How Far was THAT again?
Tactica Whirlwind
by Interrogator Chaplain Ignacio

I thought I'd start a little gameplay discussion here that might help both Blood Angels Novices and Veterans alike after reading some threads about how effective things like Whirlwinds really are.

Some players swear by the Whirlwind, attributing all sorts of game-winning performances to their ability to place a Strenth 5 AP 4 Ordnance Template over the heads of enemies that are lurking out of sight. 

At the same time, you would hear distinctive whimpers of indifference from other players who lament on how their range guessing never seems to be anywhere near their intended target; and combined with the vagaries of the Scatter Die and Black Rage, make their Whirlwinds nothing more a distraction for themselves and a joke to the enemy.

There are a few things to remember about the Whirlwind. It is subject to the Black Rage (a matter of chance that affects all Blood Angels and it's something we have to live with). It's Ordnance Template is subject to scatter (again, another matter of chance and that's nothing anyone can do). It is a Guess Range Weapon. This last aspect of the Whirlwind is something that we CAN do about to increase it's effectiveness if we decide to bring it to the fields of battle.

Take a minute now, look away from the computer screen and look at something on your table, it may be a pen or pencil, or that spoon in your coffee cup, and ask yourself: How long is that? Verify your answer with the range ruler. Now look at something much longer, perhaps your coffee table or the short edge of your work bench and ask yourself the same question. Again, verify your answer (you might need a measuring tape for this). Do this a few times everyday... it's that easy! What you're effectively doing is calibrating your range estimation. 

You'll find that this is a very effective method of "training your brain and eyeballs" :)  and before long, you would be surprising your opponents with: "ok... range to that Biovore behind the wall... I call 37 inches" WHAMMO! IN YOUR FACE, TYRANID! Of course, this example supposes that the Scatter Die works in your favour, but it is the stuff of epic dreams, the essence of WH40K!

But it is also true that horde enemies usually have to bunch up their models a little to take full advantage of cover... remind them of their folly when you pick up the Ordnance Template. Another way of maximising the Whirlwind's effectiveness is to target "an area". I say "an area" by its definition of "a fairly small portion of the board occupied by several units" (for example choke-points formed between terrain features). If these units can be affected by a Strength 5 AP 4 weapon, you'll find that scatter can be a good thing as opposed to targetting a single isolated squad.

As for the Black Rage, it is something that players can work around as well. Think about it for a moment, on a roll of 1, the Whirlwind must move d6" towards the enemy before your normal Movement Phase. But nothing in the rules restrict your movement in the normal Movement Phase itself (and remember you've still got 12" of Movement in the normal Movement Phase). 

Use this (normal Movement) to reposition your Whirlwind. Maybe there is another piece of terrain diagonally across from you after making the Black Rage move... move your Whirlwind towards it and get hull-down again. If nothing else, this will take your Whirlwind closer to the enemy, making range estimation even easier for the next turn of firing (we tend to be able to estimate shorter ranges more accurately than longer ones) and you're protected to a certain extent from shooting in your enemy's turn.

What I mean is that Blood Angels players can sometimes be stuck with the mindset that they must always move closer to the enemy. This does not necessarily apply to the Whirlwind! A little bit of lateral thinking helps :) 

Another possibility is to "upgrade" your Whirlwind and this is probably a good idea for Blood Angels players. For 15 points (if you have it to spare), you can get a single Strength 8 AP 3 shot anywhere on the table in Line-of-Sight. Yes, the Hunter-Killer Missile! This is probably the only instance I would recommend getting one of these fairly expensive upgrades. 

On the turn that you suffer the Black Rage (on turns that you don't you should be raining more Ordnance on the enemy), use that movement and the normal Movement to get into LOS with preferably a distant armoured unit of some sort and let rip (enemy Dreadnoughts are ideal targets). I say distant in that you should look out for retribution in your opponent's turn. Also, take note that your combined (Black Rage + Normal) movement should not be >6" if you intend to use this.

Between your ability to guess ranges more accurately, better tactical usage of the Whirlwind's movement and upgrade options, you might just find yourself getting more out of a vehicle that some Blood Angels players swear themselves away from! Now pass me that Ordnance Template... let's see... 31 inches... (pulls out measuring tape) IN YOUR FACE, HERETIC! FOR THE EMPEROR AND SANGUINIUS!

by Interrogator Chaplain Ignacio