Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Blood Angels (section)

====Special Characters==== 
*'''[[Astorath]] the Grim:''' He's basically a Reclusiarch with Artificer Armour, a jump pack, and a two-handed power axe. He is initiative 1 due to that axe, so he will be the stain on the end of your opponent's commander's boot if you're not careful (or just a dumbass), but to offset that, rolling a 6 to-wound makes the wound automatic with ID.  He also allows DC to re-roll to-wound on a turn where he charges. Since Reclusiarchs came back in the form of Death Company Chaplains, Astorath isn't an auto-include anymore if you wish to take Death Company. Alternatively, if initiative is an issue, decide if you want him to fight with his axe or his pistol (counted as CCW, see BRB pg. 41 and 42).

*'''The [[Sanguinor]], Exemplar of the Host:''' Apparently responsible for a great deal of the Blood Angels' past victories. He has Initiative 6 and WS 8 and an Encarmine Sword and a jump pack. He has 2+ armour, 4+ invulnerable, Furious Charge, Fearless, Eternal Warrior, and can re-roll to-hit and to-wound in challenges. He gives all Blood Angels models within 6" a free attack so they can make that big assault, bolstered by the army-wide Furious Charge. While many people think this guy isn't worth his cost when you look at other options in the army, consider this guy to be a missile you fire at an enemy unit. Your opponent will have to dedicate a substantial amount of firepower to bring him down before he gets into close combat. While he won't do that well against 2+ armor, there are many 3+ characters and units that he will mow through. He can take down Kharn, so that's saying something. You also take him because he's a force multiplier, he makes every BA unit around him even better in assault which is a pretty powerful buff since you're going to have units blocking LOS anyway while he's on the way towards the enemy.

*'''[[Mephiston]], Lord of Death:''' Mephiston's changed! His Warlord trait gives him Adamantium Will, so stick him in a squad and watch as you deny witchfires and maledictions on a 4+ if the character is Mastery Level 3, 4, or Magnus and deny on a 3+ if the enemy psyker is ML 1 or 2 (+1 For Psyker rule, +1 for Adamantium Will, +1 for having a higher Mastery Level). He's now ''only'' WS6 but he can get his WS7 back by accompanying a Sanguinary Priest, and with S/T5 it means he can now be insta-killed by Demolisher Cannons/Railguns/Powerklaws, no need for enemies to waste Force and other ID bullshit. He has Furious Charge, Fleet and ATSKNF replacing Fearless. However, Mephiston's an Independent Character so if you're feeling threatened stick him in a Terminator Squad with Storm Shields and abuse that 2+ Look out sir! He can still roll on Biomancy to buff his stats, he has ''Sanguine Sword'' (A WC1 blessing that makes him S10) as a personal power, and he has Transfixing Gaze; Each turn Meffy's in a challenge, you roll 2D6. If you roll equal to or higher than the enemy's Ld, Mephiston hits on a 2+ like a boss. He's still a badass, just slightly different so he's still the Blood Angels go-to Character. Always keep him away from Force and S10 weaponry.
**If you want ol' Mephiston to become much more survivable, take a look at the new Fulmination discipline, specifically the Electroshield power. With his ML3, you stand almost a 2/3 chance of getting the power. It is WC1 so Meph is pretty likely to get it off. Enjoy your new 3++ toting death machine. Or Fists of Lightning combined with transfixing gaze. For every 2+ he rolls to hit, he gets an additional (see power) hits. Not a terrible combo or devouring anything weaker than MEQs. Alternatively, stick him in a Land Raider Crusader with 15 Death Company for added hilarity and carnage. 

*'''Captain [[Erasmus Tycho]]:''' Good ol' Cap'n Tycho, a mainstay from the olden days, now lost in purpose. He has a master-crafted combi-melta that has an 18" range on the melta part and is AP4 on the bolter part. No more specialist ammunition though. He's also lost his ability to punch through tanks and armour and so has absolutely no close combat special abilities other than Digital Weapons and Hatred (Orks). He's cheap for a special character at 130 points, but an upgraded captain can potentially do much more than he can, use him with care.
**'''Tycho the Lost:''' Tycho off his happy pills. The upgraded version of Tycho, he's still an Independent Character this time around, so no longer needs to run around solo, though he can only join Death Company squads like Lemartes. His profile is unchanged though, and now only gets the addition of Feel No Pain, Fearless and Relentless, which is not bad for an extra 15 points. Unfortunately his gear remains the same so he's stuck foot-slogging with non-jump pack Death Company.

*'''Brother [[Corbulo]]:''' Bullets no longer hurt your troops and you get one free re-roll. And this can be for any roll except deployment (though he can re-roll Seize) or game continuation. Unless he dies before you use it, at which point you kinda didn't deserve it anyway. He has a S5 Rending chainsword and grants +1 ws AND initiative to every Blood Angels unit within 6" (including himself). This doesn't stack with the WS bonus from a Blood Chalice but stacks with the initiave bonus granted from the Baal Strike Force Detachment. Did we mention that his fixed warlord trait is Speed of the Primarch? It could be kinda funny to make him your warlord, if only to see him put out 5 strength 6 <b>initiative 8</b> rending attacks on the charge. Costs as much as 2 ordinary Priests and is still vulnerable to powerfists, though, so be careful with him.

*'''Malakim Phoros (Forgeworld)''': [[Lamenters]] Chapter Master. The 2013 Forgeworld update turned him from an average character to a scary monster. He lost his ability to force enemy rerolls on successful leadership tests but instead gained the zealot special rule and also generates a 6" hatred bubble around himself, furthermore if he loses a wound he flips out and gains +1 S and A and also confers rage to himself and any unit he joins. All of this makes him very similar to a overcharged chaplain. His Inferno Pistol is now 12" range and his Glaive Encarmine grants +1 Strength on the charge. Finally, he's the ONLY Blood Angels character who has the chance to suffer /''(benefit)'' from Red Thirst. Although nothing compared to Mephy, he's still awesome with DC in a LRC, or if you have balls of reinforced Ununoctium, a Spartan from FW. 24 Blood Crazed Maniacs + Malakim Phoros = An awful lot of dead things, also watch as your opponent's sense of Target Priority utterly EXPLODES.
**'''Bodyguarding this guy''' Outside of things like a Command Squad (useful to give him FnP but still a bit of a waste with only five 3+ 1W models), DC (wastes Rage and the Fearless part of Zealot but will still hit like a truck), and possibly non-jumping Vanguard Veterans, you're pretty stymied to find a good bodyguard for this guy. He's not like Dante who runs best with SG, or Seth who runs usually with DC. The best bet I can think of is either AssTermies with claws in an LRC if you're feeling pricey, or maybe even Custodes if you can find a decent way to transport them.

*'''Captain Karlaen (Deathstorm)''': Basic Termie Captain with an MC Thunder Hammer and Iron Halo for 160 points, which is a little bit more than a normal/vanilla captain with the same loadout, but he has Counter-Attack and Furious Charge built-in, which 5th Edition BA Captains didn't get. His Warlord Trait allows him +1 to Seize and gives a re-roll on Reserves at any time while he's alive, which is admittedly incredible for a DS-heavy force like the Blood Angels. Mix him in with an Archangels formation and you've got a turn one deep striking, re-rolling reserves, at 1d6 scatter, with stubborn, and The captain still toting Counter-attack! Sweet mercy that's painful.
**Seizing the initiative: Pair Cappy K up with Brother Corbulo's all seeing re-roll and you could be seizing with odds better than a 4+. Tasty.