By the blood of Sanguinius, the first Blood Angels codex teaser is here with a look at brand new Stratagems, Warlord Traits, Relics, and psychics..
The Blood Angels are among the most distinct of the Space Marine Chapters, and their new codex reflects this with a vast suite of new rules, units, Stratagems and more designed to reflect the fast-paced, aggressive style of war favoured by the sons of Sanguinius.
Firstly, Blood Angels are fittingly blessed with a melee-focused army wide special rule, the Red Thirst:
The Red Thirst gives all Blood Angels units +1 to wound when they charge, are charged or make a Heroic Intervention. With the new wound roll chart, this makes getting 2+ to wound that much easier, as well as helping your smaller units damage even your enemies’ toughest monsters and vehicles with ease.
The Blood Angels codex is also absolutely packed with new units. As you’d expect, Blood Angels now have access to the entire Primaris Space Marines arsenal, but what you might not know is that this codex also broadens the Blood Angels range of traditional Space Marines weapons and units.
There are loads of Stratagems to use with your Blood Angels army. These have been designed to open up new and thematic ways to structure and use your army. Death Visions of Sanguinius, for instance, lets you give one Captain, Lieutenant or Chaplain the dubious blessings of the Black Rage:
Strike of the Archangels is great for gunning down squads of massed infantry, and is especially deadly if you make the charge on the turn you arrive.
Upon Wings of Fire is a great way to grab an objective at the last minute, pull an at-risk squad out of combat or get a particularly deadly unit into position for a devastating charge.
There are new psychic powers, too. You may remember Wings of Sanguinius from the previous edition. This power is back and just as dangerous as it was before when used with the Librarian Dreadnought.
Indeed, Librarian Dreadnoughts, and the rest of your characters, are now eligible for many powerful Warlord Traits and Relics. Artisan of War is a superb way to build deadly characters, and combined with a Primaris Captain can give you an auto bolt rifle that does 3 damage a shot! Gift of Foresight, on the other hand, provides some extra durability:
For Relics, you’ll be able to choose between lethal, master-crafted weapons of the Chapter and more tactical options. We love the Veritas Vitae, providing you with a great way to maximise your Command Points, while the Standard of Sacrifice combined with the Sanguinary Ancient to create a fantastic lynchpin for the rest of your forces.
This is the first look we’re getting at the Blood Angels and they are looking a little intimidating. The army wide Red Thirst is going to be a great way to get a +1 to your wound rolls in the Fight phase if you charged, got charged, or made a Heroic Intervention. We’re also got a look at some of the new Stratagems, Warlord Traits, Relics, and even a psychic power. Wings of Sanguinius is going to provide a very fast and deadly advantage for your psyker, and with a warp charge value of 5 it shouldn’t be too hard to pass. It will immediately be able to move as if it were Movement phase, it gains the Fly keyword, gets a 12″ Move characteristic, and it can even shoot if it fell back. This will help you get your psykers in and out of battle whenever you need to.
All in all, the Blood Angels are looking like they’re really going to be a strong and deadly force to see on the tabletop.
These are some big changes on the way for Blood Angel players. What are your thoughts? Are you looking forward to the changes? Let us know in the comments below.
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About the Author: James Rodriguez
