4/5 stars. I almost gave a higher rating. The Blood Angels are strong in third edition when built and played as intended.
Background.
To me, the Blood Angels are almost a loyalist version of the Emperor's Children (or maybe it is the other way around to some of you?). They have a predilection for art and the finer things in life, having hailed from the wastes of Baal. Their primarch's gene-helix raised them high but at cost. Vampires in all but name, they got bogged down at Signus by the Warmaster and after a little sojourn in the Unspoken Empire, made haste to Terra to defend the throne at incredible cost.
Armoury.
Inferno Pistols are a very short range melta shot with S=8 and a valuable AP=2. Great for causing damage on the way in, and as an accent to a melta-cide unit.
Blades of Perdition are power weapons set on fire basically. Aflame causes a leadership penalty when hitting a target unit and this is certainly valuable for combat purposes. Worth taking.
The Iliastus assault cannon is similarly nice and has a place in heavy support squads, veterans, command squads, terminators, predators and leviathans. Sponsons and pintles are similarly good quality for this cannon. Overload (1) is a risk if you use it on maximal, but that's the gamble.
Revenants is a Prime Force Organization Slot upgrade that gives Fear (1). Handy in some circumstances and often a surprise to opponents who don't regularly play against Blood Angels to remind them that they eat others' flesh. You will be causing routs with this when combined with the Blades of Perdition and the Tactica below.
Tactica.
Encarmine Fury returns in third edition . You get a flat S+1 in the turn you charged. This is still solid, but not as good as first edition, and equal to second edition.
Gambits.
Thrall of the Red Thirst lets you ignore focus negative modifiers caused by wounds lost but you don't get outside support. Its a trade off that sometimes works, but not really a top pick.
Additional Detachments.
Revelation Host is very specific and fluffy: you get up to 2 assault squads and 2 dawnbreaker cohorts.
Advanced Reaction.
Wrath of Angels allows you to get closer to the enemy that shot at you. Take a full move toward them. Its that simple. Oh, and if you get very close (6 inches) force them to take a cool test or be pinned in place by your glory or vampiric disposition (delete as appropriate).
Wrath of Angels allows you to get closer to the enemy that shot at you. Take a full move toward them. Its that simple. Oh, and if you get very close (6 inches) force them to take a cool test or be pinned in place by your glory or vampiric disposition (delete as appropriate).
I regard the Blood Angels as really rather good in third edition. The combination of blades of perdition, revenants, and encarmine fury is excellent. Layer on top of this wrath of angels to get you closer, and long range support from S=6 auto cannons with breaching and heavy (FP) and you have an army that can tackle most comers.
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