Warhammer 40k Blood Angels: Baal Predator Tactics

Ok, well, Blood Angels are known for their fast attack and furious assaults. SO, when answering the questions concerning what sort of armour should a Blood Angels army include... there is really only one answer. It is NOT the Land Raider. In my opinion Land Raiders have nothing to do with Blood Angels what so ever. They are slow, big and clunky. No my friends, the choice is simple. The Baal Predator. Allow me to introduce, again, this marvel of Blood Angels technology.

First of all, The Baal is a tank based on the Predator design of Space Marine tanks that only the Blood Angels have access to. It comes with a Turret Mounted, Twin Linked assault cannon. It has weapon options too. It make add a Storm Bolter, and side sponson weapons. Heavy Flamers, or Heavy Bolters. It may also add a Hunter Killer Missle. The fire power that this tank can lay down is tremendous! When taking the Heavy Bolters, and Storm Bolter options, you can pump out 12 shots at a target. I once used my ball against a squad of Guardians with a Warlock, and killed the entire squad, except for the Warlock who made his invul save. (and then killed the Baal with his Singing spear but that is another story) The fact that is almost all non power armor models will be denied armor saves against the Baal Preds guns. Its a great Ork Killer! The assault cannon is str 6 and the heavy bolers are str 5, so they will most likely wound as well. Add the missle launcher and you can drop a small template, increasing the wounds by as many as you can hit... could be 10+ if they are packed. That could be 22 wounds dealt by the tank. No one expects that kind of fire power that does not play against BA regularly so do not hesitate to unleash that hell whenever you can.

Another suprising aspect of the BP is that it is a Fast Vehicle on a roll of 4+. That means that the BP may move a maximum speed of 18", may move 12 and stil fire a gun, and may move 6" and still fire ALL of its guns. Yes, that's right... the BP may move from behind a wall, and fire off every gun it has at an unsuspecting squad hiding behind cover. Without a doubt, every opponent you play will gasp at the pure torrent of fire the BP will unleash, and be prepared to read the rules to them, several times. Keep that ace in your pocket for when you need it most... meaning, dont use the fast vehicle option until you have a whole squad under your guns, and out of cover. Then light them up!

Other options:

It does not have much. It comes with a searchlight and smoke. Buy it Extra Armor, always. It will draw fire, and being able to reduce shakens to stuns will ensure that you can get away if you need to by moving 18 inches to safety.

How to use a Baal Predator:

It lacks the tank killing power of a LR or Pred Anhialator. It is NOT a tank killer, dont even try to waste your Assault Cannon shots hoping to get lucky. It might be ok at popping armor 10 vehicles, but to fire on them is a waste of this machines power. The exception, is squads of speeders. If you can get a squad of 3 speeders under your guns, take the chance. Especially since they will probably have meltaguns and will zap the BP next turn any way. Your Assault Cannons can hurt them on 4s and rend, while your heavy bolters can hurt on 5s and the storm bolter on 6s.

The main purpose of the BP is to work as infantry or armor support. Using it together with a Vindicator is devastating. Or, use it as a tank killing group by teaming it with an attack bike with Multi Melta. The bike can move up behind the BP, free of Line of Sight. At the last minute, the bike pops out from behind the BP moving 12", then fires its multi melta at tanks within 12", getting a Str 8, ap 2 shot +2d6. Yup, the attack bike has a TWO FOOT threat range to knock out any tank in the game with ease. This 50 point model makes the Baal Pred that much more devastating.

Heavy Flamer sponsons? I don't suggest them. It will be rare indeed that you get the chance to lay one of them onto a squad, even more rare that you get to use two... that means you are wasting a sponson. You can move that thing up 12" and drop the HF template on a squad, but a land speeder is better at that by far. Dont bother.

Speaking of Land Speeders, if you want to seriously make a trio of death, take the above mentioned Tank Killer combo of BP and AB, then add a Land Speeder with Multi Melta, Heavy Flamer and Typhoon Missle Launcher! (yes you can add all 3) Use the BP as moving cover and move the fast attack up behind it to leap out and strike. They have speed, fire power, and when used properly are simply devastating to mech infantry and armored companies. Use the attack bike to pop a Chimera full of pesky Karskrin, then light them up with the BP and Speeder!

Don't leave your Baal isolated. Its strength is in its support factor. Keep it with advancing assault troops, or foot slogging Tacticals. It's versatile speed make it able to support either type of infantry equally.

So there you go! Don't be afraid to play the Baal Pred. Combine it with Fast Attack fire power, and supporting infantry, and you have a huge mobile fire base. Use its smoke launchers to get from cover to cover, and tandem it with a Furioso Dread to truely scare the crap out of your opponent. Have fun!