One thing of note is that 'ard Boyz Kill Points have changed. They will be using standard rule book KPs except for mission 2. (Here is the mission pack)
HQ: Dante- 200
HQ: Chaplain Lemartes- 125
HQ: Honour Guard (5)- 300- Company Champion; Tech Adept; Sanguinary Priest, Power Weapon; Standard Bearer, Blood Angels Banner, Power Fist; Melta Gun
Elites: Terminator Squad (5)- 450- 2 x Lightning Claws, 3 x TH & SS; Land Raider
Elites: Death Company (6)- 30- Jump Packs
Troops: Tactical Squad (10)- 310- Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Plasma Rifle, Missile Launcher; Rhino, Extra Armour
Troops: Tactical Squad (10)- 310- Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Melta Gun, Plasma Cannon; Rhino, Extra Armour
Troops: Assault Squad (5)- 175- Power Weapon, Melta Bomb; Plasma Pistol
Troops: Assault Squad (10)- 305- Power Fist, 2 x Plasma Pistol
Fast Attack: Assault Bike Squad- 150- 3 x Multi-Meltas
Heavy Support: Vindicator- 145- Extra Armour, Dozer Blades
Pts: 2500 Scoring Units: 4-7 KPs: 11, 25 for Mission 2
OR You swap out the Honour Guard for the following
Elites: Veteran Assault Squad (8)- 300- 2 x Power Weapon; Power Fist, Combat Shield; 1 x Melta Gun, 1 x Flamer
Which that makes the KPs for ‘ard Boyz mission 2 as follows: 27.
Tactics: So I think Blood Angels would have a rough time with mission 2. A lot of armies have alternatives to command squads, and while I provided one here in the form of the Veteran Assault Squad, ultimately it isn’t as good as the Honour Guard IMOHO as you loose the all critical Blood Angels which gives +1 Attack to the honour guard (including Dante) and lets squads within 6” re-roll failed morale and pinning tests.
Okay, so generally this follows the typical BA Ball of Death Strategy. Dante and HG and Lemartes with the DC are potent assault squads. These guys can hit hard and bring the hurt. Eliminate scoring units and high KP targets. The DC can go after those nasty Daemon Princes even with Furious Assault, Litanies of Hate, and Rending. That means that on the charge they should stand a chance of dealing several wounds, as each guy pumps out 4 attacks. Feel No Pain should generally keep them alive to reach those critical combats.
While the Terminators aren’t as good as normal SM terminators, they should not be written off. Because BA do not get the 3+ inv. save SS then it is still worth it to take lightning claws. These guys should get in some wounds before you start taking wounds. When you take wounds, allocate to them first so that your TH can still attack. The Land Raider is a dedicated transport here to save some KP’s (0 in standards and 1 in mission 2, saving you 1 either way).
The Tactical Squads are to be versatile, but mostly fire support. You can combat squad them up as well if you want to engage multiple targets. BA rhinos with extra armour are the best rhinos there are for making that push to contest/control that final objective. 13-18” move.
One Assault Squad is just for standard use. The melta-bomb is incase they find a vehicle that needs popping. Put the Plasma Pistol on a Marine other than the Sergeant so that if you fail a get hot, you still have the power weapon.
The second Assault Squad is a little larger and for good reason. Against armies with high T models, such as monstrous creatures, you want more of a buffer on your power fist. If your opponent doesn’t have such things, combat squad the squad with a plasma pistol in each squad. Once again, don’t give one to the Sergeant.
The Assault Bike Squad should be able to kill a vehicle or two before dying. T5 with 6 wounds in the squad is nice, and they have to get allocated round robin before you lose a bike. Take out transports first, as your assault troops can’t hit the scoring units inside as long as they are mounted up.
The Vindicator is a nice piece of artillery. Nurgle units beware. I don’t think I have to go into it’s uses really. Though I did spend my last 5 points on a dozer blade so it could get through difficult terrain easier to makes its shots, since it does have limited range.
The Land Raider is for the Terminators, but it is also a part of your anti-mech/MC forces. Use it as such.
While I like to deploy on table, this army has plenty of Deep Striking Options. 2 Assault Squads, Lemartes and DC, Dante and HG, Terminator Squad. Against Chaos Daemons with Flamer heavy lists, I’d choose to Deep Strike the assault squads. Anything not in transports is highly vulnerable to the Flamers when they land. I lost my whole HG, DC and one Assault squad to 3 units of Deep Striking Flamers this last weekend 1st turn when none of his deep strikes scattered and he landed 2 inches away from each squad (I still won the battle though but it was quite ugly). So hold them in reserves so that you don’t have to worry as much.
There you go. My Blood Angels ‘ard Boyz list. Look out for more. Your Army may be next.