Tactica Landspeeder
by Interrogator Chaplain Ignacio

Hey all :) 

Just like to share some of my thoughts about deploying these vehicles in a Blood Angels army. None of what I am about to say are gospel truth, so feel free to disagree with me on any of the issues raised here :)  We'd all like to hear about your experiences with Landspeeders as well!

First off, as a lot of Blood Angels players will no doubt have discovered by now, most of our heavy support is a little less than reliable due to the Black Rage. Even a 1" Rage will spoil the aim of our most destructive units. When these fail to engage the particularly nasty units of the enemy, we tend to find our forward Tactical Squads and Assault Squads cut to ribbons.

Well, how then can this rather fragile vehicle be of aid to us? Quite a fair bit really, although I must add some words of caution first. With AV10 all around, do not expect the Landspeeder to stay airborne for long under withering enemy firepower. It is proof against any weapon up to S3, which isn't too much, really, as most basic weapons (apart from Lasguns) are S4 and 5. 

Which pretty much leaves us with the problem of survivability. To ensure that your Landspeeder has a better chance of getting through a game, you need to rely on its forte of speed. 24" a turn allows you to reposition it almost anywhere across the playing field, not to mention our bonus Black Rage move when you get it. Use this movement to get behind cover, or to stay out of LOS to enemy units that can hurt them. You can also use this movement to stay out of range of enemy weapons, reducing the amount of firepower coming your way if cover is scarce.

The standard pattern Landspeeder is equipped with either a Heavy Bolter or Multi-melta. As a matter of personal choice, I do not like the Heavy Bolter variant much as I feel that a similarly equipped Attack Bike gives much more advantages. But that is for another discussion :)  So I will focus on the Multi-melta equipped one then.

These can form your mobile anti-armour / tough-critter unit if you employ them correctly. Never bring single Landspeeders if you can help it, as they die much too easily. By bringing two, you are increasing the combined chances of their survivability. With the 24" range of the Multi-melta and the 24" movement capacity of the Landspeeder, you can essentially spend one turn to deploy them, and the second to move into attack range. This takes patience :)  Do not think for once that you can zip right up to the enemy's lines and hope that you can survive the glancing hits... because you can't, it's that simple; therefore, attacking along a flank is ideal.

Effective usage of the Landspeeder usually entails a first turn where you maneuver them to a jump-off point, ideally somewhere just inside 24" of the enemy unit that you're intending to target. If you've made good use of cover, this could mean that the enemy is now faced with a decision. Should he redeploy his threatened unit to get a bead on the Landspeeders or should he redeploy another unit to deal with them? Should he even bother? Can the Landspeeders be ignored? You've just forced him to react to you :)  With whatever option he takes, you as the Commander can now dictate the engagement at least at that localised area.

If your Landspeeders have survived the first enemy turn, you should now be looking at using their weapons to maximum effect. This usually means that you have to slow down to 12" or less and it requires a fairly bold move. Remember that you have a 24" weapon (that gives you a combined 36" radius of effect) and apart from the heaviest tanks, you shouldn't have to move in to half range if you can help it and want to keep your Landspeeders alive. There might be circumstances whereby a BOLD move is necessary, for instance an enemy Landraider is threatening the advance of your main force. You need to weigh up the pros and cons: can you afford to lose two or three Landspeeders to take out that tank? Will your overall plan suffer without the Landspeeders?

By now you should have some inkling of the questions you need to ask yourself when using these Fast Attack vehicles. You should also realise that Landspeeders are optimised for supporting your advance by carrying out a high-speed surgical strike against important elements in the enemy lines. They are NOT meant to bear the entire anti-armour burden, but will fill a long-range strike role very well. In addition, they give Blood Angels commanders the ability to strike hard and deep when used in conjunction with the assault elements. Use them well, Brothers, and they will return to Baal in glory :) 

by Interrogator Chaplain Ignacio