Blood Angels 6th Edition Tips, Tricks, and Winners

Here we are again, another blog post about everyone’s favorite 6th edition whipping boy the Blood Angels.   Like a beaten spouse I find myself returning to my beloved space vampires no matter how many times I get my shit kicked in.  They don’t mean it!  It’s not their fault their units are completely over-costed and under performing.  They’re just having a hard time and I won’t give up on them that easily.  The root problem at this time with the Blood Angels codex is that the units that they share with newer codices such as Codex: Space Marines and Dark Angels are dramatically more expensive than their newer counterparts.   Throw in some inane GW 6th edition updates such as making Commander Dante initiative 1 and Mephiston’s sword AP 3 and the play-ability of the army takes a further plunge down the 6th edition shit hole.

 But all is not lost.  The Blood Angels still have a lot of powerful units and combos that mesh well with the current tournament meta.  The key to winning with the Blood Angels is the play to their strengths.  You have to use their unique units and special rules.  Let’s take a quick look at the units and special rules that make the Blood Angels playable in the current edition.

Assault Squads in Drop Pods - Drop pod armies are all the rage with the recent release of Codex: Space Marines.  Did you know that Blood Angel assault squads get Drop Pods for free?  That’s real talk, son.  Take two special weapons and a storm shield on the sergeant and call it a day.

Baal Predators - What’s not to like about fast AV 13 tanks that spew molten death on any unit unfortunate enough to get in it’s way?  While many people lament the death of vehicles in 6th edition, many armies still struggle with AV 13 or above.  Take away the detrimental glancing chart from the 5th edition and the Baal Predators can continue to shit in your opponents face far longer into the game.  I like the standard load out of the twin-linked assault cannons with heavy bolter sponsons but the case can be made for the Flamestorm Cannon with heavy flamer sponsons.

Death Company - These crazy fuckers can still get the job done.  Throw them in a drop pod with a Chaplain and terrify your opponent.

Mephiston - This guy is still the ultimate bad ass.  An infantry sized monstrous creature, Mephiston can dominate an entire section of the battlefield by just doing what he do.  And what he do ain’t very nice.  He is incredibly fast even without his psychic wings and hits like a ton of bricks.   You really need to use him as a monstrous creature hunter and even with his AP3 sword if a Riptide fails one of his 2+ armor saves Mephiston can instant kill them.  Still good after all these years.

Brother Corbulo - I’ve started putting Brother Corbulo in almost every Blood Angel list that I write.  What he really excels at is being a tank with his 2+ Feel No Pain.  I like putting him in a drop pod with a Sternguard squad or running him with Assault Terminators.  His Far-Seeing Eye ability is also incredibly useful for it’s ability to kind of negate the random shit that can lose you the game.  He also gives any units within 6” Feel No Pain and Furious Charge.

Storm Ravens - Codex: Space Marines and Grey Knights get these but the Blood Angel’s Raven gets Blood Strike missiles which give them a leg up on flyer and vehicle hunting.

Fast Vindicators - Moving 12” and firing the Vindicator Cannon can really put the hurting on unsuspecting chump bitches.  Make sure to take a Storm Bolter and a Hunter Killer Missile to make it harder to take off the big gun.

Dreadnoughts - Blood Angels are the top dog when it comes to the sheer amount of Dreadnoughts they can field.  With the advent of hull points in the 6th edition dreadnoughts are slightly better with their overall damage output.

The trick to winning with the Blood Angels is to play to their strengths and use units that you can’t just get cheaper by playing newer, shinier marine codices.  A lot of people will try and tell you that assault is dead in the 6th edition. While it certainly has become harder to get into actual hand to hand combat, the fact is that the top tier armies at the moment completely break down when you get into them.  You have to over load them with your fast moving, hard hitting units.  Get Mephiston running up a flank while drop pods full of pissed off assault marines drop right into their fucking throats.

Blood Angels in the 6th edition work how they've always worked.  You hit the enemy hard right at the word go and you don’t stop until you've got your boot on their neck.

The Rise of Digital Ally Codices and Why They're a Good Thing

OH.MY.GOD. It's a positive topic today.  I've been known to rant and rave about the grave injustice to America that is Games Workshop, but with the unveiling of the upcoming Inquisition digital codex I am starting to see the gold corn in the shit pile that is 6th edition 40k.  I first caught wind about the Inquisition codex through the usual sources, mainly the cool dude over at Faeit 212.  Some of you might remember that at the beginning of 40k 6th edition there were a ton of rumors regarding allies and the limitless opportunities they represented in terms of supplemental codices.  Want to take the Arbites?  Here's a supplement.  Like the Mechanicus?  We have a supplement for that!  Want to take the Inquisition with your Imperial Guard?  HOLY SHIT.  THEY ALREADY DID THAT.  IN THE FUTURE.

An argument can be made that the upcoming Inquisition digital codex is actually the 2nd ally codex to come out, after this month's Adepta Sororitas.  I say this because the reality of the average 40k player to go out and spend several ((several)) hundreds of dollars to build an all metal army is fairly slim.  Most likely the average player will purchase a unit or two for some sweet ass anti-psycher defense and call it a day.  If GW really wanted this to be a full codex release they would have released the models in plastic (with a price increase) and the codex would have been a physical hard cover. I would also like to point out that there is a difference between a codex supplemental and an ally codex.  Where the codex supplemental will expand the stand alone codex, the ally codex will introduce an army that is designed exclusively to ally with a stand alone codex.  That didn't make sense.  I'm tired.

I truly think the rumors of GW getting all of the current codices up to date with the 6th edition and then focusing on supplements is looking more and more accurate.  If GW really wanted to milk this pig for a crap ton of money they would work on releasing a model or two with each supplement. How about new Inquisitor models or vehicle profiles?  If they really take the time to think these ally codices through and actually release a couple models instead of just copy and pasting existing rules/stats these small ally codices could be huge money makers for the company.

The future of the hobby looks bright.  Fuck the doom-and-gloomers that portend the fall of Games Workshop.  

The Road to Adepticon 2014: The Coteaz Conundrum

This year I've made the monumental (financially speaking) decision to attend Adepticon this coming April.  This isn't my first time attending the iconic event, as I made the pilgrimage 2 years ago.  The sheer magnitude of the cost to attend this tournament certainly doesn't make this an easy decision to make.  With tickets running about $75 for the weekend badge and the 40k Championship, round-trip airfare running around , $300 from California, and rooms that cost $125 a night you are looking at eating a ton of ramen just to afford this thing.  Cost aside, this is THE tournament to attend if you are a 40k tournament gamer and want to test your metal against the best players in the country.  I believe there are 270-ish players in the Championship, with only 16 moving on to day 2.   The organizers do a good job making other events available after the championships, so when you get the inevitable loss in round one you can look forward to a busy weekend afterwards.

My biggest mistake the first time I went was signing up for too many events, sharing a room with too many people, and drinking my body weight in alcoholic beverages.     Seeing as how I've effectively stopped drinking any kind of alcohol (THANKS, OBAMA LIVER) that takes care of the expensive drunkenness.  As for the room situation, that is almost unavoidable.  I will be at the tournament for at total of 5 nights.  That will be around $550 just for the hotel alone.  I CANT AFFORD THAT SHIT!  So teaming up with 4 or five guys to crash on the floor is mandatory.  As for the events, I only plan on signing up for the Championships and then a couple of smaller events spread throughout the weekend.  I will be socializing a lot more this time around.

OK, so what the fuck is the title of this post going on about?  Well, I had just about finalized my 1850 list for Adepticon when, as usual, a nagging thought came to me (as it do).  Here is the original list I was set on taking,

Space Marines (Iron Hands)

Chapter Master - Terminator Armor, Shield Eternal, Thunder Hammer, Auspex
Tactical Squad- +5, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Tactical Squad- +5, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Scout Squad - Melta Bomb
Terminator Assault Squad- 4x Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield, Land Raider Crusader w/Multi-Melta
Land Speeder x2 - Typhoon Missile Launchers
Land Speeder - Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer
Storm Talon - Sky Hammer Missiles
Devastator Squad - +3, Missile Launchers
Thunderfire Cannon
Whirlwind

A slight variant from the list that I took to Brawl in the Fall.

Then I got to reading Captain Dees' (Nutz) Feast of Blades tournament reports.  He had seized the initiative twice and that had either earned him an outright victory or made it extremely easy for him to defeat his opponent.  You hear about this all the time and it is certainly one of the most frustrating aspects of 40k 6th edition.  I also noticed an increase in Space Marine drop pod lists under review on various forums around the internetz.  I began musing on an old ally idea I had for Inquisitor Coteaz from the Grey Knights Codex.  With Coteaz you get the peace of mind that comes with his special rule Spy Network which causes your opponent to re-roll successful Seizes.   You also get the incredibly useful against drop pod spam special rule, I've Been Expecting You.  Of course, you have to take a troop choice with Coteaz, and here is where another of his special rules become gold.   Inquisitor Coteaz makes any Henchmen Squads troop choices.  So by adding Coteaz to my list not only do I get solid Seize and Drop Pod protection I also get another troop choice.

 FUCK'IN TITS N' SHIT

 So how would I load out the Henchmen Squad?  I would start with 3 plasma cannon armed Servitors.  Coteaz will have the psychic power Presience, so the ability to twin-link 3 plasma cannons is fan-fucking-tastic.  Remember, his rule I've Been Expecting You makes his unit able shoot at any unit that arrives within 12" of him.  This means that any unit dis-embarking from a drop pod and the drop pod itself are fair game for 3 twin-linked plasma cannons.  DEAL BREAKER.  I would also take 2 Crusaders to get a couple of 3++ saves and round out the unit with 3 or 4 Henchmen with hot-shot lasguns.  I would be giving up all three Land Speeders to get the points for this unit but I think they add so much to my list that it is totally worth it.  This also means the Iron Hands Chapter Tactics might not be the best since I would be getting rid of 3 vehicles so I'll be spending some time trying out the other ones.

So what do you guys think?  Is this a good replacement?  Will this assuage my fears of getting Raped Seized upon?  Am I getting too fat?

Your Screamer Star is bad and you should feel bad

If you are even remotely interested in competitive 40k then you are already familiar with the new hotness, the Screamer Star.  The Screamer Star, much like Riptide Spam or the 5th edition IG Blowjobber, takes advantage of over powered and under costed units to take advantage of weaknesses in the overall  structure of the game.  They also tend to take advantage of rules loopholes that Games Workshop either doesn’t realize exist or don’t care enough to change. For those of you unaware of how the Screamer Star works (and to a lesser degree the Khorne Dogg rush) the Demon player uses several different spells, demonic gifts, and war gear options to create a multi-wound unit that has a 2+ re-roll able invulnerable save.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Yes, your breath does stink.  It’s probably from the Doritos and Mountain Dew you had for breakfast, tubby.  Anyways, there is now essentially a ‘god mode’ cheat available to Demon players.

Unfortunately, this is far from a recent phenomenon in our little niche hobby.   Think about the last tournament you attended.  How many players were sporting 2 to 3 Helldrakes or Riptides?  How many people had armies that were so new you could SMELL the primer on them?  As long as Games Workshop continues to create units with over powered abilities primarily to sell models we will have asshole players who gleefully choose to buy these models instead of paying their minimum credit card payments on their 23% interest Citibank credit card.  That’s a run on sentence.

This recently got me to thinking about how little respect I have for people who run these lists.  Now, I’m not talking about someone who has a Riptide here or a Helldrake there; I’m talking about the all out cheese dick lists that make you shake your head in disgust.  Much like the image of your parents having sex without a condom.  You’re welcome.  I truly have no respect for people who take these army lists to a tournament.  I used to think that list building was a large part of the game and we should stand in awe of these killer lists that demolish dicks on the table top.  Now?  Not so much.  How much skill does it take to realize that a 2+ re-roll able invulnerable save multi-wound unit or 3 Helldrakes that have a 360 degree flamer template that is strength 7 AP 3 is a good thing?  Why should we respect these people?  Because they can read?  Because they can break the game and give their opponent no chance to beat them?  Guess what?  I can put my fat ass in my Taekwondo dobok and beat the shit out of a 5 year old in the studio across the street, but was I better than that kid or was I physically bigger than them?  Would you feel good about winning a fight like that?  If so, congratulations on having Tau-Dar list.

When I was 10 I figured out the invincibility code for Doom and I beat the game a couple days later.  Sure, it was nice getting to the end of the game but it wasn't satisfying.  The cheat code had cheapened my experience.  I view these cheese ball lists the same way.  When 6th edition broke I played a game with my Grey Knights using Draigo and a unit of Paladins.  This was before the FAQ took away the Paladin’s ability to look out sir each other and all of their shots were precision.   The game was a slaughter.  The look on my opponent’s eyes as his entire army shot at this unit and couldn't take out a single model was enough for me.  I packed that unit away and never played it again.  I realized that I had unlocked the invincibility code.  I now have far more respect for players that can win tournaments with armies that do not take advantage of the latest hot shit.   Much like Mr. Glass searches for lone survivors in the movie Unbreakable, I scour the major tournament standings for players that win with generic lists.  Those are the truly good players.  Those are the ones to watch out for.

Thanks for reading.

RD

Brawl in the Fall Recap

Gather 'round friends, 'cuz its time for a tournament recap.  This weekend me and the rest of the Team Zero comp 'B' team traveled down to sunny Clovis California to take part in the annual rogue trader tournament, Brawl in the Fall.  Image the delight of the tournament organizers when instead of Reece, Frankie, Dan and Grant they get the slovenly Pascal, Jeremy, Keno, and Jason.  The frightful foursome (porn title patent pending) Oops!

Did you know that Fresno had a bad part of town?  I do now!  Not wanting to wake up at 5 am to make the 3 hour drive to Clovis yours truly had the bright idea to simply google 'Motel 6 Fresno' and make a reservation for the first motel to pop up.  I knew I made a huge mistake when we pull into the motel at 10 pm Friday night and it is literally ringed by prostitutes and semi-trucks.  Needless to say we slept with one eye opened and were up and out of there as soon as the sun rose.  Also, there was a tweeker with a pit bull knocking on our door trying to sell us a bag of priceless gold coins he found in a Crown Royal bag.  THAT HAPPENED TO ME.

On to the tournament!

So here is the basics for the Brawl in the Fall tournament.  It is a  one day 1750 point, 3 round tournament using the Bay Area Open mission format.  If you are interested in running a tournament using this format or just curious about what the hell I'm talking about, you can find the info here.  Let me just say that I LOVE this tournament.  It is capped at around 40 players and draws great locals and out-of-towners alike.  Some of the Sacramento crew like the lovely Liz Foster and the guy with the mowhawk haircut came down as well as some people from as far as Bakersfield.  I really encourage anyone who can to attend this tournament at least once.  Here is their info if you are interested.

Before we get to my opponents, let's go over my list for the Brawl

Jason Butler Raw Dogger
Iron Hands 1750

(Self Portrait)

LIST
Chapter Master - Terminator Armor, Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal
Terminator Assault Squad - 4x Thunder Hammer +Storm Shield 1x Lightning Claw, Land Raider Crusader
Tactical Squad- +5, Vet Sarg with Power Ax, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Tactical Squad- +5, Vet Sarg with Power Ax, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Scout Squad- +1, Melta Bomb, 1x Sniper Rifle
Storm Talon- Assault Cannons, Skyhammer Missles
Land Speeder x2, Typhoon Missile Launchers
Devastator Squad- +3, 4x Missile Launchers
Whirlwind

A fairly basic Space Marine list.  I wanted to try out the Iron Hands' chapter tactics (6+ Feel No Pain, It Will Not Die on vehicles and characters).  I'm not really impressed with those and in the future will most likely run the army as Ultramarines for the greater versatility.

GAME 1  Primary- Purge the Alien  Secondary - The Scouring 
 Result = Win

Opponent: Grant (lives near Yosemite)
Army: Dark Angels

List:  Grant didn't have an extra army list so this is from memory.

Sammael- On the jet bike thing.
Librarian- Powerfield
Ravenwing Command Squad- Apothecary, Banner, Champion
Dreadnought- Twin Linked Lascannons
Ravenwing- x6 Multimelta Attack Bike and Land Speeder Typhoon
Ravenwing- x6 Multimelta Attack Bike and Land Speeder Typhoon
Dark Shroud
Whirlwind
Whirlwind
Devestator Squad- 4x Lascannons

Thoughts:  This game was tough and went down to the last turn.  I had actually thought I lost this game due to Grant getting some last turn kill points but it turned out that I had one more than he did when the game ended.  I forgot how good that 5+ feel no pain is on that damned Command Squad as when it came down to the assault with my Terminators and Chapter Master and his Command Squad he could not stop rolling 5+ feel no pain to thunder hammer wounds.  Oh well.  I really liked his army.  A mix of fast moving, hard hitting bike squads and artillery and lascannons from the back field.  Also, he yelled 'Khan!!!11!!' whenever something bad happened and that ALWAYS scores bonus points in my book.  Thanks, Grant!

GAME 2 Primary- Emperors Will Secondary- Big Guns Never Tire
Result= Loss!

Opponent: Joe (redacted)
Army: Eldar

List
Farseer- Jetbike,
Fire Dragons- Wave Serpent
Dire Avengers- Exarch, Wave Serpent
Guardians- Scatter Laser, Wave Serpent
Guardians- Bright Lance
Jetbike Squadron
Warp Spiders- Exarch
Swooping Hawks- Exarch
Fire Prism
War Walkers x2
War Walker x1

Thoughts:  I knew this was going to be an uphill battle going into this game.  Eldar are a nightmare and this list is exactly what I am afraid of.  Serpent Shields that ignore cover and do d6+1 hits demolish my Rhinos, Whilwind and Speeders.  They out range me and and can hit me from anywhere on the board.  The Bright Lances also make short work of my Land Raider, leaving my assault Terminators to hoof it towards their (fast moving) lines, only to be rended to death by their basic troops (who I can't catch).  The game would have been over sooner had there not been a giant line of sight blocking piece of terrain in the middle of the table that I hid behind.

GAME 3 Primary-Table Quarters! Secondary- Purge the Alien
Result: Win!

Opponent: Matt Majchen
Army: Space Wolves

List
Rune Priest- Chooser of the Slain, Living Lightning, Jaws
Rune Priest- Jaws, Murderous Hurricane
Grey Hunters- Plasma Guns, Rhino
Grey Hunters- Plasma Guns, Rhino
Grey Hunters- Meltaguns
Grey Hunters- Meltaguns
Grey Hunters- Flamers, Drop Pod
Grey Hunters- Flamers, Drop Pod
Thunderwolf Cavalry x2, Meltabombs
Thunderwolf Cavalry x2, Power Fist
Long Fangs- Missile Launchers
Long Fangs- Missile Launchers

Thoughts: I have a LOT of respect for the 5th edition Space Wolves horde lists.  That many armor 3 bodies on the table is going to be trouble for anyone to deal with.  Me and Matt talked a lot about his list during the game and we agreed that he is really struggling with anti-air.  If he goes against a 2 or 3 Helldrake list he will be losing 2-3 units per turn.  A great opponent, major balls for taking this list, and a nice guy overall.  Cheers, Matt!

So that's it.  Another Brawl has come and gone and once again, I had an EXCELLENT time.  Overall, I am happy with my list and barring the Chapter Tactics I most likely won't be changing anything in it for some time to come.  The next big tournament will be Adepticon in April.  This will be 1850 so I will most likely add a Thunder Fire Cannon into the mix and call it a day.  Thanks for reading!

Beasts of War Waylaid! Comikaze Cancelled! Alliteration Abounds!

Hello all,

Apologies for not writing for so long, but I honestly just had nothing to say.  They say the key to creating a lasting blog with hundreds of followers is to post consistently and often.  That's probably right.  Anyways, here are some things that happened this week in wargaming that I cared about.

Comikaze Cancelled

After two strong years, the love child of cosplay and 40k has come to an end.  I've gone to both of the previous Comikaze tournaments and had been planning on attending this year as well so I was pretty bummed when the news dropped that the event was being cancelled.  I believe the cap was going to be 64 players, and since not even half of the spots had been filled by last week, the convention organizers decided it was not worth the hassle and cancelled the tournament outright.  It seems strange that they wouldn't even give Reece and the guys at Frontline Gaming the last few weeks (3 weeks) to get sales up.  You can read about it on Dakka here.   It seems to me that they already had another act lined up for the floor space and gave Frontline an impossible target, knowing that they wouldn't be able to sell the tickets in time.  A bum deal all around.  It really was a fun event and drew a TREMENDOUS amount of curious convention goers to the gaming area to see what all these fat guys were doing with their little army men.  Games Workshop could learn a thing or two about marketing from Reece and the guys at Frontline Gaming.

Beasts of War Waylaid

Yesterday, the premier tabletop wargaming news and preview site announced that due to legal pressure from Games Workshop they would be ceasing their partnership with Wayland Games.  You can watch the youtube announcement here.   The quick and dirty is that Games Workshop was not happy with Beasts of War for previewing their model kits and talking about upcoming model releases.  Games Workshop, through roundabout means, continuously sent Beasts of War cease and desist letters which were for the most part largely ignored.  Games Workshop craftily went after Beast of War's partner and financier Wayland Games, and threatened to block their distribution account.  Wayland games wisely took the high road and cut Beasts of War loose.  The worst part about watching that video is Warren's complete disbelief that Games Workshop would do this to him.  While they will be leaving to continue to produce (and fund) the show on their own, it most likely will be a slow and painful death for Beasts of War.  That's business, bitch!

Non-Taudar Dominance?  BULLSHIT

So we had two large-ish tournaments go down in the last week or two and SURPRISE two non-Taudar armies came out on top.  The Golden Throne tournament (Southwest) saw a strong Space Marine showing with a White Scars army come out on top.  I'm not too surprised about White Scars being the front runners of the Space Marines codex, as they are extremely fast and hard hitting.  I still think that  more people should take three Hell-Drakes but that's just me.  At Battle Foam's Duel Con in Mesa, Arizona we saw Daemon dominance on the top tables.  From what I hear the amount of line of site blocking terrain and the crazy amount of Screamer Stars spelled the doom for point and click shooting armies.  Personally I think the people who take the Screamer Stars are just as bad as those people taking the Riptides with characters, etc.

So that's it!  Next week I'll try and get a couple posts in.  I've just finished the heresy novella Mark of Calth that I want to talk about and I'll go over my list for the upcoming Brawl in the Fall.  Peace!

New Space Marine Codex in THREE...TWO...MEH

Used with permission from Jervis

Hello everyone!  I'm back from my wargaming and blogging hiatus (my real world job got INTENSE!!11!) and Jesus tap dancing Christ wouldn't you know it a fucking codex gets released.   Not just any codex, mind you, but the codex for the army that started it all for our socially awkward hobby, The Space Marines.   I've been a Space Marine player since back in the 4th edition and like most other people in this hobby I have been growing sick and tired of my Marines collecting dust on my hobby shelves.  They definitely needed a shot in the arm and I was REALLY excited that they were finally being updated for the 6th edition.  Last Friday I made sure to get out of work early enough to get to my local store, Frontline Gaming, so that I could get my hands on this 400 page monster.  I sped home like a fat guy with a rapidly cooling bucket of KFC chicken and did a 360 into my covered parking spot.  After kicking in the front door I threw the cat out the got' dang window (I didn't have time for her shit) and popped open the codex.

After a few hours of reading and re-reading the unit entries and staring at all of the shiny new toys and pictures it occurred to me.  The codex was about as MEH as the last but cost around double the price.  THANKS, OBAMA.  The economy!  The new codex didn't even remotely fix the issues the Marines are having on the tabletop in the 6th edition.  Mainly the obsolescence of the 3+ armor save and the complete erosion of cover.   Ironically, this new codex has actually made their own units WORSE.  While it's very cool that they got the Dark Angels points reductions ,they unfortunately followed the Dark Angel's tactics of getting Hell Draked, Blade Stormed, and Riptided off of the top 10 tournament tables.  As stated above, one of the new shinies that the Space Marines received was the Grav Gun.  A weapon that wounds against the target's armor save and automatically immobilizes vehicles on a penetration roll of a 6.  Are people still bringing terminators or Land Raiders?  Not now they aren't!  A lot of people are saying how great the new anti-flyer tanks are.  REALLY?  You basically have a quad gun on an armor 12 tank that does not have Interceptor.  NICE ONE.  Oh they missile launching tank that has one shot and if you miss you have the potential to hit the target at a later time (that is, if they don't elect to just go off the table).  AWESOME.

The sad fact is that this codex fails to address the current issues with Warhammer 40k 6th edition.  Armor 3 no longer matters.  With so many weapons that are not only AP 2-3 but also ignore cover Space Marines are essentially obsolete.  This codex has no way to effectively deal with the 2 Hell Drake, 2 Riptide, 6+ Wave Serpent tournament lists that you are seeing on the tables.  Not to mention what Demons are capable of.  So while it is cool that the codex gives us an Eternal Warrior storm shield and a flaming sword that is strength 7 AP 2, I believe in the next few months when we see the results of the next large tournaments we will see that the codex (while adding to the variety of the 40k universe) did little to change the current Tau/Eldar/Demon dominance.

Something's Stirring in the Jungle

No, that title's not a euphemism I use when asking my fiance to have 'relations' , though it most likely will be from now on.  I'm actually going to give Warhammer Fantasy a start again, which I even find surprising.  Let me throw it down for you.  Two years ago I was still plugging along with 8th edition Fantasy while just getting back into 40k. I had just found a new gaming group in the East Bay, and being new to the area found myself really enjoying their laid back attitude towards the game.  Then I played in my first competitive Fantasy tournament and got tabled by a 14 year old Skaven player in two turns.  Into the closet went my Dwarves and they stayed there for a year before I sold them to buy a gun line Imperial Guard army (because that was totally unique in the 5th edition).

Honesty, I haven't given Warhammer Fantasy more than a thought since then.  Sure, I would see the Fantasy gamers now and again at tournaments and stuff but the old feelings of the overpowered nature of the magic phase for certain armies and the ability to throw a ton of dice to remove entire units (Teclis and Slann come to mind) really turned me off the game.  However, new codicies began to come out and I would hear more and more about the balancing of the 8th edition.  Then, Reece Robbins at Frontline gaming announced a Fantasy escalation league designed to get people slowly into the game.  You can check out the details here.  The long and short of the league is that we will begin at 500 points.  Your models must be painted and you must play a certain amount of games in the allotted time.  Perfect for people just getting into the game (or back into the game!).  Lucky enough for me, I came into a good amount of Lizardmen models about a year ago and lo and behold a new Lizardmen codex just gets released.  Talk about fortuitous kick to the nuts! (If you like that sort of thing).  I just picked up the new codex and a couple models from Frontline after work today and I'm already thinking about lists and nut kicking combos!  We'll see how I balance this with my 40k duties, especially with the new Space Marine codex coming out.  I'll also try and post progress shots of my first 500 points.  So that's it, you can get back to looking at pictures of cats or Japanese nut kicking porn (If you like that sort of thing).

Rawdogger on the Radio?

So my friend Carl asked me to come down to Yahoo headquarters and participate in his podcast, The Independent Characters, this past weekend.  I've been a fan of his podcast since I began really participating in the hobby back when I was living in Korea, so to get this chance to participate really meant a lot to me.  Check it out!

http://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/?p=3085

Blood Angels (Don’t) Suck? How to Use Blood Angels in 6th Edition 40K

Hello all,

 I’m back from my blogging hiatus to drop some knowledge into your eye holes regarding everyone’s favorite 6th edition red headed step child *whew*, the Blood Angels.  No matter how much I try to build and use armies with updated codices I find myself consistently being drawn back to the armored VAMPIIIIRES IN SPAAAAAAAACE *cough* *cough*.  I’m not particularly fond of getting my ass handed to me and I don’t necessarily have a secret WIN button for the little blood suckers, so why is it that I find myself sitting in front of my television night after night writing army lists for the Blood Angels?  It’s most likely stubbornness more than anything else.  I've spent more time and money than I’m willing to admit building and painting my Blood Angels models over the past 3 years and seeing them becoming more and more obsolete as the 6th edition behemoth chugs along makes me see red (wakka wakka!).

Last weekend I took my Blood Angels to a local Grand Tournament, the Golden Throne.  I put together what I THOUGHT was a competitive list and promptly got Bladestormed, Hell Draked, and Riptide(d) off the tables.  It was fairly embarrassing.  Looking at the 6th edition codices that have come out thus far it is easy to see why Blood Angels have suffered the nerf hammer more than most.  Cheap plasma and armor ignoring weapons have made life difficult for your average Space Marine.  More infuriating is that the only Marine codex to come out in the 6th edition, the Dark Angels, have a lot the same units at a fraction of the point cost that the Blood Angels pay.  Throw in Games Workshop’s need to completely neuter assault in the 6th edition and a Furious Charge/Feel No Pain nerf and baby, you have yourself a red armored shit stew!  Yet still I find myself believing that the Blood Angels still have what it takes to be a top tournament army.  Here are a few units that I believe still have what it takes in the current AP2 cover ignoring 6th edition.

Mephiston, the mother fucking LORD OF DEATH - Mephiston got a lot of flack in the transition to 6th edition, and with good reason.  His sword magically became AP 3 and the lack of invulnerable save made him a prime target for AP1 Storm Guardians (like 6 points?).  Also, strength 7 weapons seem to be handed out with every movie ticket.  Despite all of this, I believe that he does have his uses and still causes MAJOR stress on the part of your opponent.  A lot of players will dramatically alter their deployment to stay away from him and that can set you up for a good game.  He can still lay the smack down with a base strength 6 which can be increased to strength 10 with the use of his psychic power, the Sanguine Sword.  I primarily use him as a monster hunter but watch out because he is still only AP3 with his sword so Riptides should only be assaulted if entirely necessary.  He is also quite fast with a jump pack psychic power (Wings of Sanguinius) and a base Fleet, which means he’ll normally getting into assault turn 2.  At the Golden Throne tournament I had him run up to a Wraith Lord and pummel it, then move on to an Avatar and bitch slap it to death.  At 250 points Mephiston should only be taken in high point cost games.  Say what you will about the Lord of Death, but he keeps his pimp hand strong.

Sternguard Veteran Squad - This isn't really fair because this unit is also good in the Codex: Space Marines codex but they are still a must have in the 6th edition Blood Angels.  What’s not to like about these guys?  In an edition dominated by high toughness monsters and mobs of cheap troops hiding in cover, Hellfire Rounds (wound on a 2+) and Dragonfire Bolts (ignore cover) are the FUCKIN TITS.  Put these guys in a drop pod with a priest (I like Brother Corbulo for his 2+ Feel No Pain wound tank ability) and watch your opponent cry as his models melt off the table.

Terminator Assault Squads - The ol’ beat stick is still beatin (dick).   You can’t go wrong with these guys.  Put them in a Land Raider with a priest and a Librarian (Divination) and point them at the thing you want to die.  These guys are good in all Marine codices but whatever,  ITS HAMMER TIME, BITCH.

Death Company - Yes, I am aware that this unit does not score and yes I am aware that they cost 20 points per model.  I am also aware that your squad just shit their pants and died.  DEAL WITH IT.  Throw these guys in a drop pod with a Chaplain and a power weapon and power fist and watch your opponent scramble to deal with them.  Oh and guess what?  They’re Relentless.  Take bolters for maximum death.  Each model has 5 strength 5 attacks on the charge (Rage) and with the Chaplain they re-roll all hits and wounds.  Remember that power sword and power fist?  You can’t challenge them away.  CYA.

Assault Squads - No, I’m not talking about Assault Marines with jump packs.  Don’t take those.  In a world dominated by weapons that are AP3 they won’t last long no matter how many Feel No Pains you have.  What you SHOULD be doing is taking advantage of their cheap pimp wagons and sitting backfield until the Short Bus Dragons get taken out.  My favorite builds are the 5 mans with a meltagun and power ax (yes, you need to be able to kill stuff) riding in a Razorback with Twin-Linked Lascannons.  Which brings us to…

Razorbacks - Did you know that Blood Angel transports are fast?  Did you know that Fast Vehicles can move 12” and still fire a weapon at full ballistic skill?  Now you know.  Assault Marine Squads have a built in 35 point discount on any transports they take.  DEAL BREAKER.

Predators - I’ll cover all the predators variants here.  Look, the ability to move 6” and fire all of your weapons at full ballistic skill has won me more games than I care to admit.  Being able to re-position your auto cannons/lascannons to get that perfect kill shot is worth the higher point cost you’re paying above the Dark Angels.

Baal Predators - GET SHIT DONE.  These guys are my go to with the Blood Angels at the moment.  AV 13 fast vehicles that also have the ability to Scout (Outflank)?  I’ll take three please.  I normally take the Assault Canons / Heavy Bolters combo and they can REALLY lay down covering fire.  The best thing about these guys is their ability to Outflank.  They can come in from behind you opponent and blast the living SHIT out of a tank or a wimpy back field scoring unit.  WILL BUY AGAIN.

So that’s it.  In my current opinion, the way to build a decent Blood Angels army is to mix the fast Razorback scoring units with beater units such as the Assault Terminators in Land Raiders.  I would start by using the 500 points necessary to get the terminators and their pimp mobile and then get as many Razorback Assault Marine units and Baal Predators you can afford. If you are planning on going to a tournament that allows Forgeworld or is 2000 points double Force Organization.....good luck. Thoughts?