Crusade with Blood Angels?

[Jolemai]

A nearby club is considering running a narrative campaign using the Nachmund Gauntlet Crusade rules. Having never used the Crusade rules, what are the tips, tricks, and pitfalls for using a BA force?

[N1SB]

Brother Jolemai, sorry for late reply, was swept up with Warhammer Preview Fever.

 

Deliberately keeping this short & sweet, because I think the more I say, the more confusing it can be.

 

Summary: every Crusade campaign is its own meta, and the Nachmund Gauntlet's meta is Deep Strike/Jump Pack units...so BA is pretty good!

 

 

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We'll get to very practical tips & tricks, but 1st, a summary of Crusade in 10th ed.

 

It sounds like you already twigged Crusade even without playing it, yes, it is like a RPG mode, your units "level up" with Battle Traits like Anti-Monster, your characters can get Relics.  You might already be thinking in terms of RPG character creation, like min-maxing certain stats, etc.  Turns out, every campaign's different now.

 

I was in our store's Leviathan and then Pariah Nexus campaigns.  VERY different.  I remember Leviathan was very easy to get Anti-Monster Battle Traits (everyone did because Nidzillas), then it was a COMPLETELY different set of stuff for Pariah Nexus.  It's not like 1 D&D setting to another, it's like D&D vs. Pathfinder.

 

So it's a very nuanced issue, BUT!  But Nachmund Gauntlet is pretty obviously quite skewed about Deep Strike and/or Jump Pack units.

 

 

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So now, an overview of Nachmund Gauntlet.  There's a tricky bit, but it happens BA is probably one of the best at it.

 

Nachmund Gauntlet requires you to split your army, to deploy in Waves.  It's like 1000 pts are deployed, then an additional 500 pts, then the final 500 pts.  Yes, it's kinda like any number of Necromunda missions where you gotta split up your gangers to come in from different parts of the map, etc.

 

Welp...this condition basically creates a meta that favours Deep Strike and/or Jump Pack units, doesn't it.

 

Remember how I mentioned the Leviathan campaign made it easy to get Anti-Monster Battle Traits.  Battle Traits are usually arranged in tables, like there's a set of them for Infantry, a different set for Vehicles, another for Characters, sometimes yet another for Psykers...who are also usually characters, so they can pick.

 

Nachmund Gauntlet has a table for Deep Strikers AND another table for Jump Pack units.  Brother Jolemai...you are so set.

 

 

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With that, here's the practical tips & tricks, because now you see they're tools to work this meta.

 

So with Nachmund Gauntlet in general, I'm thinking 1 big blob of Deep Strike/Jump Pack unit, MAX SIZE.  Max size because usually 1 unit levels up a Battle Trait at a time, so every model gets it.  I haven't been keeping up with the Balance Dataslates for BA, but I'm guessing it's your bajillion Death Company guys.

 

Those guys will be your star unit, your signature unit, that's what you'll be known for, that takes advantage of Nachmund Gauntlet rules.  You pretty much decide who gets experience points each battle, and you basically get your 1st Battle Trait after your 1st battle, it'll be on whomever you choose.

 

(I've been playing Necrons, my obvious unit to level up was a Transcendant C'tan, very tough, lots of Attacks, great to buff.)

 

Then you do like a normal 40k army for standard 10th ed Matched Play.  I think I'd spam Scouts just as Action Troops and because 10th ed is Monster/Vehicle-heavy, you bring your Dreadnoughts.  I compared Crusade campaigns to D&D vs. Pathfinder, and it's still apt here, because you still kinda play the same way.

 

By this time you got your Deep Strike/Jump Pack unit, then your standard 10th ed type of list, now ADD MOAR DEEP STRIKE/JUMP PACK!  We were just covering bases, everything we got left we dedicate for this Deep Strike/Jump Pack-friendly meta.  More Death Company?  Maybe Land Speeders?  I dunno.

 

You know better than I do as a BA player, but you see why I spent time laying out the meta?  That's what you're playing AGAINST, therefore.

 

 

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The above is basically the meat of it, this bit is just dessert, little tidbits, not important, not a conclusion.

 

Special shout-out: Librarian Dreadnought, maybe.

 

I didn't notice anything for Nachmund Gauntlet, and are Libby Dreads Legends now?  But a good/smart/funny friend was playing Lamenters and used one.  The Libby Dread, unique among you guys, could draw from both Psyker and Vehicle or Walker, etc.  He did some crazy Battle Traits combo...so maybe remember your Libby Dread.

 

Very special shout-out: your Epic characters, probably Mephiston?

 

It used to be you can't "level up" Epic, named famous characters.  That's why I used a Transcendent C'tan, she's NOT Epic, but still a star god.  You're supposed to make your own RPG characters.  However, Nachmund Gauntlet has special rules allowing you to rank up Epic characters now.  That's new.  Dunno if it's good.

 

Final shout-out: ask Brother Penitent One, he doesn't play Crusade competitively as it's not for that, but he knows more than all of us.

 

But this is fun, it's hilarious, Crusade is like...what I wanted ever since 1st ed.  It's just a structured RPG.

Edited 3 hours ago by N1SB

[Jolemai]

Thanks, that's given me a few things to think about.