BA tactics and list building

[Kappel]

Hi all

 

First happy new year to everyone.

 

Secondly I want to share my recently finished version of the new Mephiston model:

 

http://www.runekappel.com//Filer/figurer/BA/Mephiston.jpg

 

 

Thirdly a couple of experiences I have made so far, in a very competitive environment, concerning the new Blood Angels. 

 

1. Lists and general strategy: If you wish to create the most horribly, nasty lists with BA, my experience so far (not a big surprise), is that you have to go all in on trying to open you opponents screen, and then hitting him hard with big squads of Death Company that kills something important, and then wrap and traps something. Rinse and repeat if necessary. This means that you need a lot of CP, a lot of Death Company, and hefty character support. My current list evolves around two battalions and a vanguard detachment, 2x15 DC, Lemartes/Astorath/Mephiston/Smash Captain. 2 of my troop choices are 6 man Intercessor squads with thunder hammers that each sits in a impulsor with shield domes. 
2. Deployment and plan: I typical deepstrike the DC, Lemartes, and some of the characters. If I can hide a DC in terrain and my opponent has no indirect fire, I will put 1 squad on the table, to open up for forlorn fury. 
3. On turn one I try to open a flank with my impulsors, characters, and intercessors that is on the table. I also try to position my impulsors so that they can eat overwatch, if necessary. I also try to put characters in a position, where they can clean up the stuff that the DC charges next turn. This will free them to have potentially even more direct pile in and consolidate moves, towards the thing, that I need to wrap. 
4. On turn two, I do everything I can to get canticle of hate off, and move Astorath to a place, where he can buff the deep striking DC and Lemartes. Then I try to destroy key units, and wrap something to protect my DC. Blood Angels can move insane distances in the fight/charge phase now. I also take care to protect my characters at this stage against snipers and hard hitting melee characters. They are often at this point very close to the enemy lines, but with the DC wrapping something ahead of them, protected from shooting. And in the next turn, they can really wreak havoc. 
5. Next turn the second DC comes in, and with the characters, usually takes out so much of my opponents army, that the game is tilting very favorable in my favour from this turn on.

I have only played a handfull of games so far, but against very hard lists (Marines, Tau, Eldar), piloted by very skilled players. No losses so far. 

 

The combination of the DC + litanies + impulsors now, is making the Blood Angels really frightening I think. It is a very binary way to play unfortunately. But I think it is probably the way to go, if you wanna win games.

 

Cheers  - Rune 

 

[Neuralshock]

Have you been playing ITC or book missions?

 

I've been practicing in the ITC format and I've been having pretty good success supercharging a big squad of powerfist sang guard with bonuses to attack from unleash rage and the sanguinor. With Astorath giving them +1 to hit and exploding 6's and a warlord ancient giving them full rerolls they'll punch their way through pretty much anything.

 

Paired with the standard of sacrifice and a priest with reroll charges, it's a pretty spicy deathball

[Majkhel]

Nice grimdark Mephy! Salutes to your brushwork!

What's your preferred loadout on the DC?

[Kappel]

Have you been playing ITC or book missions?

 

I've been practicing in the ITC format and I've been having pretty good success supercharging a big squad of powerfist sang guard with bonuses to attack from unleash rage and the sanguinor. With Astorath giving them +1 to hit and exploding 6's and a warlord ancient giving them full rerolls they'll punch their way through pretty much anything.

 

Paired with the standard of sacrifice and a priest with reroll charges, it's a pretty spicy deathball

Oh yeah - didn’t mention the format. I am playing ETC missions primarily. I was at the ETC representing DK this august (we got 5th), so I am mostly focusing on that format. Playing with other guys from the team.

 

My loadout currently on the DC is 2 hammers in one, 4 in the other. Rest Boltguns/chainswords.

 

- Rune

Edited December 31, 2019 by Kappel

[Neuralshock]

 

Have you been playing ITC or book missions?

 

I've been practicing in the ITC format and I've been having pretty good success supercharging a big squad of powerfist sang guard with bonuses to attack from unleash rage and the sanguinor. With Astorath giving them +1 to hit and exploding 6's and a warlord ancient giving them full rerolls they'll punch their way through pretty much anything.

 

Paired with the standard of sacrifice and a priest with reroll charges, it's a pretty spicy deathball

Oh yeah - didn’t mention the format. I am playing ETC missions primarily. I was at the ETC representing DK this august (we got 5th), so I am mostly focusing on that format. Playing with other guys from the team.

 

My loadout currently on the DC is 2 hammers in one, 4 in the other. Rest Boltguns/chainswords.

 

- Rune

That's cool! Don't know too much about ETC format, but I take it your running a skew list to chew hordes?

 

My Super Sanguinary Seven (or 8) were mostly an accident, and then I wanted to see if I could literally punch through the ablative wounds on a riptide/broadside. Short answer is... Yes, yes I can

 

Punched clean through a squad of blightlords too

Edited December 31, 2019 by Neuralshock

[Dont-Be-Haten]

 

 

Have you been playing ITC or book missions?

 

I've been practicing in the ITC format and I've been having pretty good success supercharging a big squad of powerfist sang guard with bonuses to attack from unleash rage and the sanguinor. With Astorath giving them +1 to hit and exploding 6's and a warlord ancient giving them full rerolls they'll punch their way through pretty much anything.

 

Paired with the standard of sacrifice and a priest with reroll charges, it's a pretty spicy deathball

Oh yeah - didn’t mention the format. I am playing ETC missions primarily. I was at the ETC representing DK this august (we got 5th), so I am mostly focusing on that format. Playing with other guys from the team.

 

My loadout currently on the DC is 2 hammers in one, 4 in the other. Rest Boltguns/chainswords.

 

- Rune

That's cool! Don't know too much about ETC format, but I take it your running a skew list to chew hordes?

 

My Super Sanguinary Seven (or 8) were mostly an accident, and then I wanted to see if I could literally punch through the ablative wounds on a riptide/broadside. Short answer is... Yes, yes I can

 

Punched clean through a squad of blightlords too

ETC is the equivalent to ATC. You build a list to either force your opponent to counter, or you counter someone else. It's usually teams of 4 with no more than 1~2 armies being Astartes, imperium etc.

 

It's much different than solo playing in the sense that points are accumulated differently.

 

Usually you see more unorthodox lists in team championship series. At least for ATC anyway.

[Kappel]

 

 

 

Have you been playing ITC or book missions?

 

I've been practicing in the ITC format and I've been having pretty good success supercharging a big squad of powerfist sang guard with bonuses to attack from unleash rage and the sanguinor. With Astorath giving them +1 to hit and exploding 6's and a warlord ancient giving them full rerolls they'll punch their way through pretty much anything.

 

Paired with the standard of sacrifice and a priest with reroll charges, it's a pretty spicy deathball

Oh yeah - didn’t mention the format. I am playing ETC missions primarily. I was at the ETC representing DK this august (we got 5th), so I am mostly focusing on that format. Playing with other guys from the team.

 

My loadout currently on the DC is 2 hammers in one, 4 in the other. Rest Boltguns/chainswords.

 

- Rune

That's cool! Don't know too much about ETC format, but I take it your running a skew list to chew hordes?

 

My Super Sanguinary Seven (or 8) were mostly an accident, and then I wanted to see if I could literally punch through the ablative wounds on a riptide/broadside. Short answer is... Yes, yes I can

 

Punched clean through a squad of blightlords too

ETC is the equivalent to ATC. You build a list to either force your opponent to counter, or you counter someone else. It's usually teams of 4 with no more than 1~2 armies being Astartes, imperium etc.

 

It's much different than solo playing in the sense that points are accumulated differently.

 

Usually you see more unorthodox lists in team championship series. At least for ATC anyway.

In Denmark many single tournaments are etc format. So this list as of now is not solely intended for team tournaments.

 

I wanted to share it, because it performs.

 

How it would perform in ITC would have to be tested for more data. And it definitely has some very hard matchups. Tau with only drones and riptides would be almost impossible.

 

- Rune

[Neuralshock]

How it would perform in ITC would have to be tested for more data. And it definitely has some very hard matchups. Tau with only drones and riptides would be almost impossible.

 

- Rune

This is the reason for my sang guard list, pushing ~40 powerfist attacks with exploding 6's and full rerolls blows through about 20-30 drones and still can potentially kill the riptide

 

And then you pay 3 cp to fight again