 15".

 

And depending on the target I might not want to over charge anyway - don't need the extra wound against marines for example.

[Paladin777]

The difference between wounding on 2+ and 3+ is quite a bit. Plus s8 means wounding light and medium tanks on 3+ and heavy tanks on 4+ vs 4+ and 5+ respectively. That makes them quite a bit more versatile.

[Pathstrider]

The way I see it is it's going to come down to usage - my thinking is there are going to be more times where the assault version is going to get the extra shot, either because I don't want to get within 15" of something or because I can't.

 

In those cases the extra shot counts more than the extra strength. Hence my preference for the assault version.

[slowclinic]

The way I see it is it's going to come down to usage - my thinking is there are going to be more times where the assault version is going to get the extra shot, either because I don't want to get within 15" of something or because I can't.

 

In those cases the extra shot counts more than the extra strength. Hence my preference for the assault version.

I suppose it depends on how you intend on running them too. I'm putting the squad in for a local GW painting competition, and will be painting the marines without their weapons fixed for the extra detail. I could proxy both load outs and report back with my findings, although I don't think I'll get enough games down in such a short space of time.

[Panzer]

It also depends on your opponents. I don't see me being able to keep the enemy more than 15“ away all the time unless I'm play against AM and within 15“ the Rapid fire variant is obviously superior.

[slowclinic]

It also depends on your opponents. I don't see me being able to keep the enemy more than 15“ away all the time unless I'm play against AM and within 15“ the Rapid fire variant is obviously superior.

Like most local metas, it's very Marine heavy where I am. I guess the default loadout prevails here!

[Karhedron]

The only place where the assault variant is better is between 15-24". Closer than 15" the RF version has more firepower, over 24"and the assault version is out of range. As others have noted, the difference between S6/7 and S7/8 is significant against T4 and T7/T8 which is a lot of common targets.

 

I always take the RF version and have never regretted it.

 

The other thing to remember is that the -1 to hit if you Advance and shoot with the Assault version makes Overcharging very risky, even with a Captain nearby. Not worth it IMHO.

[Pathstrider]

It also depends on your opponents. I don't see me being able to keep the enemy more than 15“ away all the time unless I'm play against AM and within 15“ the Rapid fire variant is obviously superior.

This is the choice, where you think you'll be operating on the board.

 

To be clear, I'm not arguing that the assault variant is clearly superior - but I think it is close between the two depending on your usage. I think GW have done a pretty good job making the choice not automatic for the assault vs rapid fire. Shame about the heavy version - I do wonder if it'd be different if the heavy variant did 2 wounds on standard shot.

 

The other thing to remember is that the -1 to hit if you Advance and shoot with the Assault version makes Overcharging very risky, even with a Captain nearby. Not worth it IMHO.

Yeah, I'd never advance and fire even with the assault variant.

[Panzer]

 

 Shame about the heavy version - I do wonder if it'd be different if the heavy variant did 2 wounds on standard shot.

The interesting profile would be the overcharged one anyway for the S9. For example with Dark Angels I'd take one unit of Heavy Hellblaster in an all-primaris army since they can buff the damage via Stratagem which would be 3 damage on the overcharged profile making them basically a more reliable Lascannon with better AP.

Edited December 29, 2017 by sfPanzer

[MeltaRange]

The assault version works very well for me. So versatile. Assault 24" is extremely good.