AbusePuppy

Blood Angels aren't a top-tier competitive army, and there's not really anything you can do to change that. At the same time, they aren't completely hopeless and do have some options for playing a reasonable game- but those options involve going down specific paths to specific builds. If you're set on using particular units that you like (Land Raider, Death Company, etc) then it's going to be a lot harder to manage things.

The fact that Pods are AV12 all around, and thus extremely resistant to most melee attacks, is part of what makes them so obnoxious. Drop Pods are far, far more resilient than they have any right to be considering they are literally just an open frame with some exhausted rocket thrusters on it.

Waiting... waiting... TO KILL!

I think either the Grav bikes or 3x Attack Bikes are your best options. I'm not a huge fan of Land Speeders- they die too easily to a lot of the S5-7 firepower out there and even Deep Striking is not guarantee of getting to shoot first. Vindicares hit pretty hard but are really fragile, and I don't see any reason you would specifically need one. The Predator could be decent- AutoLas is my preferred setup, but TriLas is a lot better priced these days. The DC Dread I'm skeptical of, since AV12 is sorta tough but not that tough- he does give you a good option against Genestealer Cults, though.

Yeah, it feels like the Tau box is an "expansion" box rather than a starter box- if you already bought the Tau starter force, this adds a bunch of points to your army without doubling up on anything (which everyone knows is a sin.) Stealth Suits aren't as bad as people tend to make them out to be, though they're obviously not fantastic- but the OpStealth Cadre certainly is. The box as a whole can "introduce" a player to a bunch of new units in a controlled format, which is what GW tends to like.

Yeah, Forge World had already produced some Tyranid terrain pieces, so it wouldn't be hard to do something for them. I think the reason they haven't done other races' stuff is that they are kits with a limited market, but to think about it so is any kit for a non-Imperial race, so I'm not sure what the reason for making, say, a new kit for the Deathwatch flyer but not a terrain kit for the races. Seems like it wouldn't be too hard to do it in the style of the building kits they have, with a bunch of modular pieces that can be assembled into 1-4 different fortifications of various kinds. (By the fluff for it, Aegis Defense Lines actually are dropped into play; they come in little crate thingers that are airdropped into a battle zone and the troops on site unpack them and voila, instant fortress.)

I don't think it's a good reason, and let's not pretend that GW is ever consistent with their rules or reasons for things, but that's what I'm assuming that GW is rationalizing it as. I think that they should've done race-specific fortifications a long time ago, because the rules easily permit them. That they largely haven't up until very recently and then suddenly done a surge of stuff for Tau and only Tau is quite weird, but complaining that other armies don't get to take those fortifications when they can't use most of their abilities is rather futile.

I think the fact that they have abilities that explicitly only work for Tau models are the reason why they are restricted to Tau armies. Obviously they still could theoretically have some uses for other forces, but that's a bit of a marginal case.

They are, but they do not have all their rules included in the boxes.

The Plasma Obliterator's rules are included in its own box and are current to 7th Edition. Why would you expect them to get an update?

That works much better. Last year Assassins and Harlequins were alluded to be taken as part of other forces-is this the case again?

:|

The chariot is both a vehicle model and (typically) an infantry model, so it will not qualify for abilities that require a non-vehicle or non-infantry model. Is there something specific you're wondering about, or just a more general question?

The Talon Strike Force can do a lot of really good stuff- I wrote an article about it (https://www.frontlinegaming.org/2016/02/02/the-pinion-demi-company-why-arent-you-using-it/) that you might find useful. Pax's assessment is harsh, but I don't think it's wholly off the mark- you're gonna struggle a lot if all you have is bodies. The Pinion Demi-Company synergizes much better with the TSF's innate bonuses than the standard Demi-Company does; while you'll be lacking Objective Secured, that isn't as critical as it's often made out to be. Several of the auxiliary options for the TSF are excellent choices to pair with it- obviously the Skyhammer is amazing, but the Shadowstrike Team is also very good and can catch people by surprise. Bringing along an additional Combined Arms for Lias Issodon (from Forge World) or an Inquisition detachment for the Servo-Skulls are both strong additions as well.

The Assassin is easier to hide behind terrain and has superior innate deployment options; for the time being, at least, his aura also works out of a transport. Sisters are better in combat and are less likely to die to random Boltguns shooting at them and whatnot. They are also potentially a lower investment, since you can choose to take just five of them if you want. I think the Sisters are a little bit better than the Assassin generally speaking, but the Assassin is not without merit. If you find yourself using him aggressively a lot then he may be more useful. Also, if you don't want to buy transports for the Sisters, he is more functional. Two units of Sisters is definitely superior to one larger unit in most scenarios, though of course that means two transports for them instead of just one. (Without a vehicle to get them to the enemy, either Drop Pod, Rhino, or what have you, I don't think Sisters of Silence are really functional. Auras on foot just don't cut the mustard.)

There is no such thing as a "normal cover save." There is no rule that grants a generic 5+ cover save just for being obscured by anything- being obscured by friendly/enemy models is a 5+ cover save (but this model specifically excepts that), and being obscured by many kinds of terrain is a 5+ cover save (but this terrain has its own rules and thus does not use the datasheets for any terrain from the BRB.)

How are you getting that? It explicitly says that vehicles and MCs don't get a cover save for being 25% obscured by it.

Shaylynn and I are planning to attend, I know that much- possibly some other Corvallians.

Tau Pulse and Burst weapons are actually described as plasma weapons in their entries, so it's arguable that they get the benefits.. Maybe you wanna take twelve blast shots with that Riptide or squad of Crisis suits. It's also kinda weird that it doesn't provide cover to vehicles or MCs, given the size of the model.

The running joke in our Deathwatch game was that every time the Space Wolf put his helmet on (which he usually didn't), there was just a mass of beard splaying out from the rebreather vents on the front of the helmet.

Unfortunately, the draft FAQ says it both ways- in one location, it says that it is d3 autohits per shot the weapon fires, in another it says that it is d3 autohits per weapon that fires.

Caveat: Lord Hanaur says that about literally every army and every build in the game.

No Drop Pods is going to limit your options a lot- even just one for a Sternguard squad could do a lot of work. Typically tacticals are only taken in 5mans, since two guys can shoot out the top of a Rhino. A 10man is less ideal but has some uses, since it pushes your scoring presence up; if you're doing that, running a longer-ranged heavy weapon (Lascannon being the best choice, I think) for Combat Squad purposes is probably the right call. Devastators having Tank Hunter is actually one of the best things about Imperial Fists. Definitely make use of it with good anti-tank weapons, because you will be really sad if you find out that you can't hurt that Falcon with a S5 gun.

1. The Librarius Conclave is super, super strong. You should certainly at least consider using it, but it will depend on how powerful you want the list to be and what your local meta is like. 2. Command Squads typically operate on their own, rather than with the Captain tagging along. The most common versions are "all special weapons in a Drop Pod", which basically shows up and kills something then dies, and "on bikes with melee gear" which tries to cover for any close combat deficiencies in an army. The second version sometimes has a Captain tagging along, but just as often not. 3. Rerolling Bolter shots is good, but don't get over-hyped on it and forget that you need other guns as well. Loadout will depend a lot on how you intend to run the units- Drop Pods are very useful for units looking to focus on inflicting damage at short range with Bolters/etc, but they aren't mandatory for all your squads. Tactical Squads can easily be run in Rhinos with a Multimelta or Grav Cannon to do work against enemy tanks. Assault Squads should probably be kept at minimum size, probably with a pair of Flamers- a Drop Pod is again preferred here, but Jump Packs work as well. Devastators can either be in a Rhino for protection or a 10man on foot for maximum firepower- Lascannons are likely your best option for them. Sternguard are easily the best of the three First Company options, but Drop Pods are pretty much mandatory for them- without, they just don't do much. You'll likely want 3-5 Combi-Weapons per squad, depending on size and preferences. Terminators can be usable, but will rarely impress and don't benefit a lot from the chapter tactic. Centurion Devs are really good if you can transport them, but you don't really have a way to do that as it stands- a Stormraven can sorta work, but it's far from ideal. Scout squads should be all Bolters realistically, but if you don't have the models for it it's not a big deal- a Missile Launcher or Heavy Bolter isn't a terrible plan for them, but I would avoid Camo Cloaks.

Anyone competent going second against the army is going to deploy well back from their line, and short of a horde army (which would welcome your charge) they should find it trivial to stay 6" past their own deployment line, thus denying you any possibility of a charge. Or, better yet, putting a bait unit 4" or 5" past, to give you a really difficult charge in case you decide to risk everything on a bad decision.