Ex Libris Mortis'
Blood Angel 
Tactical Library

4th Edition Blood Angels Tactica

 Tactica Veteran Squad

By Brother Soul

We’ve all seen the entry in codex space marines for the veteran squad, and we’ve marveled at the gorgeous sculpts. Over a year after the C:SM’s release, then, why do we not see this squad on the field more frequently?

This squad can be equipped just like a tactical squad. It also has more expansive war gear options. We can exchange our bolters for CCW + BP, and pick a PW as a special weapon, or PF/LClaws as a heavy weapon option. They may also be given veteran skills. A fully kitted out veteran squad is superior to a squad of chaos chosen and can tear most units to pieces in cc.

Generally speaking, the unit’s slowness is regarded as a liability b/c it requires transport. Unless they are transported in an expensive land raider, they may not assault on the turn they disembark. However, does this have to encourage players to opt for other units when considering their army’s force composition? It does not.

Ultimately, one will have to tailor the composition of the squad to take greatest advantage of its choppiness in CC. At the same time, one must also tailor the squad such that it can have a positive impact for the player in turns where it’s outside of charge range or has disembarked from a moving transport. After doing this, we need to look at the cost-efficiency.

I’ve played the classic VS PF, 7 CCW+BP, 1 PW, 1 LClaw squad with FG many times. In the past year, I’ve fielded them when kitted out this way only in 2500+ point games and they’ve invariably had a rhino transport. Their performance was average at best because I simply couldn’t put that devastatingly effective squad into CC where and when I’ve wanted to because it was slow. It would always arrive in the turn following my assault with jump pack-enabled marines, which are twice as fast. I concluded that I’m better off taking an assault squad.

However, in recent games, I started building a very functional and very fluffy veteran squad that takes advantage of its expanded heavy weapon selection and its roots as a tactical squad.

From the perspective of fluff, keep in mind that a bolter is revered as ‘holy’. In its practical application, remember that bolters can rapid fire at 12”, so any squad so equipped that does not assault in it’s turn can put out a high volume of firepower.

So what about this 6” move limitation? Equip your squad with bolters and MG. As you disembark or move forward, you’ve got the ability to lay down a hail of fire in conjunction with the rest of your units.

So what about this alleged ‘choppy cc stuff’? Simple. Equip your veteran sergeant with a PF and equip a PF as your heavy weapon. Then give the unit frags.

I’ve used this for several games, and it’s a real winner. It lends fire support like a tactical squad, and when it comes to supporting assaults, it can go after heavy assault-orients enemy units. And it’s very cheap for what it can do.

A veteran squad equipped as follows costs a paltry 225 points, about 20 points more than a kitted up tactical squad: VS PF, 7 Bolters, 1 MG, 1 PF FG. And if you were to think about the role of the bolter to SM armies, I think marines would equip with some sort of power weapon or bolters before selecting chain swords anyhow. After all, assault marines have those things anyway.

I prefer to transport my Veteran Squad in a drop pod, making the overall cost of the unit 255 points.

I’ve done the entire gamut of activity with this squad, in the same game. I’ve hosed hordes with bolter fire, and then taken down entire squadrons of killa kanz with them. I’ve directed bolter fire onto troop concentrations in support of my army’s advance, then charged into an epistolary and his command squad, killing the epistolary on one turn to insta-killing power fists and loosing just a couple of models in the exchange. Did I mention rapid-firing upon disembarking? This squad can do it all, and not draw much fire because it behaves so similarly to a tactical squad.

I paint these guys up with white helmets just to distract my opponent while my assault marines are bearing down on them. They ask, ‘What’s that?’ My response depends on what my needs are, but I say either, ’It’s a veteran squad with 2 powerfists’ or ‘It’s a veteran squad with bolters.’ If I say the former, he puts fire on the squad, which costs me a coupla bolter marines. If I say the latter, they get ignored. In any case, 7 power fist attacks on the charge ends combats fairly quickly.

I’d suggest proxying these guys with a tactical squad for a few games to see if you like them. Maybe toss an unused sergeant with a PF in as your heavy weapon choice.

If you like them, they offer fantastic conversion opportunities. I no longer use the boxed veteran squad to represent my models. I use assault marine legs and tactical marine arms and bolters. I then add purity seals to every bolter, MG, and Pf in the squad, affix bayonets to the bolters, and paint the helmets fortress gray up to white (I finish the helms by putting a few coats of wonder wash orange on them).

Have fun…