Unit of the Week: Captain

[Jolemai]

Welcome to part three of the Blood Angels Unit of the Week Series!

Following the release of the 8^th edition Codex, there is no better time to discuss all the units we have access to. Each week a different unit will appear, with the idea being that we discuss how best to use that model on the battlefield. Where part one will focus on the unique BA units and part two will focus on BA units that are new to this edition of the Codex, part three will discuss how to get the best use the generic units from the past that are still with us (and that many of us have in our armies still).

Note, this isn't to lament any nerfs, etc, from previous editions; the rules are as they are so try to unlock its potential for those who wish to use them all the same. Similarly, this thread is only for using the option being discussed; it matters not if you feel something is a better choice as such comments aren't constructive to the topic and shall be removed.

Without further ado, here's this week's entry:

Captain

What are you thoughts here folks? How best would you use an Captain?

• To compliment a list, or to build a list around? Will the beta rules affect your list(s)?
• Will you be running multiple units?
• Footslog, jump pack, or transport? Suitable for Warlord duties?
• What weapons and equipment are you taking and does the above affect how you run them?
• Are you using Jump Pack Assault and how are you using Rites of Battle effectively?
• Are you buffing this unit? If so, how?
• Stratagems of note?

Over to you

Nb: Please note that TDA Captain, Cataphractii Captain, Primaris Captain, and Gravis Captain will be covered on a separate entry.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Jolemai

[Jolemai]

Should you want your model on display here (or on another thread from the series), then submit a photo here please.

[Karhedron]

Captain Smash is a well-loved build for a reason so I won't revisit all the strengths here.

What I would say is that this build is probably the best one, even if you don't plan to pump him full of CPs and throw him at the enemy. BAs favour a mobile style of play and an HQ who can keep up with this is vital, he can move around to buff the squads that need his support.

I am quite a fan of Inceptors and a Jump Captain works well with them. In fact I would go so far as to say he is mandatory if you are running plasma Inceptors as you need those rerolled 1s to get the mileage out of their overcharge without excessive risk. The Inceptors also protect the Captain from being targetted. Should a threatening target or a good opportunity arise, the Captain can always split off to assault it. Artisan of War is popular but I often take Gift of Foresight instead, particularly if you are fighting against more shooty opponents where AoW is overkill. A 5+++ with rerollable 1s on top of the 3++ from his Stormshield makes him very durable indeed which is handy if your opponent tries to gun down your Captain after he has completed his glorious charge.

Now there are a couple of situation where it may be better to leave the codex captain at home. If you are looking to buff static-ish firebase, I believe that Captain Tycho offers great utility and a 2+ save for just a couple of points more than a regular foot Captain. I am quite keen on the idea of Tycho (or a foot Captain) buffing a big squad of Hellblasters with an Ancient with the Standard of Sacrifice (and possibly even an Apothecary). Formidable amounts of firepower and very annoying to shift.

 

If you are running a big squad of Sanguinary Guard, they just need a Warlord rather than the rerolls a Captain provides so this is another occasion where other HQs may give you more mileage than a Captain.

But overall, a Captain is a great unit for us and I would always recommend taking one outside of a few specific situations.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Karhedronuk

[Dont-Be-Haten]

So my 2nd Company Captain is Elijah Gair.

 

He sports a Relic Blade, and storm bolter on foot.

 

I usually give him Soul Warden or Artisans. He's a great multi use/utility character who has only gotten better thanks to the new Bolter Beta rule.

[Hintzy]

I can't make an argument for the competitiveness of it, but I find Captain Slash (rather than smash) to be enjoyable.

 

That's what I call a Captain with two lightning claws. 5 attacks, 6 with DVoS, hitting on 2's re-rolling 1's, re-rolling all wounds, with -2 AP. Add Artisan of War to make the attacks two damage each and he becomes quite a threat to squads of elite infantry.

 

Without a Storm Shield he's not as durable as the classic Captain Smash but he's also likely less of a priority target as he doesn't threaten the same big targets.

 

Fun in the very least.

[Paladin777]

I agree with the captain slash being good fun! With Artisan he also becomes a pretty nasty Assassin. I was sorry I took gift of foresight on him last time. If he had artisan he would have one-shot a broodlord without the lord’ being able to swing back at all.

[Arkaniss]

It's cropped up a few times already but yeah, I really like Artisan of War. Makes any weapon that little bit more damaging which I've found has made a difference most of the time. I like my jump pack Captain with a Relic Blade - he's not too expensive but he does his job very well. He adds a lot to another assault unit by sheer combat prowess as well as his re-rolls.

 

On foot he's more of a support/counter assault but again he does a job there. Sometimes I like to run him with a Thunder Hammer and Artisan of War... it has really ruined a lot of peoples day

[Jolemai]

Whilst I'm not about to create another thread on it, it could be said that this entry can be split into Captain Smash and not Captain Smash, however, there is a wealth of other builds to choose from according to the following thread:

 

Captain Builds

 

Meanwhile, I make use of a barebones Captain who (in my 2k list) sits with my Devastators to buff and occasionally, protect them. He is often my Veritas Vitae caddy too. Normally he has a chainsword (I love the extra attack) but on occasion he has a power weapon if points allow. I find this setup decent enough as he does his job through the buffs, but given my threat is often elsewhere, perhaps I could try making him Warlord? If so, what would be a good Warlord Trait (my Devastators are five man squads so they aren't going to run off) and is it worth it to attempt to get off an Orbital Strike for extra mortal wounds (the criteria here is line of sight but he can't move).

[Paladin777]

The only warlord I might suggest for that particular use might be the 6 inch heroic intervention, that is assuming you equip him with a power weapon of some form. Might make for a nasty surprise for some trying to shift the devastator‘s.

[Karhedron]

Meanwhile, I make use of a barebones Captain who (in my 2k list) sits with my Devastators to buff and occasionally, protect them. He is often my Veritas Vitae caddy too. Normally he has a chainsword (I love the extra attack) but on occasion he has a power weapon if points allow. I find this setup decent enough as he does his job through the buffs, but given my threat is often elsewhere, perhaps I could try making him Warlord? If so, what would be a good Warlord Trait (my Devastators are five man squads so they aren't going to run off) and is it worth it to attempt to get off an Orbital Strike for extra mortal wounds (the criteria here is line of sight but he can't move).

I frequently run a light Lieutenant on Dev buffing duties but I can see the appeal of a Captain if you are running any plasma. A power sword is normally cheap enough to throw on him at 4 pts just in case any enemies get too close. Given the new Bolter Discipline rules, I would say there is a good case for a Stormbolter or MC bolter since he will be standing still quite a lot of the time. For a couple of points, it is a decent bit of extra firepower.

 

For Warlord traits, Artisan of War can be fun if you have bought him a better Boltgun. Suddenly that Stormbolter is getting 4 shots with 2D all the way out to 24" and the MC bolter is getting 3 damage! The other useful possibility is "Soul Warden" as cutting down on the opponent's psychic trickery is handy (if situational).

[Panzer]

I honestly think a split between smash captain and not-smash captain is unnecessary.
TH/SS is the best loadout for captains in any Codex unless they have specific relics and the smash captain build is more about how much CP you feed him. Is a Smash Captain suddenly not a Smash Captain anymore if you don't give him the relic jump pack? If you give him a combi-melta instead of a stormshield? Is it Artisan of War? No, it's really just all the Stratagems used on the strongest loadout in general.

That brings me to the next point. It makes imo only little sense to equip him with other melee weapons unless you really want to save points.
- Powerfists are budget Thunderhammers.
- Relic blades strike a nice balance between hitting better but with less oomph compared to the fist while still wounding most infantry on 2+ but you lack the option to take a shield alongside it.
- regular power weapons are just generally lacking due either sacrificing strength or AP but also due the D1 stat
- Dual Claws increase your damage output against infantry only minimally compared the top 3 but is a lot weaker against tougher targets and also sacrifices your option to take a sidearm or shield

Now I don't believe in keeping a Captain cheap if you don't really have to. You don't save a whole lot of points but you sacrifice your potentially best beatstick in your army. And it doesn't matter his role even.
If you want to push him towards your opponent to support the rest of the army, he'll eventually end up in melee.
If you leave him behind to stay with your gunline he can act still act as mean counter assault unit for either if your opponent breaks through to them or drops reserves nearby ... or, and here's the really neat thing about being BA and why even such a Captain should have a Jump Pack, if nothing is threatening your gunline or if it got shot to bits you can just re-deploy him via Stratagem and ruin an enemys day by either punching some faces (helpfully supported by the 3d6 charge Stratagem) or by claiming an unprotected objective/linebreaker.

 

 

EDIT: cleaning up early-morning-mobile typos ... I really need a proofreader for such situations

Edited February 6, 2019 by sfPanzer

[Jolemai]

On the flip side, I run two Smash variants depending on my list. In my 1250 list I run one with a relic blade and in my 2k list I opt for a thunder hammer. Both are Warlord with AoW, both have a ranged weapon (usually the mcbg but my 2k one has occasionally taken an inferno pistol), both have Angel's Wing.

• I've tried Forlorn Fury when I have first turn, and I've tried UWoF on targets of opportunity throughout the game (often with DoA on top of this) - whilst he does the damage to the target, he is then countered hard as I've over-extended...
• I've tried having him roll up a flank - he's shot to bits...
• I've tried having him support the forward elements (i.e mass Scouts) - he's shot to bits once the chaff has been cleared...
• I've tried running him in tandem with another character - and that character has the Angel's Wing to eat overwatch. I'm sure you can see the problems there when the AW guy gets in and the heavy hitter(s) don't...

Seems like I really struggle to use them despite getting decent numbers/killing something hard. I'm not after redundancy, more after support and synergy. Ideas? I guess he needs a storm shield if I'm using him in this manner?

 

 

*** *** ***

 

 

Oh, and he's always got a bolt pistol. Remember it!

Edited February 5, 2019 by Jolemai

[Thoridon]

I actually haven't used a 'Captain Smash' yet. I have a DC Captain conversion in progress for the TH/SS build but I need to paint it up first.

 

I often use a JP Captain with TH and Combi-Melta to drop in from deep strike with an assault squad or two with special weapons. His role is to give them rerolls on the drop (especially when I use the plasma squad), try to strip some extra wounds with his own melta and then see if he can make a charge to finish off whichever target they dropped in next to with his hammer. I usually give him the Angel's Wing for this role, to reroll a failed charge and avoid overwatch. After the initial drop turn he can then use his jump pack to move on to the next target with his supportng squad(s) and ideally get within 9" for easier charges.

 

I'd say he's had good and bad games. Some games the melta shots work, he makes his charge, kills stuff and can keep moving on. Other games he (and the assault marines) will drop in, fail horribly with shooting, fail charges and get killed on the opponent's next turn. I certainly like the build, but the melta especially I need to see more as a bonus than reliable damage as a single shot weapon.

 

It's actually been a long time since I ran a Captain on foot but I do have one with a Relic Blade and Storm Bolter to finish painting up as part of a fire base, for rerolling 1s and counter-charge.

[Jolemai]

I honestly think a split between smash captain and not-smash captain is unnecessary.

TH/SS is the best loadout for captains in any Codex unless they have specific relics and the smash captain build is more about how much CP you feed him. Is a Smash Captain suddenly not a Smash Captain anymore if you don't give him the relic jump pack? If you give him a combi-melta instead of a stormshield? Is it Artisan of War? No, it's really just all the Stratagems used on the strongest loadout in general.

 

That brings me to the next point. It does't make imo only little sense to equip him with other melee weapons unless you really want to save points.

- Powerfists are budget Thunderhammers.

- Relic blades strike a nice balance between hitting better but with less oomph compared to the fist while still wounding most infantry on 2+ but you lack the option to take a shielf alongside it.

- regular power weapons are just generally lacking due either sacrificing strength or AP but also due the D1 stat

- Dual Claws increase your damage output against infantry only minimal compared the top 3 but is a lot weaker against tougher targets and also sacrifices your option to take a sidearm or shield

 

Now I don't believe in keeping a Captain cheap if you don't really have to. You don't save a whole lot of points but you sacrifice your potentially best beatstick in your army. And it doesn't matter his role even.

If you want to push him towards your opponent to support the rest of the arny, he'll eventually end up in melee.

If you leave him behind to stay with your gunline he can act still act as mean counter assault unit for either if your opponent breaks through to them or drops reserves nearby ... or, and here's the really neat thing about being BA and why even such a Captain should have a Jump Pack, if nothing is threatening your gunline or if it got shot to bits you can just re-deploy him via Stratagem and ruin an enemys day by either punching some faces (helpfully supported by the 3d6 charge Stratagem) or by claiming an unprotected objective/linebreaker.

 

I find this to be a really interesting alternative view point :tu:

 

I consider Captain Smash to be a build that takes everything into account, but there are variants (such as where I use a relic blade in smaller games or a gun). Pretty much any Captain with a jump pack has the potential tbh.

[Karhedron]

Seems like I really struggle to use them despite getting decent numbers/killing something hard. I'm not after redundancy, more after support and synergy. Ideas? I guess he needs a storm shield if I'm using him in this manner?

Storm Shield does make a big difference although even that does not help you from getting shredded by small arms fire. Stacking Gift of Foresight with DVOS does help him hang around quite a bit longer though.

 

I have taken to running my Smash Captain with Inceptors for the first turn or two until I am ready to commit him to melee. They really benefit from his reroll buff (particularly the plasma version). They are also tough enough (2W, T5, 3+) that they require some effort to remove (unlike Scouts).

 

I don't have an issue with my Captain not surviving the battle, unless giving up Slay the Warlord turns out to be crucial. You could even argue it is thematic if he is succumbing to the Black Rage. What matters more in my experience is making a good exchange. Captain Smash excels at taking out lynchpin units that your army may struggle with otherwise, particularly Knights. If he takes a unit that is going to cause the rest of your army problems or creates a gap that the rest of your army can exploit then losing a 124-point model to do it seems a tolerable sacrifice in most cases.

 

Sometimes even the distraction he causes can be worth the points. In a recent battle against Tau, I FF'ed him up one flank to attack some Battlesuits. Several units turned to fire on him which allowed the rest of my army to advance much more safely as my opponent just wasn't willing to let him rampage through his lines.

[Thoridon]

I've considered Captain Smash to be the full build using Death Visions. Without that it's more Smash-Light.

 

I certainly lean towards a decent melee weapon. A hammer is clearly optimal if you can afford it as the flat 3 damage is fantastic. The D3 damage on a fist or relic blade can be frustratingly unreliable as my sanguinary guard will attest but I still feel they're much better than just using a power sword. Anything with 1 damage feels like a waste on a Captain to me when the model is not exactly cheap barebones compared to buffing units in many other armies. The small extra outlay for a fist or relic blade still makes him a bigger threat against tough targets if needed if not going all the way for a hammer.

[Brother Crimson]

the jump pack captain is the best unit in the codex.

 

1-He have strong synergy with many stratagems in the book, red rampage, honour the chapter, wing of fire, forlord fury, death visons, descent of angels, extra relics. No other unit can make use of BA codex as well as the captain with JP.

 

2- He mixes well with allies. You have good use for guards chunck of CP with the stratagems. He can be buffed by space marines librarian with might of heroes or veil of time or be mixed with wolves or dark angels to force opponents to fight last. You can make him warlord send it on suicide mission and shoulder the mantle to a custodes when he dies. I’m sure I forgot a few but there is a reason a lot of non BA player just takes some captains to throw it in their lists.

 

3- It’s a very mobile for multiplier. I know this one is obvious but I feel blood angels are good for mobile assault or shooting with vanguard vets or bikes / inceptors etc.

 

Personally I like to field at least two of them TH/SS in my BA brigade with deathwatch allies. Ideally the charging captain would be buffed by death vision+ might of heroes and unleash rage with red rampage for 5+2+D3 attacks on the charge. I usually start at least one captain on the table to roll with the scout bikes and I have found they synergies well. The scout bikes are very good at clearing screens and they can carve a way for the captain to hit high value targets.

[Xenith]

I think the most important question regarding captains is whether you paint yours red or gold?

[Panzer]

I think the most important question regarding captains is whether you paint yours red or gold?

 

Silver in my case. :teehee:

[Brother Crimson]

I think the most important question regarding captains is whether you paint yours red or gold?

Rule of three one gold one red one black :)

[Slothysaur]

I think the most important question regarding captains is whether you paint yours red or gold?

Gold, though I see him as more of my Chapter Master without the full rerolls...

[Arkaniss]

Red for me. Gold is for the Sanguinor, Tycho and Dante :tu:

 

Though if I ever kit bashed a Captain out of Sanguinary Guard bits... that would make me have to stop and think

[Thoridon]

I go red with plenty of gold trimmings.

[dread05]

Captains are all red apart from one who's in death company colours. I dont really like captains painted gold and being more blingy than Sanguinary Guard.

[CaptainHelion]

I'm quite interested in the idea of a backfield Captain, babysitting some devs, and providing a backfield threat. What do you folk think about equipping such a character?