Blood Angels without the Old Boys

[Aothaine]

So, I'm curious what everyone thinks about running Blood Angels without the Old Boys. Doing this guts a lot of what the Blood Angels are and the tools they have access to. Ex. Cpt Smash, Death Company, Priests, etc. You lose a lot if you go with Primaris only with Blood Angels. I wonder if this is something that is a good move though. What are your thoughts? Can a primaris only force of Blood Angels be some-what competitive? I don't our new dex isn't out yet and that could open a lot of doors for primaris Blood Angels. But I am genuinely curious if you guys think if the faction of Blood Angels is worth building towards if you lose out on all the specialty units.

[Zeller]

I'll preface this with 3 things - 1: I haven't played my BA since 5th ed, 2: I don't play competitively, and 3: I don't run Primaris yet. So, my opinion below is mostly useless to you I'm sure.

 

If we lose the unique units, rules, and lore/cultural aspects that make us more than simply red marines, the Blood Angels are pointless. 

 

Just had a thought. Primaris marines that are original wouldn't have the black rage because they were born and in stasis before Sanguinius' death. Wouldn't the standard marines that become Primaris'd retain those gene-encoded memories and thus pass them off in death the usual way? I'm not too familiar with Primaris physiology, but this seems like an easy way for GW to preserve our chapter's flavor.

 

As a guy with a big collection of BA, I'd say they're worth building towards even at this point. I'm actually more interested in buying standard marine units now with the long-term risk of those kits being discontinued if and when GW cuts the line. That's my tin foil theory anyway. 

[Blindhamster]

So, I'm curious what everyone thinks about running Blood Angels without the Old Boys. Doing this guts a lot of what the Blood Angels are and the tools they have access to. Ex. Cpt Smash, Death Company, Priests, etc. You lose a lot if you go with Primaris only with Blood Angels. I wonder if this is something that is a good move though. What are your thoughts? Can a primaris only force of Blood Angels be some-what competitive? I don't our new dex isn't out yet and that could open a lot of doors for primaris Blood Angels. But I am genuinely curious if you guys think if the faction of Blood Angels is worth building towards if you lose out on all the specialty units.

 

I've been playing pure primaris since primaris came out. It's fun and Blood Angels Primaris work pretty well as we have a fair number of rules that help out.

 

The +1 Damage warlord trait is good at making any of the options a bit harder hitting, as are the usual strats that give more attacks etc.

 

upon wings of fire is GREAT for inceptors.

 

The +1 to Wound ability the entire army has helps make reivers a bit more viable, and is generally pretty good for our entire army - power sword Intercessor sergeants are pretty scary, especially now they also have Shock Assault... I really hope we get veteran intercessors eventually too, but could be too much to hope for.

 

Standard of Sacrifice is very nice for primaris.

 

 

however. And its a big one...

 

 

Red marines will probably give you more till we get an update.

[Panzer]

Primaris BA is limited for sure, but it doesn't feel bad if you adjust your expectations accordingly. It's not the all out melee list some of us like to play but rather an all-comers list with decent melee capability on every single unit.

[Spyros]

I 've written a fun list to guide my painting targets. I rarely play, but I think it wouldn't be that bad.

It focuses on mobility and the sergeants and officers are armed for CQB.

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/338490-reinforcements-from-terra-2000pts-post-ca2018/

[Klod]

I find it hard to properly represent Blood Angels on the table with Primaris only. The range dakka is ok-ish, but Primaris lack a good Flyer (or any Flyer actually) and proper close combat units. Reivers suck, and even if they wouldn't, they feel wrong in a Blood Angels army. It even says in the BA codex that Reivers are viewed as dishonorable and distasteful. All the newest Vanguard Marines releases (inc. Shadowspear) look to me like Call-of-Duty-type special operatives. Sneaky and snipery. Not a fan honestly. I will eventually pick up a squad of every unit that Primaris have, simply for variety (after all even in the HH we had assassins and Destroyers. Because necessity), but I personally think that it is gona take some time (probably over a year, maybe two) till I can say "Yes, this Primaris only army feels like Blood Angels to me". I think the best things for us are still to come.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Klod

[Xerxus]

It is not possible to embody a true BA attitude with pure Primaris right now, but it is reasonable to expect true assault units before long. I'm pre-emptively painting up a full Primaris force, slotting in the appropriate units as they come along. Since I'm a terribly lazy painter I can just trudge along at a snail's pace and still be prepared when a pure BA-style Primaris force becomes legitimately competitive. Currently I'm looking to add a couple of Impulsors.

[PaladinStormlord]

So, I'm curious what everyone thinks about running Blood Angels without the Old Boys. Doing this guts a lot of what the Blood Angels are and the tools they have access to. Ex. Cpt Smash, Death Company, Priests, etc. You lose a lot if you go with Primaris only with Blood Angels. I wonder if this is something that is a good move though. What are your thoughts? Can a primaris only force of Blood Angels be some-what competitive? I don't our new dex isn't out yet and that could open a lot of doors for primaris Blood Angels. But I am genuinely curious if you guys think if the faction of Blood Angels is worth building towards if you lose out on all the specialty units.

Have you looked at Neonmoles list he takes to competitive events and does well with? His list does use a Smash Captain, but the rest of his list is pure primaris. 

 

Look at this thread (see below), about half way in you will see his Army.

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/333543-grimdark-blood-angels-blog-170619-heat-1-experiences/

[Vermintide]

GW likes money. I'm sure they will maximise the oppotunity to make more of it by giving the SM sub-factions their own Primaris units in future :) It's probably not a bad idea at all to build up a base of the core units until then- Stuff like Intercessors and Hellblasters, and the Infiltrators look pretty good for us too.

Personally I've been impatient and started working on converting a unit of Rievers into Primaris Death Company. I'm fluffing it up as marines who tried to cross the Rubicon, and in doing so, their black rage was triggered. In game terms they're just counts-as DC, but they look so much nicer.

The only worrying omission in the current Primaris lineup, so far, is jump packs. Everything else has a rough equivalent, but if Primaris can't take jump packs in some variant, that means a lot of classic options are out of the question. That said, the Vanguard release is encouraging, in that it filled a lot of gaps- Maybe the third wave of Primaris will see more focus on assault.

[appiah4]

There is so little BA specific 'New Boys' stuff that there is currently no reason to do this IMO.

[The Unseen]

I keep waiting for someone to do conversion work on Sanguinary Guard to make them Primaris sized, so I can then do it too.

They fit right in as "Primaris jump pack melee dudes" 2 wounds and all, just model wise are little too small.

[Vermintide]

I keep waiting for someone to do conversion work on Sanguinary Guard to make them Primaris sized, so I can then do it too.

They fit right in as "Primaris jump pack melee dudes" 2 wounds and all, just model wise are little too small.

Stormcast Eternals would be a great source of parts for this, I think. There are even those flying ones with bunches of scrolls hanging from them, Astorath style.

 

If I had the money I'd be doing it myself, but they're also one of the most expensive in the model range.