Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Welcome to the new Dark Ages... everything old is new again

After a lot of playtesting this weekend and going to a tournament fielding 10 paladins and Draigo I started to think about how BA could adapt to continue to slug it out at the top.


This list was hatched after a bunch of tinkering and conversation with MBG, Kelsey Haley and Thomas Byrd.  I was fortunate enough to play several games with these guys while I was playtesting a couple of army lists getting ready for a tournament at Gigabytes on Sunday.

The list takes advantage of the recent FAQ rulings and should work something like this..

There are two pods in the list so if you are forced to go first you don't have to blow your wad too early. 

You land the Honor Guard somewhere safe but still in Plasmagun rage.  This gives you a priest aura mid to back field if you need it and makes sure you get one down to cover any troops that come in and protects you from rolling terrible with your other priests.

If you go second and there is a juicy target on the field then you bring in the Sternguard first and blow them in to next week.

Both of the Pods have beacons to better ensure you put your people exactly where you want them and allowing you to 'thread the needle' in a lot of situations.

In objective missions you can combat squad the Assault Troops and not lose much in the way of combat punch.  The new FAQ allows you to land the recently combat squaded troops in different locations really maximizing your objective controlling potential.

The Sternguard have 7 combi meltas and a power fist and the priest coming down with them has a combi melta and a lightning claw. I'd like to point out at the Sternguard have 2 attacks base so they are no slouch in combat.  So after they pop their combis they have the Special Ammo and their 2 attacks to fall back on in close combat. When you combine them aura from the Sanguinor they are as potent as any other Blood Angel assault element in combat.

The trick to beating deathstars is lots of powerful AP shots coming in at the same time from the same unit.  The HG and Sternguard both accomplish this.



The combi shots on average result in 2 dead paladins and a would allocated to draigo.
The 8 plasma shots spread around a fair amount of wounds to the unit and that puts them in a better position to be weakened more by bolt pistols or the Sanguinor charging in to wipe the floor.

Anyway.. you get the idea..  If an army can kill the Paladin super unit then it can kill a super unit in any army.

It is my experience that when you have an army that can effectively deal with 'super units' then it does pretty dern well against armies that aren't packing a super unit too.

I really like the Land Speeders in this list.  They are great for lending long range fire to your assault groups and there should be enough to shoot at in your list that your opponent either wastes shots on them and allows your more powerful elements to survive or you have them alive at the end of the game to be able to zoom over and contest objectives.

I've broken ranks in this list and not included Mephiston but fret not, true believers, it is just because I felt like trying a little something different.  I still think that monster is every bit as relevent today has he has been in the past.  I wanted to be able to start completely off the table if possible and I thought that the Fear of the Darkness power is a huge advantage against a lot of armies I see on the table tops today. (not that meph can't route a unit by himself).  I'll work on an alternate list tomorrow that does inclue my favorite Space Vampire.


2000 Pts - Blood Angels Roster - BA Sternguard Idea

Total Roster Cost: 2000

HQ: The Sanguinor, Exemplar of the Host (1#, 275 pts)
   1 The Sanguinor, Exemplar of the Host, 275 pts

HQ: Librarian in Power Armour (1#, 125 pts)
   1 Librarian in Power Armour, 125 pts = (base cost 100) + Jump Pack 25

Elite: Sternguard Veteran Squad (9#, 310 pts)
   7 Sternguard Veteran Squad, 210 pts = 7 * 25 (base cost 25) + Combi-Meltagun x7 35
      1 Sergeant, 55 pts = (base cost 25) + Combi-Meltagun 5 + Power Fist x1 25
      1 Drop Pod, 45 pts = (base cost 35) + Locator Beacon 10

: Honour Guard (6#, 235 pts)
   1 Honour Guard, 0 pts
      1 Sanguinary Novitiate, 23 pts
      1 Honour Guard, 38 pts = (base cost 23 + Plasma gun x1 15)
      1 Honour Guard, 38 pts = (base cost 23 + Plasma gun x1 15)
      1 Honour Guard, 38 pts = (base cost 23 + Plasma gun x1 15)
      1 Honour Guard, 53 pts = (base cost 23 + Plasma gun x1 15 + Lightning Claw x1 15)
      1 Drop Pod, 45 pts = (base cost 35) + Locator Beacon 10

Elite: Sanguinary Priest (2#, 150 pts)
   1 Sanguinary Priest, 0 pts
      1 Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour, 75 pts = (base cost 50 + Combi-Meltagun 10 + Lightning Claw 15)
      1 Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour, 75 pts = (base cost 50 + Jump Pack 25)

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   7 Assault Squad, 126 pts = 7 * 18
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun, 28 pts = (base cost 18 + Meltagun 10)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun, 28 pts = (base cost 18 + Meltagun 10)
      1 Sergeant, 53 pts = (base cost 28) + Power Fist x1 25

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   7 Assault Squad, 126 pts = 7 * 18
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun, 28 pts = (base cost 18 + Meltagun 10)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun, 28 pts = (base cost 18 + Meltagun 10)
      1 Sergeant, 53 pts = (base cost 28) + Power Fist x1 25

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   7 Assault Squad, 126 pts = 7 * 18
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun, 28 pts = (base cost 18 + Meltagun 10)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun, 28 pts = (base cost 18 + Meltagun 10)
      1 Sergeant, 53 pts = (base cost 28) + Power Fist x1 25

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (1#, 100 pts)
   1 Land Speeder Squadron, 100 pts = (base cost 50) + Multi-melta x1 10 + Typhoon Missile Launcher x1 40

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (1#, 100 pts)
   1 Land Speeder Squadron, 100 pts = (base cost 50) + Multi-melta x1 10 + Typhoon Missile Launcher x1 40

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