The Blood Angels are a favourite of many Warhammer 40K fans out there largely because of their noble backstory and the bright red power armour they wear in battle.
In my face-offs so far with Edward, on the tabletop, Blood Angels are fearsome in melee and if you couple them with jump packs to help them close the distance they are absolutely brutal to face off against.
Here are a few notable things about the Blood Angels which I find to be fascinating:
Cool Fact 1
Sanguinius, the Primarch from whom their gene seed originates from actually had wings! Hence why this particular chapter are always venerated and referred to as angels by every day folk in the lore.
Cool Fact 2
The Blood Angels hide a terrible secret in that they suffer from a flaw in their gene-seed wherein they are prone to an insatiable battle lust and hunger for blood that manifests in the form of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage.
This characteristic is reflected in-game where Blood Angels get bonuses in melee combat. There are some negative side-effects where Death Company squads automatically engage enemies within engagement range due to the Black Rage. Really cool stuff.
Cool Fact 3
I just recently finished listening to the “Devastation of Baal” audiobook and the main thing that stood out to me was the fact that the Blood Angels are also dying out due to the irreversible nature of the Black Rage and the heavy casualties they have suffered from a long-term enmity with the Tyranids.
Despite all that, these proud warriors continue to soldier on; defending those who can’t defend themselves and striving to live up to the heroic deeds of their progenitor Sanguinius.
I must say that I have a new found respect for this chapter of the Space Marines; and despite the grimdark setting Warhammer 40,000 is set in… the virtues of self-sacrifice, temperance and self-control are good things that we can glean from these characters.
Till next time. Happy hobbying!
Storm Gate Games 