COMBINED ARMS DETACHMENT
Dante
Librarian with jump pack, ML1, force sword, combi-melta
Tactical squad (5) with flamer, combi-flamer, Rhino (fast)
Tactical squad (5) with flamer, combi-flamer, Rhino (fast)
Scouts (5) with close combat weapons
Command Squad with jump packs, apothecary, champion and 3 meltaguns
Death Company (10) with jump packs and 2 power fists
Land Speeder with 2 multi-meltas
Land Speeder with 2 multi-meltas
Land Speeder with 2 multi-meltas
Storm Raven with lascannons and multi-meltas
Some list analysis:
I tried to make this flavour-full. What is special about Blood Angels? Dante, death company, jump packs, heavy flamers in tactical squads, fast tanks, Baal Predators and fancy dreadnoughts. Because they only have 2 attacks, the dreadnoughts are shit. Because they are heavy1, the flamers shit. because they are predators, the predators are shit. The rest is fine so I've got it in there. What's fluffy about Blood Angels but not unique? Storm Ravens - check. Finally, what has some synergy with stuff that is already in this list - land speeders. Dante's warlord trait is descent of Angels, which lets you re-roll failed reserve rolls and only scatter D6 when you land. This works well with the speeders, who happen to be one of the few ways to get a lot of melta, which BA need badly because they don't have great grav-gun platforms. I can almost null deploy with this list as the DC, Command Squad, speeders and Raven can all deep strike.
You have 2 big beat sticks in the command squad with the Librarian and Dante (until they potentially break off) and the Death Company. Both of them are capable of handling most targets (besides maybe Wraith Knights...ugh). Most of the finesse in the list revolves around applying these units. The key thing I've learnt playing Blood Angels for a few months is that when they charge they smash face, but when you get charged Blood Angels are just extra-expensive assault marines, which suck. You need to manage the charges. This is a part of the finesse.
Next up in the worth mentioning list is all the deep striking stuff. With Dante things only scatter D6 and you can re-roll the reserve rolls, which makes land-speeders versatile if not outstanding. I'm not sure whether maybe some typhoons would be good for the speeders. Play-testing will tell. I feel moderately confident I can pop knights if I can drop the speeders and the command squad (with its 5 meltas) around it. The danger then is that the command squad is exposed to return fire from units around the knight (like grav-breachers). Being able to deep strike speeders with limited scatter is also handy for maelstrom because you can drop directly onto the target and be guaranteed a capture (very often without even needing to turbo boost). The storm Raven will almost always come on turn 2 to do work, dropping off the scouts at the end of the game for some objective grabbing shenanigans.
Speaking of which, this is a CAD, not a Blood Angel's strike force (BASF). The BASF isn't worth trading ob-sec away. BA troop options are tacticals without access to grav-cannons and scouts without access to land speeder storms. Blurg. One of the only things the BA troops have going for them is fast rhinos, though without the grav cannons that would make them good. Those Rhinos become so much less useful if you don't have ob-sec. The +1 initiative from the BASF seems nice, but Eldar will still get their hits and I4 units that you're scared of are actually usually swinging at I1, like Chapter Masters with fists, terminators, veterans with fists/axes, Lysander etc. One of the few exceptions is Daemons, but there the ob-sec can win you games because they have so little and you can override hounds with it. The strike force is something you want in Eternal War or narrative missions. I'll stick with the CAD. This makes my tactical squads and scouts quite effective objective grabbers. The marines have flamers to clear things off objectives and to get more hits out of the 5 man unit. The Rhinos are speedy so I can move 12 and still flame out the hatch. The scouts can charge out of the Raven (I've found this to be very effective with STR5 and A4). Combined with the speed of the elite units and the speeders I'm actually half-decent at grabbing stuff.
Lastly I will mention Dante again. The Space Marine chapter masters with Eternal warrior, whether home brewed with the shield eternal or drawn from Marneus, Lysander or Dante, are absolute stars of the Space Marine codexes. There are very few units that can take them in challenges (even a D-thirster would die to Dante with the full command squad behind him), they tank wonderfully and they very rarely give up slay the Warlord. Dante swings before pretty much anything at I6, wounds just about everything on a 2+ at STR7 and has AP2 with 4 attacks base, 2 weapons and master crafted. He isn't so good at tanking because he only has a 4++, but with eternal warrior he has some capacity in this area and he has a lot more mobility than Lysander or Marneus, which makes running away from him harder and hiding him in close combat much easier.
On to the weaknesses of this list:
The most important weakness is that your units are actually quite flimsy and you don't have a huge body count. Feel no pain is okay but the DC is only T4 with a 3+ and they don't have anything that can tank for them. If you get a character with a storm shield in there you still have the problem of that character being instant death'ed by most things you would want it to tank. The command squad also has feel no pain and Dante can tank a bit because of eternal warrior, but you don't really want him to because his 4++ won't save that many wounds. He can take a modest hit from a demolisher cannon and does work against AP3 weapons, but otherwise I'd rather save him and lose veterans because he is more killy than they are. Your land speeders and Rhinos are made of paper and will be frequently exposed to fire while zooming about to grab objectives. In a lot of games I will need to play very conservatively with them. This is part of the finesse of the list - don't play the bum rush like the fluff tells you to. Play Raven Guard sneaky shit shenanigans. The Storm Raven is tough as nails with 12 all round, jink and flyer status, but it doesn't put out a lot of Dakka. This brings me to the second big issue:
You are reliant on the two elite units for most of your killing power. The tacticals can handle infantry swarms like guard squads, orks and gaunts, but won't do a great job against much else because they only have 5 bodies (though 5 krak grenades are okay against rear armour 10). The speeders en masse can take any vehicle, but with Hull Points you often need 2 speeders to be safe, especially against AR13+. This leaves the elites to take out most priority targets, and note that there are some that you aren't great against. Dreadnoughts, for example, are a real pain. The DC gets no saves against them so you will lose some dudes before your fists swing, and the command squad just has STR6 krak grenades to get through the armour. Dante can lend a hand with STR7 on the charge, but if you don't win after the first round you want to hit and run out of there so your meltas can get the job done. Hopefully the command squad can melt the target on the way in. Lots of 2+ (esp. terminators, Riptides and Broadsides) are also a pain because you're swinging AP3 for the most part, but Dante will do a number on them (6 attacks swinging first at 3+ to hit master crafted, 2+ to wound and only a 5++ save...k cya bye), as will the melta on the way in. You're generally not that great against vehicles in close combat with the command squad (the fists in the DC are a different matter) but you can hopefully take them out with the melta. Again, this is part of the finesse.
On this front, I think it is absolutely imperative that this list be played conservatively. Do not just charge forward with the elite squads - pick your spots. I will generally start on the board with everything and move into LOS blocking terrain and cover. I will then try to shepherd my opponent into advantageous positions and pick off exposed units with good charges. Hiding in close combat will be critical. I have plenty of ways to score cards as I draw them (lots of characters for challenges, lots of assault options, strong, reliable shooting (though not massive of it), plenty of ways to kill tanks, harness the warp, mobility, assault and melta options for the Blood Angel specific cards etc) and I am mobile so I can't be hemmed in by an aggressive force. I also have Dante's rolling on the tactical objectives table. But I die easily, especially if I am charged. I will need to play the long game and be extremely cagey rather than hope to table my opponent. I can sacrifice the troops and speeders when I need to score a card, but the big boys have to pick their spots.
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