Ex Libris Mortis'
Blood Angel 
Tactical Library

4th Edition Blood Angels Tactica

 A Closer Look at Blood Angel Tactical Squads
by Brother Zink

Blood Angel Tactical squads: In the latest edition 40k they have been overlooked, abused and laughed at. The main reason is that to my knowledge very few people quite know what to do with them, and more recently have been replaced with the more close combat scouts. This short article – based from past postings of veteran blood angel players and from my own meandering experiences – will hopefully amend a few of these wrongs with four 'tried and tested' tactics and extra points to take note of. If anything I hope this will get you thinking about your own tactical squads and how you will use them.

From third ed. to fourth
The main problem arose when tactical squads could no longer infamously “rhino rush”. For the more newbie of players, this was to put several squads (with a veteran leader w/power sword) in rhinos, and thanks to the over charge rule, to attack on either the first or second turn. These squads could do a fair amount of damage, and tie up squads which would normally assault/shoot at your more specialist squads. This rule is now obsolete due to not being able to charge on the turn squads disembark.

Tactic no.1
The most obvious choice

Right, so tactical squads can have a heavy weapon for way cheaper then devastator squads. Give them a lascannon then, with the other marines to act as mincemeat and hey, you have an anti-tank squad.

Problem and solution
You might argue that so long as this squad takes down a tank, then it has it's points back. But as far as i'm concerned, all those bolters have been waisted! One suggestion however is two of these squads in front of a devastator squad armed with rocket launchers. The latter are the real tank killers, but the tactical squads look that much scarier with the bigger guns. The tactical squads themselves only tank hunt if needed, and otherwise go for smaller targets

Tactic no.2
Anti – heavy troop armour

Arm this squad with a rocket launcher and plasma gun. Although the bolters themselves aren't as useful, they should still be able to take down a target or two

Tactic no.3
Bolter death

Particularly useful against low armour troops, basically bolters all round with a heavy bolter. Good to keep ground and a constant annoyance to the enemy :)

Tactic no.4
Short ranged firepower

This is a variation to the rhino rush. One armed with melta gun or flamer, another with heavy bolter or rocket should the rhino be destroyed far away from the enemy. A veteran sergeant w/power weapon. Move forward in rhino, deploy and shoot at enemy counter-CC troops. Timed with assault squads moving into CC the same turn this can hurt. Then charged into CC themselves, remember Blood Angels get the added bonus on charge. Another variation of this is the same set up w/o heavy weapon but in a drop pod. Although you don't know when it will arrive, it can catch your opponent off guard. Arm the veteran sergeant w/powerfist and choose the meltagun to create a cheep anti-tank squad (although again bolters are waisted).

Sub-Tactic A

A note on veteran sergeants and the death company
Have a “naked” veteran sergeant in the squad (i.e no added wargear). Mostly used for shooty tactical squads who don't need the close combat weapon so much. If when rolling for the DC, choose the v/s for a death company model w/powerfist or powerweapon. Now, I used to use this tactic in every game, however it just doesn't feel right: you really want your most experienced marine in the squad to go mad?! Generally therefore this tactic is frowned upon, many already see the Blood Angels as beardy, don't do anything to encourage this. Better would be to arm the v/s w/powerweapon. When rolling, if you feel the squad won't end up in combat, then move him to the DC. Otherwise don't. Everyone's happy. I suspect this rule may change in the new Blood Angels codex, but until then it's your choice to what you do.

Rhino or Razorack?

Current rules state that these must have overcharged engines, whether u want to use them or not. This does mean that a razorback w/lascannon adds up to around 100 points! With its low armour, it seems like easy victory points for your opponent. For this reason I don't give razorbacks the lascannon upgrade. However if you have multiple squads moving forward in APCs then at least one razorback can be useful for close ranged fire support. Due to the other APCs and predator variants your opponent will be overwhelmed with armoured targets so not concentrating fire power into the Razorback. For smaller games I would therefore suggest leaving them out and taking the rhino. Razorbacks also can only carry 6 marines. Considering at least one marine may be moved to the DC, that's a squad starting at only 5 men. For this reason I would suggest a specialist squad armed as anti tank or a support squad to deploy and attack a turn after to tip the balance into your favor w/ your v/s' power weapon/fist.

What size should my tactical squad be?

Due to marines going to the death company I would suggest a minimum of 7 marines per squad unless in a razorback. Note that a squad of 7 needs 4 deaths to take it under half squad size whereas a squad of 8 needs 5 deaths. With a squad size of 7 at worst two marines may go to DC leaving the squad size as 5 which is an accepted minimum. Should it start at four you know your in trouble. The more of those bolters you're going to use, max out the squad. A squad size of 9 just seems awkward to me. The more squads you want the smaller each squad should be (to the minimum of seven). Remember: more squads = more targets = the more likely your opponent will make a mistake. Simple.

Creating your own tactical squads
Points to consider
One: What role do want your tactical squads to undertake?
Two: What size should the squad be?
Three: Is the squad reaching its full potential?

Good luck with your tactical squads!

Zink