Want to play power armored space vampires? Want to play herohammer with some of the strongest characters in the game? Want to run Khorne Berserkers, but your loyalty to the Emperor runs strong? Want to have fun visual options with different colors across your army? Then the Blood Angels may be the chapter for you.

As with the rest of these articles, the idea is not to give an exhaustive review of every single unit and option. Instead, each section will give a brief summary of what’s available, picking up on key units/relics/stratagems, highlighting clear trap choices, and then discussing how best to utilise the good stuff. Blood Angels are in a slightly awkward place here, sharing many units with Codex Space Marines, but also not following the current pattern of supplements – instead all the units are rewritten in their own codex. For the most part, these units behave the same, so we’re only going to touch in detail on units that are particularly good for a Blood Angel army. We’ll also touch on the Forge World units that are interesting, although most units in that index aren’t compelling choices.

Also, following the publication of Blood of Baal, the Flesh Tearers successor Chapter gained a Chapter tactic of their own and some additional Warlord traits, relics, and stratagems. We’ll touch on these separately below.

Note that these Start Competing articles are always written at a point in time, and therefore some information may be out of date if there have been developments in the game since it was written. This article has now been updated as of May 2020 to reflect the Blood of Baal update and the lists that were in play in February/March 2020.

Army Strengths

Extremely strong melee presence. Their Chapter tactic means that any unit with a decent weight of attacks can be deadly in combat, even when getting charged

Very good early game presence with multiple ways to get reliable first-turn charges and charges out of deep strike

Characters that can go toe-to-toe with almost anything in the game, even Knights

Powerful elite infantry and characters

Army Weaknesses

Expensive models and high CP costs in an army which can really tempt you to fire off CP with reckless abandon

Very reliant on melee, being vulnerable to screening if played poorly

Competitive Ranking

Medium-Strong. Following the release of Blood of Baal, the Blood Angels gained significant buffs both in terms of extra perks for themselves as well as gaining some key stratagems from the Space Marines book such as Transhuman Physiology. Blood Angels armies have seen a great deal more success since then, with top 4 appearances in competitive events. They’re still very melee-focused which makes them a high skill army to play well, but they’re much more capable of doing the business once they get there than they were.

Where are my rules?

You can find the Blood Angels’ rules in the following sources:

Codex: Blood Angels 8th edition released December 2017 (FAQ version 1.4 last updated 30/9/19)

Forge World: Imperial Armour Index – Forces of the Adeptus Astartes (FAQ version 1.7 updated 30.9/19)

Psychic Awakening: Blood of Baal (FAQ version 1.1 updated 27/02/20)

Terrax-Pattern Assault Drill: Warhammer Community or the Forge World product page

Blood of Baal

We’re going to reference Blood of Baal a number of times throughout the following, and we thought it would be helpful to have a quick run down of exactly what the book changed right at the start here. It adds, as follows:

The Angels of Death ability to all units except SERVITORs, which incorporates And They Shall Know No Fear, Bolter Discipline, Shock Assault, and Combat Doctrines

Updated weapon profiles for auto bolt rifles, demolisher cannons, flamestorm cannons, hand flamers, Icarus rocket pods, master-crafted auto-bolt rifles, master-crafted stalker bolt rifles, and stalker bolt rifles

New datasheets for Chief Librarian Mephiston, Astorath, Lemartes, Chaplains, Sanguinary Priests, and Intercessor squads, which replace the ones found in the codex

A completely new datasheet for Death Company Intercessors

Datasheets for the Repulsor Executioner, Captain in Phobos armour, Librarian in Phobos armour, Lieutenants in Phobos armour, Infiltrator squads, Incursor squads, Invictor Tactical Warsuits, Suppressor squads, Eliminator squads, and the Impulsor. These replace the ones from the Shadowspear booklet where relevant and are direct copies of the datasheets from Codex: Space Marines

The new “Savage Echoes” special doctrine for pure Blood Angels armies

An updated version of the Red Thirst Chapter tactic

The Vanguard Warlord traits

22 new stratagems, which are a mix of copies from the Space Marines codex and completely new Blood Angels exclusive ones

The Obscuration discipline for Phobos Librarians

Litanies of Battle, which Blood Angels Chaplains now have access to, 6 of which are copies from Codex: Space Marines and one of which is “Invocation of Destruction,” a unique litany exclusive to Blood Angels

5 new relics for Blood Angels armies

7 new pieces of special-issue wargear, of which 4 are copies of those found in the codex supplements for Codex: Space Marines and 3 of which are unique to Blood Angels

A separate list of new content for Flesh Tearers, including a unique Chapter tactic (Fury Within), 3 Warlord traits, 2 stratagems, and 2 relics, all of which are exclusive to the Flesh Tearers

Eagle-eyed readers might have counted the stratagems mentioned above and said “aha, but there’s actually 23 new stratagems in the book, not 22!” However, Adaptive Strategy was copied for Blood Angels in this book and then immediately deleted in the February 2020 Space Marine FAQ. So it goes.

Special Rules

Much like any of the chapters in Codex Space Marines, the Blood Angels have a Chapter tactic, The Red Thirst, and following the publication of Blood of Baal this not only got buffed in effect but also broadened to work universally. If you’re looking at your codex and thinking “if only my Predators were better in melee,” well, a) what’s wrong with you and b) following Blood of Baal, they are! BoB also brings in a bunch of new stratagems and adds the “Angels of Death” ability to Blood Angels units, which incorporates a bunch of special rules which were originally introduced to vanilla Space Marines in their codex. They additionally got their own special doctrine, “Savage Echoes.”

The Red Thirst:

In any turn a unit with this ability charged, was charged, or made a Heroic Intervention, you may add 1 to its wound rolls in the fight phase. You also get +1 to Advance and charge rolls. This is the key rule that differentiates a Blood Angel army from any other, making all their units viable in melee. Even just an Intercessor squad is wounding a Knight on 5s, or other Marines on 3s, making charging just to tie a unit up dangerous – and this is the reason the Blood Angel smash captain is still among the best of the bunch. +1 to charge is fantastic for coming out of deep strike, and +1 Advance isn’t too shabby for getting across the board, though Blood Angels don’t have a way to advance and charge to make it the absolute best it could be.

Black Rage:

You can add 1 to this unit’s Attacks characteristic for the duration of the Fight Phase if it charged in the preceding Charge phase. In addition, roll a D6 each time this unit loses a wound. On a 6 the wound is ignored and has no effect. By default, this rule is applied to Chaplain Lemartes, the Death Company, and the Death Company Dreadnought, helping all of them with both their survivability and damage output. The stratagem Death Visions of Sanguinius can also be used for one CP to give this rule to non-Primaris Captains, Chaplains, and Lieutenants who are not named characters.

Angels of Death

Angels of Death is a four-in-one special rule common to all Space Marine units. The four are And They Shall Know No Fear, Bolter Discipline, Shock Assault, and Combat Doctrines. The first three are always-on, but the last one only works in “pure” armies – a Battle-forged army where every unit excluding SERVITOR or UNALIGNED units has the Combat Doctrines ability. As well as the rules presented here, each Chapter has a special bonus in one of the three doctrines almost all of which are playstyle-defining, and for this reason the vast majority of Space Marines armies are monofaction rather than being souped as was powerful for most of 8th edition.

And They Shall Know No Fear

The first rule is one that Marines have had throughout the edition – when a Morale test is taken for a unit with ATSKNF, it can re-roll the dice. This is a helpful ability for keeping your units around a little longer. It also has a side application – you can optionally choose to re-roll even if you pass the first time, for example if you have a single model being tri-pointed, which can be handy if you would rather remove that model and be able to shoot the unit trapping it.

Bolter Discipline

Way back in 2nd edition, “Rapid Fire” was a Marine special rule which let them fire more than equivalent units. As time went on Rapid Fire became the weapon type we know and love, and Marines, and their iconic boltguns, began to seem less and less effective. Bolter Discipline is the intended solution to that.

Bolter Discipline is basically an expansion of the states in which models are able to benefit from Rapid Fire. Normally it’s just for being at half range – so for example, your ordinary boltgun is Rapid Fire 1, and has a 24″ range, so if the model firing it is within 12″ of its target it can fire 2 shots instead of 1. Instead, for units with this rule firing Rapid Fire bolt weapons, they can fire twice if:

The firing model’s target is within half the weapon’s maximum range (the ordinary rapid fire state),

OR the firing model is INFANTRY and every model in its unit remained stationary in your previous Movement phase,

OR the firing model is a TERMINATOR, BIKER, CENTURION, or DREADNOUGHT

This is a big step up in terms of the output of Rapid Fire bolt weapons. Back-line objective holding squads can now put out significant amounts of firepower if they stay still. Even more fearsome, Terminators, Centurions, Bikes, and Dreadnoughts can double fire even if they move – which means that they can put out a pile of shots at long range while still manoeuvreing around the table.

Shock Assault

Bolter Discipline makes Blood Angels units better at shooting with their iconic weapons; Shock Assault completes the other half of the Space Marine puzzle, allowing them to get into the kind of close-range firefights followed up by melee charges that you would expect from the fluff. It’s a very simple rule – in a turn in which a unit with Shock Assault makes a charge move, is charged, or performs a Heroic Intervention, each model in the unit adds 1 to its Attacks characteristic. This means that a basic, 5-man squad of Intercessors with a Sergeant with a chainsword is putting out 17 attacks (3 for each Intercessor, and 5 for the Intercessor Sergeant). For taking on light or even medium infantry that’s a whole lot of punches at S4. Even better, it applies to characters too, increasing the effectiveness of your slam Captains, Chaplains, etc.

Combat Doctrines

Combat Doctrines represents the progressive method of war which Space Marines, including the Blood Angels, follow – opening up with devastating long-range firepower, followed by close-range engagements, and then finally a charge into melee. The three doctrines are Devastator, Tactical, and Assault. Players begin the game in Devastator. At the beginning of battle round 2, they automatically change into Tactical. In round 3, they can choose to either stay in Tactical or change into Assault. From round 4 onwards, they must move to Assault, where they stay for the rest of the game. Each Doctrine increases the AP of a particular weapon type by 1 (i.e. AP0 becomes AP-1, AP-1 becomes AP-2, etc.)

The types are:

Devastator: Heavy and Grenade weapons

Heavy and Grenade weapons Tactical: Rapid Fire and Assault weapons

Rapid Fire and Assault weapons Assault: Pistol and melee weapons (remember, all models are considered to have a S: User, AP:0 close combat weapon)

This is a very powerful rule, particularly as it ties in with the special extra Doctrines each Chapter receives (we will discuss these in the relevant section below). The most powerful and obvious application is to Heavy weapons – all of your biggest guns gaining an extra point of AP from the beginning of the game is a huge benefit. To pick an obvious example, the lascannon goes from being AP-3 to AP-4, which against many of its primary targets means it goes from being saved 1/6th of the time to automatically penetrating armour. It’s somewhat reduced in scope from how it worked at release, though; the original version let you choose whether to progress forwards or not, whereas following the February FAQ you are now required to progress, as described above. This works fine for the Blood Angels, though – they want to be in Assault as fast as possible anyway, and their “special” Chapter doctrine works in this phase.

Speaking of, that doctrine is Savage Echoes – while the Assault Doctrine is active, if a unit with this ability makes a charge move, is charged, or performed a Heroic Intervention, add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of models in that unit until the end of the turn (which is cumulative with Shock Assault). This is a very powerful ability for a pure Blood Angels army – it pairs well with the Chapter tactic, and since Blood Angels are already throwing out high quality attacks, having more of them is a big gain.

Stratagems, Traits and Relics

Stratagems

The Blood Angel codex stratagems are all over the place, and great example of early 8th edition design. There’s a mix of things like Red Rampage or Descent of Angels that are key to running the army and will be used all the time, and things that are impractical to use or rely on, like Killshot or Linebreaker Bombardment.

Armoury of Baal – 1/3CP : Your standard extra Relic stratagem. BA have at least two good relics so you’re going to want to make use of this to get them. A

: Your standard extra Relic stratagem. BA have at least two good relics so you’re going to want to make use of this to get them. Forlorn Fury – 2CP : At the start of the first battle round, you can move (including an advance if you wish) a DEATH COMPANY INFANTRY unit. You can only use this once per battle. If you’re including Death Company this is very good if you go first – it lets you get up in their face and threaten to do bad things early on. You can also use it with a Smash Captain if they’ve been incautious about deployment. Worth noting that in the 2020 ITC format this is a lot more powerful than other places, since you know if you’re definitely going first or second and therefore can deploy your Death Company appropriately. B+

: At the start of the first battle round, you can move (including an advance if you wish) a DEATH COMPANY INFANTRY unit. You can only use this once per battle. If you’re including Death Company this is very good if you go first – it lets you get up in their face and threaten to do bad things early on. You can also use it with a Smash Captain if they’ve been incautious about deployment. Worth noting that in the 2020 ITC format this is a lot more powerful than other places, since you know if you’re definitely going first or second and therefore can deploy your Death Company appropriately. Behold the Golden Host – 1CP : After a Blood Angels unit with the Death Mask ability sets up on the battlefield, increase the range of that ability to 12″ until the start of your next turn. Noooooooo. F

: After a Blood Angels unit with the Death Mask ability sets up on the battlefield, increase the range of that ability to 12″ until the start of your next turn. Noooooooo. Auspex Scan – 2CP : Do a shooting intercept on a unit that sets up within 12″ at -1 to hit. Blood Angels are probably a bit less likely to be packing stuff that’s really good with this than most Marines, but it’s still OK. Can be funny on, say, a big unit of Sanguinary Guard blasting away at a unit of GSC that just set up unfortunately nearby. B

: Do a shooting intercept on a unit that sets up within 12″ at -1 to hit. Blood Angels are probably a bit less likely to be packing stuff that’s really good with this than most Marines, but it’s still OK. Can be funny on, say, a big unit of Sanguinary Guard blasting away at a unit of GSC that just set up unfortunately nearby. Death Visions of Sanguinius – 1CP : Give a non-Primaris Captain, Lieutenant or Chaplain the Black Rage ability and the DEATH COMPANY keyword. A key ingredient to the original Smash Captain build, accept no substitutes. A

: Give a non-Primaris Captain, Lieutenant or Chaplain the Black Rage ability and the DEATH COMPANY keyword. A key ingredient to the original Smash Captain build, accept no substitutes. Wisdom of the Ancients – 1CP : Turn a DREADNOUGHT into a captain for a turn, giving a re-roll 1s to hit aura. Potentially good fun with a Librarian Dreadnought, as they can’t be sniped out and it lets them pull double duty while Dante is off doing murder. Still usually feels like you could spend the points more efficiently elsewhere though. B-

: Turn a DREADNOUGHT into a captain for a turn, giving a re-roll 1s to hit aura. Potentially good fun with a Librarian Dreadnought, as they can’t be sniped out and it lets them pull double duty while Dante is off doing murder. Still usually feels like you could spend the points more efficiently elsewhere though. Strike of the Archangels – 2CP : Use after a TERMINATOR unit sets up on the battlefield – re-roll hits for them till the start of next turn. This is way too expensive for what it is, and Terminators aren’t really where you’re looking for your big Deep Strike hitters in this army. C

: Use after a TERMINATOR unit sets up on the battlefield – re-roll hits for them till the start of next turn. This is way too expensive for what it is, and Terminators aren’t really where you’re looking for your big Deep Strike hitters in this army. Tactical Flexibility – 1CP : Split a unit that can validly Combat Squad up into those sub-squads mid-game. Almost never relevant for BAs. D

: Split a unit that can validly Combat Squad up into those sub-squads mid-game. Almost never relevant for BAs. Cluster Mines – 1CP : A Scout Bike squad causes D3 MWs on a 2+ when they fall back. Scout bikes are at least OK and maybe a bit more likely to hit melee in BAs? Still very marginal. C

: A Scout Bike squad causes D3 MWs on a 2+ when they fall back. Scout bikes are at least OK and maybe a bit more likely to hit melee in BAs? Still very marginal. Upon Wings of Fire – 2CP : Before a JUMP PACK unit moves, redeploy them anywhere >9″ away from the enemy instead. Extremely good, part 2 of the classic smash captain recipe and an absolute staple of this army. A

: Before a JUMP PACK unit moves, redeploy them anywhere >9″ away from the enemy instead. Extremely good, part 2 of the classic smash captain recipe and an absolute staple of this army. Orbital Bombardment – 3CP : Call in an orbital strike on an area to deal d3 MWs to units on a 4+ (characters on 5+), as long as your Chapter Master doesn’t move. Marginal at the best of times and BAs have waaay better things to do with their CP. C-

: Call in an orbital strike on an area to deal d3 MWs to units on a 4+ (characters on 5+), as long as your Chapter Master doesn’t move. Marginal at the best of times and BAs have waaay better things to do with their CP. Datalink Telemetry – 1CP : Something about Land Speeders. F

: Something about Land Speeders. Lucifer Pattern Engines – 1CP : Use when you advance a non-DREADNOUGH/FLY VEHICLE. It auto advances 6″, or 6″+d6″ if it’s a Baal Predator. The Baal Predator bit is mostly to be ignored, but there can be some value in moving a model at speed to steal an objective or something. Sadly, there aren’t many good targets right now. Potentially good if you’ve decided you want to take something like a bumper car Hunter in your BA. C+

: Use when you advance a non-DREADNOUGH/FLY VEHICLE. It auto advances 6″, or 6″+d6″ if it’s a Baal Predator. The Baal Predator bit is mostly to be ignored, but there can be some value in moving a model at speed to steal an objective or something. Sadly, there aren’t many good targets right now. Potentially good if you’ve decided you want to take something like a bumper car Hunter in your BA. Empyric Channeling – 1CP : At the start of your psychic phase, if you have a BLOOD ANGELS PSYKER within 6″ of two other BLOOD ANGELS PSYKERS, you can manifest an extra power at +2 to cast. Thanks to Librarian Dreads and Mephiston BA lists often do contain two psykers, but the third is a bit of a tough sell. Does not, therefore, come up super often. C

: At the start of your psychic phase, if you have a BLOOD ANGELS PSYKER within 6″ of two other BLOOD ANGELS PSYKERS, you can manifest an extra power at +2 to cast. Thanks to Librarian Dreads and Mephiston BA lists often do contain two psykers, but the third is a bit of a tough sell. Does not, therefore, come up super often. Killshot – 1CP : Lets three Predators get +1 to wound and +1 damage against MONSTERS or VEHICLES. Leaving aside that you only get to use this if you go first in most matchups where it would matter, the fact that it doesn’t apply to Baal Predators is one of the greatest crimes in 8th. Weirdly, it’s still in this book (and in DA/SW/the Chaos ones) despite having been deleted from the baseline Space Marines. It’s still irrelevant though – Blood Angels aren’t going heavy on any vehicles, let alone slightly overcosted small Marine ones. E

: Lets three Predators get +1 to wound and +1 damage against MONSTERS or VEHICLES. Leaving aside that you only get to use this if you go first in most matchups where it would matter, the fact that it doesn’t apply to Baal Predators is one of the greatest crimes in 8th. Weirdly, it’s still in this book (and in DA/SW/the Chaos ones) despite having been deleted from the baseline Space Marines. It’s still irrelevant though – Blood Angels aren’t going heavy on any vehicles, let alone slightly overcosted small Marine ones. Linebreaker Bombardment – 1CP : Three Vindicators can combine fire for a big Mortal Wound blast. Look, Vindicators are better now, we get that, but you still aren’t taking three in a Blood Angels list. F

: Three Vindicators can combine fire for a big Mortal Wound blast. Look, Vindicators are better now, we get that, but you still aren’t taking three in a Blood Angels list. Hellfire Shells – 1CP : An INFANTRY unit can fire a heavy bolter for a special d3 MWs shot. Fine. B

: An INFANTRY unit can fire a heavy bolter for a special d3 MWs shot. Fine. Descent of Angels – 2CP : A JUMP PACK unit that deep struck or redeployed this turn gets a 3d6 charge. Pretty vital for making your alpha strikes land reliably. A

: A JUMP PACK unit that deep struck or redeployed this turn gets a 3d6 charge. Pretty vital for making your alpha strikes land reliably. Red Rampage – 1CP : A CHARACTER gets +d3 attacks for the fight phase. Another spicy Smash Captain ingredient designed to send priority targets on a one-way trip to hammer town. Remember it lasts for both fights if you combine it with Honour the Chapter or Only in Death Does Duty End . A

: A CHARACTER gets +d3 attacks for the fight phase. Another spicy Smash Captain ingredient designed to send priority targets on a one-way trip to hammer town. Remember it lasts for both fights if you combine it with or . Armour of Contempt – 1CP : Gives a vehicle a 5+++ against MWs for a phase. As ever, when this is good it’s very good, but BAs are likely to have fewer good targets than normal Marines. C+

: Gives a vehicle a 5+++ against MWs for a phase. As ever, when this is good it’s very good, but BAs are likely to have fewer good targets than normal Marines. Flakk Missile – 1CP : An INFANTRY model with a missile launcher fires a MW missile at a FLY target with +1 to hit. Fine. B

: An INFANTRY model with a missile launcher fires a MW missile at a FLY target with +1 to hit. Fine. Vengeance for Sanguinius – 1CP : Get an extra attack for each 6+ to hit in melee against HERETIC ASTARTES or 4+ against BLACK LEGION. Very rarely comes up, and the fact that a Smash Captain can’t even use it against a Discolord (because their -1 to hit means they don’t benefit) is criminal. Is at least “OK” when it’s relevant. C

: Get an extra attack for each 6+ to hit in melee against HERETIC ASTARTES or 4+ against BLACK LEGION. Very rarely comes up, and the fact that a Smash Captain can’t even use it against a Discolord (because their -1 to hit means they don’t benefit) is criminal. Is at least “OK” when it’s relevant. Honour the Chapter – 3CP : An INFANTRY or BIKER unit fights twice. Yes it sucks that BAs don’t yet have the new version where this works on any unit. It’s still real good. A

: An INFANTRY or BIKER unit fights twice. Yes it sucks that BAs don’t yet have the new version where this works on any unit. It’s still real good. Only in Death Does Duty End – 2CP: A CHARACTER can fight on death. Real good, as it means your Smash Captains very reliably get the job done even against things that can kill them. A

The Blood Angels also gained a list of new stratagems in Blood of Baal, some of which are reprints from Codex: Space Marines and some of which are unique to them (note that we removed Masterful Marksmanship from the list above as it changed; the new version is listed below):

Duty Eternal – 1 CP : A Space Marines stratagem comes to the Blood Angels. Used when a Dreadnought is the target of an attack, -1 to incoming damage until the end of the phase (FAQed back from half damage in February). Particularly useful for Blood Angels because Librarian Dreadnoughts can use it to stay alive. A

: A Space Marines stratagem comes to the Blood Angels. Used when a Dreadnought is the target of an attack, -1 to incoming damage until the end of the phase (FAQed back from half damage in February). Particularly useful for Blood Angels because Librarian Dreadnoughts can use it to stay alive. Veteran Intercessors – 1/2 CP : Another Space Marines donation. Upgrade a Blood Angels Intercessor Squad of 5/6+ models to be Veterans, giving them +1 Attack and +1 Ld. Sadly, can’t be used to upgrade Death Company Intercessors but still useful for turning a regular squad into a deadlier combat threat before the battle. B

: Another Space Marines donation. Upgrade a Blood Angels Intercessor Squad of 5/6+ models to be Veterans, giving them +1 Attack and +1 Ld. Sadly, can’t be used to upgrade Death Company Intercessors but still useful for turning a regular squad into a deadlier combat threat before the battle. Masterful Marksmanship – 1 CP : Reprinted here from Codex: Blood Angels with new wording to allow it to work in Overwatch. Used when a Sternguard Veteran Squad shoots or fires Overwatch. Until the end of the phase, it gets +1 to wound when attacking with a special issue boltgun. Helpful for pushing through the extra damage but not enough to make Sternguard viable. B

: Reprinted here from Codex: Blood Angels with new wording to allow it to work in Overwatch. Used when a Sternguard Veteran Squad shoots or fires Overwatch. Until the end of the phase, it gets +1 to wound when attacking with a special issue boltgun. Helpful for pushing through the extra damage but not enough to make Sternguard viable. Fury of the First – 1 CP : Use at the start of any phase to give a unit of Blood Angels Terminators +1 to hit for a phase. Another Space Marines donation. It may not be the best thing in the codex, but if you wanted to e.g. run a big pile of Assault Terminators with their sweet new rules that give them a hundred attacks each, this is going to help you to do that. B

: Use at the start of any phase to give a unit of Blood Angels Terminators +1 to hit for a phase. Another Space Marines donation. It may not be the best thing in the codex, but if you wanted to e.g. run a big pile of Assault Terminators with their sweet new rules that give them a hundred attacks each, this is going to help you to do that. Hunter-Slayer Missile – 1 CP : As per Codex: Space Marines. Use in the shooting phase with a Blood Angels Repulsor, pick a Vehicle/Monster unit within 48” and not within 1” of any other units in your army, roll a D6 and if it’s greater than or equal to your ballistic skill, the target takes D3 mortal wounds. A completely fine stratagem for getting some extra damage off with your Repulsor/Executioner. B

: As per Codex: Space Marines. Use in the shooting phase with a Blood Angels Repulsor, pick a Vehicle/Monster unit within 48” and not within 1” of any other units in your army, roll a D6 and if it’s greater than or equal to your ballistic skill, the target takes D3 mortal wounds. A completely fine stratagem for getting some extra damage off with your Repulsor/Executioner. Rapid Fire – 2 CP : Use at the start of your shooting phase on a Blood Angels Intercessor or Death Company Intercessors unit to turn bolt rifles in that unit into Rapid Fire 2 weapons for the rest of the phase. Nasty way to double the firepower of a unit before it charges in and wrecks something. B

: Use at the start of your shooting phase on a Blood Angels Intercessor or Death Company Intercessors unit to turn bolt rifles in that unit into Rapid Fire 2 weapons for the rest of the phase. Nasty way to double the firepower of a unit before it charges in and wrecks something. Big Guns Never Tire – 1 CP : Use when a Blood Angels Vehicle is chosen to shoot in the Shooting phase. Until the end of the phase, the unit ignores the penalty for moving and firing heavy weapons. A helpful stratagem to have in your back pocket pretty much all the time, though maybe a little less relevant for BA than other Chapters. B+

: Use when a Blood Angels Vehicle is chosen to shoot in the Shooting phase. Until the end of the phase, the unit ignores the penalty for moving and firing heavy weapons. A helpful stratagem to have in your back pocket pretty much all the time, though maybe a little less relevant for BA than other Chapters. Visage of the Damned – 1 CP : Use in the Fight phase on a Blood Angels unit that has the Death Mask ability. Until the end of the phase, units that attack that unit get -1 to hit. An interesting way to protect squads from being struck back if they can’t finish the job or consolidate into another unit. It doesn’t quite get there just because death masks are pretty rare and the main unit that can take them – Sanguinary Guard – probably doesn’t want to have to pay for them just to use this. C

: Use in the Fight phase on a Blood Angels unit that has the Death Mask ability. Until the end of the phase, units that attack that unit get -1 to hit. An interesting way to protect squads from being struck back if they can’t finish the job or consolidate into another unit. It doesn’t quite get there just because death masks are pretty rare and the main unit that can take them – Sanguinary Guard – probably doesn’t want to have to pay for them just to use this. Hero of the Chapter – 1 CP : Space Marines donation. Gives another model in your army a warlord trait. Very useful to have, and opens up more strategies for when you want to have Artisan of War and Gift of Foresight. Would be more useful if the Blood Angels had better Warlord Traits. B

: Space Marines donation. Gives another model in your army a warlord trait. Very useful to have, and opens up more strategies for when you want to have Artisan of War Gift of Foresight. Would be more useful if the Blood Angels had better Warlord Traits. Transhuman Physiology – 2 CP : Use when a non-vehicle, non-servitor unit is targeted. Until the end of the phase, wound rolls of 1/2/3 always fail when attacking that unit. Helpful for boosting the longevity of your models, especially when you have to shrug off a bunch of high-strength attacks. Especially great in Blood Angels which often want to build around expensive elite blocks like Sanguinary Guard. A



: Use when a non-vehicle, non-servitor unit is targeted. Until the end of the phase, wound rolls of 1/2/3 always fail when attacking that unit. Helpful for boosting the longevity of your models, especially when you have to shrug off a bunch of high-strength attacks. Especially great in Blood Angels which often want to build around expensive elite blocks like Sanguinary Guard. Vengeance of the Machine Spirit – 2 CP : Use when a Land Raider, Repulsor, or Stormraven dies. You can have it either automatically explode, or shoot one of its ranged weapons as if it were your shooting phase, or make one attack with its melee weapons as if it were the fight phase using the top profile. You’re never going to use the melee option, but the other two are pretty good, especially when the gun you fire with can be a twin lascannon. Mostly doesn’t get there just because the vehicles it applies to are mediocre at best. B-

: Use when a Land Raider, Repulsor, or Stormraven dies. You can have it either automatically explode, or shoot one of its ranged weapons as if it were your shooting phase, or make one attack with its melee weapons as if it were the fight phase using the top profile. You’re never going to use the melee option, but the other two are pretty good, especially when the gun you fire with can be a twin lascannon. Mostly doesn’t get there just because the vehicles it applies to are mediocre at best. Refusal to Die – 1 CP : Use in any phase after the Death Company are targeted with an attack. Until the end of the phase, when they take a wound, roll a D6; on a 5+, that wound isn’t lost. You can only use this once per turn. Boosts the Death Company FNP ability by 1 and helps keep them alive. Also creates an incentive to take larger fightman squads. B+



: Use in any phase after the Death Company are targeted with an attack. Until the end of the phase, when they take a wound, roll a D6; on a 5+, that wound isn’t lost. You can only use this once per turn. Boosts the Death Company FNP ability by 1 and helps keep them alive. Also creates an incentive to take larger fightman squads. Steady Advance – 1 CP : Use in the shooting phase when you shoot with an Infantry unit. Until the end of the phase they count as being stationary for the Bolter Discipline ability. Situationally useful for when you need to reposition a squad and still double-shoot, and probably does its best work on Sternguard Veterans. B

: Use in the shooting phase when you shoot with an Infantry unit. Until the end of the phase they count as being stationary for the Bolter Discipline ability. Situationally useful for when you need to reposition a squad and still double-shoot, and probably does its best work on Sternguard Veterans. Honoured by Baal – 1 CP : Lets you give a Blood Angels relic to a successor. Useful if you are a successor – you can pick up the Standard of Sacrifice or Angel’s Wings. A

: Lets you give a Blood Angels relic to a successor. Useful if you are a successor – you can pick up the Standard of Sacrifice or Angel’s Wings. Hammer of Wrath – 1 CP : When a Blood Angels Jump Pack unit finishes a charge, you can use this to roll a D6 for each model in the unit within 1” of an enemy model and on a 5+ that enemy model’s unit takes a mortal wound. Neat because you may be using more jump infantry but won’t do enough when it’s used and you should be able to kill things easy enough without the extra mortals. C

: When a Blood Angels Jump Pack unit finishes a charge, you can use this to roll a D6 for each model in the unit within 1” of an enemy model and on a 5+ that enemy model’s unit takes a mortal wound. Neat because you may be using more jump infantry but won’t do enough when it’s used and you should be able to kill things easy enough without the extra mortals. Death on the Wind – 1 CP : Use in the Fight phase. Pick a Sanguinary Guard unit. Until the end of the phase, when you resolve an attack for a model in that unit, damage results of 1 become 2s. Really beefs up the Sanguinary Guard, where the shift from doing 1-3 damage to 2-3 damage per hit is a major increase and ensures you won’t lose any hits when you’re fighting Primaris Marines. Coming in with 4 attacks each and wounding on 2+ with axes against T4 infantry makes Sanguinary Guard a scary unit to deal with. A

: Use in the Fight phase. Pick a Sanguinary Guard unit. Until the end of the phase, when you resolve an attack for a model in that unit, damage results of 1 become 2s. Really beefs up the Sanguinary Guard, where the shift from doing 1-3 damage to 2-3 damage per hit is a major increase and ensures you won’t lose any hits when you’re fighting Primaris Marines. Coming in with 4 attacks each and wounding on 2+ with axes against T4 infantry makes Sanguinary Guard a scary unit to deal with. Target Sighted – 3 CP : Allows an Intercessor or Death Company Intercessor to shoot a character that isn’t the closest unit for a single phase and they score extra mortal wounds on wound rolls of 6+. Expensive but very useful when you need to remove an aura, assuming you’ve taken stalker bolter Intercessors in the first place. B

: Allows an Intercessor or Death Company Intercessor to shoot a character that isn’t the closest unit for a single phase and they score extra mortal wounds on wound rolls of 6+. Expensive but very useful when you need to remove an aura, assuming you’ve taken stalker bolter Intercessors in the first place. Unbridled Ardour – 1 CP : Use in the Charge phase to let a Blood Angels unit Heroically Intervene as though it were a character and move up to 6” when doing so. Useful to trap a unit or drop in unannounced when an opponent hasn’t been careful. Great for anti-wrapping, or catching out an unwary opponent who thought they could avoid tangling with some of your combat block. B



: Use in the Charge phase to let a Blood Angels unit Heroically Intervene as though it were a character and move up to 6” when doing so. Useful to trap a unit or drop in unannounced when an opponent hasn’t been careful. Great for anti-wrapping, or catching out an unwary opponent who thought they could avoid tangling with some of your combat block. Adaptive Strategy – 1 CP : Use at the start of the battle round if there are any Blood Angels characters on the battlefield. Once per battle, you can turn back the current combat doctrine by one, i.e. going from Assault back to Tactical or Tactical back to Devastator. Useful to have the flexibility but because you’ll want to be in Assault Doctrine as soon as possible most games, probably not as useful as it’d be in other Marine armies. Nil. Nada. An ex-stratagem.

: Boltstorm – 2 CP : The Space Marines/Vigilus Stratagem that allows Blood Angels/Death Company Intercessors to automatically hit within half range. Neat but seldom worth it. B-

: The Space Marines/Vigilus Stratagem that allows Blood Angels/Death Company Intercessors to automatically hit within half range. Neat but seldom worth it. Explosive Judgment – 1 CP : Use in the shooting phase to give a unit of Sanguinary Guard re-rolls to wound with Angelus boltguns for a phase and their targets don’t get the benefit of cover. Sanguinary Guard get some big boosts between this and Death on the Wind and while DotW is more useful, this one’s not bad either. Just make sure not to kill your own charge target! B



: Use in the shooting phase to give a unit of Sanguinary Guard re-rolls to wound with Angelus boltguns for a phase and their targets don’t get the benefit of cover. Sanguinary Guard get some big boosts between this and Death on the Wind and while DotW is more useful, this one’s not bad either. Just make sure not to kill your own charge target! Gene-Wrought Might – 1 CP : Space Marines donation. When a Blood Angels Primaris Infantry unit fights with melee weapons, to hit rolls of 6 automatically score a hit and cause a wound (don’t roll). Helpful for pushing through more damage against a key target, especially big vehicles or monsters. B

: Space Marines donation. When a Blood Angels Primaris Infantry unit fights with melee weapons, to hit rolls of 6 automatically score a hit and cause a wound (don’t roll). Helpful for pushing through more damage against a key target, especially big vehicles or monsters. Chalice Overflowing – 1 CP: Use in your Movement phase to let a Sanguinary Priest use his Narthecium ability an extra time and you can double up targeting a unit with Narthecium in a turn. Can be helpful for making sure you put a multi-wound unit back on the table or getting multiple models back in a unit. For whatever reason, the Sanguinary Novitiate doesn’t have the right keywords for this – so full Priests only. C+



Warlord Traits

Blood Angel warlord traits are mostly designed around playing herohammer, and the ones that aren’t are also not useful.

Speed of the Primarch : Fight first. At this point the rules writers have largely realised that this ability is terrible when only on a single model. This codex pre-dates this revelation. This is terrible. It’s also Mephiston’s required Warlord trait so uhhh maybe don’t make that guy your Warlord. F

: Fight first. At this point the rules writers have largely realised that this ability is terrible when only on a single model. This codex pre-dates this revelation. This is terrible. It’s also Mephiston’s required Warlord trait so uhhh maybe don’t make that guy your Warlord. Artisan of War : +1 Damage to one of the warlord’s non-relic weapons. You can use this and the new “master-crafted” special issue wargear item to get two damage 4 smash Captains, which is pretty great. Probably the best of the bunch. A

: +1 Damage to one of the warlord’s non-relic weapons. You can use this and the new “master-crafted” special issue wargear item to get two damage 4 smash Captains, which is pretty great. Probably the best of the bunch. Soulwarden : Gain a deny, or deny one extra time. Extremely mediocre. C

: Gain a deny, or deny one extra time. Extremely mediocre. Heroic Bearing : Blood Angels within 6″ auto-pass morale. Completely unnecessary. D

: Blood Angels within 6″ auto-pass morale. Completely unnecessary. Gift of Foresight : Your warlord has a 6+++ and can re-roll 1s on the roll, or a 5+++ if they have the Black Rage. It’s a shame you can’t boost Primaris characters with Death Visions of Sanguinius as this would be great on a Gravis Captain, but it’s still one of the better ones on this list. B

: Your warlord has a 6+++ and can re-roll 1s on the roll, or a 5+++ if they have the Black Rage. It’s a shame you can’t boost Primaris characters with as this would be great on a Gravis Captain, but it’s still one of the better ones on this list. Selfless Valour: Your warlord has a 6″ Heroic Intervention. Is at least fine, and can catch people out if they’re not paying attention. B

They also now have access to the Vanguard Warlord traits for Phobos characters:

Shoot and Fade: Pick a Phobos unit within 6″ at the end of the shooting phase. Buffed from its previous incarnation, where it could only affect the character. That unit can move, but cannot advance and cannot then charge. It’s a bit like the Eldar stratagem Fire and Fade, and potentially fun for bossing some Eliminators in and out of line of sight or something, though probably not exactly the playstyle you’re looking for in Blood Angels. Still an interesting trait in the arsenal. B-

Pick a Phobos unit within 6″ at the end of the shooting phase. Buffed from its previous incarnation, where it could only affect the character. That unit can move, but cannot advance and cannot then charge. It’s a bit like the Eldar stratagem Fire and Fade, and potentially fun for bossing some Eliminators in and out of line of sight or something, though probably not exactly the playstyle you’re looking for in Blood Angels. Still an interesting trait in the arsenal. Lord of Deceit: Lets you redeploy 3 Phobos units at the start of the first battle round. Another stolen Eldar trick . A bit of a nerf, as in the Shadowspear rules it affected everything, and the restriction hurts a lot here. Potentially good for pulling tricks with Incursors. B+

Lets you redeploy 3 Phobos units at the start of the first battle round. Another stolen Eldar trick . A bit of a nerf, as in the Shadowspear rules it affected everything, and the restriction hurts a lot here. Potentially good for pulling tricks with Incursors. Master of the Vanguard: Phobos units get +1 Advance and Charge in an aura. You want to be deep in Phobos units to make the most of it, but if you are then it’s great for making an impact. A list that went heavy on an aggressive Incursor push might be fun with this and the Chapter tactic. B

Phobos units get +1 Advance and Charge in an aura. You want to be deep in Phobos units to make the most of it, but if you are then it’s great for making an impact. A list that went heavy on an aggressive Incursor push might be fun with this and the Chapter tactic. Stealth Adept: Warlord gets -1 to hit against him. Fine, but the Phobos characters kind of need to be more threatening for this to be good. C

Warlord gets -1 to hit against him. Fine, but the Phobos characters kind of need to be more threatening for this to be good. Target Priority: Pick a Phobos unit to get +1 to hit. Another nerf-by-keyword. Potentially quite good with Eliminators – this is the one thing that messes up the maths of “buff sergeant always better”, as making three Las Fusils hit on 2s is pretty tasty. However, it’s an open question if that’s “worth” the slot. B

Pick a Phobos unit to get +1 to hit. Another nerf-by-keyword. Potentially quite good with Eliminators – this is the one thing that messes up the maths of “buff sergeant always better”, as making three Las Fusils hit on 2s is pretty tasty. However, it’s an open question if that’s “worth” the slot. Marksman’s Honours: +1D to the warlord’s ranged weapons. This can be very funny in Raven Guard with their special bullets, or for throwing on a Phobos Captain with his master-crafted damage 3 gun to make it damage 4 and potentially able to punk out even mid-tier characters in a single shot, but not necessarily the first thing you want. A good target for Hero of the Chapter in the right situation. B

Relics

Continuing the theme of early 8th edition design, these relics are a mix of very useful relics that are near a must-take, and things that will be left on the shelf nearly all the time. Not a lot of meaningful choices here.

The Hammer of Baal : Thunder Hammer without the -1 to hit. It’s fine, but Artisan of War is a marginally better increase to the damage output of a Captain, so tends to be used instead. B

: Thunder Hammer without the -1 to hit. It’s fine, but Artisan of War is a marginally better increase to the damage output of a Captain, so tends to be used instead. The Angel’s Wing : Big money. A relic Jump Pack that gives you re-roll charges and stops you being overwatched. Easily the best of the lot, and frequently seen in both pure and soup usage. Goes great with Descent of Angels , as they combine to give you an extremely small chance of failing the charge. A

: Big money. A relic Jump Pack that gives you re-roll charges and stops you being overwatched. Easily the best of the lot, and frequently seen in both pure and soup usage. Goes great with , as they combine to give you an extremely small chance of failing the charge. Veritas Vitae : Regain a CP when you use a stratagem on a 5+. Since the advent of Tactical Restraint this often isn’t needed in soup lists, but in pure Blood Angels it will almost always pay for itself, and you should take it. B+

: Regain a CP when you use a stratagem on a 5+. Since the advent of Tactical Restraint this often isn’t needed in soup lists, but in pure Blood Angels it will almost always pay for itself, and you should take it. Gallian’s Staff : Relic force stave with +1 to cast smite. Not worth it, especially as you will often have Librarian Dreadnoughts or Mephiston as your psykers, who can’t use this. C

: Relic force stave with +1 to cast smite. Not worth it, especially as you will often have Librarian Dreadnoughts or Mephiston as your psykers, who can’t use this. Archangel’s Shard : Relic power sword/master-crafted power sword. Is a power sword with damage d3 against monsters or d6 against daemon monsters. If you have a character that can take it kicking around it’s a fine flex pick in the right games, but it’s so rare for this to be super great, and you aren’t likely including many viable candidates. C

: Relic power sword/master-crafted power sword. Is a power sword with damage d3 against monsters or d6 against daemon monsters. If you have a character that can take it kicking around it’s a fine flex pick in the right games, but it’s so rare for this to be super great, and you aren’t likely including many viable candidates. Standard of Sacrifice: Relic banner for an ANCIENT. Gives a 5+++ to non-DEATH COMPANY models within 6″. The aura is pretty small and this takes some using, but AoE 5+++ is a very powerful effect, especially if you have a pile of 2-wound, 2+ save bodies on the table. A

Blood Angels got 5 new relics in Blood of Baal, plus Special Issue Wargear, same as the other Supplement Chapters. Note that these are Blood Angels only, but one can be given to a successor using the Honoured by Baal stratagem.

Decimator : Replaces a master-crafted auto-bolt rifle and bumps you up to S5, AP-2, D2, and you don’t take a penalty to hit when Advancing and firing. A nice little boost for a Lieutenant, but it’s not going to replace a better melee option. C+

: Replaces a master-crafted auto-bolt rifle and bumps you up to S5, AP-2, D2, and you don’t take a penalty to hit when Advancing and firing. A nice little boost for a Lieutenant, but it’s not going to replace a better melee option. Wrath of Baal : Sanguinary Ancient banner. At the start of your Movement phase, add 2 to the Move of friendly Blood Angels Jump Pack units within 6”. Bonus lasts until end of turn. An interesting boost for Jump infantry trying to make a turn 1 charge but still not quite enough to get there. If you have just one Sanguinary Ancient, you probably want the Standard of Sacrifice first, though it’s possible to take 2 and get both. B



: Sanguinary Ancient banner. At the start of your Movement phase, add 2 to the Move of friendly Blood Angels Jump Pack units within 6”. Bonus lasts until end of turn. An interesting boost for Jump infantry trying to make a turn 1 charge but still not quite enough to get there. If you have just one Sanguinary Ancient, you probably want the Standard of Sacrifice first, though it’s possible to take 2 and get both. Biomantic Sarcophagus : For a Librarian Dreadnought. Adds 6” to the range of the model’s psychic powers and once per turn, when you take a psychic or deny the witch test with this model, you can re-roll one of the dice. This is really good, and helpful for making sure your Dreadnought can pass the WC 7 test for casting Quickening before he hops into combat. A

: For a Librarian Dreadnought. Adds 6” to the range of the model’s psychic powers and once per turn, when you take a psychic or deny the witch test with this model, you can re-roll one of the dice. This is really good, and helpful for making sure your Dreadnought can pass the WC 7 test for casting before he hops into combat. Figure of Death : Replaces a Crozius with one that’s S+1, AP-2 D2 and when you make a successful wound roll the target unit gets -2 to its Ld for the rest of the turn. This isn’t worth your time when so many other great relics are in the army. D

: Replaces a Crozius with one that’s S+1, AP-2 D2 and when you make a successful wound roll the target unit gets -2 to its Ld for the rest of the turn. This isn’t worth your time when so many other great relics are in the army. Gleaming Pinions: Jump Pack model only. The bearer can charge in a turn in which it fell back, and it gets +1 to its charge distances. This is really, really good on a Smash Captain. Pairs with the Chapter Tactic to turn 9” deep strike charges into 7” charges that are very manageable. A

The Gleaming Pinions and Biomantic Sarcophagus are both top-tier relics, boosting up units (smash Captains/Librarian Dreadnoughts) that were already good and making them even better.

Special Issue Wargear

Blood Angels and their successors also get access to Special Issue Wargear, a list of ‘lesser’ relics. Note that these are in addition to the Archangel’s Shard in Codex: Blood Angels. Disappointingly, Blood Angels don’t get an equivalent of the Honoured Sergeant stratagem to give some of these to a squad sergeant.

Adamantine Mantle : When this model loses a wound, roll a D6; on a 5+, the wound isn’t lost. Same as the Space Marine chapters. Useful on a Smash Captain for extending his survivability. B

: When this model loses a wound, roll a D6; on a 5+, the wound isn’t lost. Same as the Space Marine chapters. Useful on a Smash Captain for extending his survivability. Artificer Armour : Gives a model a 2+ save and a 5+ invulnerable save. Somewhat useful on a smash captain, where the boost to his armor save may help, but more likely to be useful on a Jump Pack LIbrarian, who won’t have an invulnerable save otherwise. B

: Gives a model a 2+ save and a 5+ invulnerable save. Somewhat useful on a smash captain, where the boost to his armor save may help, but more likely to be useful on a Jump Pack LIbrarian, who won’t have an invulnerable save otherwise. Quake Bolts : The Blood Angels special bolter ammo. Give this to someone and you can choose to shoot with these bolts instead when firing a bolt weapon. When you shoot with these, make only one attack, but if you hit, the target is “felled” until the end of the turn and the attack continues. When you attack a felled unit in melee, add 1 to the hit roll. This is surprisingly useful compared to other relic ammo, and is a great way to help take out big targets where you need to mitigate the -1 to hit from Thunder Hammers. Strong combo with these and Smash Captains or hammer-toting Death Company. A

: The Blood Angels special bolter ammo. Give this to someone and you can choose to shoot with these bolts instead when firing a bolt weapon. When you shoot with these, make only one attack, but if you hit, the target is “felled” until the end of the turn and the attack continues. When you attack a felled unit in melee, add 1 to the hit roll. This is surprisingly useful compared to other relic ammo, and is a great way to help take out big targets where you need to mitigate the -1 to hit from Thunder Hammers. Strong combo with these and Smash Captains or hammer-toting Death Company. Master-Crafted Weapon : Give a weapon +1 damage and it’s considered to be a Relic of Baal. Useful ability almost all the time, great on Smash Captains and a standard go-to for Successors. A

: Give a weapon +1 damage and it’s considered to be a Relic of Baal. Useful ability almost all the time, great on Smash Captains and a standard go-to for Successors. Digital Weapons: Less useful. When you fight, you make 1 extra attack using the “close combat weapon profile” and if you hit, you score a mortal wound. Not strong enough to merit taking . D

Less useful. When you fight, you make 1 extra attack using the “close combat weapon profile” and if you hit, you score a mortal wound. Not strong enough to merit taking Fleshrender Grenades: Replaces frag grenades with some that are type Grenade 3, S5, AP-3 2 Damage and the target doesn’t get the benefit of cover. These are pretty great, but the 6” range is a brutal downer and with no way to get them into a grenade launcher, they just don’t get there. C

Replaces frag grenades with some that are type Grenade 3, S5, AP-3 2 Damage and the target doesn’t get the benefit of cover. These are pretty great, but the 6” range is a brutal downer and with no way to get them into a grenade launcher, they just don’t get there. C Icon of the Angel: When you make charge rolls for friendly Blood Angels/successors within 3” of this model, you can re-roll any of the dice. Basically an Icon of Khorne with a 3” aura and another stackable way to make sure you absolutely hit that charge the turn your unit lands on the table. A

Psychic Powers

The Blood Angels have their own psychic lore, predictably named the Sanguinary discipline. Psychic powers here are primarily buffs for both the psyker, turning him into a combat monster, and other units, boosting their offense or defense. There are also the mandatory not-smites, neither of which are very useful.

Quickening – WC7: Add 3 to the psyker’s Advance and Charge rolls, and make D3 additional attacks in the Fight phase. One half of turning a Librarian Dreadnought or Mephiston into a guided missile, this power significantly increases both damage output and charge reliability. It can also be used out of deep strike to give a librarian a 6″ charge, though neither Mephiston nor a Librarian Dreadnought can actually deep strike. A Unleash Rage – WC6: Select a friendly Blood Angels unit within 12″, and add 1 to their Attacks characteristics until the next psychic phase. A great choice on a buffing librarian, this is a huge increase to the damage output of a squad of Sanguinary Guard, Death Company, or Vanguard Veterans. A Shield of Sanguinius – WC6: Select a friendly Blood Angels unit within 12″, and grant them a 5++ invulnerable save. Useful, but not really critical. A good fourth pick, but it’s only really protecting against plasma rather than common high-volume weapons. C Blood Boil – WC6: Target a visible enemy within 6″ and compare 2d6 to their toughness. If it exceeds toughness, do D3 mortal wounds. If it more than doubles, do 3 mortal wounds. If your librarian is at 6″ from the enemy just charge them, a self-buff with Quickening will increase damage output more than Blood Boil, which is most likely to just be smite with an additional condition and less range. F The Blood Lance – WC6: Select a visible enemy model within 12″, and draw a line. Roll a D6 for each model passed over, and do a mortal wound on a 5+. Only even maybe useful if it can cross 6 or more models, this is another spell where smite should just be cast instead. F Wings of Sanguinius – WC5: If this goes off, the psyker’s move characteristic is increased to 12″, they get to immediately move, gain the Fly keyword, and can re-roll failed charge rolls. There’s no way this should only be WC5, this would be good if it only gave Fly, much less everything else. Either Mephiston or a Librarian Dreadnought should be taking this in every army. A

They also now have access to the Obscuration discipline for Phobos psykers, as per Codex Space Marines.

On the whole, these are a good set of powers and got better with the new Phobos units entering the mix, where we have some quality targets to throw them on. The biggest benefit to this discipline is that all of its powers have a Warp Charge cost of 6, so they’re all pretty easy to cast. Blood Angels have a great selection of powers in their own lore which gel better with their aggressive melee-focused gameplay, but there’s still some ok stuff here if you want to play a Phobos-heavy army:

Shrouding (WC 6). Pick a friendly BLOOD ANGELS Phobos unit within 18″ of the psyker. Until the start of your next psychic phase, enemies can only shoot at that unit if it’s the closest visible target or they’re firing Overwatch. A strong effect, but it can potentially be at odds with the notion that your Phobos-armored units may be closer than the rest of the army. Its best use is protecting Eliminators, who are going to be high-value targets for enemy fire, or a backfield squad sitting on an objective that has your whole Blood Angels army in front of it punching things. B Soul Sight (WC 6). Pick a friendly BLOOD ANGELS Phobos unit within 18″. Until the start of your next Psychic phase, when that unit shoots, it can re-roll the hit roll and the units it targets do not get the benefit of cover to their saving throws. This one hasn’t changed either, but picked up more utility from Eliminators becoming even better. Works well paired with either of bolt sniper rifles and las-fusils. A Mind Raid (WC 6). Pick a visible enemy model within 18″ of the psyker. It takes a mortal wound. If your army is Battle-Forged and the model is a CHARACTER, roll 3D6. If you roll equal to or above its Leadership characteristic, you get 1 Command Point. An interesting ability that hasn’t changed much, the big problem with Mind Raid is that most of the time you’re just going to have better stuff to do and getting within 18″ of an enemy character may just not be what you want your Phobos Librarian doing. C Hallucination (WC 6). Pick a visible enemy unit within 18″ of the psyker. It gets -1 to its Ld and your opponent rolls 2D6. If the result is higher than the unit’s Ld, that unit suffers a -1 to its hit rolls until the start of your next psychic phase. This is another potentially solid ability that mimics the Dark Angel and Space Wolves powers to degrade enemy hit rolls, but runs a dangerous risk of doing nothing at all a lot of the time. C Tenebrous Curse (WC 6). Pick a visible enemy unit within 18″ that doesn’t have the FLY keyword. It takes a mortal wound and its Movement stat, Advance, and Charge rolls are halved until the start of your next psychic phase. Against something like a Lord Discordant-heavy Chaos army this can be extremely potent, but is also incredibly dead in others – it would do literal nothing against e.g. Eldar. One to keep in the back pocket for the right match-up. B / E (based on matchup) Temporal Corridor (WC 6). Pick a friendly BLOOD ANGELS Phobos unit within 3″. It can move as though it was the Movement phase. It can’t Fall Back and must Advance, and when it does, you roll 3D6 and discard two of the rolls. You can’t use this on a unit more than once in a Psychic phase. At first glance this feels like a loyalist Warptime, but the Phobos and Advance restrictions really take a lot of the wind out from under its sails. B

Chaplain Litanies

With Blood of Baal, the Blood Angels gained access to the “Litanies of Battle” list copied from Codex: Space Marines. Your Chaplain knows the Litany of Hate on his datasheet, which allows re-rolls to hit in the Fight phase for units within 6″, and one of the following:

Litany of Faith – When friendly <CHAPTER> units within 6″ suffer a mortal wound, roll a D6. On a 5+, they ignore that wound. Doesn’t stack with other abilities. Catechism of Fire – Pick a friendly <CHAPTER> unit within 6″. That unit gets +1 to its To Wound rolls when it shoots the closest visible unit. Exhortation of Rage – Pick a friendly <CHAPTER> unit within 6″. When that unit fights, unmodified 6s give you another attack with the same weapon. The new attacks don’t cause further attacks. Mantra of Strength – Add 1 to the Chaplain’s Strength and Attack characteristics and 1 to the Damage characteristic of its melee weapons. Recitation of Focus – Pick a friendly <CHAPTER> unit within 6″. Add 1 to the To Hit rolls of that unit’s attacks made with ranged weapons. Canticle of Hate – Add 2 to charge rolls for friendly <CHAPTER> units within 6″ of this model and friendly <CHAPTER> units within 6″ can move 6″ when they pile in or consolidate. Doesn’t stack with other abilities that increase these ranges.

Additionally, like other chapters, the Sons of Sanguinius get their own special litany as follows:

Invocation of Destruction: Pick a Blood Angels unit within 6”. When you make an attack by a melee weapon with a model in that unit, on an unmodified wound roll of 6, the AP of the attack becomes -4. This can be really nasty when you think about how many attacks Blood Angels can throw out with something like a squad of Death Company or Veteran Intercessors, but it needs a big squad with lots of attacks to be worthwhile. As with the other Chapter Litanies though, you know this for free in addition to your chosen ones, so it’s pure upside.

This is a great little toolbox to pick from, and you can really make a Chaplain into a key part of your battle plan by picking the right litanies. It’s taken something like 8 editions but Chaplains are finally useful utility characters! There’s some obvious utility here from the Canticle of Hate, which doesn’t stack with the Chapter tactic but does give you a bonus that’s flat better than the +1″, and the Mantra of Strength which can turbo-boost a Chaplain’s melee ability (and don’t sleep on comboing this with the two special character Chaplains that Blood Angels have). The other litanies all have utility, though, whether that’s protecting your expensive combat units from a volley of Smites, or potentially giving your Sanguinary Guard guns a bit of extra punch with +1 to wound. You should be picking based on your plan and, where possible, your match-up to get the right litany for the situation.

Units

In each section, we’ll list out the units in the slot, then discuss them in detail. We’re going to aim to only look at the units in each slot that are especially relevant or are unique to Blood Angels, as Blood Angels have many units and most of them are shared with Codex: Space Marines – if something isn’t talked about here, consult Start Competing: Space Marines instead. We’ll be touching on Forge World units when they make sense, and ignoring the chaff units that make little sense in a competitive list.

HQ